THE MARCH TO WAR SUMMARY TIMELINE
note Interesting article about antiwar activists
Syria Prepares In Response To USS Cole's Stationing Off Lebanese Coast
03/03/2008 MEMRI Syrian military sources reported that yesterday, March 2, the Syrian navy was placed on highest alert, and that time off for its forces had been cut by 70%. It was also reported that emergency works were underway to prepare Syria's torpedoes, and that all C-802 anti-ship missile batteries were on highest alert. Syria received the missiles from Iran and Russia over the past two years. Source: Jomhouri-e Eslami, Iran, March 2, 2008; syriatruth.org
Lebanese security officials report Israeli warplanes fly over Beirut
03/07/2008 6:05:16 AM PST Ynet Israeli warplanes flew over the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday, a day after an attack by a Palestinian gunman killed eight Jewish seminary students in Jerusalem, raising tensions in the volatile region. Two Israeli warplanes violated Lebanese airspace and flew over Beirut briefly before leaving the area," a senior Lebanese security official said. Speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give official statements, he said the planes flew at a medium altitude
Israeli forces cross border line in south Lebanon
03/06/2008 4
46 AM PST Future TV Israeli forces Thursday penetrated the border line in south Lebanon towards the Ghajar area overseeing Wazani river, but did not cross the blue line, Future TV reported. The report said the Israeli forces penetrated six km in the Mountazahat area in southern Lebanon
U.S. embassy fears attacks on citizens in Lebanon
03/06/2008 3
05 AM PST The U.S. embassy in Lebanon has urged its citizens residing there to keep a low profile, citing concern that extremist groups" may be planning attacks against Americans There is a general concern that extremist groups may be planning to attack U.S. citizens and interests in Lebanon," the embassy said in a statement dated March 4, posted on its Web site and circulated to U.S. citizens
Qassem: Hizbullah Ready to Face War
03/05/2008 Naharnet Hizbullah's second in command Sheik Naim Qassem said Wednesday that Hizbullah is ready to face Israeli, U.S. or international war.
Hizbullah did all it takes to face any Israeli, American or international war Qassem said in remarks published on Wednesday. "There are signs (of war), but Hizbullah has no assertions since it does not want to initiate the war Israel knows that it will pay a high price for any war Qassem added.
French peacekeepers Launch War games in South Lebanon
03/04/2008 naharnet.com French peacekeepers carried out war games in south Lebanon on Tuesday in what appeared to be a an orientation with the terrain abutting Israel. The state-run National News Agency (NNA) said a unit of the French contingent serving with the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) backed by Armored Personnel carriers carried out the maneuver in the eastern sector of south Lebanon, better known as the Arqoub region. The French contingent, the report added, carried out similar maneuvers last week in the central sector of the southern province abutting Israel.
Crossfire War Lebanon Orders Army to Achieve High Combat Readiness
03/04/2008 newsblaze.com There are more signs of a wider regional war as Tears for Lebanon (TFL) and Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) are reporting Army Commander General Michel Suleiman has ordered his officers to achieve high combat readiness of their units to confront all expected possibilities, especially defending the southern land, maintain domestic security and stability General Suleiman was issuing the directives to his senior commanders of Lebanon's most important units from his headquarters at Yarze a suburb east of Beirut. This is definitely within the time-table of Tehran as most of Lebanon's military has close relations with Damascus-Hezbollah.
U.S. replaces two ships off Lebanese coast
WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) The U.S. Navy has replaced two ships it sent off the coast of Lebanon last week amid political deadlock there to send a signal to Syria, officials said on Tuesday. The cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the destroyer USS Ross replaced the destroyer USS Cole and a refueling ship over the past day, U.S. Navy officials said. Another refueling ship remained in place, meaning the United States continued to have three warships in the area, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. The ships are not visible from the Lebanese coast but their presence.
