So much for that vaunted UN ceasefire:

Lebanon's new government Wednesday endorsed Hezbollah's right to keep its weapons, the latest sign that the Iran-backed group has no intention of meeting a United Nations resolution calling for it to disarm. Lebanon's government is a shaky coalition of Western-backed factions and the militant group Hezbollah, which has virtual veto power over the government. The group is believed to have thousands of rockets and missiles hidden in basements and bunkers throughout Shiite Muslim areas of the tiny country. The government decision came as the Lebanese army opened fire at four Israel Air Force warplanes that were flying above southern Lebanon, a Lebanese news agency reported. According to the report, the jets were forced to leave Lebanese airspace and return to Israel as a result of the anti-aircraft fire.

Shocking that a Lebanese unity government which includes Hezbollah would be pro-Hezbollah. Israel's reaction is the logical one: if you want them, you own them. Any future attack by Hezbollah will, per Barak, be interpreted as an attack by Lebanon. I'm not sure why he thinks that's credible.

Whether Hezbollah is considered a part of Lebanon will be - as it always is - a function of what's best for Hezbollah and worst for Israel. If there's a ceasefire in place and the US needs excuses for engagement then the State Department describes Hezbollah unity agreements as "positive and necessary steps." If Hezbollah has just started a hot war and Israeli jets are destroying their facilities throughout the country then suddenly State Department officials insist that Lebanon bears no responsibility and should be insulated. It's a rigged game but it's not exactly a subtle game.

And there will be another war. Hezbollah isn't bringing in hundreds of tons of Katyushas and long-range rockets and shells and bullets from Iran and Syria to let them rust. Those weapons are also coming in - thanks to Hezbollah's global fundraising network - via the United States. Hezbollah's pretty open about how they'll be used:

Although the organisation denied last week that the weapons were intended for its use, senior commanders have done little to disguise the scale of rearmament. "Sure, we are rearming, we have even said that we have far more rockets and missiles than we did in 2006," said a Hezbollah commander, speaking on condition of anonymity... "We had to blow up or leave some of our bunkers and fighting positions, but we still have plenty of capabilities in the south. We expect the Israelis to come soon, if not this winter, then they will wait until spring, when the ground isn't too soft for their tanks."

Unblinkingly contradictory anti-Israel diplomacy won't be the only deja vu part of the next war. The enlarged contingent of UN peacekeepers - which has been threatening military action against Israel since day 1 and long ago started busting Israeli intel assets - will again and predictably serve as human shields for Hezbollah soldiers.

And of course ditto for civilians: