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Lebanon Protests Are Breaking "Fear Barrier"
(Christian Science Monitor) Scott Peterson - The veteran Hizbullah fighter can't count how many times he has been to Syria, but he now refuses to return there and curses the organization to which he has devoted his life. More Hizbullah fighters have returned from Syria in coffins than lost their lives battling Israel since the "Party of God" was founded in 1982. "The leaders are getting richer with corruption. I am willing to fight Israel, but...you die in Syria for nothing," he said. Many Shiites from traditional Hizbullah strongholds have joined a nationwide uprising in Lebanon against endemic corruption, sectarianism, and chronic lack of services. Though Hizbullah has never been stronger militarily or politically, "at the same time they are facing a host of vulnerabilities that they haven't had to deal with before," says Nicholas Blanford, a Beirut-based fellow at the Atlantic Council. "I think Hizbullah has reached its peak."