In his most recent speech on July 19, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said, "We are always ready for dialogue under any form, [whether] the current or previous dialogue table, or any other formula for discussing national defense strategy ... We are ready to participate in any dialogue unconditionally. Now you want to open a dialogue before the formation of the government. We are ready for this, and we are also ready [to participate] after its formation."

From the standpoint of Lebanese observers, this significant openness is unprecedented in Nasrallah's rhetoric. The question, however, revolves around the motivation for it.

During this speech, Nasrallah did not mention the bombing in the Bir al-Abed neighborhood of southern Beirut on July 9, or the recent explosions that targeted a Hezbollah convoy on the Beirut-Damascus highway. It was interesting that Nasrallah chose to ignore these events. It was expected that he would take advantage of his first appearance since these incidents to express his opinion on the recent security attacks on the party. His avoiding of this issue was very notable, and perhaps the most surprising aspect of his speech. Yet, on the other hand, this once again indicates the cold political rationale that the party uses to form its stances and tactics.

In contrast to what is oft repeated in Western and regional circles, the party drafts its policies carefully, quietly and in a pragmatic manner. According to insiders, at this time — when America is escalating its political attack against the party both around the world and inside Lebanon — Nasrallah doesn't want his positions to be exploited by those waging a political war against him. Thus, he chose to give a speech that was moderate and called for an internal political dialogue. He did this so that he would not give Washington and its allies an opportunity to use his speech to build new platforms to intensify the political war against Hezbollah. In this same speech, Nasrallah wanted to exhibit his "peaceful nature," to show that the political campaign the West and its allies in Lebanon and the Gulf are launching against him is oppressive and unjustifiable, at least on the internal Lebanese level.