Can Hezbullah be democratic?

Submitted by Anthony Letayf (Lebanon), Mar 22, 2005 at 18:04

Just a couple of comments on this article:

1. I'm not sure that the Nazis tactics were completely democratic. It has been documented that they used aggression and "persuasive tactics" in many instances.

2. Hezbullah can not be put in the same group as Hamas since Hezbullah has already participated in the Lebanese political system in a democratic fashion. They participated in the 1992 parliementary elections and one several seats without using any aggression or force.

3. I find it difficult to completely reject claims of democratization by these organizations. Hezbullah, Hamas and other similar groups have major followings. If western governments want genuine change they must at least give these groups a chance to follow through with there claims of democratization. However, as written in the article, if they use the political process to further their aggresive goals then they must be reprimanded. It's tough to give such groups a chance but there is not much else one can do, they aren't going anywhere.

4. From the Lebanese government standpoint, it would be impossible to disallow Hezbullah the oppurtunity to engage in the political process. Hezbullah has a massive constituency and the country cannot just reject a significant proportion of the population. If Hezbullah follows through with their claims thats great. If they attempt to further aggresive goals only then can we deny them their right to participation in the political process until reform takes place.

Thank You

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".