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Mideast Dispatches

The power of Nasrallah

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Friday, December 8, 2006 | 02:19 PM ET

By Nahlah Ayed

Last night, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah addressed the thousands of his supporters who have been rallying for his cause in the middle of downtown Beirut.

But the entire country listened.

As he railed against the current, western-backed government led by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, I toured the city. And in every neighbourhood: Sunni Muslim, Shia Muslim, even Christian – I could hear the echo of the words as I was intently listening to on the car radio – at cafes and stores, in other cars, and from the dimly lit windows of virtually every home.

It was the first time Nasrallah spoke publicly since the Hezbollah-led opposition took to protest on Dec. 1. Every day and night since then, thousands of opposition loyalists have been camping out in downtown Beirut, with no intention of leaving until they achieved their aims. A couple of days ago Hezbollah organizers even started the process of winterizing the tents.

And everyone wanted to know what the fiery Hezbollah leader was thinking: it would determine where the country was heading next.

Beirut functioning, but far from normal

It takes a lot to paralyze Lebanon. Despite the huge opposition protests in downtown Beirut, the nighttime clashes around the city, and the pro-government protests in Tripoli and Akkar to the north – the country is still, for the most part, functioning, at least on a superficial level.

Planes are still landing at the airport, and traffic, though even more snarled than it is usually because of the mayhem downtown, still signals the continuation of normal activity. ATMs are still spitting out cash, and people, though hesitantly, are still spending it. The huge department stores are still well-stocked, and adorned with Christmas decorations; the faint, familiar voice of Frank Sinatra ironically cajoling shoppers to do the impossible: "Let’s forget about tomorrow…."

As they often do so deftly, the Lebanese have adjusted. But it’s far from "normal," at least the "normal" that has prevailed since the devastating summer war with Israel, during which the Lebanese adjusted, too.

Some Lebanese would say the opposition – led by Hezbollah but joined by Christian, Druze and even some Sunni Muslim allies – has taken the country hostage. The prime minister and several of his cabinet members, worried about their safety, are sleeping at government headquarters: now a fortress protected by menacing razor wire, tanks and well-armed soldiers – and overlooking a sea of protesters. The government, having lost opposition ministers who resigned last month, is unable to function. Downtown has been transformed into a huge pedestrian zone, a bustling tent city awash in Lebanese flags. The fledgling businesses there on permanent vacation.

And there he was last night, Nasrallah – not in the flesh of course, his life being in constant danger – on huge screens downtown, talking to the people.

He told the country there would not be civil war, despite growing fears that there might just be a relapse of the country’s chronic, sectarian malaise. He said there would not be fighting between the country’s Sunni and Shia Muslims, despite the repeated clashes over the last week that led to the shooting death of a 21-year-old Shia protester Ahmed Mahmoud, and the injury of several others.

He also levelled a serious allegation against the government that could change the tone of this standoff.

The blame game

Some among the government have suggested that Nasrallah should be held accountable for the damage inflicted on the country following Hezbollah's war with Israel, a war some here say wouldn’t have started if Hezbollah hadn’t snatched those two Israeli soldiers on July 12.

Yesterday, Nasrallah turned the accusation around, putting the blame for the war on the government. He accused unnamed members of the cabinet of treason: of asking the United States to sanction an Israeli war against Hezbollah, so that the only seriously armed group left in Lebanon could be destroyed. He also accused Lebanon’s security agencies of trying to block weapons from reaching Hezbollah during the war, even working on locating key Hezbollah leaders to report to Israel.

These are dangerous allegations in a country where many believe collaborating with their enemy – Israel – is a crime best punished with death.

Ahmad Fatfat, who was acting interior minister during the war, said that Nasrallah’s allegations "incited confessional strife, and was an invitation to kill me and (prime minister) Siniora."

And in some ways, he’s probably right.

Nasrallah wields enormous power here. What he says, among his supporters, goes. If he told all of his protesters to go home this instant, they’d be gone in the blink of an eye.

If he tells them that a cabinet member is guilty of treason, then so it must be.

And that’s one of the biggest obstacles to solving this impasse. Siniora’s government can do all they want to try to get the protesters to go home. They can say all they want to try to persuade opposition loyalists that they want what’s best for this country, that they are working for Lebanese, and not foreign interests.

But the person they must convince first is Nasrallah himself.

So far, they’ve yet to succeed.

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Comments (2)

Gerald

There appears to be a standstill in Lebanon.What else is new? As long as we have the US and by proxy Israel supporting puppets, whether it be in Lebanon or Iraq or any where else there will be a stand still. Some time back there was jubliation in the streets of Lebanon when Syria vacated voluntarily.

If that was vacating, in any terms then what preceded that was invasion and occupation. Then when will Israel vacate Palestine, Syria and Jordan? When will the US, Britain, Australia and a few othere countries vacate Iraq?

When will the above and Canada vacate Afghanistan? I prefer to call these by their two most POWERFUL, TRUTHFUL and affective names i.e. INVASION & OCCUPATION.Please stop invading then there will be no invasion.

Posted December 19, 2006 09:49 PM

Harold Hotham

I have to wonder where the voices of dissent are. Why are they silent? Where is the media?

Nasrallah is correct in that the US do have regional interests. It seems to elude his intellectual argument that a democratic and stable Lebanon is in everyone's best interest, not just the US. Most importantly it is in the best interest of Lebanon, but not Hezbollah. This is the argument he is defusing.

The Americans are out to do business. A stable government is conducive to that end. If the government or the companies inside a country are blinded to the real value of their goods, it does seem more than a little obscene to blame the US for that country's own bad bargaining.

Blaming the Americans for every ill in the world is wearing thin. I have to wonder how long these countries would last if the US quit doing business outside of the G-8? This means not just buying but also not selling the equipment to produce. What would be the argument then?

Then there is the blame game of making Israel the bad guys. The Israelis are not stupid. They are outnumbered. The Israelis practice the world's oldest treatise on war: Sun Tsu: The Art of War. If the Israeli enemies would read and understand this writing, they would realize Israel wants peace. However this is not the case. Israel will continue its present course until peace can be achieved on equal terms for everyone.

So what is left? Fear mongering, and propaganda spouted by men with ambitions of absolute power. Nasrallah is no fool. He has seen the game played, taken his notes and is now playing his own version.

In my opinion, the future looks very bleak for Lebanon if the people dont put an end to it; and soon.

Personally I would prefer to see a peace negotiated by honest men of integrity, with an eye on making it last. Unfortunately there doesnt seem to be the will for that. It would appear to run contrary to Nasrallah's goals.

Posted December 11, 2006 08:27 PM

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