Israel Attack Humanitarian Ship, 10 men killed

[Tyrones own]

so, did any of the aid make it through to the desired final destination ? ..or does anyone give a shite...

The short answer is obviously not, sure when was the word last uttered?
This Flotilla really never was about Aid...I think most here have eventually come to terms with that,
except of course for the few cheerleaders that are still dancing to his same tired tune!

and what was it about?

It was a political stunt plain and simple to bring light to the situation in the region; mission accomplished...right?
Mike Sheehy is indeed correct in highlighting the marked distancing from the real issue here in getting aid into them
in favor of showing themselves up for what they are..hateful people more interested in spouting their propagandized hate for the West
than trying to capitalize and follow up on what could be deemed a victory of sorts minus the loss of life of course, which then brings back in to play
the numerous you tube videos of some of these humanitarians staunchly welcoming their fate prior to their attempt at ramming the blockade
One must wonder at and question some of this.... that is of course if you are paying any bit of attention and not blindly following 

[behind the wire]

I find it hard to understand how an irishman can harbour such a view. i should think that your opinion on the hunger strikes would be interesting.

[mylestheslasher]

I find it hard to understand how an irishman can harbour such a view. i should think that your opinion on the hunger strikes would be interesting.

He's not an Irishman and he is not worth debating with.

[Myles Na G.]

I find it hard to understand how an irishman can harbour such a view. i should think that your opinion on the hunger strikes would be interesting.

I never realised that being Irish required signing up to a certain agreed viewpoint on anything. I'm away to check my passport.

[pintsofguinness]

so, did any of the aid make it through to the desired final destination ? ..or does anyone give a shite...

The short answer is obviously not, sure when was the word last uttered?
This Flotilla really never was about Aid...I think most here have eventually come to terms with that,
except of course for the few cheerleaders that are still dancing to his same tired tune!

and what was it about?

It was a political stunt plain and simple to bring light to the situation in the region; mission accomplished...right?
Mike Sheehy is indeed correct in highlighting the marked distancing from the real issue here in getting aid into them
in favor of showing themselves up for what they are..hateful people more interested in spouting their propagandized hate for the West
than trying to capitalize and follow up on what could be deemed a victory of sorts minus the loss of life of course, which then brings back in to play
the numerous you tube videos of some of these humanitarians staunchly welcoming their fate prior to their attempt at ramming the blockade
One must wonder at and question some of this.... that is of course if you are paying any bit of attention and not blindly following 

Blindly following what? All I know is that troops were sent on to a boat in international waters and shot 9 people. I would think any human being would have issues with that particularly when this is suppose to be a democratic, modern country allied with the west.  Whether or not it was a political stunt is completely irrelevant, political stunts happen every day it doesn't mean the people involved deserved to be shot!
There is no evidence of the victims spouting "propagandized hate for the West" but I wouldn't blame them if they were!

[Tyrones own]

Blindly following what? All I know is that troops were sent on to a boat in international waters and shot 9 people. I would think any human being would have issues with that particularly when this is suppose to be a democratic, modern country allied with the west.  Whether or not it was a political stunt is completely irrelevant, political stunts happen every day it doesn't mean the people involved deserved to be shot!
There is no evidence of the victims spouting "propagandized hate for the West" but I wouldn't blame them if they were!

Maybe you should give it another read over there Pints... especially on where you got that last line!

[mylestheslasher]

I find it hard to understand how an irishman can harbour such a view. i should think that your opinion on the hunger strikes would be interesting.

I never realised that being Irish required signing up to a certain agreed viewpoint on anything. I'm away to check my passport.

Just check the cover on the front of yours, the crown will be a dead give away.

[Nally Stand]

Interesting tagline at the bottom of your page TO:
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.
  - Flannery O'Connor"

I couldn't agree more. The truth is that the organisers never denied that the convoy wasn't just about aid. In fact they were quite determined to stress that it was also about drawing attention to the suffering of the people of Gaza. I fail to see what is wrong with that and why you wish to gloss over the murders carried out on the ship.

