Timing is Everything: Tide of Arab Opinion Turns to Support for Hezbollah
(Cross posted at Daily Kos)
(Updated twice below)
Remember that moment when the US had a shot at ending the war in Lebanon? Apparently Bush and Condi blew it:
[W]ith hundreds of Lebanese dead and Hezbollah holding out against the vaunted Israeli military for more than two weeks, the tide of public opinion across the Arab world is surging behind the organization, transforming the Shiite group's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, into a folk hero and forcing a change in official statements.Timing is everything. Bush and Condi wasted a huge opportunity. It's going to be harder now for the US to broker some sort of satisfactory outcome. That's too bad because, if things keep going like this, it doesn't look like there are going to be any winners. Lose-lose all around.
P.S. I take that back: Nasrallah is the only winner. Stock in his tired brand of Nassarite pan-Arab nationalism is up -- for now.
UPDATE: Unlike 1982, today's Israeli public opinion is almost unanimous in its support for the war in Lebanon.
UPDATE II: My good-but-sweetly-simple-minded friend Rosemary thinks I mean that Arab opinion turned because of Bush/Condi. If she were to read closely she would understand that Bush/Condi blew it by missing a window of opportunity. To be blunt: they waited too long -- and now that Arab opinion has turned, their job is immeasurably more difficult, maybe impossible.
Make up your mind.
If, "Israel's war is NOT America's war. It is NOT the undercard to America vs. Iran." then why do you want Bush/Condi to step in and do something?
Who else doll-face?
Really, Rose.
The US is the only one that used to be able to get everyone to shut up and sit down (for a while).
I'm sick about what is happening to Lebanon AND to Israel.
2BBlunt, the longer the war goes on, the worse it is for both sides...and the better it is for Iran. Does that mean I want the US to fire missiles into Teheran? Don't be absurd.
The best thing is to broker some sort of settlement (see my previous posts on that topic) that preserves and strengthens Israel and Lebanon.
Who else doll-face?
As much as I believe them to be a waste of money, isn't this the sort of thing the U.N. was created to do?
The US is the only one that used to be able to get everyone to shut up and sit down (for a while).
Yes but do you truly think we'll get Hezbollah to do anything? Israel certainly would listen ti us but we can't ask them to stop if Hezbollah won't.
I'm sick about what is happening to Lebanon AND to Israel.
So am I buddy, I am truly heartsick over it.
The best thing is to broker some sort of settlement (see my previous posts on that topic) that preserves and strengthens Israel and Lebanon.
Agreed. The problem isn't getting Lebanon to the table, it's getting Lebanon to step in and shut Hezbollah down and I haven't seen much effort on that front.
Can Israel trust Hezbollah to consent to a cease fire?
The US put a stop to the UN doing anything about Israel's fun and games in Gaza, which has sympathetically escalated on the Northern Front if you recall.