Reluctant rise of the Resistance

Once head of the opposition, Hezbollah may be the predominant force in the Lebanese government by the time you read this column. Such a government will certainly set Lebanon at odds with the international community, especially over the fate of the international tribunal investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. Paradoxically, while Hezbollah is the strongest political and military force in the country, it has never actively sought to take control of the state — at least not in the conventional sense of being elected into power and forming a government. That is because Hezbollah’s focus lies elsewhere — specifically in ensuring the retention of its formidable armed wing to confront Israel. Since its founding in the early 1980s, Hezbollah has gradually moved deeper into Lebanon’s political milieu. But each step was taken only when evolving political circumstances threatened the party’s resistance priority. When Hezbollah burst upon the