Hezbollah gambles in quest for dominance

Nayla Moawad, the minister of social affairs, was more direct. "This is a coup d'etat," she said.

"A balance of power within the government will be a guarantee for both sides," countered Amin Sherri, a Hezbollah member of parliament. "Before they were giving us a choice between bad and worse. We don't want to go on like this."

"We don't want to be merely witnesses to decision-making on important issues," he added.

Once unasked questions are up for grabs
Since Hezbollah's creation with Iranian patronage in the wake of the 1982 Israeli invasion, the group has often operated in different environments. During the civil war that ended in 1990, there were no rules. Afterward, Syria, long the kingmaker here, protected Hezbollah's interests, as well as determined the country's foreign policy. After the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah's popularity swelled, its militia credited with what most in Lebanon considered a victory.

But in the tumult and uncertainty of Lebanese politics today, once unasked questions are up for grabs: whether Hezbollah can keep its arms; its ties to Syria and Iran; the country's posture toward Israel and the United States; and the balance of power among Sunnis, Shiites and divided Christians. Underlying them is another question, sharpened by the contention of Hezbollah's foes that it started the latest war with Israel: Who has the right to make war and peace in Lebanon?

"The state, before the assassination of Hariri, was used to protect and embrace Hezbollah. The whole state served to protect it. And now this state has ended. So Hezbollah is looking for an internal role, to enter the political equation, and its entry into politics represents a huge upheaval," said Hazem al-Amin, an analyst of Shiite politics and writer for al-Hayat newspaper.

"Hezbollah wants to try its political training on us," he added.

Hezbollah's transformation over the years marks one of the most striking transformations of any Islamic organization in the Middle East. In its early years, it was notorious for imposing draconian restrictions in southern Lebanon — banning mixed sunbathing and women's swimsuits at beaches, closing coffee shops, and prohibiting parties and dancing. Since then, it has evolved from a shadowy organization blamed for two attacks on the U.S. Embassy and the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks here, killing 241 soldiers, into a sprawling movement that fields a crack militia, serves in parliament and delivers welfare — from education to compensation for war damages — for its Shiite constituency, Lebanon's largest community.

Protests mark new, uncertain tactic
Through that evolution, the movement has adapted itself at turning points in Lebanon's history. It took part in parliamentary elections in 1992 after the civil war. After the Syrian withdrawal, it entered the cabinet for the first time. As pressure built for its disarmament, as called for by U.N. Resolution 1559, it struck its alliance with Aoun a year ago. Each turn can be read as defensive: protecting its weapons, preventing Lebanon from growing too close to the United States, and promoting the ambitions of the Shiite community, long disenfranchised and still sometimes perceived as second class.

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