"The French effort in Beirut has not yet hit the wires, but the French foreign minister has apparently requested an emergency meeting with the Iranian ambassador. France, which earlier today called Iran a stabilizing force in the Middle East, may try to get Iran to call back Hezbollah so that a settlement can be reached. I suppose it doesn't hurt to ask, but one has to wonder how France would convince Iran that a war on Israel's border doesn't serve their national interest -- which is, of course, the destruction of Israel. [ The French have a knack for the absurd, don't they? -ed. ] "