Lebanon = "birth pangs"

I was disturbed to read that Israeli air strikes had killed 57 civilians, 37 children. I thought it was wrong to bomb a residential building, where 2 extended families, who couldn't afford to evacuate, were seeking refuge.

But then I remembered that what is happening in Lebanon is a natural birthing process. As secretary of state and midwifery, Condoleeza Rice pointed out last week, "What we're seeing here, in a sense, is the growing -- the birth pangs of a new Middle East. And whatever we do, we have to be certain that we are pushing forward to the new Middle East, not going back to the old one. "

Condy won't call for a cease-fire until her lamaze coaching duties are over, until the Middle East "push[es] forward a baby democracy called "Lebanon". Condy's 2 other democratic offspring, promising problem child "Iraq", 3 years old, and cute but hyper-active 6-moth old "Palestine" are excited to have a new sibling to play with. Because the 2 siblings were getting on each others' nerves.