History Itself

Richard Cohen argues that Israel is a mistake and should behave that way and hunker down and let the terrorists keep hitting it.

The greatest mistake Israel could make at the moment is to forget that Israel itself is a mistake. It is an honest mistake, a well-intentioned mistake, a mistake for which no one is culpable, but the idea of creating a nation of European Jews in an area of Arab Muslims (and some Christians) has produced a century of warfare and terrorism of the sort we are seeing now. Israel fights Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in the south, but its most formidable enemy is history itself.

This is why the Israeli-Arab war, now transformed into the Israeli-Muslim war (Iran is not an Arab state), persists and widens. It is why the conflict mutates and festers. It is why Israel is now fighting an organization, Hezbollah, that did not exist 30 years ago and why Hezbollah is being supported by a nation, Iran, that was once a tacit ally of Israel's. The underlying, subterranean hatred of the Jewish state in the Islamic world just keeps bubbling to the surface. The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and some other Arab countries may condemn Hezbollah, but I doubt the proverbial man in their street shares that view.

In hindsight, in a perfect world, it would have been cheaper in the long run to buy out every single Palestinian living in what is now Israel before creating that state. But that was not done, and it's now long past time it would work any longer. But Israel, regardless of what you think of how it was formed, is a solid, real democracy in a part of the world where that is not the norm. But this is the new litany of some of my commenters. "Israel is a mistake". Cohen is a fellow traveler.

It is also true, as some critics warned, that Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon was seen by its enemies — and claimed by Hezbollah — as a defeat for the mighty Jewish state. Hezbollah took credit for this, as well it should. Its persistent attacks bled Israel. In the end, Israel got out and the United Nations promised it a secure border. The Lebanese army would see to that. (And the check is in the mail.)

All that the critics warned has come true. But worse than what is happening now would be a retaking of those territories. That would put Israel smack back to where it was, subjugating a restless, angry population and having the world look on as it committed the inevitable sins of an occupying power. The smart choice is to pull back to defensible — but hardly impervious — borders. That includes getting out of most of the West Bank — and waiting (and hoping) that history will get distracted and move on to something else. This will take some time, and in the meantime terrorism and rocket attacks will continue.

Hunkering down is never a strategy for winning a war. It is a way to die. Israel did not choose this war, it was thrust on them. Sitting back and taking it will not make it better and will not fix the underlying problems. I do not profess to know the ultimate solution, but I highly doubt it is the one Mr. Cohen charts.

UPDATE: Oh, man. Cohen's email box will be in imminent danger of overload is my guess. Other's taking just a wee, teensy bit of exception to Mr. Cohen's column: Kesher Talk, Israel Matzav, Life of Rubin, Atlas Shrugs, Confederate Yankee, AbbaGav, Israel at Ground Level, Later pile-on is also not at all pleased: NRO Corner, Hot Air, Meryl Yourish, Iowa Voice, Shrink Wrapped, Right Wing News, Wow - this one is causing an uproar. Still more: The Real Ugly American, Captain's Quarters, STACLU, A Barbaric Yawp, Mac's Mind, Belmont Club, IMAO, Boker Tov, Boulder, Influence Peddler, Liberty and Justice,

RIP, Mike Hammer

He stood with his back angled to the wall. To an indifferent observer he was simply in idle conversation, but it wasn't like that at all. This was an instinctive gesture of survival, being in constant readiness for an attack. His head didn't turn and his eyes didn't seem to move, but I knew he saw us. I could feel the hackles on the back of my neck stiffening and I knew he felt the same way.
          Dog was meeting dog. Nobody knew it but the dogs and they weren't telling.
Mickey Spillane, The Body Lovers

Mickey Spillane is dead at age 88.

Mickey Spillane, 88, who died July 17 in Murrells Inlet, S.C., was one of the world's most popular mystery writers. His specialty was tight-fisted, sadistic revenge stories, often featuring his alcoholic gumshoe Mike Hammer and a cast of evildoers who launder money or spout the Communist Party line.

His writing style was characterized by short words, lightning transitions, gruff sex and violent endings. It was once tallied that he offed 58 people in six novels.

Starting with "I, the Jury," in 1947, Mr. Spillane sold hundreds of millions of books during his lifetime and garnered consistently scathing reviews. Even his father, a Brooklyn bartender, called them "crud."

Mr. Spillane was a struggling comic book publisher when he wrote "I, the Jury." He initially envisioned it as a comic book called "Mike Danger," and when that did not go over, he took a week to reconfigure it as a novel.

Rest in peace, Mickey.

G-8 Condemn Mumbai Bombers And Terror Sponsors

The G-8 as well as representatives from Brazil, China, Mexico, South Africa, and the African Union banded together and strongly condemned both the people who committed the Mumbai bombings and their sponsors. The move came at the request of the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Expressing their outrage over what they called "barbaric terrorist acts carried out in Mumbai and other parts of India", the leaders said: "We are determined to continue the fight against terrorism by all legitimate means. We express our readiness to undertake all necessary measures to bring to justice the perpetrators, organisers and sponsors of these and other terrorist acts, and those who incited the perpetrators to commit them."

Talking to reporters, foreign secretary Shyam Sharan described the stand as a "major diplomatic gain". "While we continue our fight against terrorists, this unequivocal message against their sponsors is an important gain," he said.

India needs to continue to pursue the investigation. Hopefully, the perpetrators can be definitively identified, as well as the backers of the plot. The US should make sure this does not degenerate into an India/Pakistan confrontation.

Fed Up?

Khaled Abu Toameh writes in the Jerusalem Post that Arabs are fed up with Hezbollah. It may well be he's right. There has not been a lot of uproar over Israel attacking Hezbollah. (Except from the ever reliable American left, of course).

With the exception of the Palestinians, the Arab world appears to be united in blaming Iran and Syria for the fighting in Lebanon. Until last week, Arab political analysts and government officials were reluctant to criticize Hizbullah in public. But now that Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and his top aides are in hiding, an anti-Hizbullah coalition is emerging not only in Lebanon, but in several other Arab countries as well.

The Palestinians and Hizbullah feel that their Arab brethren have once again turned their backs on them. On Monday, hundreds of Palestinians who marched in downtown Ramallah in support of Hizbullah chanted: "Hassan Nasrallah is our hero, the rest of the Arab leaders are cowards" and "O beloved Abu Hadi [Nasrallah's nickname], bomb, bomb Tel Aviv." The second battle cry is reminiscent of the famous slogan the Palestinians used during the first Gulf War: "O beloved Saddam, bomb, bomb Tel Aviv."

Hizbullah and their supporters were hoping that the massive Israeli military operation in Lebanon would trigger large-scale protests throughout the Arab world, creating instability and threatening to bring down some of the Arab regimes.

But the response on the Arab street has been so disappointing for Hizbullah that its leaders are now openly talking about an Arab "conspiracy" to liquidate the Shi'ite organization. The few Hizbullah supporters in Ramallah, the Gaza Strip and some Arab capitals have therefore been directing most of their criticism against the Arab presidents and monarchs, accusing them of serving the interests of the US and Israel.

The anti-Hizbullah coalition, which appears to be growing with every Israeli missile that drops on the heads of Hizbullah leaders and headquarters, is spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. These three countries, together with many Arab commentators and political analysts, are convinced that the leaders of Teheran and Damascus are using Hizbullah to divert attention from Iran's nuclear program and Syria's involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

The Saudis were the first to openly criticize Hizbullah, paving the way for other Arab countries to follow suit. The message coming out of these countries is that the Arabs and Muslims can't afford to allow an irresponsible and adventurous organization like Hizbullah to drag the region to war. Government spokesmen and officials, as well as prominent Arab editors and commentators, have shown no sympathy for Hizbullah while appearing on pan-Arab TV networks like Al-Jazeera and Abu Dhabi.

The Saudi position, which surprised Hizbullah and its supporters, was outlined by an anonymous official, who said that the people should distinguish between legitimate resistance and dangerous adventurism by some parties without cooperation from their governments and the Arab states.

Frankly, the very public Saudi stance surprised me at the time as I pointed out in an earlier post. And it does appear that there is more negativity about Israel's actions coming from the American left than from the Arab street. Open Arab opposition plus the fact that the G-8 actually came out and condemned Hezbollah (meaning Russia is not covering for him) has to have Hassan Nasrallah thinking about what he did. Hiding like a scared rat, he has to be thinking that maybe, just maybe, this time he screwed up. Big. Maybe having an apocalyptic, aura sensing loony for an ally isn't such a good plan after all.

Afterglow

101st Blog Of The Day

You know, it's a really crazy world these days. My ongoing mission to visit one member of the fighting 101st each day has led me to a lot of interesting blogs. But I have to go halfway around the world to get news from my old home town. Is that weird or what?

