A handpicked candidate for prime minister by Hezb'allah will likely win parliamentary approval today. Thus ends the independence of the Lebanese state. Even the New York Times sees the writing on the wall with their headline, "Hezbollah Chooses Lebanon's Next Prime Minister:"A prime minister chosen by Hezbollah and its allies won enough support on Monday to form Lebanon's government, unleashing angry protests, realigning politics and culminating the generation-long ascent of the Shiite Muslim movement from shadowy militant group to the country's pre-eminent political and military force. Hezbollah's success served as a stark measure of the shifting constellation of power in this part of the Middle East, where the influence of the United States and its Arab allies - Egypt and Saudi Arabia - is seen by politicians and diplomats as receding, while Iran and Syria have become more assertive.American diplomats tried to forestall the triumph of Hezbollah's candidate, Najib...(Read Full Post)