climacteric

From CNN transcripts, on the bombing of the UN compound:

KING: Christiane Amanpour is in Jerusalem, Christiane, Kofi Annan is usually very diplomatic and careful. Were you surprised that he was so strikingly against Israel today?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well I mean, you know, you make that judgment about being against Israel. I’m not sure that’s what his statement said. It asked for a full investigation and it did say that it was apparently deliberate targeting.

And then he went on to say in the statement that the observation post was clearly marked, that his top general there had been in touch with the Israeli authorities all throughout the day about this and asking them to protect it. And the UNIFIL statement that was put out about these casualties said that they had had 14 very close firings in just this afternoon alone.

via.OK. So we’ve had this, threats of decimation, use of cluster and chemical munitions, bombings of ambulances, nailed at exactly the mid point of their red crosses. It’s the air war climacteric – the great screaming tantrum that you get when the realization starts to dawn that it isn’t working.