Behind the rhetoric of sovereignty lies an armed exception called Hezbollah

What exactly is meant by Lebanese sovereignty? Is it a principle by which Beirut possesses supreme authority over Lebanese territory, or merely a useful incantation to be uttered whenever an Israeli soldier crosses the frontier? And if Lebanon is indeed sovereign, one is entitled to ask the rather elementary question: by what constitutional miracle does Hezbollah maintain an army, an arsenal and an independent capacity for war without making nonsense of the word?

There is a small but revealing dishonesty concealed inside much of the diplomatic language applied to Lebanon. Israel is instructed to respect Lebanese sovereignty, withdraw its forces and honour the integrity of the border. Very well. These are not outrageous demands. But anyone making them acquires, at the same moment, an obligation to explain why the identical doctrine of sovereignty apparently loses its force a few kilometres farther north, where Hezbollah has for years maintained weapons, commanders, military infrastructure and a political authority that no ordinary sovereign state could permit without confessing........

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