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Starting a war on his own

He holds no official position in the Lebanese government, but militant leader Nasrallah has dragged Lebanon into a fierce conflict

BY MOHAMAD BAZZI | Newsday Middle East Correspondent

July 16, 2006

BEIRUT, Lebanon - He holds no elected office, and no other Lebanese leader can veto his decisions. Yet Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, head of the Shia militant group Hezbollah, has single-handedly dragged Lebanon into a war with Israel during the past five days.

In a speech to the country on Friday, he acted not as the leader of a political party or guerrilla movement, but as a head of state - declaring war on Israel.

"You wanted an open war. We are heading towards an open war, and we are ready for it," Nasrallah said in an audiotaped message played on Arab TV stations, less than an hour after Israeli warplanes bombed his residence and Hezbollah's main headquarters in southern Beirut.

Israel launched its most intense attack on Lebanon in 24 years Wednesday after Hezbollah fighters abducted two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid and brought them back into Lebanon. The devastating Israeli offensive has killed more than 100 Lebanese - most of them civilians - and has destroyed dozens of bridges and roads. Israel also has imposed a naval blockade and bombed Lebanon's seaports and international airport.

"As soon as the battle started, Nasrallah effectively became the ruler of Lebanon," said Hazem Amin, an editor at the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat. "From the beginning, the choice of war or peace in Lebanon has been in his hands."

And as Israeli retaliation intensified, so has Hezbollah's. Since Wednesday, it has fired hundreds of missiles into northern Israel, killing four civilians and injuring dozens.

The Lebanese government has mostly stood by, watching helplessly as the country's infrastructure - painstakingly rebuilt after a 15-year civil war ended in 1990 - is destroyed. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, a U.S. ally, had not made any significant public statements until last night, when he addressed the nation in a televised address.

Saniora pledged to extend the government's control over all of Lebanon, meaning he wants to end Hezbollah's autonomy in southern Lebanon - a main demand of Israel, along with disarming the group and forcing it to return the two soldiers. He criticized Hezbollah's actions without naming the group, saying Lebanon "cannot rise and get back on its feet if its government is the last to know."

He also tried to respond to Nasrallah's declaration of war. "The government alone has the legitimate right to decide on matters of peace and war because it represents the will of the Lebanese people," he said.

"Saniora had to make an appearance because he was being criticized for disappearing, along with much of the government," said Timur Goksel, a former senior United Nations adviser in southern Lebanon. "They left the political arena to Hezbollah."

UN help sought

The prime minister also asked the United Nations to pressure Israel for a cease-fire, and then to help the Lebanese army take control of the south. Analysts interpreted that as a sign that the Lebanese government is powerless to confront Hezbollah and needs international help to rein it in.

"In a way, Saniora was asking the United Nations, 'Help us deal with Nasrallah,'" Amin said.

Goksel noted that while several segments of Lebanese society - Sunni Muslims, Christians and the minority Druze - were initially angry at Hezbollah for provoking a confrontation with Israel, the severity of Israel's response complicates the situation.

"The Israelis' attitude makes life very difficult for the Lebanese government and prevents it from imposing itself in the south," he said. "If this severe Israeli attack continues, there could be a groundswell of support again for Hezbollah."

Hezbollah fought an 18-year guerrilla war to force Israel to withdraw from a self-declared "security zone" in southern Lebanon. Since the Israeli pullout in May 2000, Hezbollah has been lauded throughout the Arab world for accomplishing what Arab armies never could: forcing Israel to relinquish occupied land. But Israel's withdrawal robbed Hezbollah of a central reason for its existence and many Lebanese argued that it should disarm and become strictly a political party.

The United States has branded Hezbollah a terrorist group, but many Lebanese regard it as a dominant political force that cannot be eliminated.

The group draws its strength from Shias, who make up 40 percent of the population of 4 million. Hezbollah runs a virtual mini-state, controlling the Shia suburbs of Beirut and most of south Lebanon. It controls 12 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's parliament, operates a television station and runs schools and hospitals.

Since its founding in 1982, Hezbollah has received financial, military and political support from Iran. Iran's militant clerics, including the late Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomeini, once hoped that Hezbollah would help export their Islamic revolution to the Arab world, but Hezbollah quickly abandoned the cause of creating an Islamic state in multireligious Lebanon.

After Israel's pullout from the south, Lebanese analysts say, some members wanted to transform Hezbollah into a purely civil and political force. But with backing from Syria and Iran, Nasrallah opted not to disarm.