The 2006 Lebanon War and the 14th of March Movement

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In the aftermath of the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon, Hezbollah and its supporters accused the 14th of March Movement of colluding with Israel in its effort to destroy Hezbollah and bring war and destruction to the Shia-majority areas of South Lebanon and the Beirut Southern suburbs (Dahiyeh). This accusation is a serious accusation- an accusation that is one of the main reasons behind worsened tensions between Sunnis and the Shias in Lebanon. This accusation meant that the Sunni Prime Minister of the time, Fouad Saniora, was colluding to have Israel destroy the homes and the liveliood of the Shias.  This accusation helped kick Sunni-Shia tensions to a  level unprecedented in Lebanon's history. MP Fouad Saniora represents the biggest constituency among the Sunni Lebanese and holds the top Sunni position in government. Hezbollah is a Shia group. The increased sectarian tensions should have been surprising to no one.

As evidence of this serious accusation, in addition to a selective release of he said-she said hearsay Wikileaks documents, the meeting that was held with Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice at the US emabsssy in Beirut was presented as evidence of collusion. In her memoir, No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington, Rice mentions the 2006 war and how she was pushing for the end of the war against Lebanon. This is the exact opposite of what the Hezbollah and its supporters claim that the 14th of March and Rice were trying to do during the 2006 war. Those who met Rice were meeting the voice in the adminstration vigorously pressing for the end of the damaging war- a war that most of the Lebanese were not consulted on its beginning or its end.

There is more validation of this reality that has been distorted and mangled by the supporters of Hezbollah- who by default or by design are pouring oil on the sectarian fires.

Lee Smith in a book review of Elliott Abrams' book, Tested by Zion. a review published in The Wall Street Journal of February 4, 2013, Smith writes:


"But it wasn't until Israel's 2006 war with the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah that Mr. Sharon's absence proved decisive. Unlike Mr. Sharon, who, as Mr. Abrams explains, had masterfully cajoled Ms. Rice, the inexperienced Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was incapable of managing her. As secretary of state, Ms. Rice was so determined to leave her mark as peacemaker that she seems to have viewed Israel's second Lebanon war as a personal affront. She unconscionably adopted Hezbollah talking points, like demanding that Israel return the Shebaa Farms, a small plot of land in the Golan Heights, to Lebanon, a move that implicitly justified Hezbollah terrorism against the Jewish state. This was one of a number of self-inflicted wounds that issued from Ms. Rice's newfound distrust of Israeli leaders."

The truth is the first casualty of war- it should not remain mangled in the post-war period.

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