Serving Bread

Today, Israel launched a military campaign against it’s northern neighbor that certainly escalates tension and violence in the region. Among other things, the international airport in Beirut was put out of service when Israel bombed the runways.

In a nutshell, Israel holds the Lebanese government responsible for Hezbollah’s actions against Israel in recent days (The militant Shiite group launched missiles from Southern Lebanon and kidnapped Israeli soldiers). Of course, how do you hold the government responsible for the actions of a rogue militant group? The government of Lebanon is weak, yet more pro-West than it’s people. Some observers are suggesting that if the Lebanese miliatry is brought into the conflict, it will probably side more with Hezbollah than with the government in curbing Hezbollah. There is no easy solution out of this, and the Israeli government needs to understand the complexities of Lebanese politics rather than simplify it.

If anything, the Syrian and Iranian regimes have much more influence with Hezbollah. They are the ones who are aiding and abetting the terrorists–not the Lebanese government.