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Hizballah's Identity Crisis

(Newsweek International) Michael Young - The focus in next week's Palestinian legislative elections is on the Islamic group Hamas, with both Israel and the PA wary of its entry into mainstream politics. Optimists want desperately to believe that democratic processes make Islamist militants more moderate. But is that really so? Lebanon's Hizballah illustrates how Islamists can exploit elections (and entry into state institutions) to defeat efforts to stifle their militancy. Hizballah has become a fixture of the Lebanese political scene and has emerged as the country's dominant Shiite representative. Yet that has not made it any less combative, particularly vis-a-vis Israel or the U.S. Hizballah continues to describe itself as a "national resistance," retains its weapons, and is arguably the most effective military force in Lebanon. It rejects UN demands that it disarm, despite growing domestic sentiment that an autonomous armed militia should not be fighting the nation's battles in lieu of the army - especially a group so attuned to Syrian and Iranian interests. The writer is opinion editor at the Beirut Daily Star.
2006-01-20 00:00:00
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