Hezbollah Is A Terrorist Group

[Rasputin]

Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah committed war crimes in its conflict with Israel by targeting civilians with rockets packed with metal ball bearings, rights group Amnesty International said on Thursday.

It said around a quarter of the nearly 4 000 rockets that Hezbollah launched into Israel during the 34-day war were fired directly into urban areas.

"The scale of Hezbollah's attacks on Israeli cities, towns and villages, the indiscriminate nature of the weapons used and statements from the leadership confirming their intent to target civilians make it all too clear that Hezbollah violated the laws of war," Amnesty's Secretary-General Irene Khan said.
The fact that Israel has also committed serious violations in no way justifies violations by Hezbollah," she said in a statement. "Civilians must not be made to pay the price for unlawful conduct on either side."

Hezbollah parliamentarian Hassan Fadlallah said that by criticising Hezbollah's actions alongside those of Israel, Amnesty "has tried to equate the executioner with the victim".

Fadlallah said Hezbollah was exercising "its legitimate right of self-defence". At the start of the war it had targeted only Israeli military sites, he said, but later fired at Israeli towns in response to Israeli strikes.

"We urge Amnesty International to make a simple comparison between the number of women and child victims in Lebanon... and in Israel," he said.

In its report, Amnesty dismissed Hezbollah statements that their rocket attacks on northern Israel were a reprisal for Israeli attacks on civilians in Lebanon. "This line is totally rejected by Amnesty International," it said.

Nearly 1 200 people were killed in Lebanon during the war, the great majority of them civilians. More than 150 Israelis were killed, mostly soldiers.

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah

The Lebanese government must fully implement a recent U.N. resolution requiring the disarming of the militant Shiite group Hezbollah or Israel will be less reluctant to attack the Lebanese state if Hezbollah resumes hostilities, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said yesterday.

Livni, in an interview with editors and reporters of The Washington Post, said that when the fighting began in July after Hezbollah seized two Israeli soldiers, Israel heeded calls from world officials not to undermine the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora because the formation of the government and the subsequent withdrawal of Syrian troops was an "achievement of the international community."

Israel launched attacks across southern Lebanon, Hezbollah's base, and it demolished bridges to Syria and bombed Beirut's airport. Livni said Israel's efforts to keep the military campaign limited made it more difficult to achieve its objectives.

"The result is it was more difficult to find these terrorists among civilians, compared to attacking a weak Lebanon," Livni said. "We could have done Lebanon in a few days, I think, if we had decided to attack Lebanon as a state."

"Now there is a need to implement fully and completely 1701," Livni said, referring to the resolution passed by the U.N. Security Council that led to the cease-fire between Israeli and Hezbollah forces. "If Israel will be attacked, this is the Lebanese responsibility."

Since passage of the resolution, 4,000 international troops have moved into southern Lebanon, as has the Lebanese army, and U.S. officials say arms shipments have been halted. But Hezbollah's leader, Hasan Nasrallah, said this week that Hezbollah fighters are still in southern Lebanese towns near the border with Israel.

If Israel is attacked again, "we are not looking again to find these terrorists among the civilian population," Livni added. "We are going to face a state which does not implement its responsibility or maybe does not exercise its sovereignty. And so in French, they say tant pis " -- which translates as "too bad."

Asked specifically if Israel would attack Lebanon, Livni replied: "It is the responsibility of the state of Lebanon. I don't want to say so clearly that next time this is what we will do. But we will take it into consideration that this is part of their responsibility."

Separately, Livni expressed concern that a proposed unity government in the Palestinian territories will not explicitly recognize Israel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who supports peace talks with Israel, is attempting to reach a deal with the radical Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, which won legislative elections earlier this year. The victory of Hamas led to a broad cutoff of international aid, leaving much of the Palestinian territories increasingly destitute.

Hamas won on a platform of reform against the increasingly corrupt Fatah movement, which had long led the Palestinians. But Livni said the aid cutoff has greatly weakened the appeal of Hamas -- which is dedicated to the destruction of Israel -- making it imperative for other nations to insist that the new government renounce terrorism and accept Israel's right to exist.

The Quartet -- a coordinating group for Middle East peace made up of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia -- will meet on Wednesday at the United Nations. Livni said next week will be an important test of the international community's resolve.

"Hamas has to decide what they will do. Abu Mazen has to take some decisions," Livni said, using Abbas's nom de guerre. "They are looking outside; and if the international community will show some hesitation, we will face a unity government, which will be the most dangerous situation."

