The United Nations adopted a resolution on an “immediate” cessation of hostilities in Lebanon on Friday night. “Since the conflict began, we have sought an immediate end to the fighting,” U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice announced.
Hours after announcement of the UN resolution passage, Israeli forces advanced deeper into Lebanon against fierce Hezbollah resistance.
The UN and Condi must be taking their definition of “immediate” from Karl Rove’s Brave New World Dictionary.
On July 22, only three weeks ago, Rice was rejecting the “false promise” of an immediate cease-fire.
Lebanon’s cabinet is expected to accept the UN resolution later today. Israel won’t vote on it until Sunday. Word on the street is that the resolution will pass in Israel as well, but that probably depends on how well the IDF’s offensive progresses between now and then.
The Israel-Hezbollah situation has been handled badly and cynically by all parties involved. America, masquerading in the role of “honest broker,” plainly entered the faux peace process with the goal of blocking a cease-fire until Israel had achieved its stated war aim of eliminating Hezbollah militants from southern Lebanon. After the Qana incident, somebody in the Rovewellian cadre figured “oops, we’re going to look bad in this,” and that’s about the time Condi got the call to change her tune–publicly, at least.
At the end of the day, Israel will agree to a cease-fire when it achieves what it set out to achieve, which is perfectly understandable from their perspective. When a country launches a war with a specific purpose, it’s likely to want to keep going until the job is finished. (As opposed to countries that launch wars with vague purposes in mind and never get the job finished.)
But no matter how the Israel-Hezbollah conflict turns out now, America’s diplomatic credibility has been damaged even further. The U.S. false about face on the cease-fire isn’t going to fool anybody–except maybe Americans who still think young Mister Bush is keeping them safe.
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Commander Jeff Huber, U.S. Navy (Retired) writes from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Read his commentaries at ePluribus Media and Pen and Sword.
you got that one right on, Jeff…in the mean time, onward with our regularly scheduled program…war and more war, if you please…
Oh it was just great how they drew in Syria and Iran on all of this fighting…where are they now in all of this rhetoric? UMMMMMM, just wondering is all…;o) talk about failed policy..they can not even shit and get off the pot now can they!!! We will never regain any of our reputation back as long of this kind of stuff going down. It is such a farce!!!
In the new-speak history, Iran and Syria will have been the ones who held up the cease-fire.
As always the truly sad thing is that she will get away with this barefaced lie by the MSM. Just as bush, Tony Snow-job and others were never called on for their out/out continuing lie that Hizbollah started firing rockets at Israel and that is why Israel had to defend herself.
It is really breathtaking how they can lie so outrageously yet over/over not be called on any of their lies. I despise the MSM even more than I do the whole rotten and vile bush administration.(and I don’t even count Faux news as MSM as they are simply a sycophantic propaganda arm now of the W/H and basically fundamentalist religious views).
Yeah, they’ll probably get away with it. Again.
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Northern Frontier (Haaretz) Aug. 12 — Rice said the broadened IDF offensive in Lebanon, which was ordered Friday a few hours before the cease-fire resolution was adopted at the UN, had been anticipated and was normal.
“I understand that this is going on, my understanding is that this is part of the normal operations that were contemplated. When the cease-fire – the cessation of hostilities – comes into being, Israel will stop.”
Halutz said IDF troops would stay in Lebanon until an international force arrives. “We have almost tripled our forces that are operating in Lebanon.”
7 IDF Soldiers killed in fighting; IAF helicopter shot down
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
“Since the conflict began we have sought an immediate end to the fighting”…except when we didn’t.
Rovewellian!