Lebanon is now kosher for an Israeli attack

Much ink and airtime has been dedicated over the past few days in Lebanese and international media as to the role of the Lebanese Army in the recent conflict. Has it played the role of a neutral arbiter, or an acquiescent auditor to Hezbollah's fait accompli seige of Lebanon? I fear that the record will show that it either willingly, or reluctantly, played the role of the latter.

But as is usually the case, external powers will use this to their advantage and extract whatever meaning out of it they want to. Take Caroline Glick's article in the Jerusalem Post today:

WITH THIS history, it should have been clear long ago to anyone paying attention that far from being a national institution which serves Lebanon's democratically elected government, the Lebanese army is just another militia. And it also should have been clear that in the absence of a loyal, subservient army, the Saniora government was little more than a lobbying group.

Now there's a woman with a good, Zionist head on her shoulders. One of the greatest criticisms of 2006's war on Hezbollah was that it was not, in fact, a war on Hezbollah, but a war on Lebanon, with great human and material destruction all over the country. Add to this a perpetually embattled Saniora government and Lebanese army, which was truly helpless against the Israeli onslaught.

This time though, preparing in advance for her country's impending attack of Lebanon, Ms. Glick is being extra cautious to meticulously mobilize public opinion behind Israel by categorizing Hezbollah, the Lebanese Army, and by extension the Saniora government as either terrorists or terrorist accomplices. You can't stop, or don't have the power to stop Hezbollah? Israel cannot have a wholly antagonistic regime to its north. Then Saniora and the Lebanese army are just as bad and liable as Hezbollah, and therefore hallal, kosher (you name it) for attack. The defense of western, civilized nations like Israel, after all, always comes first.

This is definitely going to be a recurrent theme in Israeli media now. The Hezbollah "virus" is spreading all over Lebanon, and therefore, all of Lebanon needs to be cured with an Israeli strike. That should be Ms. Glick's exciting sequel to her first article.