"The two men, an ally of Israel & a reluctant partner of Hizbollah – exchanged banalities... "

the National/ here.

"... A few days ago, Lebanon celebrated the 10th anniversary of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from its south. Little wonder that many Lebanese, deeply scarred by the painful, 22-year long occupation, still rejoice at the memory of the Israeli Goliath’s sloppy and hasty retreat across the border......

For its part, Israel anticipated a brief war in 2006. Instead, it fought the longest one in its history and emerged, at best, with a draw, leading to a public flailing of its military. It restored some of its “pride” with its fearsome Gaza operation last year. Now it appears keen to settle old scores with its nettlesome northern neighbours.

How else to explain Israel’s decision to top off weeks of heated warnings to Hizbollah and its sponsor Syria by scheduling military exercises on its northern border, just as the Lebanese were commemorating their anniversary? Israel seems itching for another opportunity to apply the Dahiyeh Doctrine, which calls for targeting and levelling entire neighbourhoods as a way to make the entire Lebanese population suffer for “harbouring” Hizbollah.....

Contrast this feverish atmosphere with the uneventful meeting in Washington three days ago between the US president, Barack Obama, and the Lebanese prime minister, Saad Hariri. The two men – the former an ally of Israel and the latter a reluctant partner of Hizbollah – exchanged banalities. The leaders appeared to do little to turn back the coming storm."