Investigation of Qana Pauses Bombing

Sunday snark alert, sorry, but this is just madness.

The UN Security Council just expressed “extreme shock and distress”
over the Qana slaughter. A 48-hour
pause has been agreed upon. However, if Hezbollah lobs another rocket, all
bets are off.

There is also distinct tension between Prime Minister Olmert and Secretary
Rice, according to John King of CNN. Rice looked shell shocked earlier today.
Frankly, if the Qana slaughter doesn't send your sensibilities reeling nothing
will.

Hey, but let's get real. This is a beer break for Hezbollah, if they drank
beer; while Israel takes it on the chin for this military, political and humanitarian
catastrophe. What a colossal screw up the Qana bombing has been for Israel. Frankly, it's Keystone Cops stuff, only with added carnage; oh, and lots of dead children, too. You don't hit a building filled with poor people because Hezbollah is nearby.

Hey, but there's a temporary lull in this lunacy, so take heart. Give me a break.

Late Sunday, Israel agreed to suspend its airstrikes for 48 hours while it investigates the bombing of Qana, a State Department spokesman said. The spokesman, Adam Ereli, told reporters in Jerusalem that Israel would coordinate with the United Nations to provide a 24-hour period during which residents of southern Lebanon could leave area safely. “Israel has, of course, reserved the right to take action against targets preparing attacks against it,” he said. Israel said the Qana strike was aimed at Hezbollah fighters firing rockets into Israel from the area, but an explosion caused a residential apartment building to collapse, crushing Lebanese civilians who were spending the night in the basement, where they believed they were safe. The Israelis raised the possibility that munitions stored in the building blew up hours after the airstrike, destroying the building. (snip) Mr. Olmert told his cabinet on Sunday: “We will not blink in front of Hezbollah and we will not stop the offensive despite the difficult circumstances.” He added: “Israel is in no rush to reach a cease-fire before we get to that point where we could say that we reached the main objectives we had set forth. This includes the ripening of the diplomatic process and preparing the multinational force.” … Israel Halts Bombing After Deadly Strike

To hear the line above from Mr. Olmert, saying Israel is in no rush, is pretty
close to the dumbest tactical statement I've heard so far, not to mention being
callous. Hey, but considering Israel has played this like rank amatuers I'm not surprised about anything anymore. However, I have simply lost patience.

The Israeli's need to get out of the heat. Their decisions keep going
from bad to worse. Meanwhile, Hezbollah and Iran are just waiting until the international community stops Israel's campaign. The day that happens the outcry against Israel and the U.S. will get louder, particularly when we all sit down to decide who's going to pay to rebuild Lebanona again.

One thought to add… another possibility is that I'm wrong-wrong-wrong, and this is a fake out to finish it up, so Israel and the U.S. can forget it ever happened. Boy, would I like to be wrong.