Lou Dobbs, ever the shill for the party line be it capitol vs. labor or Israel vs. international law, surpasses even his record for shoddy interviews as he repeatedly throws Dan Gillerman, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, soft balls instread of questions. Skip to the 3:35 mark for the setup to, possibly, the most racist thing that has come out of the Israeli government in some time. And no, your ears aren’t fooling you, Mr. Dobbs does not challenge him on the statement that “nearly all terrorists are Muslim.”

Gillerman was describing the benevolent nature of the broadest military attacks that Israel has launched on Lebanon since the invasion of 1982. But since there can’t possible be any “terrorism” involved in this (after all, Israel is the Jewish state and most terrorists are Muslim…) let’s review some reports of what is happening in Lebanon to clarify this:

The Telegraph:

[British] Ministers are drawing up plans to evacuate thousands of Britons from Lebanon.

France is ready to remove its nationals and the United States announced yesterday that it was planning for a possible evacuation of 25,000 civilians if the crisis worsens.

Thousands of foreigners have fled since the country was attacked by Israel five days ago. But up to 3,500 British families remain and a further 15,000 people have dual nationality. [Read more]

Monsters and Critics:

More than 80 Lebanese have been killed and scores more wounded in the Israeli attacks, which began Wednesday, shortly after Hezbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in a cross- border raid. …

The biggest Lebanese death toll Saturday came when an Israeli missile hit a mini bus in south Lebanon and 21 people, children among them burned to death as a result. [Note: The people were fleeing their homes after being told to leave by Israeli forces...] …

Israel struck at around 60 targets Saturday in Lebanon, including 40 in the eastern Bekaa valley and Beirut port, as well as the port of Tripoli in northern Lebanon. Since the offensive began, Israel has launched around 200 attacks north of the border. [Read more]

From Al-Jazeera:

“We call for an immediate ceasefire backed by the United Nations,” Siniora told a news conference in Beirut. “I declare today that Lebanon is a disaster zone in need of a comprehensive and speedy Arab plan … and [it] pleads to its friends in the world to rush to its aid.” – Lebanese Prime Minister Siniora [Read more]

Finally, an appeal from Kareem Shora at the ADC:

Colleagues and friends,

I do not usually write such email messages however this situation has gone beyond any measure of expectation even for those of us all too familiar and have lived with the conflict in the Middle East all of our lives.

The past 24 hours have witnessed the complete destruction of Lebanon’s infrastructure. Israel has now bombed all sea-ports in addition to all airports. There are no known standing bridges in the country any more. Over 115 civilians are now confirmed dead as a result of Israel’s attacks. In Beirut, I learned this afternoon on the phone that the Israeli air force destroyed the famous Beirut Lighthouse. This historic lighthouse, likely the most famous surviving Beirut landmark, stood throughout the civil war, the Israeli invasion of 1982, all the war and destruction that the country faced. None of the warring parties bombed or attacked the historic Beirut lighthouse until now. Thanks to the Israeli Airforce the historic Beirut lighthouse is no more ! Also, Israel is now targeting all gas stations in Lebanon, they started with the South and are moving northward systematically bombing every gas station in the country as I type this message, there is no gas station in the country that will be safe from Israeli Airforce attack. Also, NBN Lebanese News TV and the LBC are now reporting that the Israeli Army has begun moving into Lebanon nortward, they are ordering a number of villages to be evacuated and having its inhabitants leave their homes and move northward ahead of the Israeli land advance…all signs point to a land invasion and the removal of the Lebanese citizens from their homes.

The most emotional point today was watching Lebanese Prime Minister Siniora speak to his nation on live television, appealing for anyone to help his people and his country from complete destruction, and at the end of his speech the Prime Minister cried (physically cried on live television) as he repeated the phrase “Lebanon will survive, Lebanon will survive, Lebanon will survive.” This is the democratically elected Prime Minister who is an ally of the US. Where is the US when its friends are in need? Where is the Bush Administration when its democratically-elected allies are calling for its help? The Bush Administration praised the Cedar Revolution and today it sits silent, giving Israel the green light to destroy Lebanon inch-by-inch while it does absolutely nothing! Shame on us, shame on us, shame on us!

Shame on us indeed.