How to stop a regional conflagration by The New Republic

When I was a child blogger, my pappy told me, "Never become one of those what just links to other folkses sites and says 'Read the whole thing' or 'Indeed' or, most distressin' of all, 'Heh' 'cause I don't wants to know ya if ya do." Rather, I think that's what he said, although he can be a bit incoherent after the third bottle of merlot.

So it as some risk of filial impiety that I point you to Brad Delong's pointing to the New Republic Online's headline for a piece by Michael B. Oren:

To prevent a regional conflagration, Israel should attack Syria

As Professor Delong remarks, "Teh funny."

Indeed.
Heh.
Read the whole thing.

Update: Matthew Shugart points out in the comments that even the Israeli left supports a limited reprisal against military targets in Syria as a more proportionate response to Hezbollah's abduction of the soldiers. That seems like a reasonable approach if, as seems likely, Syria is behind Hezbollah's actions. I have to admit to a blogging sin in that I didn't read the Oren article, but just the DeLong post, and if that is what Oren is proposing, then I apologize.

Update 2: Well, I read the piece and I shoulda listened to my pappy. Oren proposes taking out a 500 tank armoured unit in Syria. Whether this is feasible and sensible is beyond even my Internet-rules expertise to say, but it obviously does not deserve the snark DeLong and then the Pithlord engaged in. I'll leave this post up as a lesson in not following through on the links.

Update2: Here is Michael Walzer on what Israel can and can't do within the scope of just war theory.