For at least a decade, things have been gradually falling apart in Lebanon. Last week they collapsed further into chaos, a situation of such seriousness that Israeli Deputy Prime Minister David Levy was moved to declare, "A spirit of madness is passing over that war-torn country, where reason and common sense are not used, but rather suicide, blood, murder."
The madness came in a variety of forms. In southern Lebanon, Israel's measured troop withdrawal has bogged down in an increasingly violent guerrilla war conducted by Shi'ite Muslim activists who have been attacking the departing troops at every opportunity. Those assaults, and...