Winning the peace

Whether Israel or Hezbollah won the recent war in Lebanon is a matter of much debate. Not so debatable is that Hezbollah is poised to win the peace. Not only did they gain a great deal of credibility by their fierce resistance to a much better equipped enemy that heavily outnumbered them, they are in a better position than anyone else to win hearts and minds in the process of rebuilding from the terrible destruction wreaked by Israel.

Hezbollah has for some time been much more effective at providing its people with social services -- hospitals, schools, agricultural centres, etc. -- than the Lebanese government. It is now swinging into action to help those who suffered from the war. The ceasefire had hardly begun before Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah went on TV to promise money for rebuilding. The "Party of God" has promised to pay for fully furnished apartments for a year for those who lost their homes and provide lifetime compensation to those who lost relatives. Hundreds of Hezbollah workers are cleaning streets, clearing rubble, protecting buildings from looting, aiding the wounded and removing the dead. By contrast, as before the war, the Lebanese government is practically invisible.

The organization's commander in south Lebanon, Nabil Kaouk, declared "We want to bring south Lebanon back to its real life and to rebuild it better than it was before the war." Given Hezbollah's proven ability to provide services for the Lebanese people, his words ring true.