Hezbollah Gunmen Take Beirut Neighborhoods

Secretary Of State Rice Accuses Militants Of Killing Innocent Civilians

(CBS/AP)  But the street violence stunned many in the country, leaving city streets empty and people huddling inside their homes, fearful and uncertain about what might happen next.

"I'm shocked," Iman Humaydan, a 51-year-old Druse author, said of the takeover. "It reminds me of 1982 when Israel invaded Lebanon and caused hatred among the people. And now once again people feel hate."

Nationals from several countries, including Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, have left Lebanon by way of Syria in large numbers. France and Italy said they were preparing for an eventual evacuation of their citizens.

Gunmen set fire to a newspaper's offices and a Future TV station building belonging to the top Sunni leader, Saad Hariri. They also forced another station to shut down.

The fighters began withdrawing to Shiite neighborhoods about eight hours later, jumping into pickup trucks and SUVs that sped away. Lebanese troops moved in. But some gunmen remained on street corners, or sat inside parked vehicles.

Later Friday afternoon, anti-government gunmen loyal to a pro-Syrian group attacked and set on fire a two-story building where Future TV have their archives.

Reporters Without Borders condemned Hezbollah's armed attacks and threats against news media owned by the Hariri family.

Hariri, the son of assassinated former premier Rafik Hariri, and his ally Druse political leader Walid Jumblatt were holed up in their residences, protected by Lebanese troops. Opposition leaders said they would not be harmed.

At one point, a rocket-propelled grenade hit the fence of Hariri's heavily protected residence, security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the media.

Late Friday, a group of gunmen fired about a dozen bullets at a statue of Rafik Hariri next to the seafront road where he was killed in a massive 2005 truck bombing.

Meanwhile, Saniora and five Cabinet ministers were at the heavily protected prime minister's compound in downtown Beirut, with militants nearby making no move against it.

Other officials of the pro-government coalition convened in emergency session in the Christian heartland north of the city, areas that have remained peaceful.

After the meeting, they issued a statement calling on the army to take control of the streets and urging Arab and international intervention to pressure the countries that support Hezbollah - meaning Iran and Syria.

"The bloody coup d'etat aims at returning Syria to Lebanon and placing Iran on the Mediterranean," said the statement read by Christian pro-government leader Samir Geagea. "Violence will not terrorize us, but it will increase our resolve," he said.

Jumblatt, whose demand for the removal of the airport security chief inflamed tensions with Hezbollah, said Nasrallah got "nervous" by the removal of the officer and seized West Beirut. He said that was a "mistake."

"Things just can't be solved here except on the ground. And controlling west Beirut will lead to nowhere," he told al-Jazeera English television.

Hezbollah hanging on to its weapons will lead to two states on one land, he added.

"One day, when (Nasrallah) accepts that, he should be included into the Lebanese security systems."

Hezbollah has long boasted about its military success in fighting Israel in summer of 2006 and that battle boosted its popularity. But the Shiite group also appeared wary of the consequences of its takeover, particularly in a nation of 17 various Christian and Muslim sects.

Hezbollah was taking care not to antagonize its Christian allies and smaller groups within the Sunni and Druse communities. But the fighting was certain to leave scars, particularly because Shiites took over Sunni and Druse neighborhoods.

The army has remained above the political fray and has refrained from using force to open Hezbollah roadblocks or intervene in the clashes for fear of being dragged into sectarian conflict that could divide the military. The army broke up along sectarian lines in the 1975-90 civil war.

The military and the police are considered the last remaining state institutions that are united despite the political crisis.

It also would be too risky for the under-armed military to take on Hezbollah, a highly organized and trained military force that fields thousands of fighters and possesses thousands of rockets. Hezbollah withstood more than a month of onslaught in 2006 by Israel, which has the most powerful army in the Middle East.

[milesbrown49]

Prinzowhales: What is strange to me is that most Americans know what Israel is doing but say nothing. Seems like the Nazi reverse. I don''t understand.

[milesbrown49]

Prinzowhales: What is strange to me is that most Americans know what Israel is doing but say nothing. Seems like the Nazi reverse. I don''t understand.

[guadalcanal3]

Bring in the the IDF...They''ll take care of it.

[keithle1]

Violence in Beirut? How terrible. Yawn. So what else is new. Wake me if any Americans get killed.

[prinzowhales]

juwboy--And just what attrocities did the Palestinian women and children of Sabra and Shatila commit against the Phalangists that called for their rape, torture, mutilation and murder illuminated under the flares of the Israeli army that penned the camps in while the Phlangists slaughtered them? Even the war criminal in charge of the Israelis was removed as a gesture towards ameliorating the international outrage over these crimes.

[kevinrphkv]

It seems to me that if the Arab thugs want to kill someone(obviously they are either killing each other or anyone nearby) Bush has the right idea in keeping the war on that side of the globe. Otherwise they WILL come to our house and throw a molotov cocktail in our kitchen while we eat breakfast... Think about it. This is a war to keep us secure not the Iraqis. To keep the Arabs under control is a very big job and we can only hold them off so long before we go broke. I do not envy our leaders. They are doing the best that they can to keep YOU safe.

[kevinrphkv]

It seems to me that if the Arab thugs want to kill someone(obviously they are either killing each other or anyone nearby) Bush has the right idea in keeping the war on that side of the globe. Otherwise they WILL come to our house and throw a molotov cocktail in our kitchen while we eat breakfast... Think about it. This is a war to keep us secure not the Iraqis. To keep the Arabs under control is a very big job and we can only hold them off so long before we go broke. I do not envy our leaders. They are doing the best that they can to keep YOU safe.

[mcvet]

During the debate, Barack Obama once again refused to condemn former President Jimmy Carter- who publicly supports Obama- for holding talks with the Hamas terrorist group, a group supported financially, politically and military by Iran.

Barack Obama''''s foreign policy plans have even won him praise from Hamas leaders. Ahmed Yousef, chief political adviser to the Hamas Prime Minister said, "We like Mr. Obama and we hope he will win the election. He has a vision to change America."

We need change in America, but not the kind of change that wins kind words from Hamas, surrenders in Iraq and will hold unconditional talks with Iranian President Ahmadinejad.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by nanging3 at 02:59 AM : May 10, 2008
+ report abuse

Duh?? Sparky you nazi''s have got to get a grip on this!! OBAMA has NOT set policy for your fuhrer, Heir Bush! It is Heir Bush is is ALLIED with the Shiite in IRAQ you know... course he''s ALLIED with the Sunni as well... to tell you the truth NO ONE knows exactly WHAT Sir Lies-A-Lot stands for... NO ONE at all. Obama represents OUR best hope to bring some sanity to our policy and some INTELLIGENCE to the office of PRESIDENT. YOU freaks have a RECORD and you seem to want to run from that RECORD in any way you can... SIEG HEIL BUSH!!

[juwboy]

AVSuvorov said:

"the massacres in Sabra and Shatila were carried out by Maronite CHRISTIANS who were allies of the Israelis."

The Maronites were under orders from the Israelis to go into the camps and arrest members of the PLO.

However, they decided to disobey the orders they were given because they saw this as an opportunity to gain revenge for the terrible atrocities committed against Lebanese Christians by Yasir Arafat''s PLO.

Good for them!

If only they''d killed even more .....

[nanging3]

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/removable-of-father-michael-pfleger

[nanging3]

During the debate, Barack Obama once again refused to condemn former President Jimmy Carter- who publicly supports Obama- for holding talks with the Hamas terrorist group, a group supported financially, politically and military by Iran.

Barack Obama''s foreign policy plans have even won him praise from Hamas leaders. Ahmed Yousef, chief political adviser to the Hamas Prime Minister said, "We like Mr. Obama and we hope he will win the election. He has a vision to change America."

We need change in America, but not the kind of change that wins kind words from Hamas, surrenders in Iraq and will hold unconditional talks with Iranian President Ahmadinejad.

[nanging3]

{JERUSALEM - Sen. Barack Obama%u2019s Chicago church reprinted a manifesto by Hamas that defended terrorism as legitimate resistance, refused to recognize the right of Israel to exist and compared the terror group%u2019s official charter - which
calls for the murder of Jews - to America%u2019s Declaration of Independence.
The Hamas piece was published on the %u201CPastor%u2019s Page%u201D of the Trinity United Church of Christ newsletter reserved for Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., The revelation follows a recent WND article quoting Israeli security officials who expressed %u201Cconcern%u201D about Robert Malley, an adviser to Obama who has
advocated negotiations with Hamas and providing international assistance to the terrorist group.
In his July 22, 2007, church bulletin, Wright reprinted an article by Mousa Abu Marzook, identified in the newsletter as a %u201Cdeputy of the political bureau of Hamas.%u201D
According to senior Israeli security officials, Marzook, who resides in Syria
alongside Hamas chieftain Khaled Meshaal, is considered the %u201Cbrains%u201D behind
Hamas, designing much of the terror group%u2019s policies and ideology. Israel
possesses what it says is a large volume of specific evidence that Marzook has
been directly involved in calling for or planning scores of Hamas terrorist
offensives, including deadly suicide bombings. He was also accused of attempting
to set up a Hamas network in the U.S.

[gce65]

This is so trivial! Most of the US population can''t even pronounce Hezbollah or find Beirut on a map.

CBS: Didn''t you know that Jenna Bush is having her wedding this weekend? Why is your ENTIRE news team not down at "the ranch in Craaaawf''rd" to cover the nuptuals? We have to know what she''s wearing!

[harp1963]

Who cares. Sink the whole continent. These people couldn''t get along for all the money in the world.

[erasmus81]

I will be with you at 1:00.

Goodnight A.J.

[ajmarine11]

Erasmus,

I don''t know what is going on. Have a good weekend, and we can try this again Monday. Hope things went well with your mother.

I''ll be thinking of you.......girl.

[erasmus81]

Posted by AJMarine11 at 11:24 PM : May 09, 2008

I got 3 altogether. The "Hi girl" one, the "I''m done one, and the last one saying that you only got 1 e-mail.

[patriotic9]

It''s great to see Shia killing Sunni, sunni killing shia, christians killing their muslim brothers and muslims killing their christian brothers (they both belive in ISLAMIC RADICAL "JESUS" who opposed homosexual''s right of marriage just like his brother OSAMA BEEN FORGOTTEN), Muslims killing Jews and Jews killing muslims.

Only thing sad about this is my tax dollars being spent on these thousands of years old myths!

[ajmarine11]

I didn''t get it. Did you get one from me just a little bit ago?

[erasmus81]

Erasmus,

Just one. Try another.

Posted by AJMarine11 at 11:17 PM : May 09, 2008


I sent another.