Sunday, July 30, 2006

The “Honest Broker's” Plan for occupying Southern Lebanon

By Mike Whitney

"The Bush administration has played an integral part in the war on Lebanon. They blocked the “peace initiative” proposed by the 15-member coalition at the Rome Conference and they supplied “precision-guided weapons” during the hostilities so Israel could continue to pulverize Beirut and the cities in the south. They have been as engaged in the fighting as any combatant in the field and should not be regarded an “impartial arbiter”.

The United States participation in the conflict precludes it from participating in any settlement of the dispute. The administration cannot be trusted as an “honest broker”.

The real motive behind the initiative is to “militarize” the area south of the Litani River and “ethnically cleanse” the predominantly Muslim population. This is how Bush intends to stealthily annex more Lebanese land and create a new de-facto northern border for Israel.

Let the multinational force protect the Palestinians first; then, we’ll see.

The only “silver lining” to Israel’s lethal rampage is that it signals the death-knell for the enfeebled United Nations. The Bush administration has torpedoed every effort to reach a peace agreement and blocked all resolutions criticizing Israeli aggression. This, of course, is why Israeli-loyalist, John Bolton, was installed as US Ambassador in the first place; to oversee the destruction of the UN and pave the way for a wider regional war. So far, he has succeeded admirably. Working in tandem with Condi Rice, Bolton has delivered a ferocious “one-two” punch that has KO’d the diplomatic work of EU, the Arab League and the bumbling foreign ministers from around the globe. Now, whenever Condi or Bolton speaks, it looks like the entire world stands behind them lending international credibility to Israel’s ongoing depredations in Lebanon. "

No comments: