What the????

[K Frame]

This just boggles my mind.



Lebanese-Americans and civil rights activists Monday were to sue the federal government, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, saying the officials failed to fulfill their constitutional obligation to protect U.S. citizens in Lebanon.

The Lebanese and activists also seek a court order to force the Bush Administration to seek a ceasefire and to stop shipping of arms to Israel. The New York Times reported Saturday that the U.S. is acting on an Israeli request to expedite the shipment of special missiles designed to destroy the underground tunnels and bunkers where the Israelis say the Hezbollah militia stores the rockets with which it has struck populate areas in northern Israel for more than a week.

In the lawsuit, the ADC alleges that officials of the Bush Administration placed U.S. citizens in peril by not taking all possible steps to secure the safety and well-being of U.S. citizens in Lebanon.

While U.S. officials have eventually evacuated some of the 25,000 Americans in Lebanon, according to the State Department, the evacuation was well behind the pace of a number of smaller countries, including Sweden, Italy and France, until late last week.

Local Arab-Americans and organizations as well as members of the Michigan congressional delegation say there were at least 5,000 residents of Metro Detroit in Lebanon. Many found their own way out, during the early days of the Israeli bombardment and incursion, through Syria and Jordan, often spending several thousand dollars to secure transportation. Others have been evacuated.

The ADC is joined in the suit by several American citizens who have returned from Lebanon after escaping the violence and others who remain in Lebanon.

[charby]

holy cow!  Wow and Hezbollah hasn't been firing ordnance at Israel before a couple weeks ago. Boy people are just stupid or looking for their place at the governmental udder. At what end will these people (American citizens) stop who have a true hatred of the president.

Also since when is it the duty of country to protect citizens in other countries. I knew when I left the border on vacation that I was on my own if I poo hit the fan.

I am actually pretty angery right now just reading that story.

-C

[Guest]

There was some weird stuff going on..but it was like they wouldn't let them come to the embassy or something. The relative of a friend was there and got out before the airports closed and said it was a big disaster and things were a mess and there was something screwy the embassy was doing but I can't remember what it was now. There might be more to the story than just "they didn't get citizens out fast enough." I'll check back and let you know what the deal was.

[Winston Smith]

If they can name an actual problem aside from ISRAEL BAD ISRAEL SHOOTING AT LEBANON US GIVE WEAPONS TO ISRAEL NOW GIVE ME MONEY then they might have a case. Otherwise... shut up.

[Shalako]

I wonder if any of the "American" folks in Lebanon were suspicious characters? The State Dept probably had to screen them all before evacuating them back to here.

Its kind of like, I go on a pleasant visit to a distant village near Tora Bora, then when an attack is launched from this village against a neighboring country, I demand to be evacuated immediately.

I'd expect some sort of scrutiny.

[Matthew Carberry]

Most of the American citizens involved are dual-citizenshipped Lebanese-Americans who have chosen to live and work in Lebanon but retain their citizenship as an escape valve.

Screw them AND the tourists who can't be bothered to read up on their tourist destination and have an E&E plan prepared before they go.  They went to Lebanon voluntarily, my tax dollars sholdn't be used to get them out.  Whining about how they'll lose their prepaid vacation dollars and can't afford the flight out.

I wouldn't object so much to a little "Wind and the Lion" style rescue mission if they had been kidnapped but to spend MY money cause they can't read a CIA World Factbook entry?

[Antibubba]

Was Lebanon on the State Department list of "yellow alert" destinations?

[grampster]

Being from Michigan I'm ashamed to say I had to listen to a Michigan Detroit area Congresscritter today on Hannity regarding the Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon.  She is a raving moonbat.  Hannity got her so worked up by trying to pin her down she hung up the phone.  I laughed my tookus off for a couple of miles.

[Guest]

In this case, it was someone who had inherited some property there and was dealing with legal issues involved in it.