>I don't quite follow the distinction you and others are making between Hezbollah and "the Lebanese people." To an extent they are one and the same.

Actually they are not. In Lebanon a minority voted for Hezbollah in the past elections. That's why they have a minory rpresentation in government.

The Palestinians also have a distinction but there the majority voted for Hamas which basically now controls the government.

There is still a difference. Most people, middle class and working class, would prefer to leave in peace, and their main concern is as yours and most everybody's, to get a job and an education, to provide for your family and to have a decent standard of living.

Unfortunately the minority of fundamentalist extremists and the dupes in the very poor, illiterate and people that otherwise have nothing to lose, are ready-made fodder for terrorists to tryto impose their version of a good life. Go figure.