Israel Says Hezbollah Has 30.000 Rockets
03/04/2008 1
05 PM PST (AP) Israel has said Hezbollah is rearming and has an arsenal that includes 10.000 long-range rockets and 20,000 short-range rockets in southern Lebanon, according to a report from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Wahab Syria Preparing for War and Won't Sell Out Lebanon Allies
03/03/2008 Naharnet A pro-Syrian Lebanese politician said Monday Damascus would not sell out in allies in the Hizbullah-led opposition in return for hosting a summit conference, proclaiming a settlement to the Lebanese crisis "far fetched." Ex-Minister Wiam Wahab made the remarks in a lecture at a Shiite Husseiniyeh in the southern village of Qlaileh. The Arab initiative has reached no where, the Americans want to attack us by using other means. The Saudis, like the Americans, do not want the initiative and they are trying to blackmail Syria by the summit by saying 'facilitate the Lebanon settlement and we'll facilitate the summit
USS Cole off Lebanon is a Declaration of War
03/03/2008 6
53 AM PST Flopping Aces March 03, 2008 A senior Lebanese Shia cleric has said that the new US move to deploy a US warship off the Lebanese coast amounts to a declaration of war. Seyyed Mohammed Hossein Fadlallah said The deployment of the USS Cole to the area is no less than a declaration of war and a new attempt to break the resistance and anti-American groups in the region.” No doubt, Democrats will claim that Bush is sabre rattling, and that if he had just left the USS Cole farther out in the Med
Syria Criticizes U.S. Warship Deployment Off Lebanon as 'Muscle Flexing'
03/01/2008 FOX March 01, 2008 Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Saturday that a U.S. Navy deployment off the coast of Lebanon threatens security in the region and warned the United States it cannot impose its own solution to the long-running political crisis in Lebanon.
There is a history of American fleet intervention in Lebanon. I think these experiences were not at all useful al-Moallem said. The planned deployment of at least three warships, announced Thursday, appeared to be aimed at making an American how of strength at a time of increasing international frustration at the volatile political deadlock in Lebanon
Saudi Arabia calls on its nationals to leave Lebanon immediately
03/01/2008 9:59:40 AM PST reuters Saudi Arabia Saturday called on its nationals living in Lebanon to leave the country immediately Lebanese television report said. Future Television, privately owned by Saad Hariri who heads the majority anti-Syrian bloc in parliament, said Saudi Arabia had advised its nationals to leave Lebanon 'as soon as possible.' There was no one available at the Saudi embassy to comment on the report. Saudi citizens advised to leave Lebanon for security reasons Saturday, 1 March, 2008 @ 7:30 PM Riyadh - Saudi Arabia has advised its citizens in Lebanon, especially families living there, to leave the country immediately
Hezbollah says US ship is threat (USS Cole off of Lebanon coast)
02/29/2008 BBC Staff Hezbollah says US ship is threat The USS Cole was attacked by al-Qaeda in 2000 A Hezbollah MP has condemned the deployment of the USS Cole warship off the coast of Lebanon as a threat to Lebanese sovereignty and independence.The US is sending one warship and a support ship to the eastern Mediterranean as a show of support for "regional stability". The deployment is seen as a warning to Syria
US sends 3 warships to Mediterranean as tensions mount
1/29/2008 The US Navy is sending at least three ships, including at least one amphibious assault ship, to the eastern Mediterranean Sea in a show of strength during a period of tensions with Syria and political uncertainty in Lebanon. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Thursday the deployment should not be viewed as threatening or in response to events in any single country in the volatile region. "This is an area that is important to us, the eastern Med," he said when asked about news reports of the ship movements
Israel Intensifies Training Following Nasrallah Threats as Europe Cautions Hizbullah 02/29/2008 naharnet.com
Israel has intensified its military training along the border with Lebanon following threats by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as Europe cautioned the Shiite group against a retaliatory attack to avenge Imad Mughniyeh's killing. Press reports, citing senior Israeli officers taking part in training along the Lebanon-Israel border, said that the Jewish state takes Nasrallah's threat seriously. The officer, commander of a Merkava tank battalion, said Israel was improving these tanks which were hit by Hizbullah rockets during the summer 2006 war. The military training coincided with Israeli overflights of Lebanon.
Hizballah Boosted by Anti-War Westerners, Meeting Told
/29/2008 2CSN February 29, 2008 | Kevin McCandless Hundreds of anti-war activists attending a meeting here on Thursday night were told that their activism was appreciated by the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hizballah. With the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq fast approaching, the British Stop the War Coalition is preparing for a massive demonstration in London on March 15. As part of the run-up, the coalition sponsored an evening with various speakers, including Ibrahim Moussawi, the editor of Al Intiqad, a Lebanese newspaper linked to Hizballah. In a short speech occasionally interrupted by applause and cheers, Moussawi told his audience
U.S. Navy ships move closer to Lebanon (9 ships)
02/29/2008CNN WASHINGTON (CNN) The U.S. Navy has moved the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole and other ships to the eastern Mediterranean Sea off LebanonPentagon officials said Thursday. (snip) The destroyer and two support ships are close to Lebanon but out of visual range of the coast, Pentagon officials said. Another six vessels, led by the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau, are close to Italy and steaming toward the other three, the officials said.
USS Cole Sent to Lebanese Coast (Payback Time?)
