Could it be that Nasrallah thinks hhe has little to lose by starting a war, and everything to gain? The entire region sits on the brink of a major war- one with the potential to spread not only from Karachi to Tripoli, but world-wide.

Of course, no-one "wins" in such a war, but who has the most to lose? I submit that Hezbollah does not have so much to lose, at least not as much as its adversaries.

How does one understand the psychology of a man like Nasrallah, (or Haniyeh, who, along with Hamas, has even less to lose than his counterpart in Lebanon)?

First, on a material level, these men and their organizations have little to lose materially. They and their people are impoverished- they lack all the basic needs of humanity, adequate food, shelter, employment, economic advancement- in short, all the tings that make a live worth living. There is nothing more conducive to stability and non-violence than a solidly comfortable bourgeoisie- this has been systematically denied to the members of Hezbollah and Hamas. what material resources these groups (and societies) do possess has been funneled into miltary preparedness, which only exacerbates the situation and further radicalizes the populace.

On an ideological level, the principles of National Resistance combined with a Messianic Islam (if that term is not an oxymoron) act together in a powerfully synergistic way. Just like the Ghost-dancers of the American West, the promise of a new age, an Arthurian Avalon, in which the hated oppressors are gone, and peace and justice reign, is the only hope most people have. Such a future paradise, entertained under such dire conditions, can easily take on a life of its own- what cannot be sacrificed to achieve such a dream, which can appear so tantalizingly close-only remove one more obstacle, and it will be within our reach!

When Nature provides the dire straits, as in the case of famine, plague, or natural disaster, the tendency of most people is to accept their fate- to either lie down and die, or numbly go through the motions until things get better. But when the extremity is perceived to be caused by other human beings- that cannot be endured. A struggle MUST ensue, for the cause is not an inscrutable God, but mere men, like oneself!

As in the Russian Revolution, the struggle is between those who have nothing, and those who have everything. "Palestinians Unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains!" When this is perceived to be the defining truth, when one has made the wilderness of overpopulated concrete warrens one's home, and has toughened one's sensibilities to the point of non-feeling by grinding poverty and continuous violence- what is there left to negotiate? All one has left is one's soul, one's human dignity, which can only be sustained through resistance. To give this up and live in perpetual slavery in return for nothing but the promise of peace... well, peace alone is simply not worth it!

Finally, Nasrallah and Haniyeh may calculate that the US-Zionist Empire is under strain, and could possibly crack under the strain of a bloody and protracted conflict. They may (correctly) assume that the man who fights with nothing to lose and everything to gain has the advantage over the one who fights to keep what he has, or even worse, who fights to protect something that belongs to someone else.

The demographics of the fighters in Southern Lebanon and the Occupied Territories continues to shift downward- how long can you tell your young fighters that it is wiser to wait... and wait...? After a while, such talk will destroy your position of power.

Therefore, Hamas and Hezbollah have everything it takes to act with impunity. The rockets will continue raining down on Israel. The political situation in Lebanon will continue to deteriorate, until the Zionists (and their proxies in power in Lebanon) cannot take it any more, and do what Hezbollah and Hamas have been praying they will do- attack. Then a conflagration will erupt that will consume everyone, and everything, it encounters.

But what will Hamas and Hezbollah have to lose in such a conflagration? Nothing!

I think that Nasrallah is being set up by the Bush Adminstration to complete what Israel has failed to do.

The war of words between Lebanon's political leaders has finally turned into battles on the streets of Beirut. Today, gun battles have erupted in Beirut following a speech by Hezbollah's Secretary General, Hassan Nasrallah, in which he labeled the Lebanese government's decision to dismantle a Hezbollah operated communication network a "tantamount to a declaration of war."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamal-dajani/civil-war-in-lebanon_b_100916.html