Bush's "lasting peace" plan is a house of cards

President Bush spelled out "clear objectives" intended to establish "a long-lasting peace, one that is sustainable" between Israel and her neighbors.

"Iran must end its financial support and supply of weapons to terrorist groups like Hezbollah. Syria must end its support for terror and respect the sovereignty of Lebanon," Bush said in a speech at the Port of Miami.

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Other conditions for a cease-fire include a requirement that a multinational force be quickly sent to southern Lebanon, Lebanon's government must be "empowered to exercise sole authority over its territory" and two Israeli soldiers taken by Hezbollah be returned.

Unanswered questions include the context in which Hezbollah was created. If they had sprang up out of some other context then one might be tempted to believe that Bush's conditions might actually be constructive. But considering that Hezbollah was formed in direct response to Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon and that it has repeatedly stated that the point of kidnapping the two Israeli soldiers was to provide the basis of a prisoner exchange for Lebanese citizens which Israel has kidnapped from sovereign Lebanese soil... it seems supremely foolhardy to assume that Bush's stated objectives are capable of accomplishing anything more substantive than to guarantee that the fighting will continue on for the foreseeable future.

Bush also conveniently sidestepped the issue of the IDF's repeated bombings of Lebanese military bases. If he seriously believes that the Lebanese military extending it's control over the south provides even part of the basis for a "lasting peace" then doesn't it beg the question of why Israel keeps bombing the very force which they claim is part of the solution?

None of this is intended to offer the slightest justification for anything Hezbollah has done. However it defies all logic to assume that ignoring Hezbollah's root complaints can possible ever result in anything even remotely resembling "lasting peace."

There is also the issue of sovereign Lebanese territory which Israel refuses to relinquish control of as well as sovereign Syrian territory which Israel also refuses to relinquish, not to mention the Occupied Territories and the Palestinians. What kind of acid trip is required before one can begin to think that ignoring these outstanding issues is somehow conducive to peace in the region, comprehensive or otherwise?