Livni said "it is easy for us to see something black, Hamas, and white, Abu Mazen, but sometimes the in-between, the gray, is sometimes the most dangerous" because it will appear legitimate through the presence of Abbas while Hamas continues to be an anti-Israeli militia movement. "They can get legitimacy and get the checks, but we cannot end the conflict."

Asked if the Israeli government would refuse to deal with a unity government, Livni said: "The question is not the formation of the government but its platform."

Livni said it was a mistake to believe that elections would transform terrorist groups. "I believe deeply in democratization, but the question is what is the best way to implement it," she said. "The idea is not only voting, one vote for one person, but the acceptance of the values of democracy."

She said that some have argued that governing will transform militants into responsible parties, but she noted that she believes that "if you are political party which believes in an extreme Islamic ideology, when you have the power you will use it in order to force your ideology. It will look like something which is legitimate because it won the election."

She noted that many nations are working to strengthen the Lebanese army in an effort to transform Lebanon into a normal state. But Hezbollah is a minority in the Lebanese government now, she said, so one day "we may face Hezbollah winning the election and it would have the legitimate control of the Lebanese army."

[Rasputin]

حسن نصرالله، رهبر حزب الله لبنان، از مردم اين کشور خواسته تا روز جمعه (22 سپتامبر) در حومه جنوبی بيروت، پايتخت لبنان، برای بزرگداشت آنچه وی "پيروزی تاريخی و الهی بر صهيونيست ها" ناميده است، گرد هم آيند.
فراخوان حسن نصرالله برای برپايی تجمع در حومه شيعه نشين بيروت در حالی صورت می گيرد که اختلاف بين حزب الله و دولت فواد سينيوره، نخست وزير لبنان، طی روزهای اخير شدت گرفته است.

رهبر حزب الله ظاهرا در صدد آن است که با فراخوان نيروهای طرفدار خود در لبنان، بار ديگر نفوذ مردمی خود را به رخ دولت لبنان بکشد و بدين طريق، موقعيت سابق خود را در جنوب لبنان کمابيش حفظ کند.

دولت آقای سينيوره که از حمايت گروه های موسوم به "جنبش ۱۴ مارس" برخوردار است، در روزهای اخير ترديدی باقی نگذاشته که قصد خلع سلاح حزب الله را دارد، هر چند که در بکارگيری الفاظ هنوز احتياط خود را از دست نداده است.

در واقع، نخست وزير لبنان بدون آنکه از واژه خلع سلاح استفاده کند، بر قاطعيت دولت خود مبنی بر مقابله با هر سلاحی خارج از کنترل ارتش لبنان و يا نيروهای بين المللی مستقر در اين کشور تاکيد کرده است.


به نظر می رسد تمايل حزب الله به اعاده شرايط پيش از جنگ ۳۴ روزه از يک طرف و تصميم دولت لبنان به گسترش حاکميت خود بر سراسر اين کشور از طرف ديگر، رويارويی دو طرف را به گونه ای گريزناپذير کرده است.



آقای سينيوره در عين حال استفاده از زور را برای اين منظور رد کرده و راه گفتگو و مذاکره را بهترين راه کنار گذاشتن سلاح حزب الله دانسته است.

حزب الله اما به رغم پذيرش قطعنامه ۱۷۰۱ شورای امنيت سازمان ملل که سبب برقراری آتش بس در جنگ ۳۴ روزه اسراييل و لبنان شد، تمايلی به کنار گذاشتن سلاح های خود نشان نمی دهد. قطعنامه ۱۷۰۱ خواستار پاکسازی منطقه جنوبی نهر ليطانی از وجود تسليحات خارج از کنترل دولت شده است.

توان حزب الله 'در هاله ای از ابهام'

به نظر می رسد تمايل حزب الله به اعاده شرايط پيش از جنگ ۳۴ روزه از يک طرف و تصميم دولت لبنان به گسترش حاکميت خود بر سراسر اين کشور از طرف ديگر، رويارويی دو طرف را به گونه ای گريزناپذير کرده است.

در اين ميان البته فقط خواست دو طرف درگير در لبنان کارساز نيست، بلکه اراده کشورهای حامی آنها در سطح منطقه و جهان نيز به شدت تاثيرگذار است.

در واقع، بسياری از کشورهای غربی و عربی مشوق دولت آقای سينيوره برای پايان دادن به حيات نظامی حزب الله هستند و در مقابل، ايران و سوريه بر استمرار نقش نظامی حزب الله در لبنان تاکيد می کنند.


