Dear Mr. President,

I hope you had a good time at the G-8 Summit. You were clearly in your element: sitting with a bunch of other powerful rich people who were slightly intimidated by you. I hear you even had an excellent pig roast. Good on you.

Here's the thing: kids are dying. Hezbollah crossed the border in a warlike act of provocation. I've heard you say something about that. But now Israel is hauling off without strategic significance, hitting civilian targets in a sovereign nation. They're building a storyline about Syrian and Iranian involvement, one which your surrogates have sustained.

They've also said that you're "deeply engaged" in the crisis. But then I heard that
you haven't even spoken with the Israeli Prime Minister. Not to offer support, not to preach restraint, not to counsel, not to protect American interests.

I have one little question.

Where in the fuck are you?

For decades American involvement has been crucial in relieving tensions in the Middle East and moving towards peace. When we engage, things are diffuse. When we disengage it's a tinderbox. Such is the magnitude of our power, and you may not like it, but that's the world in which we live.

We have a strategic reason to get very involved in this crisis. 135,000 American troops aren't that far away, and this conflict absolutely makes then less safe. There are 25,000 Americans in Lebanon that we're just now starting to mobilize for evacuation, five days into the fighting.

That we need to evacuate Americans at all proves that civilians are in danger. Yet we haven't sent an envoy to the region. The Secretary of State is busy attending a production of "Spamalot" in St. Petersburg, I guess, instead of getting her ass into the area and practicing some diplomacy. You know, her job.

I've heard the Secretary of State call for restraint in the same kind of way Willy Wonka would say "No, please, stop" before the kids at his factory met their fate. I don't know if you get that reference. They remade the movie last year. There isn't any talk about climate change in it, so you're free to go.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the world is desperate for leadership. You're obviously hoping that Israel might take care of the Middle East's problems for you, but that's extremely unlikely. The Arab-Israeli conflict, now and forever, creates more tension, recruits more terrorists, and represents the greatest threat to global peace the world over. You've talked about this "road map" to peace as if it's still an option; it's been dead for years. By hoping and wishing that Israel and Palestine will sort out their differences on their own while you clear brush, you've let the rejectionists in the region control the process. Whenever a flicker of peace is raised, they attack, like this past week in Gaza and northern Israel. These elements don't want peace and you're doing nothing to put pressure on those that would stop them.

The Arab-Israeli conflict is difficult, rooted in religious ideologies that range back thousands of years. You see the world in black and white. You maybe don't welcome things that are difficult. But to disengage because the situation refuses to wrap itself up in a pretty little package is criminally negligent.

Your actions thus far in the Middle East have been crippling. Attacking Iraq did not make Israel safer. There was no Arab Spring. Democracy hasn't flourished. Maybe you don't have a chance to redeem yourself by stepping into this conflict and working to stop the violence. Maybe you don't want that at all. Maybe you want Israel to act as a proxy against bigger foes like Syria and Iran so you don't have to worry about them either. But we all know that's not likely to turn out well. You can't just deny reality, stick your head in the sand and stumble along without concern for the dangerous outcomes likely to burgeon.

Or maybe you can. It's worked for you thus far.

I'm not asking, I'm telling with this. GET YOUR ASS TO ISRAEL. Get involved. Make something happen. As a citizen of the world, I demand you to do so. The world is looking for leaders. Their absence these last few years have led us where we are today. Will you lead?

Or will you have some more pig?

[UPDATE] I notice Josh Marshall has pretty much said the same thing as I, without using the word "fuck," no mean feat.