Victor Davis Hanson on the assassination in Lebanon

http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/Transcript_Page.aspx?ContentGuid=d536807e-0e1c-4faf-9ffb-3264d257127e ^ | Hugh Hewitt

[ventanax5]

HH: Victor Davis Hanson, if you had a chance to visit with the President tonight, what would you be telling him?

VDH: Don't give up. Don't weaken. Don't hesitate. Don't pause. Do not cut a deal with those two governments. They're killing American soldiers through surrogates in Iraq. They're trying to destablize Lebanon like they did in the 1980's. They're the source of most of the evil that's now causing us problems from Afghanistan to Iraq. And this idea that you're going to bring James Baker back, and that team back who gave us everything from Iran-Contra to jobs, jobs, jobs as the only reason we're going to go into the Middle East, to flank the Jews. I could go on, but it's a very sensitive point with me. I think a lot of us, Hugh, stood by this administration through thick and thin when the paleocons turned on them, when the liberal hawks turned on them, when the neocons are starting to bail. But my God, if you're going to go into the Middle East, and put 130,000 Americans in harm's way, fighting for democracy, and then you turn around and you appease those two governments who are killing people, I don't think a lot of us are going to stand for that.

[La Enchiladita]

Thanks for posting this and welcome to Free Republic!!

[etradervic]

W had his chance to prosecute Iran when Israel was defending itself against Iranian missiles fired by Hezbollah - and he instead allowed Lebanon to be turned back to the Hezbots. What did he expect?

[ventanax5]

VDH on Maureen Dowd

VDH: "Yeah, well...yeah, but here's the height of moral depravity. We have this New Yorker/Washington insider, this high nasal twang acting silly and stupid when thousands of people's lives are in jeopardy, and Americans are fighting for freedom, and she's looking at this as some type of Oedipal arrangement between Bush I and Bush II. It's just ridiculous, because what's happening right now is that a government is trying to have a systematic plan of assassination to destroy democracy, and she can't seem to make the simple moral calculus that people who are risking their lives every day in Iraq need our support. And it's not just some stupid, little political inside the Beltway game that she writes her stupid, little columns about. It's people's lives at stake. Just listening to that just reminded me how amoral these people have become, when they don't believe in anything anymore."

[Digger]

W could have cleaned out that Sunni Triangle 3 yrs plus ago & went politically correct. And now you know the rest of the story. In fact, I don't believe that I would ever sanction a war anymore unless Congress totally signed off on it & the leader kept the press from reporting anything on it.

[roses of sharon]

Bump!

[SIDENET]

Excellent reading. VDH tells it like it is.

That our government is considering talks with Syria and Iran is insanity. What are they thinking?(!)

[etradervic]

The world will be a much more dangerous place if the US is unable to protect its interests. The outcome of the current situation in the Middle East will determine if that capability still exists.

[redgirlinabluestate]

VDH on Maureen Dowd. "Just listening to that just reminded me how amoral these people have become, when they don't believe in anything anymore."

VDH is brilliant. He described 99% of the liberal elites. Amoral indeed.

[Dog Gone]

Bush's fault!

Except you guys aren't joking. Just predictable.

[justa-hairyape]

Dowd is playing amongst the old growth trees and has not even realized yet that the entire forest is on fire. The Baker team appears to be the 'quick fixers'. Give them 10 minutes or a couple of days and they will fashion a solution that makes senses for the 15 second sound bites displayed on the MSM. Don't forget that 'no flyzone' marvel of diplomacy they fashioned a decade ago in Iraq.

[M Kehoe]

Bttt.

5.56mm

[etradervic]

Bush's fault! Except you guys aren't joking. Just predictable.

You are correct. I am not joking about Iran and Syria being permitted to kill our soldiers serving in Iraq or to stoke the fires of civil war in Lebanon without ramification.

[Maynerd]

W had his chance to prosecute Iran when Israel was defending itself against Iranian missiles fired by Hezbollah - and he instead allowed Lebanon to be turned back to the Hezbots. What did he expect?

Olmert deserves the lion's share of the blame. Bush gave Israel tons of time to crush the Hezbos but Olmert dithered fecklessly. Hence, Lebanon and Israel are worse off than before and Hezbo is rearming.

Meanwhile after the US midterms Syria and Iran are likely feeling cocky. This is truly Bush's crunch time. The US and Israel need to terminate the Iranian nuclear program and crush Hezbollah ASAP. If not the middle east will be an even bigger cluster and the WOT will eventually metastasize to our soil

[etradervic]

Olmert is definitely the wrong leader at the wrong time. I would argue that the same would apply to Baker and Gates, wrong advisers at the wrong time.
My question about W is what happened to "we will fight terrorists and those who harbor them?"
VDH mentions the "paleocons and Liberal hawks" that have "bailed" and declares that the "neocons are starting to bail." A correct redaction is that Bush has bailed on the neocons and in fact Bush of 2006 has bailed on Bush of 2001.