Lebanon Balks

Condoleezza Rice's assertion that UN Resolution 1701 needs to be fully implemented in order to move toward a lasting peace in the Middle East is valid.

As expected, it's NOT going to be fully implemented.

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) -- The Lebanese Cabinet agreed Wednesday to deploy the Lebanese army south of the Litani River starting the next day, a key demand of the cease-fire that halted 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. But it left unclear the issue of disarming the Islamic militant group.

The decision to start deploying the army on Thursday came as top foreign diplomats planned the dispatch of a 15,000-strong international force that eventually is to join the Lebanese troops in patrolling the region between the Israeli border and the river, 18 miles to the north.

It was the first meeting of the divided Cabinet, which includes two Hezbollah ministers, since the cease-fire went into effect on Monday. The 15,000 Lebanese troops and the U.N. peacekeepers will slowly take over territory from withdrawing Israeli forces. Israel had threatened to halt its withdrawal if the Lebanese force did not move south.

The government ordered the army, which has been assembling north of the river, to "insure respect" for the Blue Line, the U.N.-demarcated border between Lebanon and Israel, and "apply the existing laws with regard to any weapons outside the authority of the Lebanese state."

That provision does not require Hezbollah to give up its arms, but rather directs them to keep them off the streets. "There will be no authority or weapons other than those of the state," said Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said.

And there it is.

The "sovereign Lebanese government" has no intention of abiding by the demands of Resolution 1701.

It's 1559 revisited.

Hezbollah's top official in south Lebanon said the group welcomed the Lebanese army's deployment even as he hinted that the Shiite guerrillas would not disarm in the region or withdraw but rather melt into the local population and hide their weapons.

"Just like in the past, Hezbollah had no visible military presence and there will not be any visible presence now," Sheik Nabil Kaouk told reporters Wednesday in the southern port city of Tyre.

Translation: Hezbollah forces and weapons will continue to be hid among the Lebanese "civilians."

Business as usual.

No change.

...Hezbollah, meanwhile, said it would help tens of thousands of people reconstruct homes that were destroyed in a month of war with Israel, a move likely to boost its standing among Shiite Muslims, who make up about 35 percent of Lebanon's 4 million people.

Hezbollah -- It's not a terrorist organization; it's a humanitarian group.

You can bet that the portrait of Hassan Nasrallah will decorate the walls of those rebuilt homes.

Will Jimmy Carter grab some of his Hamas pals and build some Habitat for Humanity homes in Lebanon?

I wonder.

Will U.S. aid to the region boost our standing among Shiite Muslims?

From Rice's Washington Post op-ed piece:

For our part, the United States is helping to lead relief efforts for the people of Lebanon, and we will fully support them as they rebuild their country. As a first step, we have increased our immediate humanitarian assistance to $50 million. To secure the gains of peace, the Lebanese people must emerge from this conflict with more opportunities and greater prosperity.

I don't think the Lebanese view our humanitarian assistance as aid. I think they believe they are entitled to it.

Remember what Lefties at home and abroad say: The U.S. is responsible for the war.

It's no surprise that Hezbollah would want to help reconstruct homes. They would literally be rebuilding their bases to make war.

This is important: LEBANON is deciding to blow off the UN, like it did in the past.

In sum, Resolution 1701 will serve to bolster the terrorists and put Israel at greater risk.