Saturday, August 12, 2006
More thoughts on ceasefire....
Here's my real thought, which I couldn't quite organize last night.
The resolution is absolutely bad, of course. It makes Lebanon happy, so it can't be good. But I suspect Israel needs the time-out to resupply, reorganize its government, and reconnoiter the situation. In Sharon's last years, it appears that he went soft and allowed both the military and the intelligence services to deteriorate. The extent of the problem wasn't clear until Israel tried to fight a war. Olmert took office 'accidentally' when Sharon more or less died; he wasn't elected on the basis of his warrior qualities. So Israel is in an unusually weak position, which invited the attack.
Thus, even thought the halt gives the enemy a propaganda victory and time to resupply, it also gives Israel time to reorganize and resupply, and perhaps to appoint a better PM. Which may be why Israel has reluctantly agreed to it.
And when it fails - which it will, of course - Israel will resume fighting with a somewhat better chance of victory.
In the end, I guess, it comes down to this: I don't trust our government to do the right thing, but I do trust Israel to do the right thing. If Israel's gov't is agreeing to this, it must see some benefit, whether we can see it or not. ¶ 9:05 AM
The resolution is absolutely bad, of course. It makes Lebanon happy, so it can't be good. But I suspect Israel needs the time-out to resupply, reorganize its government, and reconnoiter the situation. In Sharon's last years, it appears that he went soft and allowed both the military and the intelligence services to deteriorate. The extent of the problem wasn't clear until Israel tried to fight a war. Olmert took office 'accidentally' when Sharon more or less died; he wasn't elected on the basis of his warrior qualities. So Israel is in an unusually weak position, which invited the attack.
Thus, even thought the halt gives the enemy a propaganda victory and time to resupply, it also gives Israel time to reorganize and resupply, and perhaps to appoint a better PM. Which may be why Israel has reluctantly agreed to it.
And when it fails - which it will, of course - Israel will resume fighting with a somewhat better chance of victory.
In the end, I guess, it comes down to this: I don't trust our government to do the right thing, but I do trust Israel to do the right thing. If Israel's gov't is agreeing to this, it must see some benefit, whether we can see it or not. ¶ 9:05 AM
