Americans in Lebanon are being resuced by...

[Guest swirlundergrounder]

..the French! All because the American response has been slow.

74 Americans have been resuced in 3 days. There are still 24,936 still left in there. At this rate it will take them 336 days to evacuate all of them.

What's going on?? Do they have FEMA running the show over there??

[Guest JMT]

are they at the american consulate? if not, sorry but thats really their own problem. thats a risk you take when traveling.

[Guest swirlundergrounder]

are they at the american consulate? if not, sorry but thats really their own problem. thats a risk you take when traveling.

I heard somewhere that the consulate is telling Americans not to go there becasue it's to dangerous...Is that true?

[ryan2772]

cruise ships, at that. :-\

[Guest obby]

..the French! All because the American response has been slow.

So you are implying that Americans do not care about evacuating anyone over there. Being American themselves.

Terry...you talk soooooooo much crap it's amusing. I wish our marines over there could respond to you. But then again some thing are better left unsaid.

Besides, I thought the world hated us? Why come to us for help now?

[Guest obby]

World powers have deployed helicopters, warships, chartered ferries and buses to pluck tens of thousands of trapped foreigners from war-torn Lebanon in one of the biggest mass evacuations since World War II.

With Beirut's airport in tatters, foreigners fled by bus to Syria to escape Israeli bombs, missiles and artillery fire, as others were taken away by ship or helicopter to Cyprus.

Israel has imposed an air and sea blockade around Lebanon but has said it will co-ordinate with foreign governments to allow their terrified nationals to leave.

In London, Prime Minister Tony Blair said Britain now had six ships in the region. They include the Royal Navy flagship, the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, and an amphibious assault ship, HMS Bulwark.

"We have taken out of Lebanon the first 60 people and that was done yesterday. The first ship will come today so obviously we can take far larger numbers out," he told parliament.

The British press has put pressure on Blair, saying Britons in Beirut are impatient with preparations to evacuate up to 12,000 British nationals, 10,000 dual nationals, and Commonwealth citzens.

"We are doing absolutely everything we can to make sure the evacuation happens as swiftly and as properly as possible," Blair said.

Earlier, British Foreign Office minister Kim Howells said Royal Navy could be faced with "the biggest evacuation since Dunkirk", when some 330,000 soldiers were evacuated by sea from France in 1940.

By early Tuesday, a chartered French ferry with about 1,250 people aboard -- 800 French nationals, including 300 children, 400 from other European Union member states and 50 Americans -- had already docked in Larnaca, Cyprus.

The French nationals were to return to France on chartered Air France flights.

"I am sad to be going back to France," said Zeina, 40, who was evacuated on the French ferry after a holiday in the mountains with her three children and sister-in-law.

"But I was so frightened by the first bombs. It's such a relief to be here," she said after stepping ashore.

Larnaca will also be the first port of call for nearly 50,000 Canadian citizens trapped by the fighting; Ottawa has chartered three ships -- each capable of carrying 900 people -- to help in the evacuation.

An Italian vessel -- with 186 Italians, 58 Lebanese and 49 Swedes and a new-born baby on board -- docked there late Monday.

The United States -- which flew 43 people out of Lebanon Monday on military helicopters, most of them children, elderly and sick people -- has chartered a ship capable of carrying 750 passengers from Lebanon to Cyprus.

The United States has an estimated 25,000 passport-holders in Lebanon.

Russians fleeing southern Lebanon described a harrowing journey along deserted and bombed roads to Beirut as others returned safely to Moscow from the Palestinian territories.

"We went on bombed roads. The most frightening was not the shooting but the total silence. There was no one, not even a dog on the roads," one Russian woman from southern Lebanon told state television.

Syria, which has been criticised strongly by the United States for supporting the Hezbollah militia's attacks on Israel which provoked the Jewish state's onslaught, has offered "safe haven" to foreigners.

Sweden is chartering a 1,600-passenger Greek vessel. Stockholm's ambassador to Cyprus Ingemar Lindhal said 750 of its 5,000 passport holders are believed to have already escaped overland through Syria.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said three busloads of Australians had made it over the border to Syria. Canberra also hoped to charter a boat to bring out up to 600 other nationals, he added.

