Kudos on a very well reasoned and well written post, Mike, even if I'm not sure you've won me over yet. I guess there's still enough wolf in this ol' dog that my natural instincts say "When you have a foe by the throat never turn loose and give him another chance at yours." In the last few hours you, and Ed Morrissey and Dafydd ab Hugh, have posted some good arguments for doing that. I'm not ready to say you're right and the Power Line gang and I are wrong,  but I will go as far as admitting there are two sides to the argument and both sides have merit. Only time will tell, I think. If I had to place my bet right now I'd predict Hezbollah will agree to the terms of the UN resolution and then violate it within hours, after which the Israelis will finally give them both barrels like they should have to begin with. In the long run I think historians will look back some day and realize that Lebanon is to Iran and Syria today as Spain was to Germany and Italy 70 years ago. The big question in my mind at this point is whether it's going to take another Pearl Harbor for this country to wake up and start taking "that war over there" seriously.

***

What'd I say?:

Nasrallah Endorses Cease Fire ... Sort Of
Ed Morrissey

Hassan Nasrallah has made a less-than-enthusiastic endorsement of the UN Security Council cease-fire resolution, promising to argue for modifications in the Lebanese Cabinet meeting taking place in hours to formulate an answer to Turtle Bay. Nasrallah objects to the arms embargo placed on Hezbollah, and vows to continue his "jihadic" responsibilities towards Israel:

Hizbullah Leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said on Saturday that if a UN-endorsed agreement were reached that would end the hostilities, then his organization would abide by it.

[...]

[Read on.]

Contributed by Bill Faith on August 12, 2006 at 11:42 AM in Bill Faith, Hezbollah, Iran, Islamism Delenda Est, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, UNuseful | Permalink

Comments

Posted by: The Gray Dog

Bill, thanks for the kudos. I would just say that we are more in agreement than not. I am really calling into question America's support or lack thereof. I believe if Bush had been more demonstrative in his support of Israel, and more forceful with Syria and Iran, we wouldn't be need to be discussing this latest UN farce. But given our lack of commitment, I have to believe that Olmert is acting in a pragmatic fashion. Only time and the historians on the victorious side will tell.

Posted by: The Gray Dog | Aug 12, 2006 12:09:48 PM

Posted by: The Gray Dog

Bill, thanks for the kudos. I would just say that we are more in agreement than not. I am really calling into question America's support or lack thereof. I believe if Bush had been more demonstrative in his support of Israel, and more forceful with Syria and Iran, we wouldn't be need to be discussing this latest UN farce. But given our lack of commitment, I have to believe that Olmert is acting in a pragmatic fashion. Only time and the historians on the victorious side will tell.

Posted by: The Gray Dog | Aug 12, 2006 12:40:24 PM