"Help Is On The Way"

Billmon says bitterly that this is the news:

Uncle Sam to the Rescue:
"To Do For Beirut What They Did for New Orleans"

It's actually more depressing than his facetious sub-headline suggests. Following his link to the Los Angeles Times we learn --

The Bush administration is scrambling to assemble a plan to help rebuild Lebanon, hoping that by competing with Hezbollah for the public's favor it can undo the damage the war has inflicted on its image and goals for the Middle East.

* * *
A major rebuilding investment would put the United States in the position of subsidizing both the Israeli munitions that caused the damage and the reconstruction work that will repair it.

We are so screwed. From Afghanistan to Lebanon and from the budget to our now-broken U.S. Army, the Bush administration has shown time and again it knows how to lay waste but it can't figure out how to build.