Hard to Pick Sides

You've really got to hand it to Nasrallah. I think his statement about Israel's reaction is genius.

"Had we known that the kidnapping of the soldiers would have led to this, we would definitely not have done it," he said in an interview on Lebanese TV.

Seriously. He does nothing but come out looking at least somewhat pitiable. He admits he was stirring up trouble (and we will always identify with a flawed human being over an infallable hardliner), but that Israel was so insane and bloodthirsty that it just wasn't worth it.

Now, I'm not saying Hezbollah (Iran, Syria) should have sitrred up trouble in the first place. It wasn't their business to. But I find it very hard to have any sympathy for those poor Israeli orchard owners who have had to do with deminished tourism for a month when a thousand times worse situations plague Palestinians by the hand of the IDF.

This may not be the place to draw sweeping conclusions about the Arab-Israeli conflict, but suffice it to say Israel needs a couple more ego deflaters. Maybe even have some of its land occupied for a decade or two. Then we'll see what the IDF has to say.

I am not advocating violence. Just Israeli ego reduction.