Doesn`t the Danish police keep Christiana under their watchful eye? Spanish Anarchists had ruling committees; these are rulers who set laws to be obeyed. No rulers, no leadership and no resistance either? Methinks no rulers would only apply to the privileged few in anarchist outcomes.

Air strike in Sudan hits old arms route - UPDATE

This is an update to an article that I wrote in March.

According to the Egyptian newspaper al-Usbu' (The Week), quoting Sudanese sources, an unidentified naval vessel fired on and sank an Iranian ship allegedly transporting weapons bound for the Gaza Strip. The intended recipient of the arms was the Islamic group Hamas.

If past practice was to be followed, the Iranian ship would have docked in Sudan, the weapons offloaded for overland transport to the Sinai peninsula, then smuggled into the Gaza Strip via a series of tunnels under the Egyptian border.

Given Israel's demonstrated willingness to use its air force to attack these Iranian illicit arms deliveries - it did so in March - there is no reason to believe it would not employ its small but capable navy. Israel's missile patrol boats - like this Sa'ar 5 - are easily capable of operating in the Red Sea off the Sudanese coast.



ORIGINAL ARTICLE
In January and again in February, unidentified foreign aircraft struck an arms convoy in Sudan near the Egyptian border. The conventional wisdom is that the strike was conducted by Israeli Air Force aircraft and that their target was a convoy headed for Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (read entiremore

Given the timing of the attacks - the last week of January and the early part of February - it must have been the Israelis. It is inconceivable that the Obama administration would have ordered this type of proactive decisive operation by the U.S. Air Force. The new American president is still laboring under the impression that his words will move Hamas to change its ways. The Israelis have concluded that only force of arms will move Hamas.

The attack on this arms transhipment route highlights an ages-old smuggling route, one used for at least two decades by the Iranians to support their clients in the Middle East and North Africa.

The red line on the map shows the route used by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force to move weapons from Iran to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. First, the arms are moved by air or sea to the Sudan. Generally speaking, arms and ammunition are heavy, so they are most likely moved by ship from Iranian ports to Port Sudan. From the port, the materiel is moved by trucks up the coastal road along the Red Sea into Egypt, continuing up along the Gulf of Suez.

There are a few spots to cross the Suez Canal, but the most likely is the well-established commercial ferry service at Qantarah (photo). I have crossed the canal here several times - it is a beehive of transshipping activity. These ferries are easily capable of moving heavy loads across the canal.

Once the materiel is on the Sinai side of the canal, it is moved to the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip. At this point, it is broken down into much smaller parcels and smuggled through the scores of tunnels under the border into the Gaza Strip, where they are stored and used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. While this might seem like an inefficient method of moving arms from Iran into Gaza, it has been surprisingly effective. It is effective because it is relatively easy to bribe Egyptian customs and border officials to look the other way.

One of Israel's demands for a long-term truce with Hamas is the cessation of this arms smuggling. To be effective, this must include a commitment on the part of the Egyptians to control their borders. Israel has conducted numerous air strikes on the tunnels, but the soil on this border is conducive to tunneling, and the Gazans are highly motivated by the profits generated from the smuggling of consumer goods into the Strip.

Arms and goods - legitimate and otherwise - have traveled this route since trade began in ancient tiems. Iran has used it in the past to move weapons to Islamist groups in Africa, and now to Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. It should come as no surprise that Israel is interdicting the weapons before they arrive at the Gaza border. 4:20......?

Once again in a different vein. Why will you not call ME nations` arms supply conduit an offensive move against Israel? The armies of ME nations have failed. Now these countries are using proxies(Hamas_Hezbollah_Islamic Jihad) to attack inside Israel`s borders.

Was Russia's 'Arctic Sea' Carrying Missiles to Iran?

