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
Position of Lebanon in the 2006 Lebanon War force would be in place. This way, the Lebanese government hoped to dispel the claim that the Israeli forces had to remain in Lebanon until the international force had arrived. The number of soldiers corresponded with what Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said that the size of the international force needs to be. On 22 August, the Center for Democracy in Lebanon called upon the Lebanese people and the Siniora Government to consider a rebuilding plan for a “New Beirut”. The plan calls for a "garden of angels" to commemorate the children, victims of the 2006 Israeli aggression on