It is astonishing that Le Monde has chosen to cover the founding of a pro-Saudi regime group in Lebanon and billed it as a Shi`ite movement intended on opposing hegemony of Hizbullah. But when they say hegemony (as in "Au Liban, des personnalités chiites se dressent contre l’hégémonie du Hezbollah") do they imply that popular support for Hizbullah among Shi`ites (repeatedly registered in free elections) is not voluntary? That it is coerced? That shows you how much those Western journalists in our lands know about the region and its politics. The funny part which is not mentioned in the article is that the Saudi regime and Hariri family have been forming such groups almost every year since 2005 and none of them ever went anywhere. But this Le Monde writer seems to know better. Good luck. Remember when in 2005 after assassination of Rafiq Hariri and then in 2006 after the Israeli war on Lebanon, the US press was filled with articles about how Hizbullah is losing support among Shi`ites and that Nasrallah's days--just as Bashshar's days--are numbered? I remember.
PS The funny part is that even the Lebanese press largely ignores such announcements because they happen at such frequency and never amount to anything.
PS The funny part is that even the Lebanese press largely ignores such announcements because they happen at such frequency and never amount to anything.