Philippine diplomats are negotiating with countries near Lebanon, where some 30,000 Filipino workers could be quickly evacuated, President Gloria Arroyo said. Roman Catholic leaders in Beirut are allowing Filipinos to seek shelter in churches.

Some 181 Polish nationals escaped to Syria on six buses which also contained about 30 other people, including Americans, Slovaks and Czechs, said the Polish ambassador to Lebanon, Zygmunt Cybula.

Syria was also the preferred route out for at least 107 Chinese nationals, including three tourists from Hong Kong.

Spain said Tuesday that 113 people, most of them Spanish, had been brought home on board an armed forces Boeing 707 from Damascus, where they had arrived by bus. Some 152 others are expected later Tuesday, the defence ministry said.

At the same time, German, Swiss and Austrian nationals began arriving back in Europe on chartered planes, many again on flights out of Damascus.

In South America, Venezuela said it was coordinating with Colombia and Uruguay to help their own nationals in Lebanon to saftey. Caracas said it wants to help some 400 Venezuelans to leave, but faces the same difficulties as other countries.

Peru said it was seeking to help about 50 Peruvians in Lebanon and another 100 in Haifa, Israel, which has been the target of Hezbollah-launched missiles.

[Guest jamu]

Its another disaster waiting to happen. Kinda like Katrina, the president should have sent an aircraft carrier over there. And gotten our citizens out of there quickly. But I am sure that he will go to vaction, and wait for several hundred to be taken hostage or killed before they act rapidly.

[Guest swirlundergrounder]

..the French! All because the American response has been slow.

So you are implying that Americans do not care about evacuating anyone over there. Being American themselves.

Of course not! But we've known this situation had been developing for weeks when Israel started it's operations in Gaza. We also knew that it would spill into Lebanon even before the Israeli bombing in Lebanon began 8 days ago!

Now you are telling me that we have forces all over Europe and especially in Germany and you are saying to me that the United States response could not have be any faster than it has been?

Perhaps better communication could have prevailed between the US and it's mad dog little brother Israel before they blew up the only viable way to get 25,000 US citzens out of Lebanon!

So what do you suggest now? That American citizens evacuate to Syria of all places???

Dude there are Americans huddled in the hillsides of Beruit and hiding in bomb shelters for Christ's sake! There should have been a faster and larger US military/naval presence in the Mediterainian Sea by now air lifting US Citizens out of there by the hundreds!

[Guest JMT]

Its another disaster waiting to happen. Kinda like Katrina, the president should have sent an aircraft carrier over there. And gotten our citizens out of there quickly. But I am sure that he will go to vaction, and wait for several hundred to be taken hostage or killed before they act rapidly.

damn, you are so smart. i dont know how, but you seem to have all the right answers. i dont know what you do for a living, but unless its politics you are in the wrong career my friend. you must either be a retired cabinet member or just the most clever person alive.

wow, to think, all this time all we had to do was send an aircraft carrier... problem solved and citizens rescued.

[Guest LeVeL]

damn, you are so smart. i dont know how, but you seem to have all the right answers. i dont know what you do for a living, but unless its politics you are in the wrong career my friend. you must either be a retired cabinet member or just the most clever person alive.

wow, to think, all this time all we had to do was send an aircraft carrier... problem solved and citizens rescued.

LOL...my Vote is for JMT 2008 8)

[Guest jamu]

Obviously our citizens would be your top concern huh? :

But hey with leaders like Bush and and you who needs Muslim extremists, communists, and facists. We have our own goverment not protecting its people.

Yawn next loser for president. :

Getting those citizens should have been a first priority. And its not, and it has been treated as such.

[Guest JMT]

Of course not! But we've known this situation had been developing for weeks when Israel started it's operations in Gaza. We also knew that it would spill into Lebanon even before the Israeli bombing in Lebanon began 8 days ago!

we did? who is the clairvoyant who called that one bc i missed it.

terry, please tell where it says as a US citizen you are owed a free military rescue operation no matter where you are on the globe? in fact, i think you are told the exact opposite when you travel overseas.

this is BS. yeah, it sucks people are stuck there but they could have left themselves by seeing the same warning signs you claim. unless they are at the embassy (US soil) i dont see how this would be an easy process. unfortunately, embassies make good bomb targets.

i do agree perhaps Israel could have given our top dogs a whisper of bombing the airport in advance, but they didnt.

