Cease-Fire Diplomacy in Lebanon

NYT Editorial

The 48-hour limited suspension of air raids that Washington pressed Israel into declaring was a modest step in the right direction, even though, as it became clear yesterday, it has far too many exceptions. Too bad that even this partial and temporary restraint came only after dozens of Lebanese civilians, many of them children, were killed by an Israeli air raid on the town of Qana.

It took the worldwide uproar over the Qana casualties to finally jolt the Bush administration into asking for something it should have sought many days earlier. Washington’s instant turnabout and Israel’s instant response has left the damaging impression that had America expressed similar concerns sooner, these and many other innocent Lebanese lives might have been saved.

But while the latest developments demonstrate that Israeli leaders can be persuaded to refine their strategy to take account of international opinion and human considerations, further adjustments are urgently needed. With the two-day bombing pause set to expire early Wednesday, Israel is already rolling out plans for an expanded ground offensive, which Washington has done nothing to discourage.

Before that happens, the temporary lull in Israeli attacks needs to be broadened into a full cease-fire and extended indefinitely while the United Nations Security Council works to create an international armed force to secure Lebanon’s border.

That promising long-term solution, which enjoys wide international support, will take time. No country has yet offered troops, nor has Hezbollah resigned itself to the idea that it will have to disarm, or at least remove its forces and weapons from the vicinity of the Israeli border. And once Lebanon’s airport and seaports are again fully operational and the road to Damascus cleared, there will have to be some way of making sure that Syria and Iran do not resupply Hezbollah with long-range rockets capable of hitting Israel.

But all alternative approaches pose even greater problems. Renewed Israeli airstrikes and intensified ground operations can offer no lasting solution unless Israel is prepared to undertake another lengthy occupation to prevent resupply and regrouping. The most optimistic Israeli commanders concede it would take at least 10 to 14 more days to locate and destroy Hezbollah’s rockets and command post. The mounting civilian casualty toll that would accompany an Israeli offensive of that length would multiply the huge propaganda gains that Hezbollah, Syria and Iran have already reaped and multiply the damage to Israel and the United States.

With the Security Council now preparing to act, Washington needs to call on Israel to accept an extended cease-fire while diplomacy proceeds.