"All of Israel's eggs were in the Christian basket," Bailey said. "While the Shiites at the time were willing to be quite cooperative, they were not willing to say so openly." As members of a minority, many Shiites felt they needed protection from other factions in Lebanese society.

At the time, a Shiite Lebanese party called Amal was the most important party in the south. Once Israeli tanks and troops had dislodged PLO gunmen, Amal's influence increased dramatically. Amal was aligned in that period with more-liberal elements of the leadership of Shiite-dominated Iran, and the group tacitly accepted the Israeli role in the south. But once that cooperation became known, Bailey said, the movement broke apart.

Islamic Amal, as the radical splinter was called, began carrying out attacks on Israeli and Western targets. The group's popularity rose as Israel, responding to rising militancy, began tightening its hold with checkpoints, mass arrests and military operations that hit the civilian population hard.

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The splinter group soon renamed itself Hezbollah.

Driving Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon, Israel's declared goal in its current campaign, may prove more difficult than the Israelis expect. Hezbollah is at home in the rough-hewn hills that overlook Israel's Galilee region. "When I hear the Israelis talk about getting Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon, I have to laugh," said a veteran Middle East official and analyst who requested anonymity because of his sensitive position. "They live there."

In addition, he pointed out, clearing the border would not remove the danger of attacks on northern Israel. During Operation Litani and the 1982 invasion, he said, a secure border zone was enough to prevent attacks by the short-range rockets of the time. But today that kind of safety is no longer guaranteed. "There are missiles now with a range of 20, 30, 40 kilometers," between 12 and 25 miles, he added.

The Lebanese army, which split into rival sectarian units during the country's 1975-90 civil war, has come a long way toward unity and genuine national representation, Lebanese analysts said. But by legal requirement, the commander remains a Maronite Christian, and the analysts acknowledged that the unity of these forces would be strained if troops tried to force Hezbollah units to disarm or leave the border region.

Suggestions that the Lebanese army take command of anti-Hezbollah operations in the border hills seem unrealistic, they said. At best, the Lebanese army could take to the field once a settlement was reached, so as to symbolize national authority and to police arrangements agreed to by Hezbollah and other Lebanese political forces, they explained.

But the largest obstacle to removing Hezbollah may be its place in Lebanese society. As a political force, it represents the country's largest religious community. As a military force, it has stood up for Lebanese under attack while the army stood aside.

Nevertheless, many Lebanese, particularly Maronite Christians, resent the power that it wields, just as they resent the growing demographic power of Shiite Muslims and the idea that religiously diverse Lebanon, or even a significant part of it, would adhere to the strict Muslim code that Hezbollah espouses.

"We are not like that," said Lina Marji, who was doing a brisk business selling cellphone cards in downtown Beirut. "Not in our traditions, not in our education."

Marji, who was in primary school during the 1982 invasion, said she came to Beirut from southern Lebanon. Asked how her family was doing under the Israeli air assaults, she pinched her face and became subdued. "As well as can be expected," she replied.

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