More than 380 Lebanese and 42 Israelis have died in nearly two weeks of conflict in Lebanon, which began after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on 12 July.
Although The Israelis said that they had no intention to hold land, Mr Peretz said a zone in southern Lebanon would be maintained "under the control of our forces if there is not a multinational force". An unnamed Israeli official quoted by Reuters news agency said between 10,000 and 20,000 international peacekeepers would be needed. Ms Rice arrived in Israel from Beirut, where she met Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. She said: "It is time for a new Middle East, it is time to say to those who do not want a different kind of Middle East that we will prevail; they will not." So, what did she mean by WE? Are the United States taking sides in this conflict? My guess is that they never forgot the bombing of US Marine base back in 1983 which was described as a largest non nuclear bomb blast since Hiroshima. (In June 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon, and US Marines were sent to Lebanon as a peacekeeping force in September 1982. On April 18, 1983, the US embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, is bombed by a suicide truck attack, killing 63 people. On October 23, 1983, a Marine barracks in Beirut is bombed by another suicide truck attack, killing 241 Marines. In February 1984, the US military will depart Lebanon. The radical militant group Islamic Jihad will take credit for both attacks. This group is led by Ayman al-Zawahiri, who will later become the number two leader in al-Qaeda. However, many believe Hezbollah is involved in the attacks. The Beirut bombings will also inspire bin Laden to believe that the US can be defeated by suicide attacks. For instance, he will say in a 1998 interview, “We have seen in the last decade the decline of the American government and the weakness of the American soldier who is ready to wage Cold Wars and unprepared to fight long wars. This was proven in Beirut when the Marines fled after two explosions.”) So they need an excuse to come back.
In the meantime, Israel continues to pound Beirut, devastating whole building blocks and making it impossible for refugees to come back. US are giving Israel more time to “finish the job” because they are not ready yet to press for cease fire… So whose war is this and who’s fighting whom and are the Americans really the peace keepers or the wolf in the sheep skin?
