Lebanon's Hezbollah savors increasing legitimacy

Los Angeles Times ^ | April 13, 2009 | Borzou Daragahi

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As some Western nations seek contacts, Hezbollah's No. 2, cleric Naim Qassem, says the group has 'convinced the West it is a popular, authentic and important movement that cannot be ignored.'

Reporting from Beirut -- On one point, the United States agrees with Hezbollah's No. 2 leader, Naim Qassem, and not such allies as Britain.

Neither Qassem nor Washington distinguish between the Shiite militant group's political wing, which has members serving in the Lebanese Cabinet and parliament, and its military wing, preparing for the next round of battle against Israel. "Hezbollah has a single leadership," said the 57-year-old cleric in a rare interview with an American reporter recently.

"All political, social and jihad work is tied to the decisions of this leadership," he said. "The same leadership that directs the parliamentary and government work also leads jihad actions in the struggle against Israel."

To the alarm of Israel and the United States, Hezbollah has been enjoying increased legitimacy across the world. The British Foreign Ministry recently said it would shift course and begin talks with Hezbollah political leaders. And Latin American lawmakers and European peace activists attend Hezbollah conferences on "resistance" to Israel.

As the militant group emerges from a period of relative silence after the 2006 war with Israel and the subsequent Lebanese political crisis, its leaders appear more confident and determined than ever to represent Lebanon's Shiite Muslim population as well as challenge Israel.

This month Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, announced the group's candidates for parliament in crucial June general elections. In a low-key speech announcing personnel changes, he sounded more like a corporate executive than the leader of arguably the Middle East's most powerful nonstate actor.

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[ScottinVA]

“Naim Qassem, says the group has ‘convinced the West it is a popular, authentic and important movement that cannot be ignored.”

And with a decidedly pro-muslim president currently occupying the White House, Hezbollah’s power in the region will only grow. Israel, I fear, is on its own.