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Politics : WAR on Terror. Will it engulf the Entire Middle East? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ILCUL8R who wrote (14386)	7/24/2006 7:38:16 PM
From: ILCUL8R	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32591

Interesting slant in an article about Lebanon. Here is the tail end of the article: It follows that the folly whereby a sovereign government outsources its diplomatic and military policies to others must end. Therefore, once the fighting subsides, southern Lebanon must be brought under Beirut's rule, the way the American South was reintegrated after the Civil War -- politically, economically and spiritually. Governmental escapism of the sort displayed since 2000 by Beirut in south Lebanon cannot be tolerated anymore, as it creates vacuums that ultimately destabilize the international system. The good news is that what Lebanon is undergoing can eventually emerge as the beginning of a long overdue healing process. South Lebanon is endowed with stupendous mountains, gushing rivers, an agricultural tradition and abundant skilled workers. The locals may not always have the courage to say so openly, but the fact is they are mostly eager to embrace Hariri's legacy and join the cosmopolitanism and self-help spirit he has instilled elsewhere in Lebanon. If the cease-fire that will likely arrive in the coming weeks is followed by an international investment drive, south Lebanon can fairly quickly be dotted with bustling resorts, flourishing farms and profitable factories. Naturally, for all this to transpire, the same Lebanese who last year bravely faced up to Syria will now have to confront Hezbollah with equal zeal, telling it that the outer world is actually good and they in fact are out to join it. Yet for the Lebanese to be emboldened this way, the free world must understand that defeating Hezbollah in particular, and fundamentalism in general, will take not only military resolve and diplomatic acrobatics, but also financial initiative and ideological conviction. Amotz Asa-El is a columnist for the Jerusalem Post. Contact us at insight@sfchronicle.com. sfgate.com