Outbreak of stupidity

Some overheated pundits are calling the fighting in Lebanon the start of World War III. I'm not sure about that, but it's certainly an impressive example of the sheer stupidity that seems to rule in and around Israel. This isn't just a military competition, it's a competition to see who can be stupider.\nHezbollah, sensing opportunity, decided to attack an Israeli outpost and capture some soldiers. I'm sure they counted on Israel over-reacting as they always do. They got that part right. Presumably, they also thought that when Israel started blowing stuff up, the rest of the world would react with outrage and give Israel a black eye. Victory for Hezbollah at relatively little cost. Oops. The world community's outrage has been muted this time. Meanwhile Hezbollah's strongholds are being blasted back to 1983, and some Lebanese blame them for inciting the Israeli assault. Good thinking.\nBut Israel is also a strong contender in the contest for "stupidest act of the summer." Faced with an unprovoked attack by Hezbollah, they decided to destroy all of Lebanon. For the first time in two decades, Lebanon seemed to be on the right track. A new government was trying to reclaim authority in the country. So, obviously, Israel decides to blow up all of Lebanon's infrastructure -- guaranteeing that the new government can't control its own territory, while simultaneously antagonizing ordinary Lebanese. Brilliant.\nEven Iran is entering the competition. Some have suggested that Iran, one of Hezbollah's chief sponsors, pushed Hezbollah to attack as a way to distract global attention from their nuclear programs. The violence in Lebanon has pushed Iran's nuclear ambitions from the front page, but it hasn't built any goodwill for Iran. Instead of having one reason to be upset with Iran, now everyone has two! Sheer genius. \nEven the U.S. media comes off looking a bit clueless. Watching American media coverage, you'd think the most important aspect of the violence was evacuating American citizens. Our government has a responsibility to help Americans get out of harm's way -- and they do seem a bit slow in organizing the evacuation. That said, evacuating Westerners is NOT the story here. The destruction of Lebanon, civilian deaths on both sides and a potential seismic shift in Middle Eastern politics are all a bit more important than when cruise ships will make it to Beirut to evacuate Westerners. Way to keep the focus, U.S. media.\nThere have been a couple of intelligent voices amidst the stupidity. Lebanon's Prime Minister called on Hezbollah to return the Israeli soldiers and stop shooting rockets at Israel. He demanded that Israel stop all bombing. Finally, he admitted that his government can't control South Lebanon, and asked the international community to help police the area which would both reign in Hezbollah and remove Israel's reason for attacking Lebanon. Seems like a sensible plan. Of course no one listened to him. They were too busy being stupid.