Last year’s war between Israel and the Lebanese militant outfit Hezbollah had strategic consequences. Both Israel and Hezbollah declared victory but the truth is that the Lebanese armed group had lost much of their ammunition stock and was severely depleted. That they have somehow managed to rebuild themselves is a different story but their decimation in credential is hard to ignore.
In the wake of last summer’s war, the US bolstered the military presence in Lebanon and in the surrounding region. Hezbollah observes this act as essentially a threat to its own security and rebuilding process. No surprise then that the militants have denounced the talk of a US-Lebanon strategic partnership and a stepping up of the US forces inside Lebanon, especially in the south where Hezbollah is at its strongest.
Hezbollah has been branded as a terrorist organization by the US but that still hasn’t managed to reduce a considerable public support that it possesses in Lebanon. Hezbollah is pretty much pro-Syrian and wants the government to be so too. The Fuad Saniora-led government is firmly against any Syrian influence in the nation and this disagreement is at the heart of all the fuss and agony.
Lebanon is firmly an ally of the US and Hezbollah that of Syria and Iran, which is currently the United States’ number one enemy. In all likelihood, friction on a considerably big scale is brewing in the air. Should the US indeed strengthen its military presence in Lebanon soon, Hezbollah could get even more furious and the probability of another military confrontation in Lebanon would be dreadfully increased.
Image Source: Hirhome
Source: USA Today
