Hezbollah 'more than resistance'

[bemildred]

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MA: How likely is another Lebanese-Israel war in the near future?

MH: I don't believe a war with Israel is imminent. The Israeli enemy will not provoke skirmishes that might lead to a war until it discovers the secret of the Cornet missiles that destroyed the Israeli tanks and it ensures that Hezbollah doesn't have anti-aircraft missiles or a credible air defense strategy. The fact that Hezbollah is making strategic breakthroughs in the intelligence sphere as well as in the technical sphere and it is discovering Israeli secrets much faster than Israel is uncovering Hezbollah's secrets, delays the possibility of war.

MA: How would another Hezbollah-Israel war affect the political situation in Lebanon?

MH: We should handle the ramifications of the crisis wisely, because the devils of politics have partially succeeded in turning this crisis into a sectarian one. We should mobilize our efforts in countering the "sectarian" myth and presenting the Islamic resistance as a strategic asset for the Muslim ummah as a whole. The ramifications of Hezbollah's strategic military and political breakthroughs will affect Muslims the world over.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KL09Ak01.html

[shaayecanaan]

1. Thank you for posting this...

its worth reading. Unfortunately I tend to think Hammoud talks out of his arse when it comes to operational matters, I dont think Hezbollah would tell him anything in that regard, hes not the kind of fellow that can keep a secret.

HA made a bad mistake with their May putsch into West Beirut, they routed the Sunni forces easily but they were never a threat to begin with, the only result was that the city`s　Sunnis felt humiliated. I dont think it represents an opening for Wahabist groups, but it was a bad decision nevertheless.

I do agree that the prospects of a war with Israel are low...its remarkable what a bit of mutual deterrence can do.

[bemildred]

2. I like to see different points of view.

People who like living in their own little hermetically sealed boxes are welcome to that, but I prefer to see what everybody has to say.

I agree that he talks out his arse somewhat, but he is not alone in that, and I thought the different point of view was worth it.

I think a war with the settlers is the most likely war to happen right now, a lot of them seem to be demanding, ungrateful swine.

[oberliner]

3. Can you find that quotation ('more than resistance') in the article?

There is this exchange:

MA: Do you believe Hezbollah has an agenda that goes beyond "resistance"?

MH: No

[bemildred]

4. A sound point.

I suggest you take it up with Asia Times and the author of the piece.

Edit: I have to say, in reading it closely, that it is a less than intuitive translation, for example the way the Sheik interprets "resistance" is not what one would naively expect, so the issue you point out, the misuse of quotes, might be somewhat an artifact or a solecism by the translator. Bad translation would of course, throw the whole thing into doubt, but I'm OK what that.

[Alamuti Lotus]

5. There's some important context to your butchered quotation

MH: No, I don't believe that Hezbollah has a hidden agenda. I think the notion of a so-called Shi'ite crescent is all a bunch of lies made up by the weak and the agents. Everyone knows that the Shi'ites in Iraq are different from those in Lebanon and both are different from those in Iran and that they don't share the same culture, let alone the same scheme.

Without a doubt, some Iraqi Shi'ite are part of the American project, whereas the Islamic resistance in Lebanon is working hard against the Israeli-American project; therefore the two fronts can't form a united scheme. The only scheme I see is the promotion of the theme of the inevitability of the demise of Israel, and the work that is done towards achieving that goal. That goal is an absolutely pure Islamic one that can't be classified into insignificant sectarian categories; and considering that this is a divine premise which is inevitable, we are sure that it will be achieved only by those approved of by God.

[oberliner]

7. That was my point

The headline of the article in the OP is also quite misleading. It puts a phrase in quotation that does not appear anywhere in the article/interview. In fact when asked specifically about whether Hezbollah has an agenda beyond "resistance" the interviewee says that it does not.

[Alamuti Lotus]

6. quite interesting piece, thanks

One of the major accomplishments of Sayyid Nasrallah's tenure as amir is to have widely cut across sectarian lines in support of the resistance, though much of the Sunni establishment has been bought and co-opted with Hariri Inc money. Witness further his closest ally in the form of Michel Aoun, the leader of the single-largest Christian political bloc in the country.

Most of the bits here are quite interesting, though I think this Sheikh goes way off line in the closing remarks, particularly relating to Saudi-Syrian "harmony" and the blissful whatevers that follow, and anything at all positively relating to Saudi intrigue on the ground. His misinterpretation of these particular matters is just as imbecilic as Nasrallah's, though I would suspect the latter is only being tactful in not seeking to promote direct hostility with the Saudi spies while maintaining a united front against the zionist enemy. In spite of that possible explanation, I'd say it remains an imbecilic approach.

[bemildred]

8. Nasrallah is a shrewd politician.

Expecting politicians not to be "imbecilic" now and then is a recipe for frustration, in my view, since one can usually rely on their constituents to be imbeciles, and without a constituency a politician is just like a bowl of warm mush.

Israel would clearly do better to negotiate with him, cut deals, but apparently that is politically unacceptable.