However, if we internalize the concept whereby what does not work by force will not work with more force, this war could bring us to the negotiating table. Seared by failure, maybe the IDF will be less enthusiastic to rush into battle. It is possible the political echelon will now understand that the response to the dangers facing Israel is not to be found in using more and more force; that the real response to the legitimate and just demands of the Palestinians is not another dozen Operation Defensive Shields, but in respecting their rights; that the real response to the Syrian threat is returning the Golan to its rightful owners, without delay; and that the response to the Iranian danger is dulling the hatred toward us in the Arab and Muslim world.

Israeli soldiers killed six Hezbollah fighters in three skirmishes in Lebanon after the U.N.-imposed cease-fire took effect Monday, the army said. The clashes came as Lebanese civilians defied an Israeli travel ban and streamed back to their homes in war-ravaged areas.

BILL MOYERS: But many people say that that kind of extremist behavior is part and parcel of the ideology of the heart of Islam. What do you-- SALMAN RUSHDIE: I don't think necessarily. I mean, the IRA was not intrinsically-- was not somehow arising from something intrinsic to Catholicism. And actually the IRA is a relevant example. Because when the Catholics of Northern Ireland became disillusioned by being represented by the IRA that is what brought the IRA to the peace table. At that moment their power disappeared. And that's why I'm saying that it is in a way incumbent on the Muslim world to reject Islamic radicalism, because that is what will remove the power of Islamic radicalism. BILL MOYERS: Is America doomed to live under a fatwah as you did? Under the threat of terrorism for a long time, as you did? SALMAN RUSHDIE: Yes, I think. But I mean, I think everywhere is dangerous now. You know the world is not a safe place; and there are no safe corners of it. And actually, there probably never have been. I think, in a way, America was insulated from that for awhile by the enormous power of America. But even that no longer insulates. So I think we do have to accept that the world is like that now. And I think -- one of the reasons I can say this is that, having lived in England during the years of the of the IRA campaign -- it became something that people, in a way, came to accept. That every so often a bomb would go off in a shopping mall, shopping center, and in the end, people refused to allow that to change their daily lives and just proceeded. And I think that refusal to be deflected from the path of normality also played a great deal of the role in the defeat of the IRA, that they didn't achieve their goal. And I think it is, I mean, it's something I've written quite a bit about, that the answer to terrorism is not to be terrorized, and it becomes important to continue--

When will the realization sink in that the root causes of the problems lie in the Israeli and American governments own action?

Desperation could make them crazier than they already are...

And that's why I'm saying that it is in a way incumbent on the Muslim world to reject Islamic radicalism, because that is what will remove the power of Islamic radicalism.

I really believe the neocons, it looks like its primarily Abrahms and Cheney egged on by all the usual suspects, will go for the attack on Iran.

Express in simple language the fact that we welcome everyone as long as they consider themselves Americans and put America before anyother group. Nothing else is acceptable.

But like the JCS staffer, I also suspect that failure in Lebanon has badly eroded whatever slim chance remained that war could be avoided. I say that at least in part because of Commander Codpiece and his demonstrated tendency to treat any unexpected reversal or failure as a personal rebuke.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert began a battle for his political survival on Monday by acknowledging shortcomings in the conduct of a month-long war with Hizbollah but saying the fight had been worthwhile.
...
Opinion polls show public support eroding for Olmert, a career politician who lacks the combat credentials of many of his predecessors.

Colonial-style militarism and double standards really have no place in the kind of 21st century I seek to build. All of these conflict and concerns-- every single one of them!-- can certainly be resolved through negotiation and other nonviolent means, if only (1) we all make every effort to discover, develop, and actually use such forms of conflict resolution, and (2) we base all these efforts on a simple and strong commitment to the equality of all human beings. There are no states or peoples that have any legitimate claim to be given any "special" treatment. All the peoples of the Middle East have long histories of suffering. The challenge now is to help them-- and the rest of us!-- to get out of the well-turned cycles of increasingly lethal violence.

and the rest of you need to wake up

As the 6am ceasefire takes effect... the real war begins. From this morning, Hizbollah's operations will be directed solely against the invasion force. And the Israelis cannot afford to lose 40 men a day. Unable to shoot down the Israeli F-16 aircraft that have laid waste to much of Lebanon, the Hizbollah have, for years, prayed and longed and waited for the moment when they could attack the Israeli army on the ground.

the Hizbollah have, for years, prayed and longed and waited for the moment when they could attack the Israeli army on the ground.

is exactly what alienates us from the rest of the world.

To suggest that most arabs dont want peace is racist,

a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

Peaches this attitude, that we shouldn't expect people to become part of our country, is silly. If they don't like the culture, why are they here?

Your judophobia is showing.

Your judophobia is showing.