August 14, 2006

The ringmaster for this unruly carnival, a former Montrealer named Hussein Nabulsi, keeps things moving. "We have the faith, we have the determination, we have the will to win," he shouts as the cameras and microphones struggle to keep pace. It's a tightly scripted affair. Local residents who have ventured into the danger zone to retrieve their possessions immediately have pictures of Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader, thrust into their hands by the watching militants. A truck piled high with Peavey speakers rolls around the corner and blasts a soundtrack of radical Islamic fight songs. And when the group starts to lag, Nabulsi screams that Israeli jets are on their way and turns heel -- exactly the same way he did before the cameras of an American network the day before. The tour ends with an invitation to return tomorrow -- same hour, same place -- and a plea. "Especially for CNN, please be on time. This is the third time you've come late." Maclean's writer Jonathan Gatehouse describing the Hizballah media relations, and how the media eats it all up. 1:35:32 PM