 | Matt Bruce Managing Editor & Publisher, News Sarasota | | | A Newsbull Contributing Columnist |
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SARASOTA, FL. (NS/AP) - Today President George W. Bush paid a visit to Florida and once again called for UN intervention to help settle the more than 2 week War being waged by both Israel and Hezbollah... President Bush acknowledged growing international pressure for an immediate Middle East cease-fire Monday but dismissed any idea of simply "stopping for the sake of stopping" without a plan for lasting peace... Take a look at what Hezbollah has been lobbing into Israel and how the weaponry has changed from small rockets to bigger and bigger munitions that cause more and more damage... Bush said the United States was working with allies for a United Nations Security Council resolution to get a "sustainable cease-fire, a cease-fire which will last" — but not necessarily anything immediate... Israel right now will not back down until they have caused enough damage to make Hezbollah no longer able to wage War against Israel... The U.S. also is seeking the authorization of an international force to help secure Lebanon. Bush told Fox News Channel that U.S. troops probably would not be deployed on the ground as a part of it, but might help with logistics or command... Is there anyone out there who really doesn't agree that Israel has every right to defend themselves from what was originally an 'act of War' committed by Hezbollah when they attacked an Israeli outpost inside Israel's Northern border with Lebanon and kidnapped 2 soldiers after killing several others??? Bush planned to discuss strategy Monday night at the White House when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived back from her mission to the Middle East. Israel's attack that killed 65 civilians in Qana, the deadliest single incident in the Israeli onslaught against Hezbollah militants, prompted her to cut the trip short... Bush also made it clear that the U.S. position in firm support of Israel had not changed, despite the strike that heightened criticism from other nations... In fact, the vast majority of the Free World agrees with the action Israel has taken. Unfortunately there will always be civilian casualties if civilians are present when 2 waring Armies face off against eachother nomatter how careful Israel tries to be and Hezbollah is not... The president, speaking to members of the Coast Guard in Florida, said the world must remember that the Islamic group Hezbollah started the fight and that Israel is exercising its right to defend itself... During his speech he made no direct reference to the Qana deaths. But he said, "We mourn the loss of innocent life, both in Lebanon and in Israel." More than 500 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel began bombing its neighbor in an effort to weaken Hezbollah militants based there. Hezbollah has been sending rockets into northern Israel, killing 18 civilians in addition to 33 Israeli soldiers... Asked about the Israeli attack later in an interview on Fox's "Your World with Neil Cavuto," Bush said the deaths had added pressure on Israel to stop bombing. But, he said, "stopping for the sake of stopping can be OK, except it won't address the root cause of the problem." "Yesterday's situation was awful," Bush said. "I understand that, but it's also awful that a million Israelis are worried about rockets being fired from their neighbor to the north." Although pro-Israel sentiment runs deep in the U.S. Congress, Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record), R-Neb., broke with the president on Monday and said Israel's pounding of Lebanon was hurting America's image in the Middle East. "The sickening slaughter on both sides must end now," Hagel said. "This madness must stop." Hagel has also been critical of the administration's Iraq policy. It should also be pointed out that nomatter what the President says or does, there are those with their own agenda's who chose for whatever reason to simply ignore the facts... The fighting began on July 12, when Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers. The tensions overshadowed Bush's overnight trip to Florida, where he wanted to highlight his efforts to improve port security, the economy and hurricane preparedness after the disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina last year... Bush stopped briefly at the National Hurricane Center, a room filled with maps and monitors of the hurricane zone. Christopher Landsea, a science and operations officer, told Bush of a paper he had just written that found there was not a consensus linking hurricane patterns to global warming... The president replied, "There is a consensus you're doing good work." I can tell you from what I've heard throughout the Hurricane ravaged areas along the Gulf Coast last year, people are very appreciateive of what the National Guard and the Government has done to help them start getting back on their feet... Bush said it was important that people take the center's forecasts seriously, and he noted that the height of hurricane season begins next week and runs through mid-September. After a pause, National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield corrected him. "Actually, mid-October," Mayfield said... It should also be pointed out that just like last year and the year before, the 'early' Hurricane activity has been in the Pacific Ocean basin and not the Atlantic which will start firing up now as the summer progresses... Later, Bush took a half-hour boat tour of the Port of Miami to examine security improvements. Then his motorcade took him to the exclusive Gables Estates neighborhood, where he attended a private fundraiser at the home of industrial developer Armando Codina that brought in $1 million for the Republican National Committee... But you can't blame President George W. Bush for the fighting going on between Israel and Hezbollah... You have to look at the history of Hezbollah and how they were founded and who supports them, along with their Charter... They are sworn to the destruction of Israel as a State in the Middle East region, just like Hamas and the PLO are... With neighbors like this, Israel has always maintained a superior Fighting force ready to defend themselves at a moment's notice... Israel also has done everything they could to NOT put civilians in harms way. This is something that the Terrorist's have and do use as a ploy to try and change World opinion in 'their' favor... In this case, the video and pictures speaks for itself when Hamas and Hezbollah set up their rockets and missiles in Urban areas where any kind of air or artillery strike would inflict civilian casualties... The civilians shouldn't be there to begin with, but they are. You can be sure the Terrorist's WILL use them as 'shields' as they have done repeatedly over and over again... I support Israel and I support the United States of America. It's high time we come out and call this exactly what it is, 'A Religious War With Radical Islamic Findamentalist's Who Are Sworn To The Destruction Of Israel And The Free World As We Know It'... That's what this really is, and if you don't realize that by now, WHERE have you been??? For Now, That's Just 'OUR' Opinion... Matt Bruce Managing Editor News Sarasota.com "The Captain's AMERICA" Radio Show http://thecaptainsamerica.blogspot.com |