To quote: "...uncoordinated withdrawals... you can't simply get out of an area, throw away keys and forget about it. The needs of the population on the other side of borders cannot be ignored."

Kuttab goes on to list all the needs of the other side, but fails to mention their most stated need: the explusion of Israel into oblivion.

This is the need that is driving the trouble on the other side when you throw them the key. To leave it out, leaves grave doubts on this writers ability to think throw any part of the Middle East situation.

The other needs don't REQUIRE violence, and so could be resolved & probably would ahve been with diplomatic solutions.

Hizbullah is a function of the last Israeli invasion. In Ahmad Nazir Hamza's "In The Path Of Hizbullah," there is no doubt that Hizbullah, through Iranian funding of course, has taken care of the Shi'a of Lebanon. It makes sense in the sense that Of COURSE, Jewish donors all over the world support Israel. And so, I guess, it's not o.k. for Iran, the nation of Shi'ism, to do the same for the Shi'a of other Arabic nations.
Saudi Arabia takes care of Sunnis, but Iran cannot do the same for the Shi'a of Lebanon, through Hizbullah. Hizbullah has government minsters now, and local delegates elected freely, last year and before. HIzbullah's military wing is no different than the IRA. In fact, it was fine for Irish-Americans and Irish emigrants everywhere, to fund the IRA, but again, not Hizbullah.
If the IRA could be brought into negotiations which helped solve the problems of Northern Ireland, then Hizbullah in Lebanon, and Hamas, in the West Bank and Gaza, can be brought into negotiations on a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
Hizbullah will probably have thousands of volunteers now from the Lebanese Shi'a communnity. It may also have thousands of sympathizers from other parts of Lebanese society. In fact, the lame Lebanese Army hasn't fought the Israelis. In all likelihood, Israeli Mossad and Shin Bet have probably infiltrated Sunni, Christian, Druze, Marionite, and secular Arab groups and communities. They undoubtedly have agents among those groups, sowing dissent against Hizbullah.
In fact, Lebanese KNOW now, WHO, EXACTLY, has laid their lives down for Lebanese soverignty.
Nasrallah IS a shrewd negotiator and leader. Look for Mossad to assassinate him at the first opportunity. And, suddenly, the world is irate about Rafik Hariri, when Israel has assassinated dozens of Hamas leaders!!! The hypocrisy of Israel, and it's big Daddy, Bush-led Amerika.
Hizbullah will absolutely be stronger after this war. Israel has taken the kidnapping of three -- three Israeli soldiers -- and killed at LEAST one thousand Lebanese of all groups. They have flattened massive parts of Lebanon. They have destroyed roads, bridges, underpasses, culverts, water and sewer lines, electricity, polluted the Mediterranean off the Lebanese coast ... and, preserved Christian enclaves.
The actions of Israel and the United States make abundantly clear that to George Bush, Lebanon was incredibly important just one year ago ... when he was pushing Syrians out of Lebanon ... but could matter less, now, as an untried, untested, unwarred Ehud Olmert blows up Lebanon.
Hizbullah could easily allow itself to be integrated into the Lebanese Army. In fact, it would make total sense. Suddenly, one or two Hizbullah Brigades would wear Lebanese military uniforms, and be subject to the Geneva Convention. As with the Provisional Arm of the IRA, there might be more radicals out there ... but like the Provos ... the main line IRA could take care of them. Curtail Terror and other violence.
As a part of the Lebanese Army, Hizbullah Brigades would be in all likelihood, stronger, more cohesive, and much better trained. If, as they've done in the government, Hizbullah ministers have integrated, and been responsible members of the Cabinet, same could hold true for the military. I'd guess that Hizbullah might even be able to broker good deals on equipment paid for by Iran or Syria.
That's an interesting scenario.
If the slaughter continues, I would like to see the 56 Members of the Arab League (does that include non-Arabic Muslim nations?), each send a battalion of volunteers to Lebanon. Send them in, and ensure that they EACH knew that going into Lebanon, as partners with the 15,000 Lebanese Siniora has committed, WILL begin moving into the Southern Part of Lebanon, on such and such a date, at such and such a time.
These volunteers would need to understand that they might die as Arabic or Muslim martyrs to the cause of a Pan-Arabic/Muslim Peace and Stablilization Force. Each would be committed, by their host nations, to absolutely follow Lebanese Command orders. And that they would not engage in any action contrary to the peaceful resolution of this war.
If Israel is stupid enough to bomb them, and I believe they would, then Israel will have to deal with the consequences of 56 Arabic/Muslim nations upset. I would guess Israel would warn them ... don't enter the killing zone. And, it would take incredibly heroic men and women to do that.
But, it would show solidarity with Lebanon, and the same for Hamas. Israel will undoubtedly continue to see itself as purely a victim here. Hizbullah has stood for the Shi'a of Lebanon. Now, I suspect, they have shown, just as the mujahadeen, Taliban (as distasteful as that sounds), the Insurgents of Iraq (indigenous Iraqis fighting Americans), Hamas, and Hizbullah ... that they are able and willing to fight, and fight hard.
Israel and the U.S. have BOTH learned difficult lessons. The massive "Shock and Awe" air campaign in the first month of the Iraq War ... blew up a lot of stuff. The Armored Wars that Israel USED to fight, are done. The manuver war that the U.S. has tried to fight in Iraq is done.
Urban, Stalingrad Warfare is the Warfare of the 21st Century in Middle Eastern conflicts. And while America and Israel will ALWAYS kill 10:1 insurgents to Americans or Israelis, these groups mentioned above have become role models for millions of Arab or Muslim men. Regardless of Shi'a or Sunni, they have shown they can dish it out as well as take it.
The smartest thing that could be done right now would be:
Send the 15,000 Lebanese troops into the South;
Send another 15-30,000 Arab League troops into the South;
Stand down Hizbullah as they move south;
Bring Syria and Iran into the negotations;
Bring Hamas and Hizbullah into the negotiations;
Begin a massive Arab and Muslim funded reconstruction program of Lebanon and the West Bank and Gaza;
Put the areas Siniora mentioned on the negotiating table;
Ensure that HIzbullah commits to the Lebanese Government to stop acting unilaterally, and stand down.
If Israel is committed to blowing up Arabs and Muslims who do those things ... and risk their lives to do it ... then Israel must be prepared for a conflagration. While I DO believe there are Americans fully willing to blow up the entire Middle East over what began as three Israeli soldiers being captured ... there may be many more Americans who are not at ALL eager for WW III.
The Arabs and Lebanese must be prepared, now, to march south, and reclaim their land. Disarm Hizbullah. And, be prepared to die trying. If Israel, with American weapons, bombs Lebanese and other nationals, then we've passed a point of no return.
I don't think we've gone that far.
Radical! Yes. Would I go for that, taking the risk I'd be blown up by Israeli bombers? I don't know. Would I do it if it were MY country? Perhaps, more likely. Easy talk, I know.
The radical nature of this proposal is meant to show the Arabs and Muslims that now, they have a legitimate responsibility to represent the 1 - 1.5 BILLION Muslims of the planet the way Hizbullah tried to represent it's Shi'a constituency.

