Hezbollah and terrorism

[dsanthony]

Ann Coulter published a brief list of Islamic terrorist attacks in her column. I'm listing it below. It does not include the RFK assassination which I mentioned the other day, but it gives a good background of the history of these groups, and why the US is right in supporting Israel today.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucac/20060726/cm_ucac/moreofjohnkerrysretroactivecampaignpromises



November 1979: Muslim extremists (Iranian variety) seized the U.S. embassy in Iran and held 52 American hostages for 444 days, following Democrat Jimmy Carter's masterful foreign policy granting Islamic fanaticism its first real foothold in the Middle East.


1982: Muslim extremists (mostly Hezbollah) began a nearly decade-long habit of taking Americans and Europeans hostage in Lebanon, killing William Buckley and holding Terry Anderson for 6 1/2 years.


April 1983: Muslim extremists (Islamic Jihad or possibly Hezbollah) bombed the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, killing 16 Americans.


October 1983: Muslim extremists (Hezbollah) blew up the U.S. Marine barracks at the Beirut airport, killing 241 Marines.


December 1983: Muslim extremists (al-Dawa) blew up the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, killing five and injuring 80.


September 1984: Muslim extremists (Hezbollah) exploded a truck bomb at the U.S. Embassy annex in Beirut, killing 24 people, including two U.S. servicemen.


December 1984: Muslim extremists (probably Hezbollah) hijacked a Kuwait Airways airplane, landed in Iran and demanded the release of the 17 members of al-Dawa who had been arrested for the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, killing two Americans before the siege was over.


June 14, 1985: Muslim extremists (Hezbollah) hijacked TWA Flight 847 out of Athens, diverting it to Beirut, taking the passengers hostage in return for the release of the Kuwait 17 as well as another 700 prisoners held by Israel. When their demands were not met, the Muslims shot U.S. Navy diver Robert Dean Stethem and dumped his body on the tarmac.


October 1985: Muslim extremists (Palestine Liberation Front backed by Libya) seized an Italian cruise ship, the Achille Lauro, killing 69-year-old American Leon Klinghoffer by shooting him and then tossing his body overboard.


December 1985: Muslim extremists (backed by Libya) bombed airports in Rome and Vienna, killing 20 people, including five Americans.


April 1986: Muslim extremists (backed by Libya) bombed a discotheque frequented by U.S. servicemen in West Berlin, injuring hundreds and killing two, including a U.S. soldier.

December 1988: Muslim extremists (backed by Libya) bombed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 on board and 11 on the ground.
(Then came an amazing, historic pause in Muslim extremists' relentless war on America after Ronald Reagan won the Cold War by doing the opposite of everything recommended by Democrats, depriving Islamic terrorists of their Soviet sponsors. This confuses liberals because they don't understand the concept of terror sponsors, whether it's the Soviet Union or Iraq.)


February 1993: Muslim extremists (al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, possibly with involvement of friendly rival al-Qaida) set off a bomb in the basement of the World Trade Center, killing six and wounding more than 1,000.

Spring 1993: Muslim extremists (al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, the Sudanese Islamic Front and at least one member of Hamas) plot to blow up the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, the U.N. complex, and the FBI's lower Manhattan headquarters.

November 1995: Muslim extremists (possibly Iranian "Party of God") explode a car bomb at U.S. military headquarters in Saudi Arabia, killing five U.S. military servicemen.

June 1996: Muslim extremists (13 Saudis and a Lebanese member of Hezbollah, probably with involvement of al-Qaida) explode a truck bomb outside the Khobar Towers military complex, killing 19 American servicemen and injuring hundreds.

August 1998: Muslim extremists (al-Qaida) explode truck bombs at U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 and injuring thousands.

October 2000: Muslim extremists (al-Qaida) blow up the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole, killing 17 U.S. sailors.

Sept. 11, 2001: Muslim extremists (al-Qaida) hijack commercial aircraft and fly planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 Americans.

[CheesyMuslim]

Sorry bout that,

1. But when that day comes when the terrorist's get terrorized, with devastation unheard of, possibly 20 Nuclear Warheads at one time, then we are going to see them cry a bit.
2. But its all being counted up, measured and weighed.
3. Scrutinized, and pondered upon.
4. Then one clear day, keeerboooooom!

Regards,
SirJamesoftexas

[Old Corps Gunny]

NIce list, dsanthony, but not all inclusive; however it does demonstrate that the US has been under attack from terrorists for at least two decades (actually, over three). I would like to make one correction: Petty Officer Stedham was beaten to death because the terrorists found a military ID on him and thought he was (take your choice) a Navy SEAL, a US Marine, or a CIA agent masquerading as US military.

Israel has had to fight several wars against surrounding nations that would settle for no less than Israel's extermination; in between the wars, there has been countless terrorist attacks against it's citizens. At the present time you have the "President" of Iran saying Israel has to be destroyed, the party in control of the Palestinian government (Hamas) also calling for the destruction of Israel, and a terrorist organization with strong ties to both Iran and Syria attacking Israel. No wonder Israel is using force instead of diplomacy -- they have found out long ago that terrorists do not respect diplomacy, only force. The United States tried to use reason, restraint and diplomacy; the result was 9/11.

The United States has declared war on terrorism and asked for the support of all nations who also oppose terrorism. It only stands to reason they must also support those nations fighting terrorism in return.

[dsanthony]

NIce list, dsanthony, but not all inclusive; however it does demonstrate that the US has been under attack from terrorists for at least two decades (actually, over three).Â*Â*I would like to make one correction:Â*Â*Petty Officer Stedham was beaten to death because the terrorists found a military ID on him and thought he was (take your choice) a Navy SEAL, a US Marine, or a CIA agent masquerading as US military.

Israel has had to fight several wars against surrounding nations that would settle for no less than Israel's extermination; in between the wars, there has been countless terrorist attacks against it's citizens.Â*Â*At the present time you have the "President" of Iran saying Israel has to be destroyed, the party in control of the Palestinian government (Hamas) also calling for the destruction of Israel, and a terrorist organization with strong ties to both Iran and Syria attacking Israel.Â*Â*No wonder Israel is using force instead of diplomacy -- they have found out long ago that terrorists do not respect diplomacy, only force.Â*Â*The United States tried to use reason, restraint and diplomacy; the result was 9/11.

The United States has declared war on terrorism and asked for the support of all nations who also oppose terrorism.Â*Â*It only stands to reason they must also support those nations fighting terrorism in return.


I have to agree. I know the list was not all-inclusive. I got into a debate in another thread because I said that RFK was one of the first American victims of radical Islamic terrorists.

Our enemies, and their allies here in the US, want to parse the war against terrorism and weaken the resolve of the US to both fight terrorism herself, or support Israel's right to fight terrorism.

[Old Corps Gunny]

Well, they can "parse" all they want, but the fact remains that a terrorist is a terrorist, i.e., one who deliberately targets noncombatants in such a fashion as to deliberately instill fear in order to realize a political goal. He, or his apologists, can offer all the "justifications" in the world, and tag on as many other names (insurgents, militants, freedom fighters, etc.), but it is still terrorism and those carrying it out are terrorists. What amazes me is our media (who claim that they are merely reporting the "facts") who seem so easily manipulated by these terrorists, or maybe so anti-administration that they will back anyone who opposes the US when a Republican administration is in office. They practically blame Bush for the American deaths in Iraq, and the Iraqi civilians killed by the "insurgents". I'm surprised the media didn't blame lay that reporter's death at the administration's feet, as well.