Today, I visited the Finest Kind Clinic and Fish Market, presided over by Nancy Reyes. Among a lot of interesting takes on things, I find Nancy blogging about Father Heindl, a highly decorated chaplain who served in the second World War. Father Heindl has passed away, but I have to go to a blogger from the Philippines to get news about Rochester, New York. What a funny world it is. Anyway, stop by Nancy's place and read about Father Heindl and his life. He was a true inspiration. (By the way, for some reason his name and face are really familiar, but I can't place him. I'm not Catholic, so I doubt I ever met him in a church, but I'm wondering if I met him when I was doing a lot of retirement party photography for guys who had served in the war.)

Hezbollah Continues Rocket Attacks

Ha'aretz is reporting that more than 50 rockets have struck Israel on Monday. IDF has intercepted and driven off an attempt by Hezbollah to infiltrate through the Northern border. They have also destroyed at least one long-range, Iranian-made missile capable of hitting Tel Aviv.

Hezbollah fired more than 50 rockets at Israel on Monday, including a barrage which landed after 10 P.M. in the northern towns of Safed, Rosh Pina, Tzivon, Sakhnin, Hatzur Haglilit and Peki'in.

Five people were wounded in the rocket barrage, four when a rocket hit a public building in Safed and another in a separate incident in the region. Another rocket landed next to a medical institution in the Galilee.

IDF troops on Monday night opened fire at a group of Hezbollah militants who approached the border, thwarting an attempt to infiltrate Israel.

An unknown number of militants were wounded in the exchange of fire, IDF officials said.

Meanwhile, an Israel Air Force air strike in Lebanon on Monday destroyed at least one long-range Iranian-made missile capable of hitting Tel Aviv, IDF officials said.

The officials said an IAF aircraft targeted a Hezbollah truck carrying the weapons before they could be launched. The force of the blast sent at least one missile flying into the air, but it fell nearby. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under military regulations.

Officials said the destroyed missile was an Iranian-made "Zilzal," which has a range of about 200 kilometers.

Lebanese TV stations broadcast video pictures of the downed missile which they initially reported was an IAF aircraft falling to the ground.

During nearly a week of fighting, Hezbollah militants have fired missiles up to 40 kilometers into Israel. But officials have raised concerns the guerrilla group could strike Tel Aviv, roughly 120 kilometers south of the border with Lebanon.

Once again, the Hezbollah rocket barrages are targeted strictly at civilian cities and towns, not at military targets.

Godspeed

Charlie, one of the folks who blog at OpFor has been called to active duty. He will blog as often as he can once he's reached his detination. Please wish him well over in the OpFor comments. All the best, Charlie. Stay safe.

Boston Roulette Update

Investigators looking into the collapse of ceiling panels in a Boston "Big Dig" tunnel have discovered documents that indicate there was a major disagreement over the design of the section of tunnel. It seems that there were questions as to whether the design could support the amount of weight the panels would apply to the bolts.

BOSTON - Investigators probing the fatal collapse of a Big Dig tunnel ceiling have discovered documents showing there was a "substantial dispute" over whether the design of the tunnel was adequate to hold the weight of the ceiling panels, the attorney general said Monday.

Four of the 3-ton panels collapsed onto a car July 10, killing Milena Del Valle, 38, of Boston, and injuring her husband. Since then, engineers have found hundreds of places within the connector tunnel, a main passage to Boston's Logan International Airport, where the bolts are not properly secured.

Attorney General Tom Reilly, who refused to give specifics, said he did not know how the dispute was resolved. He said the designer, the installer and Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the company overseeing the Big Dig project, were involved but would not say who raised the questions.

"There was a substantial dispute whether the design was adequate to hold the weight expected," Reilly said.

As investigations and testing on the tunnel system continued, commuters on Monday got their glimpse of the increased traffic hassles that officials say could endure for two months, at least.

A second tunnel ramp, which connects Interstate 90 west to Interstate 93, was closed Sunday after testing showed dozens of problems with the bolts holding up the ceiling. That ramp had been used as part of a detour around the accident scene.

Gov. Mitt Romney has called the ceiling problems a "systemic failure." He met Monday with congressional, state and city leaders to outline his plan for ensuring safety of the roadways and tunnels, and for easing traffic congestion in the meantime.

During any large project there are any number of disputes between the engineers, the contractor and the subcontractor. Some of these can get quite heated, as I can attest by actual experience. Not all of these are meaningful in the end so long as there is a satisfactory resolution, so I would not read to much into this yet. That said, if it turns out a warning was dismissed improperly, there could very well be criminal charges. Professional Engineers have certain legal responsibilities because of the license they hold.

