Old Hickory's Weblog

This article from Austria's leading weekly news magazine Profil mentions something I have not seen reported elsewhere:  Nahost: Schlacht ohne Sieger. Warum im Libanon-Konflikt keiner gewinnen kann von Martin Staudinger und Robert Treichler Profil 30/2006 (accessed 07/26/06).  The report:

Im vergangenen Mai reiste er [libanesischen Premierminister Fuad Siniora] zum britischen Premier Tony Blair nach London, um ihn um Hilfe zu bitten. Siniora wollte der Hisbollah ihre letzte Rechtfertigung nehmen, eine bewaffnete Miliz zu stellen - den Streit um die Shebaa-Farmen, die von Israel besetzt sind, laut UN aber Syrien zustehen, tatsächlich aber nicht von Syrien, sondern vom Libanon beansprucht werden. Siniora schlug Blair vor, erst die UN zu überzeugen, dass die Shebaa-Farmen zum Libanon gehörten, danach Israel zum Abzug zu bewegen und anschließend die Hisbollah vor vollendete Tatsachen zu stellen: keine Gebietsstreitigkeiten mehr, also freiwillige Entwaffnung.

Wie erfolgversprechend Sinioras Initiative war, ist ungewiss. Mit der Entführung der Israelis kam die Hisbollah diesem Vorhaben jedenfalls zuvor und torpedierte es.

[This past May [Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora] traveled to London to meet with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in order to ask him for help.  Siniora wanted to take away Hizbullah's last justification for maintaining an armed militia - the conflict over the Sheba Farms, which are occupied by Israel but according to the UN Syria is entitled to them though they are claimed by Lebanon.  Siniora proposed to Blair that he [Blair] first convince the UN that the Sheba farms belong to Lebanon, then convince Israel to withdraw and, finally, to present Hizbullah with an accomplished fact: no more territorial disputes, therefore they should voluntarily disarm.

How successful Siniora's initiative [to Blair] was is unknown.  In any case, with the the kidnapping of the Israelis, Hizbullah forestalled this plan and torpedoed it.]

This is more than a purely minor point in this particular situation.  One of Israel's official claims - which it's genuinely hard for me to believe anyone at all familiar with the situation can take seriously - is that they are trying with this war to force the Lebanese government to take action to disarm Hizbullah.  The fact that Siniora - who up until July 12 was a model for democratization to the Cheney-Bush administration - as recently as May was seriously working on a plan to disarm Hizbullah is something that really should be more a part of the public discussion on this.

Maybe if we had a press corps in America whose main focus was to practice actual journalism, it would be.

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