InfoAnda - Analysis: In Syria crisis, stakes high for Hezbollah |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Mbeki ends Ivory Coast poll row talks without deal | | 7 December 2010
Apple puts touch "Magic" in computer mouse | 21 October 2009
Microsoft co-founder diagnosed with cancer | 17 November 2009

"Idol" producer Lythgoe responds to Adam Levine's comments | 19 August 2011

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Analysis: In Syria crisis, stakes high for Hezbollah |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Social Pulse Business Video The Freeland File Aerospace & Defense Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Campaign Polling Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Social Pulse Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Anatole Kaletsky Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Jack & Suzy Welch Frederick Kempe Christopher Papagianis Mark Leonard Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Lipper Awards 2012 Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Olympics Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (0) Full Focus Editor's choice Our best photos from the last 24 hours. See more Images of June Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Accused Colorado killer no easy fit for mass murderer profile 24 Jul 2012 Popular, unpolished Colorado governor shines on national stage 1:04am EDT Internet poker owner handed 14-month prison term 23 Jul 2012 Discussed 241 Mexico urges U.S. to review gun laws after Colorado shooting 155 Fourteen killed in Denver movie theater shooting 102 Penn State hit with $60 million fine, other penalties for Sandusky scandal Watched Apple shares undervalued? Tue, Jul 24 2012 Inflatable heat shield survives hypersonic stress test Tue, Jul 24 2012 Police, protesters clash after California shooting 5:49am EDT Sponsored Links Pictures Reuters Photojournalism Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption Healthcare in Appalachia Remote Area Medical clinics bring free medical care to uninsured people in Appalachia and elsewhere. Slideshow A city destroyed Amid the ruins of the Syrian city of Homs. Slideshow Analysis: In Syria crisis, stakes high for Hezbollah Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Syrian armored column closes in on Aleppo 12:29pm EDT Syria sends armored column to Aleppo, strikes from air Tue, Jul 24 2012 Insight: Assad chemical weapons plans blocked by Moscow Tue, Jul 24 2012 UPDATE 3-Gasmasks in demand as Israel tracks Syria chemical arms Tue, Jul 24 2012 Syria says could use chemical arms against foreigners Mon, Jul 23 2012 Related Topics World » Syria » Credit: Reuters By Mariam Karouny BEIRUT | Wed Jul 25, 2012 12:02pm EDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's powerful Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah has publicly tied its future to Bashar al-Assad, but as the tide turns against the Syrian president it is silent on whether it will join the fight to support him. The stakes are high for the group which fears that toppling Assad will pave the way for increased Western pressure - if not war - on its strongest ally and founder, Shi'ite Iran. By losing Assad the group would also be deprived of its strategic partner and main supply line for its arsenal. "Hezbollah is at a point of enormous strategic uncertainty. (Syria's uprising) is not an existential threat, they are too well armed. But now they face a threat from two sides," a Western diplomat in Lebanon said, referring to Hezbollah's foe Israel and a potentially hostile post-Assad Syria. Hezbollah has shown no sign of abandoning Assad and Lebanese officials close to the group say it won't stand idle if the battle worsens. Some said it will fight Israel. Others said it will deploy some of its fighters to secure the border with Lebanon, from which rebels are attacking Syrian frontier posts. They also said Hezbollah is bracing for the fighting in Syria to be long and hard. "They cannot distance themselves. What is happening now is fateful for them," said Lebanese analyst Jihad al-Zein. "Their alliance with Syria is strategic and was formed with the Assad family." "They do not have a choice - they are with the regime until the last minute. This is a strategic alliance between Iran and Syria and they are part of it," he added. Hezbollah believes that its enemies, including the West and Israel, are working to reshape the Middle East by replacing Assad with a ruler hostile to it. In a region riven by a Sunni-Shi'ite divide, Assad belongs to the Alawite sect that is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam. A new Sunni Muslim leadership is unlikely to favor the Shi'ite Hezbollah. OPTIONS OPEN While Hezbollah supported the revolts in the Arab world that toppled the leaders of Egypt, Tunis and Libya, it responded to the initially largely peaceful protests in Syria by saying it backed Assad's promises of reform. "Hezbollah will definitely take part in the war if Syria faces foreign intervention. It sees the whole campaign on Assad as a campaign to target resistance," a second Lebanese official said, using the label for armed groups opposed to Israel. For now, they say Hezbollah has been watching the unrest in Syria. It banned officials and members from publicly talking about the revolt, leaving its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as the only voice of the group, reiterating his support for Assad. A year ago, officials close to Hezbollah denied Syrian opposition accusations that it was sending fighters to help Assad's forces. The same officials now say this might change if there is foreign intervention or Assad is weakened. "So far, Assad does not need more fighters. His army is more than capable of dealing with this. He does not need Hezbollah's fighters. They are only a few thousands and he has hundreds of thousands," a Lebanese security official said. But another official said "this is a war and in wars all options are on the table.. What is important is that the Damascus supply line remains open to Hezbollah. It is willing to do whatever it takes to keep it like that." Hezbollah's view can be encapsulated in the comments of a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander who said on Tuesday that any foreign power intervening in Syria would suffer "decisive blows", specifically referring to "hated Arabs" - a veiled reference to regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Damascus has accused Saudi Arabia and Qatar of channeling weapons and money to rebels fighting Assad's forces. Activists say more than 17,000 people have been killed in the 16-month uprising against his rule. Israel's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Haim Waxman labeled Hezbollah and Iran of being "part of Assad's killing machine". "Iran and Hezbollah - Assad's allies in this 'trio of brutality' - will cross any line to keep the Assad regime in power," he told a U.N. Security Council debate on the Middle East on Wednesday. RELATIONSHIP IS DEEP While Hezbollah believes that Assad will not be unseated, it is bracing for a long battle that will get tougher by the day. "I want to know how do (the West) think Bashar is going to fall? By them (rebels) controlling Damascus? Then there will be a major war," said a Lebanese official close to the group. "Or do they think he will leave by foreign intervention? Then the whole region will be set ablaze. So he is not going to fall. Please get this out of your head." In a speech last week Hezbollah's leader Nasrallah said the unrest in Syria was a continuation of the 33-day war which his group fought with Israel in 2006. The group, established nearly 30 years ago to confront Israel's occupation of south Lebanon, inflicted serious damage and casualties by firing missiles deep into Israel in that conflict, and was able to sustain weeks of rocket attacks despite a major Israeli military incursion into Lebanon. Western intelligence sources say the movement's arsenal has been more than replenished since the fighting ended, with European-led U.N. peace keepers in southern Lebanon powerless to prevent supplies entering mostly from Syria. "(The goal was) after destroying the resistance in Lebanon to topple President Bashar al-Assad, destroy Syria and submit it to the American-Israeli agenda," Nasrallah told supporters. He described the four top Syrian security officials killed last week as martyrs and said the rockets that his group used to bombard Israel were made in Syria. "(The speech) was a signal that the relationship is deep and any revaluation of the position will not take place immediately," Ayham Kamel from Carnegie centre said. PROBLEMS AT HOME Assad's fall would weaken Hezbollah in Lebanon and unleash a Sunni-led campaign to limit the group's power. The tension between Sunnis and Shi'ite in Lebanon, a small country where sectarian factions fought a 15 year civil war in the 70s, surfaced when former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri was killed in 2005. Hariri supporters accused Syria and then Hezbollah of killing him - a charge they both deny. An international tribunal set to investigate the killing accused several Hezbollah members. The revolt in Syria has deepened sectarian divisions in Lebanon, pitting many Sunni Muslims who support the rebellion against Hezbollah and other Shi'ite groups who back Assad. A little known Sunni Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir, from the southern coastal city of Sidon, has gained increasing prominence, calling for Hezbollah to be disarmed and emboldening other anti-Hezbollah voices. While Sunni Muslims have no military power to match Hezbollah, Sunni Islamist fighters including Arab veterans from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have always found haven in Lebanon. But some officials played down the impact on the group internally. One said: "Even if Assad leaves. Who is going to touch Hezbollah here? It is a very powerful group and targeting it is not a joke." And for the majority of Shi'ites who form the base of the group's supporters neither Hezbollah nor Assad will be alone. During the street fights in Damascus a liberal Shi'ite, summing up the sentiments of many Shi'ites, wrote on his facebook :"Please Sayyed (Nasrallah) give us the orders (to fight)." (Editing by Dominic Evans/Janet McBride) World Syria Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use AdChoices Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Netanyahu urges better Turkey ties, cites regional turmoil |
Draft U.N. arms trade treaty full of holes, activists say |
Venezuela's Chavez unveils 3D image of hero Bolivar |
Ethnic riots sweep India's Assam, at least 30 killed |
U.S. commander accused of stalling Afghan hospital abuse probe |
Cardinal praises prominent Cuban dissident at funeral |
Suicide bomber behind Bulgaria bus attack had help: PM |
Apple has rare miss on pre-iPhone lull, global economy |
EU warms to Google antitrust concessions |
Killer of three in Jennifer Hudson's family gets life |
Toronto film festival promises action, India, Affleck |
Jackson estate concerned about bullying of Michael's kids |
Syrian armored column closes in on Aleppo |
Al-Qaeda says carried out Iraq attacks |
UK, France agree on more military cooperation |
Khamenei tells Iran politicians to show more unity |
Venezuela withdrawing from regional human rights court |
Rioters break curfew, more wounded in India's Assam |
In power, Egypt's Brotherhood seeks balance on Islamic law |
Philippines' Arroyo posts bail on fraud charges, leaves hospital |
No damage, tsunami after 6.6 quake hits off Indonesia's Sumatra |
Rival PNG prime ministers join forces to form new government |
Apple's rivals swoop as iPhone China sales flag |
Apple blames rare miss on new iPhone anticipation, economy |
ARM outperforms industry to beat forecasts |
Canon cuts profit outlook, signals euro pain for Japan Inc |
Nintendo narrows loss in first quarter |
HBO nixes idea of Netflix partnership |
Actor Christian Bale visits Colorado shooting victims |
Michael Jackson family dispute sparks concern |
The Jeffersons actor Sherman Hemsley dies at 74 |
Ryan Murphy shrugs off protest of gay adoption TV comedy |
Matthew Perry in latest bid for comeback after Friends |
Sharon Osbourne tweets she is leaving America's Got Talent |
Batman comic book postponed after Colorado movie shooting |
North Korea confirms mystery woman is leader's wife |
Turkish forces kill 15 Kurdish rebels in southeast |
Makeup of new Egyptian government seen complete next week |
Blast in refugee camp wounds 6 in northeast Kenya |
As Ghana mourns president, focus turns to election race |
Five dead in helicopter crash in French Alps: police |
Analysis: In Syria crisis, stakes high for Hezbollah |
British hunger striker jailed in UAE released |
EU regulators seek global concessions from Google |
New York Times drops BlackBerry app |
Actor Christian Bale visits Colorado shooting victims |
Punk godmother Patti Smith pays homage to St Francis in Assisi |
Michael Jackson family dispute sparks concern |
A Minute With: Matthew McConaughey and his new 'Killer' role |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01