Once again, Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah, have dragged Lebanon into a war. Once again, Hezbollah has shown that its loyalty is to its paymaster in Tehran, not to the Lebanese people or state, whose well-being and security are matters of indifference to them. Once again, Hezbollah’s practice of using human shields to protect its facilities and operations has produced dislocations and a humanitarian crisis. It is a sadly familiar pattern dating to the early 1990s, as many of us know all too well.
But there are differences today. These differences are a cause for hope. And they are reason for persistence and determination in making the effort to end once and for all this pattern that makes Lebanon a landscape for regional conflict. With such effort, American support will come.
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