Israel starts to scare Billmon

But I think the most eloquent expression of Zionism without a human face was the reaction of Israel's UN ambassador (who's apparently been taking asshole lessons from John Bolton) to Kofi Annan's complaint about the deaths of four UN observers in Lebanon -- an incident which appears to have been the result of either negligance on a world-class scale or cold-blooded murder.

Dan Gillerman, Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, was more outspoken, demanding an apology. He said he was "shocked" by Annan's "premature and erroneous" accusations.

So the IDF wipes out a clearly marked, long-established UN observation post after an eight-hour artillery barrage, and Gillerman wants Annan to apologize. He sounds like some monacled Prussian general who's just been told the Belgians are complaining about the behavior of the Kaiser's troops. One can almost see the cold-eyed sneer on his face.

I've been watching events in the Middle East off and on for the past 25 years, and I've seen the Israelis get ugly before. But I can't remember a time when I've seen them this ugly -- Ariel Sharon's scowling mug excepted, of course.

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