Hezbollah - Kataeb Spat Gets Ugly

As a general rule, Hassan Nasrallah is exempt from the sort of scorched-earth rhetoric that rival politicians hurl at each other. March 14 leaders will gleefully spend all day bashing Aoun, Franjieh, and Berri. But everyone becomes a little more circumspect when dealing with the Hezbollah chief. There is a tendency to lapse into the passive voice. Of course, this has nothing at all to do with the fact that Nasrallah has a private army at his disposal.

After Nasrallah's perverse remarks about the various Israeli body parts in his possession, here was Amin Gemayel's response: "We regret some of the terminology and some images that many Lebanese found disgusting in Sayyed Nasrallah's speech." Not exactly going for the jugular, is he?

Nevertheless, Gemayel's criticism caused Hezbollah to reach deep into their bag of tricks for a response. Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah delivered the blow: "We believed that the emotions and inclinations of his Excellency (Gemayel) have died with time and that he no longer had feelings for enemy leaders." Fadlallah is making a not-too-veiled reference to the Phalange's alliance with Israel during the civil war. Generally, these ghosts remain further under the surface. Resurrecting old disputes carries the risk of a return to open sectarian conflict.

But, after all, the Sayyed's honor must be preserved. No matter the cost. If you think this is the logic of a group that has reconciled itself to the democratic process, you're deluding yourself.

P.S. Every once and a while, some creative Lebanese will put together a piece of satire like this one, poking well-deserved fun at Lebanon's political class (Hat Tip: Sietske). The short-lived Douma game was another. If you get to looking at the various characters in both examples, you'll discover one key player was missing -- the good Sayyed. Again, this has nothing to do with the fact that Nasrallah has a private army at his disposal.