In an interview with Al-Jazeera late Thursday night, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah made it absolutely clear who was calling the shots in Lebanon – and it isn’t the Lebanese government.
Speaking more like a head of state than the leader of a minority political party and terrorist organization, Nasrallah emphasized that it was Hizbullah that would determine the length and intensity of the conflict with Israel and that the Lebanese government would be allowed to negotiate prisoner exchanges – under the right conditions.
He also threatened prominent Lebanese politicians who have criticized Hizbullah’s unprovoked aggression against Israel and dismissed the negative comments of Arab governments toward him and his organization.
It is clear from the interview that Nasrallah feels Hizbullah is in the ascendancy:
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s interview with Al-Jazeera late Thursday night must have reassured his constituents that his leadership continues to function. At lease that was the impression of several ministers and politicians who saw the interview. These observers said Nasrallah appeared confident that Hizbullah will be triumphant in its fight against Israel. It was seen as perfectly normal for Nasrallah to try and boost the morale of his supporters. Nasrallah claimed Israel’s failure to realize its “overt and covert” goals as a Hizbullah victory.The government and those parties that disagree with Nasrallah had warned the international community of this possibility, arguing that military operations by Israel would likely strengthen Hizbullah more than weaken it.
It was this reality that explains Nasrallah’s firm resolve while discussing the ongoing clashes with Israel.
While some of Nasrallah’s claims are sheer bluster, there is no doubt that he feels his organization has supplanted the Lebanese government as the final arbiter of war aims and war policy in that he says the military clashes with Israel will continue “for the foreseeable future” and he has outlined the role that the Lebanese government will play in any negotiations:
[B]y agreeing to conduct negotiations through the government (specifically Speaker Nabih Berri), Nasrallah consolidated an agreement made between Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, Berri and Hizbullah last week. Nasrallah also said the government was relaying proposals from the international community and that the resistance was commenting on them.The ministerial sources said that while approving the government’s role, the conditions set by Hizbullah did not allow either the government or Berri a free hand.
Nabi Beri, the Shia Speaker of Parliament and member of the Amal party, is a close ally of Nasrallah. If Prime Minister Siniora recognizes a Hizbullah veto over any proposals for a prisoner exchange that ostensibly would lead to an end to the fighting, this makes Nasrallah (for the moment) the de facto head of government.
And to illustrate this, Nasrallah has called for the release of the longest held Lebanese prisoner in Israel – Samir Qantar – held since he was 17 years old in 1979 for the murder of 3 Israelis including a 4 year old girl. The Israeli government insists it will never release the terrorist. So by making an impossible demand of the Israelis to start with, it is clear that Nasrallah wishes to tie the hands of the government in any prisoner exchange negotiations.
As for criticism of Hizbullah’s actions by other Arab states, Nasrallah dismisses them out of hand:
Nasrallah said he did not care about Arab criticism of Hizbullah. Commenting on the issue, Nasrallah said, “We forgot them as if they [Arab states] do not exist,” and advised the Arabs to “leave us alone.” Some observers said the latter comment had a “harsh and negative” tone.
Perhaps most ominously, he is threatening more moderate Lebanese politicians who have criticized Hizbullah for attacking the Jewish state and taking Lebanon to war without consulting the legitimate government:
Nasrallah said his party would “hold some accountable and forgive others,” in response to MP Saad Hariri’s accusations that “adventurers who banked on the situation in Lebanon will be held accountable.”The ministerial sources saw in this statement an “open threat without clear consequences.”
Hariri, son of the slain Prime Minister whose assassination galvanized the country into throwing off the yoke of Syrian occupation, is leader of the Future Movement, the largest bloc in Parliament. Other prominent members of FM who have harshly criticized Hizbullah include Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and Prime Minister Siniora, a secular Sunni with close ties to the Hariri family.
The assassination of any one of those politicians by Hizbullah would probably result in a civil war. If Nasrallah believes that his militia is in danger of losing their arms, he may think that initiating another civil war would be his only option in maintaining his position. A disarmed Hizbullah would simply be a minor party in Parliament, scrambling for scraps from the table while the larger parties enjoy the feast. It is doubtful, therefore, that he will give up his guns without a fight. It would be best if the international community understand this before establishing any kind of force in southern Lebanon to act as a buffer between Israel and Hizbullah. Not only will the terrorists refuse to give up their guns but they may feel it necessary to fight to regain their positions in southern Lebanon if it comes to that.
One wonders if it will be possible after the war to contain Hizbullah unless they are almost totally destroyed by Israel. But that would take a long time and would probably require a full scale invasion of Lebanon – something the Israelis appear reluctant to do. And with so much of the post-war shape of politics in Lebanon up in the air at the moment, one must also wonder if anything at all of Lebanese democracy can be salvaged from the wreckage that Hizbullah has wrought.
UPDATE
Coming up during the 3:00 PM Central hour, Ric Ottaiano will have the newest blogging sensation on a special edition of Release the Hounds.
