CNN: "Hezbollah win could shake Obama Mideast policy"

CNN: "Hezbollah win could shake Obama Mideast policy"

This piece on CNN, written by a Journalist, fresh out of middle school, both in style and substance has all the cliches under one roof,... CNN here

"..... Next month, Obama will deliver a long-awaited speech to the Muslim world from Cairo, Egypt. He will speak at a critical time for Lebanon, days before an election that could bring powerful Shia militia group Hezbollah to power.

This possibility could shake the foundation of Obama's attempts to bring stability and peace to the Middle East.

With one of the most powerful armies in the Middle East (?), Hezbollah is poised to lead Lebanon's government with the help of Lebanese Christian opposition leader, Gen. Michel Aoun.

Aoun, recently announced he would align with the March 8 bloc, led by Hezbollah. That will give the bloc the the numbers it needs to control parliament after the June 7 elections.

There have been sporadic incidents of violence ahead of the vote: Billboards have been defaced and just last week, a Hezbollah-aligned political office was burned to the ground.

While these acts of violence are small by Lebanese standards, a friend who lives near the burned office told me it was a "terrifying reminder of last May." That is when Hezbollah militants, in a blatant show of force, seized control of the streets of Beirut, marking the worst violence to hit Lebanon since the end of its civil war in 1991.

Many saw it as an embarrassment to Saad Hariri's ruling March 14 bloc, which had to grant major political concessions to Hezbollah to restore order to Beirut.

Hezbollah's leader has painted May 7, 2008, as a "glorious day that prevented civil war," ..... At the time, I could not believe that Hezbollah gunmen were about to occupy half of the Lebanese capital. They did so until the government gave in; then they withdrew back to Beirut's southern suburbs, allowing the city's wealthy neighborhoods to return to normal for the summer.....

Hariri swept to power in the wake of the 2005 assassination of his father, .....Now, it appears the tide is turning once again in Lebanon, this time in Hezbollah's favor. ...Three years ago, Hezbollah -- which is supported by both Syria and Iran -- fought a war against the Israeli military, which failed to weaken the militia. ....

With an estimated 30,000 rockets pointed at Israel from southern Lebanon -- all under the control of Hezbollah -- how can Netanyahu sell the idea to the people of northern Israel that they are safe from a country ruled by Hezbollah-aligned politicians?..."

Posted by G, Z, & or B at 4:43 PM