[Peace] Call Congress about Israeli assault

[Jan & Durl Kruse]

Thanks Carl:
I just made the calls to DC.
For those on a budget here are 2 toll free numbers that are currently 
working to "DC capitol telephone operators" who can direct your call to 
any of the  "leaders" listed below! ....plus anyone else........except 
GW BUSH.
I even called Hilary of NY and Feingold of Wisconsin and mentioned that 
they try to have me send a donation for them (they call themselves 
progressive democrats in the fundraisers) so I knew that they would 
want to hear how I feel about what is going on in Lebanon right now and 
my problem with who they are supporting.
Call for Free:
TOLL FREE TO DC: 1-888-508-2974
TOLL FREE TO DC: 1-888-355-3588

On Jul 19, 2006, at 2:14 PM, C. G. Estabrook wrote:

> As the article below (not from an American paper, of course) points 
> out, the US has allowed and sponsored the Israeli assault on Lebanon.  
> A call to our unrepresentative representatives would seem to be in 
> order:
>
> 	Rep. Johnson 202.225.2371
> 	Sen. Durbin 202.224.2152
> 	Sen. Obama 202.224.2854
>
> In calls earlier today, Durbin's office couldn't be bothered to take 
> my name; Obama's didn't even answer the phone -- a recording said that 
> they were too busy to do so.  I think we should see that they remain 
> busy...
>
> --CGE
>
> =====
>
>   Bush 'gave green light' for limited attack, say Israeli and UK 
> sources
>   Ewen MacAskill, Simon Tisdall and Patrick Wintour
>   Wednesday July 19, 2006
>   The Guardian
>
> The US is giving Israel a window of a week to inflict maximum damage on
> Hizbullah before weighing in behind international calls for a 
> ceasefire in
> Lebanon, according to British, European and Israeli sources.
>
> The Bush administration, backed by Britain, has blocked efforts for an
> immediate halt to the fighting initiated at the UN security council, 
> the G8
> summit in St Petersburg and the European foreign ministers' meeting in
> Brussels.
>
> "It's clear the Americans have given the Israelis the green light. 
> They [the
> Israeli attacks] will be allowed to go on longer, perhaps for another 
> week,"
> a senior European official said yesterday. Diplomatic sources said 
> there was
> a clear time limit, partly dictated by fears that a prolonged conflict 
> could
> spin out of control.
>
> US strategy in allowing Israel this freedom for a limited period has 
> several
> objectives, one of which is delivering a slap to Iran and Syria, who
> Washington claims are directing Hizbullah and Hamas militants from 
> behind
> the scenes.
>
> George Bush last night said that he suspected Syria was trying to 
> reassert
> its influence in Lebanon. Speaking in Washington, he said: "It's in our
> interest for Syria to stay out of Lebanon and for this government in 
> Lebanon
> to succeed and survive. The root cause of the problem is Hizbullah and 
> that
> problem needs to be addressed."
>
> Tony Blair yesterday swung behind the US position that Israel need not 
> end
> the bombing until Hizbullah hands over captured prisoners and ends its
> rocket attacks. During a Commons statement, he resisted backbench 
> demands
> that he call for a ceasefire.
>
> Echoing the US position, he told MPs: "Of course we all want violence 
> to
> stop and stop immediately, but we recognise the only realistic way to
> achieve such a ceasefire is to address the underlying reasons why this
> violence has broken out."
>
> He also indicated it might take many months to agree the terms of a UN
> stabilisation force on the Lebanese border.
>
> After Mr Blair spoke, British officials privately acknowledged the US 
> had
> given Israel a green light to continue bombing Lebanon until it 
> believes
> Hizbullah's infrastructure has been destroyed.
>
> Washington's hands-off approach was underlined yesterday when it was
> confirmed that Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, is 
> delaying a
> visit to the region until she has met a special UN team. She is 
> expected in
> the region on Friday, according to Dan Gillerman, Israel's ambassador 
> to the
> UN.
>
> The US is publicly denying any role in setting a timeframe for Israeli
