Since 2004, the United States has explicitly, repeatedly and passionately singled out Lebanon as an arena where Hezbollah and other regional Islamist forces backed by Iran and Syria would be faced down and defeated. But now the United States will face these forces from across the same cabinet room table, not as bludgeoned and defeated foes, but rather as partners and colleagues in Lebanon's national unity government. When Hezbollah and its erstwhile foes exchange kisses, a befuddled Condoleezza Rice should take care not to fall off her exercise bicycle.
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Middle East is fast evolving away from the old Israeli-American dream of "Greater Israel", and the "New Middles East "that the neocons were dreaming of. Now, not only Israel HAS TO limit its expansionist appetite, but it has to give up more of the stolen land in order to extend its artificial existence. When Bush was celebrating its 60th birthday, he did not realize that colonialism and apartheid were DEAD as of last century, and the Zionist regime already had extended its life beyond history's mandate. He was talking about the "next 60 yerars". 60 years is just a historical blink, and historical aberrations such as state of Israel indeed can exist for such duration, in particular if a main superpower tries to keep it afloat politically, economically and militarily. But hopes of much longer existence of an abnormality like the Zionist regime is just that, a hope.
Now US is losing its international clout, in part BECAUSE of its inflexible Israeli policy beyond the cold war, a point up to which Israel actually did serve the US positively. Since the end of cold war, Israel has been a huge liability for the US, but the Israeli lobby has tried to kept the same misguided foreign policy. This is unsustainable and the new realities in the Middle East are forcing the US to adapt a much needed foreign policy change. The emergence of Iran as a main regional power need to be admitted as a corner stone of this policy.
