"Peace In Our Times"

[Annie]

Yeah. Right.

http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/g/c3227115-232c-4a13-af0a-6a6a5155a9c7

Saturday, August 12, 2006
FAQ - Special "Peace In Our Time" Edition!
Posted by Hugh Hewitt | 11:57 AM

(DEAN BARNETT HERE)

1) What would happen if all the Arab nations and their terrorist proxies like Hezbollah set down their arms and gave up their ambitions to drive Israel into the sea?

There would be peace in the Middle East.

2) What would happen if Israel disbanded the IDF, junked its nuclear weapons and declared to its neighbors that she would do anything to live in peace?

Israel would be annihilated, millions of its citizens killed. The term genocide could be used to describe the ensuing holocaust, but since that term has been so hopelessly debased by American academics, a new term would have to be created like super-duper-mega genocide to really capture the nature of things.

3) You sound angry. What’s wrong?

Ehud Olmert has proven an utter failure as wartime leader. The world will be reaping the bitter harvest of his catastrophic weakness and vacillations for years.

4) How is the notoriously liberal Israeli press handling Olmert?

Not kindly. The Jerusalem Post has an editorial today blasting the “peace” plan. Ha’Aretz’s coverage has also been harsh. But Olmert’s still doing pretty well in the polls. 66% of Israelis approve of him. In other words, he probably has the political capital to ram this piece of trash agreement down the throat of his cabinet tomorrow.

5) What exactly are the terms of the U.N. Ceasefire Agreement?

The lynchpin of the agreement is that 15,000 troops from the Lebanese “army” will flood southern Lebanon to serve as a human buffer. These Lebanese “troops” will be supplemented by UNIFIL forces. The U.N. resolution also “emphasizes the need to address urgently the causes that have given rise to the current crisis,” but nowhere in the lengthy document is either Iran or Syria mentioned. For that matter, the document also avoids the words “deranged” “terrorist” and “nutjobs.” Still, the U.N. feels like this will create a lasting peace.

6) You’re skeptical?

There cannot be a lasting peace with groups like Hezbollah. They exist to wage war. Just today on the putative eve of peace, as Nasrallah allowed the Lebanese army into Hezbollah-land he vowed that his organization would nonetheless not waiver in “fulfilling our national and jihadic obligations (against) the Zionist enemy.”

7) Do you think you were fair in comparing Ehud Olmert to Jimmy Carter?

Yes, but a more accurate comparison would have been to Bill Clinton given the way Olmert has cynically and pathetically maneuvered just to a big problem down the road a little bit. He promised to make sacrifices to achieve victory, but when the IDF informed him there would indeed be real sacrifices to achieve victory, Olmert desperately sought a diplomatic “solution.”

8) How does the IDF feel about Olmert?

According to this Jerusalem Post article, the IDF is fuming. Olmert is also the first Israeli Prime Minister to not have his fighting bona fides in order upon ascending to the nation’s highest office. The fact that he so ignominiously wimped out when the going got tough is something that a nation full of battle-hardened veterans will likely scorn sooner rather than later.

9) Where is the Bush White House in all of this?

That’s the $64,000 question. There are two possible theories. One is that when Olmert lost the stomach to continue the fight, the Bush administration gave him diplomatic cover by pressing for a ceasefire. The other is that the ceasefire was the Bush administration’s brainstorm and Olmert simply couldn’t resist. I think the former is the more likely of the two. And I pray I’m right, for if it turns out that the Bush administration thought a ceasefire was the right play here, I’ll be rendered speechless. And nearly hopeless.

10) So where does this leave the Hezbollah-Israel struggle?

Lebanon officially becomes Hezbollah-land. Hezbollah will rightly be considered the victor for withstanding the IDF’s onslaught. And the battle will resume at a time and place of Hezbollah’s choosing.



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