It's the usual story. The Lebanese people are speaking with one voice. But predators from the outside are hellbent on manipulation, big time.
Wave of protests across the country were triggered by taxes on gasoline, tobacco and WhatsApp. Furthermore, the austerity threat, endemic corruption and influence of mainstream political class directly involve ones like Saad Hariri and Michel Aoun. The country's Central Bank is the major venue of Lebanon's leaderless protests as the country continues to tumble under the burden of public debt.
As protests reached the southern city of Nabatiyah, the propaganda machine got running in full gear within the US and EU official media that the people of South Lebanon were disillusioned with HezbAllah leadership and that the Amal Movement (an ally of Hezbollah) has been having a difficult time scaring away the crowd with firearms. No bullshit nor horseshit could be as pure as this!
Al-Jazeera scroll down and watch video.
While Mr. Trump loves to dismiss all reports critical of him as "fake news," he absolutely adores a steady flow of fake news around the rest of the world.
The truth goes along a different path. Despite Hariri's not too honest dealings, kicking him out might guarantee a worse scenario. Hariri's Sunni camp is backed by the oil rich gulf Arab states. If he resigns or his government falls, HezbAllah would actually benefit winning more seats and more power. Yet it might not be worth it. Considering the parochial and paranoid political climate abroad, financial aid by international donors as well as foreign investment would decline rapidly, plunging Lebanon into greater economic turmoil. That's the goal of foreign meddlers and that's the reason the HezbAllah leader wants the rowdy protests to cool, replaced with negotiation and hard talk. The provocateurs and eager spectators outside the rink could be still more venomous than the reckless insiders. What's certain is that this episode has NO bearing on the indispensable status of HezbAllah inside Lebanon.