If I were a cartoonist I would draw a boxing ring. In one corner, a Goliath-sized boxer with Israel printed on his trunks. Behind him his coach, with US printed on his skivvy. In the other corner, a David-sized boxer with Hizbollah printed on his shorts, and behind him his coach, with Iran printed on his skivvy. In the centre of the ring, a crater. Maybe it's already been done.

I've heard several Jewish commentators talking about the long arm of Iran being behind Hizbollah, but only one talking about the long arm of Bush2's Umeruhca being behind Israel. The discrepancy matches the kill count. As of this writing 445 Lebanese and other nationalities and 51 Israelis are dead, while Israeli shelling has displaced some 750,000 Lebanese. The number of Israeli displaced is possibly insignificant.

The war is into its 17th day, but the Rome talks, lasting a mere three hours, failed to come up with a responsible cease-fire agreement. Only Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora appeared to correctly assess the situation. Perhaps his message fell on the deaf ears of the other diplomats, absorbed, as they no doubt were, with the grand luncheon menu.

After they all departed with burps and farts, Israel took their indecision as a green light to continue the deadly assault on Lebanon. "Yesterday in Rome we in effect obtained the authorisation to continue our operations until Hezbollah is no longer present in southern Lebanon," Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon told Army Radio.

The US refuses to condemn Israel's actions, either in general, or, in particular, the killing of UN peacekeepers. That's what we came to expect from the Soviet Union back in the old days. The US has long become the New Soviet. Since Bush2's first stolen election, to be exact. The reason for their action is simple. They want Israel to provoke Syria so they can do an Iraq on Iran.

One wonders how much of the heartrending Lebanese refugee coverage is being shown on Israeli television. Probably very little. They will be getting a lot of triumphant bombardment footage though. Here in Australia we have watched for over two weeks the thousands of bewildered, bloody, shell-shocked people trying to escape the Israeli blitzkrieg.

And now we hear that Israel may be using chemical weapons.

The Lebanese killed by Israeli air raids are charred in a way local doctors, who have lived through years of civil war and Israeli occupation, say they have not seen before.

Bachir Cham, a Belgian-Lebanese doctor at the Southern Medical Centre in Sidon, received eight bodies after an Israeli air raid that he said exhibited such wounds. He has taken samples from the bodies to test for what killed them. He believes it is a chemical.

Dr Cham said the bodies of some victims were "black as shoes, so they are definitely using chemical weapons. They are all black but their hair and skin is intact so they are not really burnt … If you burnt someone with petrol, their hair would burn and their skin would burn down to the bone. The Israelis are 100 per cent using chemical weapons."

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud has repeatedly accused Israel of using phosphorous bombs in its offensive.

If this is true, then Ehud Olmert should stand in the dock along side Saddam Hussein for war crimes. Sooner or later he and his stand-ins for Dr Strangelove's Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper will have to face a population dishonoured.

Bush2's original Axis of Evil: Iraq, Iran and North Korea, should now be expanded to include Israel and his own country.

-- Chet LaMerde