Abraham Lincoln wrote on February 15, 1848

Kings had always been involving and impoverishing their people in wars, pretending generally, if not always, that the good of the people was the object.

With that in mind, take note of the Hizbullah leader’s reflections on starting a war with Israel:

…Hassan Nasrallah said Monday that had he believed, even one percent, that a war would break out following the kidnapping of two IDF soldiers, the operation would never have been launched.

Kidnapping two IDF soldiers and then firing thousands of rockets into civilian areas…he makes it sound like he made one little mistake and everything afterwards was out of his control. Reminds me of Nasrallah’s apology to his political rivals only a few months ago

for the abusive slogans against [opposition leaders] during a recent pro-Syria Shiite demonstration in South Lebanon’s market town of Nabatiyeh. […] Portraits were raised in the Nabatiyeh demonstration depicting Jumblat as a Jewish Rabbi and Tueni as a bull with long horns.

Rabbi and a bull? Sounds like the start of joke. Nasrallah apparently comes from the political “it’s better to shoot first and ask for forgiveness” school of tactics. But seriously, southern Lebanon is definitely not a bed of roses and it sounds like Nasrallah might be getting the blame for acting foolishly/selfishly. Pride is a huge issue in the region, so if Nasrallah has to back down and ask for forgiveness something must be afoot, perhaps including fractures in his organization. The big question is whether those demanding apologies will radicalize further, or (will be allowed to) pursue political opposition through democratic channels.