Long, but interesting report by Robert Fisk.

“With chaos stretching from Afghanistan to the Mediterranean, we have never lived in a more dangerous time. Over the next 7,000 words, our man in the Middle East looks back over a lifetime of covering war and death, and lays out a bleak future for all of us – one that even those living in the comfort of the Home Counties cannot escape”

The Age of Terror – a landmark report

“The terrorists attacked us and killed 3000 of our citizens, BEFORE we started our “Freedom Agenda” in the Middle East, they were…”

“What does Iraq have to do with what…” (the attack on the World Trade Center)

“Nothing”

“Except for its part of… Nobody ever suggested in this administration that Saddam Hussain ordered the attack. Iraq was a… a Iraq… the the the lesson of September 11th is take threats before they fully materialize Ken, nobodys ever suggested it, that the…”

see a longer version here

..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.

Some things that have happened very recently that stand out in my mind, and make me very uncomfortable knowing that these people are in charge of our government.

Vice President Dick Cheney shoots a fellow hunter (78 year old lawyer Harry Whittington) while hunting birds. Ever heard of muzzle awareness? Cheney obviously has not. It is basically paying attention to what your gun is aiming at. Also, wouldnt it be nice if those who are in charge also followed the rules that we are supposed to follow? Vice President Cheney was missing a $7 stamp allowing him to shoot upland game birds. Luckily for him, he had all the correct permits to hunt in Texas, minus the $7 stamp. I wonder how much the stamp is to shoot at lawyers? Find more info here.

Millions of dollars meant for Katrina aid ended up being spent on tattoos, beachfront condos, 10,000+ mobile homes stuck in the mud and unusable, condoms blah blah blah. Read more here.

And of course, the whole “why are we in the Middle East” question. The question about wiretapping and how much of our freedom needs to be removed to stay free? The questions about our dependance on oil and petroleum products vs. the industry preventing other means of energy and fuel to be either developed or released to the public.

I lost my momentum here, comments?

My opinion will have to remain constant here regarding the Middle East. How could our nation (or any other) stop a war that has been raging for longer than our own government has been in power? Death is what keeps the Middle East functioning. There will be death and killing there if our troops are there or not. Roadside bombings and suicide bombings in public will still happen if we have a strong military presence there or not… Whats the point of all the troops there now? The government that is put in place there will still crumble and be taken over by aggressive militants, just like always. I thought everyone knew that history always repeats itself? Help me change my opinion if I am wrong.

Korea #2

I land in the Incheon International Airport in Seoul Korea. I head down to the baggage claim area and await the one bag that didnt get lost. (Im glad this bag wasnt lost since it contained my PS2 and all my CDs, DVDs, and PS2 games) As I am waiting for my bag to circle around, a little old man came over and asked if I was coming in for the Army (the shaved head and confused look must have given me away). I told him yes, and he said to head over to the counter on the far wall to find him once I am ready.

Before I go and find the little old man, I first want to check the status on my duffle bag. When in LA, the airline said that they would send it to Korea for me and make sure it got to the Baggage Office there in Seoul. Once I got through the line (it seems that Koreans dont belive in lines, you just cut in when you see a chance) I found out that the people at the airport didnt have a clue about my bag, or anything regarding my bag. I filled out some paper work stating that I had lost some luggage and they said they would keep their eye out for it. So I left once again not knowing if I would ever get that military duffle bag again.

The little old man who told me to find him, was no where to be found. I wandered out of the gate and found the main part of the terminal. I saw some other military guys (can see the big green duffle bag and shaved head a mile away) and followed them out to the bus.

The lady at the bus asked me if I had signed in yet at the USO. I didnt, so she took me in to sign in. As I was signing the sheet, the bus driver came in and said that he had to leave so we better hurry. Once again I am almost late/ barely getting to where I need to be on this Korean adventure. I load my bags and get on the bus. The bus ride lasts about an hour and we see some of the South Korean landscape. Lush hills, little huts, muddy rivers, little trucks mostly all made by Kia, some Kia SUVs, and some little moped bikes.

