In an interview with a clearly liberal reporter from Der Spiegel, Israel’s foreign minister Tzipi Livni provides a clear, no-nonsense defense for her country’s military actions in Lebanon:
SPIEGEL: What is the goal of the military action?
Tzipi Livni: It’s not only about the goal of the military action but about the demands of the international community that we explicitly share. They are: there must be a government and an army in Lebanon. There can no longer be militias and terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah. Hezbollah must be completely disarmed. They should no longer have the ability to be armed by Syria and Iran. In southern Lebanon there can be no more Hezbollah bases. The Lebanese army must be stationed there in its place. The global community a while ago demanded that the Lebanese government fulfill its responsibilities. It hasn’t yet done so.
SPIEGEL: The complicated political situation in Lebanon makes the Lebanese government extremely weak. How can they be held fully responsible for Hezbollah’s violent acts under these conditions?
Livni: Whether weak or strong, a government carries the responsibility for whatever happens within its country. We are currently considering the question of whether we must strengthen the Lebanese government from the outside so that it would be able to fulfill its responsibilities.
More kick-a– comments therein.
