Lebanon Faces Fallout from Hezbollah's Actions

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host:

Joining us now to discuss the internal politics of Lebanon is Rami Khouri, editor-at-large of the Daily Star, an English language newspaper published in Lebanon. Rami Khouri joins us from Istanbul.

Welcome to the program.

Mr. RAMI KHOURI (Editor-At-Large, Daily Star): Thank you.

ELLIOTT: Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has indicated he's prepared to take control of all the Lebanese territory, including Hezbollah's stronghold in southern Lebanon. What did he mean by that?

Mr. KHOURI: Well, I think it's not really clear what he means. He's obviously saying something that will appeal to the international community, to stop the Israeli attacks on Lebanon but at the same time it is obviously not something that he is able and probably even willing to do in the reality of domestic politics in Lebanon.

ELLIOTT: Because he's been under pressure from the U.N. and the United States to disarm Hezbollah.

Mr. KHOURI: Mainly it's pressure from Israel that's directed through the U.S. and then a little bit through the U.N. and then other means as well. But there are also many Lebanese who want Hezbollah to be incorporated into the Lebanese national armed forces. They don't want it to be an armed resistance group working on its own, partly because of what we are seeing now, that Hezbollah's decision to attack Israeli soldiers and kidnap them has triggered this huge reprisal. So it's not only external pressure, there's internal demands.

ELLIOTT: You say it's not likely that the Lebanese government could take control of southern Lebanon from Hezbollah. Why is that?

Mr. KHOURI: Well, partly because Hezbollah is probably much stronger militarily than the Lebanese armed forces. The Lebanese armed forces historically have been weak and Hezbollah on the other hand is extremely organized, has more high tech weapons as we're seeing now with some of these rockets being fired into Israeli cities. So trying to forcibly take over the south of the country by the Lebanese National Armed Forces would probably trigger a civil war and nobody wants that to happen.

They have been taking together in Lebanon for last couple of months about integrating Hezbollah's resistance forces into the National Armed Forces, but they were talking about it very slowly and it's not an issue that anybody is prepared to push very hard. The stakes are getting higher now, of course, because Lebanon is suffering. So there will be more political pressure on Hezbollah, but at the same time you're going to get more people supporting Hezbollah because it's the only group that has been able to put up any kind of resistance to Israel or to cause it any pain. So it's really a very difficult situation where you're getting both support and pressure on Hezbollah.

ELLIOTT: Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, went on television today and made an address. He talked about how his guerillas quote have complete strength and power, and added that as long as the enemy acts without limitations it is our right to act similarly. He also talked about the firepower that Hezbollah has. It almost sounded as if he were flexing his muscles and warning Israel that there's more to come. What can you tell us about his intent?

Mr. KHOURI: What you see is what you get. They say something and they do it. These are not people who play games. These are people who have emerged out of the rubble of 45 years of Arab diplomatic and military incompetence and mediocrity and failure and they've learned the lessons of their own leaderships about the collective Arab failure to either make war or make peace with Israel. So they're very disciplined, they're very clear. They are resistance movements. Hassan Nasrallah has said if our civilians suffer, Israeli civilians suffer. So it's very clear when you're saying it. There is nothing to figure out. I think the real question is at what point do you get an equilibrium of pain and fear?

And this is what's really interesting now. You have for the first time in Israel now, in Haifa and other places, Tiberius, civilian fear on a large scale. The Israelis are feeling the same kind of fear and angst that the Palestinians and Lebanese and other Arabs have felt for many years. So I think at some point the equilibrium is going to force a political and diplomatic process. Because in the final analysis there is no military solution.

ELLIOTT: Rami Khouri is editor-at-large of the Daily Star newspaper in Beirut. He joined us from Istanbul. Thank you.

Mr. KHOURI: Thanks for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.