Hizbollah Tells Lebanese to Cool Anti-Syria Line
By Alistair Lyon, Beirut (Reuters)
The overthrow of Saddam, a successful election, and the Cowboy President's SOTU speech must have inspired more than a few, as opposition leaders in Lebanon urge for a "peaceful uprising" to rid themselves of Syria's dominance in the wake of the murder of the Sunni former PM, Rafik al-Hariri. Hezbollah leaders, now a formidable party in Lebanon's parliament, however, warn of the consequences.
"God forbid, if the roof collapses, it collapses on all of us," [Hassan] Nasrallah told tens of thousands of Shi'ite Muslims gathered for Ashura, the most solemn event in their calendar.
"Today we are responsible for a nation that came out of the civil war ... but we face acute problems, especially this year and in the past few months," the black-turbaned cleric declared. "As Lebanese, we have no choice for remedying our crises and problems except to discuss and meet, even if we are angry and tense," he said. "We must not repeat the mistakes of the past."
Read in entirety at above link.
Echoing my sentiments in a roundabout way is Jack Kelly's article in the Toledo Blade, "A Shift in the War on Terrorism". Mr. Kelly notes that factions in Lebanon, normally snipping at each other, had banded together under Mr. Hairiri's leadership in their common cause to regain control over their country from Syrian and Iranian backed Lebanese leaders... of which Hezbollah is one of the biggests benefactors.
Syria views Lebanon as a part of Syria, much as Saddam Hussein coveted Kuwait as a part of Iraq, and is loath to let go. "For decades now Syria has been losing card after card in a steadily weakening strategic hand. It's domination of Lebanon is one of the last and most vital of them," wrote David Hirst, a correspondent for The Guardian.
If the purpose of the Hariri assassination was to intimidate the Lebanese, it isn't working out so well. The turnout for his funeral was huge, and the crowd was angry.
Yes... the war on terror is global. And it is also expanding in the citizen warriors in their own countries. Unlike Iraq, it isn't taking US Coalition troops marching in to see the movement towards more democratic freedom and representation in the Middle East.
No comments:
Post a Comment