One last thought on Lebanon, before it's back to all Iraq, all the time.  The Bush Administration, at least according to the Washington Post, is hoping that Israel's operation in Lebanon will send a signal to Iran.  It's worth pointing out that the Iranians can also send signals to the US through third parties.  Once upon a time I thought that the presence of 130,000 US troops in Iraq would allow the United States to intimidate the Iranians.  As it turns out the Iranians have influence in both the Iraqi government and elements of the insurgency.  They can send signals to the United States either by making the political situation even more difficult or by helping insurgents ramp up their attacks on US soldiers and Marines.  Intimidating Iran isn't as easy as intimidating Lebanon; Iran can strike back.

 

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