July 14, 2006

Time for Diplomacy in Lebanon

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Haaretz is calling for a ceasefire in Lebanon: “If the aim is really to drive the Hezbollah forces from the [Israel-Lebanon] border, it is possible that an agreement on this issue can already be reached by the relevant parties.” Indeed.

Meanwhile, Michael Young in the New York Times makes the point raised here yesterday—Israel can certainly go to the international community and get support for the disarmament of Hezbollah, using Security Council resolution 1559 as a “cudgel.” Would Hezbollah obey? Possibly. Anthony Shadid reports that the group may have lost much standing in Lebanon after its latest antics, which have, among other things, provoked a response that has ruined the country’s tourist season, one of its few major sources of income. (As a bonus link, check out the Los Angeles Times on whether Syria and Iran instigated this crisis by using Hezbollah as a proxy—basically, it’s not at all clear.)

So there’s all the makings of a possible diplomatic resolution to this crisis. It at least needs to be tried. But the Bush administration is doing nothing. No leadership. No signs that it wants to try to hold Israel back. Nothing. Why? Because region-wide war in the Middle East and outright chaos is the goal? It’s certainly beginning to look like that.

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate