It's comforting to hear George II urge the Israeli government to"limit" civilian casualties and damage to Lebanon's infrastucture. That rule has worked so well for us in Iraq. I wonder what the official upward limit on collateral damage is, beyond which Israel goes from self-defender to aggressor. Evidently a blockade is not over the line; nor is the bombing of civilian areas resulting in the deaths of innocents, including children. Not to worry: Bush and Rice know where the line is.

U.S. efforts to reshape the Middle East are proceeding nicely, just as many of us expected. The key to misunderstanding the region is to ignore the context, namely, the long-standing Israeli violation of the rights of Palestinians with the full backing of the U.S government. This doesn't justify indiscriminate violence, but it does shed light on much that happens there. When we abhor the continuing abominable treatment of Palestinians the way we abhor the shelling of Israelis in northern Israel, we will have made some significant progress.

Cross-posted at Free Association.