Hmmm, Hezbollah in the town square, dressed in civilian clothes...no War Crimes there...

I can't stand the moral equivalence that is thrown at the Irsraeli's.  Now, the killing of innocent men, women and children is a tragedy.  The fact that Hezbollah does what it does is to get world opinion to fall against Israel.  They are, sadly, winning the battle.  The battles for the hearts and minds of world opinon has swayed.  The battle to disarm, disband and ultimately destroy Hezbollah has been lost.

Israel has not fought the battle militarily, it has fought it as a political entity, abd lost.  This was a time when Israel relly needed Ariel Sharon, or someone who embodies that spirit.  Rest In Peace Ariel.



 

The gunman in the Seattle Jewish Federation on Friday doesn't sound so crazy to me:

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The 13-year-old girl taken hostage at the beginning of the melee was not shot, police said.

When Haq got on the phone with 911 operators, he identified himself by name and said, “This is a hostage situation and I want these Jews to get out,” according to a statement of probable cause.

At one point, he told the dispatcher he wanted police to call the media and that he had a gun pointed at a woman's head. He said he was acting alone and had not been drinking, court documents said.
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The markings of a madman?  Or just a cold calculated killer, looking to kill Jews.  The fact that he singled out women makes it even scarier.  The authorities are calling it a hate crime.  I have never agreed with calling something a hate crime.  Killing anyone is the most heinous crime, whether or not the target was from some ethnic background. The punishment should be the same...

 As Trotsky so famously said, "You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you." (Hattip: Roger L. Simon)

That is wuite a quote by Trotsky...it couldn't be any closer to the truth.

The War is here, in Seattle, in Los Angeles, in New York, in Lebanon, in Iraq.  It is everywhere.  When we wake up to that fact, I pray that it is not at the loss of lives, say in the local shopping mall with Macy's, the Gap, etc. 

When one lone gunman, an unhappy Muslim, can take the life of one Jew, it is one too many.  When one lone bomber, straps the bomb belt around his/her waist and walks into Fashion Valley Mall and kills, 10, 20, 100, will we then realize that we are at war?  A combat between civiliations...

I shudder to think.  My wife loves to shop, shall I stop her, forbid her from taking my daughter? 

It is not "one lone gunman,"  it is a battle in the long, long war.

The Vocabulary of Untruth

Jus t a few highlights:
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"ceasefire" would occur should Hezbollah give back kidnapped Israelis and stop launching missiles; it would never follow a unilateral cessation of Israeli bombing.

"Civilians" in Lebanon have munitions in their basements and deliberately wish to draw fire; in Israel they are in bunkers to avoid it. Israel uses precision weapons to avoid hitting them; Hezbollah sends random missiles into Israel to ensure they are struck.

"Disproportionate" that the Hezbollah aggressors whose primitive rockets cant kill very many Israeli civilians are losing, while the Israelis sophisticated response is deadly against the combatants themselves. See excessive.

Anytime you hear the adjective "excessive," Hezbollah is losing. Anytime you dont, it isnt.

The "militants" of Hezbollah dont wear uniforms, and their prime targets are not those Israelis who do.

...The other desideratum is the destruction of Israel itself. Iran promised to wipe Israel off the map, and then gave Hezbollah thousands of missiles to fulfill that pledge. In response, the world snored. If tomorrow more powerful rockets hit Tel Aviv armed with Syrian chemicals or biological agents, or Iranian nukes, the international community would urge restraint and keep urging it until Israel disappeared altogether. And the day after its disappearance, the Europeans and Arabs would sigh relief, mumble a few pieties, and then smile, Life goes on.

And for them, it would very well.
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No ceasefire, no 72 hour period of peace for "restocking of civilians or evacuations."  As this will only strengthen Israel's enemies.  The UN can't be put in charge of a peacekeeping force.  They are there "observing" now and have been since the Israeli's pulled out in 2000 (?).  Did the UN observers "observe" the 13,000 Katyusha rockets being stockpiled?  Did they notice the Iranian guard training Hezbollah fighters?

Once Hezbollah finished off Israel with Syria and Irans assistnace, next is the good ol' USofA and the Western world...remember what Zawahri said the other day:

It is "jihad for the Cause of Allah until the entire religion is for Him only." (ThreatsWatch)

Just heard and confirmed a shooting in Seattle.  Those who are regular readers know i have family in Seattle.  The shooting was downtown and can be found here at KING 5.

Remember that terrorists don't have uniforms, they don't play by the rules, so why is it such a surprise that the Hezbollah terrorists were using the UN post as a staging ground for attacks.
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What I can tell you is this," he wrote in an e-mail to CTV dated July 18. "We have on a daily basis had numerous occasions where our position has come under direct or indirect fire from both (Israeli) artillery and aerial bombing.

