An offer they can't refuse

The Guardian is reporting that the US has given Israel one week before Washington backs an international cease-fire, so that Israel can hit all the targets they want before the UN steps in to clean up the mess:

The Bush administration, backed by Britain, has blocked efforts for an immediate halt to the fighting initiated at the UN security council, the G8 summit in St Petersburg and the European foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.

"It's clear the Americans have given the Israelis the green light. They [the Israeli attacks] will be allowed to go on longer, perhaps for another week," a senior European official said yesterday. Diplomatic sources said there was a clear time limit, partly dictated by fears that a prolonged conflict could spin out of control.

Meanwhile, Garance at Tapped is saying that America's evacuation from Lebanon is going so slowly not just because the current regime is incompetent, but because Bushco doesn't want to make Israel seem scary to the American public. After all, the idea of the words "refugees", "fleeing", or "bombardment by Israel" showing up in the headlines is pretty bad, at least when we're talking about Americans.