Extortion is the Name of the Game

Ms. Rice is in the Neighborhood - Extortion is the Name of the Game

Let us try and figure out how this is “playing out.” Mrs. Rice wants some changes made in the area, especially in Lebanon and on its border with Israel. According to her, a cease fire is senseless without these changes. In the absence of the cease fire an entire nation is being destroyed. Mrs. Rice will talk abut the desired changes with an array of governments and political forces. There is a strange, weird aspect to these meetings. Mrs. Rice is actually saying the following to her interlocutors: We think that such and such should be done. Everyone, who meets with Mrs. Rice, must understand that her wishes and request are backed up with a determination to condone, and actually encourage Israel to continue and even broaden its offensive. Are we getting this? Suppose you represent a country and Mrs. Rice says to you: “Let’s take these steps. This and that must be done.” If you do not agree, you are given to understand that you are preventing the cease-fire, and the responsibility for the continued slaughter of innocents in Lebanon has, as it were, been transferred to you. Even if this is done in the diplomatic sphere, it is extortion, plain and simple.

Supposing, Just Supposing

Cassius Clay’s backers were looking for a warm-up fight for the champ.The fight was to impress everyone with that CC’s clout had not diminished over time. They found some duffer for this very purpose. CC was to put away the unfortunate volunteer in a round or two, at the most.

When the fight dragged on and the duffer was still on his feet going in to the tenth, eleven round, the smart money had already decided that however this ends it won’t go down as a victory for CC. A victory on points, in these circumstances, is no victory. Even worse, the fight was to demonstrate CC’s deterrent capacity and it demonstrated just the opposite.

Rejecting the Call for an Immediate Cease Fires is Condoning Rape

Bush and Olmert are raping Lebanon. I have been told that there are some liberal and progressives in the U.S. who have joined the chorus chanting: stick it to her, boys.

It Will All Come Out in the Dirty Wash

Ben Gurion University Professor, Yagil Levy (Ha’aretz, July 24, 2006) launches a scathing attack on the government for going to war on the IDF general’s recommendation, without ever seriously considering the alternatives. The situation has been defined here more than once: Israel is not a country with an army, but an army with a country.

Yagil offers the readers a very intriguing bit of information:“The lack of time [to consider alternatives] also prevented the possibility of looking into the diplomatic option of the “package deal” for implementing U.N. Security Council Resolution No. 1559: this option was proposed by the UN a few months earlier, and included a deployment of the Lebanese Army in the south in exchange for Israeli concessions.”

The Israeli government, it appears, did not want to be bothered. But the reason for not looking into this option is worth looking into….