OK, here's the big-ticket question. Is Lebanon a mere pawn in an Iran-Israel proxy war? Sound off, readers. Ori Nir writes for The Forward, July 14:

Israel Seeks To Eliminate Iran's Hezbollah Option
WASHINGTON — In addition to securing the release of its captured soldiers and stopping the ongoing wave of missile attacks, a major goal of Israel's current operation is to strengthen its hand in dealing with Iran.

From AP, July 15:

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Thousands of demonstrators demanding the return of ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide marched to Haiti's National Palace on Saturday, pushing past riot police in a dramatic show of support for the exiled former leader.

Its hard to imagine where this will end... From the Reuters, July 15:

BEIRUT - Israel killed 35 civilians on Saturday, including 15 children, in air strikes meant to punish Lebanon for letting Hizbollah guerillas menace the Jewish state's northern border.

Note the highlighted section and sound off, readers. From the CBC, July 14:

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Friday that Pakistan is still harbouring "terrorist elements," jeopardizing the peace process between the two countries as tensions remain high in the wake of the Mumbai bombings.

Note the highlighted section and sound off, readers. From the New York Times, July 15:

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 14 — A suicide bomber struck in the southern port city of Karachi on Friday, killing a prominent Shiite leader, his 10-year-old nephew and a security guard, officials and the local news media said.

Tom Regan of the Christian Science Monitor provides this July 14 round-up of the fast-escalating Israel-Lebanon crisis and international reactions. We especially love Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon's invocation (yet again) of US atrocities in Afghanistan, and Russia's in Chechnya—as if one atrocity justifies another. It does point up, however, that Washington's criticisms of Israel (lukewarm as they are—in fact, Condoleezza Rice's "sharp" words are an implicit endorsement of Israeli aggression) are thoroughly hypocritical.

We don't know when lefties started cheering on CIA agents. But it's no weirder than the White House blowing their cover. We applaud Valerie Plame for not going along with the journalist-bashing that has infected right and left alike in this bizarre affair. The administration used journalists as mouthpieces for leaks, and then hung them out to dry—using them once again, as scapegoats. And supposed progressives like Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) played along. Compared to them, (ex-)secret agent Plame is taking the high road. From Editor & Publisher, July 14:

This is the surest sign yet that the Bush boys have been humbled. In addition to the unfavorable Supreme Court decision on the Guantanamo detainees, this July 11 AP clip notes some of the political considerations behind the decision to honor the Geneva Conventions:

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration said Tuesday that all detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in U.S. military custody everywhere are entitled to protections under the Geneva Conventions.