Iran's Choice: Hezbollah or a Nuke

Iran may soon have to choose between Hizbullah and its nuclear ambition as means of asserting regional influence, writes Mustafa El-Labbad in Cairo.

Mustafa notes:

While Iranian public opinion is debating the nuclear issue in terms of "national esteem and dignity", to Iranian policy- makers it is a first order question of national security. In contrast, the question of protecting Hizbullah, despite its popularity both inside Lebanon and in the region, rarely imposes itself upon Iranian ruling elites at more than an ideological or propagandistic level. ...

It thus appears that Hizbullah, with its million supporters, stands alone, left with few choices. It cannot join an opposition that has latched on to the international catchword of disarming it, nor does it desire to continue to lend its support to an authority -- the Syrians -- whose popularity at home and abroad is bankrupt and that lacks both vision and initiative.

Perhaps for Hizbullah the road lies beyond such dichotomies as victory or martyrdom, opposition or loyalty. Certainly there are possibilities that may be worth exploring, such as merging its military wing with the Lebanese army and assimilating into the domestic political process under new rules of engagement that do not necessarily include recourse to force. Certainly, too, if Hizbullah does not take the initiative, the decisions will be made for it and it will find itself disarmed, alone in the field bereft of its former allies and without regional support, finding succor only in the legend of its spiritual forefather who died in Karbala over 13 centuries ago.