Hezballah’s popularity – Mystery solved

Less than a week has passed since the ceasefire has been declared and Hezballah is already getting ready to rebuilt what Israel has destroyed:

“Hours after a cease-fire went into effect Monday, Hizbullah leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, appeared on television and promised to help Lebanese rebuild, pledging money for civilians to pay rent and buy furniture.

…people whose homes were totally destroyed will get money for one year of rent as well as for new furniture. Those whose homes were damaged will either fix it themselves and then collect money, or Hezbollah will send workers to do the job”. Read full article here

Is it any wonder then that the people of the South, marginalized and poor, support Hezbollah?

Bush has claimed numerous times that he seeks to win “ the hearts and minds of the Arab people”.

How about the following proposition for a change:

Instead of paying for bombs that destroy people’s homes and kill innocent civilians, how about using that money to invest in hospitals and schools? How about helping these people rebuilt their homes?

Seems pretty clear-cut to me:

Assist someone in rebuilding their home – gain their support and admiration.
Support and fund the destruction of that home – gain their anger and resentment.

Obviously financial/monetary aid is not the only reason why people choose to support Hezballah, but it sure is part of the equation.

Families and their possessions have crammed into vehicles, some clutching pictures of Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. (BBC News)

I already expressed my outrage at the Lebanese people for their lack of support and unity with the people most affected in this conflict, so no need to do it again.

And the winner is… ?

After more than a month of fighting, both sides have declared victory.

Bush claimed:
“Hezbollah attacked Israel. Hezbollah started the crisis, and Hezbollah suffered a defeat in this crisis,
Similarly, Nasrallah declared that his guerrillas achieved a “strategic, historic victory” over Israel.Now let’s review things a little bit.
Israel went into this war in order to:
1) Get its captured soldiers back.
2) Weaken Hezballah.
3) Help the Lebanese people “get ride” of Hezballah.Here is what they accomplished:
1) They failed to retrieve the two soldiers and will inevitably only get them back through negotiations.
2) The last day of fighting saw Hezballah launch more than 200 rockets on Israel. Hence, they were hardly weakened.
3) In terms of public support, Hezballah is now more popular then ever (at least in some circles) and I am sure their recruitment levels are at an all time high.

On a personal level, PM Olmert sought to score some political points by proving to his people that he could protect them. Unfortunately for him, his approval ratings declined from 75% when he first went into this war to 45%.

Hezballah, on the other hand sought to:
1) Get an exchange for the Israeli soldiers (will happen soon)
2) Prove that they are indispensable. (Already accomplished).

Now it would be great and dandy if Hezballah’s victory were synonymous with Lebanon’s victory. Unfortunately for us, that is not the case. Nasrallah can proclaim that he won all he wants; only the fact remains that Lebanon lost.

Lebanon lost 1000 of its civilians, thousands of others were rendered homeless, it lost its bridges and roads, and it lost its cherished tourism sector. In sum, the country lays in ruins. It will take years to re-built what has been destroyed and it will take years for the Lebanese people to even consider peace with Israel.

Our only claim to victory is that we showed the world that we couldn’t be bullied.

Furthermore, what we learned from this war is equally important: the international community does not support us nor will it intervene to stop the destruction of Lebanon. Now where does that leave us in regards to the disarmament of Hezballah? Who will protect Lebanon in case something like this happens again? One could argue that this war would not have started if it weren’t for Hezballah. However, ” President Bush and Vice President Cheney were convinced that a successful Israeli bombing campaign against Hezbollah could ease Israel’s security concerns and also serve as a prototype for a potential US preemptive attack to destroy Iran’s nuclear installations.” The plan was sealed prior to the July 12 kidnapping of the soldiers. Read full article here.

However, all of this does not mean that Hezballah gets away scotch free. Nasrallah still needs to explain himself. His self-righteous and arrogant attitude is getting infuriating. Claiming that “the Lebanese army and international troops are “incapable of protecting Lebanon” and that right now is the “wrong time” for a public discussion on disarming the guerrilla group” is not going to cut it anymore. If not now, then when? We need a framework to work with.

Lastly, I believe that this war was a “test” for the Lebanese people. A test to see how united we would be in the face of an enemy, a test that would show whether we would be divided at the first sign of a conflict. Fortunately we passed the test this time, not because we were united but rather because there was a consensus that another civil war would be detrimental. People’s memories proved to be the greatest deterrent. So the question now is: what about the next generation (The one that didn’t live through war)? How will they handle things?

Unity for a strong and free Lebanon

History is repeating itself once again in Lebanon and we are being duped into others’ games and here we are, choosing sides and fighting against each other. Nothing has changed and I have very little hope that things will.

Regardless of what we feel personally about Hezballah, why are we always taking our aggressors’ side?
How can anyone defend Israel’s army when an entire nation is being held captive? Why do we always allow our neighbors to make our decisions for us? How can anyone justify the killing of over 130 innocent civilians and the destruction of an entire country? Are the people in the South not Lebanese as well? How can so many people be empathetic in the face of this aggression?

We don’t see the Israelis questioning themselves or their governments on the reasons behind the kidnapping of the 2 soldiers? How many Lebanese are still rotting in Israelis jails for no reason at all other than their resistance to the occupation of their land?

….
Beirut: August 16,1982