Pollster Zogby weighs in with ‘what must be done’ in Lebanon

Thanks, Elizabeth, for informing instead of defaming. I agree with your last sentence.

Shane: How is it that someone like you, who almost certainly never went to college, has an IQ under 90, and barely can read and write, is critiquing a PhD who is writing about her particular area of expertise? Oh, I forgot, the stupid and the ignorant are always the most arrogant people...

Although perhaps I shouldn't be too harsh on you, since there is absolutely no way you could have read that piece and understood it.

Thanks for the link Elizabeth; I needed a good laugh. I havent heard so much bullshit since I watched Michael Moore's 9/11. Bravo!

Walter you forgot to mention Syria and Iran.

Here's an article you might find interesting:

http://www.merip.org/mero/mero073106.html

Walter, holding Lebanon "more responsible " in what way?
Attack their military? Overthrow their government? Force 500,000 people out of their homes? All of these have been done already.
Perhaps blowing up banks and airstrikes on the cities? Nope, that has been done, too.
What you probably want is for the President of Lebanon to openly declare Hezbollah an enemy of the State. Hezbollah, who threw out Israel, an enemy of Lebanon? On what grounds? That they launched rockets into Israel after being invaded?
I don't like Hezbollah but I cannot see the government of Lebanon fighting them.

As for Elizabeths comments, she is likely right on the things we could do. But we will choose not to do them.

Well the article Trevor linked to was about how to resolve the problem of the weakness of the Lebanese government and the disenfranchisement of the Shi'a in Lebanon which leads them to support Hezbollah. Actually I think there are things the U.S. could do: We have power over Israel; we could force them to give up the Shebaa farms. For that matter we could probably force them to give back the Golan Heights to Syria. We could help facilitate a prisoner exchange. Hezbollah would thus have no reason (no reason that would win them support) for continuing a military campaign. For starters we could insist Israel withdraw, with a guarantee to Hezbollah that we will work on the aforementioned issues. Then and only then would the U.S. and the U.N. be credible in enforcing the disarmament of Hezbollah and their absorption into Lebanese political life. Right now with George Bush encouraging Israel's atrocities, the end result will be nothing but chaos, and hatred for the U.S. Does anyone still doubt that he is the worst president we have ever had?

How they can be held more responsible is to be treated directly as the agressor when an attack on their neighbor is overtly launched from their land. They either exercise sovreignty by resisting that use of their land with everything they have or surrender and stop pretending.
Their overt acceptance of the emplacement of weapons and firing those weapons makes them complicite unless they can be shown to have opposed it.

Gee, I thought sovereignty meant you protected your citizens from being attacked and invaded by other countries.

I fail to understand how Lebanon can be held more responsible for the 17 years of Israeli occupation that created Hezbollah and prevented a strong government and Lebanese military from dealing with Hezbollah. I fail to see that Lebanon is attacking Israel and I fail to see the Israelis stopping themselves. I fail to see the Lebanese military attacking the Israeli incursion; not now and not ever. Perhaps Hezbollah would not have taken the Isareli soldiers if Syria was still there maintaining peace. Oh, I forgot, Israel and the US pushed them out earlier this year.

If Lebanese citizens and government can be held more responsible, I would like to know how.

I am no fan of Hezbollah but to be critical of Lebanon appears to be silly.

Lebanon must be held completely responsible for any attack on Israel from her territory. That's what sovereignty is, it isn’t all just collecting taxes.