Word: beirutization
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...persistence of that threat on its northern border remains intolerable to the Israeli security establishment - particularly in light of mounting tension between Israel and Iran, Hizballah's sponsor, over that country's nuclear program. And that's why Israeli military officers and Hizballah sources in Beirut say both sides are preparing for a new shooting war, which could come sooner rather than later...
...obvious now that there is a very serious problem between Shi'ites and Sunnis. And I think it's going to get worse," says Mohammed Attar, 25, one of several thousand mourners attending Mahmoud's funeral at the "Two Martyrs" cemetry in Beirut's Shi'ite-dominated southern suburbs. As Mahmoud's coffin is carried into the pine-tree lined cemetery, the mourners slap their foreheads, a Shi'ite gesture of mourning, and chant, "Far and wide, the Shi'ites will shake the ground...
...Whatever the truth behind Mahmoud's death, it was not an isolated incident but came amid outbreaks of violence in several mixed Sunni-Shi'ite areas of Beirut this week that have left dozens injured and inflamed sectarian tensions. Hundreds of Lebanese troops have deployed in Beirut's trouble spots. But using the Lebanese Army in this way is untenable, warned its commander, General Michel Suleiman. Suleiman says that sectarian violence "drains the army's resources and weakens its neutrality," and warned, "This weakness will make the army unable to control the situation in all areas of Lebanon...
...based more on Sunni fears than Shi'ite ambitions. The anti-Western alliance, which includes Sunni Palestinians, is more political than religious in nature, motivated by antipathy toward Israel and a determination to rid the region of U.S. influence. Hizballah calculates that by toppling the Western-backed government in Beirut, U.S. influence in Lebanon and the wider region will be curbed. The conflict playing out in Lebanon, then, may not simply be based on the country's age-old sectarian tensions, but in a regional power struggle that pits the U.S. and its Sunni-Arab allies against Iran...
Posters of Nasrallah, usually grinning, may crop up everywhere, but the cleric himself is still deep in hiding. During the summer's fighting, the Israelis made no secret that they were trying to assassinate him. Western diplomats in Beirut say they are trying to persuade the Israelis that killing the Hizballah boss is no longer a good idea. His murder could spark reprisals across the Middle East. Hizballah has ways of taking revenge. After Israelis targeted a previous Hizballah leader in 1992, the militia blew up the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. Should Nasrallah be killed, Israeli missions today would...