Lebanon's Cry For Help

From NRO's the Tank:

Senior parliamentarian Walid Jumblatt, under heavy security, appeared on Lebanese television last night and sent letters to several heads of state appealing for help in completing the presidential elections under UN Resolution 1559.

The several heads of state were:

Saudi Arabian king Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz
Jordanian King Abdullah II
US President George Bush
Russian president Vladimir Putin
French president Nicholas Sarkozy
Chinese president Liu Chimeng
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Zapatero
Italian Prime minister Romano Prodi
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
President of the European Parliament
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Mun
political coordinator of the European Union
Javier Solana
Secretary-General of the Arab League
members of the US Senate
the American House of representatives
a number of party leaders and the European Socialist International

Beats me why Jumblatt compiled so lengthy a distribution list. Most of these characters either have a vested interest in Lebanon's dismemberment or don't give a rat's ass either way. Syria, as Iran's stooge, carries far greater cachet in the UN than poor, sadsack Lebanon does. Heck, Jumblatt might as well don a skullcap and pretend to be Ehud Olmert for all the good his letter is going to accomplish.

W. Thomas Smith doesn't mince words:

The situation here is critical, and Lebanon is strategically vital to the national security interests of the United States.

Given that Syria is Lebanon's principle enemy, I would say that assessment is correct.

The road to Operation Syrian Freedom beckons yet again. We didn't take it when we had the chance and have eschewed it ever since. I wish I could believe that Walid Jumblatt's plea might move the Bushies off that drearily tiresome schneid.