Bomb Lebanon. Gently Please.

The Brookings Institute, an influential American think tank, has released its recommendations for “A More Viable U.S. Strategy For Lebanon” (pdf). Amid the various recommendations -some of which can be described as sensible- is this odd one:

- Washington should take concrete diplomatic action to prevent Israel from using excessive force against Lebanon during times of military confrontation with Hizballah, as largescale punitive operations by Israel against Lebanon are counterproductive and undermine American interests in Lebanon.

The key word, as the Friday Launch Club points out, is “excessive”. Which is fancy talk for saying: Israel can kill hundreds of people, but not thousands. And that is supposed to somehow soften the Lebanese perception of US bias towards Israel.