Eugene, the new 17-year old Pajamas Media Special Correspondent from Haifa who has become known as “the Bunker Blogger” for his posts from a bomb shelter will be on live with Ric in just a few minutes.
You can access the stream by clicking on the “Listen Live” button on the left sidebar or you can go to the WAR Radio site.
You can call into the show during the broadcast at 1-888-407-1776.
UPDATE
I would like to register a complaint about my accomodations at the Lubyanka. While awaiting my trial,, the food served here isn’t fit for a pig, much less an enemy of the state. And one of my KGB guards smells like a wet dog. Not only that, he keeps whistling The Internationale off key. And to top it all off, my lawyer is now ensconced in the cell next to me and will have trouble defending himself much less anyone else.
I’d register a formal complaint but I don’t have anything to write with and I must save my toilet paper for emergencies. All I ask is that you put me out of my misery soon.
9:08 am
Nasrallah Runs Lebanon
Rick Moran of Right Wing Nuthouse sent me a link to an intriguing article in Lebanon’s Daily Star, in which Sheikh Nasrallah explains quite clearly how Hezbollah now runs the Lebanese government. Nasrallah gave an interview in which he told…
10:41 am
[...] Rick Moran of Right Wing Nuthouse sent me a link to an intriguing article in Lebanon’s Daily Star, in which Sheikh Nasrallah explains quite clearly how Hezbollah now runs the Lebanese government. Nasrallah gave an interview in which he told A-Jazeera that he has assigned some tasks to government officials regarding international negotiations, and how the Lebanese government has entered into an agreement with Nasrallah to allow Hezbollah to operate at will against the Israelis. [...]
11:10 am
Nasrallah Runs Lebanon
Rick Moran of Right Wing Nuthouse sent me a link to an intriguing article in Lebanon’s Daily Star, in which Sheikh Nasrallah explains quite clearly how Hezbollah now runs the Lebanese government. Nasrallah gave an interview in which he told A-Ja…
11:11 am
Saudi Arabia’s Pilates Help President Bushmert Destroy Lebanon
“The Forwardâ€, a leading Yiddish-language US newspaper has an interesting article in its latest issue praising “Saudi Arabia’s strong support in the war against Lebanese terrorism†[sic].
After having washed their hands of the daily carnage taking place in Palestine and Iraq, Saudi Arabia’s Pontius Pilates chose to offer a bleeding Lebanon as sacrificial lamb to the people of Israel.
This “new friendship†bringing together bloodthirsty Bin-Ladenites and other Wahhabi Islamic fundamentalist thugs and rightwing Israeli fascists should come as no surprise to those who know the history of the Middle-East, and the profound influence ancient Jewish Sicarism always had on Saudi Arabian culture and civilization.
But I’m sure the Saudi government will eventually meet the retribution it deserves, for, as Winston Churchill famously said:
“They’ve been given a choice between dishonor and war. They’ve chosen dishonor and they shall have war.”
11:15 am
Drive, he said
Power Line
Rick Moran writes: Daily Star of Lebanon reports on an interview Nasrallah gave to al-Jazeera that was ignored by the media here in this country but that reveals that the Hizbullah leader believes he is in the drivers seat in Lebanon – not…
11:33 am
I can only hope the Lebanon people and leaders get sick of this jerk wad’s spouting off like the head of the govt. Was very glad Isreal knocked out the tv and sat stations all over the region and if Isreal just aim a tiny weenie bit further they could knock out aljaweenie—too bad it wasn’t hit when big wig was there—collateral damage be damned—most of the reporters there are terrorist sympathy mama’s boys anyway.
Today, Sat, its looking better for us and Isreal and we need to whip ass in Iraq and tell the dumb ass prime min guy over there to keep his pie hole shut of “see ya”.
1:16 pm
Bryan Preston: Why Hezbollah attacked when it did
I may be late getting to this analysis, though I haven’t seen it anywhere else. The big question–I’ve heard it from friends and family, on TV, sluicing throught the tubes of the internets–is why did Hezbollah choose to attack Israel
1:18 pm
I linked.
1:19 pm
Sorry for the bogus “I linked.” I really did, but not from that post.
2:20 pm
Meet The Decider-In-Chief
He instructs the Lebanese government what it may propose to Israel, the official Lebanese government forwards the message.
Instead of joining the war against Hizbullah, against terrorism, the Lebanese government seems to have decided to do whatever …
3:51 pm
[...] Rick Moran, self-admitted denizen of Reactionary Insane Dacha, launches attack on Comrade Nasrallah. [...]
6:55 am
Let me dream, for a moment, that Egypt (and others?) would take offense at the rantings and ravings and send in forces from the North, in cooperation with the Lebanese government, to prevent Hezbollah to retreat and rearm, reestablishing the principle that governments of nations govern nations….
