From Beirut to the Beltway just reported this little bit of news.
AT LAST!!! WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?That's all well and good Fouad except for a few details. Who is going to kick Hezbollah out of the South? It sure won't be the Lebanese Army and it damned well won't be the UN. The UN can't even keep the peace on any of their touted "peace-keeping missions" and they sure as hell won't go into anyplace where they may be in harms way. Rhetoricly pulling the plug on Hezbollah and actually doing it is two entirely different things. The last time Israel left the South of Lebanon in 2000, Syria and Hezbollah took over the entire country. They are still there. When Israel left, attacks on them increased. When they left Gaza, attacks increased. They haven't left the West Bank yet and there are no rocket attacks. Is there a lesson here?
In an emotional address to the Lebanese people, PM Fouad Siniora declared Lebanon a disaster area, and called for 3 things:
1- An immediate cease fire brokered by the UN
2- The Lebanese state to extend its control over all lebanese territories with UN help. He vowed that Lebanese will additionally abide by the 1949 armstice agreement with Israel.
3- Called on Lebanon's friends to send humanitarian aid and economic assistance to Lebanon
Siniora condemned the unjustified Israeli aggression on Lebanon and held Israel responsible for the humanitarian catastrophy. Most importantly, he said the "Lebanese state will not rise if it is the last to know." He reiterated that he did not condone Hizbullah's operation (he did not call Hizbullah resistance). He said "only the state has the right to make war decisions."
With this, Lebanon's prime minister has officially pulled the plug on Hizbullah. Yet his government is weak, which is why he asked for UN help.
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have donated a total of US$70 million to Lebanon on Sunday.
As somebody is fond of saying...developing.
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