By Barry Rubin

I’ve written that Hizballah will have 60 percent of the seats in Lebanon’s new government, with most of the rest in the hands of Syrian-Iranian clients. This is a disaster for Western interests. Lebanon is now in the revolutionary Islamist camp along with Iran, Syria, the Gaza Strip, and the Turkish government.

But I was wrong! There have been some changes and now Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati has announced his cabinet. And guess what? Hizballah has 70 percent of the ministries! Does the Obama Administration have any serious policy reaction to Lebanon being controlled by a radical Islamist terrorist organization that is a client of Iran? You know, those people who killed 242 American soldiers a few years back, kidnapped and at times murdered other Americans, and waged a war against Israel in 2006 after which the United States and UN promised to help disarm them, block their arms’ imports, and keep them out of southern Lebanon?

Apparently not.

In fact, it has never done anything serious about Lebanon. And this threat has been obvious every day since the Obama Administration took power.

The punchline?: About a year or so from now I expect to be writing a similar article about Egypt.

Here are some of my Rubin Reports articles tracing this development:

April 28, 2009: Here Comes Hillary; There Goes Lebanon.”

June 4, 2009: “Hizballah Taking Over Lebanon? Don’t Worry! Be Happy!”

June 15, 2009 “Watch developments in Lebanon carefully as the struggle to form a government is going to be critical. And will the United States and Europe support the March 14 coalition, or rush to “engage” Hizballah, steps which will strengthen the radical Islamist terrorist group, and its Syrian and Iranian sponsors?”

Guess what happened.

September 1, 2009: “Lebanon: A Sinking Ship that the Obama Administration has forgotten….Walid Jumblatt, once the lion of the moderate coalition, has now deserted it, thus weakening the anti-Hizballah, anti-Syrian, Lebanese nationalist forces that want to keep Lebanon independent,”

July 31, 2010: “Syria Marches Into Lebanon; Saudis Surrender to Inevitable; State Department Proclaims Victory.”

Oh, here’s the “funny” part. The New York Times, which a few days ago was preaching there was nothing to worry about, now discovers:

“But the symbolism of Hezbollah’s choosing Lebanon’s prime minister was vast, potentially serving as the beginning of a new era for a combustible country whose conflicts have long entangled the United States, Iran and Syria. A practical impact may be the realignment of Lebanon away from the United States, which treated the government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri as an ally.”

Wow! You mean the takeover of Lebanon by a revolutionary Islamist group, armed by Iran and Syria that wants to wipe Israel off the map and expel Western influence from the Middle East “may” move Lebanon away from the United States?

August 11, 2010: The Week Lebanon Became Part of the Anti-Western Axis and West Governments Didn’t Notice

November 23, 2010: Obama’s Statement of Support for Lebanon Shows His Lack of Support for Lebanon

June 15, 2011: Lebanon: Things Keep Getting Worse.

I would be quite content for you to compare this to coverage in the mass media of Lebanon.