[give her dixie]

Another ship has set sail for Gaza.

It will be interesting to see what happens to this one.
Lets hope they reach Gaza safely, without another US/Israeli attack.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6OkQ17M--Y&feature=autofb

Libyan ship 'will continue to Gaza' 

    Weeks after the deadly raid on a Turkish aid flotilla, a Libya-sponsored ship is heading with aid to Gaza


Organisers of a Libya-sponsored aid ship have said they will continue their attempt to break the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, despite Israeli claims that the vessel would instead sail to Egypt.

Yousseuf Sawani, a director of the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, told Al Jazeera that there were no plans for the Al-Amal to dock at the port El-Arish.

"This is definitely a part of the campaign against the ship, a campaign of distortion, but we are definitely heading towards Gaza, because that is where aid should be heading to," he told Al Jazeera.

"This is a purely humane mission, it is neither provocative nor hostile," he said.

The ship set sail from Greece on Saturday, carrying 2,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip, but the Israeli foreign ministry said that it had reached an agreement with Greece and Moldova to have the ship diverted to Egypt.

Israeli request

Israeli authorities also reportedly contacted Omar Suleiman, the Egyptian intelligence chief, to request that the ship be allowed to dock in El-Arish, close to the border with the Gaza Strip.

IN DEPTH


But Hossam Zaki, a spokesman for the Egyptian foreign ministry, said that he was not expecting the ship to travel to the Egyptian port.

"This ship is not headed Egypt. We did not get any official request from the Libyan side for the ship to dock in Egypt," he said.

"Its not about the Israelis' request. Its up to the will of the organisers of the ship.

"They said they are heading to Gaza, they did not approach us. The situation as far we are concerned is a ship heading to Gaza."

The boat was chartered by a charity headed by the son of Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, and is carrying "a number of supporters who are keen on expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people in the plight amidst the siege imposed on Gaza".

'Very serious consequences'

The 92-metre ship, renamed Al-Amal which means "Hope" in Arabic, has a 12-man crew and is carrying at least nine passengers, a representative of Piraeus-based agents Alpha Shipping said.

The passengers were made up of six Libyans, a Moroccan, a Nigerian and an Algerian.


The Moldova-flagged cargo ship is carrying 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid for Gaza [AFP]

"Israel will not let the boat reach Gaza," Yossi Peled, an Israeli cabinet minister, said on Sunday.

Allowing boats to reach the Hamas-run Gaza Strip without being checked would have "very serious consequences" for Israel's security, he said.

The latest attempt to defy the Israeli blockade comes after the killings in May of eight Turks and a dual US-Turkish citizen when Israeli armed forces attacked a flotilla heading for Gaza.

Amid increasing international condemnation after the raid, Israel has begun easing the blockade on the Gaza Strip by allowing in some previously banned items, but still maintains a naval blockade, prevents the export of goods or people over land, and controls the territory's airspace.

Construction materials to repair extensive infrastructure damage suffered during Israel's war in Gaza in December 2008-January 2009 are also heavily restricted

[Tyrones own]

Interesting tagline at the bottom of your page TO:
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.
  - Flannery O'Connor"

I couldn't agree more. The truth is that the organisers never denied that the convoy wasn't just about aid. In fact they were quite determined to stress that it was also about drawing attention to the suffering of the people of Gaza. I fail to see what is wrong with that and why you wish to gloss over the murders carried out on the ship.

Not glossing over the murders Nally but I'm also not blinded to the fact that Dixey and his band seem much more comfortable spouting
hate than using this outcome as a spring board to build upon in aiding these people
"Energy flows where attention goes" and all that
edit* I see the tide seems to be turning back to aid...wonder why? do try to keep up John!