> strikes. When asked whether the US was holding back diplomatically, 
> Tony
> Snow, the White House's press spokesman, said yesterday: "No, no; the
> insinuation there is that there is active military planning, 
> collaboration
> or collusion, between the United States and Israel - and there isn't 
> ... the
> US has been in the lead of the diplomatic efforts, issuing repeated 
> calls
> for restrain,t but at the same time putting together an international
> consensus. You've got to remember who was responsible for this: 
> Hizbullah
> ... It would be misleading to say the United States hasn't been 
> engaged.
> We've been deeply engaged."
>
> Steven Cook, a specialist in US-Middle East policy at the 
> Washington-based
> Council on Foreign Relations, said: "It's abundantly clear [that US 
> policy
> is] to give the Israelis the opportunity to strike a blow at Hizbullah 
> ...
>
> "They have global reach, and prior to 9/11 they killed more Americans 
> than
> any other group. But the Israelis are overplaying their hand."
>
> Israel is already laying the ground for negotiations. "We are 
> beginning a
> diplomatic process alongside the military operation that will 
> continue,"
> said Tzipi Livni, Israel's foreign minister, yesterday. "The diplomatic
> process is not meant to shorten the window of time of the army's 
> operation,
> but rather is meant to be an extension of it and to prevent a need for
> future military operations," she added.
>
> Moshe Kaplinsky, Israel's deputy army chief, said the offensive could 
> end
> within a few weeks, adding that Israel needed time to complete "clear
> goals". Israeli officials said fighting could begin to wind down after 
> the
> weekend, if Hizbullah stops firing rockets.
>
> A peace formula is also beginning to emerge: it includes an 
> understanding on
> a future prisoner exchange, a deployment of the Lebanese army up to the
> Israeli border, a Hizbullah pullback, and the beefing up of an 
> international
> monitoring force. For the first time, Ms Livni suggested Israel might 
> accept
> such a force on a temporary basis.
>
> There were signs of differences of emphasis between the Foreign Office 
> and
> Downing Street over the conflict.
>
> Kim Howells, a Foreign Office minister, explicitly called for the US 
> to rein
> in Israel. "I very much hope the Americans will be putting pressure on 
> the
> Israelis to stop as quickly as possible." he told the BBC. "We 
> understand
> the pressure the Israeli government is under, but we call on them to 
> look
> very carefully at the pressure ordinary people are under in southern 
> Lebanon
> and other parts of Lebanon too ... We want to stop this as quickly as
> possible".
>
> Israeli airstrikes killed 31 yesterday, including a family of nine in
> Aitaroun. More than 230 civilians in Lebanon have been killed in the 
> past
> week.
>
> An Israeli man was killed by a Hizbullah rocket in Nahariya in northern
> Israel, bringing the total of Israeli civilian deaths to 13. The army 
> said
> 50 missiles were fired yesterday at northern Israel, injuring at least 
> 14
> people.
>
> Flashpoints
>
> 31 Lebanese killed in Israeli air raids. Nine members of one family 
> were
> killed and four wounded in a strike on their house in the village of
> Aitaroun. Five were killed in other strikes in the south and two in the
> Bekaa Valley. An attack on a Lebanese army barracks east of Beirut 
> killed 11 soldiers and wounded 30. A truck carrying medical supplies 
> was hit and its driver killed on the Beirut-Damascus highway. 
> Hizbullah says one of its fighters was killed.
>
> One man killed as he was walking to a bomb shelter in Nahariya, 
> northern
> Israel. The army said Hizbullah fired 50 missiles, hitting the port and
> railway depot at Haifa, as well as the towns of Safed, Acre and Kiryat
> Shmona.
>
> Hundreds evacuated from Beirut in helicopters and boats. HMS Gloucester
> arrives to start evacuation of Britons. The Orient Queen, a cruise ship
> capable of carrying 750, sets out from Cyprus, escorted by a US 
> destroyer.
>
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1823817,00.html
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>
Jan Kruse
www.dailypracticecounts.com.