Still scratching my head

This morning on the news a report about the massive conveys of American suuplies that will go into Lebanon to help the humanitarian disaster there.
Negotiations with Israel are needed to insure that the convoys can come safely by road via North Lebanon and the ships via the harbor of Beirut.

Other news sources this weekend report that the Bush administration is quickly (and without much discussion) sending smart bombs to Israel so that the attacks can be carried out with more precision, limiting civilian casualties.

Let me try to understand this: out of one corner of our mouth we give the tacit green light to Israel for its attacks and the corresponding collateral (civilian) damage, and out of the other corner of our mouth we send millions of dollars of supplies and have to negotiate with Israel to get the supplies there safely.

And apparently the only means we have at our disposal to limit civilian casualties is to send smart bombs.

I continue to be amazed at the weakness of the U.S. government.

Sandy Berger commented that Condoleeza Rice isn't going to any Arab country on this trip to the Middle East because no country wants her. His comment (paraphrased): "No one there trusts the U.S., and there is no one there who can serve as interlocuter." (This word is listed in the Tiscali dictionary of difficult words. If you didn't know what it means, you're probably not the only one.)

If your only weapon is a hammer, you don't need anybody to translate or explain anything.