[New Republic] Annia Ciezadlo - Every day, Hizballah welcomes visitors to Haret Hreik. Once home to Hizballah's headquarters and Beirut's most densely populated neighborhood, Haret Hreik is now a smoking swath of wreckage. For Hizballah, the ruins of this once-bustling neighborhood have become a tourist attraction - and an invaluable propaganda tool. As we marched through the rubble, a man would pop out of a destroyed building to shout with carefully rehearsed rage. All of these appearances were orchestrated by Hizballah for our benefit. Ever since the war ended, Hizballah leaders have been cultivating hatred for a larger enemy: the United States. By focusing on the Great Satan, Hizballah can avoid the delicate subject of who, exactly, started this particular war - and promote itself instead as a defender of the Muslim world against U.S. aggression and the West generally.
2006-08-25 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive