Gee, I could have sworn that Walt-Mearsheimer paper said that Israel is what controls U.S. foreign policy. Somehow, this story makes that seem like, well, a lie.
The IDF General Staff postponed the expansion of ground operations in south Lebanon late Wednesday night, after the security cabinet earlier in the day approved a plan for a widened offensive that would take the army to the Litani River, over 20 kilometers from the border, and beyond, in an effort to prevent the incessant Katyusha rocket attacks on northern Israel.
The troops were already rolling late Wednesday when they were ordered to halt. It appears heavy US pressure delayed the offensive to allow diplomacy to run its course. A senior minister said Wednesday that Israel might delay the expansion for 2-3 days for that purpose.
40,000 IDF troops and reservists were massed along the northern border Wednesday evening in preparation for Israel’s largest and deepest ground incursion into southern Lebanon since the beginning of Operation Change of Direction last month.
Everyone please cover your eyes while I swear.
WTF? WTF? WT effing F?
There will be no successful diplomacy. France has already backed down on its insistence that Hezbullah be disarmed. The Lebanese army can’t disarm Hezbullah. Nasrallah wants the Lebanese army in south Lebanon for that very reason—it is infused with Hezbullah sympathizers. Effing Saniora is an effing Hezbullah sympathizer. There is not a single reference to Hezbullah’s responsibility for the current war. It’s as if Israel, out of the blue, suddenly started attacking poor, innocent Lebanon.
Un-friggin’-believable that W. would stop the ground war in its tracks. It’s the only way to stop the katushas.
It’s unclear whether Bush had anything to do with this. Olmert, Peretz and Peres may have simply lost their nerve. One pundit has caled them “small men in big jobs.”
chsw
Here’s my take – and I think it’s a good reason. Look at the news this morning. Maybe in three days, the world will better support Israel going after terrorists.
I think the real reason why Bush hasn’t been to Israel during his presidency is that he fears the IAF might get fed up with his meddling wishy-washy BS and splash AF1 in the Med.
“WTF”
I believe the more polite term is Whiskey Foxtrot Tango.