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Analysis: Hizbullah in distress
JPost Reg reqâd - EF New stuffGloating Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah will likely chalk up more headlines and anger more Israelis, particularly the families of the POWs and MIAs, before the week is through. But the demagogic leader of the Iran-backed, Syria-supported Lebanese terrorist group is actually in distress without room for maneuver. JPost is normally the more conservative Israeli paper (especially compared to Haaretz) - I donât know if this is face-saving spin for Sharon or not, but I still think the swap was a bad idea Ironically, by going ahead with the prisoner exchange, Hizbullah is disarming itself of its main raison dâ etre, further diminishing its legitimacy to remain Lebanonâs sole terrorist organization. well, I wouldnât discount the nutcases in the Paleo camps like Ein-el-hellhole, either "Just carrying out the deal is a great concession for Nasrallah. He climbed down a lot of trees on the way to this arrangement," said Prof. Eyal Zisser of Tel Aviv Universityâs Dayan Center. Nasrallah originally demanded the 1,500 Palestinians which they chose be freed. The agreed upon deal calls for 400 of Israelâs choice. He also conceded on demands to release terrorists with blood on their hands, such as infiltrator Samir Kuntar who killed four Israelis in a 1979 raid on Nahariya. asked for too much, settled for less Hizbullah collapsed in the talks because it is under pressure. The pressure is coming from inside Lebanon where more and more voices question Hizbullahâs reasons for existence and blame it for bringing misfortune to Lebanonâs stunted development. Walid Jumblattâs and Emile Lahoudeâs comments this past week havenât helped either, and theyâre homegrown idiots "In light of this, it was important for Nasrallah to close the deal, present its prizes, and to strengthen Hizbullahâs position inside Lebanon," Zisser said, adding that it would be fleeting. "While the prisoner deal will be a feather in his cap, in the end Hizbullah has a problem. It actually pulls the rug out from under them and the reason for the organizationâs existence. Until now, he could say he exists because of the Lebanese prisoners. What is Nasrallah going to say now to those who say the time has come to put an end to it all?" "weâre for the rest of the prisoners left behind"? Zisser said that there is a rising number of Lebanese who are questioning Hizbullahâs necessity. Newspaper editorials are saying that there are other, more important matters than the Shebaa farms, like the economy. Furthermore, the flowering of southern Lebanon has also restrained Hizbullah from heating up the border, where even the slightest action draws the IDFâs wrath. slightest = firing an anti-tank missile or capturing/killing three IDF soldiers while dressed as UN protection forces? Officers said that last weekâs retaliatory air raid for the deadly anti-tank missile attack on a bulldozer wiped out two bases and caused casualties. The group did not risk further Israeli retaliation since that would destroy their accomplishments in the south. But, one cautioned, "donât eulogize Hizbullah yet." Officers said that Iran and Syria are not yet ready to see the demise of their proxy for striking at Israel. They also predicted Hizbullah pushing its jihadist philosophy in the Palestinian front, where it has already made inroads in funding and directing terrorist attacks. I remain skeptical, and would rather see Nasrallah in the video playback of a hellfire attack Posted by: Frank G 2004-01-27 |
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