Why the war in Syria could be making Hezbollah stronger

(The Christian Science Monitor) When Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah publicly confirmed in May 2013 that Hezbollah had intervened in Syria’s bloody civil war, the Iran-backed Shi'ite militant group was locked in a battle that resulted in its highest-ever casualty rate.

Hezbollah’s assault on the rebel-held town of Qusayr, near Homs, its first serious engagement of the Syria conflict, saw dozens of fighters killed in just 17 days of grueling street-to-street fighting.

The high casualties and the impact of multiple funerals across Shi'ite regions of Lebanon led some to predict that in coming to the aid of its ally, embattled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Hezbollah had entered its “Vietnam”—an exhausting conflict with no clear exit strategy that would erode its popular standing across the Middle East as a powerful foe of Israel.