amsterdam528

Eh this whole conflict's been nothing but a ploy...:\ I really hope this is true. I really do; I WANT it to be.

Hezbollah politicians back peace package By SAM F. GHATTAS, Associated Press Writer 27 minutes ago BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hezbollah politicians, while expressing reservations, have joined their critics in the government in agreeing to a peace package that includes strengthening an international force in south Lebanon and disarming the guerrillas, the government said. The agreement — reached after a heated six-hour Cabinet meeting — was the first time that Hezbollah has signed onto a proposal for ending the crisis that includes the deploying of international forces. The package falls short of American and Israeli demands in that it calls for an immediate cease-fire before working out details of a force and includes other conditions. But European Union officials said Friday the proposals form a basis for an agreement, increasing the pressure on the United States to call for a cease-fire. President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Friday they too want an international force dispatched quickly to the Mideast but said any plan to end the fighting — to have a lasting effect — must address long-running regional disputes. "This is a moment of intense conflict in the Middle East," Bush said after his meeting with Blair in Washington. "Yet our aim is to turn it into a moment of opportunity and a chance for broader change in the region." By signing onto the peace proposals, Hezbollah gave Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora a boost in future negotiations. Going into Thursday night's Cabinet session, Hezbollah's two ministers expressed deep reservations about the force and its mandate, fearing it could turn against their guerrillas. "Will the international force be a deterrent one and used against who?" officials who attended the Cabinet meeting said in summing up Hezbollah cabinet ministers concerns. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the debate. But afterward, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi announced that the package had been agreed on by consensus in a rare show of unity by a divided administration. While all sides seemed to be looking for a way to stop the fighting, details of plans taking shape on all sides were still fuzzy. And it was not at all certain Hezbollah would really follow through on the Lebanese government plan that would effectively abolish the militants' military wing. It may have signed on to the deal convinced that Israel would reject it. But the agreement presents Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice with a package she might find hard to ignore when she returns to the region. The plan approved by the Cabinet was an outline that Saniora presented at an international conference in Rome on Wednesday. It starts out with an immediate cease-fire. Following that would come: • the release of Lebanese and Israeli prisoners; Israeli withdrawal behind the border; the return of Lebanese displaced by the fighting. • moves to resolve the status of Chebaa Farms, a small piece of land held by Israel and claimed by Lebanon. The proposal calls for the U.N. Security Council to commit to putting the area under U.N. control until a final demarcation of the border. • the provision by Israel of maps of minefields laid during its 18-year occupation of the south. • "the spreading of Lebanese government authority over the entire country," meaning the deployment of the Lebanese army in the south, with the strengthening and increasing of the small, lightly armed U.N. peacekeeping force currently there. The provisions do not spell out the order in which the steps must take place, but Saniora has said the government cannot spread its authority in the south unless the Chebaa farms issue is resolved. Israel's hold on Chebaa has provided Hezbollah with a rationale to maintain its arsenal and its "resistance" against Israel. U.N. experts have previously determined that the territory is part of Syria's Golan Heights, now held by Israel. But Syria has said the patch of land is Lebanon's. Also left undetermined is the contentious issue of the size and mandate of a peacekeeping force in the south. The current nearly 2,000-member force, deployed since 1978, is virtually ineffectual and its main task now is to patrol the Blue Line, monitor and report violations and deliver aid. Four U.N. border observers were killed in an Israeli airstrike this week. The Lebanese government has previously rejected international demands that it disarm Hezbollah and move the army into the south. Without Hezbollah consent, the move could tear the country apart due to the movement's deep support among Shiite Muslims. The rare united stand between Hezbollah and anti-Syrian politicians who dominate the government could give Lebanon a stronger say in any resolution of the conflict. A divided government may encourage unilateral U.N. Security Council action on the Lebanon crisis without consulting Beirut. Visiting EU envoys, led by Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, met Friday with Saniora and parliament speaker Nabih Berri, the de facto negotiator for Hezbollah. Tuomioja, representing the EU Finnish presidency, said the troika appreciated the Lebanese government's plan which "we think forms a good basis for a regional agreement." Terrorists want peace huh? Looks like someone deserves an apology.

WTF? Geez I've got nothing else to say to this... :shocked2:

Oh yeah True Love waits is an awesome acoustic track. Don't forget about Gagging Order too! Old Radiohead's still there, you've just gotta look for it. :D Still, I'm all for new Radiohead. It took about 8 months, but I have come to adore Hail to the Thief. Brilliant album. As for Amnesiac's Morning Bell, Nik, I don't think it screwed it up as much as Pull/Pulk Revolving Doors. I can't even listen to that track. Not that Morning Bell's much better, but I think both are pretty big blemishes in the midst of a fantastic record.

life

ooo nice I can't wait to hear. (show me the Exo-Politics love :D)

Yeah that's one of the 3 I have (Crying Shame, Con-Science, Host, also House of the Rising Sun, but that doesn't count :P ). It's such an amazing and sad song. I could relate to the lyrics a while back. :cry:

Ha I don't need to worry about any of that with my Creative Zen Microphoto :D ...which happens to be broken right now :cry: I'm not sure what to think of Zune. The name is stupid, IMO, and it's Microsoft whom I trust MUCH less than Apple. I just have to wait until it comes out to make my judgments.

Is there a place where someone uploaded a bunch of Muse B-Sides? Cause I have like...3 (not counting Hullabaloo) and I want more. :D

Oh man Bono drives me nuts sometimes, but the other three (Edge, Larry, Adam). lol I love those guys.

Maybe cause I enjoy U2 FAR more than The Beatles? After all, that is what you said this contest was about. Still, I wish Radiohead was in this poll. :\

Oh man Ren this song Glorious is still growing on me! ahh I don't know why, it should have stopped by now! :laugh3: The part where he sings "Glorious" is my favorite. :)

Only....heh I've ONLY got 44, but I've got 1 on the way and a wishlist of about 6 right now.

Ha, you'd think the people actually fighting the wars would get tired too... :\ Has there ever been one day of complete peace on this planet. Just one? :thinking:

Fair enough. At least you gave me an answer, and I'm not educated enough on international politics to argue with it, so I won't.

I didn't ask if they would try it, I asked if maybe it would work. ugh I've almost had it with you people. :veryangry:

Does anyone think that maybe by supporting the Lebanese government and making it stronger, they will be able to disband Hezbollah by other means? The majority of writers in the Op-Ed section of my newspaper seem to think so.

I was referring to the evidence of Israeli soldiers inside Lebanon 2 weeks prior to the start of the conflict. I know they attacked you inside Israel. I see it all the time on the news. It just doesn't mean that particular attack was the catalyst of everything.

As an American, I can second this point. It's absolutely true, though my government never told me it was. I wonder why?

More like an impossible one! lol I know who I'm voting for 1st, but damn 3rd... ahhh I dunno yet!

Perhaps he's just being objective, unlike furious emotionally clouded natives.

Wow that's an excellent article. This situation just seems to be getting more sad as more information about pre-emptive planning is revealed and as diplomats enter negotiations with no plans for solving these crises. Sad sad world. :cry: