notes from a palm island

The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has launched a blog, which appears to be a publicity stunt on a massive scale. Iran is known for having the internet restricted/censored, along the lines of China, but is heavily publicizing this weblog--and inviting citizens to send messages to the president via the blog. Ahmadinejad refers to the United States as "Great Satan USA" and includes a poll asking if users think the US and Israel are trying to trigger a new world war.


It's really interesting to see different perspectives, though. We were in a coffee shop two nights ago. Al-Jazeera was always on the TV in the background, just scrolling the headline news, etc. All of a sudden, Hassan Nasarallah (the leader of Hezbollah) is on the screen, the background music stopped, and the TV's volume has been turned up full blast. Every single person in the place is staring at the TV, hanging on his every word.
It was amazing. From what I gathered afterwards (since I didn't understand what exactly was being said at the time), it seemed that Nasarallah was claiming a victory for Hezbollah with the cease fire. Even though Hezbollah is a militia, not the Lebanese government's military, many claim that Hezbollah's ability to deter further Israeli attack was indicative of their power in this conflict. Nasarallah has also formed a rebuilding effort, promising the Lebanese people that Hezbollah will rebuild (and make better) the houses, shops, etc. Hezbollah seems to have formed a government within a government, as the Lebanese government stands by. It is unclear as to whether Iran and Syria (where much of the funding for Hezbollah comes from) will pay for the reconstruction.

While Hezbollah has developed guerilla-style warfare in Lebanon, people see Hezbollah as a savior for the Lebanese people, and the anti-Israel and anti-American sentiment in the region has grown. After Nasarallah's speech, the entire coffee shop broke out in standing ovations, spontaneous cries of support, and then people went back to their conversations and lives. It was just amazing to see how captivated the entire place was.

Here's a quote, straight from Nasarallah's speech:

"As for us, our equation and principles are the following: When the Israelis enter, they must pay dearly in terms of their tanks, officers, soldiers. This is what we pledge to do and we will honour our pledge, God willing"

Hassan Nasarallah, Hezbolla's secretary general