Finally, Annan found a party to the peace who would at least appear in public with him for a photo op: Ehud Olmert, who recently bestrode the world’s stage as Israel’s warrior Hamlet. Yet – drip, drip, drip – while Annan was once again enthusiastic about the prospects for peace through duct tape, Olmert insisted, at the time, that Israel’s air and sea blockades of Lebanon would not be lifted until 5,000 UN peacekeepers were on the ground in Lebanon and he reiterated Israel’s right to, of all things, defend itself. Thankfully, a few days after the confident repairman’s pronouncements, Israel did lift the blockade.

Sorrowfully, Annan’s tape job was also punctuated by the drip, drip, drip of more Israeli and Lebanese deaths due to violations of the ceasefire and the drip, drip, drip due to the persistent realization that none of the two soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah who served as the breakdown that led to war have been released. In another area of the suspect diplomatic basement, there was also the drip, drip, drip of the kidnapped Israeli soldier who has still not been returned by Hamas.

Now, Annan has agreed to help mediate the release of all three soldiers. Let’s hope he can find more in his toolkit than duct tape. He’ll need them to make any progress with the reason-proof twosome of Hez and Ham.

While we gratefully salute whatever fixes Mr. Annan, the repairman, was able to make, we do wish that his urgent handiwork provided evidence of more than the patchwork in which we already hear disappointment’s telltale drip.