Hey, did you know that the “resistance’s” goal is to help “preserve sovereignty, independence, and freedom, and the liberation of all occupied territories?”
Hezbollah’s No 2, Sheikh Naim Kassem has given us a glimpse of how Hezbollah will be fighting for its relevance in the coming period. In a lecture to Arab university professors from Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Libya, Mr. Kassem laid down his case for the “resistance”. For all those who really want to get into the heads of Hezbollah, this is a must read.
Basically, their case boils down to 3 points:
- Diplomacy is good, but without resistance it is futile
- Resistance is a “project” that makes Lebanon stronger and defends it against the “permanent Israeli threat”
- The resistance and the state complement each other to achieve the highest goals of “maintaining independence and preserving our country
While I can see some of Hezbollah’s points (like for example the fact that Israel would never give anything back to Lebanon if it weren’t for Hezbollah’s hard edge), Hezbollah’s ideological “charm offensive” makes three dangerous assumptions:
- The first is that the rest of the Lebanese will simply trust Hezbollah with all their guns and rockets and their opaque, foreign-funded structure, without any form of accountability.
- The second is that Lebanon, as declared by Sayyed Nassrallah, can create a “third model”, a fudge between Dubai and Gaza, that can be both economically prosperous and violently militant.
- The third is a firm believe that Israel will somehow “eventually disappear”; a state of denial that is unfortunately shared by millions of Arabs.
Hezbollah sees this speech as their way of being flexible and friendly with the rest of the Lebanese. That is very worrying.
Hello, my name is Mustapha and I've been blogging about Lebanese society, business and politics since February 2005.
I find it ridiculous that up to this point we are still debating ideas that are actually facts, per hizb. You should not be surprised with them keeping their weapons, launching wars, destroying a country, without any remorse. What is more shameful, is that you, Mustafa, seem surprised.We have to go beyond that, aknowledge that they don’t give 2 f*&%$ about us, and act accordingly.Otherwise, we are wasting time, we are losing a country.
Boulos, if those were self-evident facts to Hezbollah, then why is Naim Kassem trying to “sell” the resistance to Arabs?
We have to realize that a big part of this is a battle for the hearts and minds of the Lebanese, a battle that Hezbollah, unlike the rest, is taking very seriously.
True,
But the battle was lost the day they invaded Beirut. That they do not realize it only makes the road that much longer.
“… and the liberation of all occupied territories…”
Fantastic…. Now who will liberate us from Hezbollah?
I can see some of Hezbollah’s points (like for example the fact that Israel would never give anything back to Lebanon if it weren’t for Hezbollah’s hard edge -
Mustapha, the most pernicious thing about propaganda is that even if the intended target KNOWS it is false, he or she is nonetheless tempted to believe part of it. What did Israel “steal” from Lebanon? NOTHING!
The U.N. tells Israel that the part of Shebaa that Israel didn’t evacuate in 2000 belongs to Syria. Syria has never said anything different.
Lebanese constantly accuse Israel of plotting to steal Lebanon’s natural resources. But if Israel wanted to do that, then why didn’t it happen when Israel occupied south Lebanon?
As for the Palestinian refugees of ’48, the answer probably lies in regional cooperation in sharing the burden and benefits of transforming them into productive citizens rather than violence-prone welfare recipients.
Of course, in this day and age, given modern WMDs and the country’s small size, Israel could conceivably disappear. But would it be content to die alone? This descendant of Holocaust survivors says “No!” Not out of sectarian hatred, but because nothing good to the world came out of their relatives walking like sheep to the gas chambers.
Think about it. Israel disappears, the Palestinian refugees forced home with nothing but the clothes on their backs and empty promises, tyranny ascendant throughout the Middle East, and the kids and followers of tyrants looking for ever-greater spoils. The regional civilization would be set back over fourteen hundred years.
What do you think is your duty, Mustapha?
