Hezbollah’s heft

Tuesday’s massive rally by Hezbollah in Beirut in support of Syria’s continued presence in Lebanon has truly set the cat among the pigeons. In one single grand stroke it has nailed the talk doing the rounds that all of Lebanon wants Syria and its state apparatus out of the country. No one with an interest in Middle Eastern affairs can afford to shut their eyes to this reality. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the Bush administration has, in a major foreign policy shift, signalled it was ready to accept Hezbollah as a player in mainstream politics in Lebanon, as was reported by The New York Times on Thursday. Though the US has officially denied it, ground realities dictate it is time the superpower recognised that Hezbollah is a huge political force in Lebanon that could block Western efforts to get Syria to withdraw its troops.
Conventional wisdom says that it is time the West encouraged the Shiite group to focus more on politics now with the elections around the corner, which is all the more important since Shias form the single largest community in the politically fragmented country. This is specially so since no one can ignore the situation in Lebanon where the divide seems to be steadily deepening between what is being termed the government’s ‘opponents’ and ‘loyalists’. The 1.5-million-strong show of strength indicated the magnitude of the support the loyalists’ enjoy. It also reflected the considerable support for the regime that appreciates Syria’s role since 1976 and showed that a large percentage of the population supports that role and opposes any attempt to belittle the role the Syrian army has played to maintain security and stability over the past 30 years.
This should be warning enough for the West, particularly for the US and Israel, not to try to re-kindle a sectarian war in Lebanon.
It also underscores the need for others to understand that there are forces in Lebanon that stand against foreign intervention, the internationalisation of the issue and substitution of Syrian forces by others. These factors should be taken into consideration by the external “well-wishers” while also remembering that finding the truth behind the assassination of Rafiq Hariri and those who were behind it would be in the interest of the regime, the opposition and Syria. Also, it is incumbent on the present rulers to consider political reforms because overlooking them could lead to more frustration, which in turn would mean wider resentment.

This is an editorial published in Oman Tribune