20 new words and sentences from the dictionary of war clichés

Part 1 of the dictionary can be read here and features: "As long as it takes," "The fragile Lebanese democracy," "Hezbollah is a terror organization," "Resolution 1559," "Crossing red lines and more." In Part 2, you can read about "Disproportionate response," "We have hit a large part of their weapons arsenal," "Special envoy Vijay Nambiar," "The situation is very serious, very grave," "Israel will not be held hostage," "Everyone wants it to stop now" and more. And now - part 3:

Green light: The American green light has a down side. When you have a green light - you're expected to win!

The safe return of the two kidnapped IDF soldiers and the complete cessation of rocket fire into Israel: these are the "objectives of the operation in Lebanon" as it was announced yesterday, after Israel's Cabinet meeting. Does this mean "destroying Hezbollah" is no longer an objective?

A war of no choice (Defense Minister Peretz): It might be a justified war - but "no choice?" Ariel Sharon chose to ignore Hezbollah's provocations and abductions for more than five years, so the choice was obviously there.

The Generals: There's a popular trend among opponents of the war to blame "the Generals" for dragging the political leaders into war. I find it a hollow, juvenile claim. The government is made up of adults whose responsibility it is to accept or reject the military's suggestions. Politicians have a tendency to make scapegoats out of generals. Pundits and commentators should not.

The Lebanese army: Fantasizing about the day when the Lebanese army will be able to stand up to Hezbollah, reminded me of a famous Lyndon Johnson promise: "we are not about to send American boys to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves."

Displaced refugees: This term applies to people who had to leave their homes in Lebanon - but not Israelis who had to do the same thing.

Unacceptable: The world, in general, is an unacceptable place. The UN Commissioner for Human Rights said that certain Israeli actions constituted "foreseeable and unacceptable targeting of civilians." White House spokesman Tony Snow has said, "A cease-fire that would leave intact a terrorist infrastructure is unacceptable." One doesn't have to be a genius to understand a simple, painful, truth: In this conflict - as in many others - leaders will have to learn to accept the unacceptable.

World War III: "I wonder if this is how the summer of 1914 felt," stated Herold Meyerson at the opening of his Washington Post article, and his was one of many that use this somewhat hysterical line of argument. So, are we on the verge of a world war - starting with a minor incident and ending in a war of civilizations? It seems unlikely. But why bother looking for more subtle comparisons when one can rush straight to Armageddon?

Which brings us to...

World War III: Newt Gingrich was the most prominent figure to describe this conflict as "World War III" on the Sunday talk shows, but he wasn't the only one. He followed up this remark with a column in which he argued that "global war on terror" is an insufficient description to the nature of a conflict that "pits civilization and the rule of law against the dictatorships of Iran and Syria and the terrorist groups of Hezbollah and Hamas."

Now, he might have a point here, but this point was just as true four months ago as it was this week. So why declare a world war now? (You can read more about it my "Weekend notes" here).

Which brings me to...

Sustainable cease-fire: A Stephen Colbert joke (courtesy of Daniel Kurtzman's Political Humor) says it all:

"We're still on the road to World War III. Things were looking a little grim last week - all those countries pressuring us to call for an immediate cease-fire, but we stayed strong. Sure, we sent over Condi Rice to negotiate, but she's not there to obtain a cease-fire. No, she's there to obtain a 'sustainable cease-fire,' which considering the Middle East, is like sending her to bring back Jimmy Hoffa on a unicorn."

The second Lebanon war: The first Lebanon war took place during a different era, was fought against a different adversary, with different goals. The only aspect of this war that makes it the second Lebanon war is the fact that it is, well, in Lebanon. But I don't remember people calling the 1973 war the "third Egyptian war," or describing 1967 as the "second Jordanian war." If you're not convinced, Ze'ev Schiff wrote an interesting article about the differences between the wars. You can read it here.

Israel cannot win this war from the air alone: It sounds like a tactician's comment, it is phrased as something a military expert would say. But beware, in most cases, it's political. It can be the politics of anti-war (Israel can't win from the air, so why did it start a war). It can also be the politics of more-war (Israel can't win from the air, so it should invade Lebanon). The truth is that we don't know yet whether the war can or can't be won from the air.

We are responsible for defending our independence and the integrity of our country (Israel's chief of staff): In addition to not being World War III, this operation is also not the war of independence. Israel was quite independent before it started, and will probably stay independent (at least for the time being) after it's over, successfully or not.

Nasrallah made a mistake: I sure hope so, but what about the possibility that he was right - again, and Israel is the one making yet another wrong assessment of his capabilities?

I can confirm without exaggerating or using psychological warfare, that we have not been harmed (Nasrallah): The only imaginable reason for such a statement is psychological warfare (which doesn't necessarily mean it isn't true).

We'd love to have a cease-fire (Tony Snow): When Hezbollah runs out of ammunition.

Humanitarian Crisis: The UN's way of saying "we hate this war, we want it to stop, and we will use any possible excuse in order to make it stop."

Give diplomacy a chance to work out a practical package (Kofi Annan): Six years were not enough, but now he wants to jump in and work out a solution? Maybe it didn't change Hezbollah's leaders, but the Israeli operation is surely working miracles in the UN.

Shit (President Bush): Condi will have to spend yet another long week away from home.

More blogs and items on Lebanon

My Friday column is a joined venture with the Haaretz diplomatic correspondent, my friend and colleague, Aluf Benn. Read it here

The U.S. may have to resume talks with Syria

Big questions, great frustration

It's not World War 3