Confessions of a Misguided Trio

U.S. Take Anti-Peace Message to New Level...

By now everyone should be well aware of the current state of affairs within the Middle East. If not here are a few samples of the headlines of the last 12 hours.

One dead after strike on warship.
AN Israeli sailor was killed and three were missing feared dead after Hezbollah struck a warship off Lebanon's coast in a dramatic show of the Shiite guerrilla group's military capabilities.

Turkish PM Fumes at West
TURKISH Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Western powers were "keeping mum" over mounting bloodshed in the Middle East, warning that they would "pay the bill" by facing more terrorist attacks.

Israel destroys Hezbollah chief's HQ
ISRAELI forces destroyed the Beirut headquarters of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in air strikes, after issuing a new threat to kill the Shiite Muslim guerrilla leader.

Lebanon PM demands ceasefire
LEBANESE Prime Minister Fouad Siniora called today for an immediate ceasefire, saying Israeli attacks had turned Lebanon into a disaster area in need of international aid.

Lebanon death toll mounts
ISRAEL on Saturday intensified its relentless bombardment of Lebanon, destroying the Beirut headquarters of the Hezbollah leader and pounding the country's ports as fears mounted the conflict could spiral into regional conflict.

Merchant vessel hit by rockets
AN Egyptian civilian ship off the coast of Lebanon was hit during an exchange of fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli military, Egypt's foreign ministry confirmed on overnight, but the crew of 12 survived.

Israeli troops reoccupy Gaza
Israeli forces clashed with militants in Gaza overnight as tanks moved back into the north of the Strip on an offensive that has continued even as fighting with Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas opened a second front.

British warships sent to Mid-East
BRITAIN is sending two Royal Navy ships to the Middle East amid contingency planning for a possible evacuation of British nationals from Lebanon.

Depresingly so, these aren't all of the headlines of the last 12 hours... The latest headline to appear accross News.com.au's website is perhaps one of the more disturbing.

US vetoes UN ceasefire call
Washington argued in closed-door talks that the focus for Middle East diplomacy for now should be on the weekend summit in St Petersburg of the Group of Eight industrialised nations, council diplomats said.

It was the sole member of the 15-nation UN body to oppose any council action at all at this time, they said.

"We would expect much more from the Security Council," Lebanese Foreign Ministry official Nouhad Mahmoud told reporters after the council meeting, singling out the United States for blame. While Washington has been very supportive of the Lebanese government in the past, "when it comes to Israel, it seems things changed," Mr Mahmoud said. "Destruction is still going on, people are still dying ... and here we are impotent."...

...Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert assured the United Nations that Israeli forces would not interfere in a plan by UN peacekeepers to move Lebanese villagers living along the border with Israel out of the line of fire, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno said.

One more headline before I sign off...

Jets 'incinerate' fleeing family
ELEVEN children and seven adults were killed overnight in southern Lebanon, their bodies consumed by flames when an Israeli warplane opened fire on the convoy they were in, UN peacekeepers and hospital sources said.

Their charred remains were extracted from the wreckage of the minibus and car they were travelling in and taken to hospital.

A doctor, Ali Zeineddine, said they were burned alive.

"It is very difficult to identify the bodies or to distinguish between girls or boys, as the 18 victims perished from the fire triggered by incendiary shells. They grilled," he said.

They had been among residents fleeing villages close to the Israeli border and were killed when missiles struck a car and a minibus near Shamaa, hospital sources said. The children were aged between 7 and 12.

An officer with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), who was involved in the evacuation operation, told AFP that his team removed most of the burnt bodies. "Some of them were thrown on olive trees and even on haystacks," said the officer, who declined to be named.

posted by Mark @ 6:37 PM