By SIMON SHUSTER / MOSCOW Simon Shuster / Moscow – Mon Aug 31, 5:00 pm ET
In July, the Russian-manned cargo ship the Arctic Sea disappeared on its way to take timber from Finland to Algeria, sparking reports of the first incident of piracy in European waters since the days of the buccaneers. Experts and observers weighed in with their theories: the ship had been snatched in a commercial dispute; it was being used to run drugs; it was carrying something more precious - or dangerous - than timber.


Since then, the Russian navy has found the ship, and the alleged hijackers who boarded it on July 24 have been charged with kidnapping and piracy. The ship's captain, his crew and whatever cargo the ship was carrying have also been detained. An initial search of the hull turned up nothing suspicious, and now Russia's official explanation of what happened will probably become the final one - this was a hijacking thwarted by its navy without a shot being fired. But there are baffling details left unexplained, leading some experts to claim that the truth is much more sinister: the Arctic Sea, they say, was intercepted by Israel as it carried a secret cargo of weapons to the Middle East. (See pictures of dramatic pirate-hostage rescues.)


The highest-ranking official to put forward this version of events is the European Union's rapporteur on piracy and a former commander of the Estonian armed forces, Admiral Tarmo Kouts. In an interview with TIME, he says only a shipment of missiles could account for Russia's bizarre behavior throughout the monthlong saga. "There is the idea that there were missiles aboard, and one can't explain this situation in any other way," he says. "As a sailor with years of experience, I can tell you that the official versions are not realistic."


Kouts says an Israeli interception of the cargo is the most likely explanation. But this theory, which some Russian analysts put forward in the days after the Arctic Sea was rescued and which Kouts agreed with in his interview with TIME, has been vehemently denied by Russia's envoy to NATO, Dmitri Rogozin, who says Kouts should stop "running his mouth." (Read "Girding for the Pirates' Revenge.")


The official explanation coming out of Moscow is simple enough: the Arctic Sea, manned by a Russian crew, set sail from Finland under a Maltese flag on July 22. It was destined for Algeria and carried less than $2 million worth of timber. Then a group of eight Russian and former Soviet hijackers boarded the ship on July 24. The ship's tracking device was disabled in the last days of July, as it passed through the English Channel into the Atlantic, and the ship disappeared. On Aug. 12, the Russian navy sent out a search party. A week later, Russia declared that the ship and its crew had been rescued. (Read "Has Piracy Spread to Europe's Waters?")


But as details of the hijacking emerged, the tale got murkier, and Moscow's explanation does little to clear things up. Why, with so many other ships carrying much more valuable cargo, would the hijackers target the Arctic Sea and its small load of timber? Why didn't the ship send out a distress signal? Why did Israeli President Shimon Peres pay a surprise visit to Russia a day after the ship was rescued? Why did Russia wait so long to send its navy to find the ship? And what did the brother of one of the alleged hijackers, Dmitri Bartenev, mean when he told Estonian TV on Aug. 24 that his brother and the other suspected pirates had been "set up ... They went to find work and ended up in a political conflict. Now they are hostage to some kind of political game"? Bartenev's lawyer tells TIME that his client was "in the wrong place at the wrong time."


There are also questions surrounding the Arctic Sea's rescue. On orders from the Kremlin, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov sent a completely disproportionate force, including destroyers and submarines, to look for the vessel. It took five days for them to find it, the Defense Ministry said, even though the Foreign Ministry later announced that it was fully aware of the Arctic Sea's coordinates the entire time. To fly the alleged pirates and the crew back to Moscow - a group of only 19 men - Russia dispatched two enormous military-cargo planes. And then on their arrival, the ship's crew was detained along with the alleged hijackers for days of questioning, with no access to their families or the media.


"Even from the basic facts, without assumptions, it is clear that this was not just piracy," says Mikhail Voitenko, editor of the Russian maritime journal Sovfrakht, which has been tracking unusual incidents on the high seas for decades. "I've never seen anything like this. These are some of the most heavily policed waters in the world. You cannot just hide a ship there for weeks without government involvement."


