Hezbollah support in Lebanon is rising rapidly

Street Notes from Lebanon - Choufeit's Bloody Pentacost
By franklin Lamb, Choufeit, Lebanon

...in the deeply fractured Druze community...Hezbollah will now dry up Jumblatt's power and shut him up...[the] much stronger Druze leader Talal Arslan, [is] Hezbollah's ally...

Hezbollah support in the Druze community is growing rapidly this morning...

The reality in West Beirut today is that even if every Hezbollah member but one withdrew, Hezbollah would still be in control of Lebanon's capitol. He does not even need to have a weapon. All that is necessary is for it to be known that he is present...

One faculty member of the American Unversity of Beirut (AUB) explained that if someone from Hezbollah handed the US Embassy gate-keeper a polite note asking the Embassy to close up shop, it would be done within hours this Monday. This observer agrees with an increasing number here that in critical ways, Hezbollah is now Lebanon and the American era is teetering...

The immediate future is not encouraging until the current US administration indicates a willingness to engage with Hezbollah on the basis of mutual respect, free and open dialogue, and commitment to solving the regions problems, including a just solution to the Question of Palestine.

Full, extensive report in Counterpunch, 12 May 2008
Frankln Lamb can be reached at: fplamb@gmail.com