The fall of Lebanon and the rise of Hezbollistan...

The complete failure of the U.N. to enforce Resolution 1559 has once again proven it's uselessness. The feckless U.N. has allowed Hezbollah to infect Lebanon to the point where I would suggest that Hezbollistan may be a more appropriate name.

Will Resolution 1701 be any different?

The Devil may be in the details:

The world, which has seen the fate of UN Security Council Resolution 1559, is not very optimistic. Resolution 1559 reaffirmed the call on September 2, 2004, for the strict respect of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and political independence of Lebanon under the sole and exclusive authority of the Government of Lebanon throughout the country, but could not make it happen. It called for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanese territory and the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias, but was unable to enforce it.

Foreign powers like Iran and Syria remained formidable political, financial, and military influences in the country, stifling Lebanon’s sovereignty. By keeping Lebanon a hostage, Tehran and Damascus continued to use its territory to wage a war of attrition against Israel. Iran, driven by its imperialistic ambitions, established its military base right at the door steps of Israel with the help of its proxy, Hezbollah.

It seems unlikely, but maybe Kofi and the U.N. will see that they are fighting as much for their existance as Israel is. If 1701 fails, the U.N. will be seen as the complete and utter failure that it is. Motivation?


From FoxNews today:

Hezbollah's main backers — Iran and Syria — struck nearly identical tones a day after a cease-fire took effect in Lebanon: heaping praise on the guerrillas as perceived victors for the Islamic world and claiming that Western influence in the region was dealt a serious blow.

"God's promises have come true," Ahmadinejad told a huge crowd in Arbadil in northwestern Iran. "On one side, it's corrupt powers of the criminal U.S. and Britain and the Zionists ... with modern bombs and planes. And on the other side is a group of pious youth relying on God." ...

... Ahmad Khatami, a mid-ranking cleric, declared that Israel would face dire consequences if it "makes an iota of aggression against Iran."

"They must fear the day 1,250-mile range missiles land in the heart of Tel Aviv," he said.

In his address, Ahmadinejad also said his government would stick by its plans to reply on Aug. 22 to a package of Western economic and technology incentives offered in exchange for a suspension of Iranian uranium enrichment.

For those who think that the violence would diminish if Isreal would just leave the Golan Heights or some other territory considered to be "Arab Land", here's another quote of interest from Ahmad Khatami:

If, Allah willing, this resistance goes on, and Hizbullah continues to make progress, the prediction of the disappearance of Israel will be fulfilled, Allah willing.

From the NY Sun:

For those nursing their wounds in the wake of Israel's defeat in Lebanon, the thing to remember is that the fight with Hezbollah is not a war apart. It is but one engagement in one battle in one theater in a world war. ...

... Our task at the moment is to advance in our understanding and to be prepared, militarily and psychologically, for the next battle when it comes. This task will be opposed by many, as we have just witnessed in Connecticut. The left wing of the Democratic Party behind Ned Lamont routed Senator Lieberman by arguing, precisely, that Iraq is a war apart, that they are not opposing the war on terror, only the notion that Iraq is part of it. This ilk existed in World War II and the Cold War. No one would have suggested World War II could have been won by knocking, say, Japan out of the Philippines and leaving it at that. Or the Cold War by liberating, say, Grenada. This is a time to step back and comprehend the big picture. Neither Iraq nor Israel nor America can be secured until the regimes in Iran and Syria are defeated and we come to the recognition that it is one war.

Joel Rosenberg talks about what Mike Wallace should have asked Ahmadinejad at NRO:

Iran is the new Germany. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the new Adolf Hitler. Radical Shiite Islamic jihadists are the new Nazi storm troopers. The pursuit of the Twelfth Imam is the pursuit of the new Third Reich. CBS News had both the opportunity and responsibility to help the world truly understand this regime and the danger it poses. It failed miserably, and we are all poorer for it.

Bush and Rice apparently disagreed on how to handle this conflict:

Aides for Mr. Cheney have argued that the United States should have targeted Hezbollah and Syria during the war against Iraq in 2003. They said despite US intelligence warnings Hezbollah was allowed to dominate Lebanon and build a formidable force along the Israeli border.

"There was talk of taking care of Hezbollah and Syria, but Condi and [then-Secretary of State Colin] Powell said 'no way. We don't need another front,'" an official said….

But the sources said Mr. Bush has been dismayed by the Israeli failure to defeat Hezbollah. They said several high-ranking Republicans have expressed amazement at the plodding Israeli advance into Lebanon. "One Jewish friend of Bush actually called up a senior Israeli official and began yelling, 'What the hell's going on here,'" a source said. "'Are you going to fight or what?'"

Many recogninze that despite our efforts, Iran still pulls the strings in Iraq too.

... Iranian interventionist policy in Iraq has already attained a significant part of its objectives. In fact, despite US forces occupying the country, Iran has more influence over developments in post-Baath Iraq.

Here are a few ideas.

Know Islam.