Friday, July 14, 2006

Current AP story: "The Lebanese government, caught in the middle, pleaded for a cease-fire."

The title conveys the flavor of the whole article: "Israel blasts Beirut's airport, highways." Here are the final paragraphs:
"It's a massacre," said Abu Talal, a 48-year-old resident who joined scores of Hezbollah supporters and townspeople at the funeral of Shiite cleric Sheik Adel Akkash, who was killed along with his wife and eight children, ages 3 months to 15 years.

"This is the (Israeli) arrogance. The raids aim to terrorize us, but morale is high."

The last time Israeli strikes targeted Beirut was in 2000, when warplanes hit a power station in the hills above the city after a Hezbollah attack killed Israeli soldiers.

Israel says it holds Lebanon responsible for Hezbollah's snatching of the two soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser, 31 and Eldad Regev, 26. The Lebanese government insisted it had no prior knowledge of the move and even withdrew its ambassador to the U.S. after he made comments seemingly in support of the guerrillas.

Lebanon's government has no control over Hezbollah but has long resisted international pressure to disarm the group. Any attempt to disarm Hezbollah by force could lead to sectarian conflict.
But would be a good thing nevertheless.

No comments: