May 09, 2008
Lebanon: Explainer
So, a quick run down of who is what in Lebanon right now, for those people who are completely lost. This is very, very simplified and I haven't gone into the histories and etc. This is just to give you a basic idea of who's on what side and how important they are.
The Opposition
Hezbollah
Leader: Hassan Nasrallah
Sect: Shia
Organization: Most people know about Hezbollah, or at least of them. Hezbollah represents by far the largest and most advanced military organization in Lebanon, and they enjoy majority support of Lebanon's Shia. They also constitute a veritable state-within-a-state in South Lebanon and much of the Bekaa Valley, between the coast and the Syrian border. Their headquarters is located in the southern suburbs of Beirut, near the airport. Though they have frequently appeared to take a back seat in political quarrels, the smart money is that Hezbollah is the real power and decision maker for the opposition.
Amal
Leader: Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri
Sect: Shia
Organization: Amal represents most of the rest of the Shia after subtracting Hezbollah's share. They trend more middle class as compared to Hezbollah's poor and working class constituency. Amal and Hezbollah are rivals - and members frequently clash - within the Shia community, but Hezbollah so dominates the Shia political scene that Amal always has to go along with them, grumbling or not. Amal is closer to Syria, whereas Hezbollah is closer to Iran. Amal has recently been more prone to get into street clashes in mixed areas of Beirut, but that's a result of their having less discipline in the ranks than Hezbollah.
Opposition Christians
Leader: Michel Aoun
Sect: Christian
Organization: Opposition Christians are a varied bunch. The core Aoun group is the Free Patriotic Movement, which at this point is simply a cult of personality around Aoun, a big civil war figure, and his patronage network. The greater "Change and Reform" bloc built around the FPM consists of people who have for electoral or other reasons allied themselves with Aoun. Beyond "Change and Reform," there are the Marada people under Sleiman Franjieh in North Lebanon who are long time Syrian allies, and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. Guess who they're with?
Opposition Druze
Leader: Wiam Wahhab and Talal Arslan
Sect: Druze
Organization: I don't know much about the pro-Syrian Druze. They're a minority among that community, mostly outside Beirut. Wahhab is loud, but the military capabilities of the Arslan clan and their ilk are a mystery to me.
March 14
The Lebanese Forces
Leader: Samir Geagea
Sect: Christian
Organization: The LF is rumored to be one of the two militarily strongest elements of the March 14 coalition. Along with the Phalangists (also known by the Arabic name al-Kataeb), they control East Beirut right now, and have a large presence in most of the rest of Christian Lebanon north and east of the capital. Their strength is likely a large part of the reason that Aounist Christians have been so quiet during all of this. They're not yet tested in battle, though.
The Progessive Socialist Party
Leader: Walid Jumblatt
Sect: Druze
Organization: These guys are the LF's rival for military strength on the March 14 side. They've taken a bruising in the past couple days against Hezbollah, though. It appeaers that they're playing it safe for now, beating an orderly retreat, so I don't think we've actually seen what they can really do yet. I don't know. They've largely left West Beirut, and their base is in the Chouf Mts. east of the capital where most of Lebanon's Druze live. They may have an internal front against Wahhab's and Arslan's people, though.
Future Movement
Leader: Saad Hariri
Sect: Sunni
Organization: The Future Movement has suffered the most from the loss of West Beirut. Their media outlets have been occupied and/or destroyed, though they've retained their base of strength in Tariq Jedideh, right near Hezbollah's southern suburbs. This is cut off from Hariri headquarters in Qoreitem, in Hamra, however. They have large reserves of support in North Lebanon, but these are far removed from conflict in the capital.
Posted by ben at May 9, 2008 08:15 AM