Read "Russia's Moves Raise Doubts About Obama's 'Reset.' "


See pictures of Somali pirates.

According to Voitenko and other experts, a secret cargo could have been hidden on the ship during the two weeks it spent in Kaliningrad for repairs, just before it picked up its Finnish haul of timber. Not contiguous with the rest of Russia, Kaliningrad is the country's westernmost enclave on the coast of the Baltic Sea, and is known as a hub for Russian smugglers. "Personally, I don't care about any missiles," Voitenko tells TIME. "I care about what they're doing with those sailors."


There are many governments, however, that would be more concerned about a possible missile shipment, especially if it were destined for the Middle East. Chief among them is Israel. In recent years, the Israeli government has consistently raised alarms about Russia's plans to sell MiG-31 fighter planes to Syria and its construction of a nuclear-power station in southwestern Iran. Negotiations with Moscow have been tough on these issues and relations often icy, as the Israeli President pointed out during his visit to Russia on Aug. 18, just as the mysteries behind the Arctic Sea's disappearance began to unfold. (Read "Medvedev and Obama: Sunshine in Moscow.")


"The most likely explanation is that the Israelis intercepted this cargo, which had been meant for Syria or Iran," says Yulya Latynina, a prominent political commentator and radio host on Echo of Moscow, a station owned by state-controlled gas giant Gazprom. "They will now use the incident as a bargaining chip with Russia over weapons sales in the region, while allowing Russia to save face by taking its empty ship back home." When contacted by TIME, both the Israeli Prime Minister's office and Mossad, Israel's secret service, declined to comment. (See pictures of 60 years of Israel.)


But in an Aug. 18 statement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said that Peres had discussed "the sale of Russian weapons and military hardware to countries hostile to Israel" with his Russian counterpart, Dmitri Medvedev, on that day during four hours of closed-door talks in the Russian city of Sochi. According to the statement, Peres "stressed that Israel has concrete proof of Russian weapons being transferred to terrorist organizations by Iran and Syria, especially to Hamas and Hizballah." A spokeswoman for the Israeli President declined to elaborate on any connection with the Arctic Sea. In a parallel statement, the Kremlin did not mention weapons sales, saying after the meeting that "we more clearly and precisely understand each other's positions."


Russia's chief investigator, Alexander Bastrykin, told official state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta that a band of new-age pirates, possibly in connivance with the crew, is all that lies behind the Arctic Sea mystery. But he did concede that there are questions that need answering. "We don't rule out the possibility that [the ship] was carrying more than just timber," he said, without elaborating further.


Speaking to TIME, NATO envoy Rogozin backed up the investigator's statement: "The cargo has to be checked to see if there was something illegal, something being smuggled." But he declined to comment on the theory of Israeli interception. "This is no longer a question for diplomats or for the military," he said. "It is now a question for the investigators, and they are carrying on with their work. We are also very curious to hear their findings." (See pictures of the face of modern piracy.)


When asked by TIME about the possibility that the Arctic Sea was carrying a secret cargo, Vladimir Voronov, deputy head of Oy Solchart Management - the Helsinki-based, Russian-run company that operates the ship - replied, "I don't know anything about a secret cargo. We're just a simple shipping firm, and from what we understand, our ship was hijacked."


According to investigator Bastrykin, a full search of the vessel will be carried out when the ship arrives at a Russian port in the next few weeks. But observers don't expect any revelations. "The versions we are getting from the Russian government do not fit into any logical parameters, and I don't think that will change," commentator Latynina says. "When people lie, they tend to lie consistently." http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090831/wl_time/08599191934200


Here`s the rub; at any time it chooses, Russia could unload conventional arms in Iraq with impunity. I say that it looks more like a Russian shipment to Syria bound for Lebanon or Iraq.
The Great Game never ends.

"Doesn`t the Danish police keep Christiana under their watchful eye?"

