Hezbollah is on the attack. After it's self-proclaimed "victory" against Israel, it's PR machine is in high gear and it has again pre-empted the government by promising to shelter the homeless and rebuild their homes. Unfortunately, that is the best part of what came out of Nasrallah's mouth in this evening's speech - the rest of it was his subtle stirring up of sectarianism, declaring (in not so many words) that Hezbollah will never disarm and that the state is useless and weak and cannot protect its people. He even went so far as to issue thinly-veiled threats to all who dare oppose him. Proof that attack is the best form of defense.
All those who were pro-Hezbollah remain so, perhaps even more now that it has promised to rehouse them and feed them. Those who were against Hezbollah are now being subjected to threats and intimidation to stop them trying to disarm the militia, to delay any attempt to rid the country of this "state within a state".
Hezbollah sees that it is going to come under strong internal pressure to disarm and disavow any more military action. At least, that is the hope, although I'm prepared for the current government to show us it still has a yellow stripe down its back. At this juncture, national dialogue is useless and bound to fail as it did even when there was no war. The only way to stop a bully is to stand up to him and if we don't do it now, we're simply sending the message that we will allow Hezbollah to do whatever Iran and Syria want them to. As a governmental policy, appeasement has historically been proven to invite more aggression. Now is the time to stand firm and halt this insidious attack on what is left of Lebanon.
The country's real battle started today, the moment that unbelievable speech ended.
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3 comments:
The "cease-fire" may not mean peace, but it does mean that Lebanese can't rely on the Israelis to make tough decisions for them. Forget the government for a moment! What are you going to do?
Solomon2,
In a democracy, the hope is that one's views could be aired at the ballot box although with our lopsided voting laws and districts I don't hold out much hope for that.
As for us relying on the Israelis....well, they were only making decisions for themselves not for Lebanon, much in the same vein that Hezbollah were. We certainly weren't "relying" on them when they obliterated so much of our country.
How long before Nasrallah is the dictator of Lebanon and the bloggers are all refugees or dead?
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