The Flashlight, August 18-25, 2006

THE FLASHLIGHT, August 18 – 25, 2006

Aftermath of Israeli – Lebanese Conflict

8-18 CNN. The Lebanese Army is now deployed in Southern Lebanon and the Hizbollah fighters have melted into the civilian population. Their arms are out of sight, but not out of reach. Despite the truce agreement, nobody is talking about disarming them.

8-18 PBS. An estimated $1.6 billion damage was done to Israel and $3.6 billion damage to Lebanon during the 34 days of fighting.
Hizbollah is handing out up to $12,000 per Lebanese family made homeless by the bombing. Although the money is in US currency, Iran is suspected of providing it.

8-23. The Guardian and 8-24, The New York Times. Amnesty International has joined Human Rights Watch in accusing Israel of war crimes. Israel flew 7,000 air strikes over Lebanon in 34 days. According to official Lebanese statistics, 1,183 Lebanese were killed, of which about one third were children; 4,054 were injured, and 970,000 displaced; 30,000 homes, 120 bridges, 94 roads, 25 fuel stations, and 900 businesses were destroyed. Amnesty International takes the position that this destruction was deliberate, and not collateral damage. Lebanon, a nation with a population of about four million, will takes many years to recover.

8-24. France, after dragging its feet, agreed to send 2,000 troops to serve as peacekeepers in Lebanon. Italy is sending 3,000. [The armies of these countries are better known for “cutting a good figure” than for their military victories. Peacekeeping may be their true calling.]

Iraq

8-24 CNN. In a commentary, Ken Mehlmen, leading Republican politician, acknowledged that Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the world and that this is a reason for keeping American troops there.
8-25. Washington Post. Sectarian violence has killed 10,400 Iraqis.

US Politics

8-18 PBS. A new court ruling against US tobacco companies says that they lied about the hazards of tobacco smoking for fifty years. Now they must discontinue “low tar” and “lite” branding and publicly acknowledge their conspiracy to lie. David Kessler, FDA head under Pres. Clinton, expressed satisfaction that tobacco smoking is no longer socially acceptable. He said this was the worst ever public health offense.

3/5 of Americans now think the Iraq War was a mistake [another poll said 65%]. It is a political albatross for Republicans.
CNN 8-22. Only 1/3 of Americans think we are winning the war on terrorism.
The Democrats have attacked Walmart for underpaying its workers. The low minimum wage may be a major issue in the current campaign. The strongest battles shaping up are in the Northeast and Middle West.
Paul Begala, Democratic representative, said on CNN “We are diplomatically isolated. No one wants to be our ally.”
CNN 8-24. Bill Clinton, warning that the Republicans again are going to charge Democrats with being weak on security. He said, in the eyes of the American public it is “Better to be wrong and strong, than right and weak.” [This is a chronic problem for pacifists. But now there is a retort: the war in Iraq was wrong and has made us weak. Diplomacy and the construction of many needed domestic defences have been neglected.]
Democratic challengers in congressional races are on average 9% points ahead of Republic incumbents.

NY Times 8-25. Paul Krugman: Real estate trends. In California, Florida, and Washington DC the housing market is still strong, but in much of the country housing sales are down and prices are declining. Housing has been the main engine of the economy in the last three years and so this trend forecasts an economic decline ahead.

CNN 8-25. Rep. Chris Shays, Republican, after his fourteenth trip to Iraq, shifts position to need to set timetable for withdrawal of troops. He now says Iraqis should not assume our checkbook open and troops there forever. Shays is in a tight fight with Democrat challenger Dianne Farrell, antiwar activist.
CNN Poll: 91% of Democrats against the Iraq War, one third of Republicans against, and growing.

Science/Religion/Politics

NY Times 8-24. Biologists have developed a technology for establishing colonies of embryonic stem cells from early human embryos without destroying the embryos. This would seem to answer the main objection to embryonic stem cell research but the fight is not over.

CNN 8-24. The FDA has now approved Plan B, the morning after pill, as an over the counter drug for women 18 and older. For those 17 or younger, a doctor’s prescription is necessary. [ This would seem to be a satisfactory compromise, but individuals who do not believe in either contraception or abortion and who work in pharmacies, may refuse to obey the law. New legislation is in preparation to cope with this problem.]

PBS 8-24. Pluto has been downgraded from the status of “planet” to “dwarf planet.” The discovery of many more dwarf planets will be announced soon.