The Danish police don't claim to be anarchists - only those who live in Christiania claim to be anarchists.




"Spanish Anarchists had ruling committees; these are rulers who set laws to be obeyed."

Those committees are made up of EVERYBODY.

"It has been estimated by Sam Dolgoff, author of The Anarchist Collectives: Workers' Self-Management in the Spanish Revolution, that over 10 million people participated directly or at least indirectly in the Spanish Revolution[citation needed], which he claimed "came closer to realizing the ideal of the free stateless society on a vast scale than any other revolution in history."[1]

...

In almost all the industries, factories, mills, workshops, transportation services, public services, and utilities, the rank and file workers, their revolutionary committees, and their syndicates reorganized and administered production, distribution, and public services without capitalists, high salaried managers, or the authority of the state."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Revolution


If everyone is a ruler, it's the same as there being no rulers.

I will say it again ... for someone who posts a lot of opinions, you sure are afraid of doing a little research.



"No rulers, no leadership and no resistance either?"

Anarchism means "no rulers" - there was plenty of leadership and plenty of resistance to Franco ... and to anything that made no sense to those within any particular committee.






"Why will you not call ME nations` arms supply conduit an offensive move against Israel?"

Palestine ISN'T occupying Israel. Israel IS occupying Palestine. It isn't a crime to resist an occupation - it's only a crime to occupy.

The real criminals are not those who would supply the resistance to an occupation ... the real criminals are those who would supply the occupiers.

There is no Palestine. That`s a worn out Roman abomination exchanging Phillistine with Judea. The Romans tried to destroy Israel`s meaning from history. It did not succeed.
http://www.palestine-pmc.com/maps/Shufat_Wall_Map.jpg

What with all the wall building going on, it seems Israel is keeping people out. That is defending.





It looks like nation building within a walled city/principality. I`m thinking Israel is determined to keep jihad out of Israel.

"There is no Palestine. That`s a worn out Roman abomination exchanging Phillistine with Judea."

If there wasn't all those maps saying "Palestine" and all those people self-identifying as "Palestinians" I might agree with you.

It would be the same thing if Hitler had claimed there was no "Poland" because it was a "worn out Piast abomination superimposing Christianity upon the traditional pagan people" whom he identified with.

In fact, that's exactly what he did:

The name Third Reich (Drittes Reich, "Third Reich") refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German Empire of 1871–1918.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany


During the war, Nazi Germany directly annexed Alsace-Lorraine and Eupen-Malmedy which were lost in 1919 but also took over Luxembourg, the Sudetenland portions of the present-day Czech Republic, the mainly Slovene-speaking parts of Carinthia and Styria that became part of Yugoslavia after World War I and large parts of Poland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Germany

The Germanization policies were targeted particularly against the significant Polish minority of the empire, gained by Prussia in the Partitions of Poland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Empire


The Empire's territorial extent varied over its history, but at its peak it encompassed the Kingdom of Germany, the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Burgundy; territories embracing present-day Germany (except Southern Schleswig), Austria (except Burgenland), Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Slovenia (except Prekmurje), as well as significant parts of modern France (mainly Artois, Alsace, Franche-Comté, Savoie and Lorraine), Italy (mainly Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, and South Tyrol), and present-day Poland (mainly Silesia, Pomerania, and Neumark).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire



So what's the difference between Israel dismissing the existence of Palestine and Germany repeatedly denying the existence of Poland?

Anyone who touts Christiania as a nation would come to your twisted conclusion. The original Palestine was a Roman province which languished in the clutches of the dead Ottoman Empire until the Turkish rule was overturned as a direct consequence of siding with Germany during WWI. The British were given responsibility for governing these conquered territories. One such territory was named The British Mandate of Palestine. You seem oblivious to the fact that Judea was never completely abandonded by the Jews and that mass migration of Jews began pouring into this desolate land of malaria infested swamps and neglected land 100 years ago.
That the Israelis had the common sense it takes to seek recognition from the UN which won enough votes to be signed and ratified says a lot more than neighboring nations response; immediately after the UN declaration, these nations attacked Israel with their armies in an act of aggression.

