January 14, 2011

Using "The Wire" to Explain Shia Politics in Lebanon

Inspired by Sean Lee's remark that Walid Junblatt reminds him of Proposition Joe, it occured to me that I need to start using The Wire to explain Lebanese politics more often. For starters, anyone confused by Hizballah's relations to Amal would do well to think of Hassan Nasrallah as Marlo Stanfield and Nabih Berri as Avon Barksdale. The Stanfield crew never really destroyed the Barksdale crew -- they never really needed to. They just fought a series of conflicts and gradually displaced them as time went on. They're all West Side guys, just one crew is leaner and meaner than the other, and those who never grew comfortable with the new power order -- the Bodie's of Lebanon, if you will -- were eventually dealt with.

The IDF is Officer Colicchio.