02/28/2008 2
56 PM PST · by Pyro7480 26 replies
Irish Times 2/28/2008 The United States has sent the USS Cole warship to the coast of Lebanon in a "show of support for regional stability
US officials said today. We are very concerned about the situation in Lebanon. It has dragged on very long," said the senior official, who spoke on condition anonymity. Lebanon's western-backed governing coalition and its Syrian- and Iranian-backed opposition have failed to reach a...
US says sends warship off coast of Lebanon
02/28/2008 1:05:33 PM PST ynetnews.com Signaling impatience with Syria, the United States has sent its USS Cole warship off the coast of Lebanon in a show of support" for regional stability, a senior US official said on Thursday. The senior official told Reuters the United States was very concerned about the political deadlock in Lebanon, which Washington blames on Syrian meddling. A US defense official said the Cole left Malta on Tuesday and was headed towards Lebanon, adding it would not be within visible range of Lebanon but "well over the horizon
Iran: Slain Hezbollah military chief's widow points the finger at Syria
02/25/2008AKI February 25, 2008 Tehran, 25 Feb.The wife of assassinated militant leader Imad Mughniyeh, claims that Syria was behind the killing of her husband, reported Alborz, a pro-Iranian government source. Her husband, Imad Mughniyeh was killed in a bombing in Damascus on 13 February and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Syria and Iran have blamed Israel for assassinating him. Mughniyeh was the intelligence chief of Hezbollah's secretive military wing, the Islamic Resistance. The Syrian traitors assisted in my husband's murder," said the wife. Saudi daily Okaz has also entertained the idea of Syria being behind the murder of Mughniyeh.
Israel and Hizballah on High Alert
02/25/2008 time.comThe inconclusive results for Israel of the monthlong war it fought in the summer of 2006 against Lebanon's militant Shi'ite Hizballah meant that another confrontation was probably just a matter of time. And with the February 12 assassination in Damascus of a senior Hizballah commander continuing to roil the waters of the Middle East, that much-anticipated second round could be drawing nearer. Hizballah has vowed revenge for the car bomb killing of Imad Mughniyah, and Israel is taking the threat seriously. Israel has placed its army on alert and reinforced its presence along the northern border with Lebanon.
Nasrallah: Lebanese agents planning new war with Israel
02/22/2008 haaretz Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Friday that operatives within Lebanon are planning a new war with Israel in coming months. Nasrallah, who made a speech in honor of the "Islamic Resistance Weekmaintained that activists from his organization are ready for battle against the Israel Defense Forces and will fight the IDF soldiers "in every wadi" in ways they haven't fought in the past.No one can protect the entire Israeli home front from our missiles In his speech, the Hezbollah chief mentioned the recent killing of Imad Mughniyah
Kuwaitis advised not to travel to Lebanon (first Saudi Arabia, now Kuwait?)
KUWAIT, Feb 21 (KUNA) Given the present political circumstances Lebanon is passing through, the Kuwaiti foreign ministry onThursday advised its citizens not to travel to Lebanon. An authoritative source told KUNA in a statement that the ministry was keen on the safety of Kuwaitis and believes it is not advisable for nationals to travel to Lebanon at this time.
Syrian guards kill Lebanese farmer on border
02/19/2008 Syrian border guards shot and killed a Lebanese farmer on the Lebanese-Syrian frontier Lebanese police announced in a statement. Abbas Abbas, 15, was returning home on a donkey after working in his land on the Lebanese-Syrian frontier when a Syrian border patrol opened fire on him, killing him instantlyaccording to an official police statement. Another Lebanese man, Hussein Ali al-Dada, 41, was wounded Sunday when Syrian border guards opened fire on him after breaking into his house on the Lebanese-Syrian borderAn-Nahar newspaper reported. (AP)
Lebanon braces itself for possible Hezbollah attack on Israel
02/18/2008 5
28 PM PST · Haaretz (Israel) Last
Yoav Stern, Yuval Azoulay and Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondents
Tensions are growing in Lebanon over the possibility of renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah Bracing itself for the likelihood of Hezbollah retaliation for the assassination of terrorist mastermind Imad Mughniyah
in Damascus last week, Israel on Monday deployed Patriot air defense missiles near Haifa.Rhetoric between rival factions in Lebanon has reached a new peak with Druze leader Walid Jumblat accusing Hezbollah in an editorial to be published Tuesday in his party's journal, Al Anba, of serving Syrian interests
at Lebanon's expense in its war against Israel.
Israel concerned over impending UNIFIL breakdown in Lebanon
jp 2/18/08 YAAKOV KATZ
With Lebanon in political deadlock and Hizbullah threatening to renew hostilities with Israel,defense officials in Tel Aviv expressed concern on Monday that European countries will gradually reduce their participation
in UNIFIL over the coming year.
