Posted by: escott on April 27, 19103 at 20:30:39

FYI, see Boston Globe link below, which considers briefly some of the same concerns I've mentioned here about lessons Israelis (some of them anyway - like Rabin) painfully learned in Lebaon...

Note especially Assad Abukhalil's points about how the Lebanese Shia so quickly turned from welcoming Israeli "Liberators." (Assad's an old colleague of mine - with a unique multi-ethnic background....)

BTW, the Boston Globe, like many other left-leaning papers in the US, generally tends towards the right on Middle East issues (in deference to Israel) -- until recently....

If you have access to New York Times (a paper far more "independent" towards Israel, the necons, Rumsfeld, et.al.) , Sunday's week in review section had an op-ed mainly quoting Israeli sources also on the parallels to Israel's disastrous invasion of Lebanon.... The lessons drawn from that article, in my view, are faulty - as they argue US has to figure out which Shia leaders to back and which to oppose.... In my view, that's the key ticket to hell for all concerned.... Those we "back" in such a risky policy would be tarred and feathered.... those we oppose (in some cases needlessly) will be energized, even "legitimized" by the badge of standing up to "Amrika." (I'm not sure if the following open-source link will work by tomorrow - but here it is)

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/27/weekinreview/27MYRE.html?ex=1052020800&en=d61c2f0621309cdf&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

Oh, back to the Boston Globe.... they also on Sunday ran a stunning long essay by the career Foreign Service Officer (John Kiesling) who resigned, rather than continue to serve a policy he could no longer in good conscience defend.... See:

http://www.boston.com/globe/magazine/2003/0427/diplomat_entire.htm

Note espeically his insistence that America is at its best when it pays attention to its "international legitimacy" - something the neocons tend to argue grows out of the barrel of a gun. (ergo, success on the battle field will earn us friends in the lilly fields)

And so it goes....

• Tipping points...

Read the Follow Ups: Re: How occupations go sour... Eric 21:17:38 4/27/103 (0) "Heeding the lessons of Iran in Iraq" escott 20:37:30 4/27/103 (0)

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