There is something disturbing and sad in the extended discussion over a name of the second Lebanon war (it already has a name; but there's a need to come up with something better, more special), and in the very issue of its definition (was it a war? operation? battle? campaign? retaliatory raid that got out of hand?). The involvement of the bereaved families in the debate is even sadder. This involvement reflects the same lack of leadership that prevailed during the what's-its-name (war? operation?) itself: If the government does not know what the reason was for this thing that happened last summer - how will you give it a name? At least its victims are trying to understand what hit them, and how to call it.

We know - who better than us? - how an organized, standard war should end around here: with albums and medals, with a colorful war ribbon, with a song or two, a commission of inquiry, a few leaders' heads rolling, with remembrance days; and especially, with a name: a strong name, a symbolic name, a fine Hebrew name, one that beautifies and glorifies, a name that will last, that will reflect the character of the campaign, a name that will go well with the names of the other wars.

But our wars in Lebanon do not have a good name, in more ways than one: What begins as a "peace" operation turns into an 18-year war, and what begins as an all-out war ends deflated. And because every round like this tends to end with our being in a worse situation than we were when we started, the interrupted campaigns and the rolling operations in Lebanon remain orphaned of government responsibility - John Doe wars that governments would like to forget. No one remembers them and no one needs them, except for their wounded and their bereaved.

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It is no surprise that legal advisers were against the name "Second Lebanon War," arguing that it would be confused with the first Lebanon war. Since every round of war in Lebanon only lays the groundwork for the next round, perhaps in the future we will run out not only of names for the wars, but of numbers, too.