Meanwhile, Ehud Olmert made nice without hesitation by declaring that a proposal by Lebanon to send 15,000 troops south to prevent attacks by Hezbollah is “interesting,” even though under the Lebanon’s watch the guerilla group has been able to amass an arsenal of thousands of missiles aimed at Israel. He also made nice big time by agreeing to put a larger offensive on hold to give the international community more time to work out a peace plan. But by Friday afternoon, he had finally had enough of make nice and announced that the larger offensive had begun.

Even Israeli defense minister, Amir Peretz, was in on the effort to make war while making nice, saying, “We are doing everything to allow these two efforts to complement each other .... We’ll see the military operation as having created the diplomatic climate and a new situation.”

Apparently, much of the Israeli cabinet wanted to make nice, too. Rafi Eitan, a cabinet minister, said on Israel radio, "There are diplomatic considerations. There is still a chance that an international force will arrive in the area. We have no interest in being in south Lebanon. We have an interest in peace on our borders."

To confirm the unusual facts before us, the standard parade of retired American generals appeared on CNN and Fox News, stating that Israel was prosecuting the war in a way that exceeds the requirements of the Geneva Accords and with more care to control collateral deaths than even the proudly idealistic US when it goes to war. And, by the way, did Harry Truman, generally recognized presidential hero but quintessential pragmatist, drop leaflets on Japan before we dropped the two A-Bombs?

If you still believe Israel erred on the side of violent excess, compare this indulgent kindness with what we heard from Hassan Nasrallah, the ruthless leader of Hezbollah, who, worst fear of all, may well live on to become a mistaken hero and, as such, a thorn of ever-festering magnitude in Israel’s quest for peaceful survival.

In a recent departure from his bunker to appear on TV, he threatened to turn southern Lebanon into "a graveyard" for the Israelis. "I say to the Zionists, you could come anywhere, invade, land airborne forces, enter this village or that, but I repeat, all this will cost you a high price.” Then, continuing with bravado as false as it is impractical, he said, “We will fight until the last bullet, as long as there's a grenade, as long as there's a rocket, there will still be fighting."