A recent poll by a independent research team of about 630 or so American adults reveals that almost 2/3rds of those who responded want the US to stay out of the Israel-Hezbollah-Palestinian-Syria-Iran fracas. Most had sympathy for Israel, but were evenly matched on the topic of whether or not Israel has just, well, gone too far in their efforts. And not surprisingly, the majority held that the US has done a good job of evacuating Americans trapped in Lebanon; apparently none of the people surveyed were on CNN. 
However, 2 American evacuees with children paid a whole lotta money to get to the US embassy - this is a MUST read, because it shows finally some folks who took some personal responsibility for themselves and does lead me to believe that perhaps the US embassy in Lebanon is not run as well as it should be.
The JPost is reporting that the Lebanon Defense Minister is telling Israel that if Israeli ground troops start amassing in Lebanon, the Lebanese Army will hook up with Hezbollah to fight them. (Like that will be any different than them NOT doing anything about Hezbollah in the first place.) Israel, in turn, has told residents of southern Lebanon to leave the area and an intense firefight has now broken out in Lebanese territory between the IDF and Hezbollah - and according to Haaretz, the IDF troops number in the thousands. Israel also lost 2 helicopters which appeared to have collided in midair - investigations ensue. In a weird turn of events, the Hezbollah chief has apologized for the deaths of 2 Israeli Arab boys in Nazareth yesterday; Nazareth apparently doesn’t have the same number of bomb shelters as other Israeli cities and had no warning when bombs hit there. Hezbollah is also denying Israel’s claim that IDF forces have destroyed 50% of Hezbollah’s weapons.
Heard several interesting commentaries about the unofficial support Israel seems to be getting from many countries, including other Arab countries who don’t want an axis of power to exist with Iran and Syria. For their part, Iran and Syria have been strangely quiet - rather unnerving for the second day since prior they were extremely vocal on any channel or media they could find the time to be interviewed by.
We hadn’t heard from Hamas in a while, but word is that Hamas is negotiating through Egypt for the release of Gilad Shilat, the Israeli soldier taken by Hamas militants during the first stages of the conflict. And lastly, Anderson Cooper is still in Cyprus, while the rest of his media peers are much closer to the action or in the case of ABC and NBC, coming home. Tonight though, there aren’t any breaking news banners all over the place, which must really disappoint him.
10:26PM Update: I spoke too soon. The obligatory Anderson Cooper breaking news banner has reared its head.
10:34PM Update: Found this on Brietbart, and had to laugh. If any country on the planet shouldn’t criticize another country for fighting terrorism or invading a country at its border, it’s Russia. Did or did not the Soviets fight a war in Afghanistan? Did they not invade that country under the guise of a treaty and literally execute its leader? Didn’t they also use gunship helicopters, ground troops, and a "scorched earth" campaign where they destroyed whole villages, farms, and houses? That’s like a bank robber pointing a finger at a thief. I would think it would be difficult to forget a thing which lasted for almost 10 years.....and then there’s the Soviet-Chechen rebel conflict, which Russia calls an "anti-terrorist" campaign. (Thanks, Alla :))
Technorati Tags: Current Affairs, News, Hezbollah, Iran, Syria, Israel, Middle East, Lebanon, Hamas, Gaza
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