A Decade of Decisions: Lebanon and Syria, from the Second Lebanon War to the Syrian Civil War

In the summer of 2006, Hassan Nasrallah predicted that the Second Lebanon War would become a historic landmark and the countdown to the end of the State of Israel. With the same breath, Nasrallah sought to make the war into a milestone on Hezbollah’s road to hegemony in Lebanon. In practice, he failed. The Second Lebanon War did not break apart the camp of Hezbollah opponents in Lebanon, and it also turned the spotlight on the organization’s Shiite identity, its connections to Iran, its dependence on Tehran, and its obeisance to Iranian dictates. Moreover, the Second Lebanon War may be seen as a preview, albeit indirect, of the revolution happening in Syria, a revolution aimed not only against Bashar Assad but also against his ally, Hezbollah.