A recent survey (24-26 July) shows the current attitudes in Lebanon about the conflict:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=74334
87% of Lebanese support Hizbollah's actions including a bare majority of Christians - 55% and 40% of Druze. I remember from another article that support from Sunnis while lower than Shi'ites is still high - around 60-70%.
63% of respondants believe the Hizbollah will defeat Israel.
Due to America's actions in this recent conflict, only 10% of Lebanese now consider America to be an "honest broker" in the debate, a dramatic drop from the 38.2% support America enjoyed in January 2006.
The majority of Lebanese are unhappy with their government's actions on a diplomatic level (64.3%) and about relief (54%). This varies amongst sect with 82.1% of Shiites and 64.8% of Sunnis, 50.1% Druze and 61.9% of Christians unhappy with the Lebanese government.
I guess what we derive from this is the vast majority of Lebanese are solidly united behind Hizbollah except for the Druze who make up only 6% of the population anyway. Even the Christian community is a (bare) majority behind Hizbollah. America's standing in Lebanon has basically crashed to rock-bottom. In contrast to the widespread support for Hizbollah, the Lebanese are not very happy with their government. Wait a moment! I thought this bombing campaign was supposed to destroy support for Hizbollah, increase the standing of the Lebanese government and I'm willing to bet not increase hatred of America.
I'd just to reiterate:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/24/AR2006072400807.html
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=74334
87% of Lebanese support Hizbollah's actions including a bare majority of Christians - 55% and 40% of Druze. I remember from another article that support from Sunnis while lower than Shi'ites is still high - around 60-70%.
63% of respondants believe the Hizbollah will defeat Israel.
Due to America's actions in this recent conflict, only 10% of Lebanese now consider America to be an "honest broker" in the debate, a dramatic drop from the 38.2% support America enjoyed in January 2006.
The majority of Lebanese are unhappy with their government's actions on a diplomatic level (64.3%) and about relief (54%). This varies amongst sect with 82.1% of Shiites and 64.8% of Sunnis, 50.1% Druze and 61.9% of Christians unhappy with the Lebanese government.
I guess what we derive from this is the vast majority of Lebanese are solidly united behind Hizbollah except for the Druze who make up only 6% of the population anyway. Even the Christian community is a (bare) majority behind Hizbollah. America's standing in Lebanon has basically crashed to rock-bottom. In contrast to the widespread support for Hizbollah, the Lebanese are not very happy with their government. Wait a moment! I thought this bombing campaign was supposed to destroy support for Hizbollah, increase the standing of the Lebanese government and I'm willing to bet not increase hatred of America.
I'd just to reiterate:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/24/AR2006072400807.html
Military historians have a name for the logic behind Israel's military campaign in Lebanon. It's called the "strategic bombing fallacy." Almost since the dawn of the age of military air power, strategists have been tempted by the prospect that the bombing of "strategic" targets such as infrastructure and transportation hubs could inflict such pain on a population that it would turn against its leaders and get them to surrender or compromise.
Unfortunately -- as the United States itself discovered during World War II and Vietnam, to cite just two examples -- strategic bombing has almost never worked. Far from bringing about the intended softening of the opposition, bombing tends to rally people behind their own leaders and cause them to dig in against outsiders who, whatever the justification, are destroying their homeland.