Israel: On Ground Updates - August 03, 2010

Israel: On Ground Updates
Senior IDF Commander Killed In Israel-Lebanon Border Clash
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
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* VOANews.com brings us the following troubling news this Tuesday morning and their report starts off like this... Lebanese and Israeli troops have exchanged fire along their border in a battle that Lebanese officials say killed four people on their side and wounded several Israelis... Tuesday's fighting is the most serious in the area since Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group fought a month-long war in 2006...
Read the rest at link below...
4 Lebanese Killed in Fighting on Border with Israel
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* SKY News has the following report up on their website today with News Video, photos and more. Click it out at link below...
Soldiers Die In Israel-Lebanon Border Clash
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* YNETNews.com brings us the latest and most up to date report...
Cleared for publication: IDF Lieutenant Colonel Dov Harari killed in border skirmish with Lebanese army Tuesday... Another Commander seriously wounded. Troops stepped into planned ambush, army says...
Read this report in full at link below...
Lethal clash: Senior IDF commander killed in border skirmish
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IDF has the following report posted up on their website this Tuesday afternoon...
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Breaking News: IDF Officer Killed as Lebanon Opens Fire on Northern Border

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Lt. Col. Dov Harari was shot and killed on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 3) as LAF opened fire at an IDF force operating inside Israeli territory on the northern border in accordance with UN.
Last update 18:31 - Written by Elana Kieffer The soldier who was critically wounded by Lebanese gunfire was medivacked to Haifa's Rambam hospital. IDF Photo by Shay Vaknin
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The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) fired at an IDF position in the Israeli side of the border along the Lebanese border in northern Israel on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 3). The Israeli soldiers who were fired on had been in Israeli territory, carrying out routine maintenance which had been coordinated ahead of time with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is the peacekeeping force created by the UN Security Council in March 1978 following Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

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Lt. Col. Dov Harari (45) from Netanya was killed by the LAF during this incident. Harari served as a battalion commander. Capt. Ezra Lakia (30) from Kfar Ha'Rif sustained severe injuries in the same incident. Capt. Lakia served as a platoon commander.

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. The border area is west of the Israeli town of Misgav Am. The incident occurred east of the internationally recognized “Blue Line”, the border between Israel and Lebanon, and west of the security fence, thus lying within Israeli territory.
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The IDF force immediately returned fire to an LAF force. Several minutes later an Israel Air Force (IAF) helicopter fired at the LAF Battalion Command Center in Al-Taybeh, damaging several LAF armored combat vehicles.
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The IDF holds the LAF responsible for the incident that disrupted the calm in the region, and its consequences.
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Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, arrived at Israel's northern border and has been closely following the events as they unfold. He is currently holding situation assessment meetings with the Commander of IDF's Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, as well as the Commander of the Galilee Regional Division and additional commanders.
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Since the conclusion of the Second Lebanon War over four years ago, three incidents of firing towards Israeli territory have been recorded, and terrorist organizations have claimed responsibility for each of these incidents.
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There have also been two recorded incidents of Lebanon violating the Blue Line. First, in a cross border raid in October 2000, Hezbollah forces abducted and killed three IDF soldiers, Sgt. First Class Adi Avitan (22), Sgt. First Class Benyamin Avraham (21), and Sgt. First Class Omar Sawaid (27), who at the time had been patrolling on the Israeli side of the border demarcation.
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In an additional cross border raid in 2006, Hezbollah forces attacked two Israeli armored Hum-vees which were located within the Israeli side of the border. As a result, seven IDF soldiers were killed, two were wounded, and Sgt. First Class Ehud Goldwasser and Sgt. First Class Eldad Regev were abducted and killed.
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> Photo gallery: Unrest on the border
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Post Update:
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
9:00pm CDT
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* NewsBlaze.com brings us the following report and it starts off like this... A Lebanese military spokesman said Wednesday (Aug. 4) that the Lebanese army was first to open fire in a border ambush that occurred the previous day. The attack killed six people: four Lebanese soldiers, a journalist affiliated with Hezbollah and an Israeli officer; a Lebanese journalist, also affiliated with Hezbollah, was wounded, as was an Israeli soldier... This is the third attack on Israel in the past week, highlighting the threats Israel faces on all its borders. A rocket was fired into the Israeli city of Ashkelon by Gaza militants, and rockets were fired toward the southern city of Eilat, killing a Jordanian civilian and wounding three others... Lebanese journalists and photographers knew in advance of the Lebanese army's plans to ambush IDF soldiers as they conducted routine maintenance work, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)...
Read the rest of this report in full at link below...
Lebanese Army First to Open Fire on IDF, Planned Ambush
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* Ynet.com has this follow-up and it goes in part like this... The Lebanese army's fire on IDF troops working on Israel's northern border was "wholly unjustified and unwarranted," US State Department Spokesman Philip Crowley said Wednesday.
Read the rest at link below...
US: Lebanese fire unjustified, unwarranted
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AubreyJ.........

Video Tribute: The Story Of True Patriots

Oliver North, US Troops Veterans Day Video

About Video: This video tribute on the front lines is the story of true patriots, told by Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North at the NRA Annual Meetings in 2009. It's a stirring profile of the spirited, courageous guardians of our precious freedoms. America's best...
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To learn more about how you can support NRA and help safeguard our American freedoms, visit http://nragive.com/ or to make a gift, please call 1-877-NRAGIVE
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Many thanks go out to our friend Joe at ‘The Edisto Joe Outlook’ for turning us on to this wonderful video. Thanks Joe... and praying everyday for your son and his buds over there in harm’s way.
AubreyJ.........

Photos for the Day - Today’s an AubreyJ Special - July 26, 2009

* Photos for the Day *
- Today’s an AubreyJ Special -
Sunday, July 26, 2007
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Hello everyone…
Back in 2005 I made a slide/video titled… “If The World Only Knew”.
In it I tried to bring out the TRUE HEARTS of our fighting men and women in uniform in Iraq and around the world.
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Try to go back in time and remember how the World… the Left and the MSM were reporting and portraying our Men and Women in uniform. Remember!!!?
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What I do not understand is HOW just over HALF of America could then turn around and VOTE these SAME people into Power.
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I’m a betting man that over 30% of them have now awakened to their mistake and will change their vote back to the right side in the upcoming elections over the next few years. For our country’s sake… I do pray it to-be so…
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With that said -- Here’s my video from 2005
“If The World Only Knew”

Video posted on YouTube byAubreyJ818
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Now here are some photos and info on some of our Troops now-a-day…
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* Photos for the Day *

Photo 1: Spc. Mitchell Johnson, from Wilmington, N.C., wraps an Iraqi boy's burns in the rural village of Jalabi, in the Radwaniyah District, just south of Baghdad, July 24th. The boy came to Johnson, a medic with Company D, 252nd Combined Arms Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, and pointed at his wounds while Johnson was on a mission with fellow Soldiers in the area. Johnson treated the boy's neck, chest and shoulders with cream, and the boy's father helped wrap the wounds with gauze.

Photo 2: Staff Sgt. David Roberson, a tanker with Company D, 252nd Combined Arms Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, chats with Iraqi children, who had been unloading supplies to stock a small shop in the rural village of Jalabi, just outside Baghdad, July 24. Roberson, from Kinston, N.C., and his fellow Soldiers were in the village to speak to local leaders about the possibility of helping with improvements in the area.
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Photo 3: Sanford, N.C. native, Sgt. 1st Class Henry Rhodes, a platoon sergeant, shares candy with Iraqi children during a mission with fellow Company D, 252nd Combined Arms Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team Soldiers in the rural village of Jalabi, in the Radwaniyah District just south of Baghdad, July 25. Soldiers were in the area to speak to local leaders about the possibility of helping with improvements in the area.
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Photo 4: Spc. Mitchell Johnson, a medic with Company D, 252nd Combined Arms Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, treats an Iraqi boy's burns in the rural village of Jalabi, in the Radwaniyah District just outside Baghdad, July 24. Johnson, from Wilmington, N.C., cleaned the wounds and applied a cream to help them heal, and gave the boy a tube of the cream for future treatments. The family said he was burned when his mother accidentally spilled hot cooking oil on him. Soldiers were in the area to speak to local leaders about the possibility of helping with improvements in the area.

