NeoCons' last chance....

We can only hope this is the last chance and that the NeoCons are done.

But, these people never seem to go away.

NWAnews.com :: Northwest Arkansas' News Source:

In politics, it's crucial not to be overwhelmed by irony.

Nobody knows what will happen in the Middle East. But if the U. S. and France, working through the U. N. Security Council, have succeeded in negotiating a lasting cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel, the temptation will be to make jokes. How long ago was it that a (pardon my French ) rapprochement with France would have been deemed suspect by all hairy-chested, God-fearing Americans ? Diplomacy may fail. Powerful forces inside the Bush administration are trying to circumvent it. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, like her predecessor Colin Powell, is ridiculed as an incompetent weakling by the same geniuses who predicted a 'cakewalk' in Iraq. True, Rice may not be the second coming of George Marshall, but they liked her fine when she was emitting warlike noises and 'end times' gibberish.

The stakes are higher than many Americans understand. Should the ceasefire hold, French diplomats and U. N. bureaucrats will have rescued Israel and Hezbollah from a conflict both appear to have blundered into, saving countless civilian lives. A brokered peace also would confound neo-conservative zealots eager to start what Newt Gingrich excitedly calls World War III to 'defend civilization.' As such, a cease-fire could mark the beginning of the end of a period of temporary insanity in American life. Or not.