Condi Rice Comes Bearing $30 Million Pledge in Aid to Lebanon

Perhaps I should be jumping up and down for joy at the news that the U.S. has sent along a pledge of $30 million to help war-torn Lebanon recover from the massive air attacks by Israel, but I am not.

What is $30 million when the entire infrastructure of the country and nearly one million people are displaced from their homes? And frankly, under Bush, the U.S. is great at pledging aid but very poor in ever paying the pledge promised.

Should the U.S. foot the entire bill? No. I would argue, however, that we not only should increase our amount to aid Lebanon, but take it directly from the four billion ($4 BILLION, yes) we give to Israel each year. In fact, I'd suggest we give Lebanon 50-100% of Israel's next check. We're the ones who told Israel to go ahead and do what they pleased, so the Bushies are culpable in this crisis and the humanitarian disaster that has been wrought.