World News, August 11-18, 2006

THE FLASHLIGHT, August 11-18, 2006

URL: http://theflashlightnet.blogspot.com

Outcomes of the Israeli-Lebanon War

Washington Post, 8-12 and CNN ff. Losers were Israel and the U.S., neither of whom gained anything and both of whom had their images battered. Israel was seen for the first time as militarily vulnerable. The US was harshly condemned for delaying the cease fire with what was seen as the specious excuse: that a more “permanent” cease fire should be negotiated first. Europe and the Muslim world saw the US as once again the Enabler of Israel, making possible a massacre of a thousand helpless Lebanese civilians.

Hizbollah was the big winner, with its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, a new folk hero of the Muslim world. Fuad Siniora, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, who wept as he reported Lebanese casualties and who demanded complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, also looked good.

The New Yorker, 8-21, story by Seymour Hersh, “Watching Lebanon,” was released to the media 8-13. Hersh said that Bush and Cheney hoped that the Israel Air Force attack on Hezbollah’s underground installations could “serve as a prelude to a potential American preemptive attack” to destroy Iran’s underground nuclear installations. The Israeli plan was prepared in early spring and executed when a Hizbollah provocation provided an excuse. The White House hoped that this would serve as a “demo” for a bombing of Iran. [Some demo.]

Human Rights Watch report, the Internet, 8-14. It concluded that “In systematically failing to distinguish between Hizbollah fighters and the civilian population” the Israeli Defense Force has committed “war crimes.” In some cases the IDF appeared to have “deliberately targeted civilians.” Dropping leaflets warning the population to leave ahead of time was no excuse for the Israelis. The sick, wounded, and those lacking money for gasoline could not leave, and the roads were under attack by Israeli warplanes and artillery.

The reaction of Nasrallah, CNN 8-14. Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hizbollah, complimented all the Lebanese for the “victory.” He promised the homeless free housing and furniture for a year. Iranian money was pouring into Lebanon to finance this. Nasrallah said this was “not the time” to talk about disarming Hizbollah or returning the two Israeli soldiers , since Lebanese prisoners were still in Israeli prisons. With a flourish he set off fireworks in South Beirut to celebrate the “victory.”
[The issue of disarming Hizbollah recalls the fairy tale about the mice who, seeking to end the depredations of the cat, got the bright idea of tieing a bell on the predator. Then they asked for a volunteer to bell the cat. No one volunteered. ]

George Bush said, “Diplomacy has won.”

PBS, 8-14. Hisham Melhem, Christian liberal journalist from Lebanon, took a darker view. He said that Hizbollah had no deterrent to prevent Lebanon from being devastated, and Israel had no deterrent against the rockets of Hizbollah. He said the war had radicalized more Arabs, who will seek to imitate Hizbollah. He said that the Iranians and the Syrians were cynical, and would fight to the last Lebanese.

Washington Post, 8-17. The Israelis were dismayed by the outcome. Prime Minister Olmert’s approval rating sank from 78 to 40%. Soldiers complained about missing supplies and arms, confused orders, and shortages of food and water. The toll: 118 soldiers died, more than 5,000 injured, and 39 civilians died. Hizbollah was not crushed, and the two Israeli soldiers had not been returned.

Iraq

New York Times, 8-17. Violence continued to increase, and public support for the insurgency increased. In the past two months 115 Iraqi civilians a day were killed. US wounded increased from 287 in January to 518 in July. 3500 Iraqis were killed in July.

Sen. John Warner, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said that “if Iraq fell into civil war” the congressional authorization for the use of armed force in Iraq might not be valid any longer. The Administration is considering “alternatives to democracy.”

US Politics

8-14, CNN. Bush approval rating down to 33%, and only 26% think the country is going in the right direction.

Washington Post, 8-17. The ACLU suit against the Administration’s warrantless wiretap program, got a favorable ruling in the Federal District Court in Michigan from Judge Anna Taylor, a 75 year old black woman. The suit was immediately appealed and the wiretapping continues. The suit will almost surely go to the Supreme Court.

Polls. Running as an Independent, Lieberman is now outpolling Ned Lamont 53 to 41%.

Voters are more worried about domestic issues now. They favor Republicans over Democrats as able to fight terrorism, but only by 5%. Formerly the Republican advantage was 30%.

In email to CNN 8-17, there was strong support for the federal court ruling against warrant-less wiretapping. Calling for the impeachment of the president, one writer asked for “Jail to the Chief.”