Andrew McCarthy at NRO:

During a few shining nanoseconds of post-9/11 clarity, the administration had declared that there was an enemy and it had to be wiped out. Now, though, what has been wiped out is the Bush Doctrine: the sober acknowledgement that we had to accept the unsolicited challenge of a long, difficult war; the warning to all comers that we would fight to win, and they could either line up with us or line up with the terrorists.

The Bush Doctrine understood that jihadists were the problem and could form no part of the solution. This is a hard truth, though. It has thus been nudged gradually aside by a more pleasant Wilsonian mirage: the Democracy Project. This ambitious reconstruction of the Islamic world holds that jihadists can be tamed — and the United States made safer — by a political process. 

Read the whole thing here.

In words too astonishing to be fabricated (so they must have actually been spoken), Lebanese President Emile Lahoud suggests that Hezbollah “freed” Lebanon:

SPIEGEL: United Nations Resolution 1559 demands that the army should control the whole country — up to the border with Israel.

Lahoud: It (the army) does that. But it wasn’t the army that freed the occupied south of the country, rather it was the resistance which achieved that. Without this resistance Lebanon would still be occupied today.

SPIEGEL: You’re talking about Hezbollah. But Israel’s withdrawal happened six years ago. Why has the state still not fulfilled the task set by the UN?

Lahoud: Naturally the strongholds of the resistance are not known. Despite the hail of bombs, the Israelis have been unable to produce one single photo of a destroyed resistance base, because they don’t know where they are. Army bases, on the other hand, are well known and this is why they are invariably destroying our armed forces and, above all, civilian targets.

Well, I suppose that’s one way of looking at it, sort of like believing that the IRS “freed” my dollars last April.

On the issue of what photographic intelligence there is on Hezbollah positions, see here and here.  Wonder if Lahoud could get a laptop with internet access?  Then type in http://earth.google.com/ …

In words too astonishing to be fabricated (so they must have actually been spoken), Lebanese President Emile Lahoud suggests that Hezbollah “freed” Lebanon:

SPIEGEL: United Nations Resolution 1559 demands that the army should control the whole country — up to the border with Israel.

Lahoud: It (the army) does that. But it wasn’t the army that freed the occupied south of the country, rather it was the resistance which achieved that. Without this resistance Lebanon would still be occupied today.

SPIEGEL: You’re talking about Hezbollah. But Israel’s withdrawal happened six years ago. Why has the state still not fulfilled the task set by the UN?

Lahoud: Naturally the strongholds of the resistance are not known. Despite the hail of bombs, the Israelis have been unable to produce one single photo of a destroyed resistance base, because they don’t know where they are. Army bases, on the other hand, are well known and this is why they are invariably destroying our armed forces and, above all, civilian targets.

Well, I suppose that’s one way of looking at it, sort of like believing that the IRS “freed” my dollars last April.

On the issue of what photographic intelligence there is on Hezbollah positions, see here and here.  Wonder if Lahoud could get a laptop with internet access?  Then type in http://earth.google.com/ …

From Haaretz:

A large number of Israel Defense Forces soldiers were wounded Wednesday in fierce gun battles with Hezbollah in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbail.The IDF was involved in efforts Wednesday to retrieve the casualties, even as the heavy clashes continued.

The troops became involved in close-quarter fighting with Hezbollah guerillas in the early hours of Wednesday, despite taking control of the town a day earlier. The fighting has been going on since.

On Tuesday, IDF infantry and armored corps soldiers surrounded the Hezbollah stronghold, but decided against seizing the entire town.Military officials said Golani Brigade infantry troops had surrounded the village Tuesday, imposed a closure and took some houses on the outskirts.

“There is fighting from every direction, including from the air. We are hitting terrorists, we have also taken several prisoners in this fighting. The enemy has more than a few casualties, and overall we are now stabilizing the situation to completely take over the village,” Lieutenant Colonel Itzik Ronen, a deputy brigade commander of a unit operating in the area, told Army Radio.

It looks as if the IDF is now involved in very difficult house to house, room to room clearing to take Bint Jbail.

So much for all those schools and hospitals that Hezbollah started.  The final aim of all training, infrastructure, assistance and help from Hezbollah is to enable people to die in house to house fighting.  The “religion of peace” at work.

Rep. Gary Ackerman (D – NY) was just on O’Reilly, and Bill was forcing the question of his recent visit to Israel and lack of condemnation of Israeli interrogation tactics (which are far rougher than ours are, and far rougher than Rep. Ackerman would himself allow, or does seem to allow the Bush administration to engage in).  When pushed, Rep. Ackerman said, “I don’t think torture should be allowed on anyone who doesn’t need it.”

To which we can collectively respond — conservative and liberal alike, young and old, male and female, Jew and Gentile  — what?

From the AP:

“I am shocked and deeply distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defense Forces of a U.N. Observer post in southern Lebanon,” Annan said in the statement.

“I call on the government of Israel to conduct a full investigation into this very disturbing incident and demand that any further attack on U.N. positions and personnel must stop,” Annan said in the statement.

Kofi, this isn’t hard to understand.  When using a precision-guided weapon, it goes wherever the target is (i.e., at whatever target is “painted” by the laser).  Obviously, someone “painted” the facility that housed the UN observers (for simplicity I am ignoring the possibility of equipment malfunction).

