The Anti-Bush Movement

Peter Grier writes in the Christian Science Monitor: "As the fighting between Israel and Hizbullah passes the one-month mark, it has grown from a skirmish into a swirling conflict with a geopolitical impact that could rival the iconic wars of modern Middle Eastern history.

"At stake may be the US push for democracy in the region, the influence of radical Islamists in surrounding states, and the progress of Iran's nuclear program - not to mention the futures of both Israel and Lebanon. . . .

"But the US decision to, in essence, allow Israel time to continue its assault has sounded harsh to much of the Middle East. Anti-Americanism in the region was already on the rise, said Hisham Milhem, Washington correspondent for the Lebanese daily Al-Nahar.

"Now, 'it is the new religion in the Middle East,' said Milhem at a recent conference at the Brookings Institution in Washington."

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora himself pleads on The Washington Post op-ed page for an immediate, unconditional and comprehensive cease-fire and the withdrawal of the Israeli army -- most distinctly not the U.S. position.

"Enough destruction, dispossession, desperation, displacement and death! Lebanon must be allowed to reclaim its position in this troubled region as a beacon of freedom and democracy where justice and the rule of law prevail, and as a refuge for the oppressed where moderation, tolerance and enlightenment triumph."

The War in Iraq

The Associated Press reports: "U.S. Rep. Howard Coble, a close ally of President Bush, said the White House should admit that U.S. mistakes have plagued the post-invasion occupation of Iraq.

" 'Candor is not a sign of weakness,' the 11-term Republican from Greensboro said Monday. 'People in my district who stood in line to vote for President Bush aren't happy about Iraq.' "

Harol Meyerson writes in his Washington Post opinion column that "the role of American soldiers in an intra-Islamic conflict is impossible to plausibly articulate. . . .

"For the Bush administration, then, any admission that the Iraqi civil war is in fact a civil war destroys whatever remains of its justification for our presence there. . . .

"Which is why Bush remains determined to dispute any such characterization. 'You know, I hear people say, well, civil war this, civil war that,' he told reporters at his Crawford, Tex., ranch on Monday. 'The Iraqi people decided against civil war when they went to the ballot box. And a unity government is working to respond to the will of the people. And, frankly, it's quite a remarkable achievement on the political front, and the security front is where there's been troubles.'

"As long as there's an Iraqi government, apparently, there can be no civil war in Iraq. Another problem solved in the neat little world of George Bush."