The Christian Wing Of Hezbollah
Well, if this poll from this August was any indication, this was bound to happen sooner or later:
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec. 1 — The official goal was to overthrow the government, but the atmosphere was bizarrely festive on Friday as hundreds of thousands of Hezbollah supporters poured into the center of Beirut, banging drums, chanting slogans, pressing shoulder to shoulder as they surged past army troops seeking to keep order.. . .A recorded message by Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, echoed over the square: “As I’ve always promised you victory, I promise you victory again.�
In this fight, the battle lines are not so much ideologically driven as leader driven. Many said they were present because their leaders had asked them to participate, including the few noticeable followers of Gen. Michel Aoun, the Christian whose party is allied with Hezbollah.
“Maybe Michel Aoun has made a mistake with this alliance, but the March 14 forces have made many mistakes over the years,� said Bernadette Chemail, of Kesrun, using the name for the governing coalition. “The Shiites are Lebanese; we cannot throw them away.�
General Aoun was the special guest at the rally and gave a brief speech from a lectern protected by bulletproof glass.
“We seek to return to power — not to rest on the seats of authority, but for the sake of our participation,� General Aoun told the crowd.
On one side of this fight are Hezbollah, its Shiite ally, the Amal party, and its Christian ally, General Aoun and his Free Patriotic Movement. Their alliance, which is considered pro-Iranian and pro-Syrian, wants veto power over all government actions. On the other side are the March 14 coalition: Sunni, Druse and Christian parties aligned with the United States and France who control the largest bloc in Parliament, and therefore the government.
General Aoun’s alliance with Hezbollah caused a huge split within the Christian community and may have cost him some political support. It was also clear that the Sunni Muslim community, one of the largest in Lebanon, was clearly in support of this government. In a rare show of support, the grand mufti, Muhammad Qabbani, gave the Friday Prayer from inside the Grand Serail.
Do we really need an ally like Israel that unites people of all faiths in the Mideast against us?