WP: Lebanon to send its army to Hezbollah-controlled southern Lebanon?

Lebanese leaders began talks Thursday evening that might extend government control to the southern border with Israel. Currently, Hezbollah fighters operate freely in the south. In a statement, the cabinet said only that the government had a right and duty to implement its power over all Lebanese territory. But officials speaking on condition of anonymity said sending the Lebanese army to the southern border was a possibility. Hezbollah, which is often dismissive of the Lebanese army's ability, has opposed such a move.

Michael Young, opinion editor of Beirut Daily Star, writing in the NYT, on the Lebanese domestic aspect of Hezbollah's decision to kidnap two Israeli soldiers three days ago:

By unilaterally taking Lebanon into a conflict with Israel, Hezbollah sought to stage a coup d’état against the anti-Syrian parliamentary and government majority, which opposes the militant group’s adventurism.

Hezbollah holds seats in the 128-member Parliament but has an uneasy relationship with the majority, which has been on the defensive as Syria has tried to reassert control over Lebanon after its military withdrawal last year. Hezbollah hoped to humiliate the anti-Syrian politicians by forcing them to endorse the kidnappings and showing how little control the government has over the party.

Israel wants Lebanon to pay an onerous price for its ambiguity on Hezbollah...

What's his prescription? UN-ordered gradual Hezbollah disarmament, written guarantees Israel would respect Lebanon's sovereignty, and prisoner releases on both sides: "It would be far smarter for Israel, and America, to profit from Hezbollah’s having perhaps overplayed its hand. The popular mood here is one of extreme anger that the group has provoked a conflict Lebanon cannot win. .... While the United Nations has been ineffective in its efforts toward Middle East peace, it may be the right body to intervene here, if only because it has the cudgel of Security Council Resolution 1559, which was approved in 2004 and, among other things, calls for Hezbollah’s disarmament."

Posted by Laura at July 14, 2006 06:15 AM