Lebanese Government Tries to Take Away Adults' Toys: 'Hand Over Your Weapons to the State!'

The Lebanese government has decided it's time for Hezbollah to hand over their weapons to the state, just like a Karosta security chief who, after the night shift, forbids soldiers from playing with ammunition.

Prime Minister Salam announced that "all Hezbollah military operations are immediately prohibited." This decision came just hours after the group decided to resume their favorite hobby — shooting rockets at the neighbors. As one local expert put it: "Well, if we in Liepāja can't shoot rockets at Riga, then they shouldn't either."

What's particularly spicy about this situation is that Hezbollah is represented in both the government and parliament. It's like having deputies sitting in Liepāja city council who throw stones at city windows in the evenings, but decide the city budget during the day. At least our tram drivers only curse, they don't shoot.

Now the US and France are being called upon to guarantee that everyone plays by the rules. This reminds me of a situation where Karosta and downtown neighborhood boys agree on territorial division, but one of them still carries a knife in his pocket. Lebanon now has to figure out whether they're really ready to trade weapons for the negotiating table, or if this is just another time when adults say "we'll talk" but then continue doing the same thing.