This little snippet from the Washington Times is about the best concise summary of the hawks' views as I have read:

"It may be that the hawks in Washington have the correct impression that the Arab regimes have no place to go," said
Mr. Murphy. "They can't resist Israel and they can't resist the United States. The local challenges [from demonstrations] are surmountable."

While this is what the hawks would like to believe, the problem is that this view is pretty well divorced from reality. I haven't seen such a similar disconnect since the Shah of Iran was deposed.

This current crisis reminds me of the Cuban missile crisis, where Kennedy faced 2 very divergent views from his advisors. It now falls to Bush Jr and his fundamental abilities and character to guide the nation through this mess.

As for today's good news, I expect Sharon to pull another outragte, and I give it about 3 weeks at best. (I have been early in forecasts, and given earlier calls, 6 weeks is also possible.)

It's a very chaotic situation, but I don't see any good ending in sight...

ep