WHY THE USA MUST INTEVENE IN LEBANON: "Who will stop Hezbollah? Not the Lebanon Army"

HAARETZ: "Who will stop Hezbollah? Not the Lebanon Army"

Hezbollah's rapid and savvy raids of recent days brought to light the true balance of power in Lebanon, and, at the same time, the close connection between the Lebanon Army and Hezbollah.

Witness accounts of Hezbollah's actions in Lebanon in the course of the incidents demonstrate not only that the Lebanon Army is refraining from trying to bar Hezbollah from operating throughout the country, but is in fact carrying out orders from the organization and granting it media cover.

... The Lebanon Army is in practice a reflection of the ethnic partition of this divided land. The army commander is a Maronite, his deputies are Shiite and Sunni, and the chief of the general staff, a Druze. It is estimated that some 35 percent of the soldiers and officers are Shiites, and Christians leave the ranks relatively quickly.

Moreover, in recent days, there have been reports that senior officers, Sunnis and Druze, have asked to resign from the army in response to its involvement in the violence. Government supporters have severely criticized the army and its commander, Michel Suleiman, who was in line to turn into president of Lebanon. Discussions on the issue suggest that some of the officials have reconsidered their support for the government.

Analysts in Lebanon believe that other actions on the part of the army would have led to its being dismantled. "Greater involvement by the army would have meant that perhaps no army would have been left," sources in Beirut told Haaretz by e-mail. "And that would have been the end of Lebanon,".

AND THE ADVENT OF HIZBALLAHSTAN. (GAZA IS NOW HAMASTAN.) [******UPDATE: AFTER WE POSTED, BRET STEPHENS OF THE WSJ AGREES; USES THE TERM HEZBOLLAHSTAN.]

EVEN ABBAS AND FATAH KNOW THIS:

Despite the appeal to the Palestinians to stay away from the conflict, PA officials expressed fear at the growing influence of Iran in the region. They pointed out that the Iranians were supporting both Hizbullah and Hamas in their efforts to undermine the "moderate" governments in Ramallah and Beirut.

The officials also voiced concern that Hizbullah's armed coup d'etat would embolden Hamas and other radical Palestinian groups in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"Hizbullah is doing exactly what Hamas did in the Gaza Strip," said one PA official. "Of course we are very concerned about the negative role that Iran is playing in Beirut and the Gaza Strip." Another official in Ramallah noted that Hizbullah and its political allies in Lebanon have been "inciting" against the PA and Abbas by accusing them of being pawns in the hands of the US and Israel.

"Hizbullah sees no difference between the Palestinian Authority and the Saniora government," he said. "As far as Hizbullah is concerned, we are CIA and Mossad agents. They see us as traitors serving the interests of the Americans and Zionists in the Arab world."

The official launched a scathing attack on Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah for using arms to seize large parts of Beirut.

• ONLY THE US NAVY AND AIR FORCE CAN ANNIHILATE HIZBALLAH.
• THE SINIORA GOVERNMENT SHOULD FORMALLY ASK FOR OUR MILITARY ASSISTANCE AND WE SHOULD GIVE IT.
• THE USS COLE IS ON THE WAY...