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| Middle East |
| More on Israelâs Insane Prisoner Swap |
| 2003-11-10 |
| Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharonâs Cabinet narrowly approved on Sunday a prisoner exchange with the Lebanese group Hizballah that had run into strong opposition in Israel over the exclusion of a long-missing Israeli airman. If Israelis saw the exclusion of the airman as the main problem, then Israel might in fact be ready to give up. Some 400 jailed Palestinians and Lebanese are to be traded for Elhanan Tannenbaum, a kidnapped Israeli businessman, and the bodies of three Israeli soldiers. It was not immediately clear when or where the exchange would take place. Four hundred prisoners, many of them have killed Israelis already, for a lone businessman! Hizballah declined to comment immediately upon hearing that Israel had accepted the deal. Hizballah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said on Saturday the swap was off if it did not include all Lebanese prisoners. After such unequal deal, the murderous Sheik still asks for concessions! The army chief, Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, was in favor, saying the price to be paid was reasonable, while the head of the Mossad, Meir Dagan, warned the exchange would boost Hizballahâs standing in the Arab world. You mean to tell me it takes the head of the Mossad to see such elemental truth? Sharon brushed aside the criticism, and told ministers that the ailing Tannenbaum â who reportedly was tortured and had all his teeth pulled by his captors â would die in Lebanon if the deal was rejected. And many more Israelis will die due to the foolishness of the exchange. However, opponents said the price is too high. âThe message that will be given by a yes vote is clear, that kidnapping really pays,â said Uzi Landau, a Cabinet minister without portfolio. âI shall vote against.â Worse yet, it will send the message that Israel is a morally weak State, ready for its destruction. But the enemies of Islam were not always this feeble.... As narrated in Warriors of God, a book I recently reviewed, Richard the Lionheart approached negotiation in a decidedly different manner. After Richard negotiated a prisoner swap with two of Saladinâs subordinates, Saladin begins to stall, hoping to delay the Crusaders while reinforcing his own Army every day. Richard would take none of it, and thus sent the Sultan an ultimatum: abide by the agreement, or watch every prisoner die. Saladin probably thought such threat a desperate bluff. On the day the swap was to take place, Crusaders marched the muslim prisoners to a field, where they all died by the sword on Richardâs orders. The Crusader King was not bluffing at all. |
| Posted by:Sorge |
| #15 Jarhead, you've been watching "Running Man". Of course, that was a collar around their neck. Just implant a tracking device, or just start a rumor that you did. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-11-10 4:34:00 PM |
| #14 Before release, I would surgically insert a C-4 capsule into the base of their neck. Put a radio chip w/it. Kind of like a dog collar & an invisible fence. If they attempt to come back into Irsaeli territory the C-4 explodes enough to take their head clean off but that's about it. Human rights' f*cks would bitch but it would be damn funny to see....... |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2003-11-10 3:00:06 PM |
| #13 ..the 400 prisoners have not been convicted of killing Israelis, They haven't killed any Israelis YET. This exchange is likely to provide a second chance (and more, even) to remedy that little oversight.... |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-11-10 2:14:56 PM |
| #12 Carl; the 400 prisoners have not been convicted of killing Israelis, that's rather differnent that not having actually killed Israelis. |
| Posted by: Sorge 2003-11-10 12:18:12 PM |
| #11 d'oh - for "Hamas" in the above read "Hizbullah". Yeah, I can't keep them straight, good thing the nation's security does not depend on me... |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H. 2003-11-10 12:14:29 PM |
| #10 Four hundred prisoners, many of them have killed Israelis already The news this AM said the deal was that the 400 to be exchanged did not kill anybody. The current sticking point is that Hamas changed the terms of the deal to demand the release of some Mo that actually has killed somebody, and the Israelis will not release him. |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H. 2003-11-10 12:12:41 PM |
| #9 I sure hope that Israel has a Brilliant Plan⢠behind this swap, because on the surface, it seems insane. My little voice that keeps me alive says this is all wrong. I hope my little voice is wrong this time. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-11-10 11:47:40 AM |
| #8 Israeli Defense Minister, Shaul Mofaz, has hinted that his country was ready to stage a massive hostage-taking campaign against Lebanon that could include the abduction of Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. If the trade ratio currently is 400:1, what do you get for snatching Nasrallah? They are convinced that Israel would never be able to grab the heavily guarded Nasrallah. But if he fights to the death during the attempt would that be a bad thing? And if his bodyguards defended him with all their blood (minimum 4 liters each), would that be so terrible? |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-11-10 11:37:21 AM |
| #7 If I had 400 insane prisoners, I would get rid of them too. The cost of the meds... |
| Posted by: john 2003-11-10 9:49:18 AM |
| #6 Implants, buddy, implants. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-11-10 9:25:28 AM |
| #5 Israel should have problems sending its own agents with the group. Remember these are prisoners Hizbollah asked for, and so are unlikely to be turned. |
| Posted by: Sorge 2003-11-10 9:07:54 AM |
| #4 Here's another option: Israeli Defense Minister, Shaul Mofaz, has hinted that his country was ready to stage a massive hostage-taking campaign against Lebanon that could include the abduction of Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Israeli newspapers said Monday the mood of Ariel Sharon's cabinet is one of wresting the abduction initiative from Hizbullah by kidnapping scores of Lebanese figures, including high-ranking Hizbullah leaders, if Nasrallah rejects the last-minute terms the Israeli cabinet has added to the swap deal. According to Monday's reports, Mofaz had, when he was army chief of staff, drawn a carefully thoughtout plan for the abduction of Nasrallah from his headquarters in south Beirut, but that the government at the time refused to approve this plan. The resurrection of Nasrallah's abduction is seen by Israeli media analysts as a psychological gimmick designed to terrorize Nasrallah into taking Israel's new stance on the swap deal into careful consideration and avert a reckless reaction. They are convinced that Israel would never be able to grab the heavily guarded Nasrallah. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-11-10 9:01:21 AM |
| #3 as I noted yesterday, the Hizb paranoia will kill many of these prisoners. They don't know who turned or not... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-11-10 8:47:27 AM |
| #2 "Remember however that of the 400 prisoners, some will be Israeli agents who will have a chance to get close to some real Hizb biggies" You really don't know that for certain. You are just hoping. I do hope you are right, but it's again just that: a hope. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2003-11-10 8:13:22 AM |
| #1 No doubt there are legit concerns with the deal. Remember however that of the 400 prisoners, some will be Israeli agents who will have a chance to get close to some real Hizb biggies. Also, some of the 400 will go to Paleo camps in Lebanon and scout out the AlQ and Hamas presense there. A |
| Posted by: mhw 2003-11-10 7:51:37 AM |