More commentary on the conflict

The predictable condemners | Jerusalem Post

Not to mention the fact that many of these condemners are themselves hypocrites, in the truest sense of the word.  Has the UN humanitarian head toured the sites of missile strikes in Israel?  Has he visited Israeli hospitals treating civilians injured by Hezbollah attacks?  Does he even care?

Now the new pope is calling for an immediate cease-fire.  He knows full well that Hezbollah would never abide by such a cease-fire, and in any case if Israel stops fighting now, Hezbollah will still retain most of its weaponry and capability.  Which means many more dead Jews in the near future.  But I imagine that the former member of the Hitlerjugen isn't really bothered by that prospect.

And then we have Putin.  At the risk of repeating myself, this is the man who responded to a single terrorist bombing by using heavy artillery to level the city of Grozny.

Kofi Annan was supposed to unveil a new UN peacekeeping plan on Thursday.  Did that ever happen?  Or did he realize that no peacekeeping operation would be successful until Israel had done the hard work first?

Thank God for Condoleeza Rice, the only person to frame the issue properly.  An immediate cease-fire would be a "quick fix" that would not work.  The term "quick fix" has a negative connotation that is obvious to everyone.  People--especially Americans--love to take complex issues and dumb them down to a single catch-phrase.  Secretary Rice has given us the perfect response.