interesting piece. lots of good info and insight there. That said, two points.
First, as the Gal Luft piece in FA mentioned, while the second intifada began with an attempt to replicate the "Hezbollah model" in the territories, that failed pretty miserably. What has suceeded, at least in causing terrible damage and shaking the Israelis to their core, are the suicide bombings inside the Green Line. Those change the situation a bit, I think.
Second, what the piece didn't get into as much is the domestic role that Hezbollah plays (as opposed to, or in addition to, its international terrorist role). It is a huge provider of social services, community, and other things to a large portion of the Lebanese population. In that regard, it is an example of a civil society organization stepping in to do what states themselves usually do, but aren't doing in this case. In that sense, it's a bit like the FARC in Colombia: not just a terrorist group, but also a revolutionary political actor and ministate with control over a decent chunk of the country. All this makes it very difficult to deal with, both practically and conceptually, IMHO...
tb@levant.com |