The History Guy Website
Arab-Israeli Wars

See the Gaza Strip Conflict/Gaza War--New*

This page shows conflicts between the Arab nations (as a group), and Israel. As a rule, a legal state of war has existed between Israel and her Arab enemies since the beginning of the first war in 1948. Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, and Jordan made peace in 1994. The Palestine Authority, headed by Yassir Arafat and his Al-Fatah faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization negotiated a semi-peace, which, from mid-2000 on, has been destroyed through the "Al-Aqsa" Intifada violence. Other Palestinian groups, most notably Hamas, have been at war with Israel continuously. Although Israel and most Arab nations are technically in a continuous state of war, unless otherwise noted, specific outbreaks of fighting are considered to be separate wars.

Visit the History Guy's Arab-Israeli Wars Links Page.



Click on the blue links to access specific pages.

Israeli War of Independence/ "al-Nakba" (The Disaster) (1948-1949)--Upon independence, Israel was invaded by the armies of six Arab nations: Egypt, Syria, Transjordan (later Jordan), Lebanon, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. In addition, local Arab Palestinian forces also fought the Jewish Israelis.

Qibya Raid (October, 1951)—Israeli troops, led by Major Ariel Sharon (Israeli Prime Minister 2001-2006) destroyed dozens of buildings in the West Bank (Jordan) town of Qibya. Civilian deaths reached 69.
Egyptian Seizure of the Israeli ship Bat Galim (Summer, 1954)—Egypt seized the Israeli ship Bat Galim as it attempted to enter the Suez Canal. According to various international agreements, the Suez Canal is supposed to be accessible to ships of all nations. This provoked worsening tensions between Israel and Egypt.

Gaza Raid (Feb. 28, 1955)—Israeli forces conducted a raid, a response to repeated guerrilla attacks and the seizure of an Israeli ship by Egypt, resulted in the deaths of 51 Egyptian soldiers and 8 Israeli troops. This raid was the largest of its kind against Arab forces since the end of the First Arab-Israeli War in 1949.



The Sinai War (1956) [Also known as the Suez War]--The invasion and temporary conquest of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula by Israel, while France and Great Britain seized the Suez Canal.



Palestinian-Israeli Conflict (1960-Present)--Israel faced guerrilla and terrorist warfare from several Palestinian armies, most of whom united under the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by Yassir Arafat. Current fighting involves Israel against more religiously militant groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as against Arafat's Palestinian Authority. (This includes the Palestinian guerrilla warfare against Israel from the 1960's, original Intifada (1988-1992) and the current "Al-Aqsa" Intifada (2000-Present), and the West Bank (2004) and Gaza Invasions (2006) by Israel and the Palestinian suicide and rocket attacks which prompted those invasions. (See below.)

First al-Fatah (PLO) Raid (Dec. 31, 1964)—Yassir Arafat’s al-Fatah faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization conducted its first raid into Israel from Lebanon.
Israeli-Syrian Border and Air Battle (Nov. 13, 1964)—Israel and Syria both claimed sovereignty over several Demilitarized Zones along their border. These Zones were set up as part of the cease-fire ending the First Arab-Israeli War. Israel attempted to farm the land in these Zones, while Syria developed a project to divert water from the Jordan River, which Israel shared with both Syria and Jordan. Syrian forces often fired on Israeli tractors attempting to farm the Zones, while Israel looked for ways to interrupt the Syrian diversion project. On Nov. 13, 1964, Syrian forces stationed on the top of the Golan Heights, a plateau overlooking Israeli territory in the Jordan River valley, fired on Israeli tractors. Israeli forces returned fire. Syrian artillery then targeted Israeli civilian villages. Israel responded with air attacks on Syrian forces. This battle resulted in 4 Israeli dead and 9 wounded. Syrian losses included two tanks and machines involved in the diversion project. One result of this clash was Syria’s accelerated acquisition of more and better Soviet-made fighter planes. (Oren, 2001).