ارتش اسراييل مدعی است در طول جنگ، ۷۰ تا ۸۰ درصد موشک های دوربرد و ميانبرد حزب الله را منهدم کرده اما اذعان می کند که حزب الله سه-چهارم موشک های کوتاه برد کاتيوشای خود را که حدود ده هزار فروند موشک است، حفظ کرده است



اين در حالی است که توان نظامی حزب الله پس از جنگ اسراييل عليه اين گروه، هنوز در هاله ای از ابهام قرار دارد. ارتش اسراييل مدعی است که در طول جنگ، ۷۰ تا ۸۰ درصد موشک های دوربرد و ميانبرد حزب الله را منهدم کرده و صدها تن از مبارزان آن را به قتل رسانده است.

با اين همه، اسراييل اذعان می کند که حزب الله سه-چهارم زرادخانه موشک های کوتاه برد کاتيوشای خود را که نزديک به ده هزار فروند موشک است، برای خود حفظ کرده است.

اما به نظر می رسد اسراييلی ها از موشک های کاتيوشای حزب الله، چنانچه از منطقه جنوب نهر ليطانی برچيده شوند، هراس چندانی ندارد. نگرانی اسراييل بيشتر مربوط به مسلح شدن دوباره حزب الله به موشک های ميانبرد و دوربرد از سوی ايران و سوريه است.

در اين ميان، مخالفت حزب الله با استقرار نيروهای حافظ صلح بين المللی در مرز سوريه، بنادر و فرودگاه های لبنان، به اين ترديد دامن زده است که حزب الله در صدد مسلح کردن دوباره خود به سلاح های پيشرفته است.

در همين رابطه، طی روزهای اخير رهبران حزب الله نسبت به گسترش ماموريت نيروهای حافظ صلح بين المللی در لبنان هشدار داده اند و بويژه دولت فواد سينيوره را به بی کفايتی و وانهادن حکميت لبنان به نيروهای خارجی متهم کرده اند.


"شايد، همانطور که وليد جنبلاط، رهبر دروز های لبنان، گفته است راه ثبات لبنان از مسير گفتگوی عربی و بين المللی با ايران بگذرد"
آينده مبهم و نقش ايران و سوريه

حمله حزب الله به دولت آقای سينيوره، از طرف متحدان وی بیپاسخ نمانده است. آنها، حزب الله را به دستور گرفتن از ايران متهم کرده و بعضا، اين گروه را عامل بروز جنگ و ويرانی های گسترده ناشی از آن دانسته اند.

در صورت ادامه جنگ لفظی بين حزب الله و دولت آقای سينيوره، بروز هر حادثه ای در اين کشور محتمل است بويژه اينکه توازن قوا در لبنان به شدت شکننده به نظر می رسد.

شايد، همانطور که وليد جنبلاط، رهبر دروز های لبنان، گفته است راه ثبات لبنان، از مسير گفتگوی عربی و بين المللی با ايران بگذرد؛ کشوری که به دليل نفوذش بر حزب الله، يکی از قدرت های تعيين کننده در لبنان به شمار میرود، اما اين چيزی نيست که همه کشورهای عربی و غربی خواهان آن باشند چرا که گفتگو با ايران در باره لبنان از پرونده هسته ای اين کشور مجزا به نظر نمی رسد.

در اين ميان، جلب همکاری سوريه از سوی کشورهای غربی برای ايجاد ثبات در لبنان نيز گزينه ای محتمل است. هر چند که روند چنين حرکتی بسيار پيچيده و پردردسر خواهد بود، اما سوريه به رغم بيرون راندنش از لبنان، همچنان از نقشی کليدی برای استقرار ثبات يا بی ثباتی در لبنان برخوردار است.

[Rasputin]

'We didn't know enough about Hizbullah'

We did not know enough about Hizbullah's deployment in south Lebanon," a senior IDF officer said on Monday.

The officer added that the war revealed a number of shortcomings regarding the handling of ground intelligence. He said that a lack of coordination between the air force and ground troops weakened the ability of IAF pilots to come to the aid of soldiers on the ground.
While the pilots had intelligence information that was updated in 2006, ground forces used intelligence from 2000 - I am not singling anybody out for blame, but there is no doubt that presented problems," he said.

The officer also spoke of rescuing the wounded from combat zones during the war. The air force performed 110 rescue sorties, 59 in Lebanese territory, rescuing 350 soldiers.

The officer commended two rescue operations carried out under fire and the difficult commando operations in Baalbek and in Tyre.

The officer also claimed that the drone which was launched by Hizbullah during the war in Lebanon, and which was shot down in the area of Haifa, was intended to strike the Gush Dan region, Army Radio reported.

"We found in the wings of the drone 10 kilograms of explosives, with ball-bearings packed inside," the officer said.

