Word: hizballah
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...White House warning sounded ominous: Iran and Syria are trying to topple Lebanon's democratically elected government with the help of Hizballah, said Presidential spokesman Tony Snow at a press conference on Wednesday. The U.S. may paint Hizballah as nothing more than a terrorist pawn of Syria and Iran, but it remains the largest political party in Lebanon's democratic system. And attempts to topple the current government - led by pro-U.S. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora - are hardly new or secret. Ever since the end of this summer's war between Israel and Hizballah, both Lebanon's opposition...
...that began on July 12 has dramatically altered Lebanese politics. Siniora's allies - an anti-Syria coalition of Sunni and Druze Muslims along with some Christians - blame Hizballah for provoking the conflict by kidnapping two Israeli soldiers, and accuse it of being a pawn in Iran's regional power game. But, Hizballah, the country's largest Shia Muslim party, suspects Siniora of collaborating with the United States and Israel in pursuit of their regional ambitions...
...Siniora supporters see the national unity government call as a pretext for a Hizballah power-grab. "The Taif Accord [which brokered an end to Lebanon's civil war] divides power among religious groups, regardless of demographic changes," said Rami Rayess, a spokesman for the Progressive Socialist Party, the leading Druze faction of Siniora's coalition. According to Rayess, Shi'ite parties, who represent the fastest growing part of Lebanon's population, want to flex their muscles after what they see as Hizballah's "Divine Victory" over Israel this summer. "We have the fear that national unity is a cover...
...Gulf accept the U.S. view on the Iranian threat. But some U.S. officials acknowledge it's too soon to tell whether the Gulf states will actually move aggressively to root out Iranian front companies and bank accounts used to acquire materials for the nuclear program, and to pay Hizballah, Hamas and other terrorist groups...
...serious mistakes, or been reprimanded or sidelined for tactical, operational or strategic errors, is troubling to many officers. In contrast, they point to the example of Israel, which had barely withdrawn all its troops from southern Lebanon before it launched investigations into the conduct of the war against Hizballah...