One more perspective

Victor Davis Hanson offers some perspective on the Israeli actions to date in this interview yesterday. You can listen here if that's more your speed.

From VDH:

HH: Do you think that's what they were attempting to do when they deny the government of Lebanon's mea culpa...actually, the denial of responsibility by the government of Lebanon, and Israel is rejecting that. Is that appropriate, in your view?

VDH: Absolutely. What they're trying to tell the Lebanese is when you get out in the street, whether you're Christian or Druse, or Shiia, or Sunni, and you fire a machine gun up in the air and celebrate an Israeli being kidnapped, there's going to be consequences, collectively. You may not have power. You may not have water. You may not have tourism. And you're willing to put up with that? Fine. Now we may have two or three rockets hit every week, but we're going to have power, and we're going to have life as usual, and you're not. And we'll see who can hold out the longest. And that's what they're trying to do now.

HH: Now Professor Hanson, Israel in the past has negotiated with terrorists. Are they only getting what they've sown in the past, now?

VDH: Yeah, I think the problem is that after the withdrawal of Gaza, which I supported, and the Lebanese withdrawal, inadvertently, and the incapacitation of Sharon, the message has been sent to the militant terrorists, jihadists, that the Israelis are reasonable, they're sober, judicious, and we're not. And they're easily intimidated. So now what Isreal's trying to do, as they often do about every two or three years, is re-establish deterrence. And that usually means people have to die, unfortunately.