Immortality

Johnny Cash, despite being dead for almost three years now, has the number one record on both the Pop and Country charts. Pretty darn impressive, I'd say.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In life, Johnny Cash was merely a legend. In death, he is proving immortal.

Almost three years after he died at the age of 71 after a decade of poor health, the country outlaw is the most popular artist in the United States, currently at No. 1 on the pop and country charts with an album of new material.

The album, "American V: A Hundred Highways," recorded in Cash's final months as he looked forward to reuniting with his late wife, June Carter Cash, sold 88,000 copies in the week ended July 9. It's his first chart-topper since 1969's live prison album "Johnny Cash at San Quentin."

It also marks the fifth — but not the final — installment in the "American Recordings" series, which resurrected the singer's career in the last dozen years of his life. The comeback was masterminded by rock producer Rick Rubin, who has already topped the album charts this summer with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Dixie Chicks.

Cash and Rubin started work on the acoustic set the day they finished 2002's fourth volume, which featured one of the biggest hits of his career, a Grammy-winning cover of hard rock band Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt." With a frail Cash sensing the end was near, he recorded 60 songs over eight months, often singing in an improvised bedroom studio at his home near Nashville.

My son is a big Johnny Cash fan ever since American IV came out. That's the one with the cover of the Nine Inch Nails song Hurt. So I wanted to make sure to link to this article. It's quite a nice tribute to an immortal in American music. Incidentally, Rick Rubin may have another bit of immortality planned for Johnny Cash:

A more immediate possibility is another Billboard magazine advertisement ripping the country music world for its apathy toward Cash. After the overlooked 1996 album "Unchained" (U.S. sales to date: 152,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan) won the Grammy for best country album, Rubin controversially reproduced a famous photo of Cash hoisting a middle finger into the eye of the camera, and sarcastically thanked "the Nashville music establishment and country radio for your support."

"So much of the idea of that ad was really for Johnny's entertainment," Rubin recalled. "It's a great idea, having the No. 1 album and the No. 1 country album, it's a great time for a f— you from Johnny Cash!"

I don't think it's really necessary. Johnny's laughing somewhere, anyway.

Sadism Update

The truly evil local council in Rockdale, a suburb of Sydney, Australia, have succeeded in their nefarious plot. We first reported on the sadistic behavior of the council here. There evil machinations have indeed resulted in car enthusiasts staying away in droves from the parking lot they were hanging out in. Unfortunately, it's also driving nearby residents out of their freaking minds!

In a move reminiscent of U.S. efforts to drive former Panama strongman Manuel Noriega from the Vatican Embassy where he took refuge in 1989, the local council in Rockdale, in Sydney's southern suburbs, started a six-month trial of high-volume hits by Manilow and Doris Day to chase away car enthusiasts who were gathering on weekend nights at Cook Park Reserve.

"Barry's our secret weapon," Rockdale Deputy Mayor Bill Saravinovski told The Daily Telegraph newspaper, four weeks after the start of the effort. "It seems to be working."

But some people living near the park are less than enthralled. They say the barrage of "Copacabana," "Could It Be Magic" and "Que Sera Sera," blasting from 9 p.m. to midnight every Friday, Saturday and Sunday is driving them crazy.

"I don't know how I will cope," said Moya Dunn, describing how the songs have invaded her house. "I just can't sleep when it's on, and to think there's going to be another six months of this."

Ok, Manilow would be enough for me to beat my head against a wall. But the Doris Day stuff is beyond sadism. But take heart, Ms. Dunn, it could be far, far worse. It could be Yoko Ono.

Nah, they'd lynch the council for that one.

And This Time Bring Home Some Decent Loot!

The Danes began their long-anticipated invasion of Norway today, sending a Viking boat in to land at Oslo. The 61 member crew will commence pillaging any moment now.

Well, ok, that was an exaggeration. What actually happened is the a faithful reproduction of a 30 meter long Viking boat sailed into Oslo harbor (more properly, was rowed into the harbor) in it's first long-range sea trial.

The Danish built 30-meter-long "Sea Stallion from Glendalough" is based on an 11th century ship, built near the settlement of Glendalough in Ireland, which had been sailed by Vikings to Denmark.

It took four years and 10 million Danish crowns (900,000 pounds) to build the new "Sea Stallion" using original techniques, tools and materials.

"We just didn't know how she would sail, but it was fantastic," the 40-year-old captain, Carsten Hvid, said, his hair and beard bleached blonde by the sun.

