What role do peacekeepers have to play in the midst of a battlefield, anyway? Why didn't Kofi approve their request to withdraw? More than a week before, the Canadian officer in charge of the installation warned the Circus on the East River that Hezbollah fighters were "all over" their installation. He noted that Hezbollah was setting up and firing rockets only yards outside the U.N.'s compound. He expressed his fear that Hezbollah, by its presence, was painting a target on them, in an e-mail since released by Canadian Gen. Lewis McKenzie.

Need proof? Kofi Annan blamed Israel for "apparently deliberately targeting the U.N. outpost" – but said nothing about the fact that before the peacekeeping unit was "begging" Israel to lift their fire, they were begging Kofi to relieve them of their post.The U.N. refused to relieve the peacekeepers, and the Canadian officer who sent the e-mail was among those killed in the air strike. It was almost as if Kofi was daring Israel to return fire so close to a U.N. outpost.