8:19 am
[...] PUNDIT VINCE AUT MORIRE VODKAPUNDIT WALLO WORLD WIDE AWAKES WIZBANG WUZZADEM ZERO POINT BLOG WHO WILL “DISARM” HIZBULLAH? WAR RADIO ALERT: THE “BUNKER BLOGGER” LIVE ON THE AIR NASRALLAH BELIEVES HE’S INTHE DRIVER’S SEAT A LAZY FRIDAY AFTERNOON MILLENNIAL INTERLUDE SITE DOWN - WORLD ALMOST ENDS LEBANON’S AGONY THE COUNCIL HAS SPOKEN: BLUE LIGHT SPECIAL EDITION HE’S NOT WORTH IT STILL MISSING THE BIG ONE THE RICK MORAN SHOW - LIVE PLEASE ELIMINATE THE WORD “ELIMINATIONIST”…AND THOSE WHO USE THE TERM THE RICK MORAN SHOW - LIVE THE SH*TSTORM OVER THE WORD “SH*T” MAKING OMELETTES IN THE MIDDLE EAST THE RICK MORAN SHOW - LIVE THE NEW YORK TIMES - ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE OLMERT ROLLS THE DICE KRISTOL’S FOLLY ISRAELI ULTIMATUM TO SYRIA DISARMING HIZBALLAH SOONER RATHER THAN LATER “OPERATION JUST REWARD” PENALIZING THE LEBANESE THE RICK MORAN SHOW: CARNIVAL OF WAR CARNIVAL OF THE CLUELESS: A REBIRTH THE RICK MORAN SHOW: WAR ON W.A.R. RADIO MIDDLE EAST: TEETERING ON THE EDGE OF THE ABYSS “24″ (65) ABLE DANGER (10) Bird Flu (5) Blogging (89) Books (7) CARNIVAL OF THE CLUELESS (67) CHICAGO BEARS (9) CIA VS. THE WHITE HOUSE (24) Cindy Sheehan (12) Ethics (66) General (290) Government (47) History (61) IMMIGRATION REFORM (11) Iran (26) IRAQI RECONCILIATION (1) KATRINA (26) Katrina Timeline (4) Marvin Moonbat (14) Media (91) Middle East (31) Moonbats (50) NET NEUTRALITY (2) Open House (1) Politics (220) Science (16) Space (13) Supreme Court (23) The Rick Moran Show (5) UNITED NATIONS (1) War on Terror (135) WATCHER’S COUNCIL (50) WHITE SOX (2) Wide Awakes Radio (7) WORLD CUP (8) WORLD POLITICS (44) WORLD SERIES (14) Admin Login Register Valid XHTML XFN [...]
8:46 am
[...] LIGHT SPECIAL EDITION HE’S NOT WORTH IT STILL MISSING THE BIG ONE THE RICK MORAN SHOW - LIVE PLEASE ELIMINATE THE WORD “ELIMINATIONIST”…AND THOSE WHO USE THE TERM THE RICK MORAN SHOW - LIVE THE SH*TSTORM OVER THE WORD “SH*T” MAKING OMELETTES IN THEMIDDLE EAST THE RICK MORAN SHOW - LIVE THE NEW YORK TIMES - ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE OLMERT ROLLS THE DICE KRISTOL’S FOLLY ISRAELI ULTIMATUM TO SYRIA DISARMING HIZBALLAH SOONER RATHER THAN LATER “OPERATION JUST REWARD” PENALIZING THE LEBANESE THE RICK MORAN SHOW: CARNIVAL OF WAR CARNIVAL OF THE CLUELESS: A REBIRTH THE RICK MORAN SHOW: WAR ON W.A.R. RADIO MIDDLE EAST: TEETERING ON THE EDGE OF THE ABYSS “24″ (65) ABLE DANGER (10) Bird Flu (5) Blogging (89) Books (7) CARNIVAL OF THE CLUELESS (67) CHICAGO BEARS (9) CIA VS. THE WHITE HOUSE (24) Cindy Sheehan (12) Ethics (66) General (290) Government (47) History (61) IMMIGRATION REFORM (11) Iran (26) IRAQI RECONCILIATION (1) KATRINA (26) Katrina Timeline (4) Marvin Moonbat (14) Media (91) Middle East (31) Moonbats (50) NET NEUTRALITY (2) Open House (1) Politics (220) Science (16) Space (13) Supreme Court (23) The Rick Moran Show (5) UNITED NATIONS (1) War on Terror (135) WATCHER’S COUNCIL (50) WHITE SOX (2) Wide Awakes Radio (7) WORLD CUP (8) WORLD POLITICS (44) WORLD SERIES (14) Admin Login Register Valid XHTML XFN 25 Responses to “PLEASE ELIMINATE THE WORD “ELIMINATIONIST”…AND THOSE WHO USE THE TERM” [...]
2:46 pm
[...] Nasrallah’s threats should be taken very seriously. Several prominent Future Movement politicians have harshly criticized Hizbullah for a wide variety of transgressions including charges that they seek to overthrow the government and that their refusal to disarm threatens the Lebanese state. The old Druze warlord Walid Jumblatt has been especially critical of both Nasrallah personally and Hizbullah in particular. One wonders if Nasrallah will make good on his threat made at the height of the war that he would “hold some accountable and forgive others,” for their criticisms. [...]