Diplomacy and the Hounds of Hell, Part X

So, al Qaeda feels like everyone is forgetting about them, so Zawahiri had to make a video showing that he's still relevant and that he's calling for worldwide jihad in support of his 'brothers' in Lebanon. Never mind that the moment the jihadis would win against the West, they'd go back to slaughtering each other en masse (and witness that they've got no problems killing each other in Iraq). And never mind that the jihadis have been getting defeated everywhere you look - despite the media reports, Hizbullah, Hamas, PIJ, and al Qaeda have all been losing men and materials, which limits their capabilities to conduct mass casualty attacks abroad. This isn't to say that they can't strike, only that we're taking the fight to the jihadis - hence the pep talks to the jihadis from Nasrallah.

Meanwhile, the Israelis continue pushing ahead albeit in a limited fashion and the thought occurred to me - what if the West simply isn't ruthless enough to win. We know the terrorists are ruthless - they'll blow up themselves, civilians, and everything around them to win. The West does everything possible to avoid blowing up everything around their targets, and will even call off missions to avoid hitting anything but the target.

Do we need to be more ruthless to win against a ruthless enemy? I think the answer is yes, as troubling as it sounds. The terrorists know that they can hide behind civilians - and know that the media will carry water for them - blaming the nations defending themselves from the terrorism for civilian casualties. That mindset must be broken once and for all.

Ed Morrissey has more details on the Canadian soldier killed at the UN outpost and his emails to superior officers.

The penultimate paragraph of Major Hess-von Kruedener's e-mail is prophetic, to say the least: "The closest artillery has landed within two metres of our position and the closest 1,000-pound aerial bomb has landed 100 metres from our patrol base. This has not been deliberate targeting, but has rather been due to tactical necessity."

This is what we call "veiled speech" in military jargon. It means hiding the truth in lingo that outsiders would not necessarily understand. What he is saying translates roughly as: "We have Hezbollah fighters all over our position engaging the IDF and using us as shields. They will probably stay, hoping that the IDF won't target them for fear of hitting us."

This reinforces and supports the contentions of many here - that Hizbullah was operating at, near, and alongside UN positions hoping to use them as shields against Israeli forces.

Israel engaged the terrorists near the UN outpost out of tactical necessity. You want to investigate, let's start with the UN investigating how and why they'd permit a terrorist group to overrun their outposts on a regular basis. Is this blaming the victims? Nope. It's blaming the UN leadership who while claiming to be a neutral observer, was neither neutral nor an observer. The use of UN positions without complaint shows tacit approval of such behaviors, knowing that the consequences could include Israeli strikes.

Meanwhile, the terrorists have managed to hit an Israeli chemical plant in Kiryat Shimona. Massive rocket barrages hit all along Northern Israel. All the same, the Israeli cabinet declined to expand Israeli operations beyond their current limits. I think that's a bad idea. Hizbullah is fighting with no such constraints, and apparently can still cross the border between Lebanon and Syria without too much trouble. Nasrallah is in Damascus, which means he was able to run the gauntlet. I guess he's too important to die a martyr by blowing himself up in front of Israeli troops or to sacrifice himself in a bunker somewhere in Lebanon leading his terror minions. Coward.

That he was able to run the gauntlet suggests that the Syria/Lebanon border isn't sealed, and that's got to be a priority for the Israelis. Securing Israel's northern border might limit the rocket attacks, but sealing Lebanon off from Syria will eliminate them altogether when combined with efforts to stamp out Hizbullah in Southern Lebanon.

Also, Debka is reporting that Israeli airstrikes paid dividends again -

DEBKAfile’s military sources: The huge explosions that struck South Beirut Tuesday evening were caused by 20 Israeli airborne missiles dropping on large, newly-discovered Hizballah subterranean arms caches, part of this tunnel network.

The force of the secondary blasts attested to their contents and the accuracy of the Israeli intelligence pinpointing of previously unknown weapons bunkers in S. Beirut.

Lots of secondaries means that someone had a whole bunch of buried treasure that got blown up before it could be used. Much of the damage to the surrounding area wasn't due to the Israeli bombs, but the Hizbullah arms caches that were hit. Terrorists were storing those weapons under and in residential areas, knowing that if they were discovered, their detonations would likely result in civilian casualties.


Meanwhile, Jan Egeland is back at it - saying that Israel has created a generation of hatred.

United Nations humanitarian chief Jan Egeland accused Israel on Wednesday of committing "catastrophic mistakes" in its attack on Hizbullah, which have caused civilian casualties and alienated the Lebanese public.

"It will create a generation of hatred," he said in an interview held with The Jerusalem Post after he had concluded tours of northern Israel, Gaza and Lebanon.

Never mind the hatred that thousands of rockets fired into Israel and followed by the silence of the UN has stirred among Israelis who are tired of dealing with terrorists who seek their very annihilation.