it is very difficult to post a comment on this issue- let us remeber a few things -the first truck bombing in the middle east involved the King david hotel, the first ethnic cleansing involved the use of radio broadcasts to intimidate a civilian population, the first unprovoked attack on a country occured in 1956- no prizes for guessing the perpetrator in all the instances.

"I think it would be far more likely that Hezbullah would come up with some other 'grievance' as an excuse not to disarm and to continue to attack Israel."

Why would ANY muslim country/group/army in the Middle East want to "disarm" when you have the world's 13th largest (nuclear) army, funded & armed by the "democracy-donor" US at your doorstep? All Israel & the US want is that the countries surrounding Israel should not have even the remotest capability to defend themselves when attacked by Israel. Imagine what would happen if all the money in the Muslim Middle-East was poured into the official Lebanese Army, buying them the best weaponry, best anti-aircraft guns, building up a well-trained army and making Lebanon as the frontline for defence from Israel. You think the US & Israel would sit and watch?? They would find some excuse to sanction/isolate/sabotage those efforts to ensure that Israel does not have to worry about any neighbouring country being able to defend itself.

Peace can only come between equals and that will only happen when the arabs unite and arm themselves well enough to match the US-funded, armed & aided Israelis.

M2, I strongly disagree with your contention that Israel is purposefully targetting civilians. If they were the numbers would be in the thousands and the lebonese gov't. buildings and *all* the infrastructure would have been hit, not just that which could (and has in the past) been used to resupply Hezbullah.

According to the Geneva convention, if the enemy 'illegally' uses its own civilians as cover to protect their military assests then the civilians become legitimate targets.

