Middle East Politics.Net » Hezbollah

Syria on Stage Again

sanajong — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:48:42 +0000

As Syria steps onto the main stage again and foreign dignitaries are eager to do business with its president, Bashar al-Assad, is it necessary or fair for the West, under pressure from Israel, to continue to demand that it break ties with Hamas and Hezbollah?

If these are legitimate and recognized political parties in the Middle East –what legal grounds do we have in order to make such demands?

Sade San A Jong

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Hezbollah Expresses Approval of Aoun’s Visit

sanene — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:26:03 +0000

December 5th, the Lebanese pro-Syrian Shiite group Hezbollah voiced its approval of Christian opposition Leader Michel Aoun’s trip to Syria. Hezbollah’s parliamentarians expressed their excitement as from their perspective Aoun engaged Syria and approached it with the right outlook instead of repeating some of the mistakes of the past. This was a historic trip because of Aoun’s previous vehement disagreement with Hezbollah ideologies; however since Syria’s pull-out in 2005, both sides have come together as allies with visions for the future for both Lebanon and Syria.

Samuel Anene

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Hezbollah and Next Elections in Lebanon

Samantha Foley — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:48:07 +0000

Hezbollah’s statements that they plan to take over the Lebanese government in the upcoming election, includes talk about how they will govern the country under a national unity government and work closely with Sunni-led coalitions as well. They think they will be able to grab the majority in the Legislature in the 2009 elections and put a complete stranglehold on the other minorities. Hezbollah has veto power in the current government system that was formed in July after a political crisis that almost led Lebanon into a civil war. So what is in store for Lebanon if Hezbollah takes control? Surely the Western-supported political parties will lose there control and the fate of Lebanon will be uncertain.

Samantha Foley

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Hezbollah in Lebanon Confident of Victory

sdemetri — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:44:23 +0000

Hezbollah has declared its confidence that it will be victorious in Lebanese elections next year. Currently, the militant group is a minority only by a slim margin, and Hezbollah senior officer Nawaf al Mussawi has asserted that victory in next year’s elections is well within sight. A major point of tension is the relationship between Lebanon and Syria, the nation that militarily occupied Lebanon until the controversial 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, lies in direct contradiction to the current Sunni majority’s anti-Syria platform. The elections are a further concern to a much wider international community, as it will pit Hezbollah, backed by Syria and Iran, against the US-supported Sunni majority. The US in particular is no doubt concerned by the possibility of Hezbollah coming to power: Washington considers the group a terrorist organization. Despite such political tensions both within Lebanon and beyond its borders, Hezbollah has pledged to remain committed to national unity. Said Mussawi, “We want to make it clear from now that we will want to establish a national unity government…No one can lead Lebanon on his own and without consensus.”

Stefanie Demetriades

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Hezbollah and Phalange Pass the Blame

Samantha Foley — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 05:12:46 +0000

Hezbollah blamed Phalange for recent incidents at Lebanese universities. Students have been speaking out against Hezbollah and its supporters, saying that there is no place for them in their universities. Hezbollah spoke out against these incidents calling for less hatred, and instead acceptance of one’s “brethren.” In Hezbollah’s statement on Sunday they sent a message “to all extremists regardless of whatever sect they belong to: your future won’t be any better from your present.” Hezbollah spoke out strongly against these dissenters, but the Phalange party responded to the statement with confusion. They released their own statement questioning where Hezbollah received information that they ever spoke out against peace.

Such accusations are very unhealthy for the nation’s future. If they expect to move forward, there needs to be an understanding and compromise between these internal groups. Many see Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, but they have become a major power within the country. As such they have the ability to call into question the legitimacy and validity of other groups. The Lebanese government must work to get these various groups and sects under control or suffer continuous internal conflict.

Samantha Foley

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Hezbollah Preparing for Another War

Samantha Foley — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:26:06 +0000

Reports have come in that Hezbollah has tripled its stockpile of missiles, compared to how many they had before the 2006 Lebanon War. That war lasted 34 days as Hezbollah fired thousands of missiles into northern Israel killing 40 civilians. Meanwhile, more than 1,125 Lebanese, most of them civilians, were killed by Israeli attacks.

Hezbollah’s military wing, the Islamic Resistance, now possesses missiles that could reach much farther into Israel. Israel now is preparing to take wider action due to Hezbollah’s infiltration of Lebanese infrastructure and government. Israel would take aim at the civilian infrastructure of the nation in hopes of preventing future attacks. If a new conflict were to begin, the attacks from both sides would be much worse.

Given the knowledge that each side has, one can only hope that the leaders of these nations will push for peace. Hezbollah now has 42,000 missiles compared to the 14,000 they had in 2006, and as a response, Israel is preparing a counterattack on the civilian infrastructure of Lebanon. Both sides could cause devastating damage to the state and loss of life. It should be a priority amongst the Israeli and Lebanese governments to further monitor this situation and ensure it does not escalate.

Samantha Foley

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Golan Heights Not Too High a Cost

Joshua Bark — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 23:36:46 +0000

An Israeli government report has recommended pursuing peace with Syria, even at the cost of returning the Golan Heights. This has been a major sticking point in peace negotiations in the past, and should the government follow these recommendations, could be a promising lead to peace talks.

Turkey is currently serving as a mediator between the two countries, but an official has said that when Barack Obama is inaugurated as President of the United States, he should lead talks between the two countries.

President al-Assad has refused preconditions, which include ceasing support for Hamas and Hezbollah and cutting back ties with Iran. However, negotiations always start from the extreme versions of demands, so many think that if a deal is close, al-Assad will agree to talk. Barack Obama has also stated his support for talks before preconditions were met (but stated that he would ask for “preparations,” the semantic difference of which is not yet clear), so his involvement in these talks may indicate this will not be a problem.

Joshua Bark

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Jordan and Other Arab States Warn about Iran

malcoun — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 18:04:07 +0000

Iran and Syria have failed to cooperate with two investigations regarding suspected clandestine nuclear work according to the United Nations atomic agency. Shiite Muslim-governed Iran supports Hezbollah, based in Lebanon. The United States classifies Hezbollah as a terrorist organization working with both Iran and Syria. The U.S. allies, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt have warned of the spread of Iran’s influence through Shiite surrogates. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has often denied Israel’s right to exist. The United States has accused the government in Tehran of supporting insurgents in Iraq who have fought American troops.

Kasey Malcoun

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Hezbollah Leader Warns Against High Hopes for Obama

vvahedi — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:04:55 +0000

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has warned followers to not have high hopes for US president-elect Barack Obama and his administration. Nasrallah voiced his opinions in an interview with The Daily Star of Lebanon.

” Don’t exaggerate hopes nor give people high expectations so that no one is disappointed or makes miscalculations,” he stated. “I don’t want to anticipate events, but logic dictates that we not bet on changes in injustice or believe that he will be more lenient or less unfair than his predecessor.” Nasrallah also speculated on why Obama has received such high popular rates with cultures and political parties outside of the U.S.” Our Arab world, our Third World, and our African world can empathize with Obama because of his past or the color of his skin, but politics and interests are a different story.”

Nasrallah’s opinion varies greatly with other published reports that state that Lebanese citizens are confident in Obama’s political abilities and find him to be a welcome change from the current U.S. president and administration. One reason for Nasrallah’s anti-Obama message could be linked to Obama’s campaign promise to support the state of Israel and his vow not to negotiate with known extremist organizations, such as Hamas or Hezbollah, until they renounce their ties to terrorism.

Venus Vahedi

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Olmert: Continue Syria Talks

Joshua Bark — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 23:55:38 +0000

Outgoing Israeli PM Olmert has expressed his desire to continue indirect talks with Syria before he leaves office. He has stated that he is interested in talks, not necessarily in reaching an agreement by the time he leaves. How much good the talks will do is in serious question, however: he was already supposed to have left office, but incoming Kadima party leader Tzipi Livni has as yet failed to form a ruling coalition. Critics in his country have accused Olmert of overstepping his ‘caretaker’ bounds, and his political power is very limited at this time.

The international stage is a problem for these talks as well, as Syria has already stated it is unlikely to reach a deal until the new U.S. presidential administration has taken office. However, Olmert’s desire for talks for the anticipated three remaining months of his rule can further the process with Syria, and the American elections are coming soon. A main sticking point on the Syrian side in the memo they sent to Israel is of course regarding the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 War. The Israelis hope to discuss Syrian support for Iran and Hezbollah.

Joshua Bark

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