No Love Lost

Since it remains unclear as yet who fired the two rockets that crashed in southern Beirut suburbs on Sunday in an area representing a Hezbollah stronghold, with the Syrian rebels making no claim with respect to its origins, it can be safely assumed that 'foreigners', 'terrorists', or Israelis were involved. Motivating Hezbollah to casually lob a rocket from the Lebanese town of Marjayoun, over into the Israeli town of Metula before dawn on Monday. Landing on open ground, there were no casualties.

But the message is clear enough; it was a gift from Hassan Nasrallah. Who has pledged Hezbollah's undivided loyalty to the Alawite regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad. And the undying enmity of both to target Israel. Far more successfully at a later date, yet to be announced. The world has been alerted, however, by design, and informed that it will occur, a devastating, destroying attack to rid the Arab world of its unwanted Jewish presence.

Of course rebel commanders opposing the Syrian government have threatened retaliation in Lebanon for Hezbollah's involvement in the battle for the strategic border town of Qusair. Battles which have succeeded in taking far more Hezbollah lives than they ever might have imagined. In pinning the rebels down, in incessantly bombing the town, killing civilians in the process, the regime and its Hezbollah ally have taken the conflict up-down a notch.

Both up in terms of military advantage, and down in terms of human relations. But then, on the other hand, Navi Pillay has reported to the United Nations that unspeakable atrocities are taking place within the country, carnage committed by both those representing the regime and the opposition alike. Neither appear to be overly concerned with the plight of Syrian civilians caught in the vicious cross-fire of opposing militias.

The current regime with its terrorist allies, and the opposition, its fractured, uncoordinated militias augmented by terrorist allies. Fairly well weighted to equal representation in numbers, in viciousness and determination, but not in arms. But since the European Union has just voted not to retain the ban on providing weapons to the opposition that too may change given time.

Hassan Nasrallah has declared that his Hezbollah worthies are prepared to battle it out to the bitter end, and the al-Qaeda-linked al Nusra factions are bitterly prepared to usher Hezbollah into their endings. Mr. Nasrallah has also declared that in fighting alongside the Syrian regime, Hezbollah is actually actively sparing Lebanon an invasion of Sunni militants to destabilize that tender country's delicate balance.

Not all Lebanese are delighted with Hezbollah's full entry into Syria's civil war. "Lebanese citizens and leaders should be awakened by this warning before Lebanon explodes", cautioned the country's mufti, Sheik Mohammad Rashid Qabbani, who just happens to be of the Sunni faith, speaking on Lebanon's LBC television.

Residents of the Shia suburb of Beirut took note that the rockets took no lives, merely caused a few injuries. Two of those injured were Syrian employees of a Sunni-owned car dealership that was hit by one of the rockets. While another fell close by a church. Each side, Shia and Sunni in both Syria and Lebanon blames the other for having injected a sectarian bias into the conflict.

A rather risible declaration since the bias is there, loud, long, historical, blatant and deadly. It is part of the culture, its heritage. It has been released to assume its full dimensions steeped in suspicion, fear, anger and hatred resulting in violence through the advent of one sect opposing the prolongation of its inferior position imposed upon it by the other.

Religious extremists among the rebels who think of Shiites as contemptible infidels are being stopped from infiltrating into Lebanon, nobly states Hezbollah's leader, Nasrallah. Hezbollah, needless to say, does not represent religious extremism. Tell that to the families of those who have been assassinated, the Hariri family in particular would be interested to hear it; the father destroyed by a Hezbollah bomb, the son living in exile for fear of a similar fate.

Too late, however, since it's fairly well-known that an unknown number of Lebanese Sunnis have experienced battle in Syria, and may be prepared to bring their battle-hardened expertise in opposing Hezbollah back to Lebanon when the time ripens. In the meanwhile, the ranks of Hezbollah are slightly declining with unexpected battle deaths, and the Rasoul al-Azam Hezbollah-operated hospital has closed to civilians, now "full of Hezbollah fighters".