Hooray for Condi!

The only way to ensure peace between warring factions is for one side or the other to be defeated and for the winner to impose terms of surrender upon the loser.

That sounds harsh, I know. And certainly the winners can be beligerent in victory and impose terms so harsh or humiliating as to set the table for future violence. (World War II may have been avoided if the terms following World War I hadn't been so humiliating to Germany.) But what other time in history has peace been established without a clear victory first?

Can't think of any? Me either.

Thankfully, the Bush Administration, unlike past administrations, seems to understand this. Secretary of State, Conoleeza Rice, has resisted the common urge to call for an immediate cease fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

An immediate cease fire would stop Israel from defeating the terrorist thugs that started this current war. It would also allow those same terrorists to regroup and prepare for another wave of violence.

Instead, Rice calls for more comprehensive terms for a cease fire. These terms are apparently unacceptable to Hezbollah. So the fighting continues.

Good. This buys time (and signals U.S. approval) for Israel to continue to take the battle to Hezbollah.

It's about time the U.S. stopped hindering a sovereign nation - an ally of ours - from defending itself from brutal murderers.