West Bank Raids (May 1965)—After Palestinian guerrilla raids resulting in the deaths of 6 Israelis, the Israeli military conducted raids on the West Bank towns of Qalqilya, Shuna and Jenin.

1966—Israel reported 93 incidents along its borders.

West Bank Raid (April 30 1966)—Israeli forces destroyed over two dozen houses in the West Bank town of Rafat, killing 11 civilians. This attack was in response to Palestinian raids on Israel. Most of these attacks on Israel

West Bank Raids (1966)—Israeli forces raided the Hebron area of the West Bank. These raids resulted in 8 civilian deaths and firefights with the Jordanian Army.

Israeli-Syrian Border Battles (Summer, 1966)—Continued artillery and tank duels along the Golan Heights front led to :

Israeli-Syrian Air Battle (July 7, 1966)—Responding to the continued fighting along the border, Israeli planes attacked Syrian forces, resulting in the loss of one Syrian MiG fighter plane.

Israeli-Syrian Air/Sea Battle (Aug. 15, 1966)—After an Israeli patrol boat ran aground on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee (according to the 1949 cease-fire agreement, Israeli forces were not supposed to approach within 250 meters of the eastern shore, which was a Demilitarized Zone), Syrian planes attacked it. Israel responded, shooting down two MiG planes.

Samu Raid (West Bank) (November 13, 1966)—Following a land mine explosion which killed three Israeli policemen and wounded one, Israel decided to launch a large retaliatory raid (called Operation Shredder) into the West Bank, to strike at a Palestinian (al-Fatah) guerrilla base near Hebron. Designed to show Israeli military strength, the raiding force consisted of 10 tanks, forty half-tracks (a troop transportation vehicle) and around 400 soldiers. The force enjoyed air cover from Israeli war planes. This force destroyed a police station at the town of Rujm al-Madfa’ and then moved on to the town of Samu’. As the Israelis demolished houses in Samu’, a small Jordanian force approached and was ambushed by the Israelis. This battle resulted in 15 Jordanian dead and 54 wounded. The leader of the Israeli ambush was killed and 10 of his men wounded. Israeli planes chased off the Jordanian air force, shooting down a Jordanian fighter plane. This raid also resulted in 3 Arab civilian deaths and 96 wounded.

Besides the large numbers of casualties (on both sides) from what was supposed to be a relatively swift and easy raid, Israel suffered diplomatic setbacks. The United States was quite upset over this large attack on one of Washington’s few Arab friends (Jordan’s King Hussein) and at the lack of response to the Syrians, who were the true sponsors of most Palestinian attacks in Israel. Riots broke out in Jordan at the seemingly ineffectual response of the Jordanian military and its apparent inability to protect Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. The Samu raid inflamed Arab public opinion in the Middle East and turned out to be one of the factors leading up to the Six-Day War of 1967.


The Six-Day War (1967)--In a rapid pre-emptive attack, Israel crushed the military forces of Egypt, Jordan and Syria and seized large amounts of land from each. Iraq also participated in the fighting on the Arab side.



The War of Attrition (1968-1970)--The War of Attrition was a limited border war fought between Egypt and Israel in the aftermath of the Six-Day War. It was initiated by Egypt as a way to recapture the Sinai Peninsula after losing it to Israel in 1967. A cease-fire in 1970 ended the fighting, but left the borders unchanged.



The Yom Kippur (Ramadan) War (1973)--In a surprise attack launched on the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday (the dates also fell on the Muslim Ramadan holiday), Egypt and Syria attacked Israel. Despite aid from Iraq, the Arab forces failed to defeat Israel.

Israeli Invasion of Lebanon (1978)--Operation Litani was the official name of Israel's 1978 invasion of Lebanon up to the Litani river. The invasion was a military success, as the Israeli military expelled the PLO from Southern Lebanon, where they had created a de facto state within a state. An international outcry over the invasion forced a partial Israeli retreat and the creation of a United Nations patrolled buffer zone between the Arab guerrillas and the Israeli military. See also The Israeli-Lebanon Conflict (1978-Present).



The Osirak Raid (1981)--An Israeli air attack on Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor.



The Israeli Invasion of Lebanon (1982-1984)--In response to repeated guerrilla attacks by the PLO, which were launched from South Lebanon, Israel invaded with the intent of destroying Arafat's forces. Syria, which maintained a large army in Lebanon, fought Israel and suffered an embarrassing defeat. See The Israeli-Lebanon Conflict (1978-Present).



The Israeli Occupation of South Lebanon (1984-2000)--As they withdrew from most of Lebanon seized in the 1982 invasion, Israel held onto a large part of Southern Lebanon with the aid of the "South Lebanon Army (SLA)," a militia set up and supported by Israel. This occupation was opposed by the PLO and other Palestinian groups as an extension of their long-running conflict with Israel. Also, other militia armies (mostly Lebanese Muslim groups), such as Hezbollah (supported by Iran and Syria), stepped up attacks on the Israeli-occupied region as well as on settlements and military targets in northern Israel. In 2000, Israel withdrew from Lebanon and the SLA disbanded. See The Israeli-Lebanon Conflict (1978-Present).

The First Intifada (1987-1993)--Urban uprising against Israeli rule in the West Bank and Gaza. The Oslo Peace Accords end the Intifada and lead to the formation of the Palestinian Authority with PLO Chief Yasser Arafat as the official leader of the Palestininans.


The Second Persian Gulf War (1991)--While Israel took no offensive action in this war, Iraq did launch Scud missiles which struck Israel and almost caused Israel's intervention in the Gulf War.

he "Al-Aqsa" Intifada--Urban guerrilla/commando war waged between Israel and various Palestinian groups, including Hamas. Between September, 2000 and, September, 2007: 4,453 Palestinians and 1,114 Israelis have been killed due to the escalating violence. (Source on casualties: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/text/2003911771_intifada29.html)

Israeli Air Strike on Syria (October, 2003)-- Israeli warplanes hit the Syrian village of Ain al-Saheb, near Damascus.
The Israeli-Hezbollah War (also known in Israel as "The Second Lebanon War (2006)--In response to repeated guerrilla attacks by the the Shiite Lebanese militia Hezbollah, Israel invaded southern Lebanon, set up a naval blockade, and launched a powerful bombing campaign in order to win the release of two captured Israeli soldiers. The Israeli-Lebanon Conflict (1978-Present).

Israeli Air Strike on Syria (Sept. 6, 2007)—Israeli warplanes overflew northern Syria, dropping ordnance on a (publicly) unknown target. According to both the New York Times and ABC News, the target was a nuclear facility being built with North Korean aid and assistance. See War and Conflict Journal's article on this attack.

The Gaza War (2008)--War between the Palestinian Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip and Israel. Began in December, 2008. http://www.historyguy.com/arab_israeli_wars.html


That the Arabs got the living shit kicked out of them for choosing war over negotiation puts them and their claims on the short end of the balance and creates a severe credibility gap in their bullshit statements. Had the Arabs truly wanted a two state solution, they never would have left such a festering wound of fallacy you call Palestine. Maybe you forget that many Arab states are members of the UN. Those who lived in The British Mandate of Palestine have been treated like dirt by their Arab neighbors; that is exactly why there is no longer a British Mandate of Palestine. Israel sought out justice, while the Arabs took up arms. They lost, Israel prevailed.

There is no Palestine.

"Anyone who touts Christiania as a nation would come to your twisted conclusion."

