Quote of the Day: "We can only imagine how much more dangerous this conflict would be if Iran had the nuclear weapon it seeks."

That was George W. Bush during today's press conference, speaking about the armed conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. And just as Bush and company are wont to do, the President had to go out of his way to bait the Iranians while refusing to place any of the blame at the feet of the Israelis.

President Bush declared Lebanon a front in the "global war on terrorism" Monday, equating the Israeli battle against Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas to the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Bush said Hezbollah and its supporters in Iran and Syria were responsible for the 34-day war, and called that conflict "part of a broader struggle between freedom and terror." (Watch Bush blame Hezbollah, Iran and Syria for the crisis -- 2:06)

Bush said the U.N. resolution that took effect early Monday was an "important step that will help bring an end to the violence."

He said the conflict was a win for his administration's policy of encouraging democracy in the Middle East and a defeat for Hezbollah, discounting a claim of victory issued by the Shiite Muslim militia's leader earlier Monday.

Encouraging democracy? If what Israel did to Lebanon over the last month can be construed as encouraging democracy, then perhaps communism deserves a makeover and a fresh new look for next spring. Lebanon has been held up as a shining example of democracy and economic development in the Middle East. Its mix of ethnicities and religions was to be an example for the rest of the region of how people could co-exist peacefully.

So what do the neo-cons and Israel do? They, almost literally, bomb the country back twenty years. Members of Lebanon's Shia community, in particular, voted in democratic elections to have members of Hezbollah serve in Lebanon's government on their behalf. I thought that was what democracy was all about, regardless of who the people may vote for. It's their choice, isn't it, in a democracy?

Apparently not if you're the Bush administration and you don't like who they voted for. Of course, this kind of makes some sense when one considers that Bush's very own vice president, Dick Cheney, referred to those who voted for Ned Lamont over Joe Lieberman as being supportive of al Qaeda. Maybe the plan is to bomb Hartford next?

The neo-con war machine drones on...and on...and on. Clearly, the stage is being set for eventual armed conflict with Iran, which Seymour Hersh's recent article in The New Yorker would seem to confirm. The actions by Israel and its U.S. supporters were a mere dry run for future action targeting Tehran.

Here we go again.