[whataretheysaying] Mary Madigan: A walk through the minefield

[Email subscription to blog articles]

Posted by Mary Madigan:
A walk through the minefield
http://whataretheysaying.powerblogs.com/posts/1168623628.shtml


   Michael Totten visits Ain Ebel in Southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah
   seized [1]civilian homes and used residents as human shields.

     He told me that 18 days after the start of the war a large group of
     civilians decided it was time to leave Ain Ebel and flee to the
     north. They were no longer willing to stay while Israel fired back
     at Hezbollahâs rocket launchers. It was too dangerous, and
     Hezbollah insisted on staying and endangering those who lived
     there.

     So they fled the area in a convoy of civilian vehicles. It was
     safer, they figured, to travel in a group than alone.

     On their way out of the village, Hezbollah fighters stood on the
     side of the road and opened fire with machine guns on the fleeing
     civilians.

     I was shocked, and I asked Alan to confirm this. Was it really
     true? Hezbollah opened fire on Lebanese civilians with machine
     guns? Alan confirmed this was true.

     "Why?" I had an idea, but I wanted a local person to say it.

     Because, Alan said, Hezbollah wanted to use the civilians of Ain
     Ebel as âhuman shields.â I did not use the phrase âhuman shields.â
     These were Alanâs own words.

     Fortunately, Hezbollah didnât kill anybody when they opened fire.
     One person was shot in the hand, and another was shot in the
     shoulder. This was enough, though, to do the job. The civilians
     turned around and went back to the village under Israeli
     bombardment.

   If we were fighting an effective ideological war against groups like
   Hezbollah, reports like this would be on the front page of every
   newspaper. Hezbollah is shooting at Lebanese civilians, they're using
   them as human shields. They are not 'defending' Lebanon, they're a
   direct threat to the sovereignty of the Lebanese government and
   they're a threat to the safety of the Lebanese people.

   On a lighter note, I've been wondering what the French have been up to
   Southern Lebanon. Apparently, they've been doing a lot of good:

     âThe French like to spend time in Ain Ebel,â Alan said.

     âThey are welcome here, they feel comfortable. They help our
     economy. In Bint Jbail some of the residents make slashing motions
     across their throats with their fingers when they see UN soldiers.â

     I felt bad for laughing when I heard that. South Lebanon is a hard
     place. UNIFIL isnât allowed to disarm Hezbollah and prevent the
     next round of war. That would require their authorization as a
     combat force. But they do what they can within their sharply
     proscribed limits, and they spend most of their time in a shattered
     and hostile environment.

     Alanâs uncle behind the cash register stuck up for the French.

     âI feel safer now with them here than Iâve felt for more than 30
     years,â he said.

   [2]Read more - and [3]support MJT's independent journalism...

References

   1. http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001361.html
   2. http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001361.html
   3. https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr