Lebanese Druze kingmaker changes his mind

Walid Jumblatt says he supports HizbAllah. Sometimes Lebanese politics resembles Iraqi politics.

'Twenty years may have passed since Lebanon's civil war subsided but there has been precious little substantive peace and reconciliation. Fears the current crisis could slip towards the same horrors are very real.

But finally, after all the waiting and pushing and shoving here, Jumblatt's decision to jump sides from the U.S.-backed faction of the outgoing Hariri to Iran-backed Hezbollah, is dealing not just Hariri a blow but the United States too.

There is no guarantee Jumblatt's 11 member block will follow suit and hand Hezbollah and its allies the right to chose the next prime minister but in his justification provides clues to why the United States is losing its influence -- not just here but across the region as a whole.

..."Without compromise, his compromise, the risk of bloody sectarian violence will increase." '


I don't understand why some people insist on spelling it "Hezbollah" - Americans end up pronouncing it Hézb-Ollah. It should be spelled the way it's pronounced in Arabic - "Hizb Allah", which means "Party of God". What a name for a political party. They think they represent God. It's silly.