More than two weeks after Israel launched its countermilitary offensive against Lebanon, the Bush Administration continues to refuse to call for a cease-fire or to take other actions to rein in Israel's disproportionate response to Hezbollah's attack across its northern border. That attack, in which three Israeli soldiers were killed and two captured, was a clear violation of international law. But it was not grounds for an act of war. The US position is not only morally wrong; it thwarts the goal of securing stable and lasting peace in the region, upon which American interests and Israeli security depend.

Washington's tacit blessing of the Israeli military operations, along with its expedited resupply of Israeli munitions, means that the United States will be complicit in the death and displacement of Lebanese civilians beyond the 400 already dead and at least 600,000 displaced, as well as in added destruction of Lebanon's infrastructure and the deepening of a humanitarian crisis. In short, Washington will be implicated in what UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has called possible war crimes, which will breed more hatred for the United States and Israel throughout the Islamic world. Adding to the sense of impunity were the deaths of four UN observers by an Israeli precision-guided missile, despite what the UN said were repeated Israeli assurances that UN posts were not being targeted.

Ostensibly, White House strategy is to buy time for the Israeli military to degrade Hezbollah's capabilities while Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice builds international support for strengthening Lebanon's government and putting pressure on Syria to stop supporting Hezbollah. The overall goal is to break Hezbollah, the Administration has suggested, so that the Lebanese government can control all of Lebanon, disarming what remains of Hezbollah and securing a peaceful border with the help of international forces. But supporting Israel's military offensive makes no sense. The Israeli attacks are weakening the Lebanese government and increasing Hezbollah's popularity. Rather than breaking Hezbollah's will, the attacks will likely break the Lebanese government and society, creating another failed state and giving militias more freedom to operate.

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