Well Canadian Observer, I don't think you know enough about Lebanon and its complex structure to be able to make such statements. Syria controlled Lebanon for 15 years and they're the ones who gave Hezbollah a free hand in the south while arming it along with Iran of course. We got rid of Syria last year and since then the Lebanese gouverment has been trying to disarm hezbollah. You cannot oversimplify the complex political, ethnic and religious structure of Lebanon, the country has 19 religious and ethnic minorities with no majority (estimated 60% muslim, 40% christian). We had a long and bloody war, that was called a civil war but was more other peoples wars on our land using our people. Hezbollah has popular support in Lebnanon based on it's internal agenda and political program which is far from the ideologic rhetoric his extrernal program has (mainly the iranian and syrian agendas). Therefore, Hezbollah has 13 members of parliament out of 126 and one gouverment minister. This is democracy isn't it? by the way our democracy is very old, the oldest in the region and well established, it was not brought in by Georges W. like the media tends to think, in the contrary our democracy was sacrificed on the alter of the first gulf war to the authoritarian baas regime by bush the father when he allowed Syria to control Lebanon. Obviously the Lebanese gouverment (the first free of Syrian influence for more than 20 years) does not agree with the radical views of Hezbollah neither does the overwhelming majority of Lebanese people, even those who voted for hezbollah. We have been trying to get them to abandon their external agenda to get out of the influence of syria and iran and to keep only their political internal agendas. However, there are limits to what we can do without destoying our fragile equilibrium and causing a civil war. We will not allow that to happen. Unfortunately, Hezbollah still acted on behalf of Syria and Iran and took the whole country hostage to their strategic plans. Also, the Israeli response is totally unacceptable, criminal, inhumane and exagerate. They're commiting numerous massacres, they're destroying the country, they're killing civilans while dressing it up for the media as targeting hezbollah. Obviously it's nto working because hezbollah is still fully functional militarily.
Lebanon is being destoyed again by Israel, Syria and Iran who are fighting their proxy wars on its territory. Teheran and Syria want to fight the americans and Israelis until the last Lebanese and Israel seems more than happy to send a message to these two by destroying Lebanon. Who's the victim and the loser in all this madness? Lebanon and the Lebanese people.