Mystery: What caused the catastrophic oil spill along the Lebanese coast?

[Karmadillo]

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154525865614&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

<edit>

The cause of the oil spill remains unknown, according to Keidar <an official in Israel's Foreign Ministry>. Some media reports have accused the Israel Air Force of hitting the plant and causing the oil spill, but "we won't know until after the war ends and it can be checked thoroughly. Nobody can ask Israel to take responsibility for something we are unsure about," he said.

Luis Colasimone, the information officer for UNEP-MAP, agrees. The reports she has received from the Lebanese Ministry of Environment and local authorities there say that an explosion causing the spill, but none placed the blame on a particular party.

<edit>

Because the Mediterranean is a semi-closed sea, the pollutants could remain in the water for up to a century, according to Colasimone.

<edit>

"The oil spill will first and foremost affect the marine life in the sea," said Bromberg. "It's killing breeding areas for fish, killing marine life swimming in the oil spots directly and other marine life covered by the oil slick."

The marine habitat near the coast will be damaged if not destroyed by the oil. A prime example of the effect on marine life is the green turtle. They have already laid their eggs, which will soon hatch. If there is oil on the sand and in the water near the hatchlings, the likelihood of these endangered animals surviving is slim.

more...

[Redstone]

1. What mystery? It came from a specific power plant's storage tanks.

Redstone

[LuckyLib]

2. Has the Israeli navy finally let in scientists and clean-up crews

to contain it? Or will that violate their "national security"??

[enough]

3. I don't think this is a mystery.

It was caused by destruction of oil tanks by bombing. I'm sure all the details are still available from the news account of the event, which wasn't very long ago. There was no mystery at the time, and there are plenty of photos.

Surely Israel does not get to define this event, which was a violence to the planet. Why is this news event being re-defined.

Nothing in my sixty years of life is parallel to this except the re-definition of news and history during the soviet union.

[Tom Joad]

15. Yeah, it's like the whiting out of Trotsky in photos with Lenin.

Took hours for the Soviet history revisers to do that. what those folks would have done for a copy of Photoshop!

[madrchsod]

4. oh for god`s sake-"the cause of the oil spill remains unknown"

i guess the Lebanese government decided to cause a ecological disaster on their own beaches and those all around the area but if the israeli beaches get fouled with oil i bet something will be done. the war is so inconvenient for those untouched by blood

[partylessinOhio]

5. The "mystery" is why Israel reigned such destruction down on another

country destroying much of it's infrasture, killing innocent people mostly children, and causing millions of Lebanese to have to evacuate while under fire.

[bdamomma]

16. it has alot more to do than those 2 israeli soldiers

the US government and Israeli planned this attack to escalate another soverign country to get involved with bush's illegal war crimes.

our hands have so much blood on them, the stain will never be washed.

[uppityperson]

6. Spontaneous gathering of oil on Lebanon's beaches perhaps?

:sarcasm: "mystery", ha, snort, bs

Can't ask Israel to take responsibility for "something" we are unsure about? crap

[scarletwoman]

7. Ah, the Jerusalem Post -- part of the neocon message machine.

The only "mystery" here is how they can print such revisionist b.s. and expect people to believe it.

sw

[regnaD kciN]

8. The JPost is the Washington Times of the Middle East...

Same s***, different creed.

:argh:

[MysteryToMyself]

9. Lebanon was doing so good

They thought they would do really good with tourism this year. Now, look what has happened.

Bush has said he will America will send 50 million dollars to help rebuild. I want to help Lebanon too. It is a shame though. Money spent rebuilding could have been used for so many necessary things. There are people and heirlooms that can never be replaced. It is sad.

How many more have we enraged over there?

[AusGail]

10. Dont you think 50 million dollars sounds a bit puny

when Bush gives Israel 3 billion dollars a year?

[SlavesandBulldozers]

14. that's nice of him to give 1/6th of the cost of a day in Iraq.

what a kind Christian man that douchebag is.

[Supersedeas]

13. the RW Media hate machine will provide them an audience and a bully pulpit

[Tom Joad]

11. MYSTERY?!? It came from a Israeli bombing of a Power Plant.

What a bunch of propaganda. I have no patience for historical revisionists, be they of the Israeli government type or the David Irving type.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060729/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictlebanonenvironment_060729120853;_ylt=Ar4385rwaVoeBLXioVNlr2sUvioA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

[Tom Joad]

12. Ya'acov Keidar is the David Irving of the Israeli spin machine.

Revising history for popular consumption. This man has Chutzpah.

Soon he will be saying that children climbed under the rubble at Qana and killed themselves, just to hurt Israel.

Thanks for bringing this idiocy to our attention, Karmadillo.

[bloom]

17. Things like that - help people to remain clueless. nt