"We are talking here about a very accurate machine. In the past there have been attempts by Hizbullah to infiltrate Israeli airspace with drones fitted with video cameras, but never drones armed with explosives."

[Rasputin]

حزب الله
پس از جنگ
در لبنان




ابطحی ـ تهديدات اسرائيل برای ترور اعضای جنبش حزب الله لبنان باعث شده است كه آنها ديگر در ميان مردم نباشند. در دورانی كه در بيروت بودم، به خاطر دارم صبح های زود، در حاشيه دريا حتی اعضای شورای مركزی حزب الله پياده روی و ورزش می كردند؛ خانه هايشان معلوم بود و در دسترس همه. سيد حسن نصرالله هشدار داده است كه حتی اگر شهيد شويم نبايد اعضای حزب الله از مردم جدا شوند. اين يكی از هوشيارانه ترين نظرات رهبری حزب الله است. همين اتفاق تلخ در اوائل انقلاب ايران هم افتاد. وقتی منافقين در كوچه و خيابان به ترور كور پرداختند عناصر حكومتی و مسئولان كه در يك سال اول انقلاب در خانه های شخصی خود زندگی و با اتومبيل های خود رفت و آمد می كردند و گاهی با تاكسی به محل كار خود می رفتند، برای حفاظت از خود كه در آن مقطع ضروری بود، به خانه های امن و اتومبيل های امن تر پناه بردند. از آنجا كه البته اتومبيل بنز از تاكسی، و خانه های سازمانی حفاظت شده از خانه های شخصی به طبع هر انسانی مقبول تر می افتد، وقتی هم كه جريان تروريستی منافقين مهار شد، باز هم ترجيح دادند در همان منازل بمانند و از همان امكانات بهره بگيرند. اين آغاز فاصله ی جدی مردم و مسئولان شد. حالا حزب الله لبنان می خواهد از اين تجربه استفاده كند و نگذارد حزب الله از مردم جدا شوند. به همين دليل سخن سيد حسن نصرالله كه دستور داده اعضای حزب الله از مردم جدا نشوند، يكی از جدی ترين عوامل بقا و قدرت حزب الله در جامعه لبنانی خواهد بود.

[Rasputin]

Israel Warned War With Hezbollah Was Approaching

Ryan R. Jones - All Headline News Middle East Correspondent
Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - Israel's recent war against Hezbollah should have come as no surprise to the U.S. and France, who received advanced warning of Israel's intent should the terror group assault its northern border again.

According to military sources that spoke to Ha'aretz Tuesday, Hezbollah attempted to kidnap Israeli soldiers along the border no fewer than five times since Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000.

The last attempt prior to the July 12 attack that sparked the war had been in May of this year, at which time Israel informed Washington and Paris that it would launch a large-scale military operation in response to any further provocations.

Israel's assumption was that the message would be relayed to Hezbollah, deterring any further kidnapping attempts, according to Ha'aretz.

As the conflict escalated, Washington for a time prevented the imposing of a U.N. ceasefire out of what many say was a desire to see Israel inflict a crushing military defeat on Hezbollah.

Hezbollah is viewed by most as a proxy of the Iranian regime that Tehran plans to use to ward off U.S.-led efforts to thwart its nuclear program.

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

The Hezbollah leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, has hailed his group's "victory" over Israel, boasting that the group still has 20,000 rockets.
In his first public appearance since the recent conflict, he said Hezbollah would never be disarmed by force and called for a new Lebanese government.

Hundreds of thousands crowded into southern Beirut, heavily bombed during the conflict, to hear the speech.

Israel said the speech showed a lack of respect to the international community.

Waving flags in the yellow and green of Hezbollah, crowds travelled from all over Lebanon to a square in the city's southern suburbs.

The building of a just, strong and able state starts first with a serious national unity government

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah
Hezbollah leader


Quick guide: Hezbollah
Security was tight in the streets around the square.

Thanking the crowd for making the journey to the rally, he praised their courage and said Hezbollah was now stronger than it was before fighting began on 12 July.

'Regime change'

The 34-day conflict with Israel ended in a military and a strategic victory for Hezbollah, he told supporters.

"There is no army in the world that can force us to drop our weapons from our hands, from our grip."

Under the terms of the UN-brokered cease-fire that ended the fighting on 14 August, Hezbollah is expected to disarm.

CONFLICT FACTS
Fighting began on 12 July
Ended 14 August
Israeli dead: 116 soldiers, 43 civilians
Lebanese civilian dead: >1,000
Hezbollah dead: unknown

But Sheikh Nasrallah said the group would only disarm when the Lebanese government was capable of protecting the country.

He repeated a Hezbollah call for a new government to replace the administration of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

"The building of a just, strong and able state starts first with a serious national unity government," Sheikh Nasrallah said.

The strength of Hezbollah had dealt a severe blow to US plans for a new Middle East peace process, he told the crowds.

The BBC's Crispin Thorold, in southern Beirut, said Sheikh Nasrallah spoke for more than an hour, and guns were fired into the air as he left.

But former President Amin Gemayel, an opponent of Hezbollah, told the Associated Press the speech was "dangerous", because it linked disarmament to regime change in Lebanon.

Withdrawal delayed

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah ended on 14 August with a ceasefire that has largely held.


Most of the crowds waved yellow Hezbollah flags
But Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said Sheikh Nasrallah's speech was a challenge to the international community.

"The international community can't afford to have this Iranian-funded extremist spit in the face of the organised community of nations," he said.

Israel lost 116 soldiers in the fighting, while 43 of its civilians were killed in Hezbollah rocket attacks.

More than 1,000 Lebanese civilians and an unknown number of Hezbollah fighters were killed in the conflict.

Israel failed to achieve its stated war aims of driving Hezbollah fighters from the border, stopping rocket attacks and freeing two of its soldiers captured by Hezbollah in a cross-border raid.

The Beirut rally had been expected to coincide with the final withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon, but the Israeli military said on Friday that some troops would remain in Lebanon over the Jewish New Year holiday this weekend.

[Rasputin]

جنگ ها با همه آثار ويرانگر خود، معمولا به عنوان آخرين راه گشايش بنبست های سياسی و ديپلماتيک شناخته می شوند. جنگ ۳۴ روزه اسراييل و حزب الله، اما، نه فقط بنبست ناشی از اجرای قطعنامه ۱۵۵۹ شورای امنيت سازمان ملل در لبنان را نگشود، بلکه اين کشور کوچک را با بنبست پيچيده تری روبرو کرد.
سخنرانی حسن نصرالله، دبير کل حزب الله لبنان، در جمع صدها هزار نفر از هواداران خود در حومه جنوبی بيروت در روز جمعه 22 سپتامبر، شاهدی است بر بنبستی که همچنان گريبان جامعه سياسی لبنان را رها نکرده است.

رهبر حزب الله با لحن پرحرارت نطق خود مخاطبانش را به شدت تحت تاثير قرار داد، و پيام های متفاوت و بعضا متضادی برای رقيبان و مخالفان داخلی و خارجی خود ارسال کرد، که در واقع ترجمان موقعيت ممتاز و در عين حال دشوار اين جنبش شيعی در لبنان به شمار می رود.

وی زبان تهديد و آشتی، و نيز تهاجم و دفاع، را توامان در سخنرانی خود به کار گرفت به گونه ای که امين جميل، رئيس جمهور سابق لبنان، بخشی از سخنان وی را برای لبنان خطرناک دانست، اما دفتر فواد سينيوره، نخست وزير اين کشور، آن را سازنده توصيف کرد.


شايد بتوان گفت فراخوان حسن نصرالله به تجمع گسترده هوادارانش در بيروت، بيش از آنکه مرحله ای از تهاجم تازه حزب الله عليه ساير فراکسيون های سياسی و قومی در لبنان باشد، حرکتی دفاعی به منظور حفظ نفوذ خود در لبنان است



تلاش برای حفط موقعيت

در واقع حمله شديد نصرالله به سران عرب، تهديد او به عدم سکوت در برابر نقض قطعنامه ۱۷۰۱ شورای امنيت از سوی اسراييل، و هشدار به نيروهای حافظ صلح بين المللی در لبنان را می توان بخشی از مبارزهجويی او نسبت به فضايی دانست که در سطح منطقه و جهان عليه حزب الله جريان دارد، با اين حال به نظر نمی رسد که اين بخش، مهمترين بخش سخنان او باشد.

مهمترين بخش سخنان نصرالله به مسائل داخلی لبنان اختصاص داشت که طی آن وی بر حفظ زرداخانه موشکی حزب الله و لزوم تغيير دولت لبنان تاکيد کرد. با اين همه، نصرالله به رغم لحن قاطع و پرشور خود، در اين دو مورد نيز به صراحت سخن نگفت.

او ضمن اعلام اينکه هيچ ارتشی در جهان قادر به خلع سلاح حزب الله نيست، مسلح ماندن اين گروه را امری ابدی و ازلی ندانست و آن را به شکل گيری دولتی قدرتمند پيوند داد.

'تغيير دولت؛ بدون زور'


فواد سينيوره، نخست وزير لبنان، از جانب حسن نصرالله مورد کنايه قرار گرفت

دبير کل حزب الله همچنين با طعنه به اشک ريختن فواد سينيوره در جريان قتل غير نظاميان لبنانی توسط ارتش اسراييل، به عنوان کنايه ای از ضعف و ناتوانی او، بر تغيير دولت لبنان و تشکيل دولت وحدت ملی پای فشرد، اما در عين حال آشکار ساخت که در پی استفاده از زور عليه دولت و حتی خارج کردن حکومت از دست افراد خاصی نيست.

اين نوع موضع گيریها نشان می دهد که حزب الله هنوز تصميم روشنی در باره جهت سياسی خود در لبنان پس از جنگ اتخاذ نکرده، اما آشکارا از يک مساله احساس خطر می کند و در تلاش است تا اين خطر را خنثی کند.

از سخنان روز جمعه حسن نصرالله می توان استنباط کرد که وی احساس میکند برنامه ای پيچيده و محرمانه برای قطع يا کاهش شديد نفوذ حزب الله در جامعه لبنان در حال طراحی و اجراست؛ برنامه ای که به زعم وی سران عرب، آمريکا، برخی کشورهای اروپايی، نيروهای حافظ صلح، اسراييل و بويژه جنبش موسوم به ۱۴ مارس (ائتلاف گروه های لبنانی ضد سوریه) در آن دخالت دارند.

از نگاه رهبر حزب الله، مجموعه اين نيروها، از يک سو قصد خلع سلاح حزب الله از طريق اعمال زور را دارند و از ديگر سو، با معرفی کردن اين گروه به عنوان آلت دست ايران و سوريه، می خواهند آن را در بين افکار عمومی مردم لبنان بی اعتبار سازند.


تجمع حدود ۸۰۰ هزار نفر در کشور کم جمعيتی مانند لبنان، پشتوانه مردمی قدرتمندی است که محافل داخلی و خارجی لبنان نمی توانند آن را ناديده بگيرند، اما گاهی اين نوع مانورهای قدرت، نيروهای مقابل را به هم نزديک می کند و به فکر مقابلهجويی می اندازد



واکنش گروه های رقيب

بر همين اساس، آقای نصرالله نسبت به مطالبی که در رسانههای لبنان عليه وی انتشار می يابد به سختی واکنش نشان داد و تاکيد کرد که اين وضعيت را تحمل نخواهد کرد.

در واقع، فراخوان حسن نصرالله به تجمع گسترده هوادارانش در بيروت، بيش از آنکه مرحله ای از تهاجم تازه حزب الله عليه ساير فراکسيون های سياسی و قومی در لبنان باشد، حرکتی دفاعی به منظور حفظ نفوذ خود در لبنان تلقی می شود.

با اين حال، اين پرسش قابل طرح است که آيا مانور قدرت حزب الله در روز جمعه به هدف اين گروه برای حفظ نفوذ خود در لبنان کمک خواهد کرد؟

قاعدتا تجمع حدود ۸۰۰ هزار نفر در کشور کم جمعيتی مانند لبنان، پشتوانه مردمی قدرتمندی برای يک گروه شبه نظامی است که محافل داخلی و خارجی لبنان نمی توانند آن را ناديده بگيرند، اما گاهی نيز اين نوع مانورهای قدرت، نيروهای مقابل را به هم نزديک می کند و به فکر مقابلهجويی می اندازد.

[Rasputin]

Israel calls it a "terrorist" and "extremist" organization. George Bush says it is a tool of Iran, and claims it has "killed more Americans than any terrorist organization except al-Qaeda."

But the leaders of governments trying to destroy Hezbollah are not the only ones condemning it. Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have accused Hezbollah of human rights violations, and Robert Fisk, the Independent journalist who has helped expose some of the worst Israeli and U.S. crimes in the Middle East, says that Hezbollah "provoked the latest war" in Lebanon, and bears responsibility for "bringing catastrophe upon their coreligionists."

Meanwhile, however, Hezbollah has gained growing support in the Middle East, well beyond its base among Shia Muslims in Lebanon--for the simple reason that it is, in the words of Aijaz Ahmad, writing in Frontline magazine in India, "the only entity which has, through armed resistance, forced the Israelis to relinquish any territory that the Jewish state has ever captured."

What kind of organization is Hezbollah, and how should the left view it?

* * *

HEZBOLLAH CAME out of a Lebanon fractured by civil war.

The region of Lebanon has always contained various religious communities, but the French colonialists who dominated the area favored the Maronite Christians, who became the most powerful community once the state of Lebanon was formed.

