THE Lebanese Hezbollah is committing a grievous and heinous mistake by sending its followers to Syria to fight along the side of President Bashar Al Assad`s forces. No one has any doubts about the strong relations that bind Hezbollah with Syria, or Iran, but that cannot justify .the dangerous plunge which the Lebanese group has taken. The harmful consequencesof entering the battlefield to protect the repressive Syrian regime will dwarf the benefits which Hezbollah seeks to achieve. ...Hezbollah action has driven a deep wedge between Sunnis and Shias, especially at a time when post-Arab Spring events have strained relations between the two leading groups within Islam. By entering the conflict, the Shia group has also imported the crisis into Lebanon. ...
Especially the Gulf countries are angry at Hezbollah ... The head of the Gulf Cooperation Council Abdullatif Al Zayani told reporters at the end of a ministerial meeting in Jeddah that the group could take actionagainst the Lebanese Shia movement. Earlier, Bahrain had been scathing in its criticism of Hezbollah and called it a terrorist organisation. ...
Supporting Assad through every means available is one thing, but sending people to fight on the around auiteanother. By putting all eggs in Assad`s basket, Hezbollah is playing a dangerous game.
Assad`s downfall iscertain, even though it`s difficult to predict when it`s going to happen, and once it happens, Hassan Nasrallah will find himself without friends in the region, except Iran.
Severing links with the Gulf states and inviting their wrath can make existence tough for the Lebanese movement.
Hezbollah is best known in the Arab world and liked for standing up against the tyranny of Israel. But the Syrian uprising has upended the Sunni thinking about this group. Hassan Nasrallah must realise that his support for Assad can only give the latter a temporary respite.
