h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The caring, compassionate Israelis denied access to a UN chartered vessel to uplift foreign nationals from Tyre. Just who the **** do they think they are. How spineless is the UN. Wouldn't it be nice if the UN said up yours and by the way we've got two British destroyers and a whole raft of jet fighter cover from Cyprus if you want to make something of it.

Cue the usual critics.

Actually, I'm starting to suspect that's what our warships might end up being used for...

In the last two days they've managed to get less than 500 out using two of the destroyers - to be honest it'd probably be more efficient to go the way of the the canadians/americans/french/italians and use _much_ bigger 'civilian' ships. Then use _all_ the warships in the area to say to the Israelis, "Security window? We don't need no stiiinkin Security Window!"

I think we should ask for a reasonable security window, say a month or two? That might give us time to get some serious troops in there.

Bulwark has docked:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5197584.stm

I reckon we should blockade the area until they get everyone out. There's got to be a big enough force there now.

It seems that the Canadian PM is just going as a photo -op. The linked article didn't say he was going to leave his plane, just stop over, pick up the ~120 people the plane can hold, and then high-tail it out of there. Doesn't seem to be making a serious dent in the number (50,000) of Canadians that they're trying to evacuate.

Of course it was a photo op. Harper wants to be GWB when he grows up. I just hope it's not because he wants to fondle the German Chancelor.

They just finished GHBush Nu-cle-ear war ship.
I am surprised they did not send it for the photo op.


It seems evacuation plans should be better and faster by now.
It has been done so much

THINK ahead people!

Nucular - it's pronounced nucular

Interesting.

Whisky - what are you proposing the Government should say? 'Sorry guys, we know can't get you all out in the timescale predicted so go ahead and have a mass panic a la the fall of Saigon.'?

Very easy to criticise the message without thinking about what it is designed to do, which I would think is give some small crumb of comfort to those poor b*st*rds left in an effecftive war zone which neither set of murderers involved seem remotely interested in dealing with.

It seems to be rolling along;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5184134.stm

It may be that only 4,000 British nationals *want* to leave?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5190816.stm

Just a little update, specifically with reference to the subject line:

'Canadian evacuees reach 13,000 as 2 ships leave Beirut'

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/07/29/lebanon-boats.html

I guess in this case there was no kidding.

And we didn't even bother with military ships. (although we did put three military ships on standby in Halifax -- about two weeks away from Lebanon.)