This article breathlessly tells us, "Bush uses expletive to express frustration". It could more accurately be retitled, "Bush sums up Mideast politics in 25 words or less."
"See the irony is that what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit and it's over," Mr. Bush told Mr. Blair as he chewed on a buttered roll.You don't need a Georgetown thinktank or Henry Kissinger to reach that conclusion. Unfortunately Hezbollah, no doubt just following the will of Allah, is probably getting ready to launch part II of Operation Poke a Stick up the Tiger's Arse... (a strategy which served Egypt, Jordan & Syria so magnificently in the Six Day War).
The military geniuses at Hezbollah seem not to appreciate that this will automatically provoke additional Israeli action that will continue to impact Lebanese citizens & end up terraforming the northern half of the country.
Unless, of course, THAT WAS THE PLAN.
Can you imagine what Canada would do if a militia crossed the 49th parallel and captured our soldiers and then retreated back across the border?
The issue was not the abduction of a couple of Israeli soldiers, as you put it. The issue is that Hamas and Hezbollah crossed an internationally recognized border — following an Israeli withdrawal and captured these soldiers within the 1967 lines inside Israel. Can you imagine what Canada would do if a militia crossed the 49th parallel and captured our soldiers and then retreated back across the border while the U.S. government stood by and made no effort to stop the militias. That's a tough sell in any democratic society. The real issues here are borders, the role of militias, and states.