"The closest artillery has landed within 2 meters (sic) of our position and the closest 1000 lb aerial bomb has landed 100 meters (sic) from our patrol base. This has not been deliberate targeting, but rather due to tactical necessity."

Those words, particularly the last sentence, are not-so-veiled language indicating Israeli strikes were aimed at Hezbollah targets near the post, said Maj.-Gen. MacKenzie.

"What that means is, in plain English, 'We've got Hezbollah fighters running around in our positions, taking our positions here and then using us for shields and then engaging the (Israeli Defence Forces)," he said.

That would mean Hezbollah was purposely setting up near the UN post, he added. It's a tactic Maj.-Gen. MacKenzie, who was the first UN commander in Sarajevo during the Bosnia civil war, said he's seen in past international missions: Aside from UN posts, fighters would set up near hospitals, mosques and orphanages. (Emphasis added)
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So, flags from Hezbollah flying next to the UN flag are not new.  Kofi Annan had to know that the modus operandi of the terrorists is to use civilians and even the UN posts as sheilds.  Therefore, in my eyes, Kofi Annan is as repsonsible for the deaths of the UN personnel as isHezbollah.  Get the UN out, get the civilians out, just as the Israelis are warning.  Hezbollah is known to prevent the evacuation of innocents, just to change the battlefield to the hearts and minds of the world press.  Turn the world opinion against the Israelis...part of asymetric warfare.

 

Called To Bless Others (Our Daily Bread)

READ: Genesis 12:1-9

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. —Hebrews 11:8

Worthy of death (Purpose Driven Life)
By John Fischer

On May 11, 2006, Kevin and Paula Clark lost their 22-year-old son, Eric, to a roadside bomb in Baghdad. Kevin and Paula read these devotionals regularly and share them with their children and friends. “It has been so very hard,” Paula writes.

How do you root out Hezbollah from Lebanon?  How do you extricate a cancer entrenched in vital areas surrounded by civilians?  

A very instructive picture over at Michelle Malkin's sight is worth 1000 words:  Hezbollah and the UN

"Sharing water and phones(?)..."  The UN sites are being used as sheilds, afterall the IDF wouldn't dare attack the UN.  That is the point, Hezbollah and other Islamofacist terror groups do not abide by international law, never have, never will.  In fact they outright flaunt the laws.  Now, the loss of innocent UN observers is a terrible loss, but, why didn't the UN pull back?  Why didn't they abandon the site and leave the Hezbollah fighters high and dry?

In that vein, if the Lebanese government wants peace, point out the Hezbollah launching sites, weapons caches, hideouts, etc and get the heck out of the way and let the IDF destroy Hezbollah.  The Lebanese can't root out the Hezbollah militia on it's own, so let the Israelis do it.

Cease fire?  Not without the end of Hezbollah...the return of the kidnapped soldiers.  Do you think those soldiers are being treated with the care afforded POW under the Genvea Convention?  I would venture a guess that they are not...

And, good ol' Juan Cole is beside himself.  The Israelis attacking civilian targets is "unspeakable."  What about using human shields Prof. Cole?  Is that reprehensible?

Must Read: Jeb Babbin "Lessons Learned, A Cease-Fire in Lebanon is a Terrrible Idea"
<blockquote>
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and British Prime Minister Tony Blair want to send an international force to separate Israel from Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon. Mr. Blair said a U.N. force should be sent to "stop the bombardment coming over into Israel and therefore [give] Israel a reason to stop its attacks on Hezbollah." Mr. Annan said such a force could "pursue the idea of stabilization." But their idea assumes, first, that a cease-fire would protect those worthy of protection and, second, that restoring the region's antebellum "stability" would promote long-term peace. Both assumptions are utterly false.

Hezbollah is not some small, ragged band scattered around Lebanon. It is a huge terrorist structure, built over decades, that includes thousands of men, weapons, positions, offices and everything that enables it to control southern Lebanon. Israel is now destroying that infrastructure. A cease-fire would benefit Hezbollah and threaten Israel. It would protect both Hezbollah and the nations that support it--Syria and Iran--as well as the Lebanese who have accepted the terrorist organization as a legitimate part of their government. A cease-fire would allow Hezbollah to rebuild its power base and enable it to resume its attacks whenever Damascus and Tehran desired. For Israel, a U.N. force would create no security whatever against future attacks. </blockquote>

 

Prosperity And Adversity (Our Daily Bread)

READ: Proverbs 30:1-9

Give me neither poverty nor riches—feed me with the food allotted to me. —Proverbs 30:8

'Teach me who you are' (Purpose Driven Life)
By John Fischer

“Where can we have the intimate conversations that keep all of us from each other? Is it possible that we can be a safe place for individuals to just talk? What we really want to say to people is: 'I care about you. You are worth fighting for. Please teach me who you are.'” — Becky Kuhn

  Ali is a blogger from Baghdad and he has a very interesting perspective on the war in Lebanon; he is asking for a broader war, encompassing Iran and Syria.

