Lebanon Government Quagmire Worsens because of Support for Assad

The Hizbullah terrorist organization, whose so-called “political face” has been arguably the strongest force in the past two Lebanese governments, controlling 21 out of 30 cabinet seats at one point, is now prompting an opposition bloc to refuse to join a unity government. One day after losing a leading party member and six others to a Beirut car bomb attributed to the pro-Assad forces, the anti-Syria March 14 bloc said it will not remain in a government that includes the participation of Hizbullah. The Lebanese government has been gridlocked for the past nine months due to inter-party wrangling, unable to create a new government following the resignation of Najib Mikati’s caretaker government which was facilitated by Hizbullah. The secretary-general of the March 14 bloc told the French news agency AFP that it has given up on trying to “convince [Hizbullah] to stop resorting to violence and killing to reach its political goals.”