This tight-knit group of "defense intellectuals"

* rasti:

"Something weird has been going on in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan. There have been a lot of landmine explosions lately. Somehow, I have the feeling that many of the landmine reports are as genuine as the reports of exploding gas cannisters at Manavgat. Somehow, I suspect that the reports of "landmine" explosions have more to do with Turkish propaganda against the PKK's recent signing of the non-state actors' equivalent of the Ottawa Treaty, in both Geneva and at Qandîl."

* haaretz:

"Israelis have grown used to a different kind of American embrace - less instrumental, more emotional, but also responsible. A dependable friend, ready to lend a guiding hand back to the path of stabilization when necessary.

After this crisis will Israel belatedly wake up to the implications of the tectonic shift that has taken place in U.S.-Middle East policy?
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Ten years later, as Netanyahu languishes in the opposition, as head of a small Likud faction, Perle, Feith and their neoconservative friends have justifiably earned a reputation as awesome wielders of foreign-policy influence under George W. Bush.

The key neocon protagonists, their think tanks and publications may be unfamiliar to many Israelis, but they are redefining the region we live in. This tight-knit group of "defense intellectuals" - centered around Bill Kristol, Michael Ledeen, Elliott Abrams, Perle, Feith and others - were considered somewhat off-beat until they teamed up with hawkish well-connected Republicans like Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Newt Gingrich, and with the emerging powerhouse of the Christian right.
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Disentangling Israeli interests from the rubble of neocon "creative destruction" in the Middle East has become an urgent challenge for Israeli policy-makers....
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Israel does have enemies, interests and security imperatives, but there is no logic in the country volunteering itself for the frontline of an ideologically misguided and avoidable war of civilizations.
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Beyond that, Israel and its friends in the United States should seriously reconsider their alliances not only with the neocons, but also with the Christian Right. The largest "pro-Israel" lobby day during this crisis was mobilized by Pastor John Hagee and his Christians United For Israel, a believer in Armageddon with all its implications for a rather particular end to the Jewish story. This is just asking to become the mother of all dumb, self-defeating and morally abhorrent alliances. "

man - there sure is a whole lotta 'Clean Break' talk about these days. it's almost as though some crazy people actually think that the Lebanon invasion was part of a plan, and are scared of what else is in store.