That “robust” multi-national force Condolezza Rice wants to take over from the IDF in crushing Hezbollah is looking sicklier by the moment: NATO says it is otherwise engaged, and no one except the Italians and possibly the Turks has stepped forward to apply for the job. While Rice has so far denied there would be any American participation, the wording of her statement – as I explained in this blog post – suggested a reversal might be in the works.
And so it is. Ken Silverstein, writing in Harper’s, reports:
“A well-connected former CIA officer has told me that the Bush Administration is in fact considering exactly such a deployment. … According to the former official, Israel and the United States are currently discussing a large American role in exactly such a “multinational” deployment, and some top administration officials, along with senior civilians at the Pentagon, are receptive to the idea.”
If and when American troops take on Hezbollah, at least there won’t be any debate about whether we’re fighting a war for Israel’s sake.
