Lebanon - It's War...

It might as well be official...there's a new civil war in Lebanon now, between Hezbollah and its allies and the Siniora government.

Following Hezbollah leader Sheik Nasrullah's declaration of war, Sunni parliamentary leader Saad Hariri attempted to head off the fighting by abasing himself, promising to work to rescind the government's decision to shut down Hezbollah's telecom spy network and asking Hezbollah's leaders to cooperate with him in keeping the peace.

That was like throwing meat to a shark.

In response, Hezbollah, beefed up with armed militia from the Syrian Socialist National Party (SSNP)quickly took over the Sunni areas of West Beirut, as well as the roads leading to the airport and the sea port...and directly attacked Hariri and Druse Leader Walid Jumblatt:

Earlier in the day, a rocket-propelled grenade struck the fence of the heavily protected residence of Saad Hariri in the suburb of Koreitem, a Muslim area of western Beirut.

Hariri, leader of the Future bloc, the biggest party in Lebanon's governing coalition, was believed to be inside at the time but unhurt.

Earlier, armed men loyal to Hezbollah forced Future News, the news channel of the Future media group, off the air in Beirut.

"Gunmen surrounded the building, stormed into the garage and demanded that the army shut down the station," a senior TV official said.

Security sources said Hezbollah and fighters from the allied Amal movement - both Shia groups - had overrun offices of Hariri's Future conglomerate across the predominantly Muslim western half of the Lebanese capital.

The headquarters of the Future media group's Al-Mustaqbal daily was also surrounded by fighters firing rocket-propelled grenades, setting fire to one floor, its managing editor said.

Nadim Munla, the general manager of Future TV, told Al Jazeera that masked armed men entered the control rooms and cut off the cables.

"We have been effectively prevented from broadcasting and doing our jobs as media professionals," he said.

Jumblatt's home was also fired upon.

There's also strong evidence that the army, which is over 50% Shiite may have turned, or at least a major part of it.

They have done nothing to impede Hezbollah from taking over West Beirut and other strategic areas. And when Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora gave army chief General Michel Suleiman, a Hezbollah ally an order to declare a state of emergency and deploy the army, Suleiman refused to obey the order and warned that if the government enacted an emergency, he would order the troops to return to barracks.

Jumblatt,as usual, pointed the finger correctly..."If you want to know where this originated, the answer is in Tehran." This is undoubtedly a response to US success against another Iranian proxy,the Mahdi Army in Iraq. And to rumblings in the US about attacking Iranian training camps who's' troops target our men and women there.

There are really only three ways this can end: with the Siniora government totally capitulating to Hezbollah and essentially going along with the country being owned by Iran and Syria;with the Siniora government attempting to resist and likely being defeated;or a change in the status quo from direct outside intervention, either by the US or by Syria.

Of course, if we're merely talking strategy, the most effective counter to this would be for the US and Israel to join forces with the Siniora government and Jumblatt's forces to exterminate Hezbollah and Amal as a joint venture and secure Lebanon once and for all.

That won't happen in a million years...not under the present administration, at any rate.