Syria (border guards) invades Lebanon, shoots and wounds a Lebanese
Ya Libnan Syria invades Lebanon, shoots and wounds a Lebanese Monday, 18 February, 2008 @ 2:04 PM BeirutThe Syrian intelligence forces and Syrian border guards invaded Lebanon yesterday and stormed the house of Hussein Ali Aldedda and fired three bullets at him wounding him in his hand, elbow and hip before withdrawing back to the Syrian territory according to the Arabic daily Al-Nahar. No explanations were given for the Syrian actions. Aldedda was taken to the al Rayyan hospital in Baalbeck area for treatment. Aldedda is reportedly in a stable condition.
Saudi Arabia advises citizens not to visit Lebanon
18 Feb 2008 12
24 GMT RIYADH, Feb 18 (Reuters) Saudi Arabia on Monday advised its citizens not to travel to Lebanon because of political and security problems. The foreign ministry advised Saudi citizens not to travel to Lebanon in light of unstable political and security circumstances in Lebanon right now a statement from the official news agency SPA said, in a rare move for Saudi Arabia. This is to ensure safety and security and prevent being exposed to any harm citing a ministry source. The ministry called on Saudis in Lebanon to take precautions and care in their movements
Imad Mughniyeh: Hezbollah's Phantom Killed
Saturday, February 16, 2008 Alireza Nourizadeh London, 15 Feb. (Asharq Al-Awsat)- Imad Mughniyeh, one of the world’s most wanted men, was killed in a car bomb in the Syrian capital, Damascus, late Tuesday night. Mughniyeh was on an FBI wanted list with a US$25 million bounty on his head, equal to the bounty that the US has put for Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.Mughniyeh was implicated in a series of infamous attacks against US, Israeli and Jewish targets in Lebanon and abroad. On Wednesday, Hezbollah announced that Mughniyeh had been killed by Israeli agents.
50.000 Hezbollah men said deployed along border with Israel
02/16/2008 Haaretz February 16, 2008The Lebanese newspaper A-Safir reported Saturday that the Lebanon-based guerilla group Hezbollah has deployed 50,000 activists along the southern border with Israel and declared a state of high alert in southern Lebanon. According to the report, the organization has also evacuated all buildings in the area designated for social or political purposes in recent days, in preparation for a confrontation with Israel in the wake of the assassination of Hezbollah terror chief Imad Mughniyah. Mughniyah, the organization's deputy secretary general, was killed in a blast in an upscale Damascus neighborhood late Tuesday. On Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah blamed Israel...
Lebanese PM Open war on Israel would harm Hezbollah
02/16/2008Ha'aretz 16/02/2008Lebanon's western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said that Lebanon has no interest in declaring an open war on Israel as this would harm Hezbollah in addition to the Islamic and Arab causes, Lebanese reports quoted him Saturday as saying. don't believe we have an interest to wage an open war worldwide because this would be harmful to Hezbollah as well as to the Islamic and Arab causes," Siniora was quoted as telling the Lebanese satellite channel Future TV. "We have had an earlier experience. We must not repeat this experience," Siniora said in reference to the July 2006 war
Report: Hizbullah goes on high alert
02/16/2008Lebanese newspaper reports Shiite militant group orders 50,000 of its fighters to prepare to ‘curb any Israeli aggression evacuates most buildings used for non-military purposes in south Lebanon US embassy asks staff to stay vigilant Hizbullah has raised its alert level in southern Lebanon to the maximumfollowing the organization leader Hassan Nasrallah’s threats to retaliate against Israel for the assassination of Imad MugniyahLebanese paper as-Safir reported Saturday. Hizbullah claims that Mugniyah, the group’s top military commander who died in a blast in Damascus Tuesday, has been killed by Israeli agents.
Nasrallah: If Israel wants open war, so be it
02/15/2008 DebkaFebruary 14, 2008 The blood of our slain commander will lead to Israel's demise said the Hizballah leader, Hassan Nasrallah in a diatribe broadcast at the funeral of the group’s military commander Imad Mughniyeh Thursday, Feb. 18 I say for the whole world to hear that our war will extend everywhere without restraints.
Israel on high alert for massive Hezbollah reprisal
02/15/2008 The Israel Defence Forces have been placed on high alert at the Lebanese border Special commando units have been dispatched to reinforce the northern command to combat attempted abductions of Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah militants and all troop leave has been cancelled until further notice. The Navy has also been alerted to possible offshore infiltration
7th March 2008
