What Is Our Government Doing?

[West]

I'm sure we're all aware of what has been happening in Lebanon. I just saw on the News that Mr Downer was anouncing that the first BUS carried about 60 Australian has been sucessfully crossed into Syria border. Mr Downer also is TRYING to ogarnising a ship from Cyprus in capable to carry up to 500, 600 crossing the sea into Cyprus.

I thought wow, top efford until i saw on the News footage that US has land a Helicopter inside Lebanon to evacuate a handfull of its citizen and Britan WARSHIP has already set sail to pick up their citizen as well.

What's going on? The US landed a Helicopter in a WAR zone! There has to be some special pass/arrangment to fly a bloody Military Helicopter into war zone without getting shot? Britian sail its war ship straight into a war zone and we're struggling to evacuate our own citizen out of the danger zone on Bus.

Mr Downer also said that if we weren't in a close bond relationship with Israel government, it would have been harder! Yep, pretty tight i can see.

Also i find it funny when Isael has been dropping out flyers from their War plane to warn the Lebanese about their upcoming air strike and that civilian should move out of danger zone when they've already bombed all the major highway, railway, ports and their warship has been thumping its big gun while cruising up and down.

Anyway, if anyone on this forum that has their relative being stuck in Lebanon, the Government is urging them to register their love's one names to the Office of forein affair and trading in Canberra.

[khunjeng]

my coffee man is from lebanon and he is kinda upset...I talke dot him today and its seems totally f*ked up really...quite sad.

[(B1) MR_fanny]

i was pretty shocked myself when israel snapped and went hammer and tongs with little or no notice. well thats what it looked like to me. obviously every side has their own story to tell but by going in like that was rediculous. in the end theres gonna be a whole lotta innocent people killed and for what??

the worlds a crazy place and politics is even more crazy!!

[KamikazeR33]

guys that part of the world is on knifes edge, not only that country, but alot around that area. dont b suprised if a real war breaks out very soon

[Bo0oSt]

yeh keep in mind israel is a jewish state sorrounded my muslim countries. Not saying what happened is correct but something needed to be done after all it has been one terrorist attack after another for the last however many years.

I can kinda see why israel would be so determined to stand its ground..after all moving out of the gaza strip could be viewed as the first step in the arab nations claiming israeli land.Yes they are taking a very heavy handed stance but whats the difference between a country going all out and a country sustaining casualties from a constant series of terrorist attack...i do however think it is wrong for israel to attack lebanon =)

Oh and yeh it definitely is rediculous...downer is a wanka one of the worst foreign ministers ever an absolute ass kisser!!!

stupid wars

Edited July 17, 2006 by Bo0oSt

[cln]

America is America, they do what they please.

[Jamezilla]

Those pilot's egos are writing cheques their bodies can't cash.

[adznight]

Australia is a long way away, The Brits have ships in the Area and the US have bases in the area. It's a simple answer. We have no reason the be there so it's not like we have ships sitting there "just in case"

[GTSR22]

my deb partner is stuck over there, she was a girl at my school.

i dont care who is in war and over what but innocent people getting stuck over there and in danger just isnt right. So Mr Downer bloody better do somthing or it will be his head on the chopping bored.

cyas

[allblitz]

yeh keep in mind israel is a jewish state sorrounded my muslim countries. Not saying what happened is correct but something needed to be done after all it has been one terrorist attack after another for the last however many years.

I can kinda see why israel would be so determined to stand its ground..after all moving out of the gaza strip could be viewed as the first step in the arab nations claiming israeli land.Yes they are taking a very heavy handed stance but whats the difference between a country going all out and a country sustaining casualties from a constant series of terrorist attack...i do however think it is wrong for israel to attack lebanon =)

Oh and yeh it definitely is rediculous...downer is a wanka one of the worst foreign ministers ever an absolute ass kisser!!!

stupid wars

Israel = America. Israel are living in a land that is not theirs, they stole it off the Palestinians. Anyway, i do not want to make this a thread of Israel/America vs Islam, however I hope all innocent people get out of there safe and well.

