Cease-fire, my eye!
So, the fighting in Lebanon is over -- for the moment. How long this "cease-fire" will last is the 64,000 dollar question. I'm not buying this notion that both sides have seen the light and now they're ready to settle their problems diplomatically. (Besides, Israel hasn't has a chance to salt the soil and poison all the wells yet.) There is just something not right about this entire situation. It doesn't add up.
For almost a month the Bush administration has been dragging its feet on a cease-fire, buying time for Israel to finish the job. And then, all of a sudden, it becomes clear the IDF won't be able to wipe Hezbollah off the map -- without killing every third Lebanese citizen -- so W. & Co. panic and rush this rickety resolution through the Security Council? Not very likely.
My spider sense is telling me all of this US diplomacy is just a big show to give Israel time to regroup and rearm. Because I don't see why Israel would sign on to this cease-fire under any circumstances. (It certainly wasn't in the interests of international peace.) There certainly hasn't been any political pressure domestically for a cease fire. Quite the contrary, large majorities of Israelis support the war, even if it hasn't been a rerun of 1967. And I'm finding it very hard to believe the Bush administration put any pressure on the Israelis at all. The whole idea is laughable. W. and his blood drenched maniacs are so obviously full-square behind the war and its aims that such a scenario is just unimaginable.
So, what's going on here?
I think Israel's generals are going back to the blackboard, while they wait for the next big shipment of jet fuel and brand new super bombs for "Lebanon Smackdown: Shock and Awe, Part II." I seriously doubt either this administration or the Israelis has been chastened by Hezbollah's surprising staying power. The bigger mess the make out of things, the more they're convinced they're on the right track. More than likely, this next war will be a more comprehensive offensive against not only Hezbollah but also against Syria and Iran.
But not before the midterm elections! A full scale war in the Middle East would most likely be a loser for the GOP, so better to bide their time, and who knows, in the interim maybe Kadima will be tossed out of office and Netanyahu will take over. Now there's a guy who's got the guts to wage a biblical conflagration! (He'd better hurry up and convert, though; because you know when HE comes down to rescue W. & Co. he ain't taking any Jews.)
For almost a month the Bush administration has been dragging its feet on a cease-fire, buying time for Israel to finish the job. And then, all of a sudden, it becomes clear the IDF won't be able to wipe Hezbollah off the map -- without killing every third Lebanese citizen -- so W. & Co. panic and rush this rickety resolution through the Security Council? Not very likely.
My spider sense is telling me all of this US diplomacy is just a big show to give Israel time to regroup and rearm. Because I don't see why Israel would sign on to this cease-fire under any circumstances. (It certainly wasn't in the interests of international peace.) There certainly hasn't been any political pressure domestically for a cease fire. Quite the contrary, large majorities of Israelis support the war, even if it hasn't been a rerun of 1967. And I'm finding it very hard to believe the Bush administration put any pressure on the Israelis at all. The whole idea is laughable. W. and his blood drenched maniacs are so obviously full-square behind the war and its aims that such a scenario is just unimaginable.
So, what's going on here?
I think Israel's generals are going back to the blackboard, while they wait for the next big shipment of jet fuel and brand new super bombs for "Lebanon Smackdown: Shock and Awe, Part II." I seriously doubt either this administration or the Israelis has been chastened by Hezbollah's surprising staying power. The bigger mess the make out of things, the more they're convinced they're on the right track. More than likely, this next war will be a more comprehensive offensive against not only Hezbollah but also against Syria and Iran.
But not before the midterm elections! A full scale war in the Middle East would most likely be a loser for the GOP, so better to bide their time, and who knows, in the interim maybe Kadima will be tossed out of office and Netanyahu will take over. Now there's a guy who's got the guts to wage a biblical conflagration! (He'd better hurry up and convert, though; because you know when HE comes down to rescue W. & Co. he ain't taking any Jews.)
posted by William Duane at 6:50 PM
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