(New Republic) Thanassis Cambanis - Today, Hizbullah dominates Lebanese politics as the majority party, choosing the prime minister; it commands a formidable standing army; its complicity in domestic political assassinations no longer is credibly debated; and it remains comfortable with its deep, compromised embrace of Bashar Al-Assad's criminal regime in Syria. However, Hassan Nasrallah's critical patron in Syria is teetering, threatening to vastly curtail Hizbullah's military power, and his source of money and weapons in Iran is distracted by sanctions, a feeble economy and its nuclear showdown with the West. The Assad regime has long allowed Syria to serve as Hizbullah's rear staging area. Without Syria, Hizbullah could find itself isolated in the tiny confines of Lebanon, where about half the population detests Hizbullah and its project.
2012-09-28 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive