http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/lebanon/ en-us Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:29:05 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050388/posts Last Wednesday's pageantry in Beirut celebrating the return of Samir Kuntar marked a black day for Lebanon. It is hardly the first time an Arab terror outfit has held a street party for murderers - sweets were handed out in plenty of Arab capitals on 9/11. Still, it was surprising to see the participation of many members of Lebanon's pro-democracy March 14 movement, like Prime Minister Fouad Siniora who has become a significant US ally over the last three years. Now, Lebanon's friends in the international community, especially in Washington, who backed March 14's struggle and looked to it as... Standpoint Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050388/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:29:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048213/posts Lebanon proposes to rebuild Nahr al-Bared, the Palestinian city-camp near Tripoli pulverised in a long siege last year in an attempt to kill Sunni militants holed up there. The new, as yet only imagined, town is intended to preserve the memories of the old, yet return the area to the control of Lebanon. Le Monde http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048213/posts#comment Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:45:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047759/posts Jerusalem — Israeli security officials have said that Samir Kantar, the Lebanese murderer who was freed in a prisoner exchange after nearly three decades behind bars, should now fear for his life. "Every terrorist who committed an act of terror against Israel, especially someone like Kantar, who killed a little child and two other people, is a target," an official said. Another security official told the Yediot Aharonot newspaper: "Now that he is out of jail, we have no obligation towards Kantar, a loathsome murderer whose accounts will be settled in the end." Mr. Kantar, who will be 46 next... The Daily Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047759/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:10:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047720/posts It was July 15, 1958, and Second Lieutenant Simon L Leis Jr was nervous. As he waited for orders aboard the USS Taconic, he peered across the rough waters of the Mediterranean towards the yellow sands of Khalde beach, just five miles south of Beirut. Like the other members of the United States Marine Corps that day, Leis was preparing for battle. Briefed to expect the possibility of a hostile reception, the young leatherneck from Cincinnati, Ohio, knew little of the complexities surrounding Lebanon’s predicament. But when the call to arms finally came, he was ready. As whoops of anticipation... The National http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047720/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:05:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047700/posts Today, Lebanon’s March 14th movement cast itself into an abyss of moral depravity that the bloc’s supporters — myself included — never thought possible. The exchange this morning of bodies for terrorists between Israel and Hezbollah presented March 14’s leaders with what should have been an easy choice: applaud the return to Lebanon of a grotesque child-murderer; say nothing; or denounce him and Hezbollah’s freelance deal-making, which made his return possible. Two of March 14th’s leaders — Fouad Siniora, the Sunni prime minister of Lebanon, and Walid Jumblatt, the leader of Lebanon’s Druze, both of whom are embraced as American... Commentary Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047700/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:32:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047381/posts Hizbullah is bolstering its presence in south Lebanon villages with non-Shi'ite majorities by buying land and using it to build military positions and store missiles and launchers, The Jerusalem Post has learned. The decision to build infrastructure in non-Shi'ite villages - where Hizbullah has less support - is part of the group's post-war strategy under which it has mostly abandoned the "nature reserves," forested areas in southern Lebanon where it kept most of its Katyusha rocket launchers before the Second Lebanon War. Behind the change is the mandate given to UNIFIL by the United Nations after the war in 2006.... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047381/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:04:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047417/posts What can you say about a people who welcome a child murderer as a hero? Most Americans are familiar with the brutal murder of wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer on the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985. Terrorists led by Abu Abbas (who was later given safe haven in Baghdad by Saddam Hussein) took the ship captive and threw Klinghoffer overboard. But few recall that the ship was seized to bargain for the release of, among others, Samir Kuntar from an Israeli prison. Kuntar had taken part in an earlier terror attack. In 1979, as a 16-year-old, he and four others had... National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047417/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:19:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047416/posts Putting decades of vicious sectarian, political and personality differences aside, Lebanon's body politic came together Wednesday night in a heartfelt display of national unity: Samir Kuntar had been brought home. After a nearly 30-year absence, there he stood before the frantic multitude, this progeny of Lebanon - whose road to manhood took him from out-of-control juvenile delinquent to adolescent child-killer to unremorseful mature terrorist - in army fatigues, waving the Lebanese and Hizbullah flags, arm outstretched in the Hizbullah salute, a manic glint in his eyes. A true son of his country. In a flash, the face of the new... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047416/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:11:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047205/posts LEBANON'S new telecommunications minister has accused Israel of bombarding Lebanese people with threatening phone calls, a day after a controversial prisoner swap between Israel and Hezbollah. "Hundreds of people throughout Lebanon received threatening phone calls on their landlines from Israel,'' Gibran Bassil said overnight. "The phone would ring, the person would answer and they would hear a message saying, 'This is from the state of Israel. Abandon Hezbollah or there will be another war, like there was in 2006,''' he said. Mr Bassil, a member of the Free Patriotic Movement, the main Christian party in the Syrian-backed opposition, said he... News.com.au http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047205/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046696/posts Israel and Hezbollah completed the prisoner swap Wednesday: Hezbollah returned the bodies of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, while Israel handed over terrorist Samir Kuntar and four Hezbollah militants, as well as 197 bodies. Now that the exchange has taken place, the Israeli defense establishment is worried that Hezbollah may seek a calculated escalation along the Lebanese border, and try to disrupt Israel Air Force flyovers in Lebanese airspace. Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah ended his public reclusion for a few minutes Wednesday, appearing in person at the Beirut celebration for the freed prisoners. Nasrallah... haaretz. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046696/posts#comment Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:13:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046615/posts Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah is the most admired leader among the Arab public, a survey released Wednesday showed. Twenty-six percent of respondents in six countries selected Nasrallah as their most admired leader, compared to 16% who chose Syrian President Bashar Assad and 10% who picked Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, according to the survey published by the the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution in Washington. The poll was published the same day Israel completed a lopsided prisoner swap with Hizbullah that is likely to further boost Nasrallah's standing in the Arab world. The Shi'ite Hizbullah leader was also the top... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046615/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:42:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046451/posts BEIRUT (Reuters) - Five Lebanese freed from captivity in Israel were flown to a heroes' welcome in Beirut on Wednesday after Hezbollah returned the bodies of two Israeli soldiers seized in a cross-border raid in 2006. Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046451/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:30:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2046350/posts Israel National News - With the prisoner exchange with Hizbullah approaching its tragic climax, dozens of news crews at Rosh HaNikra and throughout the country are broadcasting the reactions of observers to the latest developments. The bitterly contested prisoner exchange is developing into one of Israel's most riveting and painful episodes, while Hizbullah and the PA celebrate victory and renew their threat to kidnap more IDF soldiers. The conclusion of the prisoner exchange began Tuesday night with the release of child-murderer Samir Kuntar and four of his co-terrorists, and continued through Wednesday morning with the release of the coffins of... IsraelNN.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2046350/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:49:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046248/posts Fifty years ago, an American president successfully stood up against the Moslem tide in the Middle East and won a victory. But the anniversary may pass completely unnoticed by most of the media, and the lesson of that event remains unlearned by most Americans. On July 15, 1958, President Eisenhower began what was called "Operation Blue Bat." President Chamoun of Lebanon, a Maronite Christian, had refused to side with Arab Moslem nations against the West. The result was that within Lebanon, supported by Syria, Muslims pushed for the end of the Chamoun administration (and, tacitly, for an end to the... American Thinker | Frontpagemagazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046248/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:24:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046204/posts Two years after Israeli reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were abducted by Hezbollah guerillas in a cross-border raid, coffins said to contain their bodies were taken to the Lebanese side of its border with Israel as part of a prisoner exchange to bring them home. The swap, overwhelmingly approved Tuesday by the cabinet, began at around 9 A.M. Wednesday at the Rosh Hanikra crossing, under the auspices of the International Red Cross Committee. A convoy carrying the bodies of the two Israelis reached the Rosh Hanikra crossing on the Lebanese side of the border at about 8:30 A.M., where... Haaretz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046204/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:02:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045998/posts Fifty years ago today, an American president successfully stood up against the Moslem tide in the Middle East and won a victory. But the anniversary may pass completely unnoticed by most of the media, and the lesson of that event remains unlearned by most Americans. On July 15, 1958, President Eisenhower began what was called "Operation Blue Bat." President Chamoun of Lebanon, a Maronite Christian, had refused to side with Arab Moslem nations against the West. The result was that within Lebanon, supported by Syria, Muslims pushed for the end of the Chamoun administration (and, tacitly, for an end to... American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045998/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:24:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045862/posts Samir Kuntar and four Lebanese prisoners captured in the Second Lebanon War will receive an official state welcoming when they are released by Israel on Wednesday as part of the prisoner swap with Hizbullah. The five men will be greeted at Beirut's airport by Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and President Michel Suleiman. Later, a huge rally will be held in the capital's southern suburbs where Hizbullah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah will speak, the group's Al-Manar TV has said. French news agency AFP reports that the coastal road from the Israeli border to the southern port city of Sidon has been... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045862/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:47:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045688/posts Preparations are in full swing in Lebanon to celebrate the return of Samir Kuntar. Kuntar, who is serving multiple life sentences for one of the most brutal terrorist attacks in Israel's history, is due to be released tomorrow as part of a prisoner exchange with Hizbullah for Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, the two soldiers abducted in a July 2006 cross-border raid that triggered the Second Lebanon War. According to the Lebanese media, Kuntar will be given a festive reception by Hizbullah at its headquarters in southern Beirut, and welcomed personally by its leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. He will then... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045688/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:02:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2045482/posts A simple question, What if it was not the Arabs, not the Muslims (OPEC) that control the world's energy? What if the oil tycoons were of a different background, say Irish Catholic or Jewish? Could you imagine how they would be lynched [in the media and all tools of public opinion]? But it's "only" Arabs, Muslims, and they can do whatever they want, limit or extend production of oil. Worst is of course the immense unlimited power they enjoy in being permitted to continue "business" as usual... in the "field" of crimes against humanity... No one ever dares speaks out... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2045482/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:22:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045461/posts Newly-installed Lebanese President Michel Suleiman on Sunday threatened to militarily conquer the Israeli-controlled Shebaa Farms region of the Golan Heights if Israel did not agree to surrender the territory. Suleiman was speaking to reporters at a Mediterranean summit in Paris just hours after Israeli officials confirmed that the Lebanese army had paved a road to and set up a military base just a few hundred yards from the Shebaa Farms. A long-time ally of Hizballah, Suleiman was head of the Lebanese army until his ascendancy to the presidency earlier this summer as part of concessions that Hizballah extracted from the... Israel Today http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045461/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:54:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045059/posts The European Union and its Mediterranean neighbours launched a new platform for their relationship on Sunday at a summit boosted by a promise from Lebanon and Syria to open embassies in each other’s capital. Leaders of more than 40 countries attended the inaugural session of the Union for the Mediterranean, a project conceived by Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, as a way to bridge differences between the EU and the states of north Africa and the Middle East. As the ceremonies got under way at the majestic Grand Palais in Paris, the spotlight fell on Ehud Olmert, Israel’s prime minister, and... The Financial Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045059/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:07:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044783/posts In what is being interpreted in Israel as a declaration of ownership, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has built a road and set up a military position in the Shaba Farms/ Mount Dov area for the first time since Israel's withdrawal from that part of Lebanon in 2000. Israeli defense officials confirmed the move, which was first reported in the Lebanese media, but would not comment on its significance. According to the reports, the LAF paved a road into the Bastara Farm, which is on the Lebanese side of the Blue Line international border and lies just 300 meters away... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044783/posts#comment Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:35:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044309/posts BEIRUT, July 11: Lebanon ended weeks of wrangling on Friday and formed a unity government in which Hezbollah and its allies hold effective veto power, as agreed under a deal that ended a paralysing political conflict in the country. The decisive say granted to the former opposition led by Hezbollah, an ally of Damascus, shows that Syria has succeeded in wrenching back some political leverage in Lebanon, where it was the main power broker until its troops left in 2005. The birth of the government, the first under newly elected President Michel Suleiman, should close a long political crisis that... Dawn news http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044309/posts#comment Sat, 12 Jul 2008 05:22:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043817/posts With or Without Nukes, Iran Is a Mortal Threat Elan Journo Imagine that your neighborhood is overrun by a gang. These brutes are wielding crowbars, knives, and pistols in a frenzied spree of home break-ins and mugging and murder. Now suppose the police reveal that their grand strategy for dealing with this gang is to block them from getting submachine guns--as if without such weapons, the gang would no longer bother people. Would you sleep soundly at night? Or would you be outraged? Of course you would, because this gang--even without more powerful weapons--is already a serious menace that must... weeklyblitz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043817/posts#comment Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:46:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2043290/posts SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE RELIGION OF 'PEACE' IN JUST ONE WEEK [End of July 2008]   Pakistan, Islamic Bombing in the capital Islamabad. Pakistan police arrest 4 bomb suspectsCNN International - Jul 8, 2008More than 100 people died when Pakistani security forces stormed the mosque on July 10, 2007, ending a weeklong standoff between military forces and Islamic ...http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/07/08/karachi.blast/   Palestinians Hamas [despite of 'truce' pact with Israel's Defense Forces, continue to] shoot missiles upon Israeli civilians.Palestinians shoot at Nahal Oz farmers Ynetnewshttp://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3564613,00.html   Muslim - Arabs in Israel arrested for supplying info and 'targets' for Al Qaeda.Two Israeli Arabs... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2043290/posts#comment Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:10:29 GMT