The predicted weakness of Hassan Diab’s government has paved the way for sectarian political parties to go back to their old ways and play the role of the state, making use of the human fear at times like this to send a clear message: “You have no one but us.”
This scene has raised a lot of questions concerning the budget and funding of “Hezbollah” itself, including its supporters, fighters and institutions, and the salaries paid to the thousands of its men, in US dollars, as well as the use of the American M16, a weapon they deployed during the war, among other questions.
In trying to make sense of the momentous increase in Israeli strikes over the past two years, the realization becomes clear that the American-Israeli investment in Iran’s destructive role in the Middle East has now fulfilled its purpose.
The Lebanese uprising requires whoever stands against it to come up with a new method of opposition. Fault lines the authorities have long resorted to have now been completely obliterated. The state’s reaction to the uprising has been risible. “An agent of foreign embassies” is an old accusation they hurled at anyone who took to the streets. They once coined it to describe and scare protesters who now belong to a bygone era. When one new protester heard the expression, it drew an uncomprehending smile on his face. “Which embassy?”
Looking at what is happening in Lebanon, with the influx of Aounists onto the stage, one gets a sense not so much of an imminent collapse as an unavoidable ending.
