<An almost inaudibly somber White House Spokesman, Ari Fleischer mumbled that US President George W. Bush thought it a "heavy-handed attack" that did not "contribute to peace."

The price was high. The attack illegally wrong. The deaths utterly inexcusable.

It might, however, actually “contribute to peace.”

I don’t know. It almost looks like a fresh deck.

We’ll have to wait and see what new disaster rises from the dust.

... the Gaza air strike may also draw scrutiny from the International Criminal Court (ICC) ...



[ ... ]

“... we believe are prepared to handle it," says Justice Ministry spokesman Ya'acov Galanti who added that his ministry intends to defend any and every Israeli indicted.





I wonder (just a thought, now) if Sharon would ever consider martyring himself to the ICC and throwing his own body on top of such a moral landmine as he has just unearthed. I mean if, of course, some sophisticated provisioning were set in place that could actually bring some form of guarantee for “peace in the Middle East” -- at long last... Would he?

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Silvan Shalom explained on Tuesday that "Anyone who thinks or imagines that the prime minister, the defense minister, or the chief of staff would have decided on and approved carrying out this attack in this place knowing that this would harm innocent people, simply has no idea what he is talking about."

Well, the frightening thing for Shalom is the fact that many of us actually do know what we’re talking about. We just don’t have the media’s ear to challenge him directly. The strategy sucked from thought one.

And, if recent history is an indicator, the wave will come. For instance, in the 50 days after Fatah leader Ra'ed Karmi was liquidated, the Tanzim and the Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for attacks that took the lives of 57 Israeli citizens.

Dunno about this one either. I’m sure there will be a spark of retaliation, but martyrdom just ain’t what it used to be anymore. Seems that signing up today marks your surviving kin as the next Israeli target. And, of course:

“How do you know who will be Shehadeh's number two, and where the missile will come from?"

Thanx for the piece, Tech1,
Dan