Israel Rebuffed on Lebanon

Lebanon and Syria today treated Israels offer to withdraw from southern Lebanon as something akin to an April Fools joke, indicating they werent interested in even discussing the matter with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After all, tacked on to the headline-grabbing announcement that Israel accepted a 20-year-old U.N. resolution ordering its withdrawal from Lebanon, is the rider that Netanyahu would only redeploy his forces once Israels security had been guaranteed by Lebanon and Syria. Since the U.N. resolution calls for unconditional and unilateral Israeli withdrawal, todays announcement looks like little more than a restatement of long-held Israeli positions. But then, most positions look better with a fresh coat of spin.