Lebanon’s Hizbullah organization may be ranked high on the US list of terrorist organizations, but analysts and diplomats here believe that Washington is seriously misguided in delivering sweeping demands for the elimination of the group. They say such calls ignore the realities in Lebanon, where Hizbullah is regarded as a resistance group and praised for the important social role it plays in bringing low-cost healthcare and education to the poorer areas of the country. Even Hizbullah’s battle-hardened fighters deployed in south Lebanon have been cited as a source of stability rather than a threat to peace along the traditionally volatile frontier with Israel. Furthermore, Hizbullah’s enormous appeal to Shiite Muslims makes it politically impossible for the Lebanese and Syrian governments to forcefully dismantle the organization without risking a civil war, they say. Full Story