Reuters on Hezbollah

January 18, 2007

Reuters on Hezbollah

This Reuters story starts by saying...

Villagers in Shebaa were grateful to Hezbollah guerrillas for forcing out Israel. Now, some say Nasrallah's image has been damaged by the campaign he is leading against a government which they support.

...but ends by saying that "some" are religious leaders who are probably getting paid to oppose Hezbollah:

In Shebaa, some Sunni clerics and other local leaders have started criticizing Hezbollah, villagers said. "They are trying to impose sectarianism under financial incentives or ideological pressure," Ali said. "Frankly, it's political money."

"They say; 'This village is Sunni and has a Sunni religious authority and whoever counters that is in error. They are in error," he said.

Meanwhile, the headline implies that Hezbollah is losing grassroots support, and the last two paragraphs of the article are the most likely part of any wire story to be cut. Wouldn't it make more sense to run with the headline "Sunni clerics in southern Lebanon allegedly paid to oppose Hezbollah"?