Weapons continue to pour into Lebanon from Syria, giving Hezbollah time and opportunity to rebuild their forces, despite the international community’s effort to stop them. The Lebanese government’s ability to shut off the arms supply has been severely handicapped by an ill-equipped and largely ineffective military presence and a populace that largely shares the ideals of both Syria and Hezbollah.

New York Times writer Craig Smith wrote September 14,

Israel wants the expanded United Nations peacekeeping force, already deploying along Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, to monitor the Syrian border as well to keep weapons out. But Syria says it will consider that a “hostile act,” and the Lebanese in this region warn that any foreign presence will face stiff resistance.”We will consider the United Nations as occupying troops, and we will have the right to resist them,” said Abdul Nasser Asahili, an official of Hermel, the [Lebanese] district’s capital.The border region is dominated by Shiites, who have a strong allegiance to Syria ….

The inability of Lebanon to control its outer districts shows that the border is purely political, with both sides supporting the arms trafficking. United in their sympathy toward Hezbollah, the people of eastern Lebanon and western Syria are bound to continue to allow arms to flow in support of their anti-Israel ambitions.

The feeble Lebanese Army has proven to be insufficient, and while the Lebanese leadership may support the arms embargo, the lower ranks of the army are “sympathetic to Hezbollah’s cause” (ibid.).

Is there any hope of squelching the arms movement if no one on-site is willing to stop it?

As Hezbollah’s stockpiles continue to grow, Israel’s calls for a more robust international presence are sure to intensify. This may convince the European-led force to take tougher action.