[Nally Stand]

Spouting? Correct me if I'm wrong but John has been to Gaza and took substantial risk upon himself in order to help others in their time of suffering. Have you?? He is not spouting, he is taking action. And again, what might be wrong with attracting attention to the suffering in Gaza?

[Tyrones own]

Spouting? Correct me if I'm wrong but John has been to Gaza and took substantial risk upon himself in order to help others in their time of suffering. Have you?? He is not spouting, he is taking action. And again, what might be wrong with attracting attention to the suffering in Gaza?

His efforts are clearly built on a foundation of hatred unfortunately,
evidenced by 80% of his posts on both this thread and the US politics one
along with the word aid being strangely absent in most of them this last while
kind of takes the shine off of it for me personally

It's pathetic how opinions are fine and good here as long as they're inline with the masses
otherwise it's the childrens play ground..grow up lads!

And by the by...again, do we all need to do the facebook thing and post our every move here
when it comes to charity so we can feel good about ourselves, a get out of jail free card and heavens forbid, be looked up to...

[Hedley Lamarr]

KABUL, Afghanistan: A wave of attacks killed six US troops and at least a dozen civilians Saturday in Afghanistan's volatile south and east, as American reinforcements moving into Taleban-dominated areas face up to the fierce resistance they expected.

Increased US-led military operations in the southern province of Kandahar are aimed at trying to break the Taleban's grip where they are strongest by delivering security and government services to win over Afghan people.

The hope is that once the tide begins to turn, more control can be handed to Afghan forces without fear that the Taleban might again seize power, bring back its harsh interpretation of Islamic law and resume sheltering Al-Qaeda terrorist leaders. Then US troops could begin withdrawing in July 2011, in line with a timeline set by President Barack Obama.

Senior US military officers have warned, however, that the fight in the Taleban's spiritual birthplace would lead to a rise in casualties for troops. June was the deadliest month of the nearly 9-year-old war, and July has kept pace.

On Saturday, two of the US troops killed died in the south in separate roadside bombings. In Kandahar city, a remote-controlled bomb on a motorcycle exploded, setting cars ablaze and shattering windows at a popular shopping center. The provincial government said one passer-by was killed.

The other American service members died in the east: One as a result of small-arms fire, another by a roadside bomb, a third during an insurgent attack and the last in an accidental explosion. Their deaths raised to 23 the number of American troops killed so far this month. Last month, 103 international troops were killed, 60 of them Americans.

In the spring, as NATO began stepping up patrols in the south, Adm. Mike Mullen, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned reporters again that such a rise casualties would be inevitable. "I think we've been very clear for months now that this was going to be a very difficult fight in the south, and tried to set expectations, as tragic as it is, for these losses," said Mullen, who is Obama's top military adviser.

Progress has indeed proved slow, and the Afghan government is struggling to build trust, with many authorities seen as corrupt or unprofessional. Violence has also escalated as the insurgents work to sabotage Afghan authorities and kill foreign forces, sometimes with dramatic terrorist attacks, but most days with a steady flow of roadside bombs and small attacks.

In Saturday's deadliest attack, eastern border province of Paktia, unidentified gunmen killed 11 Pakistanis who had crossed into Afghanistan to buy supplies, according to Rohullah Samon, spokesman for the provincial governor.

Samon said 11 Shia minority Muslim tribesmen died and three people, including a child, were wounded in the ambush of their minibus in Chamkani district.

Elsewhere in Paktia, Afghan and international forces also said a combined commando unit killed a Taleban operative and captured eight others in an overnight raid, though local villagers later staged a small protest, saying the men were innocent civilians.

Another, larger protest in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif involved another night raid that killed two security guards near a market earlier in the week.

A crowd of more than 1,000 crowd chanted "Death to America! Long live Islam!" Protesters said the security guards were unjustly killed when combined Afghan and international forces landed by helicopter at the bazaar before dawn Wednesday.

