Israeli Military Says: There Is No Military Solution

From the Jerusalem Post, in an article that in part contradicts Uri Avnery: Israel wary of toppling Lebanese gov't.

"It's not realistic to dismantle Hizbullah," he said, "or to chase them out of Lebanon until there are no Hizbullah gunmen there." The goal was rather to weaken Hizbullah and to distance it from the Israeli border where it had built up an infrastructure, he said.

The official said Israel was always willing to use indirect channels for solving the problem, like using foreign mediators "as we have done in the past."

In the end, the military cannot solve the security problem Israel faces, he said."There is no military solution. It's always diplomatic."

Tip of the hat to Josh Marshall.

197 dead in Lebanon so far in six days. As of last count. Very few of them are actual Hizbullah fighters. Most are civilians, many who may very well have been against Hizbullah. Israel is bombing Sunni areas, Christian areas, vehicles on roads.

Collective punishment is a war crime and illegal under international law.

Here's a sign of hope that came to me. In the 1982 invasion, Israel killed between 1,200 and 2,000 people in the Sidon area alone, just in the first week. So compared to 1982, this week's death toll has been only a tenth of that. This proves that the Israelis really are doing everything they can to spare civilians. (irony)