Lebanon Update 12

In Search of the Right Adjective:

Everyone seems to agree that there needs to be a cease-fire for the ongoing Lebanon-Israel conflict. But what kind of cease-fire?

"Immediate," says the international community. Israel's response to that? ANTI-SEMITIC. That's right, "immediate" is now an adjective used by anti-Semites only.

Nuri al-Maliki whose first official trip to Washington has gotten him in trouble did not stop at "immediate," he denounced Israel for its attacks on Lebanon and refused to condemn Hizbollah. I am shocked that a Shi'a theocrat has failed t condemn a fellow Shi'a theocrat!

As it turns out, representative Rosa DeLauro has threatened to boycott attending al-Maliki's remarks to a joint session tomorrow. That's right, the al-Da'wa Party member, once deemed as a terrorist by the U.S. government will have the podium tomorrow before the elected members of the United States congress, talk about tables turning. As it happens, DeLauro and some of her democratic colleagues want an apology from al-Maliki. Stay tuned for udates, I live fr these things.

Back to the adjectives.

"Immediate" needs a description, or so thinks the Bush administration. So how do they describe it, you guessed it, by another adjective, "premature." An "immediate" cease-fire is a "premature" cease-fire. So what is the alternative?

Neutrals opted fr "urgent" which means, take your time if you have to, but pretend that you're looking for a solution. That comes from the not-so-neautral Dr. Rice.

But Dr. Rice and her boss have the perfect adjective, "sustainable." As it turns out, "sustainable" is not attached to any timetable and so as long as Hizbollah continues to be armed, then there is no "urgent" need for a cease-fire, because then it would be "pre-mature."