Let us not play with words: It was a defeat.

Ehud Olmert declared three objectives to the war. The return of his soldiers, the disarming of Hezbullah, and the removal of the Hezbullah threat to Israel. None of these objectives was achieved. Israel suffered its greatest-ever PR loss as the world insisted that Hezbullah—which is made up mostly of Lebanese citizens—was not a part of Lebanon, and that Lebanon shouldn’t suffer because of Hezbullah’s actions. The world insisted that Israel must levy a “proportionate” response. The world is now handcuffing Israel’s attempts to defang Hezbullah (admittedly lame attempts, but attempts nonetheless).

So what have Israel’s enemies learned?

Here’s what the palestinians learned.

The Palestinian terror organizations are looking north and are filled with satisfaction and hope for the next step.

“We learned from Hizbullah that the tools that make a difference are missiles. If achieve expertise in this field, we won’t make do with the simple rockets we have. There is no doubt that we can subdue Israel ,” Abu Nasser, a commander in the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Fatah’s military wing, told Ynet.

“Since the Gulf War, missiles were what brought Israel to the negotiation table. The withdrawal from Gaza was also a result of missiles. If we use them correctly in the West Bank, we will get rid of the IDF here too,” Abu Nasser explained.

Here is what the Syrians learned.

On the heels of what it views as a Hizbullah victory against the Jewish state, Syria is forming its own Hizbullah-like guerilla organization to fight Israel in hopes of “liberating” the Golan Heights, an official from Syrian President Bashar Assad’s Ba’ath party told WorldNetDaily yesterday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Syria learned from Hizbullah’s military campaign against Israel the past month that “fighting” is more effective than peace negotiations with regard to gaining territory.

He said Syria’s new guerilla force would be trained by Hizbullah leaders.

And here is what the Lebanese learned.

Both sides of the northern border appear to have reverted almost entirely back to routine pre-war realities – including the presence of Hizbullah supporters waving the organization’s flags right in front Metula residents.

Starting Wednesday, residents of the northern town have been seeing Hassan Nasrallah photos and Hizbullah flags right across the border. On Thursday, Hizbullah members joined the party, driving along the fence and flashing “V” for victory. Hizbullah flags have been posted on balconies and at central locations near the border.

And why not? Israel lost over 100 of her soldiers because Olmert wouldn’t approve a ground force, which was needed to uproot the terrorists. Olmert signed a cease-fire agreement that gave him exactly zero of the goals he launched the war for. And the world is still tut-tutting over the poor, pitiful Lebanese, who were completely innocent in this—completely ignoring, once again, the fact that Hezbullah is a Lebanese organization. It may get funding from Iran, but its footsoldiers are the Boys of Beirut (and the little towns around).

Ehud Olmert should step down. But I don’t think he’ll have to. I think that the first time he tries to do anything in the Knesset, a no-confidence vote will sink him. And don’t even get me started on the indefensible Defense Minister. What kind of a moron puts Jimmy Hoffa in charge of the army?

The problem is, who is there who can lead?

“Human swastika“

Nah…

I waited for a day or two to see how the cards are falling with the “beefed up” UNIFIL force that is supposed to begin its mighty reign in south Lebanon. Of course, we were promised to see the iron fist of French, Italian and German manufacture (with a bit of a glove, of course, but it could not be helped - after all it is an European production).

And of course, as suspected, the results are, how to say it gently: miserable. A dire warning from the horse mouth:

UN Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown pressed ambassadors from dozens of countries to tell the world body “in the next few days at most” how many soldiers they would contribute and when, after France sent planners into a tailspin by offering only a token number of soldiers.

This is really a striking development. The same France that outmaneuvered both US and Israel, castrating the UNSC resolution to satisfy its Arab League friends and promising to become a leader and a main fighting force in that iron fist, suddenly experiences a case of cold feet? And here is more:

Earlier, France refused to send a NATO force in which the United States has a commanding post, and this is the reason, according to sources in Washington, that it rushed to present its candidacy to head a multinational force.

