A Month of War

And now, at least a chance for peace

BY HOLDING firm on key points in United Nations negotiations, the Bush administration has given diplomacy at least a chance to work in Lebanon. The cease-fire resolution approved unanimously by the Security Council on Friday emphasizes the need not only to end the violence but also "to address urgently the causes that have given rise to the current crisis." The chief cause was Hezbollah, a radical Islamist force that has maintained a sophisticated army beyond the control of Lebanon's government. The resolution adopted on a 15-to-0 vote, if implemented faithfully by all sides, would significantly reduce Hezbollah's ability to cause trouble.

As always in the Middle East, however, it would be risky to bet on a smooth implementation, as events yesterday demonstrated. Israel, while planning to vote today on accepting the terms of the resolution, expanded its ground force in southern Lebanon and continued its airstrikes. Hezbollah's leader, while saying he accepted the resolution, vowed to continue attacking Israeli forces in Lebanon.

This war started when Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed others on the Israeli side of the border. It could have occurred on that side only, because Israel had long since withdrawn all its troops from Lebanon. Israel responded with air and ground attacks that on the whole were justified but painful in their effect on civilians, hundreds of whom were killed and hundreds of thousands of whom have been displaced. Hezbollah in turn retaliated by firing thousands of missiles into Israel with the deliberate goal of killing and wounding civilians.

Now the United Nations has called for the Lebanese armed forces to deploy to southern Lebanon and -- because they are woefully weak -- for an international force of 15,000 troops to join them. The resolution doesn't explicitly authorize the force to disarm Hezbollah but it does authorize it "to take all necessary action" to ensure that southern Lebanon can no longer be used as a base for attacks against Israel. Importantly, U.S. diplomats resisted demands that Israel withdraw immediately, which would have created a vacuum that Hezbollah would quickly have filled. Instead, Israel will withdraw as the Lebanese and international forces arrive, which could take several weeks. In the meantime Israel should accept and honor the spirit of the resolution, ceasing air attacks in Beirut, freezing its new ground offensive and responding only to direct provocations.

Secretary General Kofi Annan deplored how long it took for the Security Council to act, but it may be that the damage inflicted on Hezbollah during a month of fighting is what led it to accept the terms of the resolution. Alternatively, the militia may calculate that it can accept and ignore the terms -- that no Lebanese army or international force will dare prevent its rearmament and its return to the Israeli border. If so, it will be up to Lebanon's government, the United Nations and the European nations expected to supply troops to prove the militia wrong.