To all the ppl who are saying Israel respond is justfied please take a look at these pics. These pics you will never see on CNN,FOX or any US channes

http://fromisraeltolebanon.info/

http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2006/07/17/photo-of-the-day-israeli-kids-sends-gifts-of-love-to-arab-kids/

Brian - we watch you every night and NBC is delivering a little harder news since your arrival.
However, your middle east coverage is VERY Israel. Remember - they have THOUSANDS of Palestinians in their prisons. You know - the Palestinians they've occupied for years and years.
Please try to include reporting about the destruction in Lebanon - and the deaths of hundreds of Arab-Christians. All this for 2 Israeli soldiers?? Nahhh...Bush pretext for showdown with Iran.
Thanks

I want to hear more from that Jesus guy. His comments are right on

Brian,

Powerful broadcast last night. Martin Fletcher’s reporting was gut-wrenching and it made this conflict in the Middle East all too real. Each night as we sit in our living rooms watching the news, it is difficult to truly understand the palpable horrors and fears overseas but because of your (and so many others’ at NBC ) determination to capture and present the truth to millions back home we are given access to this random chaos half a world away. For better or for worse, thank you for the candid coverage of this unpredictable conflict. What I’m having trouble grasping is why Israel finally decided to retaliate. Has there been any statements made by Israeli officials concerning its nation’s need to fight back when in the past it would succumb to terrorist demands and threats in order to bring its men home safely?
On an ending note, do keep you and your team safe. In regards to your comment on modern technology, it’s good to read that even in the midst of this intense time, you’ve still got your sense of humor in tact. I look forward to your broadcast tonight.

Why is Lebonese prime minister asking milatray help from any other country, so that he can remove Hesbola from Lebanon? Instead it seems like he is either afraid or supporting Nasrallah, and still wants to end the attack, if he is afraid he does not deserve to be PM, if heis supporting Nasrallah, he should not ask to end attacks? Could you please help me understand what is Sinora's position here.

Brian, keep up the good work over there. May Jebadiah keep you, your team, and your Powerbars safe and out of harms way. Look forward to the blog tomorrow.

Bruce and I send our respect and love.

I enjoy watching/reading Brian Williams almost at every opportunity. I would like to comment

I fully support Isreal's right to defend herself, as long as what they are defending for is theirs in the first place. If they take away others land, spring/well and life and claim to defend them it just sounds so un-American to me.

I would like your perspective on this.

Is there any effort by the regular Lebanese army to suppress, hinder or resist Hizbullah? If so, what is their level of effort and their effectiveness? If not, why not? Also - for those who think the current Israeli response is excessive - is there any level of response that would've created enough 'critical mass' (army & public), to drive Hizbullah out? If no, it is no surprise Israel decides it must take the initiative.

Mr. Williams: I follow world politics very closely but when my children asked me questions re: palistinians, I could not tell them if they have a home land, the country of origin, etc. Did they belong to Arafat's party? Any information would help. Thank you, , Las Vegas, Nv

Why oh why do Israel and Bush think Hezbollah can be eliminated with bombs? Makes no sense.
And since Israel and Bush also think Iran is supporting Hezbollah - it makes even less sense.
Hezbollah is NOT a country - and destroying their few structures doesn't destroy ideology.
Heck! even Christians were hung upside down.
Bush is condoning Israel's slaughter of many Arab-Christians - and the destruction of Jesus' hometown.
Bush destroyed the Garden - and now Israel is finishing off the vestiges of Christianity in the Holy Land.
Shameful!

YOUR NEWS, JUST LIKE ANY NEWS IN USA ARE CONTROLLED AND INFLUENCED BY US GOVERNMENT. YOU DO NOT REPORT THE TRUTH, BECAUSE THE TRUTH ALWAYS HAS 2 SIDES...SO WHAT YOU SAY IS NOT RELEVANT, NOR DO I RESPECT THE WORK THAT YOU DO...SHAME ON YOU AND THE GOVT. FOR LYING TO OUR PEOPLE...HOW CAN THERE BE TERRORISTS WHEN WE CAN NOT STOP ILLEGAL IMIGRANTS AND DRUG DEALERS...IT IS FUNNY HOW FEAR IS USED TO CONTROL OUR PEOPLE...SO THAT THE RICH CAN GET RICHER AND THE POOR CAN STAY POOR...SHAME...FREEDOM DOESN'T EXIST WITHOUT MONEY...

Everyone has been saying that Israel is at fault and shouldn't be doing what they are doing. But what about the decades of war and supression that they have had to face from Hamas, Hezbullah, and everyone else in the Arab world that hates them? I think Israel is doing what they need to. They are in the right.

How is what you're experiencing in Northern Israel similar to (or different from) the current surroundings in Iraq?

Israel’s excessive force in Lebanon seems to be geared – not to prevent the re-supply of Hezballah from Syria – but to prevent the Syrian army itself from coming to the aid of Hezballah. As we found out in Vietnam, it doesn’t take much to keep a gorilla force supplied so that cannot be the answer. If Israel is trying to prevent a Syrian incursion it must be planning to completely wipe out Hezballah. The US should send a carrier group to the region – not to stop the conflict without approval – but to say that any extreme escalation – such as a dirty bomb attack – would not be tolerated.

I very much recommend that we get a peacekeeping force in there before Israel does a little genocide of its own. Don’t bet on this conflict ending any time soon. We have things like global warming and bird flue to fight so fighting among ourselves does not help matters.

