What Hezbollah Wants

How serious is the leader of Hezbollah in supporting the Lebanese Government?

You can't take that away from me

After successful diplomatic efforts from the government of Lebanon, lead by the fit Tarek Mitri, resolution 1701 saw light in a much better form than its initial inception.
Later, Hassan Nassrallah, the Leader of Hezbollah announced that he backed the Lebanese governments in its decision to send 15000 soldiers to the south. (A startling U-turn, considering his initial position that the Lebanese soldiers would be used to protect Israel and would do best to stay away from the south.)

There must be a catch. Mr. Nassrallah did express reservations over the resolution. Mohammed Fneish, the Hezbollah minister called it “unfair” and “insolent”. So why then did they back the government’s decision? What does Nassrallah want?

If I had to use just one word, I’d say “time”.

You see, Hezbollah was taken aback by the ferocity of the Israeli reaction, and, frankly, didn’t want this war. If you subscribe to the belief that Hezbollah is serving Iran’s interests, you’d understand the strategic importance of the ceasefire. Remember, Nassrallah, Syria and Iran were the most aggressive, from the very start, in demanding an “immediate ceasefire.”

The Logic is simple. The Missiles in the south were not meant to fight this trivial war. The purpose was to stack as much long-range missiles as possible to be used later as a deterrent in the Nuclear-confrontation between Iran and the US.

As Thomas Friedman put it:

Iran gave Nasrallah missiles to deter any Western or Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program. By frivolously playing their missile card now, Hezbollah and Iran have exposed and weakened Iran’s deterrent. Really dumb.

I never believed that Hezbollah was “hiding behind innocent civilians”. What I believe in however, is that Hezbollah is hiding behind an innocent civilian government. What Nassrallah needs right now is breathing space that only Mr. Seniora could provide.

The Idea is to go back to Iran’s favorite game of slowly stacking missiles. Who cares about when these will be used? As Walid Jumblat, referring to Iranians, puts it: “People who weave carpets have a very long patience”.

The challenge for us, the Lebanese, is to make sure that no public sweet-talking is taking place while another deadly time bomb is slowly being assembled under our noses, missile by missile.

(PS: Sorry for the irregular posting. My internet connection is giving me a hard time. Thanks for the concerned emails)

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