Archived material Access restricted Article
Rantburg

Today's Front Page   View All of Fri 05/09/2008 View Thu 05/08/2008 View Wed 05/07/2008 View Tue 05/06/2008 View Mon 05/05/2008 View Sun 05/04/2008 View Sat 05/03/2008
1
2008-05-09 Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hezbollah seizes large parts of Beirut
Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.
Posted by Seafarious 2008-05-09 02:51|| || Front Page|| [2 views ]  Top

#1 Civil war is a natural state of Lebanon---the only stumbling block may be that Maronites are no longer capable of fighting. Still, I have great confidence in the Druze. Hopefully, the latest Olmert scandal will lead to early elections & prevent Israel from getting embroiled (every time Israel pulls America's chestnuts out of fire, we get rewarded with pressure to make more concessions to Paleos).
Posted by g(r)omgoru 2008-05-09 07:58||   2008-05-09 07:58|| Front Page Top

#2 Send Our Man Carter.
Posted by Perfesser 2008-05-09 09:18||   2008-05-09 09:18|| Front Page Top

#3 Man, the Druze are a permanent minority. They'll have to fold without the Sunni and the Christians.
Posted by Mitch H.">Mitch H.  2008-05-09 09:28|| http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/]">[http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/]  2008-05-09 09:28|| Front Page Top

#4 The White House urged Hezbollah to stop "disruptive" acts.

A limp wristed response if ever there was one.
Posted by wxjames 2008-05-09 09:55||   2008-05-09 09:55|| Front Page Top

#5 The world really needs "Al Manar TV." Those rat bastards concocted the story of "4000 Jews" taking a 9-11 holiday at the WTC. Hezbollah has allies: Lebanon does not. That has to change.
Posted by McZoid 2008-05-09 10:08||   2008-05-09 10:08|| Front Page Top

#6 Well Hezbollah has had control of much of south Beirut for many years so I'm not sure how much of a gain they have had.
Posted by mhw 2008-05-09 10:33||   2008-05-09 10:33|| Front Page Top

#7 if reporsts are to be believed, theyre taking over Sunni areas of West beirut as well
Posted by liberalhawk 2008-05-09 10:48||   2008-05-09 10:48|| Front Page Top

#8 I think that unless Hez pushes its control pretty far they are quite vulnerable to a blockade. The anti-Hezbollah groups, supported by Leb's army could, if they were serious, potentially surround the Hez areas.

Of course the Hez would claim 'we need to eat' and get arms smuggled in with the food but it would hurt the Hez triumphalist meme.
Posted by mhw 2008-05-09 11:50||   2008-05-09 11:50|| Front Page Top

#9 Leb army can't fight Hezbollah: it will disintegrate, just as it has before. They could fight the Paleos because the Paleos are 1) furriners and 2) hated. But the Hezbies are locals, for the most part, and they have plenty of support in the Shi'a south.

This isn't going to end well. I still think the March 14th movement precipitated this, thinking they were stronger than they really are. Nasrallah is going to show them.
Posted by Steve White">Steve White  2008-05-09 12:54||   2008-05-09 12:54|| Front Page Top

#10 Sounds like it's already over. There's a friend of Totten's in Beirut saying that Hizbullah is in control of the politically important parts of the capital. Aoun detached himself long enough to step in as a 'neutral' peacemaker.

It sucks, but I'm starting to think that Hizb won, and won fast.
Posted by Mitch H.">Mitch H.  2008-05-09 15:21|| http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/]">[http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/]  2008-05-09 15:21|| Front Page Top

#11 The friend of Totten points out that the Leb Army didn't fight at all!

Posted by mhw 2008-05-09 15:33||   2008-05-09 15:33|| Front Page Top

#12 we are lebanons ally, they just can't muster enough sthrength with iraq and afghan stuff goin on .
Posted by sinse 2008-05-09 16:42||   2008-05-09 16:42|| Front Page Top

#13 i said this yesterday , we have planes that they can't see or hear that we could use a few strikes too disentegrate hezzies main control. if iran can fight a proxy war then we can too
Posted by sinse 2008-05-09 16:44||   2008-05-09 16:44|| Front Page Top

#14 UN Angry, declares "Strong Letter to Follow"
Posted by Scott R 2008-05-09 18:20||   2008-05-09 18:20|| Front Page Top

#15 "The fate of Hebollah's weapons is at the heart of the political crisis" > NO, LEBANON's CRISES ARE NOW "SUB-CRISES" AS PER IRAN'S + RADICAL ISLAM'S DRIVE TO ACQUIRE STATEGIC WEAPONS -RETALIATORY CAPABILITIES. IMO, this is about helping to protect and empower Nuclear Iran while keeping any ISRAELI = USA, etc. GROUND FORCE RETALIATION BOGGED DOWN IN TIME-, LOGISTICS-, + ABOVE ALL POLITICS-CONSUMING, CASUALTY-INTENSIVE "WAR OF THE CITIES/RATS", ALA MIDEAT-SPECIFIC AYMMETRIC WARFARE.

Lest we fergit, CNN BLITZER SITUATION ROOM > OBAMA INTERVIEW - OBAMA stated that as POTUS he will initiate UNILATERAL PHASED, BUT MEASURED, US MILFORS WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ, NEGOTIATE WID IRAN, + REDIRECT US FOCII FROM IRAQ TO AFGHANISTAN-PAKI AGZ THE TALIBAN-AL QAEDA.

* BIGNEWSNETWORK > SAUDI KING CALLS FOR ECONOMIC ALLIANCE AMONG ALL MUSLIM NATIONS [includes CENTRAL ASIA states].

IOW, POTUS OBAMA 2008-2010 [2012?] = Iff POTUS Obama keeps his agenda, IRAN + RADICAL ISLAM ARE LIKELT TO GET THE LEAD TIME THEY WANT.

*SUB-IOW, IRAN + RADICAL ISLAM GET THEIR NUKES + STRATEGIC WEAPONS.

*SUB-SUB-IOW, ISLAMIST JIHAD-TERROR GET THEIR NUKES = NUCLEAR JIHAD-TERROR.

NUCLEAR JIHAD-TERROR ANYTIME AFTER 2010 or 2012???
Posted by JosephMendiola 2008-05-09 19:35||   2008-05-09 19:35|| Front Page Top

23:41 RD
22:59 JosephMendiola
22:57 Frank G
22:56 USN,Ret. (from home)
22:55 JosephMendiola
22:50 JosephMendiola
22:46 JosephMendiola
22:44 Frank G
22:33 Frank G
22:23 Eric Jablow
22:05 Anonymoose
22:00 JosephMendiola
21:58 lotp
21:55 JosephMendiola
21:54 GolfBravoUSMC
21:49 JosephMendiola
21:39 Frank G
21:38 JosephMendiola
21:35 trailing wife
21:30 Free Radical
21:23 JosephMendiola
21:21 trailing wife
21:18 JosephMendiola
21:14 JosephMendiola









Paypal:
Google
Search WWW Search rantburg.com