The Israelis have gained little by agreeing to the cease-fire put together by the United Nations... and not nearly as much as Hizballah has gained. Will Hizballah refrain from attacking innocent Israeli civilians again once Iran has had time to resupply and rearm them? No. Will Europe, the UN and our own Liberals stop blaming Israelis every time they defend themselves from terrorist attacks? Again, no. Can we all, at least, finally agree that Islamic radicals are at war with the entire Western world? Certainly not.

On the surface, the Israelis seem to have gotten some of what they wanted: a buffer zone between Israel and Hizballah territory, manned by international troops. The extra twenty miles between the Litani River and Israel's border is meant to keep the bulk of Hizballah's Katyusha rockets from falling at random into Israeli towns. The presence of the Lebanese military as well as an international force sounds like just the ticket to keep Hizballah forces out of southern Lebanon.

It all looks good on paper. Unfortunately, it's merely political theater. None of the problems have actually been solved. The cease-fire is nothing less than a disaster for Israel and a major blow to the US and our allies in the war on terror. The only possible reason the US pushed for it, and Israel accepted it, was to afford Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert a graceful exit from a botched offensive.

UNSC resolution #1701 makes no attempt to disarm or disband Hizballah, a secret arm of the Iranian military and part of Lebanon's government, as mandated in previous UNSC resolution #1559. The "international force" will consist mainly of UNIFIL, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. That's the same authority -- flying the Hizballah flag from at least one of its outposts -- that did nothing to prevent Hizballah's acquisition of over 13,000 Katushya rockets as well as Fajr and Zelzal-2 missiles from Iran, the concealment of weapons and terrorists among the civilian population, or the firing of those rockets into Israel time after time.

As a result of this much-lauded cease-fire, Hizballah will be able to claim that they fought Israel's feared military to a standstill. Terror attacks from Hizballah and other terror organisations will likely increase as a result of this cease-fire. Instead of just Lebanese civilians to use as human shields, Hizballah will now have the UN and international troops to protect them. If... no, when they fire rockets into Israel from near UNIFIL outposts, and the Israelis fire back, the latter will take all the blame for any casualties. Remember, it was UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's condemnation of Israel after Hizballah used this very tactic that put pressure on Israel to stop fighting back against the terrorists. And under the terms of the cease-fire, Kofi Annan determines when -- and by whom -- it is broken. Any defense by Israel will be deemed a breach of the cease-fire, while Hizballah will once again be free to act.

Perhaps worst of all, the resolution grants a measure of legitimacy to terrorists and their tactics. The excuse Hizballah uses to cover their intention of destroying Israel -- Syria's claim to a part of the Golan Heights -- is treated as a valid claim made by a legal authority. (The UN, however, determined in 2000 that Israel had withdrawn from Lebanon to within its international border, which included the Golan Heights.) Although the UN has long been reduced to a soapbox for terror-supporting rogue states, this may be the first time that body has granted an actual terror organisation the bona fides of sovereign nations. By the use of terrorism through Hizballah, Syria has forced the issue back onto the table. The message this sends is clear: terrorism works.

Because Olmert failed to launch a serious ground campaign, missed the chance to strike at Hizballah's leadership, and lost the public relations battle to Hizballah and the mainstream media, the terrorists -- and their sponsors, Syria and Iran -- have won a considerable victory. I'd be surprised if Olmert's moderate government doesn't collapse as a direct result of the Lebanon conflict, especially when the rockets once again begin to rain into Israel.

Joe Mariani is a computer consultant born and raised in New Jersey. He now lives in Pennsylvania, where the gun laws are less restrictive and taxes are lower. Joe always thought of himself as politically neutral until he saw how far left the left had really gone after 9/11. His essays and links to articles are available at http://www.guardianwatchblog.com/