Lebanon, like Iraq, & several other
middle east countries were drawn up,
invented in fact by Europeans. There
really is no logical reason for them
to exist & if left to their own devices, they will not.

Fact: Israel still occupies the Shebaa farms region, which is Syrian territory.

Fact: Israel does not distinguish between civilian and military targets. The thuggish state feels that by having warned civilians to leave an area, then anyone left must be Hezbollah, when in fact many civilians are too sick to leave, too poor to leave, or just plain cant leave because Israel has bombed every bridge and road in the country.

Fact: Israel DOES NOT only just target Hezbollah, they target everything and everyone. Consider the three power stations destroyed by Israel in Lebanon and Gaza. Lebanese hospitals are shutting down one after the other because they are running out of fuel to power their generators, and medical supplies to treat patients.

Fact: Massive civilian deaths and casualties have been a hallmark of nearly every single Israeli military misadventure.

I agree that international involvement will help defuse the current situation in Lebanon. There is a strong argument that the Sheba Farms land actually belongs to Syria, and that Syria would like it back.
Has Syria actually ever recognized the government of Lebanon? I think we need to find some way of bringing Syria into the solution.

There also needs to be some way of dealing with Iran. I am not comfortable with the fact that the government of Iran admits to selling Hezbollah long-range rockets....WMDs. Hezbollah is not a government, and answers to no one. This move could only destabilize the region further than it already was. Lebanon is being wrecked because of these weapons. Iran is using all the rest of the players to its own advantage. No good can come of this, if the world allows these actions to continue.

Mr Kuttab,

I fear that it is too late. Hezbulla in Lebanon is Israel's version of the "Battle of Algires" and the Iranian Islamist movement is undermining pro-western Arab governments. Why would they stop? They have finally found the way to redress the regional supression that began under the British Empire. Israel has brought its undoing on itself by thinking it had the military power to crush its neighbors -- into silence.

This is the same old song, isn't it? The only way to find a solution is for the Israelis to change their behavior, and for the international community to become involved up to the neck. The international community in this situation means the United States and Europe; the United States is needed to pressure Israel, and Europe is required to send money to the Palestinians.

No Arab responsibility here, at all. Every problem is someone else's fault. Fixing any problem is someone else's job. Nothing will get better unless someone else makes things right. Some low-level cleric in Lebanon decides to start a war without telling anyone; Palestinians can't form a government; an Arab government decides to exterminate a non-Arab part of its country's population -- and on and on, with always the same Arab reaction. Not our fault, not our problem.

I heard a radio commentator today suggest that too many older African-American politicians embrace an ideology of permanent victimhood. In the American context maybe he has a point, maybe not. In the world context he has seen nothing.

Fact: Israel left Lebanon.

Fact: UN stated that Israel completely satisfied their requirements in regard to that resoloution.

Fact: Hezbullah did not disarm, the Lebonese Gov't failed to satisfy their requirements.

Fact: Hezbullah used the Sheba farms as an excuse to continue to attack Israel.

Fact: Hezbullah crossed the border, killed Israeli soldiers and captured 2 others. Hezbullah *admits* this was unprovoked and an attempt to force conscesions from Israel.

Fact: Hezbullah is now specifically targetting Israeli civilians. Israel targets Hezbullah, who hides amongst civilians to both a) Reduce their own risk; and b) Increase Lebonese civilian casualties to make Israel look bad.

"Hezbullah would come up with some other 'grievance' as an excuse not to disarm and to continue to attack Israel."

The truth is just the opposite. Whatever Palestinians, Lebanese Christians or Arabs of any ethnicity do, Israel will always appeal to the same excuse -the "right" to defend itself- in order to stay armed and to kill anyone they want.

Such hipocrisy is patetic: why does Israel have the right to defend itself, while Hezbollah doesn't have the same right?

"The only way to find a solution to them is through intensive, continuous international involvement."

That assumes that all sides (or at least those controlling the weapons) are reasonable. Not necessarily a good assumption... See the events in Europe from 1936 - 1945.

According to the UN Israel satisfied their requirements to leave ALL of Lebanon. Was there really any surprise that Hezbullah came up with an excuse to stay armed and continually attack Israel (and the cross border kidnapping was not the only event)? Is there ANY reason to believe that if Israel did return the Sheba farms and release all disputed Leboneese prisoners that Hezbullah would disarm? I think it would be far more likely that Hezbullah would come up with some other 'grievance' as an excuse not to disarm and to continue to attack Israel.