There actually is a decent argument for giving Shebaa Farms to Lebanon, in order that it would be one item that could be crossed off the list of things Hezbollah cites as reasons for the maintenance of its militia. It might weaken Hezbollah politically in Lebanon. But the problem is that Hezbollah (as it proved in May of this year) does not depend on public opinion for its political strength. That era is long past.
And we also know how groups like Hezbollah respond to territorial concessions -- they are strengthened and encouraged by them, not the opposite. But that's not even the real problem with Daniel Levy. The real problem is that he thinks Hezbollah has limited grievances. If Israel gave Hezbollah the Shaba, and handed over the Golan to Syria, and closed down Dimona, and sent bouquets of flowers to Nasrallah, Hezbollah would still want to destroy Israel, and it would still want to dominate Lebanese politics and act as an Iranian platform. There is no connection between anything we can do for Hezbollah and what Hezbollah wants. There is only a power relationship, what the group wants versus what it's capable of accomplishing. Silly gestures like Shaba will not affect that. Hezbollah simply moves the goalposts every time one of its ambitions is realized, or looks like it might be realized.
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2008/11/noah-pollak-daniel-levy-doesn-apos-t-understand-hezbollah/9091/