According to the terms of a 1943 pact, Maronites were given the presidency, and Christians were allocated a majority of seats in the parliament. The post of prime minister was reserved for a Sunni Muslim, and Shia Muslims--soon to become the largest segment of the population--were left with the relatively powerless position of speaker of parliament.

Maronite leaders were traditionally pro-Western and pro-Israel, while Muslim leaders became increasingly influenced by Arab nationalism. These tensions were at the roots of Lebanon's civil war, which lasted more or less continuously from 1975 to 1990. Israel and the U.S. backed the right, grouped around the Christian Falange.

In 1978, Israel seized a strip of territory in Southern Lebanon, and four years later, it launched a full-scale invasion--with the aim of installing a right-wing Christian government and driving out Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) fighters based in the country.

The U.S. sent Marines as part of an international force to oversee the withdrawal of the PLO--these "peacekeepers" began to intervene more and more openly on the side of the Lebanese right and Israel's occupying force.

Throughout this conflict, the group that suffered the most was the Shia--by then the most numerous religious community in Lebanon, comprising about 40 percent of the population, and by far the poorest, inhabiting the slums of Beirut's southern suburbs and the villages in southern Lebanon directly in the path of Israeli attacks and invasions.

By 1982, several Shia military groups emerged--many with funding and training from the new Islamist government in Iran, which took power after the 1979 Iranian Revolution and was seeking to project its influence in Lebanon amid the other rival forces of the civil war. The Iranian-backed militias, though only loosely connected, were known together as Hezbollah, meaning the "Party of God" in Arabic.

Shia militias engaged in several small but devastating attacks, including the bombing of the U.S. embassy, and a suicide truck bombing of the Marines barracks in October 1983 that killed 241 Marines. These attacks led Ronald Reagan to "cut and run"--and withdraw troops from Lebanon.

In 1985, Shia clerics declared the foundation of Hezbollah in an "Open Letter to the Downtrodden in Lebanon and the World." Still associated mainly with its backing from Iran, Hezbollah continued to battle for influence among Lebanese Shiites, including military clashes with the more moderate Amal, formed in the 1970s.

Quickly, however, it became predominant in the military resistance to the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon. Hezbollah attacks did use suicide bombers, but increasingly into the 1990s, the balance shifted toward guerrilla operations directed at inflicting damage on the Israeli occupation force. Hezbollah is generally credited with forcing Israel to withdraw from Lebanon in 2000.

After 2000, Hezbollah continued to carry out military operations to pressure Israel to leave Shebaa Farms--the last sliver of Israeli-occupied territory in Lebanon--defend against repeated Israeli incursions and provocations, and win freedom for Lebanese prisoners held by Israel. Hezbollah's July 12 raid that captured two Israeli soldiers--which the Israeli government made the pretext for its war against Lebanon this summer--fits this pattern.

Unlike Israel's indiscriminate bombing campaign, Hezbollah primarily targeted Israeli military forces. A majority of Israeli casualties during the onslaught were soldiers, while the vast majority of Lebanese killed by Israeli missiles and bombs were civilian bystanders.

* * *

HEZBOLLAH IS a political party that runs a network of schools, clinics and other services that many people rely on to fill the gap for what the Lebanese government doesn't provide. It also controls an array of businesses, including bakeries, banks, factories and an Islamic clothing line, as well as a satellite television station and a radio station.

Hezbollah organized relief efforts for southern Lebanon after the Israeli bombings of 1993 and 1996, and is currently promising furniture and rent money to all whose homes were destroyed in this summer's assault.

Beginning in the early 1990s, Hezbollah decided to take part in mainstream politics, first winning election to the Lebanon's parliament in 1992. Currently, the organization has 12 members in parliament and two in the cabinet.

It leads a parliamentary bloc in which other forces, including secular parties and non-Muslim parties, are involved. The list of candidates for this alliance during the 2005 elections included not only Shiites, but Christians, Sunni Muslims and Druze.

Hezbollah gets aid and support--including military backing--from Iran and Syria. But it is not a puppet of these governments, as the Bush administration insisted.

[Rasputin]

While Iran had decisive influence during Hezbollah's early years, the organization has since developed its own elected council and command structure to make political and military decisions. According to a post-ceasefire report by the mainstream political analyst Anthony Cordesman, "[N]o serving Israeli official, intelligence officer or other military officer felt that the Hezbollah acted under the direction of Iran or Syria."

More generally, Hezbollah is viewed as a legitimate national resistance organization, among Shia and non-Shia, throughout much of Lebanese society. Even before this summer's war, a 2005 Center for Strategic Studies survey found that three-quarters of Lebanese Christians--the traditional base of the right--identified Hezbollah as a legitimate group in challenging Israeli aggression.

