The more dovish talking heads are calling for more diplomacy in the Middle East. What does that mean? Initiate bilateral talks with Hezbollah? Offer incentives to Assad? Send Condi to Tehran to ask for assistance?

No, the proper role for diplomacy is this: to provide a backchannel between moderate members of the Lebanese government and Israel, so those two parties can begin to plan for an eventual handover of southern Lebanon to Lebanese forces – after Hezbollah has been effectively disarmed by Israeli forces.

Diplomacy also can make it difficult for Europeans and UN officials to object, since the disarming of Hezbollah is demanded by UN Security Council Resolution 1559. If Israel doesn’t disarm Hezbollah now, no one else will later.

The more dovish talking heads are calling for more diplomacy in the Middle East. What does that mean? Initiate bilateral talks with Hezbollah? Offer incentives to Assad? Send Condi to Tehran to ask for assistance?