"I trust you will agree that, given the present "civilian" causulties found in Lebanon, ("1183 dead " including over 400 hezbollah members) the IDF took extraordinary measures to reduce civilian causualties to the absolute minimum consistant with the defense of Israeli civilians, and was certainly NOT deliberatly targeting civilians."

You're kidding! Right!

That's 2/3's of the dead are civilians causalties! That's targeting who & what? Please! I'm sure that those 400 dead Hezbollah members can be confirmed correctly, right, just as the returned kidnapped victims weren't mistaken idenities prior to there return. Had they been dead they wouldn't have been returned & they would still be members of Hazbollah. I'd say that the pecentage is closer to 3/4 at the very least that would be civilians if not a lot more.

Israel is not concerned with it's survival, if that were the case they'd have a peace 24/7 year in & year out, year after year, all they'd only need to do is talk without being so stubbon & try using an unknown term to them, called "comprize with compassion" instead of being the "bulling bastard" that they're known for (could the US be at all a wee bit responsible for the foster that type of attitude, in a backyard/backroom sort of way, I think so). This tit for tat game has been just to good to stop playing now. It's a very handy game to play when the rules are abou to change each time it's played & the spin on the blame is oh so worthy of the players, those that can afford to play that is.

Mind you that since it's coming to light, not to surprizingly, that both were being backed by powers much large than themselves, is this headed for a more blantant confrontation between the US & Iran?

I'd say that there's more pushing & shoving going on between these two (Iran & the US) & it's being played out on the fields of the two smaller at their expense & that the only players that have a real say in the matter are these same two with the UN doing it's best to referee one nation that's not within their grasp & a second nation that doesn't even recognize it & is able to play it for it's fool (guess who's who).

Soon it won't matter with the way things are going (do you really think it's getting better?) the spill over it will soon suck the rest of their neighbors in & that'll soon turn it into a global conflict. Keep making excuses for both sides. One is gonna have to give a bit more than the other & usually for that to work it's gonna have to be the big guy giving a little more than the little guy. If both feel that they need to survive. Which at this point the world would be might just be better off if neither suceeded at this rate. They'll still be pointing bony fingers from under their graves.

Barry