Nickhere - 10 Dec 06 - 11:11 AM

"When Israel invaded Lebanon last summer", the reason for which was what exactly Nickhere? You seem to have omitted to mention the indiscrimate attacks on civilian targets within Israel (how many thousand unguided and indiscriminately targeted rockets were fired at Israeli towns were there Nickhere?) and the kidnapping of two Israeli Soldiers. Enshrined within the Charter of the United Nations is that every sovereign nation has a right to defend itself - Israel was doing no more, no less.

Now had that august body the United Nations done something about a Resolution that they had passed previously regarding Syria and Hezbollah, then maybe the reason for Israel's attacks on Southern Lebanon may have been eliminated. But what the hell Nickhere that august international body finds it eminently acceptable to sit around and do the square root of bugger all while hundreds of thousands of people are massacred and displaced, not once but twice while the current man in charge was "on watch", for christ's sake do not for one single moment think that that organisation has the power or will to do anything other than talk about anything, and even then only in the most apologetic and ineffectual manner that can be managed.

Israel and Lebanon, eh Nickhere, tell me Nick, you seem to have a problem about Israel getting concerned about what happens in Lebanon. Where were all your posts objecting to Syria's occupation of Lebanon? I can't believe that I ever read one single objection emanating from your unbiased and knowledgable take on the situation in the Levant about this outrage.

This War, this unwarranted intrusion into the affairs of a sovereign state, resulted in UN mediation. Tell me Nickhere, did Israel abide by the conditions laid down by the UN? Tell me Nickhere did Hezbollah, the Lebanon or Syria abide the conditions laid down by the UN?

So Israel can be as expansionist as it likes can it Nickhere? Can you then explain how, whilst being as expansionist as it likes, the borders of Israel have actually shrunk?

On your "Right to Exist" babble you name two examples - Chile and Iraq. As far as I am aware the UN recognised sovereign states of both Chile and Iraq both still exist - True???

According to Nickhere there are countless places in the world, "groaning under oppressive governments" (overly dramatic little beggar isn't he) but America takes a special interest in the Iraqi people? Nickhere believes that it all has to do with Operation Iraqi Liberation (O.I.L). Eh no Nickhere it had something to do with a security assessment made by the House and Senate Security Committee evaluation that Iraq posed the greatest threat to the USA. I have asked in the past for somebody to demonstrate to me how America has benefited from all that Iraqi Oil. Nickhere quite rightly points out that the USA hasn't "grabbed Iraqi Oil", although for some strange reason Nickhere believes that the US wishes to make the Iraqi line of import secure and make sure that no-one else gets their hands on it. Unfortunately Nickhere, myself and anyone who can think logically about this, cannot fathom what you are driving at, you see for as long as sanctions have been lifted against the export of Iraqi oil, the Iraqi's have been shipping oil out all over the place - very little of it going to the USA. So could you please explain how exactly the USA is making sure that nobody else (other than the USA I believe) gets their hands on it? I mean it's not like the Americans are forcing the Iraqi's to store their oil in some secret location for the US to pick up at a later date is it? The Iraqi's are actually selling this oil on the open market - and horror of horrors people other than the US are actually buying it - most odd, particularly given your fervent belief in US hegemony.