Nasrallah`s conditions are exactly what Lebanon needs

Source: Daily Star, 23-9-2006
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has thrown down a challenge to Lebanon`s political class, one that all Lebanese should embrace with enthusiasm. In a rousing speech at Friday`s rally in Beirut`s southern suburbs, the leader of Hizbullah said his resistance fighters would lay down their arms when Lebanon had a clean, solid government and a strong military. Far from being objectionable, these two goals should be top priorities for anyone who believes in the people`s right to good governance and in the country`s duty to defend itself against foreign aggression. Whatever developments shape the region in the coming months and years, Lebanon will be better-equipped to survive and even thrive if its political system is made more representative and more effective - and if its armed forces are given the tools they need to do their jobs.
It is not in Nasrallah`s nature to let others shape a debate, but his assertive tone on Friday was accompanied by the extension of an olive branch to even his harshest critics. The resistance leader averred that he and his followers were ready for open and honest dialogue with any Lebanese party with a Lebanese agenda - including some that have questioned the national origins of his own tactics. He also expressed gratification at the increasingly non-sectarian outlook of many Lebanese and insisted that the "victory" over "Israel" belonged to all sects. In addition, he called for a fairer electoral law that would make each of the country`s communities more confident of its own ability to pick its own representatives.
If politics is the art of the possible, no people is more ideally suited to the hard work and imperfect science of statecraft than the Lebanese. This potential has yet to be realized in practice, though, in large part because of deep disagreements about what can and cannot be done. But if any lesson is to be drawn from the recent war with "Israel", it is that properly prepared individuals who believe in a just cause are a formidable resource for a developing country to have at its disposal. Since the goals enunciated by Nasrallah are entirely in keeping with the national interest, all that remains to be done is to inspire sufficient numbers of people and give them the training and equipment required of their noble task.