Hezbollah pulling out of Beirut

BEIRUT: Hezbollah on Saturday began withdrawing gunmen from Beirut and handed control of the streets to the Lebanese army, after days of gunbattles with supporters of the US-backed government.

Hezbollah, a political group backed by Iran and Syria with a guerrilla army, said it was ending its armed presence in Beirut after the army overturned government measures against the group. Hezbollah seized control of much of the city on Friday after fighters loyal to the group routed gunmen loyal to the anti-Damascus governing coalition.

The Hezbollah-led opposition said it would maintain a "civil disobedience" campaign until its demands were met, but gave no further details.

Lebanon has been in political deadlock for 17 months over opposition demands for a greater say in government. Four days of fighting which has killed 37 people erupted after the government said it was taking action against Hezbollah’s military communications network and sacked the head of security at Beirut airport, who is close to the Shia group. Hezbollah said the government had declared war by moving against the network, which played a crucial role in its 34-day war with Israel in 2006.

The Harriri Muslims and catholics really don’t want war

Sure, the Hariri Muslims and the Christians in Lebanon don't want war. But they are caged up with well funded Hezbollah, who are eager for war. The only way to peace in a death match with a violent enemy is victory. The winner lives in peace, the loser is buried and their place in the history books rewritten in a footnote.

My take is that the Iran-Syrian supported Hezbolla is seriously preparing for war with Israel, but one they have a realistic chance of winning, thereby destroying Israel, or at least forcing Israel to use nukes to avoid annihilation.

But they are smart enough (after a sixty years of learning the hard way) not to go straight for the frontal assault. Rather they are ratcheting up and down, intending to avoid massive retaliation, and hoping to wear the enemy (Israel and its big Satan sponsor, the U.S.A.) down.

Short of a major response from Israel or the U.S.A, the Syrian backed Hezbolla forces in Lebanon seem to pretty much own the place, as they did prior to the Cedar revolution, three years ago. The elected government is a walking shadow, receiving little U.S.A support other than lip service from the State Department.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.