Be careful what you ask for

For the last few weeks I've had the distinct feeling that BushCorp™ is doing Israel no favor by giving them free reign in Lebanon.

As has been increasingly the case, Billmon, I believe, has the right of it:

At some point very soon the IDF is going to have to deliver on the threat of an all-out offensive, and deliver it with overwhelming force. Otherwise, the world will assume that Hizbullah has successfully called their bluff, at which point they can kiss their "Boss Man" image goodbye. At this point, I'm not sure the Israelis, or their enemies, are ready to deal responsibly with the consequences of such a profound psychological shift.

In other words, what the Israelis, and the Lebanese, and the world desperately need right now is for someone to step in and call off the fight -- while the Israelis are still in a position to beat their chests and talk big talk about how badly they would have creamed the other guy if they'd only gotten a chance.

But the only ones who could possibly stop it are America, Syria and Iran, and the former isn't willing to talk to the latter two, much less ask them to make a deal. (Even if Bush were willing to bargain, it's not clear at this point that Sheikh Nasrallah answers to Damascus or Tehran any more. Things may have gone too far for that.) [Emphasis mine-SK]

As long as the US continues to feed Israel plenty of rope (and laser-guided bombs) Israel has no excuse to fail against Hezbollah except its utter inability to do otherwise short of the absolute destruction of Lebanon, if then.

And while this may be something that US neo-cons, cheering bravely from their air-conditioned offices, do indeed welcome, I do not believe that outcome will be anything near a good thing for the US or for Israel.

The best thing BushCorp™ can do for Israel is to demand Israel stop its doomed course of action and let Israel claim it would have finished the job if only the US had let them take the gloves off.