International reactions to the 2006 Lebanon War 39% disapproved, and 16% were not sure. When asked to think about the events of the past week in the Middle East, 54% of Americans answered that their sympathies are more with Israel, 11% answered more with Arab nations, 11% both, 11% neither, and 13% not sure. In August 2006, University of Chicago political scientist John Mearsheimer accused Israel of using the kidnapping of its soldiers by Hezbollah as an excuse to attack Lebanon and start the 2006 Lebanon War. Mearsheimer stated that "Israel had been planning to strike at Hezbollah for months. Key Israelis had briefed the administration about
Law of Hostages Law of Hostages The Law of Hostages was a 1799 law enacted by the French Directory, during the final stages of the French Revolution in July-October 1799, in order to strengthen its power in regions that the Directory viewed as problematic. The law allowed local authorities to draw up lists of "hostages" who would be held responsible for certain criminal offences, and was particularly intended to be used against notables suspected of threatening the Directory's authority. Since local authorities were responsible for the law's execution, it was not always effective since local authorities often sympathized with those it was intended