Free Republic

by Mark Finkelstein July 22, 2006 - 05:34 The New York Times op-ed page has a feature today called 'A First Step Back From the Brink.' As the Times describes it: "With chaos threatening to engulf Lebanon, the need to resolve the conflict in the Middle East has rarely seemed so urgent. The Op-Ed editors went to seven experts with experience in the region, asking each of them what should be the first step toward defusing the crisis." Richard Perle is one of the contributors, and makes the case that "Israel must see the current fighting through to a conclusion...

Washington: US President George W. Bush's surprise visit to troops in Iraq on Thursday was a public relations coup, but is unlikely to boost sagging domestic support for US involvement in Iraq, analysts said. Bush won a standing ovation from some 600 delighted American soldiers he surprised at a Thanksgiving dinner at Baghdad airport. "It's public relations for the American public. It's a symbolic action," said Stephen Zunes, a professor of political science and a Middle East specialist at the University of San Francisco. "I think there is some need to give some kind of gesture that shows that he...