"If you stood at the back as she sailed and looked at the front you could see her moving and bending like a snake."

Pictures of the boat can be found here, here and here.  I saw another reproduction of one of these boats once. They are really interesting. The 313 mile trip to Oslo was a practice run for a voyage planned for next year.

A voyage to Ireland. The pillaging was always better there, anyway.

A Decade Past

Ten years ago today, TWA flight 800 left JFK Airport in New York City bound for Paris. At around 8:45 PM the Boeing 747 exploded off the coast of Long Island, not far from East Hampton. A decade has past, but I remember that day all too well.

The company I was working for at the time was in the middle of a downsizing plan for the engineering department I worked in. The way they were working it was that they were having everyone "reapply" for their jobs. For weeks since the plan had been announced, it was frankly hard to get anything done. The whole place was paralyzed with speculation. It was also a time to explore what you really wanted to do, since they were planning on offering a buyout plan. There wasn't much conversation on any other subject.

Around 9:30 PM (or close to that hour) on July 17th, my phone rang. It was my Mother telling me to turn on my TV right away. As I went over to the set my Mother asked, "What flight was your sister taking to Paris?" My stomach turned when I saw the special report graphic. I had no idea what flight she had been planning on taking, I only knew she was flying to Paris that night.

After calming my Mom down as best I could, I tried reaching TWA. Needless to say, that wasn't really successful. The lines were completely tied up and I never did talk to anyone. I didn't know what else to do, so after a while I went to bed. I didn't sleep real well, though.

The next day, I kept trying to get through to TWA, I finally did get to talk to someone who told me no manifest was available but did take down my contact information with a promise to get back to me as soon as they could. I tried reaching my Sister's secretary, but she had taken some time off while my Sister was going to be in Europe. Nobody at her firm knew what flight my Sister had planned on taking, or what airport she was going to fly from. Nobody had any idea where she was staying in Paris, either. They told me they'd try to track down her secretary, though.

Needless to say, it was a completely unproductive day at work. And by the end of the day, I still knew nothing about my Sister. Mom was frantic, so I had to keep calming her down, all the while holding my own fear in. I didn't get a lot of sleep that night, either.

The next day, I was pretty groggy from lack of sleep, but partway through the day, my phone rang. It was my sister's secretary letting me know that My sister had NOT been on flight 800 and was staying at a little hotel she favored because it didn't have a phone in every room. I called Mom, who broke down crying with relief. I felt like crying and laughing at the same time. I think it was later that night that my sister called me. She hadn't even heard about flight 800 since she hadn't been reading the papers or watching the news.

Anyway, after that, it was a lot harder to feel any tension over the downsizing plan. I just went with the flow. My wife and I found new jobs, took the buyout and moved West.

A decade past and it's still clear.

Israeli Offers Ceasefire Terms

Israel has made clear what it's demands are. Hezbollah to withdraw from Southern Lebanon, the kidnapped soldiers freed and Lebanon to control it's own Southern border.

Israel would agree to a cease-fire in its six-day-old offensive against Hezbollah if the Lebanese guerrillas withdraw from the border area with Israel and release two captured Israeli soldiers, a senior official said Monday.

The official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the diplomacy, said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had conveyed Israel's position to Italy's prime minister, who is trying to broker a cease-fire deal.

The Lebanese army would have to replace Hezbollah on the border.

The Lebanese army would have to replace Hezbollah on the border.

Another Tsunami Hits Java

A powerful earthquake sent a six foot high wall of water crashing into the island of Java. At least 47 people are dead.

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A powerful earthquake sent a 6-foot-high tsunami crashing into beach resorts on Indonesia's Java island Monday, killing at least 47 people and leaving scores missing and sending thousands fleeing to higher ground, officials and witnesses said.

Regional agencies had issued bulletins that the 7.7-magnitude undersea earthquake was strong enough to send a killer wave steaming toward the country worst hit by the 2004 tsunami, but they did not reach the victims because the island has no warning system.

The hardest-hit area appeared to be Pangandaran, an idyllic beach resort long popular with local and foreign tourists, where witnesses said people shouted " Tsunami! Tsunami!" and climbed trees or crowded inland mosques as the wave approached.

Man, Indonesia is having a rough year on the natural disaster front. If any charity information becomes available, I will post it. Might want to check Agam's Gecko regularly for that kind of information, too. He lives over on that side of the world. He doesn't have anything up yet, though.

UPDATE: Times of India coverage.