Why you ask?  So freedom can come to the people...I Wish It Goes On and On

You know there are times when you want to be strong, and present a strong front.  I want to be stoic, and not show that somethings affect me emotionally.  This is not one of those times.  It would give me comfort knowing that my brother's and sister's in Christ are praying for me.  I don't really want to ask, but I also know that by doing so God will strengthen me.

Lord, strengthen me and comfort me, lead me to the calm waters...

Well, that seems so very dramatic and all.  My son whom lives with his mother has now moved to Colorado.  My famiy and I live in North County San Diego, near Camp Pendleton.  This move has been known about and agreed to by me, as I didn't want to create animosity between my son and his mother.  So, we gave our blessing to the move.  THat being said, it has not and will not be easy tohave him so far away.  We will not see him until his Thanksgiving Vacation,  I pray for nearly 4 months away. 

Needless to sa, my heart aches.  He called me twice yesterday before they left, and just as they got on the road.

I am asking for yuor prayers for their safe trip and a successful move.  I would ask for your prayers for my son and for me that the distance will not cause us drift apart, but to become closer.  I pray for God's strength and wisdom.

I will incorporate today's devotional in this post so here you go:

The Lamb Is Our Shepherd (Our Daily Bread)

LISTEN TO ODB RADIO: Real | MP3 | WMA

READ: Revelation 7:13-17

The Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. —Revelation 7:17

(Ed: Wow, I didn't plan that, God work in the most wondrous ways!)

Unlikely citizen of Heaven (Purpose Driven Life)

Please have a blessed day, and may God bless you and your family.  May God bring about Peace in the Middle East, protect our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines.  God strengthen our leaders, Bush, Rice, Rumsfeld, Cheney, et al.  I pray for those who do not know Your Good News, those who face danger I pray will never come to our shores...

 

Cupcake Self-Discipline (Our Daily Bread)

Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls. —Proverbs 25:28

"An old adage says: “Next time you want a cupcake, eat a carrot.” The saying is good advice for dieters, but those who framed it may have had all of us in mind. By disciplining our desires when no moral principle is at stake, we prepare ourselves for those moments when we face a temptation to sin."

'Let's do it your way' (Purpose Driven Life)


"Lord, there are two ways we can do this, yours and mine. Mine is not working. Let's do it your way."

Have  a blessed Monday and continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Israel and Lebanon.  On my prayer list today is the safe and successful move of my son and his mother to Colorado, and for strength for me, as my son will be away from my family until Thanksgiving.

Over at Blogs For Bush there was a straw poll and Sen. George Allen is tops:

GOP Bloggers Straw Poll

"As of this writing, about 6,000 votes have been cast, and the surprising thing for me is that George Allen has the most positive votes at 4,111 (meaning that of the 5,951 respondents, 4,111 have no problem with him being the GOP nominee in 2008). "

To me, he is the most exciting candidate, outside of a historic run by Condi Rice.  She looks great in Lebanon right now.  I was just watching her on FOXNews sitting with the PM and Cabinent, and she looks so confident.  What would it take to get her to run?

Iran caught red handed in smuggling nuclear material and Hizballah Sleeper Cells Reportedly Activated

If you haven't visited the Counterterrorism Blog, you are missing out.  This is a very insightful blog that goes deeper than most, as those who post are various have serious thinkers, policymaker, and those connected in the intelligence community.  A great stop, daily, if not more.

The part that scares me the most about all of these Islamofacist terror groups, is they seem so disparate, and yet have the same goals: destruction of Israel then the west (not just the US, but western civilization.  I have heard too many times that the written "mission statement" of Hamas, Hezbollah, and al Qaeda are the annihilation of Israel and the US.  I need to find these writings.  When do the Dimocrats begin to see this?  Last night on Hannity and Colmes, poor Allen is just beside himself trying to get the panel to agree that negotiation is the ultimate goal...


The horror ahead - July 22, 2006

David Warren is a conservative Canadian, well worth a daily stop, too.  From north of our border is a voice of reason.

It jsut seems that the world is going  to "Heck in a Handbasket" these days.  Growing up in the '80s it ddin't seem to me to be so unstable.  Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, North Korea.  Has the world always been so unstable, or is it just the immediacy of everything?

Hizballah's Arsenal (ThreatsWatch another fantastic blog)

It's More Lethal Than Everyone Thought

By Dan Darling

Today we are celebrating my daughter's birthday, 4 years old.  I turn the big 4-0 this year...I am 10 times older than she, scary...thankfully I have Jesus, so I don't feel so bad:

The Struggle (Our Daily Bread)

READ: 2 Timothy 3

In the last days perilous times will come. —2 Timothy 3:1

Have a blessed day, and continue to pray for Israel and for our troops in Iraq, may there be a breakthrough that allows both to come home.