The Geneva Conventions and the United Nations state that a nation's reply to aggression should be in proportion to the threat, not in proportion to the initial act of aggression. In that Hezbollah is still launching rockets into Israel's territory, the threat is still tantamount and therefore according to international law, Israel's response is actually less than proportional. Until they have completely eliminated the threat to their state, they have yet to give a proportional response. I would add that Hezbollah are not a state and are not signatories of the Geneva Conventions.

Many people would want to focus on the civilian death count, and the seemingly disproportional destruction of Lebanon. All wars are of this nature. All wars have the proportion of 10 civilian deaths to one military personnel death. All millitaries target infrustructure, millitary command centers, and possible resupply routes. In this sense, at least recognize that this is every conflict, not just unique to the current Israel-Lebanon conflict. If combatants surround themselves with civilians, they sacrifice the civilians as legitimate military targets. If too many civilians are getting killed in Lebanon, blame the Hezbollah for not making a clear demarkation.

This is absolutely and existential war. Iran is equipping itself with nuclear weapons. It has stated its intention of eliminating Israel. It has started a proxy war via the Hezbollah in order to inflame public opinion, divert attention from its nuclear ambitions, and to shore up its influence in the region.

Israel has consistently favored diplomacy and path to peace and has not been the aggressor against any of its neighbors. Interestingly Iran is the only other player in the region that could also make that claim...until a week ago.

Tim,

Your racism is exquisite and backed up by the weakest of arguments and observations.

" The founding of the Jewish Homeland was and remains an act of European imperialism, originally pursued as the Anglo-French solution to the Jewish problem in Europe..."

The same imperialist powers also had a hand in creating and defining the boarders of these countries: Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt...should I go on?

Oh, there is one other colonial creation of a nation that didn't exist and usurped the indigenous population in its creation: New Zealand. I'm sure the Polynesians and Maoris will appreciate your offering up your home to them. Do the right thing Tim.

Your eloquent twisting of the historical record to suit your racist views: "Ce'st magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre."

"The locals knew that the 10-story apartment building had been the office, and possibly the residence, of Sheik Tawouk, the Hezbollah commander for the south, so they had moved their families out at the start of the war."

If you want to find the ever so secretive and attention hating Hezbollah you can google them in google images and you'll see them marching, weapons in hand, all over Beirut and elsewhere.

Like here:

http://www.interet-general.info/article.php3?id_article=5628

Please note the berets and the camo fatigues and military uniforms.

As the tepid democrats have recently proclaimed, it is not the war, or international hatred of America, or the rollback in science, or the rollback in civil liberties, or the privatization of public land, or the sorry state of emergency response, or the largest issue looming: global warming.

It is the fact that we are not all experiencing the American Dream! How come I didn't get a HumVee like the Republicans?

I can't wait for the American Dream power point presentation. Democrats sweeping the house and senate. Other than the new door plaques, how will we know a change has taken place?

Not one mention of why the MPAA exists in the first place. It was created so the industry could police itself for fear of the government stepping in and policing the industry for them. This isn't about assuring parents of a movie's content, it is about self censorship in order to avoid the issues of larger government censorship.

In what other ways are corporations self censoring in order to avoid the government's intrusion?

Party affiliations are so easily swapped because there is little real difference in the candidates of both parties. We have been operating this country on the singular "pro business" party for a long time. The divide between "conservative" and "liberal" is a fiction.

I do not agree with Katherine Harris or her actions during the 2000 presidential elections. I would gladly see her leave politics. I would prefer, however, that all candidates get a fair shot at running. No vote rigging. No exclusion from public debates. No manipulation of our nations airwaves to the benefit of one over the other. No big money influencing the reach of candidate's persuasion. Lastly...no articles written to marginalize and belittle a candidate's voice.

For many her candidacy is a laughing matter. For others, her political fall from grace is revenge served cold. For myself, she stands as another example of someone marginalized and excluded from the process by the press and inside the beltway manipulators.

For every Katherine Harris that we allow the press to marginalize, there is a Ralph Nader, a Dennis Kucinich, a Reverend Al Sharpton, a Jessie Jackson, a Noam Chomsky ...the list goes on.

Defend them against those who would assault them, intimidate them, wire tap them, bomb their offices, embed them, imprison them, and kill them.

It is as simple as that.