Obama Says Hezbollah Is Afraid

President Obama After Learning of Hezbollah’s resignation from the Lebanese government:

The efforts by the Hezbollah-led coalition to collapse the Lebanese government only demonstrate their own fear and determination to block the government’s ability to conduct its business and advance the aspirations of all of the Lebanese people

Before you rush and dismiss this as wishful thinking, this interpretation is becoming increasingly common among Lebanese observers (including yours truly). Hezbollah is exhibiting many signs of panic and even commentators who otherwise respect Hezbollah’s political abilities admit it. Here’s Lebanese political analyst Qifa Nabki ‘s reading of the opposition’s sudden resignation:

my sense is that the opposition’s maneuver was premature. They probably timed it to happen when Saad Hariri was meeting with Obama, so that the symbolism wasn’t lost on anyone. But if that was really the rationale, then I think it was a bit of a boneheaded move. One would have imagined that the opposition would have tried first to pressure Hariri by mobilizing a major public demonstration against the STL in order to give their demands a veneer of popular support, before withdrawing from the government. As is, all they’ve done is ensure that when the indictments do become public, there will almost certainly be no Lebanese government in place to formally denounce them

Many of my readers have told me again and again that Hezbollah must be hiding something for it to be afraid so much from the STL. The flip side of this is that P.M Hariri must also know something, which explains his own silence, confidence and steadfastness.