In Lebanon, the raidicals keep on strengthening their positions. Peter Berkowitz writes (via memeorandum):
Six days later, on March 14, a Sunni, Christian, and Druze crowd of more than 1 million–a quarter of Lebanon’s population–shook their nation by gathering in downtown Beirut to outdo the pro-Syria demonstrators and show their devotion to a sovereign Lebanon. The stunning upsurge of pro-liberty and pro-democracy sentiment in what became known as the Cedar Revolution combined with international indignation over the Hariri assassination compelled Syria, which had occupied the country for 29 years, to withdraw its forces by the end of April. The forces of freedom exulted.
Three years later, on May 7, 2008, however, the March 14 coalition suffered a huge blow. Hezbollah forces, carrying little more than light arms but backed by a formidable guerrilla machine in the south and the threat of far more devastating force, rolled into Beirut and took over the city in a matter of hours. Lebanon’s liberals and democrats were devastated by the failure of the United States and Europe to come to Lebanon’s aid even as its cosmopolitan capital was overrun by ragtag fighters equipped by, and loyal to, Iran’s Islamic revolutionaries. Hezbollah lifted the siege at the end of the month with the signing of the Doha Agreement, which, most importantly, gave it, a minority party, a veto over government action in a new national unity government.
Specifically, Lebanon, at Hezbollah’s behest has just passed a law effectively defying UN Security Council resolution 1701.
Lebanon’s new cabinet has agreed on a policy statement that acknowledges Hezbollah’s right to use its weapons against Israel, despite disagreement by some members of the ruling majority.
Not only does this give official Lebanese status to an independent army that doesn’t answer to the government, it also is clearly against UN resolution 1701, which called for “no weapons without the consent of the government of Lebanon and no authority other than that of the government of Lebanon; and it also implicltly contradicts the paragraph that calls for “strong support for full respect for the Blue Line.”
It is effectively the continuing surrender of Lebanon to Hezbollah.
It’s Israel’s casus belli, and it will be ignored by the screamers. But it won’t be ignored by Israel, and it shouldn’t be ignored by the UN. (Yes, I know it will. But it shouldn’t.) I see the UN is moving along quickly to censure Hizbullah for the arms depot explosion last month. What? They’re not? No!
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