So this was the reason for the abundant promises…

Now the French are hesitating whether to send forces to Lebanon. French President Jacques Chirac announced that he would only send 400 soldiers to southern Lebanon and German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that she would not send any troops.

So Germany is also out. And Italy does it in its own inimitable (but endearing nevertheless) way:

Italy has said it could quickly send as many as 3,000 soldiers - up from its current contribution of about 50 - but Premier Romano Prodi’s office said Thursday that he was pushing for explicit ground rules. In a telephone conversation with Annan late Wednesday, Prodi called for “a clear mandate, without any ambiguity and with very precise rules of engagement, for the soldiers who will be deployed,” his office said.

Rules of engagement, ambiguity - this from the people who created the timeless “If you gonna shoot - shoot, don’t talk”. Ah well, it was at another place and another time, besides it was about other people…

But wait, the comedy does not stop here. Here is what AFP has to say re French designs:

France, which has said it is ready to head the expanded force, has demanded that it be given the necessary resources to carry out the mission.

Are there any limits to chutzpa? I can already imagine the leading dress designers of Paris rushing forward with new ambitious offers for the French CIC of UNIFIL and his staff. And the perfume industry shall have a field day, too. To try and cover up that stink…

To conclude - the rest of that dire warning we started with:

“We must convert promises into firm commitments, and commitments into rapid deployments on the ground. Every moment we delay is a moment of risk that the fighting could re-erupt,” Malloch Brown told the closed-door meeting, according to a text of his remarks.

Cross-posted on SimplyJews

From Wikipedia:

The Ouroboros (also spelled Oroborus, Uroboros or Uroborus) is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon swallowing its own tail and forming a circle. It has been used to represent many things over the ages, but it most generally symbolizes ideas of cyclicality and primordial unity.

That’s it, the history and philosophy finished and done with for this post to make out like I am a person of deep knowledge and all that. Notwithstanding the fact that I am dealing with much less sublime matter here. How to put it gently: garbage.

But why Ouroboros, you may ask? Oh, that’s simple: the insidious George Monbiot, exactly as the mythical worm, is able to reach his backside. Albeit in George’s case there is no swallowing self (even George himself will puke, I suspect), it is just that George likes himself so much that he is indulging in licking his own backside. In public, too.

Some short time ago, George with his bosom buddy Pat Buchanan, co-authored a new conspiracy theory, according to which “The assault on Lebanon was premeditated - the soldiers’ capture simply provided the excuse.”

I have offered an opinion that this new myth will be a huge hit (see the link above) and added a piece of advice:

The success of the new myth is guaranteed, and in my opinion Monbiot should apply for a patent. The royalties will be enormous.

Apparently, George has not heeded the advice. Now the only thing left to him is to watch how new and eager supporters jump on the bandwagon. And this is how he validates that conspiracy theory he himself invented:

Last week I argued that Israel’s attack on Lebanon was premeditated: Hizbullah’s capture of two soldiers gave Israel’s government the excuse to launch an assault it had been planning since 2004. Both Bush and Blair knew that it would happen and gave it their approval.

I was, of course, denounced by supporters of Israel’s government as an anti-semite and an apologist for terror. But on Sunday this hypothesis was confirmed by an article Seymour Hersh published in the New Yorker.

Either it is a case of the most brazen chutzpah or just utter idiocy - it is for the readers to decide.
On August 8 George publishes an article with that ground-breaking “discovery”. Several days later, Seymour Hersh (who will gladly sell his grandma down the river for a scoop) picks up the smell (again, from at least two possible sources - George M. and Pat B.) and joins the fray. This is enough to confirm the hypothesis. Notice also, that in his original article our hero George does not use the word “hypothesis” - he sells it as a fact.

I can explain George’s strange act only in one way: since he did not apply for a patent as advised, he is doing the next best thing - licking his own backside each time another scoop hunter picks up his “hypothesis” and, in his own fashion, claims it to be a fact.

Good job, Georgie! And bon appetit!

Cross-posted on SimplyJews