With Israeli forces close to launching a major incursion into Lebanese territory I was reminded of this classic Reagan anecdote, when Israel made its first call to the gates of Beirut in 1982. Former NSC staffer Geoffrey Kemp recalls as follows:

“Menachem, this is a holocaust” Reagan said.

“Mr. President, I think I know what a holocaust is” Begin replied, in a voice that Kemp would recall as “dripping with sarcasm”. According to Deaver, Reagan continued “in the plainest of language” to tell Begin what he thought about the bombing of Beirut, concluding by saying, “It has gone too far. You must stop it”.

Twenty-minutes later Begin called back and said he had issued the order to Sharon to stop the bombings. After he had hung up the phone Reagan said to Deaver, “I didn’t know I had that kind of power”.

(from Lou Cannon’s President Reagan, The Role of a Lifetime)

This snippet from the past is instructive on many levels, especially Reagan’s insistence combined with his astonishment over Begin’s prompt response. The reason I reprint it is not so much to suggest that George should treat Olmert in exactly the same manner, but we should be very aware that there still isn’t that much that a US president needs to do in order to direct Israeli actions. And Menachem was made of sterner stuff than Olmert, I believe.