Scott Peterson - 13 August

Cleric turned ragtag Hezbollah into potent force
'Anytime Hezbollah launched an operation, they always had a checklist: What does it mean for Hezbollah? For Shiites? For Lebanon? For Syria and Iran?' asks Timur Goksel, a 24-year veteran adviser of UN forces in south Lebanon. 'Based on that criterion, as a result people were uprooted, houses were damaged, people got killed, and people now live in miserable conditions. Hezbollah actually hurt the interests of its own people, which is very unusual.'