There has been a lot of chatter lately regarding Hizballah’s relationship to the West. The Lebanese political/social/guerrilla group has been meeting with British officials for the past two years. Such meetings have led people to suspect a possible thawing in the relations between the United States and Hizballah, an idea that the U.S. is quick to counter.
Officials from the U.S. have been asked to comment on the meetings, and have not confirmed any change in their stance that Hizballah is a terrorist organization and they will not be bargained with until they recognize Israel and renounce violence, neither of which is likely to happen soon.
The change in administrations to Obama from Bush is another factor causing people to suspect a change in policy. With Hizballah expected to make further gains in the June parliamentary elections and strengthen their influence in Lebanon, ignoring them or simply writing them off as a terrorist organization seems to be growing more difficult for the West with each passing day.