Richard Armitage dramatically broke ranks with his neoconservative allies yesterday, saying in a radio interview that he feared it was impossible to eliminate Hezbollah through airstrikes, and that by attempting to do so, “you’re going to end up empowering Hezbollah, and perhaps introducing an element into the body politic in Lebanon that will take some great period of time to recover from.” Armitage also criticized the Bush administration for refusing to talk directly to Syria.

According to a database search, no major media outlets have yet printed Armitage’s remarks. Listen:

Armitage was Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Reagan when the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon was bombed in 1983, and served as second-in-command at the State Department under President George W. Bush. In 1998, he signed the Project for a New American Century letter to President Clinton urging regime change in Iraq.

The Bush administration has thus far “giving a tacit blessing” to the escalating Mideast violence. During crisis talks in Rome yesterday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice bucked the “entreaties of nearly all of her European and Arab counterparts” to push for a ceasefire.

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In 2005, the Bolton nomination passed out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee but ran into a filibuster on the Senate floor. It appears likely that his re-nomination will proceed on a similar path. All indications are that Sen. Joseph Lieberman will play a crucial role in determining whether the Bolton nomination will ultimately pass the Senate.

Lieberman was part of “a tiny group” of Democrats who voted for Bolton to become Undersecretary of State in 2001. In 2005, Lieberman reportedly was “considering voting for Bolton” had a vote come up. His spokesman Matt Gobush elaborated:

Senator Lieberman remains undecided about Mr. Bolton’s nomination. As a general rule, he believes the president should have the latitude to choose his own Cabinet, except in the most extraordinary cases. The senator is studying the issues raised by the committee to determine whether this is one of those cases.

Reports indicate that the White House is “trying to take advantage of the current crisis in the Middle East to gin up support for Bolton, an aggressive defender of Israel, among Jewish organisations, despite the fact that most of their members traditionally vote for Democrats.”

A source tells ThinkProgress that Senate moderates will be looking to Joe Lieberman, a long-time advocate for Isreal, before deciding how to vote. A stance against Bolton could weaken the White House’s strategy and embolden moderates to fight the nomination.

Sixty percent of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track. The widespread discontent is popping up at high-profile political events. Yesterday, a protester interrupted the Iraqi Prime Minister’s speech to Congress. Today, a protester disrupted U.N. Ambassador John Bolton’s confirmation hearing. Watch it:

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