Some on the left focus on Hezbollah's commitment to Islamic fundamentalism to minimize its political importance--for example, a recent letter-writer to Socialist Worker who dismissed Hezbollah as "a movement partially analogous to our own fundamentalist right."

Hezbollah's Islamism need to be understood concretely. For example, though it accepts prejudices against women predominant in Islam--and Christianity, for that matter--Hezbollah's Shia ideology is not as reactionary as, for example, the Wahhabists of Afghanistan's Taliban. Thus, women lead many of Hezbollah's social service projects, although they are excluded from political and military leadership.

Hezbollah does uphold anti-gay attitudes common to many currents of Islamism, and some of its leaders have used anti-Semitic slurs in describing their opposition to Israel.

On the other hand, unlike its backers in the Iranian political establishment, Hezbollah does not have a goal to building of Islamic state--at least in Lebanon. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said, "Lebanon is a pluralistic country. It is not an Islamic country."

This sheds light on why Hezbollah has been able to gain support beyond its Shia base--both within Lebanon and more broadly across the Middle East. Hezbollah's main appeal lies in its willingness to challenge Israeli aggression and U.S. imperialism, not its Islamist ideology and the backward elements of its social and political program.

By successfully preventing Israel from accomplishing its objectives in this summer's onslaught, Hezbollah has set an example of resistance that could inspire further struggles across the Middle East--potentially opening the way for a secular, left-wing alternative to take root and grow.

[golgol85]

[Rasputin]

سخنرانی آتشين نصرالله
موقعيت دشوار حزب الله لبنان




پيرامون سخنرانی سيد حسن نصرالله در جريان تظاهرات اخير بيروت تفسيرهای ستايش آميز در ايران بسيار منتشر شد. هيچ مفسری در ايران ننوشت و نگفت كه چرا نصرالله اين سخنان آتشين را بيان كرده است، اما اكنون با استقرار ارتش لبنان در مرزهای جنوبی كشور، آشكار شده كه تنش های رو به افزايش سياسی ميان حزب الله لبنان و دولت لبنان از انگيزه های جدی آن سخنرانی و متينگ بوده است.

پرخاش های تند نصرالله به رهبران كشورهای عرب كه از عرف ديپلماتيك به دور بود و اصولا نصرالله از اين ادبيات تاكنون پرهيز داشت نيز نشان داد كه موقعيت او در كشورهای عرب منطقه نيز چنگی بدل نمی زند. نصرالله وابستگی حزب الله به جمهوری اسلامی را در آن سخنرانی تكذيب كرد. به آسانی می توان فهميد كه اگر اين شايعه و يا برداشت در منطقه گسترده نبود، نصرالله نيازی به تكذيب آن در آن متينگ نداشت. هيچ رهبر سياسی، زير فشار خلع سلاح ادعا نمی كند كه شمار موشك هايش نه تنها كم نشده بلكه هنوز 20 هزار موشك دراختيار دارد. وقتی سيد حسن نصرالله چنين ادعائی می كند، بايد چنان تحت فشار باشد كه نيازمند اين تهديد است. تهديدی كه خود او بارها در سخنرانی متينگ بيرون آن را در پوشش مخالفت با خلع سلاح حزب الله به زور مطرح كرده و با آن مخالفت كرد. اگر شمار موشك ها نيز كم نشده بود، نيازی به اين ادعا نبود.

بنابراين سخنرانی رهبر حزب الله لبنان در متينگ بيروت بر خلاف تبليغاتی كه درجمهوری اسلامی پيرامون آن می كنند، نه از موضع قدرت، كه از سر ضعف بود. بويژه كه او در تناقض با موضع گيری های روزهای پس از آتش بس سخن گفت و فراموش كرد كه گفته بود: ما اگر می دانستيم گروگان گرفتن دو سرباز اسرائيل به چنين قيمت و با چنين واكنشی روبرو می شود دست به اين كار نمی زديم و فرمان آن را نمی داديم!

حسن نصرالله با فدراليسم در لبنان مخالفت كرد و اين نيست مگر آنكه چنين خواستی در لبنان مطرح است. خواستی كه اگر عملی شود محدوده جغرافيائی حزب الله در ميان شيعيان لبنان خلاصه خواهد شد و خواب و خيال رهبری لبنان و برپائی جمهوری اسلامی لبنان نقش برآب خواهد شد.

ظاهرا همان نظر نصرالله كه اشتباه در محاسبه و نتيجه جنگ لبنان را درآن ارزيابی كرده بود، به واقعيات زمينی نزديك تر است تا سخنرانی اخير او كه درهوا معلق است.