While Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah was taking part in a televised interview on Dec. 3, a special security unit was carrying out the assassination of Hassan Laqis, one of the most prominent leaders in the Party of God. The timing suggests that the perpetrators wanted to refute the message Nasrallah intended to deliver during his interview; in particular, his assertions that the party's militants are fighting in Syria and on its border with Lebanon to prevent extremists from pouring into Lebanon. Many have also suggested that the perpetrators purposely timed the operation to coincide with Nasrallah's television appearance to leave no doubt about the link between the two events.

During the interview, Nasrallah stressed that his party is engaged in a pre-emptive war in Syria to prevent Lebanon from turning into another Iraq. He said that the porous border between Syria and Iraq was allowing extremists to move back and forth between the two countries, leading to a terrifying increase in car bomb attacks in Iraq. He added that Hezbollah fighters had prevented extremists from controlling Lebanon's border areas, thus protecting the country from the carnage Iraqis are experiencing.

Political assessments of Laqis’ assassination suggest that Nasrallah's talk of a pre-emptive war to prevent radical Islamist groups from getting into Lebanon is untrue and unfounded. The assassination of Laqis is proof in itself that Hezbollah has failed to protect Lebanon by engaging in the Syrian war. The party could not even protect one of its most prominent leaders, who was gunned down in the heart of Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs.

In light of the connection made between Nasrallah's speech and Laqis' death, one could argue that the core of the dispute lies in Nasrallah's assertions that he is waging a defensive war in Syria, while his opponents contend that he is involved in an immoral war whose only goal is to protect the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Thus, more violent attacks by radical Islamist groups should be expected against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon as long as the party continues its involvement in the Syrian war.