I just got back last night from a week-long cruise, so if my comments have already been addressed, please excuse me.
He's wrong, dead wrong. A goal of permanent and sustainable solution is the only thing that will let the warring stop (by definition). Any cease fire starts another cycle of small hostility leading to an ever greater hostility and then of course, this happens, again. His own words say this, although he suggests that a ten-year cease fire is a solution. A total absence of hostility is the only way to get this problem resolved. The problem with the immediate crease-fire is that it removes all pressure from the parties to actually negotiate. Personally, from watching all of this on CNN-international all week (the only channel on the ship TV), I hope this is the time that Israel destroys Hezbollah and rains Hell down upon Lebanon. For too long, factions like this have been mosquitoes flying around biting on Israel and the US and everybody else desiring peace. It's time that the general population is punished for allowing these types of groups to co-exist. All of our "touchy-feely don't hurt anybody" types of defense doesn't work, it hasn't worked since the Vietnam war. Only when the population who must actually co-exist with these groups gets tired of war will they cease to exist. That has't happened because we've prevented Israel from doing the needful. My take: Israel should invade and destroy Lebanon, incur the wrath of Syria, and then let Syria have war as never before. The only way out of this mess is to go forward, beyond all hope of retreating back into the sinkhole that is a cease-fire. - Matt ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dana" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "CF-Community" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, July 28, 2006 2:24 AM Subject: comments? > Time To Act > > By Warren Christopher > Friday, July 28, 2006; Page A25 > > Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's just-concluded trip to Lebanon, > Israel and Rome was an exercise in grace, bravery and, to my regret, > wrongly > focused diplomacy. Especially disappointing is the fact that she resisted > all suggestions that the first order of business should be negotiation of > an > immediate cease-fire between the warring parties. > > In the course of her trip, the secretary repeatedly insisted that any > cease-fire be tied to a "permanent" and "sustainable" solution to the root > causes of the conflict. Such a solution is achievable, if at all, only > after > protracted negotiations involving multiple parties. In the meantime, > civilians will continue to die, precious infrastructure will continue to > be > destroyed and the fragile Lebanese democracy will continue to erode. > ** > Save & Share > > - *Tag This Article* <javascript:void(0);> > > > Saving options > *1. Save to description:* > Headline (required) > Byline > > *2. Save to notes (255 character max):* > Blurb > > 3. Tag This Article > <http://del.icio.us/> > > My own experience in the region underlies my belief that in the short term > we should focus our efforts on stopping the killing. Twice during my four > years as secretary of state we faced situations similar to the one that > confronts us today. Twice, at the request of the Israelis, we helped bring > the bloodshed to an end. > > In June 1993, Israel responded to Hezbollah rocket attacks along its > northern border by launching Operation Accountability, resulting in the > expulsion of 250,000 civilians from the southern part of Lebanon. > > After the Israeli bombardment had continued for several days, Israeli > Prime > Minister Yitzhak Rabin asked me to use my contacts in Syria to seek their > help in containing the hostilities. I contacted Foreign Minister Farouk > Shara, who, of course, consulted with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. > After > several days of urgent negotiations, an agreement was reached committing > the > parties to stop targeting one another's civilian populations. We never > knew > exactly what the Syrians did, but clearly Hezbollah responded to their > direction. > > In April 1996, when Hezbollah again launched rocket attacks on Israel's > northern border, the Israelis countered with Operation Grapes of Wrath, > sending 400,000 Lebanese fleeing from southern Lebanon. Errant Israeli > bombs > hit a U.N. refugee camp at Cana in southern Lebanon, killing about 100 > civilians and bringing the wrath of international public opinion down upon > Israel. > > This time Shimon Peres, who had become prime minister after the > assassination of Rabin, sought our help. In response, we launched an > eight-day shuttle to Damascus, Beirut and Jerusalem that produced a > written > agreement bringing the hostilities to an end. Weeks later, the parties > agreed to a border monitoring group consisting of Israel, Syria, Lebanon, > France and the United States. Until three weeks ago, that agreement had > succeeded for 10 years in preventing a wholesale resumption of > hostilities. > > What do these episodes teach us? > > First, as in 1996, an immediate cease-fire must take priority, with > negotiations on longer-term arrangements to follow. Achieving a cease-fire > will be difficult enough without overloading the initial negotiations with > a > search for permanent solutions. > > Second, if a cease-fire is the goal, the United States has an > indispensable > role to play. A succession of Israeli leaders has turned to us, and only > us, > when they have concluded that retaliation for Hezbollah attacks has become > counterproductive. Israel plainly trusts no one else to negotiate on its > behalf and will accept no settlement in which we are not deeply involved. > Further, based upon my experience in helping bring an end to the fighting > in > the Balkans, the Europeans are unlikely to participate in a multinational > enforcement action until the United States commits to putting its own > troops > on the ground. > > Finally, Syria may well be a critical participant in any cease-fire > arrangement, just as it was in 1993 and 1996. Although Syria no longer has > troops in Lebanon, Hezbollah's supply routes pass through the heart of > Syria, and some Hezbollah leaders may reside in Damascus, giving the > Syrians > more leverage over Hezbollah's actions than any other country save Iran. > Syria has invited a direct dialogue with the United States, and although > our > relations with Syria have seriously deteriorated in recent years (we have > not had an ambassador in Damascus for more than a year), we do not have > the > luxury of continuing to treat it with diplomatic disdain. As the > situations > with North Korea and Iran confirm, refusing to speak with those we dislike > is a recipe for frustration and failure. > > Because Hezbollah has positioned itself as the "David" in this war, every > day that the killing continues burnishes its reputation within the Arab > world. Every day that more of the Lebanese infrastructure is turned to > dust, > Beirut's fragile democracy becomes weaker, both in its ability to function > and in the eyes of its people. > > The impact is not limited to Lebanon or Israel. Every day America gives > the > green light to further Israeli violence, our already tattered reputation > sinks even lower. The reluctance of our closest allies in the Middle East > even to receive Secretary Rice this week in their capitals attests to this > fact. > > It is time for the United States to step forward with the authority and > balance that this moment requires. > > *The writer was secretary of state from 1993 to 1997.* > > > > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/27/AR2006072701420.html > > > > -- > "People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a > confession > of their character." - Ralph Waldo Emerson > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Introducing the Fusion Authority Quarterly Update. 80 pages of hard-hitting, up-to-date ColdFusion information by your peers, delivered to your door four times a year. http://www.fusionauthority.com/quarterly Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:211959 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5
