FOR THE PSYCHOLOGICALLY HARD OF HEARING, AND BLIND OF SIGHT

Israel has sent ground forces into southern Lebanon it is now being reported this morning. The violence is not, despite wishful thinking, winding down; nor is it likely to when dealing with the likes of Hizbollah and Hamas. For once, I hope the international community lets these terrorists thugs suffer the consequences of their behavior. Of course, that international community is too far gone in its enabling behavior to do anything sensible.

If you haven't read it already (or even if you have), now would be a good time to read Norman Podhoretz' piece titled, "World War IV: How It Started, What It Means, and Why We Have to Win" from the September, 2004 issue of Commentary.

Reading this would be especially helpful for the psychologically hard of hearing and blind of sight; who, if they are observing what is going on right now in the middle east, and have not lost their moral compass, might finally be coming to realize something that has been evident for years (and perfectly obvious since 9/11):



UPDATE: As the rest of the world slams Israel, President Bush is "refreshingly undiplomatic."

Also, this analysis of Israel's latest move from OP FOR is worth reading:

I think that in the coming days, we will see a sizable Israeli ground incursion into southern Lebanon, a campaign designed to exploit the favorable conditions that Israel has created for itself. I have the feeling that once that invasion comes, Hezbollah's ability to launch rocket attacks into Israel proper will be severly reduced, if not eliminated.

Wretchard writes that "the terrible ifs accumulate":

If Sheehan is right, then the Global War on Terror would have failed. A focused attack on extremism will have been supplanted by an uncontrolled clash between peoples, religions and cultures. But we are not there yet. There's still a chance, and the rulers of the Middle East are hoping that this thing can be pulled back from the brink and the fires focused on Hezbollah, then possibly on a narrow coterie in Teheran. But if that way forward fails, a large part of the blame will historically fall on those who forced the West to fight the war against terrorists with politically correct half-measures. Who created the dinky rules which made it impossible to excise abominations like Hezbollah and Hamas. Or even to question them. And perhaps made it even necessary to fund them. Their good intentions or fecklessness have made the terrible alternative that stares us in the face likely. Let us only hope that they have not made it inevitable.

If you have not read Wretchard's The Three Conjectures, you definitely should do that, too.

Depressing morning, isn't it?