To those who think that israel is responsible for the atrocious killing of lebanese civilians the following words spoken by Jan Egeland of the UN should be an eye opener.A day after criticizing israel for "disproportionate strikes against civilians" he accused hizbollah of "cowardly blending among lebanese civilians".He continues:"Consistently,from the hizbollah heartland,my message was that hizbollah must stop this cowardly blending among women and children.I heard they were proud because they lost very few fighters and that it was the civilians bearing the brunt of this.I don't think anyone should be proud of having many more children and women dead than armed men".There you have it straight from the mouth of the UN humanitarian chief!!(BTW,repeating what I said in an earlier post).While we're on the subject,let's not forget that a month ago the burning issue was what to do about iran's nuclear weapons ambitions.Suddenly world attention has shifted to the israel/hizbollah confrontation.It's worth wondering if this confrontation is simply to drive hizbollah back some 20 miles from the border or is it the first skirmish in a proxy war with Iran.So far,the tacit endorsement of the israeli action by the administration  lends credence to this view.Wait and see how the drama unfolds.....

Hezbollah and Hamas could perform human sacrifices on live TV and people would still find a way to excuse their actions and blame Israel.

Everyone is upset about the civillian casualties but nobody wants to acknowledge that they are actually civillian shields.  This is chapter 1 of the terrorist's manual vs. Israel.  Use human shields and then accuse Israel of being the real terrorists.

Reon't waste your time. Exactly...

And please ask yourself, everyone, why you haven't seen more of this on the "main stream" media. It is no surprise to me why not, but it is glaring evidence that those of you who have been in denial (about the media) should not ignore.

Also unreported is that the Lebanese homes have attachments built on to them to house the rockets and arms that are fired into Israel. Thus making Israels' job of surgical strikes even more difficult, but yet making it all the more remarkable to witness the restraint and caution demonstrated by the Israeli armed forces as they fight the terrorists while minimizing civilian casualties.

I thought I was going to die unfulfilled re this, but fianlly, at long last, an advocate of the cause of Israel has found something complimentary to say about the performance of any UN personnel or agency since the original partition plan waaay back in 1947.

Not to gainsay Jan Egeland's report and comments, but wait until the other shoe drops, as it inevitably will.  Eventually, Egeland's office will produce an analysis of the Israeli tactics now in play, and it will no doubt be just as damning. [Hey, it's the UN, remember?  That notorious hotbed of anti-Semitism masquerading as anti-Zionism].

Then we'll be back on the old tried-and-true anti-UN AIPAC message as soon as you can say "...our most reliable ally in the Middle East."

BTW, did the Irgun and the Stern Gang ever hide weapons caches amongst the Jewish population of the British Mandate in Palestine?  Nah, of course not!  Begin and Shamir  and their like-minded ilk never donned civvies and blended in with real civilians?  Oh, and I forgot -- they never kidnapped any British soldiers either.  

Nah, they just peacefully tended their orchards and groves of Jaffa oranges I suppose.

Ther must be something seriously wrong with me to even IMAGINE anything like that!

why don't we see photos of these "attachments" and their contents?  

I know, because there's a worldwide conspiracy.

No, the Israelis haven't been compelled to attack Lebanese civilians because Hizbollah is hiding among them.  Here's what a retired general reports about Israel's strategy:

"According to retired Israeli army Col. Gal Luft, the goal of the campaign is to 'create a rift between the Lebanese population and Hezbollah supporters.' The message to Lebanon's elite, he said, is this: 'If you want your air conditioning to work and if you want to be able to fly to Paris for shopping, you must pull your head out of the sand and take action toward shutting down Hezbollah-land.'"

Jan Egeland's opinion notwithstanding, that's why the civilians of Lebanon are being targetted.  It's not just criminal, it's stupidly criminal. It will never work. Funny how much worse Israel's tactics look now that internet has put controlling the news out of it's hands.  

Now, Hisbollah is lead by war criminals.  They have been firing rockets at Israeli civilians.  

That being said, there are not 400 Israeli citizens dead, and 400,000 displaced.  Tel Aviv and Jerasalem are not rubble now.  

It seems to me the greatest crime should be punished first and more severely.  One is outstanding from the other.

Hizbollah fighters aren't hiding amongst christian lebanese so they're spared.OTOH,they're hiding behind the women and children of south beirut.

you're in the field with your buddies, walking around enjoying the sun, and you draw fire.  You shoot back.  

You go over and check it out.  Lo & behold, you've killed some 12 year old girl.  

Now, she may have been the one shooting at you.  She may have been an innocent bystander.  You may have been 50 yards off, or you may have been dead on.  It may have been her cousin, her neighbor, or some transient who was shooting at you.

But there are a few certainties here.  (1) Shit like this happens in war.  (2) Nobody is going to like you for this, even if she's the shooter and local whore (especially if she's the local whore).  (3)  All her friends and relatives will lie in wait for you.  (4)  So you deal with it.  You get out of Dodge, or you make some political arrangements, or you just torch the entire town.  But this only surprises Republicans, because they're the only ones who don't read, don't think, and don't serve.

Though not impossible. I think Jan Egeland may be speaking from hope that Israel's actions are less criminally insane than they look.  Otherwise, the implications are very dire.  (I think they are.)  

It would seem from General Luft's statements that civilians in Lebanon would be targetted no matter what.  In that case, the necessary propoganda from Israel would have to say that Hizbollah was hiding among the civilians.  This is a no-brainer, no matter what the real situation is.  

I'll add, I don't know how Egelund made the statement based on fact, since Israel massacred the UN observers in Lebanon.  That doesn't say much for Israel wanting the world to know the facts about this war.

you.  We all know that, which is why we don't pay any attention to you.

I'm an American an I'm afflicted with an incurable illness  -- I care more about the US than I care about Israel.

Hey, and the condition ids terminal.