I don't disagree with what you say: it is in our national interest, and it is also good politics.
But, it is not an obligation. It is something we would do because of who we are as a nation.
But, I'll go back again to my initial point, and that was really nothing more than to note that embassy/consulate phone systems are not geared to hundreds of calls an hour.
Let's cut them some slack. They are working night and day, I am certain.
No doubt. I'm certain that a lot of State Department employees are going without sleep, in Beirut, in neighboring countries and even back at Foggy Bottom. Folks who sure as hell didn't go into it for fast money or quick fame.
Most diplomats at the sub-ambassador level are like engineers -- they want to be obscure, because the only way to become famous is to be accused of fouling things up in spectacular, career-ending fashion. April Glasspie can tell you all about that.
The only party that clearly deserves blame here is Hizbollah. If other folks can't act as quickly as we'd like, despite their best efforts, or aren't giving their best efforts, there will be time for that reckoning after we get our people out.
As with the Katrina response, the focus now should be on getting the job done; later, on fixing the system for next time, because there will assuredly be a next time sooner than later; and when that's done, at leisure, we can start to think about pointing fingers.
While I'm sure they're working night and day, one would have expected the State and embassy should have had better contingency plans. They knew the dicy situation there. While calm a week ago, things do and can change quickly. Take a firestation - firemen can sit around with their feet propped up watching cartoons but when the alarm sounds they snap to rather than form a committee to discuss where they last put the hose. I'm not saying the US should butt in and demand Israel stop (hey, the more IDF takes out, the less we have to worry about) but I do wish we could get folks out - yeah, if wishes were horses and what do I know.