[Guest slamminshaun]

Yeah, Bill did a great job rescuing the folks in Waco, TX....if he could've only managed to get an aircraft carrier in there, they would've been fine.

[Guest jamu]

Ah Shaun let me help you out with this whole land mass thing. You need water to get ships anywhere. And Waco was a domestic disaster, but at least someone went out there to try. If Bush had been there he would have gone to vacation and then seen how to dea with it aftter everyone had been killed.

[Guest slamminshaun]

Jamu and Terry have illustrated how liberals define success. Results don't matter....good intentions and trying are equally acceptable and sometimes even more important. So when Waco fails, hell...at least he tried. When peace talks at Camp David fail, hell...at least he tried. Nevermind the results, it's all about feeling good about one's intentions.

[Guest swirlundergrounder]

Yeah' date=' Bill did a great job rescuing the folks in Waco, TX....if he could've only managed to get an aircraft carrier in there, they would've been fine.

[/quote']WTF???? How is this scenario today even remotely similar to the Branch Davidian Crisis in Waco Texas??

The people inside the complex in Waco TX wanted to be there. Do you think that US Citizens want to be in Lebanon right now??

[Guest trancepriest]

Its all a part of the new republican patriotism... don't depend on your government for shit. LOL... you dumb fucking pieces of miscreant half retarded diarrheic turds... if Israel is bombing highways, bridges even civilian convoys... how are 25,000 american citizens suppose to make it to the U.S. consulate? And retards lets say they make it to the U.S. consulate do they have housing for 25,000?

It is the job of the american government to rescue that much of its citizens in a time of war. Are you fucking retarded?

[Guest LeVeL]

Yeah' date=' Bill did a great job rescuing the folks in Waco, TX....if he could've only managed to get an aircraft carrier in there, they would've been fine.

[/quote']WTF???? How is this scenario today even remotely similar to the Branch Davidian Crisis in Waco Texas??

The people inside the complex in Waco TX wanted to be there. Do you think that US Citizens want to be in Lebanon right now??

Shaun really threw me off with that statment ???

[Guest trancepriest]

Yeah' date=' Bill did a great job rescuing the folks in Waco, TX....if he could've only managed to get an aircraft carrier in there, they would've been fine.

[/quote']

Fucking retard radicals.

[Guest trancepriest]

Jamu and Terry have illustrated how liberals define success. Results don't matter....good intentions and trying are equally acceptable and sometimes even more important. Nevermind the results' date=' it's all about feeling good about one's intentions.

[/quote']

HaHa... I thought you were speaking of the current administrations handling of the war in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina. Surely nothing that Clinton did compares to Iraq and Katrina.... not even fucking close.

[Guest JMT]

It is the job of the american government to rescue that much of its citizens in a time of war. Are you fucking retarded?

and they sit tight until something can be done batty boy. i think your syphilis is fucking with your head. the pentagon has said this is a process that will take a while. know your role, and quit talking out of your ass. there is no policy that says the government owes you anything while you are on foreign soil, they do it out of the kindness of their fucking hearts.

[Guest trancepriest]

and they sit tight until something can be done batty boy. i think your syphilis is fucking with your head. the pentagon has said this is a process that will take a while. know your role, and quit talking out of your ass. there is no policy that says the government owes you anything while you are on foreign soil, they do it out of the kindness of their fucking hearts.

O I'm sorry JMT... I thought you knew that we were talking about 25,000 American citizens... I didn't know that you thought it was only one person. I keep forgetting that your an half retard.

[Guest JMT]

I keep forgetting that your an half retard.

ill quote this so the irony will be preserved.

[Guest trancepriest]

ill quote this so the irony will be preseved.

I'm presuming that you can read and write... your reading comprehension is extremely low though... so you are not a full retard. You are a fully qualified half retard though.

Your stupidity is of such high proportions and the blatancy of it so constant. I cannot help but be astounded at each instance of its display.

[Guest slamminshaun]

yeah yeah....and the daystar is scintilating luminously upon this exquisitely tepid dawn.