Lebanon again

Abu Kais writes at Michael Totten about how Hezbollah is trying to take over the country. Not by themselves, but in alliance with another, never-to-be-mentioned country. We'll soon scorn and shun them back in their place.

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With Hizbullah reportedly planning “surprise” protests this week to topple the Siniora government, many, including Shias, are not surprised by how far the foreign-funded militia is prepared to take the country, and the Shia community, in what seems to be a political jihad against the state.

Masking Hizbullah’s “surprise” measures is a concern over the Lebanese constitution, which God’s self-appointed warriors claim to defend.

Following the Syrian-motivated resignation of two Hizbullah ministers and 4 of their allies, the argument du jour of the so called “opposition” is that the cabinet, a.k.a. council of ministers, has become unconstitutional because it violates a sentence in the preamble of the constitution. The sentence is:

There is no constitutional legitimacy for any authority which contradicts the 'pact of communal coexistence

The argument is, of course, rubbish. The cabinet has the confidence of parliament (which includes Hizbullah members), and only parliament, not a militia, decides on the constitutionality of the country’s legitimate authority. What Hizbullah is doing sets a dangerous precedent in the country: a pseudo-political sectarian entity allied with a foreign wannabe-power is manipulating the system and refusing to recognize the authority of the state if the latter does not succumb to extraterritorial demands.

Read the rest. What a change from the days of the Cedar Revolution. A reader writes to ask whether Sadr isn't emulating the tactics of Hezbollah, which would be natural because everyone loves a winner and everyone hates a loser, even one who has won every battle in the field. Bob Dylan put it well in Subterreanean Homesick Blues. Nearly one of Dylan's lyrics has been repeated in the current political debate from wiretapping allegations to the idea that the army is the refuge of the terminally idiotic. As to Sadr, the relevant line is, "you don't have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows".

Maggie comes fleet foot
Face full of black soot
Talkin that the heat put
Plants in the bed but
The phones tapped anyway
Maggie says that many say
They must bust in early may
Orders from the d. a.
Look out kid
Dont matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes
Dont try no doz
Better stay away from those
That carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose
Watch the plain clothes
You dont need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows

Get sick, get well
Hang around a ink well
Ring bell, hard to tell
If anything is goin to sell
Try hard, get barred
Get back, write braille
Get jailed, jump bail
Join the army, if you fail ...

In case you thought Kerry and Rangel were being original.