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Culture War Roundup for the week of September 16, 2024

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Who is "we" in that context? Not the country at large or its interests? By "we" did you mean the sideline popcorn-eaters? Why would it be the best they could ask for?

Yes, the popcorn-eaters. I’m sure this has been a headache for the U.S. foreign policy people who have to deal with whatever fallout comes from this. But as someone who finds organizations like Hezbollah pretty repellent, it’s very difficult to be unhappy to see their efforts stymied and their operatives harmed and humiliated.

And as someone who has a lot of fatigue and angst about seeing Arab civilians wantonly killed, both by Israel and by various other actors in the region, it’s nice to see an effort like this for a change that seems to spare civilians while still achieving strategic goals. It gives me a glimmer of hope that maybe future efforts by both Israel and others will look more like this and less like Gaza.

It gives me a glimmer of hope that maybe future efforts by both Israel and others will look more like this and less like Gaza.

I'm trying to put myself in your state of mind- you think this action by Israel is an attempt by Israel to avoid what happened in Gaza to happen in Lebanon? And that if you want that, this is the best you could ask for? It's just not grounded in reality. If you don't want what happened in Gaza to happen in Lebanon you would not be cheering this on because it's obviously a major escalation of the conflict in that direction.