no one is blameless in this war

President Bush on Saturday blamed the Islamic militant group Hezbollah and a compliant Syria for the escalating violence in the Middle East, taking a sharper stance than Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Bush held Israel blameless while Putin was critical of Israel's military response.

At least 88 people have died in Lebanon, most of the them civilians.

If the objective here is to maintain instability in the region for the next 50+ years they're on the right track.

The text below is from today's New York Times article: U.S., Needing Options, Finds Its Hands Tied

By and large, the Bush administration has sought to deal with the Middle East in bold strokes, emphasizing regime change and democracy but spurning the garden-variety diplomacy of mediating conflicts between Israel and its rivals.

The Bush administration’s policy of not talking to rogue regimes “takes you only so far, until you do want something from them,” said Robert Malley, a Clinton administration official and negotiator in the failed Camp David talks, who is now the Middle East program director at the International Crisis Group. “The problem is, now we want something from them.”

I've never been one to hold much optimism for a long-term resolution in the Middle East. And I'm far more pessimistic with the Bush administration involved. The last thing we need is our renegade go-it-alone cowboy fanning militant flames, not only against Israel but against the US as well, with clever one-liners but little or no diplomacy.

NYT Editorial excerpt:

[Israel] needs to better adapt its methods to the circumstances it now faces. The point is to weaken and isolate Hamas and Hezbollah, while denying them opportunities to rally broader Arab support. To that end, Israel must focus its fire much more directly at the leaders and fighters of these two groups, and do far more to minimize the damage to civilian bystanders.

Here's an interesting editorial, obviously reflecting the Lebanese perspective, from the Daily Star in Lebanon.

Yet even now, as Israel is laying waste to our country with guns and missiles paid for with US tax dollars, and as American-made bombs are raining down on our cities, we are still clinging to the same values and ideals that the Bush administration has promoted: We want life, liberty and happiness; we want democracy, sovereignty, freedom and independence.

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I am going to update this post with two more links. This one from the Jerusalem Post columnist Naomi Chazan.

Here's a quote:

Ironically, Israel's response to the crisis has served to exacerbate the lawlessness - thus playing directly into the hands of its perpetrators.

And I recommend this one in ynetnews by Yigal Sarena titled "A Most Unnecessary War."

All the gains from the Lebanon and Gaza were lost in the blink of an eye. All that would seem left for us now is to consider the developments of new tragedy, of stupidity and blindness on both sides, both of whom lack wise leaders who could put out the fire before it consumes us all.

There are reader comments below the column, obviously some are in disagreement. Anyone who believes this situation is black & white, right vs. wrong, is making a dangerous assumption.