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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Wretchard: The Beginning and the End
2006-08-12
News items which may or may not be related.

Faith shaken in UN, for failure to stop the Lebanon bloodshed quickly, says Kofi Annan.

Ehud Olmert accepts the ceasefire resolution proposed by the UN Security Council. Reuters says "world powers agreed on Friday on a U.N. resolution to end four weeks of fighting between Israel and Hizbollah.... Draft resolution was set to be unanimously approved by the Security Council later on Friday.... Lebanese government accepted the draft.... Israeli official said the Israeli army would not stop its offensive until the [Israeli] cabinet met on Sunday to consider the resolution..... Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would ask his cabinet to accept the document."

The Security Council calls for an end to the war and authorizes 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers to help Lebanese troops take control of south Lebanon as Israel withdraws.

Secretary Rice to Wolf Blitzer on the International Force: "it has a mandate that will allow it to defend itself and to defend that mandate. But it's never been the expectation that this force is going to disarm Hezbollah. That will have to be done by the Lebanese."

A Haaretz op-ed sarcastically asks, "after all, why did we embark on the war, if not to ensure that French soldiers will protect Israel from the Hezbollah rocket battery."

Wikipedia's official entry for Benjamin Netanyahu says it is "widely anticipated that a no-confidence vote will lead to new elections with Netanyahu becoming the next Prime Minister of Israel."

Who knows?
Posted by:Mike

#6  Nasrallah was on Al-Jizz just now saying they'll observe the cease fire ...AFTER all them Jooooos are out of Lebanon. Cribdeath will be the verdict on the ceasefire
Posted by: Frank G   2006-08-12 11:19  

#5  The question is whether the 15,000 will have teeth or mearly monitor the return of Hezbulla.
OTOH if Hezbulla doesn't accept then Isreal can say they tried and unleash the hounds.
Posted by: BrerRabbit   2006-08-12 11:13  

#4  John,
Bush, Condi & Co. can't figure out how to 'destroy the root' - because the American people won't accept it. A large chunk of the population believes Bush people engineered this week's airline bomb threat. Lieberman was beaten. The opposition to the Iraq campaign has now risen to - I think - a majority. There's no way this Congress will authorize an attack on ANY other country. Maybe after the next 9/11 (or worse), but I'm not even confident about that. And the Islamo-fascists know it.
Posted by: Glenmore   2006-08-12 11:13  

#3  J: If Israelis are sleeping in bunkers today, we will all be sleeping in bunkers tomorrow.

Not likely. Israel can't do whatever it likes for fear of trade and military sanctions. Uncle Sam can. It is by far both the largest market and the strongest military power in the world. The only hope our enemies have is that we won't revert to WWII style rules of engagement. That depends on how many of our people end up dying. The higher the friendly body count, the fewer the restrictions on how we destroy the enemy.

You know how liberals always worry about the fate of enemy civilians? They'll stop doing so if they have to risk their lives under a universal draft. Restrictive rules are for when someone other American is risking his life. Note that George McGovern was involving in incendiary raids over Germany in which millions of German civilians were killed.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2006-08-12 11:11  

#2  There would appear to be a recognition that destroying Hezbollah is impossible without attacking both Syria and Iran. You can expend precious capital from Israel in fighting in Lebanon only to have the leadership and remnants Hezbollah slip into Syria and regroup with arms from Iran. A strategic victory for Hezbollah to be sure. If Israelis are sleeping in bunkers today, we will all be sleeping in bunkers tomorrow.

We are detroying the branch and trunk without destroying the root. All the UN can do is slow the regrowth of the branches while Bush and Condi and Co. figure out how we destroy the roots.

Posted by: john   2006-08-12 10:58  

#1  What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin.. W. Churchill
Posted by: Glenter Ulineper8090   2006-08-12 09:47  

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