MICHELE NORRIS, Host:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Michele Norris.
ROBERT SIEGEL, Host:
NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Beirut.
PETER KENYON: Faris Souhaid says Hezbollah's sponsors, Syria and Iran, don't want to see the Hezbollah's image tarnished, and the government collapsed because they were unable to persuade Saad Hariri to denounce the tribunal looking into the murder of his father.
SIEGEL: Justice, it's a new concept in the Middle East. In this part of the world, we kill and if you are powerful there is no justice for you. It's the first time after the civil war in Lebanon that we had the interest of the international community, to assure an international tribunal for Lebanon and for Lebanese. We are supporting justice.
KENYON: Paul Salem, with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says should Hezbollah actually get a hand on the reins of power, Washington may have to revisit some of its policies, including an estimated $100 million a year in aid to the Lebanese army.
D: If this becomes a government very much influenced by Hezbollah and Syria and Iran and other allies here, it will be very difficult for the U.S. Congress and U.S. administration to maintain that level of support.
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KENYON: With no signs of violence to date, for most Lebanese, it's been business as usual. In Beirut's bustling Hamra neighborhood, 72-year-old Sunni, Abu Adnan, says underneath their casual exterior, however, people are definitely worried.
NORRIS: (Through Translator) For us, we really want the Americans to make a move. Especially if it's a Hezbollah government - that would be like living under the Nazis. We don't know why the Americans aren't acting.
KENYON: Former airline pilot Sam Awad, however, says he knows that for Washington, the international tribunal is the most important thing. But he hopes someone considers what a new round of violence would do to people here.
NORRIS: I believe in justice. I believe that the international courts must prevail. But we have to take into consideration the social fabric of Lebanon. We have to understand that a new power has risen in Lebanon, which is the Shia power, and they could make life hell.
KENYON: Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Beirut.