The ceasefire in Lebanon seems to be very fragile. Is it because of some Hezbollah cells still being out of touch with their bosses (very doubtful) or, rather, because of Hezbollah trying to test the limits of IDF patience, which is much more likely? In any case, the sporadic skirmishes, use of grenade launchers and even 10 katyushas launched (but landed short of the border) - all this does not look as good news. Especially in view of the following statement:

Despite the cease-fire, Hezbollah has said it will still attack Israel Defense Forces in southern Lebanon.

Some ceasefire, ain’t it?

Of course, the dust is settling slow, especially due to the fiery speeches by Nasrallah and Olmert, - both of them proclaiming victory for their side. Bush, on the other hand, came out with a confirmation of Olmert’s claims, but of an exceptionally poor quality:

President Bush declared Lebanon a front in the “global war on terrorism” Monday, equating the Israeli battle against Lebanon’s Hezbollah guerrillas to the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

We’ll vastly prefer some other parallel of course, and woe to us if the situation on our northern border will become similar to that in Iraq.

But all this pales into insignificance compared with the first breaches in the terms of the UNSC resolution 1701. It started with Nasrallah declaring in his “victory” speech that he does not have a slightest intention to disarm.

Calls for a debate on disarming Hezbollah were “inappropriate”, he said. “This is the wrong time on the psychological and moral level particularly before a [full] ceasefire.”

And his sentiment is echoed by the Lebanese government:

Lebanon’s Defense Minister Elias Murr said the Lebanese army would send 15,000 troops to the north of the Litani River around the end of the week, ready to enter the southern border area. But he said the army would not be disarming Hezbollah, who have controlled the area for six years. “The army is not going to the south to strip Hezbollah of weapons and do the work Israel did not,” he told LBC Television.

Does Mr. Murr wish to see IDF resuming the task - as a subcontractor for the Lebanese army? This statement is either stupid or an outright provocation - it is up to Lebanese to decide which.

All in all, it looks like the paper used to write the resolution on becomes more attractive as an investment alternative, compared to the resolution itself.

And Kofi Annan shakes his finger at both sides with an excellent advice:

Lebanon and Israel must immediately inform the United Nations if they have been fired on, with as much detail as possible, “refraining from responding except where clearly required in immediate self-defense,” Annan said. In the case of any firing, Annan said that “the UN undertakes to bring, in an impartial manner, such incidents to the attention of the Security Council as quickly as possible.”

Pathetic…

I hope that the ceasefire is not going to unravel. It just wouldn’t be pretty if it happens.

Cross-posted on SimplyJews

The ever-so-hard-to-get Gracie tummy was captured last night in a most revealing post. Playkitty, watch out—we have your new centerfold.

And to think, when I took this a few days ago, I thought it was the perfect tummy shot. Note the hind leg up in the air. Sorry, Tig, but Gracie stole your thunder this week.

Ze’ev Schiff writes a read-in-full article regarding the results of the war:

The war should be divided into military and political aspects. In military terms, the IDF won on punches landed. Hezbollah suffered a serious blow to all its command and logistics positions; its elite units fought well and with courage, having better knowledge of the terrain. The young IDF conscripts showed willingness to meet the enemy, make sacrifices, and rescue wounded comrades. On the other hand, Israel suffered a heavy blow on its northern towns, and the IDF did not manage to limit the number of rockets launched against the home front. Only Hezbollah’s long-range missiles were really destroyed.

Throughout the war, Israel failed to kill Hezbollah’s leadership. The air force proved its mettle north of the Litani River, but failed in its efforts against short-range rockets in the south. The air force’s advanced technology was insufficient to meet every operational problem it confronted.

Israel’s deterrence lies in its air force and willingness to respond immediately and forcefully against large targets such as Beirut. This is a lesson for Damascus. There are those in the cabinet who believe that the air force caused too much damage. Others believe that the IDF should have been more aggressive. Nasrallah knows what would happen to his organization and Lebanon if Israel is challenged again.

I think there will be much discussion in coming weeks about what happened. I also think that the Israeli army will adapt to Hezbullah’s tactics of firing anti-tank missiles at soldiers. Oh. And I also think that the cease-fire will not hold. It’s already been broken. And Baby Assad has been enboldened by his ability to send missiles at Israel via his clients in Lebanon. Daddy couldn’t liberate the Golan, and the Dorktator thinks he will be able to. I’m thinking not.

I’m also thinking that Bibi Netanyahu thinks he can make political hay out of Ehud Olmert’s failure to get a clean victory.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday afternoon that Israel’s month-long military offensive in Lebanon had dealt Hezbollah a “harsh blow,” and vowed to continue to pursue the leaders of militant organization.

But speaking after Olmert, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud criticized the government for what he said was its failure to meet its self-declared aims.

By the way, for my American readers who think that Bibi is simply the bee’s knees and should be Prime Minister of Israel: He already was once. He failed miserably, and he won’t get another chance. Israelis can’t stand him. Try not to make the mistake of taking American conservatives’ opinions as meaningful Israeli opinions. They most assuredly are not.

Netanyahu’s future should be as the voice of Israel. His job should be PR, PR, PR. He is eloquent, handsome, charming, and an excellent debater. He should be Israel’s face to the world during all crises and major events.

Not that it will ever happen. He’s too ambitious, still, and his rivals distrust him too much. But he should be Israel’s spokesman. He has a gift for it. I saw him at the West Orange JCC in NJ during Operation Moses, and I was pretty broke at the time. I contributed after I heard him speak.

Don’t run, Bibi. Don’t run.

I’m posting this here, because I just know this topic’s near and dear to Meryl…

So, how can you convince your wife, girlfriend, or mistress to get breast implants?

Just say: “In a terrorist attack, they may just save your life.”

An Israeli woman’s breast implants saved her life when she was wounded in a Hizbollah rocket attack during
Israel’s war with the Lebanese group, a hospital spokesman said Tuesday.

Doctors found shrapnel embedded in the silicone implants, just inches from the 24-year-old’s heart.

“She was saved from death,” said a spokesman for Nahariya Hospital in northern Israel. The woman has been released from hospital.

Would a saline implant have stopped the shrapnel? Keep this in mind when someone tells you that silicone’s unsafe.

Hat tip: Solomonia, who has tons of great stuff. Go to the top and scroll down.

This is absolutely unbelievable. Remember those photos of untouched toys in the wreckage of Lebanon? Well, PRIMER has AP photos of him setting up the “stage” for the shots.

Funny. I thought there were no staged photos out of Lebanon.

As I said a few days ago: We are losing the propaganda war. Or at least, we were. I think bloggers are beginning to push the mainstream media into recognizing this sort of trickery, and with luck, will start shaming them into being far more careful about their middle eastern stringers.

If this keeps up, I’m going to have to open a new category: Propaganda.