Fissures in Hizballah's Edifice of Control. For background on the struggles in the Bekaa Valley, see Marlin Dick, “Hizballah’s Domestic Growing Pains,” Middle East Report Online, September 13, 2010. For more on the Hariri assassination, see Heiko Wimmen, “The Long, Steep Fall of the Lebanon Tribunal,” Middle East Report Online, December 1, 2010. On August 15, Beirut awoke to the news that more than 20 alleged members of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) had been captured by a group calling itself “the military wing of the al-Miqdad family.” The group had sent footage to the al-Mayadin television network, which was quickly picked up by other local and international channels. In the clip, men dressed in camouflage and black ski masks, and gripping Kalashnikovs, surrounded two prisoners seated in a dark room.
The two broadcasts were ill received by the Lebanese political establishment, especially its March 14 segment, of which Hariri’s Future Movement is a major component. The al-Miqdads Unsettled State Elephant in the Room Endnotes. Hizbollah's Position on the Syrian Uprising: Julian Assange Interview with Hasan Nasrallah (Video) Hezbollah After Assad. Hezbollah faces a moment of reckoning. The increasingly likely demise of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Damascus would deprive the militant Lebanese Shia organization of one of its main patrons and could constrain its ability to play an active role in regional politics. Moreover, by offering up unbridled support for Syria, Hezbollah has placed itself at odds with the popular revolts that are unseating autocratic rulers across the Arab world, undermining the narratives of resistance and justice for the oppressed that it has long espoused. Facing the loss of a key ally and with its credibility compromised, an off-balance Hezbollah could turn inward, deepening its involvement in Lebanese politics in order to consolidate its power.
Together with Iran, Hezbollah stands to lose the most from the fall of the Syrian regime. To continue reading, please log in. Don't have an account? Register today for free. Register Register now to get three articles each month. Register for free to continue reading. Politics :: Hezbollah showed real face by siding with Assad: Ghalioun. BEIRUT: The Syrian opposition leader said Hezbollah’s decision to side with President Bashar Assad in his eight-month crackdown on Syrian protesters has shown the resistance’s group real face. “The Syrian revolutionaries in the streets daily shout slogans against Iran and Hezbollah after the resistance’s mask slipped off when it sided with the Syrian regime and helped it crush its oppressed people,” the head of the Syrian National Council Burhan Ghalioun said in remarks published Monday by Lebanese newspaper Al-Mustaqbal. Reconsidering Syria’s strategy with Iran and putting an end to arms supplies to Hezbollah are among the Syrian opposition’s demands, Ghalioun said.
He said breaking the exceptional relationship with Iran after the fall of the Syrian regime would change its relationship with Hezbollah. Ghalioun added that the fall of Assad’s government was certain.