“Expanding and strengthening” the onslaught against the people of Lebanon. That was Israel’s response to the international outcry over the slaughter of 56 civilians, most of them children, in Qana. And with the world’s eyes turned to the increasingly savage offensive in southern Lebanon, Israel has tightened the noose of collective punishment around the Palestinians in Gaza. Accompanying all this are the barely concealed calls in Washington for an assault on Iran and Syria. No one should be in any doubt which way the chain of cause and effect runs. George Bush, with Tony Blair at his heel, is backing...