Nary A Drop To Drink

As I indicated earlier, I lean towards the hypothesis that Israel's attack against Lebanon was an emotional reaction to an unanticipated setback. Wayne White, an experienced hand, tells Ken Silverstein (in one of a series of exceptionally excellent mini-interviews that Ken is doing) something similar at Harper's. What everybody now seems to agree about, in any case, is that the plans in use had been available for a year, or longer. To all that I would add: I'm hearing scuttlebutt that the mover wasn't Prime Minister Ehud Olmert or Defense Minister Amir Peretz, but the Air Force Chief of Staff, Elyezer Shkedy, a super hawk and classic Strangelove character. I can't source it otherwise and don't know exactly how to rate it but find this plausible. Finally, there's the ghostly question of what Israel may do once inside Lebanon. Juan Cole speculates that water—namely the Litani River—could be seized on a permanent basis (note also Cole's comment about Rumsfeld having had to have been in on the air war plans but, seemingly, not having kept the Tyrant in the loop). So does, in more alarmist terms, Terry Arnold. It's something that I've been wondering about as well, despite not having seen the least hint of the possibility in the mainstream media.