Israel takes aim at Lebanon's soft
underbelly By Syed Saleem
Shahzad
DAHIEH/BEIRUT, Lebanon - While
Israeli forces fight their way into southern
Lebanon against the tough Hezbollah resistance
that is barring them from the strategic Litani
River, a nerve-shattering psychological war is
also being waged.
The Israelis are trying
to force Hezbollah to show itself in other parts
of the country, prior to finalizing their plans
for a large-scale war. Ongoing strikes against
Dahieh, a Shi'ite Muslim suburb of Beirut, are
part of this strategy, aimed at gauging
Hezbollah's strength in Lebanon's north.
Dahieh has been shelled repeatedly since
the outbreak of the fighting, and on Thursday four
missiles hit the area. The day before, Israeli
warships in the Mediterranean Sea shelled
Hezbollah's base in Dahieh. Part of the complex, a nine-story
building, was hit again and
again, even though it had been reduced to rubble
five days previously. The building used to be the
gym where Hezbollah members underwent physical
training.
Almost all Dahieh's population
has evacuated and all Hezbollah facilities in the
neighborhood have already been destroyed.
Tactically, of course, Israel aims to destroy all
Hezbollah's assets
and deprive it of bases and
supplies. However, these Israeli strikes near the
heart of Beirut have another significance.
"This neighborhood is the stronghold of
Hezbollah and all the people living here are
Hezbollah sympathizers," said a man who was acting
as a guide for the media in Dahieh. "Israel
expects that with such raids, Hezbollah will
react, or at least its leadership would visit the
neighborhood, and that's how Israel would get a
picture of Hezbollah's presence in the heartland
of Lebanon." The man did not identify himself,
saying he was just "a neighbor".
Israel's
desire to expand the war in Lebanon is apparent
from other instances as well.
The flights
of Israeli drones over Beirut had been irregular
over the past two weeks. However, that changed on
Wednesday as the drones flew for most of that day
and into Thursday night. Sources close to the
Lebanese intelligence services maintained that
this new development had resulted in all Lebanese
security forces being put on high alert as a
large-scale conflict was now expected.
In
this psychological war, neither Israel nor
Hezbollah is proving to be foolish. Despite the
repeated strikes on Dahieh, Hezbollah's
stronghold, the organization has refused to react
in the north, as any such reaction would justify
Israeli attacks on Beirut. If that were to occur,
the people of Beirut who support Hezbollah could
turn against the organization as their city became
the target of Israeli bombs, missiles and shells.
At the same time, Israel is also cautious
not to overplay its hand until Hezbollah's
strength in the north can be gauged. Israel also
clearly understands that many European countries,
especially France, have large investments in
northern Lebanon and any unjustified military
strikes on Beirut would be very bad international
public relations. So far, all Israeli attacks have
targeted southern Lebanon or suburbs like Dahieh,
where the international community is not a
stakeholder.
Hezbollah, too, has turned
out to be smarter than expected. Despite its
popularity among the masses, it has not shown
itself outside the south, even in the refugee
camps, despite the good PR opportunities there.
On Wednesday night, Lebanese intelligence
grilled a young woman from the Quyneh
neighborhood. The 22-year-old had been spotted in
a cultural center in Beirut that is now a big camp
for refugees from the south. She posed as a
journalist from the Lebanon Broadcasting Corp and
was looking to interview any Hezbollah volunteers
who had come to tend to refugees. Her identity
turned out to be fake and she confessed to be
working for Israeli intelligence, trying to trace
Hezbollah members in the refugee camps.
The Hezbollah fighters dug into the rugged
and difficult southern fronts are not about to
give up. Israel wants to win the war by attacking
the soft underbelly of Lebanon - Beirut.
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Pakistan
Bureau Chief, Asia Times Online. He can be reached
at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com. (Copyright
2006 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved.
Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing
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and deprive it of bases and
supplies. However, these Israeli strikes near the
heart of Beirut have another significance.
