Free Republic

The big word in Middle East politics this week is “disproportionate.” Political leaders around the world love it, and no wonder. Applied to the Israel-Hamas struggle, it quietly weakens Israel’s position and displays sympathy for the Palestinians while making those who use it feel both righteous and compassionate. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain says that “to a friend like Israel, you have to tell the truth. And if you think the reaction is disproportionate, you have to say so.” He makes it sound like a favour he’s doing for Israel. Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, has criticized...

A few scenes from modern warfare: Mohammad Abd al-Hamid Srour moved missiles across southern Lebanon under cover of a white flag. Hussein Ali Mahmoud Suleiman used the porch of a private home to fire rockets. Maher Hassan Mahmoud Kourani dressed in civilian clothes, hid his Kalashnikov in a tote bag and stored anti-aircraft missiles in the back of a green unmarked Volvo. ......... Now their videotaped interviews form part of a remarkable report by retired Lieutenant Colonel Reuven Erlich of Israel's Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. Relying heavily on captured Hezbollah documents, onsite and aerial photography and other first-hand evidence,...

It's Disproportionate. . . By Eugene Robinson [SNIP] But even if you set aside the president's embarrassing open-mike performance at the Group of Eight summit, which is hard to do, events of the past week show that this administration actually thinks it knows what it's doing. Bush and his folks haven't just blundered around and created this dangerous mess, they've done it on purpose. And they intend to make it worse. [SNIP] Bush's endorsement of the violence that Israel is inflicting on Lebanon -- a sustained bombing campaign that has killed hundreds of civilians and can only be seen as...

On June 1, 1942, Winston Churchill addressed the following remarks to the House of Commons: "...I ought not to sit down without referring to the mammoth air raid delivered by the Royal Air Force on the Cologne region during the night of 30th-31st May. In this triumph of skill, daring and diligence against the enemy, all previous records of night bombing have been doubled and excelled...

Just saw on CNN that 23 tons of explosives were dropped on a Hezbollah bunker. Top Hezbollah officials are believed to have been inside. No story on the website yet.

Israel presses Gaza assault, 31 killed by Kerry Sheridan Fri Jul 7, 10:37 PM ET Seven Palestinians were killed as Israel pressed on with its bloody offensive in Gaza and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas called on the international community to halt the deadly assault. UN chief Kofi Annan meanwhile called for an immediate stop to what he called Israel's "disproportionate use of force" in Gaza but also pressed for the release of an Israeli soldier snatched by Palestinian militants. Israel waged fresh air and ground attacks on northern Gaza, one day after reoccupying land in the deadliest 24 hours in...

One of the more popular claims by illegal immigration proponents is that those who enter the U.S. by breaking the law are invariably "hard-working" and "law-abiding" once they get here. That argument, however, has one major flaw. According to Justice Department statistics and the analysis of immigration experts, the "law-abiding" claim often isn't true. As Investors Business Daily reported in March 2005: "The U.S. Justice Department estimated that 270,000 illegal immigrants served jail time nationally in 2003. Of those, 108,000 were in California. Some estimates show illegals now make up half of California's prison population, creating a massive criminal subculture...