Photo 5: Iraqi children in the rural village of Jalabi, in the Radwaniyah District, just south of Baghdad, follow and ask questions of Sgt. 1st Class Henry Rhodes, of Sanford, N.C., as he walks during a mission in the area, July 24. Rhodes, a platoon sergeant with Company D, 252nd Combined Arms Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, was with fellow Soldiers who were in the area to speak to local leaders and discuss improvements in the area.
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Photo 6: Sgt. 1st Class Henry Rhodes, of Sanford, N.C., gives snack crackers to Iraqi children during a mission with fellow Company D, 252nd Combined Arms Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team Soldiers, in the rural Jalabi village, in the Radwaniyah District, just south of Baghdad, July 24. Rhodes, a platoon sergeant, quickly became popular with the children and they followed him around the rest of the time the Soldiers were in the area. Rhodes said it was the first time any coalition forces had stopped at the village in more than a year, which was one reason for the excitement from the children. Soldiers were in the area to speak to local leaders about the possibility of helping with improvements in the area. .
30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team – Photos/info by Pfc. Kelly Lecompte - All info/photos courtesy of DVIDS

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From time to time… please stop to remember those that protect us, each and every day… here at home and overseas.

God bless each and every one of them.
AubreyJ………

I wont back down - Johnny Cash

* I wont back down - Johnny Cash *

Video posted on YouTube by elar0405
I was just wondering when Obama is going to visit Iraq and tell the men and women of the United States Armed Forces, in person, his big plans on bailing out of Iraq if he becomes their new Commander in Chief...?
AubreyJ.........

Defeatist Democrats Who Control Senate Pass Iraq Troop (WHITE FLAG) Withdrawal Bill

FOXNEWS.com has the story that starts off like this... A defiant Democratic-controlled Senate passed legislation Thursday that would require the start of troop withdrawals from Iraq by Oct. 1, propelling Congress toward a historic veto showdown with President Bush on the war.
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Read the story at link below...
Senate Approves Iraq War Funding Bill With Timeline for Troop Pullout

File photo from the Reid.Senate.gov website

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I love this Headline from the BBC News website...
It reads: Congress united on Iraq pull-out
Now I’ll have to say it was a fair read BBC gave to the story... but the title would have been more to reality with one that read... Democrats in Congress united on Iraq pull-out.

AubreyJ.........

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THE VOTES IN CONGRESS:
Today’s vote in the SENATE was: 51 to 46 in favor
Yesterday’s vote in the HOUSE was: 218 to 208 in favor

How they voted in the Senate can be read at the United States Senate website.
Note:
Only One I/Dem voted Nay: Joe Lieberman (ID-CT)
Mr. Lieberman -- Thank you, sir.
Two white flag waving Republicans voted with the Dems, Yea: Hagel (R-NE) - Smith (R-OR)

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White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino started off this way today...
MS. PERINO: Eighty days after President Bush submitted his troop funding bill, the Senate has now joined the House in passing defeatist legislation that insists on a date for surrender, micro-manages our commanders and generals in combat zones from 6,000 miles away, and adds billions of dollars in unrelated spending to the fighting on the ground...
Read the Q&A’s HERE
Has Video

House OKs Iraq Troop (WHITE FLAG) Withdrawal Bill

A sharply divided House brushed aside a veto threat Wednesday and passed legislation that would order President Bush to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq by October 1st. The 218-208 vote came as the top U.S. commander in Iraq told lawmakers the country remained gripped by violence but was showing some signs of improvement... Read the story at link below...
House OKs Iraq Troop Withdrawal Bill
File photo from the speaker.gov website

Statement by Deputy Press Secretary on Emergency War Funding

Seventy-nine days after President Bush sent Congress a request for emergency war funding for our troops, the House of Representatives has passed disappointing legislation that insists on a surrender date, handcuffs our generals, and contains billions of dollars in spending unrelated to the war.

Last November, the American people voted for a change in strategy in Iraq - and the President listened. Tonight, the House of Representatives voted for failure in Iraq - and the President will veto its bill.

Democrats have forced this process to continue for too long. The President calls on the Senate to quickly pass this legislation so the President can veto it and then work with the Congressional leadership on a clean bill that funds our troops while respecting the judgment of our military commanders and helping ensure the safety of the American people.
(From The White House - Office of the Press Secretary - April 25, 2007)

Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, Commander Of Multinational Corps Iraq, Apologizes For Extensions With No Notice To Families

Leaks to the media forced Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to speed up releasing his decision to increase tour lengths for soldiers assigned to U.S. Central Command from a year to 15 months.

