Arab World Finds Icon in Leader of Hezbollah

[spindrifter]

By NEIL MacFARQUHAR
Published: August 7, 2006

DAMASCUS, Syria, Aug. 6 — The success or failure of any cease-fire in Lebanon will largely hinge on the opinion of one figure: Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of Hezbollah, who has seen his own aura and that of his party enhanced immeasurably by battling the Israeli Army for nearly four weeks.

With Israeli troops operating in southern Lebanon, Sheik Nasrallah can continue fighting on the grounds that he seeks to expel an occupier, much as he did in the years preceding Israel’s withdrawal in 2000.

Or he can accept a cease-fire — perhaps to try to rearm — and earn the gratitude of Lebanon and much of the world.

Analysts expect some kind of middle outcome, with the large-scale rocket attacks stopping but Hezbollah guerrillas still attacking soldiers so that Israel still feels pain.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/07/world/middleeast/07nasrallah.html?hp&ex=1154923200&en=0f121883fda2b014&ei=5094&partner=homepage