Hezbollah Suffers Defeat in Lebanese Election

Huh?

Lebanon’s Western-backed coalition defeated Hezbollah and its allies, according to official results Monday that dealt a stunning setback to the Iranian-backed militants and set the stage for renewed political deadlock in the volatile nation.

The winners celebrated in the streets, setting off fireworks and driving around in motorcades honking hours before the official results were even announced.

Sunday’s parliamentary vote was an early test of President Barack Obama’s efforts to forge Middle East peace. A win by Hezbollah would have boosted the influence of its backers Iran and Syria and risked pushing one of the region’s most unsettled countries into international isolation and possibly more conflict with Israel.

The election was a good thing.  No doubt about that.  But how is it an “early test” of Obama’s efforts in the Middle East?  This strikes me as the reporter’s rather parochial mindset that assumes that everything ties back to America.  Not everybody in the world makes decisions based on what America is doing.  They have their own interests, priorities, and issues too.