. Moral Cipher Loath as I am to "tear it from the…

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Moral Cipher

Loath as I am to “tear it from the headlines,” I’m going on record here. I am truly heartsick–but hardly surprised–that the Bush administration was not on the spot hours into the bombardment of Lebanon to call for an immediate ceasefire.

The United States has obviously let its ally Lebanon down. Clearly, given its role in the world and the level of threat and hatred in the Middle East, the U.S. let Israel down as well. Meanwhile, Hezbollah beams.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, in Beirut this week, said the people of the Middle East must buy into the Bush administration’s vision of the Middle East or suffer the consequences. That vision seems to call, at this point in time, for demolished cities and hundreds of dead people. Or are those the consequences? Either way, the vision is spreading, and the cynicism of the Bush Administration stinks to Heaven.

For the U.S. to sit back and let Israel bomb may serve the Bush agenda, but it obliterates all moral high ground. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora summed up this week’s war–it has set the nation of Lebanon back 50 years. Those were certainly a tough 50 years, during which so much was accomplished.

The headline to this post applies to the Bush administration. We have an election coming up in November. It’s part of a system that lets the citizens of the United States send a message to its leadership in Washington by making changes in that leadership. So there is hope.

Vanx