But Hezbollah Doesn't

Behave itself, that is. And they want to take us to war.

Hezbollah, as expected, called on people to think of who has benefited from the assassination of Pierre Gemayel. Hussein al Khalil, Hassan Nasrallah's right hand man, asked how is it that Samir Gaegae, leader of the Lebanese Forces Christian party, and Waleed Jumblatt, the Druze leader, had anticipated that ministers in the cabinet may be assassinated. Al Khalil claimed that March 14 stood to benefit from the assassination since it has re-galvanized them. He said that Jumblatt was toeing the American line and that March 14 was using the spilled blood to implement the American project: the international tribunal.

Al Khalil also had other choice words for Waleed Jumblatt, calling him a "spotted viper spreading its venom among the Lebanese" and accusing him inciting Sunnis and Shiites against one another, formenting divisions between various Christian factions and trying to break the unity of Amal and Hezbollah. He assured Mr Jumblatt that "Amal and Hezbollah are two souls in one body". MP al Khalil went on to claim that Jumblatt, "the maestro of March 14", is enthralled to his American masters and only obeys their wishes. My favourite is "looking into Jumblatt's eyes is sufficient to see his thirst for blood".

Political assassinations in Lebanon follow a certain pattern. First comes the political attack. A number of choice Syrian allies begin crowing about 1. how evil X is, 2. that X is a stooge of the US, and then, the death sentence, that 3. X is an agent of Israel. Step 4 is the assassination, after which comes step 5, a statement from People Mujahideen Front for the Liberation of Lions and Muslims of Great Syria from the Thralls of Secular Christian Infidels and Zionists and Make Benefit the Great Nation of Kazakhstan, or some such outfit, claiming responsibility for the slaughter of the traitor in the name of God. Then comes step 6, acknowledging that the Kazakhstani Mujahideen was a front and that the true perpetrators were the victim's political allies, trying to gain leverage over their opponents. Rumour has it that one victim (Marwan Hamadeh, who survived/ ed. it was MP Musbah Ahdab, not Hamadeh. Apologies) was charged with having arranged his own assassination attempt to get attention.

Pierre Gemayel is now at the final stage of the assassination, with March 14, of which his father is a prominent member, being accused of his murder. Waleed Jumblatt, on the other hand, is on level 2, for the untrained eye. The more experienced eye detects that the viciousness of the attack, and the fact that it came from such a high ranking Hezbollah official as opposed to the rifraf generally assigned such tasks, leave the collaboration with Israel charge redundant. His assassination is in step 3.

The last time a Jumblatt was murdered (1976), hundreds of Christians were killed or injured or had their homes burnt, them being one of the more obvious and less armed suspects. Druze, Christians and in some significant areas, Shiites, live pretty much side by side. (The Hasbaya-Rachaya area; Marjeyoun; Choueifat and Dahiyeh; Keyfoun, Rayfoun, Baysour and Aley; for the Druze and Shiites).

If Lebanon approves the tribunal, the next on the hit list is Waleed Jumblatt. The idea is that if the tribunal is coming to Lebanon, there will be no Lebanon to receive it. Killing Jumblatt would most probably result in the Druze attacking Shiite areas in their vicinity. This is intended to be the spark for the next civil war.