Word: nasrallah
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...rendezvous with Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the turbaned leader of Hizballah, the time and place are kept secret. Eventually you are driven into a barricaded neighborhood protected by bearded militiamen and hustled into an apartment block with mirrored windows. Wallets, key chains, and even belts are removed from you and taken away for inspection. Finally you are seated in a room dominated by an acrylic painting of Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini. At the far end is Hizballah's yellow banner, the words "Islamic Revolution of Lebanon" written in Arabic beneath the silhouette of a holy warrior's rifle...
...architect of the improbable makeover is the 40-year-old Nasrallah, who took over as secretary-general after Israeli planes killed his predecessor and mentor, Sheik Abbas Musawi, in 1992. In a 90-minute interview, Nasrallah strongly emphasizes Hizballah's commitment to working within the political system and avoiding any provocation, including Hizballah's preference for an Islamic state, that might trigger a return of the 1975-90 Lebanese civil war. "We are for partnership," he says, "so that the Christians do not ignore the Muslims and the Muslims do not ignore the Christians." When it comes to discussing Israel...
Will Hizballah play the game as well, once the resistance shine wears off? Evolving beyond the battlefield will demand geopolitical finesse--a tough requirement for any political group, to say nothing of holy warriors. U.S. diplomats say they regard Nasrallah's protestations of moderation with a very wary eye, and if the slippery rapprochement between Washington and Tehran ever gets traction, Iran might start writing smaller checks to the group. Deprived of that largesse, Hizballah would find its intra-Shi'ite rivalry tougher going against Amal, whose support from Syria, with its 30,000 troops in Lebanon, has helped...