Israel is known for their brutal and careless attacks on innocent civilians, no matter at what cost. It's easy for us to make cheap comments in Australia, as we are in one of the safest and best countries to be in, however, i recommend you watch the news from the other side of the world (Arab world) instead of watching the 'Israel/American' run media - believe me its a big difference in information.

West, i agree mate, Australian government is pretty slow in acting, but lets just hope all leave safe and well.

[djr81]

It is amazing how quickly people seek to blame the government/the prime minister/individual ministers for "failing to act quickly enough". Unfortunately we don't have an aircraft carrier parked off Beirut (hell, we don't even have an aircraft carrier), no bases, nor any military people close by. The ports are closed & the airports are being bombed. There are some 4000 Australians registered with the embassy. So, yeah Downer only has to click his fingers & everything will be sweet.

Edited July 18, 2006 by djr81

[ebola]

Interesting to see different views....

Lets be straight - I am pro Israel. But I'm not blind.

--> Deleted: Large political section. Summary - Israels over response to terrorist attacks, out media is very anti israel in this conflict (which is unusual). Note the media is NEVER unbiased at the best of times...

Anyway, I do realise that australia has a large Lebanese (is that even how to spell it) population, and politics, religion and so forth aside, the government should be doing all they can to evacuate australian citizens. Once you become australian, you are an aussie, whether you are from greece, italy, lebanon, russia, etc...

So australia hires a bus and charters a boat. big deal. Why can't australia make a deal with the UK about their warship? or the us - since little johnny is so intent on becoming little georgey...

If there are 4000 Australians there, why is there just a 'bus'? Surely both sides care about civillian casualties...

The more I know, the less I know. What a world.

[Bass Junky]

With the things we are doing for the Yanks, they should be helping get our people out.

f**king pricks.

It's their damn fault the war is there anyway.

It's their damn fault the Gulf war is being faught, it's their damn fault Saddam got 3 Billion to buy weapons.

Anywho, yankie bashing aside, we have the Tyranny of Distance against us in Lebanon. We are a long way away, with little resources.

And from a very basic point of view, the government cant' put all it's eggs in one basket when it comes to getting people out.

PS. The yanks landed the chopper there because they are Israel, they pay for everything. they can do what they like.

BASS OUT

[djr81]

Well, just so people know. The Royal Navy will be helping evacuate some Australians shortly. That is in addition to the three bus loads that arrived in Syria last night.

Whilst people are bitching and complaining about, well everything really it may pay to spare a thought for the consulate personnel who are helping to try & organise this. Everyone wants out immediately, but how would YOU like to be the person who decides who leaves on what bus/plane/ship/whatever given the amount of violence occuring.

[xRHETTx]

Simple solution: Make Jureselem (no idea how to spell it) a special province run by the UN, where no-one gets to live or claim it as their own and everyone is free to visit.

Its hard to remain unbiased about this conflict. Its a shame to see the might of the Israeli/US military go up against the only force Lebanon/palestine can muster: a few guys with RPGs and bombs strapped to their chests.

[Kozeyekan]

Simple solution: Make Jureselem (no idea how to spell it) a special province run by the UN, where no-one gets to live or claim it as their own and everyone is free to visit.

Its hard to remain unbiased about this conflict. Its a shame to see the might of the Israeli/US military go up against the only force Lebanon/palestine can muster: a few guys with RPGs and bombs strapped to their chests.

True, but that begs the question:

"Why strap a bomb to your chest?"

Not that I'm for either side.

Neither side cares about innocent civilians, neither side gives a rats ass about anyone but themselves.

Please note that I say this about the governments, not the culture or populace. I know many lebanese, and a couple from Israel who are fantastic people.

However, I find it hard to support an organisation that decides to kill hundreds to get at a couple of people (i.e. USA, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Libya....... etc, etc.)

