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Gil Hoffman / Jerusalem Post:
Israel threatens to resume war if Hizbullah refuses to disarm — The IDF will have to resume operations in Lebanon if the expanded United Nations force being assembled does not fulfill its obligation to dismantle Hizbullah, an official in the Prime Minister's Office warned on Tuesday.
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John Kifner / New York Times:
Hezbollah Leads Work to Rebuild, Gaining Stature — As stunned Lebanese returned Tuesday over broken roads to shattered apartments in the south, it increasingly seemed that the beneficiary of the destruction was most likely to be Hezbollah. — A major reason — in addition to its hard-won reputation …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Liberty and Justice, The Huffington Post, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Israel Matzav and Boker tov, Boulder!
Washington Post:
Hezbollah Balks At Withdrawal From the South — Hezbollah refused to disarm and withdraw its fighters from the battle-scarred hills along the border with Israel on Tuesday, threatening to delay deployment of the Lebanese army and endangering a fragile cease-fire.
Discussion:
Haaretz, Financial Times, DEBKAfile, Ynetnews, Blue Crab Boulevard, The Strata-Sphere and Israel Matzav
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
After the Bombs, Politics — The Lebanon war was damaging for Israel, the United States and, most of all, Lebanon itself. But it may have taught everyone a lesson that will be immensely important to the future of the Middle East: The solutions to the big problems that afflict the region are not military but political.
Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Israel: Game On If Hezbollah Keeps Weapons
Israel: Game On If Hezbollah Keeps Weapons
Discussion:
Riehl World View
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Dem angst escalates — A group of Senate Democrats is growing increasingly angry about Sen. Joe Lieberman's (D-Conn.) campaign tactics since he lost the Democratic primary last week. — If he continues to alienate his colleagues, Lieberman could be stripped of his seniority within …
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New York Times:
New Lieberman Retooling Race as Independent — Just one week ago, national Democrats united to try to nudge Senator Joseph I. Lieberman out of his race for re-election after his defeat at the hands of his antiwar rival, Ned Lamont, in the Connecticut Democratic primary.
New York Times:
Iraqi Death Toll Rose Above 3,400 in July — July appears to have been the deadliest month of the war for Iraqi civilians, according to figures from the Health Ministry and the Baghdad morgue, reinforcing criticism that the Baghdad security plan started in June by the new Iraqi government has failed.
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Kathy Gannon / Associated Press:
Lebanese rescuer 'Green Helmet' injured — TYRE, Lebanon - A civil defense worker who has drawn controversy for holding up the bodies of children killed in Lebanon said Tuesday he was lightly injured fighting a weekend fire sparked by an Israeli bomb. — Salam Daher, dubbed the Green Helmet …
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Times of London:
German troops may face Jews - as part of mission for peace — From Roger Boyes in Berlin and Richard Beeston in Beirut — GERMANY was poised yesterday to shatter its most enduring postwar taboo by sending troops into the cauldron of Lebanon, where they risk coming into direct conflict with Israelis.
Independent:
Robert Fisk: In the face of Bush's lies, it's left to Assad to tell the truth — In the sparse Baathist drawing rooms of Damascus, reality often seems a long way away. But it was a sign of the times that President Bashar al-Assad was able to bring the great and the good of Damascus …
Discussion:
Informed Comment
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Condoleezza Rice / Washington Post:
A Path To Lasting Peace — For the past month the United States has worked urgently to end the violence that Hezbollah and its sponsors have imposed on the people of Lebanon and Israel. At the same time, we have insisted that a truly effective cease-fire requires a decisive change from the status quo that produced this war.
Larry O'Dell / Associated Press:
Allen Sorry for Calling Man 'Macaca' — RICHMOND, Va. — Sen. George Allen apologized Tuesday for remarks that offended a man of Indian descent who was tracking the Republican's re-election campaign for Democratic challenger Jim Webb. — S.R. Sidarth said he felt Allen was singling …
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Guardian:
Liberal agonies — Leader — "Why are the liberals always on the other side?" asks the fictional French military commander Colonel Mathieu when he is challenged, in The Battle for Algiers, for using torture to fight terror. The film suggests that torture works as a tool of immediate necessity …
New York Times:
Bush Said to Be Frustrated by Level of Public Support in Iraq — President Bush made clear in a private meeting this week that he was concerned about the lack of progress in Iraq and frustrated that the new Iraqi government — and the Iraqi people — had not shown greater public support …
Edmund Blair / Reuters:
Iran says won't back down over atomic rights — TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday Iran would not yield to Western pressure to give up its home-grown nuclear technology. — His comments came days before an August 22 deadline Iran set itself to respond …
Discussion:
Liberty and Justice
Art Levine / Salon:
Salon's shameful six — There was Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004. Here are the six states where vote suppression could cost voters their voice — and Democrats the election — in 2006. — Eva Steele has a son in the military who is supposed to be fighting for freedom in Iraq …
Nicholas Bakalar / New York Times:
Coffee as a Health Drink? Studies Find Some Benefits — Coffee is not usually thought of as health food, but a number of recent studies suggest that it can be a highly beneficial drink. Researchers have found strong evidence that coffee reduces the risk of several serious ailments …
Discussion:
Donklephant