Bush Declares Victory!

And therefore, since we create our own reality, it is so!

Ok, enough Colbertian snark. And I want credit for inventing the word Colbertian.

The Denver Post reports on Bush's take on the Israeli - Hezbollah conflict:

President Bush said Monday that Hezbollah guerrillas suffered a defeat at the hands of Israel in their monthlong Mideast war.

"There's going to be a new power in the south of Lebanon," Bush said.

The president also said the war was part of a broader struggle between freedom and terror and "we can only imagine how much more dangerous this conflict would be if Iran had the nuclear weapon it seeks."

Funny, other people didn't see it that way...

But Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said his guerrillas achieved a "strategic, historic victory" against Israel.

Granted, both are engaging in post-conflict spin. (Nothing, not even armed conflict is exempt from spin in Republican World.) So let's examine the facts on the ground: President Bush can only "hope the cease-fire holds." That could be difficult considering Bush gave Israel permission to strike back at Hezbollah if attacked and "six Hezbollah fighters were killed in skirmishes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah." (I thought they were defeated!) International Peace Keepers won't be ready for half a month. The Force's mandate isn't decided yet. I can't help but think there might be some delay as the U.N. sorts that out...

The Commander of the U.N.'s token force in the region, Maj. Gen. Alain Pellegrini, has already said that, the area is "not safe from a provocation, or a stray act, that could undermine everything." I'm certain that there aren't any extremists in the region who would actually seek that sort of provocation...

The real problem is that, "the guerrilla organization emerged from the conflict with far broader support in Lebanon and the rest of the Arab world than it had going into the fight, meaning it will be harder for the Lebanese government to enforce international demands for Hezbollah's disarmament."

What the article doesn't mention is that many in the Arab world see Israel as an American proxy. The guns, bombs, and warplanes used by Israel are American made. The Bush Administration's less than even-handed conduct during the peace negotiations didn't do anything to dissuade an already angry Arab Street from thinking that America was interested in their concerns.

And since George W. Bush refuses to have any sort of dialogue with Iran, Hezbollah's chief supporter and financier, it's unlikely that any sort of lasting peace will emerge from this, despite what Bush may say.

George W. Bush Israel Lebanon Hezbollah