Interesting article.
2 cents worth of views:

- Hezbollah is part of the Lebanese government ie an internal Lebanese problem and should be handled and seen that way. The Israeli reaction to kidnapped soldiers weakened the Lebanese government and improved Hezbollah popularity in Lebanese communities. Way to go Homer!

- The destruction of Lebanon is an admission of Israeli military failure. Guerilla warfare can only be fought on ground. The Israelis panicked of their eary losses and pulled out and continue with aerial bombardment. The question is: If you know you are fighting few thousands militias in the bottom 30 miles south of Lebanon, why destroy the whole infrastructure of the country and displace close to a million people?

- I don’t think we (Australia) can afford to be another ‘bullet proof vest’ in this conflict. We should get involved within wider picture of peace settlement (ie redefining borders between Israel, Lebanon, Syria; establishing a viable Palestinian state; broker a co-existence agreement between fighting parties).
I believe we should be more impartial and look after our own interest in the Middle East.

- Why is the Israeli government ‘democratically’ detaining more than 20,000 Lebanese indefinitely and without charge?
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20060807&articleId=2919

So Inshallah 2bob

The realisation has finally hit you. The settlers in the Palestinian state are the problem. Precedent is indeed set and Israel will have to sit back and watch the Palestinians, when there new State is recognised on pre '67 borders, bomb the crap out of any of those Israeli settlers who refuse to recognise the soverignity of the new state of Palestine.

What a mealy-mouthed piece:

If Lebanon shouldn't be "let off the hook" for its "failure to control Hezbollah" maybe Mr Rothwell could tell us why Israel is eternally off the hook for failing to implement Resolution 242 and vacate the Occupied Palestinian Territories, not to mention Resolution 194 and countless other UN resolutions?

"Do Lebanon's failings justify the scale and intensity of the Israeli assault?" he asks. JEEESUS! Mr Rothwell, do Lebanon's alleged failings justify the Israeli invasion and destruction of Lebanon, full stop?

Global research again. Such a hoot that place.

When only totally unhinged moonbat howlings will do, beloved by the discerning conspiracy theorist and grassy knoll aficionado anywhere. The sort of place that bespeaks journalistic quality and makes Georrge Monbiot seem calm and rational by comparison.

Sincerely, I this is not the sole source of information Fellow Human?

Can somebody teach Marilyn Shepherd how to spell, or at least use an apostrophe properly? Hint to Marilyn - there is no apostrophe in Israelis. And Pete has a capital "P".

Gee Savage Pencil, that was deep and meaningful wasn't it? My spelling is not OK in the face of the slaughter of over 1000 innocent Lebanese civilians in collective punishment.

Ed O'Loughlin has the results of a poll in the SMH and AGE today about the Israelis. Nearly 90% believe it is fine to blow up civilians. Is that the nice people we are supposed to support SP and Don?

Not only that but over night the Israelis bombed a bridge, turned around and murdered 12 people who came to inspect the damage. Is that who we support Don?

What about if the US sends them the nice little cluster bombs poste haste as they have demanded so they can murder civilians quicker?

In Ed's piece today he describes the rocket launchers as "hillsides' which seem to presume that the rockets are on hills and not in houses.

Fancy that.

90% think it is OK to bomb and murder Lebanese civilians. Nice one. Strangely enough Australians are actually smarter - 51% say no soldiers into the mess and 83 % say we have to fix the Palestine problem.

In the meantime something that didn't happen in Britain based on information from terrorism central - Islamabad - is being whipped up into a frenzy with not a person hurt.

A nice distraction with Blair blithely on holidays and not a trace of actual evidence of anything at all.

Of course no one wants to explain why a group of English citizens would bother to fly thousands of miles to bomb people when they could bomb them in England and have the same impact with less cost. But hey? Why would they be rational when they can't even see that we have made Iraq a catastrophe and stand by and watch the 90% of Israelis who approve of murdering civilians get on with the job.