Qana bloodshed may trigger wider conflict in the Mideast

While opinions vary as to who bears ultimate responsibility for the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has raged since July 12, there can be no disagreement about Sunday's deadly attack in Qana in southern Lebanon that claimed the lives of more than 30 children and 12 women: It was horrific.
It doesn't matter how many times you watch the television images of the small lifeless bodies being pulled from the rubble of the house in which about 60 people had taken refuge to escape Israel's aerial bombing of Hezbollah strongholds and supply routes, the shock and revulsion are just as great as when the scenes were first flashed around the world.
Even Israelis were shaken by the loss of life and the destruction from the accidental bombing.
"I am sorry from the bottom of [my] heart for all deaths of children or women in Qana," said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in agreeing to a 48-hour pause in airstrikes beginning at 2 a.m. Monday. "We did not search them out ... they were not our enemies and we did not look for them."
But those words, sincere and heartfelt as they were, did little to appease the Arab world.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned that the entire Middle East peace could collapse because of Israel's fighting in Lebanon. The death toll in Lebanon has topped 500, while 33 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel have claimed 18 civilian lives.
"There is an urgent need for an unconditional cease-fire, which would pave the way for international efforts to end the crisis and deal with the consequences," Mubarak said in a nationwide television address.
Captured soldiers
But Israel is unwilling to consider any cease-fire until it gets back two soldiers Hezbollah guerrillas captured in the cross-boarder raid that triggered the current crisis. Prime Minister Olmert also made it clear that Israel's ultimate goal is to push Hezbollah away from his nation's border and to destroy its fighting capability.
For its part, Hezbollah has used the deaths of the children and women in Qana to fan the flames of hatred that many in the Arab world have for Israel and for the United States, its chief economic and military supporter.
Therein lies the problem.
Like Olmert, President Bush has rejected international demands for a cease-fire, saying that Hezbollah must first be crippled, and Iran and Syria must end their monetary and armament support of the Shiite militant group in order for a sustainable, permanent peace to take hold.
That position has put the U.S. at odds with just about every country with a stake in what is going on in the Middle East and threatens to ignite a regional crisis.
While the Bush administration is correct in calling for a peace agreement that ensures Israel's safety, it cannot be blind to the reality on the ground. Each death, especially of a child or a woman, adds to the rage now evident on the Arab streets.
Time is running out.
The president must act with a sense of urgency to end the fighting. Already, Syrian President Bashar Assad has called on his army to increase readiness to cope with "regional challenges."
Another incident like the one in Qana, and any hope for peace will be dashed.