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The Arab Commission

[New York Times, 9May07] Thomas L. Friedman - Hizbullah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was quoted by the BBC last week praising Israel for conducting an inquiry into last year's war, in contrast with the Arab regimes that "do not probe, do not ask, do not form inquiry commissions...as if nothing has happened." The Arab leader who most needs to be probed is Nasrallah himself. He started the war with Israel, which was a disaster for both sides. If there were an honest Arab League inquiry commission into the war, it would say Nasrallah demonstrated a total failure to anticipate Israel's response to his unprovoked attack across the Lebanon-Israel border. In unilaterally launching a war against Israel, without a vote of the Lebanese cabinet - of which Hizbullah is a member - the militia did grievous harm to Lebanon's fragile democracy. All the fears that if you let an Islamist party into government it will not respect the rules of the game were fulfilled by Hizbullah. As a result of the war, Hizbullah was pushed off the border by Israel and, in its place, the UN inserted a new peacekeeping force of some 10,000 troops, including a big European contingent, led by France and Italy. Today, less than a year after a war that Hizbullah called a "divine" victory, Lebanon is weaker and Israel is stronger. That is why, if the Hizbullah leader had any honor, he would resign.
2007-05-10 01:00:00
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