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Not The Way To a Better And More Peaceful Lebanon
On 12 January 2007, The United States delivered 20 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV)– more commonly known as humvees – to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) at Beirut International Airport. There are 265 more Humvees coming as a component of $39 Million in so-called military assistance. (Where, one has to ask, was this assistance in July/August 2006? Right! The military assistance they sent then was hurling from Israeli war planes to incinerate Lebanese people in their homes.) The US states that the humvees “will help the LAF protect the Lebanese people and their territory and continue their historic deployment to South Lebanon alongside UNIFIL peacekeepers. The arrival of additional vehicles in the coming months will help ensure that the Lebanese people benefit from the security and sovereignty that a strong, well-equipped LAF serves to guarantee.” http://beirut.usembassy.gov/lebanon/PR_HUMVEES011907.html
Now the US announces its “Active Denial System,” ready for baking within 3 years. The weapon, mounted on a Humvee, uses a large rectangular dish antenna to direct an invisible beam towards a target. It includes a high-voltage power unit and beam-generating equipment and is effective at more than 500 meters. The burning sensation is achieved by high-power energy waves that heat the skin to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. The pain ends as soon as the target jumps from the line of fire. At a distance of several football fields, the sensation from the exposure is like a blast from a very hot oven, too painful to bear without scrambling for cover.
Although the US hasn’t publicly specified using the weapon in Lebanon, it mentions possible use in Iraq and Afghanistan. And with millions of dollars left to spend on Lebanese “security and sovereignity,” who knows? Bush has already stated that the current demonstrations in Beirut are, in his opinion, “a clear violation of Lebanon's sovereignty.” http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/11/20061101-1.html http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2632169620070126
Imagine if you will the hundreds of thousands of people demonstrating in Solh and Martyrs Squares in Beirut, and in all the streets leading to the squares. Now imagine these “Active Denial Systems” zapping the people. Where indeed would they scramble for cover???
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