Well what did you expect? Journalism about Hezbollah is a swamp of pro-Hezbollah propaganda. Sometimes journalists mask their bias under a thin veneer of objectivity - my favorite was when they used a footnote from a pro-Hezbollah shill in a study by a pro-Hezbollah shill for an article by a pro-Hezbollah shill. But sometimes they don't bother:

The opposition, suggests Mr Fneish, did Lebanon a favour when it sent militants to the streets of west Beirut to intimidate its pro-western opponents: the May events, after all, precipitated a solution to a two-year stand-off that had paralysed government institutions. "Suppose May had not happened," he says. "There would not have been a solution and the country would be completely divided... True, a national dialogue between Lebanese parties has been launched but it is looking to forge a "national defence strategy" rather than the specific disarming of the group, which world powers had demanded... Hizbollah has much to boast about. As its backers, Syria and Iran, have weathered US pressure in the past few years, it too has confronted the pro-western parliamentary majority which had sought to disarm it.

Well that's a relief. I was worried about Hezbollah's promise to restart a genocidal war against Israel under the umbrella of a newly armed and overly confident Iran. So I guess all those reports of how Hezbollah's takeover provided breathing space - again helpfully transcribed by a credulous international media - were right. Look how well things have worked out:

Though it is Lebanon's most powerful force, its room to manoeuvre in south Lebanon, and its ability to taunt Israel, has been constrained by the presence of thousands of UN troops. As western diplomats point out, not a single shot has been fired on the border since the end of the 2006 war.

Awesome! I mean, it's flat out false. But wouldn't it be totally cool if it was true?

Back in this reality, State's Lebanon strategy - from "balancing" Lebanese and Israeli interests during Lebanon II to giving cutting edge tech to what is now a Hezbollah-controlled government to installing UN peacekeepers in South Lebanon - has been a disaster. Hezbollah proved that they can stop the country at will so the government caved to their demands. The army has stopped fighting them. Even March 14th's leaders have reportedly given up. The only people who still think diplomacy is working are Hezbollah, their media and academic shills, and the people who are going to be running US foreign policy in the coming Obama administration.

References and previously moved behind the jump...