One of your previous commentators, Mr. Mohammed from Libya, I believe, #15, pointedly asks why/how Hezbellah can be terrorist organization if its representatives are part of Lebanon's government.

That is indeed the key question for the international community: why would such a government be recognized as legitimate if one of its participating parties is committed to violent disruption of its society, including launching war on its neighbor as well as carrying out political assassinations?

There are at least two plausible explanations. One of them is that the status quo is all that other friendly nations can do by way of encouraging peaceful change internally and compliance with international norms.

A more cynical answer is is that no other country at large, including the United States, has the stomach for forcing the sponsors of Hezbellah, Syria and Iran, to stop their undermining of Lebanon. In effect the country has become the plaything of those countries. And they would prefer some kind of rooted surrogate to bear the brunt of governance than take over all of Lebanese territory themselves. To do that openly and directly might indeed bring on UN Sanctions and great power intervention. Syria and Iran are too smart for that.

The collapse of the government is a natural course of democratic norms and such political crises happen due to conflicting opinions held by different parties. India, being the largest democracy on the earth, has witnessed collapse of government many a time in its history.Then jumping frantically upon a conclusion to turn the entire debate and crisis onto Hezbollah as a 'terrorist' outfit undermines the healthy discussion about democracy, its formation and process. It further brings to light the 'pride and prejudice' the westerners may have against an outfit they cannot force it to come to terms with.

For Dr. Sudrania in Mumbai:

Note that the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon was established _at the request of the Government of Lebanon_ It was not imposed upon them by the U.S. or any other nation. Moreover, the Lebanese government and the UN effectively signed a contract (UNSC Resolution 1644) to carry out the investigation into Hariri's assassination--of an international character but coordinated with Lebanese authorities-- and to try those eventually accused. Neither party can unilaterally withdraw from this contract.

Unfortunately, the Lebanese government is rather weak, and this once great country is gaping power vacuum. If Lebanon's true friends to do not back up the government, that vacuum will be filled only by Iran and its proxies in Syria and Hezbollah. "Staying out" of the situation is not what the Lebanese government is asking the world to do, and it effectively means ceding the country to vicious parties.

Lebanon was created for all the 16 different sects & religions..It has its own "democracy" & distribution of power. It has a pro Arab affiliation but not 100% Arab. It is neither East or West. That is what I studied in History class about Lebanon..Now all that changed with the creation of Israel & the influx of Palestinian refugees to Lebanon as well as the PLO. The civil War that lasted over 20 yrs, the Hizbullah with the help of Ayatullah Komeini in 1979 when he took over..The shift is clear going more towards radical Islam.. Hizbullah became a "lebanese" force when it succeeded in sending IDF soldiers out of South Lebanon & gained more seats in the cabinet. Being Lebanese living in the US, People have to make life choices. It is either white or black. I choose what I was raised on & that is a modern pro western Lebanon.

The current crisis is just one of many, in the recent past and the future in Lebanon. However, there is a bigger picture forming and that is the emergence of the Shiite sect of Islam. If one puts all the pieces together, one can see recent events that form a pattern. The fall of the Sha in Iran created the Islamic Republic of Iran, essentially a Shiite religious and military dictatorship. Their neighbor Iraq, with a majority Shiite population, was maintained as a secular, Sunni, dictatorship by the Baath party and Saddam Hussein. With the the US toppling of the Baathist regime, Iraq will rapidly move to become another Shiite state as an ally of Iran. The cleric Moktada al Sadr may very well take on the same role as that of the Ayatollah's in Iran.

Now move down to Lebanon and you see the growing strength of Hezbollah which tends to be viewed through the lens of a threat to Israel and a local phenomenon. Seen in the bigger picture of the rise of the Shiite's throughout Islam and it's no wonder they are supported by Iran. Now, look at a map of the region and you can see a "Shiite crescent" emerging in the Middle East. This emergence has, unfortunately been helped enormously by ourselves starting with the Sha of Iran in the 1950's, the toppling of Saddam Hussein and now the backing of the bombing investigation in Lebanon which seems to be helping Hezbollah in the peculiar manner of the Middle East in which "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". That is, anyone backed by the US is seen as an enemy and anyone opposing them is seen as a friend. Literally, by seeking to do the right thing in the cause of justice, we place ourselves yet again, in the position of helping the wrong people.