Richard Tafoya
Aug 18th, 2006, 07:36 AM
Hearts and minds. This is where the U.S. went completely wrong in Iraq. When the looting began, we sat back and watched, and erased any perception of moral authority the Iraqi population had for us.
To enter southern Lebanon these days, you drive down roads where traffic is directed by young men in gray Hezbollah civil defense corps T-shirts and past bulldozers from the Holy War Reconstruction Co.
Days after guns fell silent, Hezbollah has emerged as the lead player in the cleanup of towns and villages in southern Lebanon. It has the volunteers, owns the equipment and has spent years burnishing its image as the champion of ordinary people, from poor tobacco farmers to doctors and lawyers, who see Hezbollah as much more than a militia.
Men fighting Israeli troops a few days ago are working alongside the Lebanese Red Cross to pull bodies from the rubble.
...
The destruction will present an expensive bill for Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, who has promised to rebuild every shattered house and pay each displaced family's rent for a year while the rebuilding takes place. Families of those who were killed will receive payments for life, Hezbollah members say.
...
Hezbollah's ability to shift from war to reconstruction has impressed outside observers.
...
In his office in Tyre, Husseini, the regional government official, begrudgingly credited Hezbollah and its Shiite allies in the Amal militia.
"At least they are on the ground helping," he said. "If you call them at midnight, they come out to help. They are the government."
To enter southern Lebanon these days, you drive down roads where traffic is directed by young men in gray Hezbollah civil defense corps T-shirts and past bulldozers from the Holy War Reconstruction Co.
Days after guns fell silent, Hezbollah has emerged as the lead player in the cleanup of towns and villages in southern Lebanon. It has the volunteers, owns the equipment and has spent years burnishing its image as the champion of ordinary people, from poor tobacco farmers to doctors and lawyers, who see Hezbollah as much more than a militia.
Men fighting Israeli troops a few days ago are working alongside the Lebanese Red Cross to pull bodies from the rubble.
...
The destruction will present an expensive bill for Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, who has promised to rebuild every shattered house and pay each displaced family's rent for a year while the rebuilding takes place. Families of those who were killed will receive payments for life, Hezbollah members say.
...
Hezbollah's ability to shift from war to reconstruction has impressed outside observers.
...
In his office in Tyre, Husseini, the regional government official, begrudgingly credited Hezbollah and its Shiite allies in the Amal militia.
"At least they are on the ground helping," he said. "If you call them at midnight, they come out to help. They are the government."