I for one am greatly disappointed that we haven't stomped a mudhole in the chest of any terrorist organization or terrorist-supporting government lately. Afghanistan and Iraq showed us that our armed forces are perfectly capable of doing it, and if any group deserved such treatment, it was Hezbollah, which has the blood of some 300 Americans on its hands. Instead, we pressured Israel into accepting a cease-fire that nobody expects will last, because in the Middle East, cease-fire is another word for "reload!" Alas, the latest news from Lebanon, Iran, etc. tells me that nobody in a position of power in our government is serious about winning the War on Terror, including our president. Well, there are times when victory is a better goal than peace.
The key development in the war with the Hizzies was that the US resupplied Israel, and didn't ask either permission or forgiveness. Israel is going to have to continue to fight for its life, just as the Jews have been doing there since before the foundation of the modern state. I was just reading a May 15th issue of US News and found (p 32) an article about al Qaeda infiltration of the so-called West Bank, and Gaza; also news of a tunnel that some would-be assassins were digging under Abbas' own compound.
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060515/15mideast.htm
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060515/15mideast_2.htm
A Tough Neighborhood
Is al Qaeda branching out to the Palestinian territories?
By Khaled Abu Toameh and Larry Derfner
5/15/06