With the bar so high - some 'choice for peace'. No one ought to sympathize with the Hamas, but this is ridiculous:
"The efforts we are making internationally are designed to establish a sustainable, durable ceasefire that's respected by all," Wolff said. "And that means no more rocket attacks. It means no more smuggling of arms."
... shouldn't the bar be set at a durable peace, not a durable ceasefire...? Seriously, doesn't a ceasefire alone embolden Israel's rightwing militarists?
"Operation Cast Lead" - sounds like it could have been written by junior-league Condi Rice, who has nothing to show for all her efforts in the mid-east.Not to nitpick, but shouldn't the bar be set at a durable peace, not a durable ceasefire (in which case the bar is too low, not high)? Seriously, doesn't a ceasefire alone embolden Israel's rightwing militarists?
Compare how Rice and 'the West' took up with Saakashvili (Did Saakashvili lie?), when Russia moved. I'm sure George Will has some situational ethics that will "explain" it all to us.
What do the Israeli leadership think they are going to find inside Gaza? Caches of Iranian-made weapons? Is that supposed to shock the international community? Would such a discovery be a blow for peace, somehow? Would it illegitimate Hamas in the eyes of the Gazans?
Do they think they are going to "detain" Hamas (under what charges?), and then have Abu Mazen's government take over? If such a thing is possible, wouldn't that have been a wiser move in the event of a pre-brokered, long-term deal with the Mazen government on the key points of a peace settlement?
