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Israel seems to be giving more thought to that which it should have considered before its disastrous military campaign in Lebanon. The Jerusalem Post reports Israel is abandoning all thought of disarming Hezbollah as it belatedly realizes how difficult that goal is to achieve against a guerrilla organization deeply rooted in its home territory. Instead, Israel will focus on enforcing embargoes to ensure Hezbollah is not outfitted with offensive weaponry.

Israel is in a difficult position, no question about it. It ended its war no better off than it began, and has suffered deep damage to both its image around the world and its reputation as an adversary. That’s what happens when you shoot first and ask questions later.

You’d think Israel would have learned a thing or two from the blunders of its “big brother” America.

Maybe he thinks that if he says it enough times it will become true, or maybe he simply can’t accept he’s wrong.

Whatever the reason, a delusional President Bush simply cannot stop trying to make the case that the disaster in Iraq (and now Lebanon) is somehow related to terrorism.

He says:

“It is no coincidence that two nations that are building free societies in the heart of the Middle East - Lebanon and Iraq - are also the scenes of the most violent terrorist activity. We will defeat the terrorists by strengthening young democracies across the broader Middle East.”

Gee, dear Mr. President. Do you suppose that the presence of “violent terrorist activity” in these countries might have ANYthing whatsoever to do with the fact they were invaded pre-emptively by Israel and the US respectively for no good reason?

“We will defeat the terrorists and expand freedom across the world, we’ll protect the American homeland and work tirelessly to prevent attacks on our country. The terrorists remain determined to destroy innocent life on a massive scale, and we must be equally determined to stop them.”

He’s starting to sound a little shrill, isn’t he? Unfortunately Bush’s disastrous Iraq adventure has made America MORE vulnerable to terrorism, not less.

Joe Sestak, a Democrat running for Congress against a vulnerable GOP incumbent in Pennsylvania, made this point crystal clear by pointing out that the amount we spend in two days in Iraq would be enough to pay for screening all air cargo on passenger planes, while five days’ worth of spending would pay for screening all ship cargo at our nation’s vulnerable ports. Instead, our money and our security are being sucked into the bottomless pit of Iraq.

The game’s over, Mr. President. Americans have woken up and won’t swallow the lies anymore. But please, by all means keep repeating your mantra over and over, because the more you do the more seats Democrats will pick up in Congress in November.

France received worldwide recognition for its leadership in brokering a cease fire between Israel and Hezbollah in wartorn Lebanon. The negotiated terms included the arrival of a 15,000-soldier UN peacekeeping force to occupy the areas of Lebanon from which Israel would withdraw.

Now when it comes time to put skin in the game and contribute troops, France decides it doesn’t want to play. It has decreed that it will send a mere 200 troops that are part of an engineering company, and has promised to keep 1700 troops safely offshore on boats that would “assist” in case of a crisis.

The announcement has thrown the cease-fire negotiations and military preparations into disarray, as the fear is that other nations will balk at sending troops if France doesn’t do so.

One has to wonder as to France’s motivations when it steps forward so boldly to broker a cease fire and yet is too cowardly to back its flowery words with action. Is it because they wanted the glory, to pat itself on its back and celebrate the ascendance of French influence on the world stage?

Unfortunately the only thing France succeeds in doing is looking like a hypocrite.

The Israeli government and military is coming under withering criticism from its own citizens and soldiers on their conduct of the war in Lebanon.

Soldiers complained about being totally untrained for the challenges that awaited them, and even about not having enough food to eat during the invasion. Reservists protested being used as “cannon fodder.” On the food issue, the general in charge of logistics responded, “If our fighters deep in Lebanese territory are left without food or water, I believe they can break into local Lebanese stores to solve that problem.”

Who’d want to fight for a military with that kind of callous attitude?!

Citizens are complaining that its poorest and least mobile citizens were left to fend for themselves against Hezbollah’s rocket attacks while the wealthy departed for safer pastures. They’re also complaining about the precarious position Israel has put itself in by not effectively prosecuting the war and by accepting a cease-fire that many think will not hold.