The notification of the decision to soldiers and their families was made simultaneous with the news briefing. Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, today apologized to the families -- many of whom heard about the decision on television.

"I know the announcement the other day was probably one that surprised them," Odierno told Pentagon reporters via teleconference from Baghdad. "I just want to comment to them that we appreciate everything that they're sacrificing, everything that they're doing. They are the strength behind all these great soldiers that are over here today."

Odierno said 15-month deployments are needed to ensure that the Army retains the capacity to sustain the deployed force. The force will rise to 20 brigades by the end of May. The program also gives predictability for soldiers and their families, Odierno said. "This policy will ensure 12 months at home station between rotations," he said. "There's no doubt that this decision was a difficult one, and I am very aware that it will be hard on soldiers and their families.

"However, all who serve understand the importance of what we are trying to accomplish here and that the mission will always come first," he said.

(Taken from a DoD’s American Forces Press Service news article that was written by Jim Garamone)
File Photo of Odierno from JCS.mil website

Defense Secretary Gates Sets 15-Month Deployments for U.S. Army Troops Instead of 12

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said U.S. Army units would be deployed to Iraq for 15 months instead of 12 months, effective immediately... The change applies to Army units already in Iraq and those that will go there, Gates said a news conference today at the Pentagon... The new policy is aimed at keeping enough forces in the field while giving soldiers and their families more predictability, Gates said, adding that the policy doesn't apply to Marines...
Read this story in full at Bloomberg.com

>>> DoD reports it this way...
Gates Extends Army Tours in Iraq to 15 Months

U.S. Troops Shot At Civilians In Afghanistan

ABC News website has this story today that starts off like this... U.S. Marines fleeing a militant ambush Sunday opened fire on civilian cars and pedestrians on a busy highway in eastern Afghanistan, wounded Afghans said. Up to 16 people were killed and 34 wounded in the violence, officials said...
Read this story at ABCNews.go.com

Why is our Military always made out as the bad guys!!!? I for one am sick of it!!!!!!
This story should have been centered over our troops being ambushed, about their bravery in the fight and about a battle in the middle of civilians taking place because the terrorist made it so. Not all this Americans go wild on a killing spree...
AubreyJ........

BBC News has this report on above story...
US troops kill Afghan civilians

DoD’s American Forces Press Service has this take and update on above story...
Soldier Injured, Civilians Killed in Afghanistan Convoy Attack
A coalition servicemember was injured, eight Afghan civilians were killed and 35 civilians were wounded today when militants assaulted a coalition forces convoy as it moved east along Highway 1 in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, military officials reported.

Earlier accounts said as many as 16 civilians caught in the crossfire had been killed, but an updated release early this afternoon from Combined Joint Task Force 76 headquarters at Bagram Air Base contained what officials called "the most accurate numbers to date."

The five-vehicle convoy was moving through a crowded market place near Bari Kot, located in the Muhmand Dara district, when militants attacked the convoy from several directions with small-arms fire and a vehicle-borne bomb, officials said.

Coalition forces returned fire, and along with Afghan police and army forces, secured the area and provided immediate on-site medical attention to the wounded civilians.

A coalition servicemember was wounded and later was treated at a nearby base. No report was available on the servicemember's condition or nationality.

"We regret the death of innocent Afghan citizens as a result of the Taliban extremists' cowardly act," Army Lt. Col. David Accetta, a coalition forces spokesman, said. "Once again the terrorists demonstrated their blatant disregard for human life by attacking coalition forces in a populated area, knowing full well that innocent Afghans would be killed and wounded in the attack.

"Those who commit and plan these inhuman acts are attempting to stand in the way of the Afghan government's objectives of peace and security," he added.

Afghan and coalition forces continue to investigate the incident. In other news from Afghanistan, Afghan and coalition forces arrested a known terrorist and seven other suspects early March 2 in the Gorwek Valley area of Paktika province.

Officials said reliable information led the combined force to the compound, where the inhabitants surrendered peacefully. They were arrested in connection with aiding terrorist fighters and facilitating terrorist operations.
(Article compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 76 news releases)