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BEIRUT (AFP) – Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said his Western-backed government did not ask Washington to send a US warship to the waters off Lebanon, which is embroiled in a deep political crisis.
USS Cole on revenge mission?
“We did not ask anyone to send warships,” Siniora said in a speech during a meeting with Arab ambassadors that was broadcast live on television, adding that no US warship was in “Lebanese waters.”
“The Lebanese navy and UNIFIL naval forces, whuch are helping Lebanon secure its maritime borders, are the only ones” in Lebanese territorial waters, Siniora said in reference to United Nations peacekeepers.
PM SINIORA SUMMONED U.S. CHARGE D’AFFAIRES
Before his speech Siniora also summoned the US charge d’affaires to ask her for “clarifications” about the dispatch of the USS Cole, a government source told AFP. “The prime minister summoned Mrs Michele Sison to ask her to clarify the presence of the USS Cole” in the Mediterranean.
“Mrs Sison assured him that the warship was in international territorial waters and had been dispatched to guarantee regional stability.”
Washington said it had sent the USS Cole guided-missile destroyer to waters off Lebanon and that the vessel was already in the eastern Mediterranean. The deployment was “a show of support for regional stability” because of “concern about the situation in Lebanon,” a US official said on condition of anonymity, declining to say that the show of force was aimed at Syria or Iran.
More to follow …
(TimesOnline) – Lebanon’s militant Shia Hezbollah today accused the United States of escalating tensions in the Middle East by dispatching warships to patrol the Lebanese coastline.
“We are facing an American threat against Lebanon,” said Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah MP. “It is clear this threat and intimidation will not affect us.”
His comments came a day after US officials confirmed that the USS Cole , a guided missile destroyer, has been deployed to the eastern Mediterranean as a show of support for the troubled Western-backed Lebanese Government.
The USS Cole is accompanied by two refuelling ships. But it could soon be joined by the US Navy’s Nassau battle group, consisting of six ships including amphibious troop carriers, which is scheduled to sail to the eastern Mediterranean soon.
“This is an area that is important to us, the eastern Med,” said Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee said the IDF must reoccupy part of the Gaza Strip for an unlimited time and overthrow the Hamas government.
“The State of Israel must make a strategic decision to order the IDF to prepare quickly to topple the Hamas terror regime and take over all the areas from which rockets are fired on Israel,” MK Tzachi Hanegbi (Kadima) told Israel Radio. He said the IDF should prepare to remain in those areas for years.
MK Gideon Sa’ar (Likud) said his party would back an invasion of Gaza, though he fell short of advocating reoccupation. “There is no doubt that the security response needs to include a ground component,” said Sa’ar. He said the “takeover of territory in the northern Strip” from which the Palestinians launch rockets at Israel would reduce the barrages from Gaza.
Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai went as far as threatening a “shoah,” the Hebrew word for holocaust or disaster. The word is generally used to refer to the Nazi Holocaust, but a spokesman for Vilnai said the deputy defense minister used the word in the sense of “disaster,” saying “he did not mean to make any allusion to the genocide.”
Four boys killed while playing football, the child victims of Israel’s revenge on Gaza
● Why are Israeli lives worth more than Palestinian lives ◊ by Shergald
this silly symbolic steps date to the Cold War and are always needlessly expensive.
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SEATTLE – Boeing has lost the long-awaited and lucrative Air Force refueling tanker contract to a competing bid based on an Airbus airplane, Air Force officials said.
The newly named KC-45A plane will be produced by a partnership between Europe’s EADS and Northrop Grumman, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said.
Until now, Boeing has had a monopoly on the supply of large air tankers to the U.S. military. But Northrop Grumman, in partnership with Airbus parent EADS, will build the next generation tankers using a modified Airbus A330 instead of the Everett-built 767 Boeing had put forward.
The deal, worth about $40 billion over two decades, is for the supply and maintenance of 179 tankers replacing old Boeing-built KC-135 airplanes.
Its European rival will now go ahead with its plan to build a widebody jet factory in Mobile, Ala., that will churn out commercial A330 freighters as well as the military tanker airplanes.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israeli troops turned heavy firepower on rocket squads bombarding southern Israel, killing 54 Palestinians in the deadliest day in Gaza since Hamas seized control in June.
The violence took a heavy toll on Gaza civilians. Moderate Palestinian leaders called the killings a “genocide” and threatened to call off peace talks.
“The response to these rockets can’t be that harsh and heinous,” said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. “It is nowadays described as a holocaust.”
The spasm of violence came days before Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was to arrive in the region to nudge Israel and Palestinians closer to a peace accord.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
The UN Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the latest Israeli raid on the Gaza Strip.
The latest operation began before dawn when Israeli tanks, supported by helicopters, targeted the crowded Jabaliya refugee camp, launching at least 10 missile strikes. Over 60 Palestinians have been killed in four days of violence.
Witnesses said the latest fighting erupted after Israeli soldiers, backed by helicopter gunships, entered northern Gaza and were confronted by Palestinian gunmen. The Israeli army confirmed its forces were operating in the area and five soldiers were wounded in the fighting.
An army spokeswoman said about 20 rockets were fired into Israel, including three Soviet-designed Grad missiles, which are more powerful and accurate than locally-produced Qassams.
52 Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers have been killed
The Israeli raids began after a rocket fired by Hamas militants killed an Israeli student in the southern town of Sderot, the first such death in nine months. More than 80 Palestinians have been killed since then.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."