http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/081206.html > > Israeli Leaders Fault Bush on War > > By Robert Parry > August 13, 2006 > > Amid the political and diplomatic fallout from Israels faltering > invasion of Lebanon, some Israeli officials are privately blaming > President George W. Bush for egging Prime Minister Ehud Olmert into > the ill-conceived military adventure against the Hezbollah militia > in south Lebanon. > > Bush conveyed his strong personal support for the military > offensive during a White House meeting with Olmert on May 23, > according to sources familiar with the thinking of senior Israeli > leaders. > > Olmert, who like Bush lacks direct wartime experience, agreed that > a dose of military force against Hezbollah might damage the > guerrilla groups influence in Lebanon and intimidate its allies, > Iran and Syria, countries that Bush has identified as the chief > obstacles to U.S. interests in the Middle East. > > As part of Bushs determination to create a new Middle East one > that is more amenable to U.S. policies and desires Bush even > urged Israel to attack Syria, but the Olmert government refused to > go that far, according to Israeli sources. > > One source said some Israeli officials thought Bushs attack-Syria > idea was nuts since much of the world would have seen the bombing > campaign as overt aggression. > > In an article on July 30, the Jerusalem Post referred to Bushs > interest in a wider war involving Syria. Israeli defense officials > told the Post last week that they were receiving indications from > the US that America would be interested in seeing Israel attack > Syria, the newspaper reported. > > While balking at an expanded war into Syria, Olmert did agree on > the need to show military muscle in Lebanon as a prelude to facing > down Iran over its nuclear program, which Olmert has called an > existential threat to Israel. > > With U.S. forces bogged down in Iraq, Bush and his neoconservative > advisers saw the inclusion of Israeli forces as crucial for > advancing a strategy that would punish Syria for supporting Iraqi > insurgents, advance the confrontation with Iran and isolate > Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. > > But the month-long war has failed to achieve its goals of > destroying Hezbollah forces in south Lebanon or intimidating Iran > and Syria. > > Instead, Hezbollah guerrillas fought Israeli troops to a virtual > standstill in villages near the border and much of the world saw > Israels bombing raids across Lebanon which killed hundreds of > civilians as disproportionate. > > Now, as the conflict winds down, some Israeli officials are ruing > the Olmert-Bush pact on May 23 and fault Bush for pushing Olmert > into the conflict. > > Building Pressure > > Soon after the May 23 meeting in Washington, Israel began to > ratchet up pressure on the Hamas-led government in the Palestinian > territories and on Hezbollah and other Islamic militants in > Lebanon. As part of this process, Israel staged low-key attacks in > both Lebanon and Gaza. [For details, see Consortiumnews.com A > Pretext War in Lebanon.] > > The tit-for-tat violence led to the Hamas seizure of an Israeli > soldier on June 24 and then to Israeli retaliatory strikes in Gaza. > That, in turn, set the stage for Hezbollahs attack on an Israeli > outpost and the capture of two more Israeli soldiers on July 12. > > Hezbollahs July 12 raid became the trigger that Bush and Olmert > had been waiting for. With the earlier attacks unknown or > forgotten, Israel and the U.S. skillfully rallied international > condemnation of Hezbollah for what was called an unprovoked attack > and a kidnapping of Israeli soldiers. > > Behind the international criticism of Hezbollah, Bush and Olmert > justified an intense air campaign against Lebanese targets, killing > civilians and destroying much of Lebanons commercial > infrastructure. Israeli troops also crossed into southern Lebanon > with the intent of delivering a devastating military blow against > Hezbollah, which retaliated by firing Katyusha rockets into Israel.. > > However, the Israeli operation was eerily reminiscent of the > disastrous U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Like the U.S. > assault, Israel relied heavily on shock and awe air power and > committed an inadequate number of soldiers to the battle. > > Israeli newspapers have been filled with complaints from soldiers > who say some reservists werent issued body armor while other > soldiers found their equipment either inferior or inappropriate to > the battlefield conditions. > > Israeli troops also encountered fierce resistance from Hezbollah > guerrillas, who took a page from the Iraqi insurgents by using > explosive booby traps and ambushes to inflict heavier than expected > casualties on the Israelis. > > Channel 2 in Israel disclosed that several top military commanders > wrote a letter to Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, the chief of staff, > criticizing the war planning as chaotic and out of line with the > combat training of the soldiers and officers. [Washington Post, > Aug. 12, 2006] > > One Israeli plan to use llamas to deliver supplies in the rugged > terrain of south Lebanon turned into an embarrassment when the > animals simply sat down. > > Reporter Nahum Barnea, who traveled with an Israeli unit in south > Lebanon, compared the battle to the famous Tom and Jerry cartoons > with the powerful Israeli military playing the role of the cat Tom > and the resourceful Hezbollah guerrillas playing the mouse Jerry. > In every conflict between them, Jerry wins, Barnea wrote. > > Olmert Criticized > > Back in Israel, some leading newspapers have begun calling for > Olmerts resignation. > > If Olmert runs away now from the war he initiated, he will not be > able to remain prime minister for even one more day, the newspaper > Haaretz wrote in a front-page analysis. You cannot lead an entire > nation to war promising victory, produce humiliating defeat and > remain in power. > > You cannot bury 120 Israelis in cemeteries, keep a million > Israelis in shelters for a month and then say, Oops, I made a > mistake. [See Washington Post, Aug. 12, 2006] > > For his part, Bush spent July and early August fending off > international demands for an immediate cease-fire. Bush wanted to > give Olmert as much time as possible to bomb targets across Lebanon > and dislodge Hezbollah forces in the south. > > But instead of turning the Lebanese population against Hezbollah > as Washington and Tel Aviv had hoped the devastation rallied > public support behind Hezbollah. > > As the month-long conflict took on the look of a public-relations > disaster for Israel, the Bush administration dropped its resistance > to international cease-fire demands and joined with France in > crafting a United Nations plan for stopping the fighting. > > Quoting a senior administration official with Bush at his ranch > in Crawford, Texas, the New York Times reported that it > increasingly seemed that Israel would not be able to achieve a > military victory, a reality that led the Americans to get behind a > cease-fire. [NYT, Aug. 12, 2006] > > But the repercussions from Israels failed Lebanon offensive are > likely to continue. Olmert must now confront the political damage > at home and the chief U.S. adversaries in the Middle East may be > emboldened by the outcome, more than chastened. > > As in the Iraq War, Bush has revealed again how reliance on tough > talk and military might can sometimes undercut not build up > U.S. influence in the strategically important Middle East. > > Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for > the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, Secrecy & > Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, can be > ordered at secrecyandprivilege.com. It's also available at > Amazon.com, as is his 1999 book, Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, > the Press & 'Project Truth.'
______________________________ Alfred Lambremont Webre, JD, MEd Institute for Cooperation in Space 3339 West 41 Avenue Vancouver, B.C. V6N3E5 CANADA TEL: 604-733-8134 FAX: 604-733-8135 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ICIS: http://www.peaceinspace.com EXOPOLITICS: http://www.exopolitics.com CAMPAIGN: http://www.peaceinspace.org U.N. DECADE OF CONTACT http://www.peaceinspace.net __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Reading only, http://dear.to/ppi 4. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