Look at the legal definition of "Nation":

"An independent body politic. A society of men united together for the purpose of promoting their mutual safety and advantage by the joint efforts of their combined strength." - Boviers Law Dictionary, 3rd Edition, 1984

"People distinct from other people, USUALLY because of language or government." - Pocket Dictionary of Canadian Law, 2nd Edition, 1995


Under those definitions, both Christiania and Palestine qualify as a "nation". What definition are you using?

Regardless, there were people living in Palestine before 1948 and they matter - regardless of your lame excuses why Israel should be allowed to kill them or starve them.






"There is no Palestine."

That's funny, because the map you provided directly below that statement says there IS a Palestine. In fact, I've provided you with links to millions of such maps. Can you find a map of the area (that wasn't made by Israelis) that doesn't have a "Palestine" on it?

"That the Arabs got the living shit kicked out of them for choosing war over negotiation ..."

There were no "negotiations" - they rejected the initial offer and their considerations were ignored.

What opportunity did they have to "negotiate"? None.

UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon hails peaceful mandate since 2006


www.chinaview.cn 2009-08-30 01:22:56 Print

BEIRUT, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said Saturday the past three years have been "the most peaceful" in UNIFIL's operation, despite a recent suspected Hezbollah's arms stockpiles in the south of the Arab country.

UNIFIL's deputy spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told reporters at the force' headquarters in Naqoura that south Lebanon remains calm in general and that UN peacekeepers are fully coordinating with the Lebanese army, adding that UNIFIL has good relations with locals.

He denied any attempts to increase or lower the number of peacekeepers serving with the mission in a later period.

The UNIFIL troops in Lebanon have been re-enforced by 5,000 peacekeepers after the war between Hezbollah and Israel in July 2006. There are currently 12,000 peacekeepers deployed in south Lebanon.

Regarding UNIFIL's relations with Lebanon, Hezbollah and Israel, Tenenti said UNIFIL has the full commitment of all these parties to fulfill its mission and "this was reiterated during the UN Security Council's meeting on Thursday."

The UN Security Council on Thursday extended the mandate of the UNIFIL for one year without amending its jurisdictions in Resolution 1884 which was drafted by France and endorsed by all 15member states.

The Resolution 1884 extends UNIFIL's mandate, which expires at the end of this month, till August 31, 2010, but does not introduce amendments to the peacekeeping force's powers.

UNIFIL is tasked with monitoring the 2006 ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel and the implementation of Resolution 1701. The Resolution 1884 praised UNIFIL's "positive role that helped the Lebanese army's deployment and the establishment a new strategic climate in the South."

UNIFIL, which was created and assigned by the United Nations in1978, is currently deployed in south of the Litani River in south Lebanon and primarily along the UN-drawn Blue Line, which was the withdrawal line for Israeli troops in 2000.

Resolution 1701 calls on all concerned sides to respect the ceasefire and the Blue Line, and prohibits any unauthorized arms in the operation area of UNIFIL.

However, an arms dump exploded on July 14 in the southern Lebanese village of Khirbet Silim. The UNIFIL and Israel called the incident a "serious violation of Resolution 1701," and Israel accused Hezbollah of stockpiling weapons after the 2006 war. UNIFIL is still investigating the blast.

Israeli President Shimon Peres earlier this week accused Hezbollah of having as many as 80,000 rockets aiming at Israel, which was hit back as "groundless" by Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-08/30/content_11964534.htm

You really believe that fucking dog that wrote that shit? That`s pathetic David.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/15/Pantani.jpg


Irgun emblem. The map shows the land claimed by the organization for the Jewish state, which corresponds to the British Mandate of Palestine: current Israel, West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jordan

The Irgun was a political predecessor to Israel's right-wing Herut (or "Freedom") party, which led to today's Likud party. Likud has led or been part of most Israeli governments since 1977.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irgun


http://www.amovingtrain.com/transmissions1/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/greater_israel.gif