Not For the First Time

President Bush, not for the first time, has it right..

The Arbs claim victory when there is defeat.

The Israelis claim defeat when there is (albeit partial and tragic) victory.

The Middle East is a strange place.

A famous story, truncated, goes this way:

A scorpion asks a camel if he can hitch a ride while the camel swims across a river. Midway across, the scorpion stings the camel. The camel says "Scorpion, idiot, why did you sting me --- now we will both die.

The scorpion responds" "Camel you forgot one thing --- this is the Middle East."

Ben

##

The White House
Bush Defends U.S. Handling of Lebanese Conflict, Asserting That Hezbollah Is the Loser

By JIM RUTENBERG
Published: August 15, 2006

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 — President Bush on Monday defended his handling of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, declaring that Hezbollah had been the loser in the monthlong fight and warning Syria and Iran against resupplying the Lebanese militia.
Mr. Bush spoke as he and his advisers sought to portray the cease-fire deal that was established under a United Nations Security Council resolution as an affirmation of American foreign policy.
“It took a while to get the resolution done,” Mr. Bush said at the State Department. “But most objective observers would give the United States credit for helping to lead the effort to get a resolution that addressed the root cause of the problem.”
Mr. Bush and his aides had sided with Israel in resisting calls for an immediate cease-fire after the war began on July 12, defining the root cause as Hezbollah’s armed presence in southern Lebanon and its attacks on Israel.
Mr. Bush spoke on a day of intense competition to shape world opinion on the conflict. Hezbollah said it had won an “historic victory” by fending off a regional superpower; Israel and the United States said Hezbollah was the loser because the resolution calls for ending its control of southern Lebanon.
Even as they expressed optimism, White House officials said nonetheless that only time would tell whether the cease-fire would hold and whether Hezbollah would ultimately be disarmed. And a senior official, who agreed to speak candidly in return for anonymity, acknowledged the possibility that Hezbollah would build public support in southern Lebanon by flooding the area with rebuilding money, as it has vowed to do.
As Hezbollah emerged from the conflict with its leader appearing on television vowing to keep his militia intact, the White House faced questions on Monday about whether it and Israel had met their goals in the conflict. Israel had said its attacks were intended to destroy Hezbollah’s military capabilities, and the Bush administration had made clear early in the conflict that it wanted to allow its ally time to do so.
Asked by reporters who he believed had won the conflict, Mr. Bush said, “Hezbollah, of course, has got a fantastic propaganda machine and they’re claiming victories.”
“But how can you claim victory when at one time you were a state within a state, safe within southern Lebanon, and now you’re going to be replaced with a Lebanese Army and an international force?”
Under the terms of the United Nations cease-fire resolution, an international force will help the weak Lebanese Army take control of the south from Hezbollah, which will then be disarmed.
As Mr. Bush spoke, he was surrounded by the principal members of his war cabinet: Vice President Dick Cheney; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; and Stephen J. Hadley, the national security adviser.
The appearance was the final event of Mr. Bush’s first full day back from his summer vacation.
He started his day at the Pentagon, where he met Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and national security officials, and then with experts on Iraq.
“It’s very important for the American people to know that we’re constantly thinking about how to secure the homeland, protect our interests and use all assets available to do our jobs,” Mr. Bush told reporters before meeting with Mr. Rumsfeld. “We live in troubled times, but I’m confident in our capacity to not only protect the homeland, but I’m confident in our capacity to leave behind a better world.”
The emphasis on national security came days after the administration and its congressional allies had sought to gain political advantage from Senator Joseph I. Lieberman’s loss to an antiwar challenger, Ned Lamont, in the Connecticut Democratic primary, and the news that the British had foiled what could have been a large-scale terrorist attack.
Officials said the meetings were planned weeks ago and were part of an annual August ritual of review meetings for the president.
But the Democrats have hit back hard, arguing that Mr. Bush has mismanaged the war in Iraq and pursued a strategy that is exacerbating terrorism. The Democrats point to polls showing that dwindling numbers of Americans believe that the United States and its allies are winning the war on terrorism.
Without directly addressing the Democrats, Mr. Bush echoed his party’s line of attack against them, saying, “The fundamental question for this country is, do we understand the stakes and the challenge?”