BEYOND THE DROPZONE

Hezbollah in control of West Beirut

Posted by W. Thomas Smith Jr. on 9 May 2008 at 6:16 pm UTC

Just got off the phone with a former Hezbollah senior commander in Beirut.

Don’t yet want to detail what we chatted about (though there is more to come).

Just know that the situation in Lebanon is grim. Could take a dramatic and unexpected turn within hours, and as I just told a friend in an email:

“Like all Jihadists, they [Hezbollah] are patient, probing, posturing, extremely dangerous.”

Take a look at the seeming indecisiveness of Mugtada al Sadr in Iraq. It’s not indecision at all. The actions of his Mahdi Army – full-blown offensive fighting, feinting, testing defenses, withdrawing — are all deliberate and based on any number of political and strategic factors at a given moment in time, as well as a desire to keep us off-balance.

Anyway, for the time being, Hezbollah has basically seized much of west Beirut. They control the airport and seaport, key neighborhoods, and the major roads.

More here.   

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