[Victoria Delsoul]

"A nation that can provide more than $300 billion for a war in Iraq can provide the money to get its people out of Lebanon," Pelosi said in a statement.

Ah, the hypocrisy! The Democrats are the first to criticize the war in Iraq and the money America has spent and is continuously spending. Why should the taxpayer pay for someone exercising her or his freedom to travel to problem places? Of course, the Democrats see this as another political score in which they can make gains, not because they care about those stuck in Lebanon, but because they think it will give them an advantage over the Republicans in the next elections.

Someone told me at work today that the French have already got some of their people out of Lebanon; well, the French live in the Mediterranean... they got ships there, duh! It is a logistical nightmare to get so many out of a faraway country in the midst of a war, where its infrastructure doesn't allow for a grand scale and immediate evacuation.

Alas, but these Americans living in or visiting relatives in Lebanon – a country whose government has close ties with the terrorist group Hezbollah – and is responsible for the abduction of two Israeli soldiers, and sits in the Lebanese government, and I must add, was voted into power by the Lebanese people, are demanding that the Bush Administration hurry up and get them out right away with the rest of us paying for their expenses.

[Alberta's Child]

Right. And everything I've seen indicates that the U.S. government is doing this because the law requires it to do so -- and Nancy Pelosi voted for that law!

[Army Air Corps]

Good post. Pelosi demonstrates often that she is a feckless and half-witted opportunist and poltroon.

[proud_yank]

I agree with you, but you must bear in mind the moral superiority of French culture and how their govt "cares" for "the people".

The State Department said Monday that it will ask Americans to pay for rides out of Lebanon that include chartered vessels.

Furthermore, the State Department is full of liberals!

As much as I loathe Pelosi, at least she didn't blame President Bush for this situation. Yet.

[HitmanLV]

I agree. As far as the dem strategy goes, they are just playing the role of chronic, perpetual critic. If help comes in 4 days, why didn't it come in 3 or 2 days?

They also argue inconsistent positions - one one hand, bash the admin for not connecting the dots prior to 9/11, and on the other hand, criticize attempts to collect and connect the dots as violations of civil rights.

Lost in all this is any idea of exactly what they would do. In that event, arguing for inconsistent positions doesn't work.

Dr Dean flipped out recently (again) saying that this Israel-Lebanon situation wouldn't even be happening if the dems were in charge. Increasingly it's clear that this guy is a bona fide nutjob.

As for the stranded, angry Americans who want out of Lebanon (and fast), they clearly have poor judgment when it comes to places to visit. They know the dangers, and they know the risks. I have no doubt the USA will get its citizens out of Lebanon (the ones that want to leave), but the perpetual whiners will just continue to do what they do best: complain and not even seem to appreciate that they have some responsibility for being in the situation that they are in.