Hi Brian,

As Hezbollah continues to barrage Haifa and the entire north of Israel with katyushas, one angle I've not heard anything about is the thousands of Israeli Arabs in the Galilee who are also under attack (this comes as an Israeli Arab was killed in Nazareth). What kind of effect has this had on the Jewish-Arab relations in Haifa, a city that even in the height of the most recent intifada had good relations between the two?

Thanks and keep up the good work.

Brian: You are the best! My wife and I watch you each night without fail. Your compassion, frustrations, wonderment, and puzzlement mirrors all of our thinking. We have come to the conclusion that there is no answer for the problems of the Middle East. What we need to study is how we are going to live with them on an everyday basis.

You are in my prayers for a safe sojourn and return.
May God bless you.

Brian,
Take a picture of the banks where Peter is believed to have met Jesus for the first time. Otherwise, stay safe and continue your great reporting.

Having been a hostage in Lebanon in 1983, I can empathise with the americans who are waiting for evacuation. In my case being held a hostage by the Druze militia, who in fact were protecting us from the then less organized Hezbollah who were in there infancy as a terrorist organization at the time.
Then the Hezbollah had first decided to draw attention to themselves by kidnapping Americans and were hoping to recieve a ransom at the same time as recieving notoriety for being so bold as to bold as to do what no other terrorist organization had yet been willing to do within Lebanon.
Many Americans don't remember that the Hezbollah were reponsible for the suicide bomb attack on our US Marines in 1982 at the Beirut Airport. Many more don't remeber that the French also lost some Brave soldiers two minutes before the suicide airport bombing because another suicide bomber took out the French Barracks in a outter beirut location.
My point being is that This terrorist organization has now been in existance for 23 years since my experience and they now have children who are now of age to have children.
Hezbollah has preached nothing but extreme hatred for both Israel and the United states for a generation of children. My fear is that if something is not done to stop them now then how will the third generation of Hezbollah react to our childrens children.
It is time to let the terrorist thru out the world know that future generations of all children should have a God given right to live a life without fear of Radical extremeists looking to eradicate a race because of their religous beliefs or national orientation.
Don't have pity for Hezbollah, instead pray for the success of the Israeli's.

I think Jesus would hit homeruns a little more often...

When is President Bush and our mighty warriors, Marine expeditionaire Force along with the several battle crusiers we have in the area, going in to help Israel and Lebanon? If Hezbollah, is funded and supplied by Iran and Syria then we should be helping these two countries settle this fight with Hezbollah. We have air craft that can pin point locations of Hezbollah's artillary and then Israel can use their airforce to take it out and we then would reduce civillian casualties by major amounts.
Our Military can easily pin point the location of the Hezbollah military forces and again, Israel can take them out. we are so concerned about the Lebanon fragile governement that we want to protect, and Israel is our ally, then we should get involved end this Mid East confrontation quickly and limit civillian casulaity as we hope to. We have a war President that everyone wanted, and we have chasticed him for protecting us, now he wants to do nothing but diplomacy, its not why we elected him. Jan 1st 2009 President elect will have all the work being a diplomat that he will want to do. In the mean time we have two axis of evil and terorists countries that we could solve miltaryily right now, and NO! our military is not strained and limited, Our Air Force and Navy who is the very best and is effiecent to take care of Hezbollah, and if Syria decides to jump in the Israelis can handle them and if Iran decides to get involved, we then can take out their entire nuclear plants, bunkers etc. I am sure Jordan, Saudia, Egypt will not get upset. And if the EU wants to help us, so be it. Lets go politicans and do the right thing.

About the only way to encourage more American diplomacy in the Israeli-Lebanese-Hezbollah matter concerns not allowing the Carlysle Group to skate free of its involvement as it prtains to rearming both sides. If this conflict became known as (another) Carlysle Group Conflict(due to the weapons involved in this scenario), perhaps, the US would be further shamed into deploying more diplomats toward the region. Isn't it interesting that Rice will not go until things settle down. Interpretation: Let more weapons sales negotiations be involved prior to diplomatic negotiations. Most shameful indeed!

So far 30+ Israelis dead and 280+ Lebanese dead yet your "massacre" headline refers to Israeli victims. Israeli civilians are dying and that's just terrible but why do you consider the Israeli deaths to be so more important, and news worthy than the many more Lebanese civilin deaths? Why not more balance in the reporting? I have to go elsewhere to try to find out what's actually happening over there. Help me out here.

Brian,
Thanks for getting us the stories first hand. It must be a pretty tough job. My questions are : What is your take on this war? Do you think it can be ended peacefully or do you think the U.S. will get drawn in as well as other big guns (Iran and Syria). I have been watching this pretty closely and it has the tell-tale signs of exploding right in the government's faces.
With the lack of American support of getting the citizens out of Lebanon, it is reminiscent of Katrina's impact on our own homefront and the slowness of the gov't to react to the cries of the people left behind. Do you think that the U.S.'s failure to secure it's citizens will have an effect on the U.S. as a whole and how it's citizens view it's infrastructure?

Thanks again for some excellent reporting.

Everything in life is based on the principle of "The Pebble in the Pond"...when you throw a pebble in the pond, there is a ripple effect. The Israel pebble was thrown in the middle east pond in 1948 compliments of the British and Americans. Now the whole world is paying and will continue to pay the price of that pebble in the pond.