What Comes Next?

Israel will not be able to destroy Hezbollah, because the Shiite Party of God has more than one million supporters in Lebanon. Even if Israel kills Hassan Nasrallah, there are thousands more that are willing to take his place.

The Hezbollah guerillas are willing to die for their cause and they are able to hurt Israel with their long range missiles. They will never give up the Israeli soldiers they kidnapped nor will they ever lay down their weapons.

The current war will probably end when Israel creates a 20 km “security zone” within Lebanon and then go into negotiations to free its soldiers. But the danger to Lebanon will come after that.

What will happen next is the break up of the national dialogue and that of Lebanon, the return of the civil war or a pro-Syrian and Iranian take over of Lebanon.

Weapons are in the hands of Hezbollah and their Lebanese and Palestinian allies and in those of the Lebanese army that will break up in case of any sectarian conflict.

Therefore the balance of power within Lebanon is totally in favour of Hezbollah and its allies.

In that respect the free, democratic and prosperous Lebanon that we dreamt about on 14 March 2005 was just that…a dream.

Instead the Islamic Republic of Lebanon will rise...unless both the regimes of Syria and Iran fall or unless a just and lasting peace occurs in the Middle East.

Hezbollah to the rest of the Lebanese: "We are Lebanon and you are all tourists"

Hezbollah today is deciding the future of all Lebanese. They know best what is good for Lebanon.

They view themselves as the defenders of Islam! They are the storm troopers of the Prophet. Lebanon shlebanon they do not care about it. They do not care about the Arab world. They are the leaders of the whole Islamic world.

"Look the Shiites are much more successful at defending Islam than their Sunni brothers."

Tourism! What tourism? who cares about the economy when God is on your side, promising the ultimate tourist destination: paradise.

And who is going to pay the bills? The Islamic Republic of Iran of course and its yearly US$500 million to their Shiite cavalry in Lebanon.

Hezbollah has metamorphosed from a resistance force to Israel to a resistance force to Lebanon's development and progress.

This bunch of bearded Neanderthals wants us to live like our ancestors did in the 7th Century and nobody can stop them.

A Dictator in the Making

Candidates for the leadership of democratic countries spend months campaigning. They engage their opponents in debates of ideas and they usually market their social and economic plans to the electorate.

This is not General Michel Aoun’s style. He kicks, screams, swears and abuses. He did not learn anything from his exile in France.

"Lebanon is a ranch that can be purchased. Whoever thinks so will not be staying in the country for much longer," he said yesterday.

Where is the positive message in that? What is his plan to make things better?

He calls his opponents liars, cheats and thieves but has nothing to show in counterpart.

Furthermore, I remember very well when he once proudly stated that he was behind resolution 1559, today his speech shifted completely: “"The United Nations handed down Resolution 1559 without any regard for our (Lebanese) will," he said yesterday.

This man is dangerous. He is a dictator in the making. It is really disappointing for I once believed in him.