Reply #24: M.E. expert: Hizzbullah will fill vaccum left by Syrian pullout [View All]

[Tempest]

Those of you interested in following the Lebanon situation should consult Helena Cobban's web log. Cobban is a veteran reporter who has spent substantial time in Beirut and was there last fall.

She points to this 3/12 al-Hayat article:

Salama Ni`mat writes from Washington: "As the White House and the State Department deny any change in American policy toward Hizbullah, an American official expressed his anxiety at the possibility that Hizbullah will exploit the curtailment of Syrian influence in Lebanon to reinforce its own military and political position in Lebanon, in cooperation with Iran and at the expense of the Lebanese Opposition. The official, who requested anonymity, said that Hizbullah "Might prove able to sweep the Lebanese elections, if they are held without foreign interference, and to fill the vaccuum that the Syrian withdrawal will leave behind." He clarified that Hizbullah, which was yesterday a Syrian ally, might tomorrow be its successor, whether by resort to weapons or by dominance at the ballot box.

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