Hezbollah tries to topple Lebanese government, again

Originally Posted at Right Truth

The scenes are familiar, key roads blocked, tires burning, black smoke, flames rising, gun fire, people shot in the head, 3 dead and 110 injured. If it's Lebanon, it must be Hezbollah, right? Not so fast. It's not 'just' Hezbollah, it's a large number of the Lebanese people. Actually it's Hezbollah backed by Shiites and Christian factions vs. the present government backed by Sunni, Druze and Christian groups. Add to Hezbollah's side Iran and Syria.

So far two dozen move than 110 people have been wounded in clashes between Hezbollah supporters and backers of the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.' Bloomberg reports 'Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has taken a populist line in his campaign to bring down Siniora and provoke parliamentary elections.'

Hassan Nasrallah is presenting himself as a politician, (rather than the terrorist murdering thug that he really is). Recent studies show that Nasrallah could win if an election were held today. Remember, Hezbollah was part of the Siniora government prior to walking out on November 11, 2006.

``This has nothing to do with democracy or freedom,'' Samir Geagea, a Christian politician who supports the Siniora government, told Lebanese television. ``This has been transformed into a coup d'etat.''

The unrest comes just two days before international donors were due to convene in Paris. The donors, including the United States, European Union, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, are scheduled to consider a reduction in Lebanon's debt load and funding to help Lebanon rebuild after last summer's war with Israel. ...

Hezbollah allies pledged more protests. ``The government must understand that the Lebanese people do not support it,'' said Ali Khreis, a member of parliament whose Amal party cooperates with Hezbollah. (Bloomberg)

Many flights into Lebanon have been canceled. Siniora is standing firm, refusing to step down. U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said, "We (the United States) will make a long-term financial contribution to help Lebanon rebuild itself" hoping that 'such support would help thwart those trying "to overturn a democratically elected government through ... mobs". I'm not sure throwing money into Lebanon is going to do one bit of good.