Clausewitz Would Be Proud Posted by Ilan Goldenberg

Hezbollah has had a pretty good last couple of weeks.  Today they got an agreement with the Lebanese governing coalition that ended 18 months of political stalemate and gave Hezbollah exactly what it wanted – veto power in the new Lebanese government.  And they didn’t have to give up anything in return.  No discussions on disarmament.  Nothing on further investigations into the Hariri assassination.  Nothing

How did they do it?  Two weeks ago, they launched an offensive against the various militias aligned with the governing, U.S.-backed, March 14 coalition.  The military decided to stay out of the fight.  Hezbollah basically took over Beirut in the span of 24 hours and routed the militias affiliated with the March 14 coalition.  Then just as quickly as they appeared, they disappeared and let the Lebanese Army take over again.  They kept civilian casualties low, did not engage in ethnic cleansing, and did not stay out on the streets for too long or take a heavy-handed approach that would alienate the population.  But they did send a very clear message that they are the most powerful military force in Lebanon and that they can use that force when necessary.  One week later they got the deal they wanted.

Clausewitz defined war as a “continuation of politics by other means.”  Can one think of a more effective recent example? This was a low cost, well modulated, military action that achieved a direct and precise political outcome.  Pretty ironic that it was executed by a supposedly crazy and irrational terrorist group. 

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