Existential Threats

Our Dear Leader in the Perpetual War on the Abstract Noun showed unwonted restraint today in its efforts to prevent further bloodshed in the Middle East. In marked contrast to the flurries of righteous zeal which preceded the 1991 turkey shoot in Iraq and the present Quagmire of Democracy, the Bush administration and its little helper have "blocked efforts for an immediate halt to the fighting initiated at the UN security council, the G8 summit in St Petersburg and the European foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels". Apparently it has been decreed that the New American Century will not be placed at undue risk if the Righteous State continues to kill Lebanese for a period not exceeding one week. Presumably, at the end of that time, sanctions and possible military action against Israel will be considered; or then again, perhaps not. "It's in our interest for Syria to stay out of Lebanon and for this government in Lebanon to succeed and survive," Bush said. We all know how governments in Lebanon have thrived under occupation by the Righteous State, particularly as long as no ceasefires are permitted. Agreeing with Bush, as he sometimes does, the Vicar of Downing Street observed that "Of course we all want violence to stop and stop immediately, but we recognise the only realistic way to achieve such a ceasefire is to address the underlying reasons why this violence has broken out." Underlying reasons addressed so far amount to over two hundred and thirty Lebanese civilians, which is slightly more than seventeen times the number of Israeli civilians killed by Hizbullah since the start of the peacekeeping effort.