Reply #67: I think that the problem...

[alvarezadams]

...is ideologically-driven.

It is no secret that the PNAC gang (GOP AND DLC) are closely tied to RW Israeli thinktanks. Nor is it a secret that all these groups have a worldview which is somewhat divorced from reality (obviating core causes because they usually run against their ideological values such as free-marketism, etc) to the point of cognitive dissonance.

Time and time again the "hawks" of the world see that the use of force is somehow licit and expedient. Yet historically this is only true in the case of annihilation and total war.

What I have not seen in the US press coverage, btw, is Siniora's comments on Hezbollah and the Shaba Farms. On the BBC and in the Spanish press, well before the invasion there were comments on them - that if Israel returned this tiny area to Lebanon, the Lebanese government would have a stronger hand in disarming Hezbollah. After all, Hezbollah's raisson d'etre is as a resistance movement against Israel, and besides the constant aerial incursions over Lebanon and Lebanese prisoners in Israel the only remaining point of contention is this handkerchief of land.

Utimately I have to sadly agree with you - Israel's PM is as incompetent as ours, and for the same reason. It is based on the conservative mindset; http://www.psych.nyu.edu/jost/Jost%20&%20Hunyady%20 (2005)%20Antecedents%20and%20Consequences%20of%20Syste.pdf