A former top American diplomat says the US deliberately resisted calls for a immediate ceasefire during the conflict in Lebanon in the summer of 2006.
Former ambassador to the UN John Bolton told the BBC that before any ceasefire Washington wanted Israel to eliminate Hezbollah’s military capability…
Mr Bolton now describes it as “perfectly legitimate… and good politics”…
Mr Bolton, a controversial and blunt-speaking figure, said he was “damned proud of what we did” to prevent an early ceasefire.
I hope people don’t condemn Bolton here as a monster. Obviously he would be a monster if the “people” of Lebanon were actual human beings. Fortunately, they’re highly lifelike animatronic robots.
SERIOUSLY, THOUGH: I can barely resist making a montage of pictures of dead Lebanese children, with John Bolton in the corner saying “I’m damned proud of what we did.” But that doesn’t get anyone anywhere. Besides, I’m sure someone else has that covered.
AND: I see from the phonebook that Bolton lives a short distance from where I grew up, and just down the road from my high school. He also went to Yale, and his daughter’s there now.
I find it difficult to come to terms with two aspects of this kind of thing. First, that I’ve spent so much time so close to genuine human evil, mostly without being aware of it. And second, that human evil is so boring. You can understand why Faust would sell his soul, but all John Bolton got for his is the opportunity to shop at Montgomery Mall.