Israel's existence is an anathema to Islamists - and those groups seek Israel's destruction. They do not want accomodation. They seek elimination. The only mistake Israel has made is accepting a certain level of violence for years without taking decisive action. That made the terrorists believe that they could strike with impunity and obtain their objectives relatively bloodlessly - killing Israel with thousands of little papercuts.

Israel has disabused them of that notion. The Israelis are taking the fight to Hizbullah, and their entrenchment throughout South Lebanon shows what they've been up to for the past six years - preparing for their war with Israel.

There are tactical differences between fighting a guerilla war - which Hizbullah will engage in, and fighting against an actual army. You can plink tanks, destroy artillery units, and eliminate APCs. Those are assets that can't easily be hidden from the eyes in the sky.

The same can't be said of tunnels and bunkers buried underground and guys with a couple of anti-tank weapons and rockets playing hit and run. Those that are standing and fighting are liable to do so to the death.

Not saying it can't be done, because it can, but that the costs will be high for the Israelis if they are putting the lives of Lebanese civilians ahead of their own soldiers.

Bloggers to check in with for daily updates are Blue Crab Boulevard, Carl in Jerusalem, Israellycool, Dave Bender, Meryl Yourish, Euphoric Reality, Pajamas Media, Hot Air, Jameel at the Muqata, Greetings from the French Hill, R'Lazer, and Live from an Israeli Bunker. Check back with them regularly for updates.

UPDATE:
Lebanon claims that about 600 people have been killed in their country. Never mind that figure because there's no way to know how many of them were terrorists and who were genuine civilians. But if Israeli strikes in Gaza are a guide, the ratio of terrorists to civilians is quite high.

Michelle Malkin's readers reach into history to pull out a cartoon from the 1970s that shows the UN was just as ineffectual against terrorism then as it is today. The problem remains the same.

Israel continues to try and devise a strategy for dealing with the situation in Gaza. They declined to have a mass callup of units, which shows that some have an eye towards the ongoing economic disruptions as a result of extended high intensity military operations. At the same time, some ministers are calling for more usage of airpower and artillery to turn terrorist strongpoints into rubble before sending in ground forces - reducing the risks to Israeli troops on the ground. Hizbullah will not be able have their flags fly in South Lebanon.

The diplomats keep trying to show that they are somehow relevant. The Aussie PM says that an international peacekeeping force in Lebanon is suicide. At least someone remembers what happened the last time there was a significant peacekeeping force in Lebanon and whose rules of engagement prevented attacking terrorists.

Kofi Annan might have gone way too far in claiming that Israel purposefully attacked the UN outpost, but that wont stop him and his cohorts from making preposterous statements. They only have a few months left before their terms are up, so they think that they can say whatever they want. That should not be allowed to stand. They are not free to make baseless accusations that affect the diplomatic postures of the various countries, but undermine the UN directly. Benny Avni has more.

There were reports earlier today about how the Palestinian terrorists might be on the verge of releasing Gilad Shalit. Well, not so fast. The Palestinians are backtracking furiously. The AP claims that the translation of Abbas' earlier statements were incorrect. No word on when the AP will issue corrections on the many stories claiming Israel is killing civilians in Lebanon and Gaza although no one knows just how many terrorists were killed who were operating in the midst of residential areas.

Meanwhile, Lebanese doctors are claiming that they're seeing wounds that they've never encountered before and that the Israelis are using chemical weapons - no proof. No photos. Nothing to support the accusations. But the media reports this nonetheless and it's repeated as fact by a willing media. Outside the Beltway notes this story as well. But it's not like this story hasn't been played before - it has. Security Watchtower notes that the same accusations were made against the US and coalition members in Iraq when some casualties were hit with phosphorous rounds. And the same media lapped it up knowing full well that these munitions are not chemical weapons, which are a special class of weapons known as WMD. Liberty and Justice looks at the claims with skepticism.

UPDATE:
Israpundit takes the LAT to task for their coverage of Annan's statements about Israel, Hizbullah, and the UN outpost.

From the UN daily briefing comes these tidbits:

There were three incidents of firing close to UN positions in the last 24 hours from the Israeli side. It was also reported that Hezbollah fired from the vicinity of four UN positions at Marwahin, Alma Ash Shab, Brashit, and At Tiri. The UNIFIL Engineering Contingent from China successfully disposed of one mortar bomb inside the Ghanaian battalion position, in the area of Marwahin.

In plain English, the Israelis were engaging in Hizbullah targets located near UN positions, and the Hizbullah were operating in the vicinity of UN positions - and hoping that UN positions would take fire from Israel, knowing that world reaction would come down on Israel, not Hizbullah. Kofi really should read these briefs more often. He'd see that his peacekeepers are being used as cannon fodder by Hizbullah, not Israel who is trying to eliminate the threat.

Kofi has no intention to retract his claim that the Israeli attack was 'apparently deliberate.' Of course he doesn't. He couldn't care less about the facts and has made his mind up. That's all there is to it.

