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Chalk this one up to Twilight Zone-type thinking. Israeli general, Benny Gantz, is quoted in the NY Times answering this question:
When asked what the Israeli military had achieved after two weeks of fighting, General Gantz replied: “I would suggest asking what Hezbollah has achieved. They came as defenders of Lebanon but basically have destroyed […]

You can judge the success of a military or political campaign by the consistency of the message conveyed about goals and strategy. One measure of the failure of Israel’s strategy in southern Lebanon is the shifting sands of its goals vis a vis Hezbollah. When the war began 11 days ago, the first […]

It was an average day yesterday in the Israel-Lebanon conflict. Rockets and bombs flew on both sides of the border. Soldiers on both sides fired at each other. Some died. Some were wounded. Civilians too died on both sides of the border. But far more on one side than […]

There are so many things wrong with Israel’s current policy toward Lebanon and Hezbollah. It’s about as bad as it gets in terms of the miscalculation and foolhardy assumptions. But it can get worse and it just might if some Israeli ex-generals and the Likud hardline opposition have their way. Those generals […]

The Bush Administration continues its ghoulish support for the ongoing Israeli assault on Lebanon. We’re in favor of pounding the shit out of the country for another week until Hezbollah is supposedly vanquished or else weakened. Only then, will we be in favor of peace. This comes from the NY Times:
President Bush […]

Condi Rice continues the Bush Administration’s querulous non-responsive policy toward the Israel-Lebanon conflict:
Israel may need to prolong its offensive in Lebanon to further reduce the threat from Hezbollah, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today…
Ms. Rice appeared to support a longer-term Israeli effort to inflict decisive damage to Hezbollah’s presence in Lebanon. She also said […]

Latest news: Haaretz reports that an Israeli grandmother and her five-year old grandson were killed and four others injured by Hezbollah rockets which landed in Moshav Meron on Friday evening. Ha-makom yinachem etchem–May God comfort their families. I have a five year old son and my heart grieves for their loss. Israel’s […]

When I read the NY Times‘ coverage of the Supreme Court decision approving the DeLay inspired Texas redistricting plan something didn’t seem right. The claim was that the decision wouldn’t have much impact beyond Texas because few states with Democratic majorities would be in a position to perform a similar redistricting.
…Some said fears or […]

Kidnapped Israeli settler, Eliyahu Osheri (photo: Haaretz)
Things just became a whole lot more complicated for the Israeli government as the Popular Resistance Committee, involved in the attack which captured IDF officer Gilad Shalit, also kidnapped a young settler near Ramallah possibly on Sunday. There are unconfirmed reports that the boy may already be dead; […]

The NY Times writes that a judge has rebuked the Justice Department for its refusal to decide whether to grant an entry visa to Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan:
A federal judge in New York yesterday ordered the Bush administration to decide by September whether to grant an entry visa to a prominent Muslim scholar. The scholar […]