Given the difficulties of the military task, the lack of any sustainable basis for security under these tactics, and the need for the European powers for a potential buffer zone, the Israeli hope for a quick Hezbollah-destroying offensive looks increasingly bogged down. U.S. interests in the Middle East are equally not served by alienating every Arab or Muslim ally, including Maliki, in a war of attrition that will not accomplish the only worthwhile purpose: serious stability and border security. Greg Djerejian has more here:
My point? We must remain very focused on reducing the winds in the sails of radical Islamist groups like al-Qaeda, but our basic carte blanche to Israel these past weeks, and our total conflation of Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda and seemingly every other group under the sun that we don't care for in the Middle East - is not only leading to far too simplistic foreign policy analyses among too many in the Beltway - but also, more important, serving as recruiting sergeant for more radicalized Islamists to proliferate, not only in the region, but in Europe and perhaps even the United States itself.
There will come a time when the destruction of Southern Lebanon and the inability to remove Hezbollah by force will demand either re-occupation of Southern Lebanon by Israel, or an international force. Time is running out for the former option. Given our other urgent task in the Middle East - finding a way to prevent Iraq descending into all-out civil war - involving allies in the fight against Hezbollah is increasingly vital. A cease-fire is needed, sooner rather than later.