Newsweek wonders whether a UN peacekeeping force would work in Lebanon. My answer is a most emphatic no. UNIFIL is an international force that was supposed to prevent this from happening - preventing Hizbullah from operating, from crossing the border and attacking Israel, and otherwise enforce UN SCR 1559. It has done none of that since it was formed. There's absolutely no reason to believe that yet another UN force would be any more successful. The countries that would support such a peacekeeping force are reluctant to send troops. Israel is wary of the UN, especially considering its inability to police the Lebanese border and their inability or incapability to thwart a Hizbullah buildup of weapons and fortifications along the border.

Hizbullah has no qualms about hitting peacekeepers, and will likely do so again. They're already showing a willingness to operate in the vicinity of UNIFIL operations, so to either shield themselves from direct fire, or to hope that the UN positions themselves come under fire from Israel.

Hizbullah also has no intentions to leave the battlefield under any circumstances, and will not put down their weapons, which is a precondition for any Israeli agreement on the matter. The world shouldn't accept a continued presence of an armed militia in Lebanon that can destabilize the situation in the country at the drop of a hat (or at the behest of Syria and Iran).

Ha'aretz notes that every few years another person rises up in the Arab World who claims to have the power and backing to stamp out Israel and save the Palestinians. Ha'aretz thinks that it's Nasrallah. I think they're close, but the real deal is Ahmadinejad, who already has a country, is seeking nuclear capabilities, and is funding Nasrallah and pulling the strings.

UPDATE:
Confederate Yankee takes apart the 'chemical weapon' claims, and cites back to nearly identical claims made against the US in the Fallujah campaign.

Kesher Talk demands that Kofi release the UNIFIL documents. Seems that the UN is engaging in a bit of CYA and projection to boot. If Hizbullah was indeed operating from UNIFIL positions, the UN would be in a very precarious position.

Others blogging: Fausta, Wretchard, neo-neocon, and Sigmund, Carl and Alfred.

UPDATE:
Still more UN nonsense. They issued a statement at the shock of the Israelis firing at a UN position. The US blocked any language that might be even more harsh than that. Meanwhile, the UN produced no such statement condemning or expressing shock at Hizbullah operating in the vicinity of UNIFIL positions, attacking UNIFIL positions, or drawing Israeli fire onto UNIFIL positions. Nor did the UN issue a statement thanking Israel for providing humanitarian support to the UNIFIL personnel injured in two separate Hizbullah attacks on UNIFIL positions or convoys. Again, it doesn't look like anyone at the UN reads their own pressers.

A Jerusalem Post reporter ventured into Lebanon and found some curious things. The UNIFIL personnel stationed at some of these outposts haven't heard from the UN superiors and only gain their news from the television.

The current contingent from Ghana has been in Lebanon for three months. The soldiers at the post are charged with patrolling and monitoring, with their single jeep, the area where the heaviest fighting has been going on for the last 10 days. The fact that Hizbullah has been well entrenched in the area ever since Israel's withdrawal six years ago - with hundreds of fighters, well stocked ammunition depots and extensive fortifications - seemed to have escape the Ghanaians notice. "I have never seen one of them," says the soldier. "You cannot easily identify them in the population."

Hear no evil, see no evil. It's easier for these peacekeepers, and sounds rediculously familiar to the way the UN operated in Rwanda in 1994 - where UN peacekeepers stood by while more than 800,000 were slaughtered.

At the beginning of the fighting, a number of bombs exploded around the UNIFIL post, including one 150 meters from the gate. Two weeks later, the area around the post is quiet, except for the distant thud of artillery fire. Hizbullah has been banished from this small part of Lebanon. IDF Merkava tanks roar through a nearby opening in the border fence. There isn't even a guard at the border and Israeli and foreign journalists pass in and out unhindered.

The Ghanaian soldiers weren't even aware of the breach in the fence they are supposed to monitor, by mandate of the United Nations.

And there are those who think that the UNIFIL operations should be extended? They weren't doing their job before the fighting erupted, and they're not doing it now.

Hizbullah continues to fire rockets into Israel, and they're now firing mortars as well.

The IDF is surrounding more buildings in Ramallah. You can bet that they're not there to exchange pleasantries. They're there to seize terrorists.

Ahmadinejad says that the US will not have its way in the Middle East. Sorry to break it to you pal, but your genocidal aspirations aren't going to come to pass as long as the US is around.

Tigerhawk has an interesting analysis of the situation in Hizbullahland and compares it to the miscalculations by the Argentinians in the leadup to the Falklands War with the British.

Technorati: terrorism, fatah, Gilad, Shalit, Olmert, Eliyahu, Asheri, Ashri, Abbas, Rains, Summer, cavaliers, wrath, PRC, Hamas, Gaza, palestinian, Israel, hizbullah, hezbullah, hezbollah,
lebanon, syria.