Last night I lamented to a friend how disturbed I am over the poor state of leadership throughout the world. Itchy trigger fingers driven by a pre-emptive strike mentality have become the primary method for change, for instituting “freedom and democracy”. According to the U.S. State Department Lebanon already had it but the Israeli invasion happened anyway.
This morning Juan Cole’s Informed Comment summed up my thoughts rather well. I include his words below.
Since the United Nations resolution calling for a halt to hostilities, Prime Minister Olmert, President Bush, Secretary-General Nasrallah, President al-Asad and President Ahmadinejad have all been procliaming the war a personal victory.
I don't know why they would want to claim it.
It was such a stupid war. It was thick-as-two-blocks-of-wood strategy on all sides. It was moronic for the Israelis to plan it out last year. It was idiotic for Hizbullah to cross over into Israel, kill soldiers, and take two captive. It was brain dead for the Israeli officer corps and politicians to think they could get anything positive out of bombing Lebanon back to the stone age and making a million people homeless. It was dim-witted for Hasan Nasrallah to threaten Israelis with releasing poison gases from Haifa chemical plants on them. It was obtuse for the Israelis to confront a dug-in guerrilla movement with green conventional troops marching in straight lines. It was dull of Hizbullah to fire thousands of katyushas into open fields where they mainly damaged wild grass. The few times when the rockets managed to kill someone, it was often an Arab Israeli civilian. Stupid.
How leaders continue to fail the people they “serve”…..
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