HOME | BIO | MUSIC | JOURNEYS BY DJ | STUDIO BLOG | POLITICAL BLOG | BOOKING INFO | CONTACT

The Security Council has spoken. Will Israel and Hezbollah listen?

France and the United States reached agreement Saturday on a Security Council resolution to halt the fighting in Lebanon, even as Israel mounted a commando raid in Tyre and kept up heavy airstrikes, and as Hezbollah unleashed a flurry of deadly rocket fire into northern Israel.

A draft of the resolution, which could not be voted on until at least 24 hours after it is formally introduced, calls for an immediate cessation of “all attacks” by Hezbollah and of “offensive military operations” by Israel.

A buffer zone would then be set up in southern Lebanon, free of all but the Lebanese Army and United Nations-mandated forces, followed by negotiations for a lasting settlement that could include procedures for disarming Hezbollah and creating a new international force to patrol the south.

I pray that this will work. But I have my doubts. Given the way the international community has sat by and watched as Israel pounded Lebanon, combined with the way the conflict has worked to actually increase support for Hezbollah throughout the region, what possible incentive does the group have for unilaterally disarming? If your answer is none, trust me, you're not alone.