NATO spokesman Col. Wayne Shanks said the two guards were shot when they raised their weapons at the commandos and refused orders to put them down. He said the raid succeeded in capturing a Taleban-allied operative who supplied bomb-making material.

The international coalition has been aggressively stepping up such raids, trying to break up Taleban leadership and operations capability in a renewed push as 30,000 more American troops arrive to try to turn around the war.

The coalition say commando units have captured more than 100 senior and midlevel Taleban figures since April and killed dozens more. But the success rate has not made much of a dent in insurgent attacks.

On Saturday, an explosion tore through a NATO convoy traveling in the eastern province of Khost, though no one was killed. The German army later said two of its soldiers were slightly wounded by a roadside bomb in the northern province of Kunduz — the second homemade explosive attack on German troops in the area that day.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force has been in Afghanistan since shortly after the fall of the Taleban in 2001, when US-backed forces toppled the regime that sheltered the Al-Qaeda terrorist leadership following the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.

[Removed]

[give her dixie]

Today a report into the attacks on the Flotilla raid was released.
6 weeks ago, Israel told the world that they were totally justified in their actions.
However, the report today concludes that:

"Mistakes were made in the various decisions taken, including within relatively senior ranks, which contributed to the result not being as we would have wished,"

I wonder what result would they have liked to see?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/7885696/Gaza-flotilla-raid-mistakes-made-at-relatively-senior-level.html


Mistakes were made at a "relatively senior" level during the planning and execution of Israel's raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla which left nine Turkish nationals dead, an internal military investigation has found.

"Mistakes were made in the various decisions taken, including within relatively senior ranks, which contributed to the result not being as we would have wished," retired general Giora Eiland said, presenting the results of the investigation.

"In this inquiry we found that there were some professional mistakes regarding both the intelligence and the decision-making process," said Gen Eiland, who chaired the panel tasked with examining how the operation unfolded and learning lessons from it.

The Eiland Committee began its work on June 7, exactly a week after the botched naval raid in international waters, which also left dozens injured and provoked an international outcry against Israel.

Gen Eiland had on Sunday presented the team's conclusions to Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and other military top brass who were involved in the preparations and in the actual boarding of the flotilla.

A summary of the key findings was also presented to Defence Minister Ehud Barak, the military said in a statement.

[give her dixie]

This is the latest news just in regarding the Libyan cargo ship sailing towards Gaza.

CAIRO — An Israeli military vessel confronted a Libyan aid ship Tuesday trying to breach Israel's three-year-old Gaza blockade and ordered it to divert to an Egyptian port, the Israeli military and organizers said.

The Gadhafi International Charity and Development Foundation said the Moldovan-flagged Amalthea, which left Greece on Saturday carrying 2,000 tons of food and medical supplies, refused to alter its course for el-Arish in Egypt and insisted it will steam on for Gaza.

The foundation also said in a statement posted on its website that the Israeli naval vessel is shadowing the Libyan-commissioned aid ship.

The Israeli military confirmed that it has made contact with the Amalthea and said "the navy has begun preparing to stop the ship." It did not elaborate.

The latest challenge to Israel's blockade on the seaside strip comes more than a month after Israeli naval commandos boarded a flotilla of Gaza-bound ships, killing eight Turks and a Turkish-American on one of the vessels.

The raid focused international attention on the Israeli embargo on Gaza, which is ruled by the Islamist militant group Hamas, and forced Israel to ease the movement of goods through land crossings.

However, Israel's naval blockade on the territory, meant to keep weapons from reaching Hamas militants, remains in place.

Israeli's policy has been to offer aid ships sailing for Gaza the option of docking at an Israeli port, after which Israel would screen the goods aboard and transfer them into Gaza by land.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev reiterated that offer Tuesday, inviting the activists aboard the Amalthea to sail to the Israeli port of Ashdod and unload there.

"We will guarantee delivery of all civilian cargo to the people of Gaza," Regev said. "There are no limitations whatsoever on food reaching the people of Gaza. The crossings are open."