Hezbollah’s strike on Tuesday totally paralyzed the capital and resulted in five deaths. There’s no doubt that Nasrallah can topple the government whenever he wants. Either some external force dissuaded him, or — now that he’s shown what he can do — he prefers to get control by means of threats. You can read the details in the Lebanon Daily Star.
A Lebanon under Hezbollah control is an even greater threat to Israel than a weak Lebanon which can’t control it. Remember that the Lebanese army is supposed to prevent Hezbollah guerrillas from deploying on the border and even disarm them (according to UN resolution 1701)!
If Lebanon becomes Hezbollastan, it will be a piece of the Shiite crescent being established by Iran in the heart of the Mideast — Iran, Iraq (after the US leaves), Syria, and Lebanon. This is more or less exactly the opposite of what US policy was supposed to achieve.
Will the US and Israel permit this to happen? Can they do anything about it?
Update [25 Jan 1114 PST]: Lebanese students fight it out, two more dead.