May 09 2008
Lebanon Crisis: Hezbollah Fights Back
GUEST: Rami El Amine, founding member of SUSTAIN (Stop U.S. Tax-funded Aid to Israel Now), Lebanese American with family members still in Lebanon
Three days of clashes between Hezbollah and the U.S.-backed Lebanese government highlight on-going tensions in a country that has functioned for the past five months without a head of state. As of this morning, the Shia movement of Hezbollah has seized control of downtown Beirut neighborhoods usually patrolled by Sunnis loyal to the government. So far 11 people have been killed and dozens injured. The clashes were sparked by the Lebanese government’s disruption of Hezbollah’s telecommunications network. Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, speaking at a news conference yesterday said that the move was a “declaration of war … against the resistance and its weapons, for the benefit of America and Israel.” Nasrallah added that the only way out for the government was to rescind its decisions and attend talks with Hezbollah to try to address the conflict. Yesterday roads leading to the airport were blocked effectively grounding planes, while tensions continued in areas of central and south Beirut, where Sunni and Shia communities overlap. Gunmen have been firing rifles and rocket-propelled grenades in the capital Beirut. The fighting is seen as the worst internal conflict since the 15 year civil war ended in 1990.
One Response to “Lebanon Crisis: Hezbollah Fights Back”
Excellent portrayal from Mr Rami Al Amine. The US-Saudi-backed government of Lebanon has lost all legitimacy in 2006 when the Shiite ministers withdrew from the cabinet, and the political alliance between them and the Hariri team. The prime minister and his team kept their position by using sectarian stances, catering to their sunni constituency by creating a huge propaganda campaign for the last two years, echoed by the friday speeches in selected mosques.
The US foreign policy in Lebanon has been quite clear; they wrongly supported a poorly represented side in control of the country’s government, covertly sending them weapons and logistical support that helped them create an armed militia in Beirut and in various parts of the country under the banner of personal security companies. All these armed militias were clearly visible in Beirut during the clashes before they were quickly arrested by the Lebanese army due to their poor training and feeble bravado.
The US-Saudi backed government in Lebanon lost all credibility in the last few days.
It is to be noted that in December of 2006, a huge demonstration (a million and a half in a country of 3.5 million citizens) hit the streets of Beirut and protested in front of the government’s headquarters demanding the resignation of the prime minister, a new parliamentary elections and a new electoral law that can spawn a new balanced government in Lebanon. The prime minister “democratically” declared that he will not move a muscle. At the time, a different policy should have been adopted by the US planners in Washington, where a compromise could have been encouraged. Their refusal to do so, and refusing to give anything substantial to the opposition ever since resulted in what happened the past few days in Lebanon. The US and Saudi Arabia’s allies in Lebanon practically lost everything.