Can We Get Serious?

But going to the U.N. is pointless. The U.N. Security Council already demanded, in 2004, that Hezbollah disarm. And while there are U.N. troops in Lebanon, they’ve never taken steps to enforce that resolution. So there’s no reason to believe the U.N. can accomplish anything.

Cohen concluded with a false moral equivalence. “The root cause is Syria and Iran supporting the Hezbollah. And the root cause is, again, Israel, in terms of its continued expansion of settlement on the West Bank.” Cohen’s right on the first count, wrong on the second.

Israel has, in recent years, completely pulled out of Gaza and Lebanon. And it’s indicated a willingness to negotiate over the West Bank. It’s shown, again and again, that it’s willing to hand over land, if only its enemies will make peace. Israel has cut that root cause off at the root.

The real problem is that Iran and Syria are supporting terrorists, and these terrorists are heavily armed and eager to kill. The only way to stop them is to kill them or force them to disarm. The U.N. isn’t going to do that; only a powerful military can.

Simply delivering a cease-fire won’t deliver peace. Peace isn’t the absence of fighting -- it’s what exists when people would rather co-exist than fight. Hezbollah wants to fight and kill non-Muslims, and especially Americans.

Unless we want to see the terrorist group succeed, we’d better get serious about stopping it. First we have to allow Israel to finish off Hezbollah. Then we can talk about a cease-fire and maybe even build peace with people who want it.