The U.S. may have to resume talks with Syria

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WASHINGTON - Everyone knows that Israel's Lebanon wishlist will not be met in its entirety. A number of the concessions that Israel will presumably have to agree to in the days and weeks to come have already been leaked from the various and sundry diplomatic talks being held in Beirut, Jerusalem and Rome.

Hezbollah will not be disarmed, at least not in the short term. Any international force to be deployed in Lebanon will serve as little more than a buffer force along the border. The likelihood of its remaining there depends largely on the goodwill of Hezbollah, and perhaps that of Syria and Iran, too.

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Nevertheless, Shaba Farms is on the table because Lebanon asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to put it there, and for the time being Lebanese requests carry a lot of weight. The U.S. paid a high price in terms of its international image for its near-unconditional support of Israel's campaign, for which it will demand painful concessions for the sake of maintaining the stability of the Lebanese government.

The U.S. realizes that Israel will probably not succeed in destroying Hezbollah's infrastructure in Lebanon. It hopes that strengthening the government in Beirut will eventually enable that regime to get the job done, but is not counting on it. "Right now Hezbollah is not disarmed, and to hold off as the precondition for deployment of force.. is to create a precondition that cannot be met," Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs David Welch said Wednesday while flying with Rice from Israel to Rome.

Haaretz