On the contrary, the militant wing of Hamas turned it’s back on its own government and continued attacks on Israel. And when Hezbollah invaded Israel on the border, killing soldiers and taking hostages, Israel responded (as anyone could have predicted) with massive force, bombing Beirut’s airport, bridges and the section of the country which Hezbollah controls, in the south of Lebanon. The victims of course, were the Lebanese people, caught in the middle of this war of rage and destruction. 600,000 people have been displaced. Those who could afford it, have fled Lebanon, including Philippine oversees workers who are just now arriving back home in Manila, in chartered planes, arranged for by the Philippine government.

From a military standpoint, it soon became clear that there was more to this conflagration than Hezbollah vs. Israel, when the Hezbollah rocket fire was upgraded, and they used new, far-reaching rockets and missiles that reached beyond the border towns of Israel, to Haifa, 30 miles from the border.

So who supplied them with this state-of-the-art equipment? The 12,000 missiles and rockets that are in Hezbollah’s arsenal are thought to be provided by Iran.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright suggested, in a TV interview, that Iran may have put Hezbollah up to invading Israel in order to take the world’s attention off of Iran’s nuclear threat and the subsequent UN resolution against it.

The Lebanese government clearly cannot control Hezbollah even if it wanted to. Hezbollah is ‘a state within a state’ and has more munitions and more public support than the Lebanese government. Hezbollah and Hamas are both supported by individuals and governments outside of Lebanon and the Palestinian territory. Hamas is said to have received more than 0 million in cash from Iran, which was funneled through Syria, which is sympathetic to both terrorist groups.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has called for a ceasefire. But US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice who has gone to the Mideast to negotiate, thinks an immediate ceasefire is no answer. There have been ceasefires before which have been broken. Israel’s aim to disarm (or destroy) Hezbollah would be to the interests of peace in the Middle East, as would the dissolution of the radical militant wing of Hamas. So long as those two are firing their rockets and missiles at random there is no prospect of a peaceful settlement in the Middle East. Secretary Annan blamed both sides, Hezbollah for its invasion of Israel and Israel for its overreaction. But the Israeli ambassador to the UN merely responded that "it will take as long as it will take." Israel is determined to disarm Hezbollah and the majority of Israelis back the government position.

To reach any diplomatic solution that will hold requires the cooperation of Syria, Iran and the United States as well as a multinational force to form a barrier between the two countries. That may take a long time in coming.

Secretary Rice, who met with leaders in Beirut, Palestine and Israel maintains that only a "sustainable ceasefire" will bring peace to the region, which will require a multinational force to keep Hezbollah out of reach of Israel.

She joined Middle East and western leaders in Rome to try to work out a feasible plan to end the conflict, but the meeting ended with no clear plan of action. The U.S. wants Hezbollah disarmed before a ceasefire. Others demand a ceasefire now.

From Rome, Secretary Rice flew to Kuala Lumpur, to join ASEAN talks aimed at defusing the North Korean Nuclear threat.