message for clowner …..

‘The British government issued a fierce condemnation of Israel's bombing campaign in Lebanon last night as world leaders desperately sought a last-minute deal to avert a ground war.

As Israeli tanks massed on the border and troops made sporadic raids on Lebanese villages, Foreign Office minister Kim Howells claimed Israel was not inflicting "surgical strikes" but waging war on "the entire Lebanese nation".

His outburst appeared to shift the British position, which has so far been to support Israel's action while cautioning restraint.

The furious round of international diplomacy, in the shadow of a return to full-scale war in the Middle East, came in advance of a visit to the region by American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today and an international "peace conference" in Italy on Wednesday.

But Howells, who was in Beirut overseeing the evacuation of thousands of Britons and who will travel to Israel today, gave a dramatic signal that many senior government figures are in despair over the failure to bring a halt to the fighting.

"I very much hope that the Americans understand what's happening to Lebanon," he said. "The destruction of the infrastructure, the death of so many children and so many people. These have not been surgical strikes.

"And it's very, very difficult, I think, to understand the kind of military tactics that have been used.

"You know, if they're chasing Hezbollah, then go for Hezbollah. You don't go for the entire Lebanese nation."

His comments underlined growing frustration at the failure to agree a lasting ceasefire to end the conflict - and hinted at a split between the Foreign Office and Tony Blair, who has taken a more emollient line towards Israel.’

British Attack Israeli Tactics In Lebanon