Opinions | Columnists
When sheepdogs turn wolves
Hezbollah's coup deepens the divisions in Lebanon even further.
- By Duraid Al Baik, Foreign Editor
- Published: 23:37 May 10, 2008
Beirut is now burning, and those who once claimed to defend their citizens against the enemies are the ones who have stormed its streets and closed its media outlets. The fighters who once trained to liberate the south of Lebanon from Israeli occupation and defeat the enemies of the nation are the ones who are exercising their strength on the streets of Beirut today. This, thanks to Lebanese politicians who pushed the country to the brink of a new civil war.
I will never believe someone with military might will not use that power to settle political disputes with others. Nations and groups possessing military might - be it the United States or Iraq, or even Hamas or Hezbollah - unfortunately always end up using it to settle political differences. Those who believe in the world of values are day-dreamers.
The evidence that morals and values are worthless in today's world and that political interests are always the top goal of any power was illustrated clearly by Saddam Hussain, who portrayed himself as the champion of Arabism, but went ahead and invaded his closest Arab neighbour, Kuwait, on the dawn of August 2, 1990 in order to settle political differences.
The same mistrust in values was portrayed by the champion of democracy and human rights in the world, the US, with its invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003. The small, ugly dictator of Iraq was replaced by a worse, even more bloody regime , with American help.
It happened in Gaza as well when in August last year Hamas decided to eliminate the power of Fatah and to expel its fighters from the city.
Back to Beirut, where we watched yesterday a similar breach of values when Hezbollah and its allies stormed the offices of political opponents and beat their compatriots in front of the world.
Regardless of values and morals, Hezbollah admitted on Thursday that the issue of its communication network had never been a serious problem for the government in the past as it was at the core of the political bargain between the two factions. The leader of the party, Hassan Nasrallah, told a press conference in Beirut prior to the coup that the government was ready to allow the party to keep its communication network - if the latter agreed to facilitate the election of a new president for the country!
Confrontation
Obviously, Hezbollah weighed its options and decided to provoke the confrontation instead of finding a solution because of what it sees as an easy victory in the battle for the city.
Now the battle of Beirut is over and Hezbollah's triumph was achieved at a minimal cost of only 20 lives. The question is: what will Hezbollah do to impose its political views now? How can it offer a solution instead of complicating the situation further?
It is clear, at least for now, that Hezbollah was not looking for a compromise to solve the crisis as it had plenty of options. Hezbollah has certain political demands and is willing to see them enforced even if the enforcement requires the use of its military force against those it calls "traitors".
It is obvious that the Hezbollah project cannot exist side by side with those who oppose it in Lebanon and in the region, and thus the only way to solve the crisis is to enforce the party's project with the help of its abundant military power.
For the foreseeable future, there is no one on earth who is capable of standing up to Hezbollah in Beirut, including those backed by the US and the West. The US will keep its political pressure on Hezbollah, Syria and Iran, but it will stop short of pushing them to change their position towards the party at this point of time.
The only solution to the Lebanon lies in the hands of Nasrallah, who could form a government of liberation and war against Zionism and American interests in the region. He could expel the UN peace-keeping forces from the south of the county in order to expand the presence of his troops near the border with Israel. Following Hezbollah's takeover of Beirut, Nasrallah could ask western diplomats - who used to meet with government figures to plot against Hezbollah - to leave the capital today. But he should remember that all the above actions will not solve the problems; in fact they will complicate them.
Nasrallah's actions are crucial to the future of party and the security of the nation. It is clear he made the wrong move, but he still has the chance to correct his position.
In my opinion, Hezbollah has no choice but to allow the election of a new president and restore the government.
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