[allblitz]

True, but that begs the question:

"Why strap a bomb to your chest?"

You're driving your wife to a hospital, she is pregnant and bleeding heavily. You are stopped at a checkpoint and they do not let you through and interrogate you while your wife is bleeding. She ends up dying, so does your child inside of her. You're mentally stuffed right now, you drive back home, but when you get home, you find that your building has been hit by a rocket and your parents are killed.

What would you do?

Believe me, this is not an exaggeration, there are plenty of stories like this or similar to it. Firstly, i wouldnt be in a mental state in the first place to think wether strapping myself is right or wrong. Secondly, thats pretty much all they can do to fight back.

As mentioned earlier, we cannot really judge as we are not living a life of war. Thank GOD, we are in a safe and peaceful country.

[manage13]

allblitz, when I saw the topic of this thread I knew you'll be making plenty of comments.

Have you thought of why there are checkpoints in place? (Referring to your analogy)

Why did this recent problem between Israel and Lebanon arise?

You're driving your wife to a hospital, she is pregnant and bleeding heavily. You are stopped at a checkpoint and they do not let you through and interrogate you while your wife is bleeding. She ends up dying, so does your child inside of her. You're mentally stuffed right now, you drive back home, but when you get home, you find that your building has been hit by a rocket and your parents are killed.

What would you do?

Attack those who are responsible, not run out with explosive strapped to my body into a crowded restaurant or bus station.

I agree there has been atrocities. But that goes both ways.

See the problem with that whole area is that there are people that think much the same as you. They believe the other side is always to blame. Instead of all parties involved sitting, starting with a clean slate and working out something that will bring about peace. I know its wishful thinking!!! But one can only hope.

Allblitz, you are entitled to your opinion it just seems to me that you have more than a bit of anti American and Israeli sentiment. (Conclusion made from previous posts on past threads)

[Bo0oSt]

i think u guys shoudl go look up the arab-israely conflict =)

im not pro anything im not for either sides but as far as i can read from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel the arab league never accepted israel as a sovereign state with rights. This has lead to the jewish state being sorrounded by hostile nations.

Oh and allblitz in that particular situation...maybe you should think about why the checkpoint are set up its not jsut to piss of muslims its to try and stop the terrorist who see it logical to kill innocent civilians instead of targetin army bases and alike.

So hmmm maybe instead of strapin urself with a bomb and killin more innocent people, strap urself with a bomb and kill the people who created the reason the checkpoints r there (that is if killing was the only thing on ur mind.

Israel may be going in a bit too hard and hittin civilian buildings but hey ur fighting an invisible enemy u would target any place u thoguht to be harbourin the enemy

Edited July 18, 2006 by Bo0oSt

[IOWNU]

Hey everyone,

First to clarify, I don't think Allblitz meant that the suicide bomber in his example was in the right, I think he is simply providing some background info as to why someone would go to such lengths.

Back to the core issue......Israel's response to any threats is totally disproportinate. So a couple of your soldiers get captured.....in return your supposedly attack "Hizbollah" and in doing so destroy infrastructure and the airport (which is controlled by the Lebanese goverment btw..) It seems that Israel was just waiting for the oppurtunity to pounce.

Let's face it Israel and the USA are very strong allies, everybody knows that both nations have strong economic ties and that Jews weild significant political power in the states. What we're seeing here is the systematic elimination of all those who are a potential threat to Israel. Iraq, Afghanistan are already down and out. Lebanon is on the way, Iran is next on the list, with Syria close to follow.....countries left over that will not be attacked include Saudi Arabia and neighbours (US Allies) and Pakistan (anti-Israeli, but untouchable being a nuclear power.)

Although Israel have a significant millitary advantage, all out war will not help their cause....."insurgency" is the most difficult sort of rebellion to counter, it never, ever stops.

All I can see is bloodshed now and bloodshed in the future, it's unfortunate that people on both sides have to die, it's more unfortunate that the rest of the world is simply sitting back and watching.