Also obviously, since UN observers hold absolutely no strategic value whatsoever to the Israeli military, the one who targeted the facilty made a mistake.  He either thought that there were enemy strategic assests inside the facility, or he saw a facility that he wanted and in the process of sighting the laser, he targeted the wrong facility.

This is school-child level thinking, and Annan’s lack of ability to engage in it is why he will never be anything more than an inept and impotent stooge on the world stage.

**** UPDATE ****

Michelle Malkin is also tracking Kofi’s antics (“Kofi Talk“).

From the AP:

“I am shocked and deeply distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defense Forces of a U.N. Observer post in southern Lebanon,” Annan said in the statement.

“I call on the government of Israel to conduct a full investigation into this very disturbing incident and demand that any further attack on U.N. positions and personnel must stop,” Annan said in the statement.

Kofi, this isn’t hard to understand.  When using a precision-guided weapon, it goes wherever the target is (i.e., at whatever target is “painted” by the laser).  Obviously, someone “painted” the facility that housed the UN observers (for simplicity I am ignoring the possibility of equipment malfunction).

Also obviously, since UN observers hold absolutely no strategic value whatsoever to the Israeli military, the one who targeted the facilty made a mistake.  He either thought that there were enemy strategic assests inside the facility, or he saw a facility that he wanted and in the process of sighting the laser, he targeted the wrong facility.

This is school-child level thinking, and Annan’s lack of ability to engage in it is why he will never be anything more than an inept and impotent stooge on the world stage.

**** UPDATE ****

Michelle Malkin is also tracking Kofi’s antics (“Kofi Talk“).

Jerusalem Post is reporting:

For the first time since Operation Change of Direction began on July 12 following the abduction of two soldiers in a cross-border attack, the IDF confirmed on Tuesday that a high-ranking Hizbullah leader called Al-Jafar had been killed in an IAF air strike in Lebanon. The IDF would not reveal the official’s exact position but said that he was high up in the organization’s hierarchy and was one of the Hizbullah’s regional commanders.

In another story:

A senior Hizbullah official said Tuesday the guerrillas did not expect Israel to react so strongly to its capture of two IDF soldiers this month.

Mahmoud Komati, the deputy chief of the Hezbollah politburo, also said that his group would not lay down arms.

His comments were the first time that a leader from the Islamic militant group has suggested it miscalculated the consequences of the July 12 cross-border raid that seized the two.

Has there been a strategic miscalculation on the part of Hezbollah, their big brother Syria, and their parent, Iran?  Is Hezbollah back on its heels just a bit?

Iran rattling their saber:

Iranian threats against Israel continue: Iranian media outlets published sections of interviews given by Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad-Reza Sheybani, who said that Hizbullah’s military capability has greatly increased in the last decade, and threatened that if Israel harmed Syria, the Iranians would respond with force. 

Brief reponse: I don’t believe this for a nanosecond.  Hmmm … wonder why they feel a need to rattle their saber?  Is their little boy bully taking some blows to the chin?  Are they losing a strategic presense in southern Lebanon?

Courtesy of Michelle Malkin (Kill, Don’t Capture), CENTOM (linked on this web site) gives the following brief:

    BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces killed one terrorist, wounded another and detained one associate during a raid north of Balad on the morning of June 24. 

    Reliable intelligence indicates that the targeted terrorists were associated with numerous senior al-Qaida in Iraq members including two local Emirs.  The group is also reported to be tied to another recently captured individual who had previously led the overall network and has since admitted to countless attacks on Iraqi civilians.

    While the troops were moving to the target area they encountered two armed terrorists who attempted to engage the ground force.  The ground force immediately engaged the terrorists killing one and wounding the other.  The wounded terrorist was provided immediate first aid on site.

    Multiple men fled the immediate target area upon arrival of the assault force.  The ground force then quickly contained and secured the target area.

    The troops pursued and ultimately detained another suspect.

Michelle observes that it is better to accomplish a kill in the field.

The history of the M16A2 (and the whole Stoner system of weapons) is interesting.  What you don’t usually see in writing anywhere is that the U.S. adopted the small caliber (.22 caliber, or 5.56 mm) round due in part to its being a more humane weapon, tending to wound rather than kill, as opposed to the 7.62 mm NATO round, which tended to main or kill just about no matter where it hit.

However, the upshot is that they teach Marines to place the round in the right location to accomplish a kill.  Moreover, the light weight of the M16A2 allows it to be brought to bear on a target more quickly than the heavier M14.  Also, the smaller round (a) gives much less recoil than the 7.62 mm round, and (b) gives it a high muzzle velocity that allows good body armor penetrating capability.

Finally, the United States Marines, unlike every other branch of the military here or abroad, requires every Marine to qualify on his M16A2 at 500 yards.  Today, a variant of the M16A2 is used — the M4, with a shorter stock and barrel.  It is capable of single shot or three-round bursts.  The SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon, one per fire team of four Marines) is also a 5.56 mm round, capable of fully automatic firing.

Sometimes we get the sweet satisfaction that even when the left tries to harm us (more “humane weapon”), the law of unintended consequences gives us a nice gift.  The M16A2.