The United States is doing worse than fiddling while Lebanon burns. In a recent New York Times there was an article detailing how the United States is speeding up the delivery of more missiles. While the actions of Hezbollah were wrong, the disproportionate Israeli response borders on war crimes. There are now approximately 30 Israeli dead but more than 400 Lebanese and Palestinian civilians dead. There are now mass graves in southern Lebanon and 900,000 civilians have now been displaced from their homes.

American options would be better, of course, if the United States had working relationships with the real players in the region – Syria and Iran – and had not destroyed our diplomatic credibility in a hopeless war in Iraq. But we need to deal with what is.

Government leaders need to take an active role in seeking an immediate cease fire and the implementation of an international peace-keeping force in southern Lebanon.

Finally, and most importantly, nothing substantial can be accomplished without a just Israel-Palestinian settlement. This means a viable Palestinian state based on 1967 borders and mutual assurances of sovereignty and security. There is every evidence that this would satisfy Hamas and the Palestinian people as well as be along the lines of past United Nations resolutions.

Steve Bien, Jay