Isreal clearly did itself far more harm than good in this operation, and its incompetence in the campaign has eroded the deterrent effect of its military machine. It will embolden its enemies, and Binyamin Netanyahu is quite correct to say that Israel must engage in soul-searching on risks that have been created that threaten its very existence.

Olmert is accepting all of the blame, and time will tell if he goes down in history as one of Israel’s worst prime ministers ever for leading his country into war with no plan, no preparation, and no appreciation of the consequences.

Hezbollah is claiming victory over its nemesis in the wake of the recently announced Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire. But wait–Bush says Israel won, and I’m sure we’ll hear the spin from Israel soon enough. Who’s right in claiming victory, who’s wrong?

They’re all wrong.

Israel is wrong because it has suffered a huge loss of face in the Arab world for initiating a war to annihilate Hezbollah and clearly failing to do so while at the same time incurring the condemnation of the rest of the world.

The US is wrong because it shares in Israel’s embarrassment vicariously. Its refusal to call for a cease-fire for many days against the wishes of the rest of the world further eroded US credibility and respect, and gained it nothing in its “war on terror” (which is a war against Al-Qaeda, not Hezbollah).

Hezbollah is wrong because it will face extreme pressure to disarm from all quarters as an international presence moves into Lebanon. It also must contend with the massive damage inflicted against Lebanese society and infrastructure, from which it draws strength.

It’s a bunch of losers and no winners in this nonsensical war, with the biggest losers of all being the many Israeli and Lebanese civilians who lost their lives and livelihoods for no good reason.

Finally, the UN Security Council has voted unanimously on a cease-fire resolution that would stop the violence and destruction in Lebanon. Under the terms of the agreement, the UN would deploy 15,000 international troops that would be authorized to use force to keep the peace, and would be deployed simultaneously with Israel’s withdrawal so as to not create a power vacuum. Israel and Lebanon both seem amenable to the resolution.
It’s about time.

It’s been interesting to see cast of characters and the changing viewpoints during the flurry of negotiation. Most notably, the US did a complete about-face from maintaining a stony silence about the violence to proactively negotiating the terms of the agreement. It apparently lost patience with Israel’s inability to put a quick end to Hezbollah. Israel’s willingness to go along is also interesting but not surprising–it obviously failed to “de-fang” Hezbollah, realized it probably could not do so, and needed a way to save face. Finally it has to be noted that France was the lead broker of the UN resolution, not the US. It’s sad that America has abrogated its duty as honest broker for the Middle East and left that to a country with no background, experience, or interest in the region.

Assuming the terms are honored by all sides, we will soon know the toll of human lives and infrastructure that has been taken against Lebanon. Hopefully Israel will join the rest of the world in paying for the reconstruction.

The US criticized Israel for planning to expand its Lebanon offensive in the wake of Israel’s cabinet approving such a move. The Israeli escalation was unwelcome given the efforts to iron out a United Nations resolution that would broker a cease-fire. “We are working hard now to bridge differences between the United States position and some of the positions of our allies,” said Bush spokesman Tony Snow. “We want an end to violence and we do not want escalations.”

The news will probably stick in Israel’s craw, but it fails to heed US advice at its diplomatic peril. It’s about time the US stepped up to stop the ceaseless slaughtering of civilians taking place on both sides as a result of this war.

In an about-face no doubt motivated by mounting Lebanese casualties and Israel’s failure to swiftly destroy Hezbollah, the US is suddenly supporting a truce pact in cooperation with France and other powers.

The draft resolution calls for “a full cessation of hostilities” between Israel and Hezbollah, sets terms for a negotiated settlement of the war, and proposes deployment of an international peacekeeping force to the region.

Israel is “studying” the agreement and will give its reaction later.

Hezbollah, battered but not beaten after weeks of punishment, was surly about any peace agreements, saying it would accept peace only when Israel pulls all of its troops out of Lebanon. Time will tell if this is just more bluster and sabre-rattling, as it would be very much in the militia’s interests to honor the cease-fire.

