Next week's meeting between Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri and US president Barack Obama is expected to pass without great fanfare, says Omaya Abdel-Latif in al-Ahram. Hariri is sure to have to explain some of his recent statements in support of Hezbollah.
Al-Hariri appears to be standing between a rock and a hard place. While he does not want to risk losing Washington's backing of his mandate, he cannot appear to be in full partnership with Hizbullah. Yet he also realises that he is presiding over a national unity government of which Hizbullah is a crucial partner. That mandate grants the resistance movement the right to defend the country against aggression.
And while the issue of the resistance's arms continues to be hotly debated in Lebanon, some recent political developments -- domestically and regionally -- suggest that the tide is turning in Hizbullah's favour, leading one Hizbullah MP to describe the current period as the golden age of the resistance. Lebanese political figures, including President Suleiman, repeatedly express solidarity with Hizbullah and condemn Israel's constant threats of war.
Read the article at al-Ahram..