The bus pulls into the Hamilton Hotel downtown Seoul. We exit the bus, get a free room (with a room mate) and are left on our own. No warnings about the night life, or the water, or even how to use the phones. A few guys and I head down to Pizza Hut (wow, pizza is my 1st meal in a foreign country, can you believe it?) and get dinner. No one there really spoke english, but they had a half english menu. The pizzas there are about the same price as they would be in the states. They also taste the exact same. I paid the bill in US dollars, and got change in Korean Won. One dollar equals about 1220 Won.

The television had WWF wrestling overdubbed in Korean. ha. I went to sleep after spending about 30 minutes trying to get a phone card, and then getting the phone to work. Sleeping.

I got up early, showered and met everyone downstairs to head to Camp Mobile to start inprocessing into our units (and to figure out where exactly in South Korea we all were going). The inprocessing started, and I found out that I was heading to Camp Garry Owen. The closest deployed camp to the DMZ (North and South Korea border). Still no word on my luggage.

We spend the next 2 days doing inprocessing stuff such as, getting more issued gear, getting new ID cards, and other random in-efficient paperwork. Finally on Wed. Aug 6th, my luggage shows up at Camp Mobile (where I am doing my inprocessing). Nice.

The next day, on Thursday August 7th, I am picked up and taken to Camp Garry Owen. It is a bumpy 1.5 hour drive in the back of a HMWWV sitting on little wooden slats. The Army isnt about personal comfort. hehe. Some of the Korean country side smells like a very dirty river, almost like a water sewage treatment plant. I think it is because they fertilize their crops with human and animal waste. yummy.

I arrive at Camp Garry Owen, furthest deployed unit other than the guys over in the Middle East doing actual fighting.

More to come in Korea #3.

When you make a decision for either side maybe you should take into account the bad as well as the good. In the Times today there is a very good article about Israeli’s who are refusing to obey orders. Once I’d finished it I realised maybe for the first time just how difficult it is for ordinary people on both sides to deal with the current situation. Does anyone remember who hit who first and does it really matter anymore? It’s been going on for so long now… Let me share with you a true story.

This week I visited my Pastor and inevitably our chat got around to the Middle East. It turns out we have very different views about which side we support. Then our British black sense of humour took control. He suggested that he would strap explosives to himself and blow himself up in our living room while I went round his place and bulldozed it (hence an earlier comment).We laughed ourselves silly but as I was driving home I realised just how silly it all is. You hit me, I hit you and centuries later our descendants are still doing it because it’s always been that way. You can be educated, intelligent and spiritual even, but when it comes down to it all we truly know is how to kill each other in even more elaborate ways.

Pew Chat. In an innocent conversation with a visitor to our congregation I found out where (not exactly where mind) the world’s largest database of terrorists is….. “It’s not safe anywhere.”

Rosie

OK bring it on!

In yesterdays “Times” (I’m so glad I swapped to them) a retired Egyptian police officer wrote a letter about Israel (dont get me started…) and how Israel has a “regional monopoly” of weapons and that the US “must work to make the Middle-East a nuclear free zone.” There is no chance in hell Israel would ever give up her defences surrounded as she is by enemies of differing capabilities weak or strong. I am sure down to my toenails she would never use pre-emptive force unless she absolutely had to.

It could be much much worse though. What if she still had the Ark of the Covenant with a fully operational temple? How would the UN Administration legislate for that? “Excuse me but would you mind moving The Ancient of Days from this planet? He is far too dangerous for us….” Would it interest you to know that plans are well ahead for rebuilding a temple in Jerusalem? Watch out world it’s what you don’t see…..

Anyway, (puff pant) that’s off my chest. My next article will be about “something completely different” to coin an overworked phrase :)
Rosie
(Great article wife of UT! Excellent excellent!)