From my point of view, last week's most meaningful event was my participation in the AIPAC conference which took place in Washington. AIPAC is the biggest and most significant pro-Israel organization that exists in the United States. It acts as a lobby to the Senate and Congress and it succeeds, almost always, in passing legislation that is favorable to Israel.
Amid the excitement of last week's events - the announcement of negotiations with Syria and the developments in the latest Olmert corruption scandal - not enough attention was paid to the most significant event of the week: the fall of Lebanon in oil-rich Qatar.
In negotiations that took place under the sponsorship of the Qatari ruler, the Lebanese government surrendered to the demands of Hizbullah and Syria: the pro-Syrian military chief General Michel Suleiman was nominated for the presidency, Hizbullah would appoint a third of cabinet ministers (11 out of 30), Fuad Saniora would no longer remain prime minister and Hizbullah's demands for the renewed division of voting areas which would enhance its Parliament representation in the next election was also approved. Under Lebanese law, a third of government ministers have veto power on every decision. The moment 11 ministers are Hizbullah members, every decision made in Lebanon has to first be approved by Teheran and Damascus.
The killing of a senior Islamic Jihad operative in the West Bank and the renewal of attacks on the western Negev last week only illustrated further the threat posed by Islamic terror.
These incidents brought to light the purpose of using targeted killings against senior operatives who are known to be carrying high-trajectory weapons aimed at our cities - we're not just talking about Sderot anymore and the areas in the western Negev, we are now also talking about our cities in the north.
In order to understand the answer, one must be aware of these fundamental facts:
Claire L. Alexander New Orleans Louisiana USA: President Bush has consistently extended the hand of friendship to Putin and the Russian people. It was done with a sincere desire to pull Russia into the modern world of Western democratic nations. Forging economic and cultural ties with the West has been beneficial to both countries. Working together to solve many of Russia's problems has allowed both Russians and Americans to realize how much we have in common. Each with a very different history, still both are Christian nations with a Caucasian majority. The goals of one is not so different from the other. It is the means and methods.....
James, new york: Russia is not better to deal with than Germany and Poland. It only has oil and lots of other stuff necessary for a good economy. Neither Poland, nor Germany aspire to rule the world. Neither Germany nor Poland have financed or supplied military technology to the neigboring arab countries for over half a century. Neither German nor Polish governments use Chabad or some other Jewish movement to instill appropriate political views upon their Jewish subjects.
Daniel Fischer Wilmington, Delaware, USA: It is of course good to consider these lessons, but also acknowledge their context. Given that Israel's position is very much embedded in the conflict which the United States is now embroiled in, and considering the significant posturing that the U.S. has taken part in regarding the Israel and its enemies (albiet somewhat transient at times) I think it is safe to say that the other big lesson to learn is the one that is always there in big red letters: posturing from the rest of the world can ultimately make or break a victory.