Middle East conflict has no easy answers, only hard choices

— Courtesy China Daily There is a familiar rhythm to the wars that the United States starts: a burst of declaratory confidence, a promise of swift resolution and then the slow intrusion of reality. The latest statements from Washington on the Middle East — oscillating between imminent victory and overwhelming escalation — fit that pattern all too well. Set against the hard facts of US troop movements, the scale of the recent counterattacks Israel endured and the subtle but unmistakable hedg...