A significant statement by an American official could signal a shift in U.S. policy to an aggressive stance against Iranian mischief through its proxy Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon. Following talks with leaders in Beirut, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale indicated an end to turning a blind eye to the fictions of Hizbullah as defender of Lebanese sovereignty and as an organization with a legitimate “political arm.” The Shiite Islamists maintain a stranglehold on the Lebanese government and have turned south Lebanon into an armed camp sporting more than 100,000 missiles aimed at its southern neighbor, Israel. The just-completed mission of the Israeli army to discover and destroy tunnels dug from Lebanon into Israeli territory to use as platforms for launching warfare against the Jewish state appears to have been the final straw in deciding to control Hizbullah or as some believe, a coordinated action against which to announce the new American approach. Referring to the Hizbullah fighting force that Israeli military officials have warned is more powerful than the Lebanese army, Hale said “It’s unacceptable to have a militia outside the control of the state and unanswerable to all the people of Lebanon, digging attack tunnels across the Blue Line into Israel, or assembling an arsenal of over 100,000 missiles with which to threaten regional stability.” Alluding to the Hizbullah line that it supports and complements the army, Hale acknowledged Lebanon’s right of self-defense but admonished, “that is the right of the Lebanese state alone.” Hale apparently tried to assuage allies’ concern over the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the region. But asserting that “we will expel from Syria every last Iranian boot through diplomacy and cooperation with our partners, and work with the UN-led political process to bring peace and stability there” sorely missed its mark.