Sunday, August 13, 2006
Israel, Lebanon and the Peace Agreement
Is a victor going to emerge from the dust ? Did the United States get what it wanted ? For the beleagured civilians it is a long and anxious day. The UN peace agreement takes effect tomorrow. Until then the war continues, with both sides claiming victory. Victory, as they see it. Indications are that at best it is an uneasy truce, far from the objective of the parties that took part in the war and the negotiations. Robin Wright in the Post: "It was a very close call. U.N. diplomats assembled at 3 p.m. in the cavernous Security Council hall to get the U.S.-French proposal to end an excruciating month of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. The United States had Lebanon's approval but still had not received word from Israel. U.S. Ambassador John R. Bolton did a "diplomatic tap dance" to stall, U.S. officials said. Then at 3:53 Friday, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni called Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for the third time during a tense day of diplomacy. Despite its decision just hours earlier to launch a ground invasion, Israel agreed to the terms of the resolution. It was a deal. "
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Olmert In A Shaky Position
How quickly the tides turn. The Guardian:
- The future of Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, was last night hanging on how successfully he could sell his citizens the idea that the country had been 'victorious' in the 'war in the north' as criticism of his shaky performance began to escalate amid the first calls for his resignation.
- While Olmert's allies and government officials lined up to express satisfaction about the outcome of the UN ceasefire resolution passed while the fighting continued, attempts to present a 'victory' to the Israeli public could not disguise the deep sense of disquiet over the operation's failures and fears that Hizbollah might manage to emerge 'victorious' in the coming days.
