Beirut Bombed

Reuters/Adnan Hajj

Israel has bombed the Beirut Airport and a hezbollah television station. Israel intensifies attacks against Lebanon

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Israel blasted Beirut's airport and other Lebanese targets Thursday, bringing its air and naval campaign to the doorsteps of the capital and threatening massive retaliation after guerrilla rockets for the first time reached Israel's third-largest city, Haifa.

The fighting, which killed 57 people, was a dramatic escalation in the battle between Israel and Hezbollah, an Islamic militant group which has a free hand in southern Lebanon and holds seats in parliament. The Lebanese government, caught in the middle, pleaded for a cease-fire.

But Israel said it was determined to beat Hezbollah back and deny the militant fighters positions they traditionally held along the northern border.

"If the government of Lebanon fails to deploy its forces, as is expected of a sovereign government, we shall not allow Hezbollah forces to remain any further on the borders of the state of Israel," Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said.

Israel's offensive was its heaviest in Lebanon in 24 years, launched after Hezbollah guerrillas snatched two Israeli soldiers in a brazen cross-border raid Wednesday. Two days of Israeli bombings killed 45 Lebanese and two Kuwaitis and wounded 103. Two Israeli civilians and eight Israeli soldiers have also been killed, the military's highest death toll in four years.

I lay this all at Bush's door. Afterall, he's the one who, against State Department warnings, unleashed Sharon 5 years ago, signalling that the US would no longer be an honest broker in the middle east. Israel has known they could act with impunity ever since.

Kidnapping soldiers is horrible. But the revenge bombings and collective punishment Israel is imposing on civilians in both Gaza and Lebanon is worse.

And frankly, chimpy's statement today that al-Assad, "needs to provide leadership to promote peace" is plain irresponsible. A pox on him, cheney and Bolton too.