In what can only be seen as terrifying, Hizb’allah has backed Syria against the opposition and “western inference.” Because of this, the situation has just become much more dangerous than it was previously. They are not only a powerful political party, but the only one with arms.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Hizbollah, Lebanon’s most powerful party, threw its weight against Syria’s opponents on Sunday, calling for a peaceful mass rally in central Beirut on Tuesday in support of Damascus and against Western meddling.

The Shi’ite Muslim group, which has the largest following in the country and is the only one with weapons, has in the past steered clear of plunging into internal Lebanese politics or flexing its political muscles against domestic rivals.

But after Syria announced Saturday a two-phased total troop withdrawal from Lebanon, the staunchly anti-Israeli group entered the domestic political ring facing the opposition.

The group’s chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah warned that Syria’s pullout under intense global pressure could spell chaos for Lebanon and push it toward peace with Israel.

“The aim of America and Israel is to spread chaos in Lebanon and bring back Lebanon to a state of chaos to find excuses for foreign intervention and to push some Lebanese to call for international intervention,” Nasrallah told a news conference.

He has called on all pro-Syria Lebanese and loyalists to rally in Beirut this coming Tuesday.

BEIRUT, March 6 (AFP) – Pro-Damascus Lebanese movements will demonstrate in Beirut on Tuesday to denounce “foreign interventions” in Lebanon and to express gratitude to Syria, Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said after a meeting of the groups.

“We call on all the Lebanese from all the confessions to take part in that massive popular gathering to reject foreign intervention” on Tuesday at 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) in front of the UN house in downtown Beirut, he said.

The demonstration was meant to denounce UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which called for the immediate and full pullout of foreign troops from Lebanon in a clear message to Syrian.

The protest was meant “to denounce the resolution of the discord, to express gratitude and loyalty to Syria for its achievements in Lebanon and to demand the truth in the assassination of martyr former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.”

The Lebanon Daily Star editorializes that Hizb’allah is part of the solution. At the same time, the opposition is planning a rally on Monday amid shootings that have occurred between the rival camps.

Opposition groups, which blamed the pro-Syrian regime and Damascus for the assassination that plunged the country into a political crisis, plan to stage their own demonstration on Monday to mark three weeks since Hariri’s killing.

In a shooting incident between rival camps, an 18-year-old youth was wounded late Sunday near a sit-in by anti-Syrian opposition supporters in downtown Beirut, hospital and security sources said.

A senior security official told AFP that the incident occurred after a gunman in a car sporting the flag of the pro-Syrian Shiite Muslim movement Amal fired on another car flying the flag of a Christian opposition group.

Could these rallies clash? If Syria has anything to do with it, yes. Check out this post by Tony that shows what actually happened.

Israel and Iran are also beginning to make the headlines more in regards to Lebanon. For one, Syria is upping the pressure and calling for the removal of the Iranian Guard from Lebanon. And Iran says pressure on Syria is an Israeli plot! Tony has some comments on this.

Let me give you an example of how these types mirror the concerns and speeches of the dictators. I quoted Patrick Seale the other day:

“Syria has certain vital interests in Lebanon. It cannot allow its neighbor to conclude a separate peace with Israel until its own claims have been addressed, notably the recovery of the Golan Heights seized by Israel in 1967. Nor can Syria allow Lebanon to become a base for hostile operations against it.”

Now read what Bashar said in his speech yesterday:

“I tell them (Lebanese) a new May 17 (agreement) is looming on the horizon. Get ready for a battle to scuttle it as you did two decades ago.”

Of course, no one in Lebanon (including Aoun!) is saying that we’re going to sign a peace deal with Israel! Everyone knows that we will have to wait till Syria does. All we want, as Jumblat said, is to go back to the armistice agreement. I.e. shut down the Lebanese front so that Lebanon doesn’t have to bear the brunt of the follies of Arabist ideology.

Exactly. Like every authoritarian state, they are relying on the fear of “external enemies” like they have been doing for decades now. Let’s hope that the opposition is able to stare Syria down without a fight, and that Hama Rules don’t become the rule of the day.