LOS ANGELES.–U.S. Mideast envoy Amos Hochstein and roving diplomat Brett McGurk got a big fat “no” when asked under U.N. Resolution 1701, a 2006 peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel, they could get a 60-day ceasefire over the current conflict. Both diplomats were told it’s not possible by Lebanon’s parliament Speaker Kabih Berri and Caretaker Prime Minister Majib Makati, both of whom have no power with the Lebanese government controlled by Hezbollah, a division of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. Since the end of the 2006 Lebanon War, much has changed with Lebanon essentially a fake government, pretending it has some independence from the radical Islamic Hezbollah militia. Over the years since 2006 U.N. Resolution 1701 that ended the Israeli-Lebanon War, the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah asserted complete control over the Lebanon government.
U.S. and U.N. diplomats pretend that Lebanon is an independent U.N. member-state when it fact it’s a wholly owned subsidiary of Hezbollah, a U.S.-recognized terror group with close Iranian ties. But truth be told, Hezbollah cannot be distinguished from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Hochstein and McGurk pretend that they can strike a deal with Lebanon Parliament Speaker Kabih Berri and Caretaker Prime Minister Jajib Makati when, in fact, they can do nothing without Hezbollah approval. Nasrallah was killed by an Israeli air strike Sept. 27, only recently replaced by 71-year-old Naim Qassem, who like all Hezbollah leaders, has no authority himself but pledges loyalty to 85-year-old Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei calls the shots when it comes to war and peace with Israel, demanding Israel end its war in Gaza.
Nasrallah began firing rockets into Israel Oct. 8, 2023, one day after 74-year-old Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war on Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, after the deadly massacre that killed over 1,200 civilians, taking over 250 hostages, in the worst atrocity on the Jewish State since the Nazi Holocaust. Iran’s has been a bitter foe of Israel since the 1979 Islamic Revolution when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei made his revolution about continuing the Nazi’s Final Solution, the extermination of European Jews during the years before and during WW II. Khomenei figure out what motivates Sunni and Shiite Muslims against Israel. After Israel declared independence in 1948, Arab uprising and wars have gone on periodically for the last 78 years. After living with Ottoman and British control over the Holy Land for over 500 years, Arabs couldn’t accept Jewish control of the region.
Khomenei uses hatred toward Jews to motivate his 1979 Islamic Revolution, despite the fact that Jews live peacefully in Iran for hundreds of years. So when Khomenei ousted the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in 1979, he used the Nazi Holocaust as the primary driver for Arabs to reject Jewish control of the Holy Land. Some Iranian leaders like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were brazen enough to host a Holocaust deniers conference in Tehran in 2006, threatening to wipe Israel off the map. Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continues the anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist tradition, summoning Arab hatred toward Israel, when, in fact, most Sunni Arabs hate Shiite Iran more than they dislike Israel. No Arab country is willing to go to war against Israel, to join the Ayatollah’s backward approach to Mideast politics, trying to recreate the Nazi Final Solution in the Mideast.
Hochstein and McGurk found out the hard way that Lebanon has no independence from Hezbollah that now controls Lebanon. No Lebanon leader would dare to challenge the new head of Hezbollah who has the Aytatollah’s blessing to control Lebanon. Netanyahu knows that Naim Qassem pledged his loyalty to the Ayatollah, who in turn asserts complete control over Lebanon, only pretending Beirut has an independent government. “The U.S. is working with both parties to achieve and enduring ceasefire. Senior [White House] officials visited both Lebanon and Israel in the last several days to advance this effort,” the unnamed official said. U.S. officials tried to no avail to encourage Beirut to assert authority over Hezbollah, something that can’t be done under the current circumstances with the Ayatollah firmly in control of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows that Lebanon is not an independent country, now controlled 100% by Iran and Hezbollah. While there are some Lebanese nationals still around that want an independent Lebanon, for all practical purposes it doesn’t exist. Hochstein and McGurk told the real story not going to Lebanon to plead its case for a 60-day ceasefire. “The main point is our ability and determination to enforce security, thwart attacks against us, and act against the arming of our enemies, as necessary and despite any pressure and constraints. This is the main point,” Netanyahu said, when it comes to any ceasefire agreement with Lebanon. “Agreements, documents, proposals . . . are not the main point,” Netanyahu said, knowing he’s at war with Iran through its Hezbollah terror group. Lebanon doesn’t admit it’s no longer an independent U.S. member-state.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of Ononecolumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
