Sunday, October 09, 2005

Hizbullah, after Hariri's assassination. From the standpoint of Lebanese politics, and the standing of the party in the domestic context, I can say this. Hizbullah is adding to its collection of political blunders since the assassination of Rafiq Hariri. They started with the highly exaggerated and effusive praise of Hariri (which was not sincere to begin with), and then they aligned themselves with Lebanese Forces, Hariri types, and others during the election. And the party would not allow one deputy to win in South Lebanon who was not a member of Amal or Hizbullah, not even Anwar Yasin. And then there was a brief attempt to form a committee to spread "virtue" in South Lebanon, but that did not last when As-Safir and others expressed outrage at a Saudi-like idea. And then Nasrallah met with Amin Gemayyel. And the Party failed to present the Lebanese people with a coherent plan as to why it should retain its arms especially given the history, present, and future of Israeli aggression against Lebanon. Now, they are providing legitimacy and cover to the Sanyurah government which started its offensive against the Palestinian refugee camps in order to impress Dick Cheney. They should read the text of UNSC 1559 to know where this will lead to. The Lebanese government campaign against the camps is a rehearsal for Sa`d Hariri's plans (at the behest of Cheney of course) against anybody who believes that Lebanese should not be disarmed unilaterally. And let us not forget that Hizbullah's silence on US occupation of Iraq severely hurts its standing among Arab public opinion, and only reinforces a widely held view that the Party represents an Iranian agenda.