Sunday, October 15, 2006

Hizballah In Distress

Lebanon is not what it used to be.

Although Hizbullah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah continues to boast about a "divine victory," significant signs point to the fact that the situation in Lebanon is not as of yore.

One of the signs can be seen in the fact that Hizbullah decided to cancel the central rally for Jerusalem Day – the last Friday of the month of Ramadan, in which supporters of the Shiite militia commemorate Jerusalem every year through military demonstrations and belligerent statements.

This year Hizbullah officials announced that the central event has been cancelled and that local rallies will be held in the different regions. The organization's statement said that this is a historical year, in which the "robber of Jerusalem" (i.e. Israel ) suffered a crushing and historical defeat by the group's fighters, and that the organization has decided to settle for the mass victory rally held on September 22.

"In order to ease on our honorable public, we decided to replace the central event with local activities," the statement said.

It appears that Hizbullah is trying hard to find ways to "ease on the public" as time passes since the war. The school year has just begun, and in Beirut's Dahiya neighborhood students arrived at the ruins which were once their schools.

In the Bekaa Valley, a large number of students flocked to the classrooms which have already began operating, and fears rise over the winter which is on its way, especially among those who have been left homeless.

Therefore, it is not surprising that in Hizbullah's stronghold of Baalbek, demonstrators have already taken to the streets, claiming that they are on the verge of hunger.

"The failure to deliver governmental compensation for the demolished houses is pushing us to a state of hunger," owners of the ruined houses chanted during a demonstration Friday. Although the protest was directed at Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, it appears that if the situation is not improved, Hizbullah will also hear about it.
So the big money dispenser from Iran/Hizballah that was supposed to provide hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild destroyed housing in Lebanon was a propaganda sham.

Well propaganda does not put food on the table (except for the propagandists).

Siege warfare is slow. Its bite is inexorable. Hizballah is going to have a lot fewer supporters in May than it has even now.

Perhaps Hizballah/Iran could take lessons from Clinton. It's the economy, stupids.

1 comment:

TonyGuitar said...

This is a good one. I thought the Hez standing in ruins peeling off greenbacks to the peasants was a pr farce.

It was re-enforced when I read about riots for wages by the public service gang in the Gaza.

Let*s hope the hez is in fast fade mode as the tactical truth dawns upon at least some their proxy victims.

There could be an element of Iranian tight-fistedness due to Hezbollah*s failure to effect a more decisive victory,
or any victory at all.

That will backfire on both Iran and the Hez. Lebonese are not likely to find any humour in their welching on an obligation and promise. = TG