bush mideast stance may flop

from ap/yahoo: The Bush administration may have badly miscalculated in insisting that any Mideast cease-fire be tied to long-term objectives. As the toll on Lebanese civilians has soared, even moderate Arab governments have turned into U.S. critics, and Hezbollah's support has climbed across the region...

"I think we made a huge mistake by giving Israel a blank check," said Michael O'Hanlon, a foreign policy analyst at the Brookings Institution. "Hezbollah, after six years of relative restraint and working inside a coalition government, is accused of kidnapping a grand total of two people. A good case could be made for not doing anything."

Bush's unnuanced support for Israel — backed by unusual allies, some congressional Democrats — is becoming an increasingly tough sell for the United States as it presses for a comprehensive package before the U.N. Security Council.