(Beirut Daily Star) Michael Young - It is a complicated time for Hizballah. Here is one bitter enemy on the verge of liquidating another. Even the most hardened of U.S. foes can't but celebrate the elimination of the sinister murderer of Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr [an Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim leader murdered by Saddam in 1999]. But they also know that if the Americans have a fairly smooth ride in Iraq, their forces will be stationed on Syria and Iran's borders. Hizballah has hitched its fortunes to a perpetuation of the intifada. If Syria must tone down its support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the coming months, Hizballah may follow suit, at least for a time. The likelihood of an approaching regional settlement through implementation of the Palestinian-Israeli "road map" is nonexistent.
2003-03-28 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive