..and perhaps I don’t get as much time surfing as I used to, but this made me laugh. If you don’t know the story behind the pictures…where have you been?

So…this little thing going on in the sand lot we call the Middle East. On the toilet you might find me, reading books and letting the tops of my legs numb through extended sessions sitting on the seat. Apparently it is also strange that I can be found there with no real reason. Perhaps it is sanctuary, but it is one of the few places I can go to chill out and catch up on the rest of the world. Oh, and I have a laptop now also, which makes you wonder where I am as I write this crap. See, crap breeds crap. Anyhow….I started reading this book on the history of Middle East war so I might try and understand a little more. Mate, it is a very indepth and complex subject, but interesting nonetheless. However, I got bored after a while and I am currently reading about Nazi Gold and the Holocaust. Anyway….the point is….what is this thing that is going on between Israel, Lebanon etc? Below is a brief overview which I pasted from BBC news. Shall we discuss this or not? Im trying to formulate some thoughts on the whole picture. I can talk enough about my opinions on the Gulf, but Im trying to work out who I blame for all of this and why certain people have such a vested interest in the money to be made from this conflict.

How did the current crisis start?

The Hezbollah raid into Israel, in which eight Israeli soldiers were killed and two were captured, was a stunning and provocative attack.

Lebanon has seen the first Israeli land incursion since 2000

Some have argued that Hezbollah wanted to test new Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is an unknown quantity as far as military crises go.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said that the soldiers were captured to pressure Israel to release the thousands of Palestinian prisoners in its jails.

The raid was clearly a gesture of solidarity towards the Palestinian militants in Gaza who have been holding an Israeli soldier since 25 June.

Hezbollah may also have had an eye on its own situation in Lebanon where there has been increasing pressure for it to disarm.

How has Israel reacted?

The result of the raid is that Israel is fighting on two fronts. Israeli officials have cast the Hezbollah raid as an act of war and responded with air strikes, shelling and a sea blockade, threatening operations that will “turn back the clock in Lebanon by 20 years”.

The immediate aim seems to be, as in Gaza, to build up massive pressure on the Lebanese government and the Lebanese population. Civilian casualties in Lebanon have been high and the damage to civilian infrastructure wide-ranging.

Thousands of foreigners have fled the country and there are increasing fears of a humanitarian catastrophe.

The Israeli strikes on targets other than Hezbollah installations are at least in part punitive – power installations, roads and the international airport have been hit.

What can the Lebanese government do about the situation?

Ordinary Lebanese civilians have been the main victims of the current crisis in terms of deaths and injuries.

Thousands have become internal refugees, seeking safety in areas that are not being bombed by Israel.

The country is dealing with a massive Israeli bombing campaign and a number of small land incursions. Since 2000, when Israel ended a 22-year occupation of the south, clashes on the border have been small affairs.

Israel has made it absolutely clear that it holds the Lebanese government responsible for the kidnapping of its soldiers by Hezbollah.

Many analysts see this as unfair.

Even though Hezbollah is operating from Lebanese territory and the militant group has two ministers in the Lebanese government, central government is almost powerless to influence the militant group.

It is the Hezbollah militia that is deployed in southern Lebanon, not the Lebanese army.

The group is also very popular in Lebanon and highly respected for its political activities, social services and its military record against Israel.

Most Lebanese may believe that Hezbollah’s capture of the two Israeli soldiers is deeply irresponsible. There is anger that the country is again being pitched towards war, but this is unlikely to translate into widespread anger towards Hezbollah.

Is there any way out of this crisis?

Israeli officials have insisted that there will be no direct negotiation with Hezbollah or Hamas over the return of its soldiers, and no Palestinian prisoner releases.

In the past, Israel has negotiated with Hezbollah and released hundreds of prisoners, but Israeli officials are now talking about a changed situation and new rules.

In both Gaza and Lebanon, the Israeli military appears to be using the opportunity afforded by the crisis to damage Hezbollah and Hamas as military organisations. A few days into the crisis, Israel demanded the disarming of Hezbollah and deployment of the Lebanese army to the southern border with Israel as pre-conditions for a ceasefire.

All sides are for now taking hardline positions, but it’s difficult to see how the Israelis are going to get their soldiers back without some kind of ceasefire followed by negotiations that will almost certainly involve prisoner releases.

Will the conflict spread?

We’re not yet at the stage of a regional conflict.

Much will depend on whether Israel extends its military operations to take in Syria and Iran, Hezbollah’s sponsors and supporters. Officials have already laid much of the blame for the escalating crisis on Damascus and Tehran.

Iran and Syria are also the states that can influence Hezbollah more than anyone else.

Inevitably the role of the US, in restraining Israel and pushing the various parties towards some kind of ceasefire may at some later date be crucial.

The first signs of an international diplomatic intervention emerged when the UN’s Kofi Annan and British PM Tony Blair called for the deployment of an international force in Lebanon.

But this may be some way off, if it gets off the ground at all.

It’s widely believed that the Washington has given the Israelis a window in which to continue its bombardment of Lebanon and degrade Hezbollah’s military capability.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice might be headed to the Middle East at the end of the week. Should this go ahead, it might signal that Washington is ready to put its weight behind attempts to achieve a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, questions surrounding the disarmament of Hezbollah, as demanded by the UN Security Council, have been pushed way into the background for now. As are Mr Olmert’s big plans for disengaging from parts of the West Bank.

Are war crimes being committed in the current conflict?

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has said that war crimes could have been committed in the current conflict.

She said international law stressed the need to protect civilians, and insisted that there was an obligation on all parties to respect the “principle of proportionality”.

She was even-handed and did not name particular leaders, but suggested that some leaders might be considered personally responsible for the alleged war crimes.

“Indiscriminate shelling of cities constitutes a foreseeable and unacceptable targeting of civilians. Similarly, the bombardment of sites with alleged military significance, but resulting invariably in the killing of innocent civilians, is unjustifiable,” she said.

Who says terrorism doesn’t pay? They will take out your hamster and shoot it if they want the cage. Perhaps anti-terrorist members should spend some time living in Israel; they would learn more there in 3 months than in any other place. The fact that they love death more than life is not news to my ears. I have heard this all before in Israel years ago. Time for the rest of the world to catch up.

In fact I considered blowing up my kitchen and claiming for it on our insurance. Only problem is my kitchen has a history of blowing up… I remember the dreadful “foil in the microwave” episode… grisly…

WR

Erm… nice try Israel I can see where you were going with that one. There are other options of course and these are 1) Brit Style arrange an accident 2) Ship him to France where he would be neglected to death 3) Yank Style go in all guns blazing….

Diary entry Sept 11 2001 There is none; if I’d have kept a diary I could have dealt with the images a whole lot better.

Diary Entry Sept 11 2002 “On a day like today to know God’s peace is a miracle indeed.”

Diary Entry Sept 11 2003 “In this massive game of Runaround it is possible to think you are standing on the wrong square.” “So how did you overcome? I finally got around to using my faith as a weapon and not a crutch.”

WR

Oh dear I cant compete with my two counterparts as I got rid of my uniform back in 19canteen…
What I can say is although I am a Brit I love the the desert; I like the extremes of temperatures. Does that make me some kind of nutter? I had enough rain for 6 months last year.

I was always sporty and didnt mind runs etc etc. It was always something I could beat the guys at…that and being a very good shot.

Bet thats annoyed you two =)

These days I dont like heat unless its air-conditioned and I dont even run for a bus…..

I imagine the UN (in doing nothing there is only death…) will bring all sorts of stuff with them UT. Hang on and hopefully the temporary politicians will send along more help.

Rosie (Dont divide Israel, you dont know Who you are playing with.)

Errr, it seems my two mates are off fighting for their countries leaving me to hold the fort. A proper place for a female too I should add.
Does this mean that Rosie (raving fundamentalist evangelical Christian) is going to take the site over?

What I am going to do is try 1) to keep the website active by writing an online diary of the war (if there is one). 2) Find any snippets of info out there I think you should know about…. and that won’t be much =)

Currently there are an awful lot of prophets out there who think they know what is going to happen next. I’m not one of them. Psalm 74 verse 9. “We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet, neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.” (KJV) What I can tell you is that I feel doors are shutting that won’t open again… ever. It must have felt like this in Noah’s ark. That time God shut the door.

Israel better watch out. America is so busy doing other tasks that this may be an undiscovered weak spot for her.

Mob and UT. There is nothing like support for what you are doing. I support you guys in my time and my prayers. Rosie.

(Don’t let anything take you by surprise….)

I just don’t think America can fight all these conflicts all in a oner. I see even the politicians are talking about war being only an option and this is the right road to take. I have a really hard time defining what a threat is from an unruly nation state to a lone idiot trying to make anthrax to kill his neighbours. Who is pure anymore?

Another good reason for not going to war is we just simply don’t have the music for it. Have you noticed? Back in ’83 and ’91 we had some real trench routing music. Now it’s all pastic pop or all about lurvvve (sigh). Imagine trying to warm up your tank to Las Ketchup or ramming your magazine in to Cheeky Girls….. WAH! Early 80′s Ultravox or anything by the KLF or Clash….

I read in the Times today there are more people on anti-depressants than those that voted for Pop Idol.

Israel? Yes I am a fan but they are not perfect. They suffer from the same problems politically that most of us do. We get the leaders we deserve and God help us all for that.

Rosie. SAS item coming later….

War? where?
Im not entirely convinced it would be a war as such, more a trouncing. Do I think something will happen? Yes. Albeit that it might be a downpour of bombs, but if you want a regime change, you best go in and spoil the party.
I read on thursday that US Forces had occasion to return fire on a lone gunman who injured a Soldier on the Pakistani border. Having missed the gunman with small arms fire they called in an airstrike onto a house where the gunman had fled. The resulting 500lb bomb dropped on the house did the job I think, but what struck me was the mass of ordanance put onto one man. Is it really cost effective to train so many to do such a job? I call that extravegant use of force, but then I know that the Brits couldnt afford to work that way. Oh well.
Next. Now I know Rosie is a fan of Israel and its people, which causes no problems to me, but I cant help thinking that Sharron is a bit of a nutcase. I dont know enough about what has happened or is going on with Israel/Palestine to rant about it, but Im not so sure that US support for Israel is always justified. Having read that Sharron has allowed troops to go in all guns blazing to areas where suspected Pal Terrorists are and then women and kids are shot, Im not pleased that anyone would back this action. Can I give you a name for this place? No…I forgot it. I shall do better next time.
Thats my blithering for today.

Brits have been bombed as long as there has been bombs. A Brit can hardly travel abroad without finding out Brits had been there before them and caused some sort of trouble. It’s the fear of sudden death that’s the problem. Anybody can die at any time and find themselves in eternity without knowing it. And then you want to start worrying about where you’ll spend it?

An atheist; someone with no invisible means of support. A recently elected politician in Israel is quoted as saying that he is “not religious and does not believe in God.” I don’t think He’s worried for a moment. To me that statement makes no sense at all. I’m not religious and I DO believe in God. Go figure lads!

White Rose