The Hezbollah Story

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan
administration. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good
Intentions. He can be reached at: paulcraigroberts@yahoo.com
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The Hezbollah story is quite similar. It was born out of the Israeli
invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and the oppressive occupation that followed.
Hezbollah was formed to resist the occupation, expel the Israelis, and it
remained an effective opposition force to Israel ever since. It's major base
of support is in the Southern Lebanon Shiite region and Northern Beka'a
valley it controls that's up to one-third of the population. It's also
likely supported by the estimated 400,000 Palestinian refugees in the
country who live in overcrowded camps, struggle to achieve their basic
needs, have no legal rights, and get no government aid or protection.
Hezbollah is also a major political force and is represented by 11 lawmakers
in the Lebanese Parliament and has two government ministers in the country's
cabinet. But it also maintains a military wing as a needed deterrent to
Israeli oppression that up to now has been the only effective force against
it in the region. That's why Israel's aim has always been to eliminate
Hezbollah and now initiated on July 12 what looks like all out war, the
reinvasion of Lebanon that followed on July
22, and possible occupation of the country ahead if it decides that's what's
needed to achieve it. It never was able to do it before and likely won't
succeed now whatever strategy it follows. But Israel is determined and seems
intent to follow the strange and doomed to fail policy of "always wrong but
never in doubt." It won't be any different this time, but once again Israel
appears to be repeating past mistakes and making its victims pay the harsh
price for them.

Throughout Israel's occupation of Southern Lebanon in 1980s and 90s that
price was severe indeed, but Hezbollah's committed resistance nonetheless
finally succeeded in getting the IDF to withdraw from the country in May,
2000. After 22 years of failing to subdue a resilient South Lebanon, it's
hard to believe Israel is once again willing to try and in so doing inflict
mass death, suffering and destruction on the innocent people throughout this
country that are no match for the IDF militarily in a head-on confrontation.
But it goes unreported and undiscussed in the mainstream that if Israel
really wanted to end retaliatory attacks against its territory and people,
the easy sure way to do it is to stop provoking the Palestinians and
Hezbollah by attacking them first. The fact that it hasn't done it shows it
won't and doesn't want to because in a state of peace and calm it would be
unable to avoid the political solution it never intends to negotiate in good
faith.

Israel instead prefers to continue the policy it began against Lebanon in
1968 when the IDF conducted terror raids and military aggression against the
country that included attacking the Beirut airport and destroying 13
civilian planes on the ground claiming it was in retaliation for an attack
by Lebanese trained Palestinians targeting an Israeli airliner in Athens.
IDF incursions into Lebanon continued in the 1970s against the PLO including
the major invasion into Southern Lebanon, the "Litani River Operation." It
was launched in March, 1978 to establish an occupation zone that Israel put
the Christian South Lebanon Army (SLA) in place to man when it withdrew its
forces weeks later.

But Israel reinvaded the country in June, 1982 in force with intent to stay,
remaining until Hezbollah forced it to withdraw in May, 2000. Before it did,
however, the IDF managed to kill about 18,000 mostly innocent civilian
Lebanese and Palestinians. Yet, despite the carnage, the IDF was unable to
destroy Hezbollah which resisted effectively including against Israel's
April, 1996 17 day "Operation Grapes of Wrath" that accomplished nothing but
more death and destruction. Today, Hezbollah under its leader, Sheik Hassan
Nasrallah, is stronger than ever and is gaining support beyond its Shiite
base and near autonomy in the South in response to the Israeli inflicted
atrocities committed in the current conflict. It now remains to watch and
speculate where this conflict is heading.