Former Secretary of State Warren Christopher weighs in today on the Israel-Hizballah war, and his stunning obtuseness is revealed by facts that he himself cites but fails to comprehend.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's just-concluded trip to Lebanon, Israel and Rome was an exercise in grace, bravery and, to my regret, wrongly focused diplomacy...

My own experience in the region underlies my belief that in the short term we should focus our efforts on stopping the killing. Twice during my four years as secretary of state we faced situations similar to the one that confronts us today. Twice, at the request of the Israelis, we helped bring the bloodshed to an end...

What do these episodes teach us?

First, as in 1996, an immediate cease-fire must take priority, with negotiations on longer-term arrangements to follow.

Second, if a cease-fire is the goal, the United States has an indispensable role to play...

Finally, Syria may well be a critical participant in any cease-fire arrangement, just as it was in 1993 and 1996.

It never occurs to Mr. Christopher that this endless routine of periodic violence exists because each flare-up is prematurely terminated with an inherently fragile and unstable cease-fire that merely serves as a safe harbor period in which Hizballah can re-arm and re-constitute itself. He is too blind to realize that it is precisely his prescription that perpetuates the pattern, and that the only way to break it is to allow Israel to destroy Hizballah or, at least, deal it a sufficently damaging blow as to weaken its, and Iran's and Syria's, reputation. Mr. Christopher may draw three lessons, but they are entirely wrong.

Likewise, Leslie Gelb imitates Mr. Christopher's fundamental misunderstanding of the situation.

in the face of...new limits on Israel's military effectiveness [ed -that Israel plays by rules of war while Hizballah engages in the characteristically cowardly tactics employed by all Muslim militants] and the growing political power of regional radicals [ed -which weakness and vacillation only serve to embolden], the stance of the Bush administration is hard to understand. Mr. Bush backs Israel's desire to delay a cease-fire, so that Israeli forces can continue pounding Lebanon even against the rising tide of Arab anger. He also sends Condoleezza Rice on a slow-motion diplomatic journey to the Mideast.

The only interesting and promising twist seems to be a new U.S. desire to split Sunni Syria away from Shiite Iran, and thereby deny Tehran its conduit for arms and money to fellow Shiite Hezbollah. But Mr. Bush spoils this good possibility by asking the weak Saudis and Egyptians to play this Damascus card, rather than tasking Ms. Rice directly. In 1996, Secretary of State Warren Christopher tapped the table vigorously in Damascus to arrange the cease-fire that endured until last month.

A cease-fire that endured? He may be the "president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations," but Mr. Gelb hasn't got a clue about Hizballah's aims. Those periods of calm were not signs of heartfelt love from Hizballah to the Jewish state, but merely time for Katyusha shopping sprees. Violent Muslims view their jihad to conquer the dar al-harb and establish a global caliphate to rule over all dhimmi in a generational timeframe. A couple-year cease-fire in which to build arsenals to attack the infidels is nothing to them; but to the ignorant Mr. Gelb it's a sign of diplomatic success.

If the definition of insanity is to repeat the same actions over and over while expecting different results, Christopher and his ilk are downright nuts. Militant Islam must be utterly destroyed. Militant Muslims are like any other animals: they respond to positive and negative reinforcement. If you reward their aggression with concessions, you invite more aggression. If you want to deter their aggression, you must respond with negative reinforcement. It is really that simple.

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