Never fear, though, Condi Rice says that if Hezbollah doesn't lay down its weapons, then, well, gosh, read for yourself. Money quote:
“one would have to assume that there will be others who are willing to call Hezbollah what we are willing to call it, which is a terrorist organization.”
Got that, Sheik Nasrallah? If you don't drop that rocket launcher, the world is going to give you a tongue-lashing like you've never heard.
We are in a world of trouble.
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The problem with Rumsfeld is he believes he's right about everything, and sh*tcans anyone who disagrees. Not a good way to run a business. Or a war, q.e.d.
Hezbollah has "won," Dovid, because it has immensely increased its power and influence. In a sane, rational world, the Lebanese would realize that Hezb brought this calamity on them. But the Middle East is not that world. Hezb stood up to The Man, and now is going to buy everybody a new house with Iranian money. In the shame/honor culture that dominates the Arab Middle East, that's all that counts. Why do you think the Palestinians would rather live in perpetual squalor and violence, rather than make peace with Israel and get on with building a decent society in which their children are educated and successful, and at peace? Because they don't value the same things Westerners (including Israelis) do.>
If you were President, and wanted a job to get done, and you knew it would face massive bureaucratic inertia as well as outright opposition, there's no one you could pick who would be better than Rumsfeld. That's a rare, rare skill.
Lots of stories last year claimed that Sec. Rice's mission was to overhaul the State Department. Same with Porter Goss at CIA. Both jobs were obviously colossal failures.>
Rod,
You write:
In a sane, rational world, the Lebanese would realize that Hezb brought this calamity on them. But the Middle East is not that world.
You see the poor Lebanese family as irrational, but really aren't they being perfectly rational within the limits of their perspective? Weighing heavily what puts roofs over our heads and food on the tables is supremely rational. And the poorer you are, the tighter your focus on that point of rationality.
Our Western rationality doen't stop many voters from voting for whoever promises to cut taxes, without concern for how the tax cut will be paid for. Perfectly rational, absolutely short-sighted.
So the message, perhaps, is that the Lebanese are just as human as us. Perhaps we aren't as superior as you imagine. Maybe, thank God, we are simply not as desperate.>
"Rod, I regret your giving the victory to Hezbollah. To quote Tom Friedman, "Israel makes microchips and you make potato chips and YOU THINK YOU'VE WON?"
The problem is that you can live in an 8th-century society and still eat potato chips, whereas microchips are useful only if you live in the 21st century. In the kind of society to which Hezbollah would like to reduce all of us, microchips won't come in very handy.
I guess what I'm suggesting is that this is yet another example of how Hezbollah and its ilk simply have a different set of goalposts from the rest of.>
Did you hear Bush the other day? Israel won and the rest of the world will come around to his way of thinking???
What freakin planet does this man live on????? I am starting to regret my vote for him more than my votes for Nixon in 1972 and Carter in 76.
Even Joe Scarborough is asking, "Is Bush an idiot?" Is water wet? Is the Pope Catholic?
We are soooooooooo screwed!!!!!!
Livin for 1/20/09!!>
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