It’s about time the US stopped playing politics with Lebanese civilians’ lives and joined the rest of the world in trying to put an end to this misbegotten war.

Amir Paster, a 32-year-old Israeli army officer, is being sentenced to 28 days in a military prison for refusing to serve in the country’s invasion of Lebanon. He refuses to serve on the grounds that the operation is harming innocent civilians, which he says runs counter to the values upon which he was brought up.

His resistance is extraordinary in a country where 90% of the Jewish population supports the campaign as being critical to Israel’s continued existence. That sentiment is due in good part because of the bombardment of messages from the Israeli government. Says the leader of a peace group:

“Every evening you have on television a press conference of the Chief of Staff and the commanding officers (of the army). Every day you have speeches by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Emir Peretz and in between you have a whole battery of former generals filling the electronic media and none of us voices for peace are allowed on the media.”

What does Paster hope to accomplish?

“I know people will attack me and ask how could I not take part in this war when Qassams are falling on my hometown and Katyushas on the towns in the north. In my opinion, only this type of opposition that I’ve chosen will put an end to the madness that is going on now and will shatter the false feeling that the entire home front supports this unnecessary war that is based on deceptive considerations.”

Rallies for peace in Tel Aviv are drawing thousands of war protesters. Hopefully this man’s conscientious objection will strengthen the visibility of peace activists in Israel, who are not alone in their belief that the Lebanese campaign is wrong. Already the effects of their efforts are being felt, as Israelis are beginning to question the wisdom of the war in light of mounting casualties and the military’s failure to stop the rain of rockets.

Charles Krauthammer, who has apparently recovered from his encounter with rabies, has a much more rational column this week explaining how Israel’s approach to the conflict in Lebanon is straining relations with the US.

Israel has laid it all on the line in this campaign to “de-fang” Hezbollah. It has painted itself into a corner where the only way it can claim victory is through the absolute destruction of Hezbollah. Anything less will be seen by the Arab world as a defeat for Israel. Even now Hezbollah is gaining a cult-like status for its ability to withstand Israel’s military might, as shown by this demonstration of hundreds of thousands of Shiites in Iraq calling for death to America and Israel.

(By the way, it’s good to know that a $300 billion+ price tag has bought us a wish for our own destruction from those we sought to “free” from tyranny, but can you really blame them with all the raping and killing and torturing at the hands of Americans going on?)

In launching this campaign, Israel looked to the US for time enough to finish the job, and the US agreed. The US has a stake in wanting Hezbollah destroyed, especially given its current propensity to view the entire world through the one-dimensional lens of terrorism (lumping groups like Al-Qaida and Hezbollah together when in fact they and their goals have little or nothing to do with each other.) Israel defeating Hezbollah would also serve as a proxy for the US dealing a serious blow to Hezbollah’s sponsor Iran, a country the US is struggling to contain given its nuclear ambitions and its own designs for the Middle East. The Bush administration expected Israel to demonstrate its value as an ally and terminate Hezbollah with extreme prejudice.

Given how much Israel has on the line, Krauthammer laments the weakness Israel has shown in this campaign. If Israel was going to risk raising the ire of the rest of the world and put so much of its reputation with the US and elsewhere at stake, he argues it should have launched a strike with quick and overwhelming force by both ground and air. Instead, it attempted the campaign with air power alone, which has always failed to settle any score in any war. Only later did Israel’s leader Olmert reverse himself and allow for a ground campaign, but even now almost a month into the conflict Israel remains helpless to prevent the relentless bombardment of its cities by hundreds of Hezbollah rockets daily.

Its failure to destroy Hezbollah and the latter’s ability to keep striking Israel is dealing a serious blow to Israel’s prestige and capability. It will embolden Hezbollah and its sponsor Iran, and possibly Israel’s other neighbors, to strike with more impunity and with less fear of reprisal. Its failure is also seriously disappointing the US and calling into question Israel’s worth as an ally, as it faces mounting pressure to join the rest of the world in demanding a cease-fire.

This is what happens when you launch a military campaign without thinking through the risks and consequences. You would think Israel would have learned from the US’s mistakes in Iraq.