DAR AL HARB / ISLAM - LEBANON: HIZ' BALLAH IS PLANNING ITS NEXT MOVE

Hezbollah ponders next strategy
SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI
Associated Press

BEIRUT, Lebanon - After this week's deadly violence in Lebanon, the pro-Iranian Hezbollah finds itself in a corner. It remains determined to unseat the U.S.-backed government, but if it pushes too hard, it could be blamed for throwing the country into civil war.

It now faces the question of whether to reconsider its strategy of street protests that have sparked the violence. A senior Hezbollah official said Friday the Shiite movement was studying what steps to take next.

"Things have taken a dangerous turn," said Mahmoud Komati, who blamed "government militias" for the violence, saying they were using guns in their confrontation with Hezbollah-led protesters over the past few days.

"The street option has become dangerous," Komati said.

He said his Shiite Muslim group will give the government a few days to respond to its demands - more than one-third of seats in Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's Cabinet, enough to veto its decisions, and early elections - before deciding its next move.

"All options are possible," he said. But he said Hezbollah's next steps would be "well-studied and peaceful."

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