One point you make is VERY WRONG Mustapha…
You assume that Israel can only be dealt with by force – when in reality – they want to be lebanons freind – its hezbo and the palis that keeps them from being so
Imagine if tons of lebanese showed up at the border with food, hugs, and real good will…israel would be so appreciative that it would return land, and then give you technology and whatever it could to show you that it wants to be friends
remember – all wars with lebenon and israel were started by lebenon – or hezbo – or the palis..
israel NEVER initiated a war with lebenon
Only Resistance Resistance and Resistance…and Israel Israel and once more, Israel …
And what about health, education, economy, transportation, culture..?
“culture” you say, Amir?
I don’t think you know what/who you’re dealing with here, buddy. “culture” is a western Zionist scheme intended to splinter the Arabs and distract them from things that REALLY matter; like, say, oh yeah, “resistence.”
Hizz will keep “inventing” alibis to keep their weapons and further takeover the country and hold its ppl hostage to their murderous whims. They are driving everyone to the extreme and in fact it wouldnt hurt them should a civil war break out coz then there would be no taboos left.
I have a lot of difficulty in thinking that Hezbullah is something more than a swaggering bully in the schoolyard making promises and pronouncements about itself that only the easily confused can accept. As far as Nassrallah’s possibility for entering the pantheon of history’s great leaders, well, Alexander, Saladin, Napoleon, etc. won’t have to make room anytime soon. It’s also not likely that Hezbullah will be in the running for consideration as one the major liberation movements of our times along with Viet Nam and South Africa, for example. Ho Chi Minh and Nelson Mandela stand as giants in this category. (Nassrallah who?). Even a man who never really won any great victories but inspired many (for good or for bad) – Ché Guevara – will be remembered for a lot longer. So,
• Diplomacy is good, but without resistance it is futile
I didn’t realize that Hezbullah ever tried diplomacy. They really don’t have any talent in the ranks to carry our any meaningful diplomatic mission and, like the school bully, use muscle to try and hide the fact.
• Resistance is a “project” that makes Lebanon stronger and defends it against the “permanent Israeli threat”
Every country needs the means to defend itself against external threats but, in the hands of Hezbullah, the “resistance” becomes an instigator and guarantor of permanent violence. Lebanon will definitely not be stronger over the long run.
• The resistance and the state complement each other to achieve the highest goals of maintaining independence and preserving our country.
The goal of maintaining independence and preserving the country will come only with an upgrading of the army, in both skills and equipment, to a level that can be counted upon to perform that function. Weeding out those whose loyalties lie outside Lebanon – whether to homegrown organizations or foreign powers – is basic. An independent armed organization outside of the State will always put its own interests first.
While Hezbullah will do its utmost to maintain relevancy, one has to keep in mind that it is a follower, not a leader. It is beholden to Syria and Iran for its existence and both of these countries are coming under a lot of pressure from the world community to lower the belligerency level and upgrade a civilized approach to events. Hezbullah’s gaping talent hole also makes it extremely vulnerable to acting in any fashion that doesn’t involve pulling a trigger –and Lebanon has a lot of problems that require sophisticated solutions. Look down the road and beyond the noise and see what the long term prospects are for such an organization in an increasingly complex and demanding world.
Andrew,
“israel NEVER initiated a war with lebenon”
Allow me to point out a misconception. Perhaps it did not start the war itself, but it certainly acted with provocation and belligerence toward Lebanon. By violating its airspace non stop and breaking the sound barrier to intimidate the population, by dropping tons of cluster bombs just hours before a cease fire was to go into effect in gross violation of international rules, by bombing to smithereen areas explicitly known to have civilian populations and of course by going after infrastructure in areas that were not affected by the conflict itself…all of these things point to israel’s desire to want to cripple Lebanon’s economy which is tentamount to an implicit declaration of war….Israel’s has had the excuses to intervene, but when they did it was with incomparable savagery that went beyond the “scope” of the conflict…even the UN made an admission of that undeniable fact.
Even if we accept the belief that resistance is necessary, Hezbollah’s reasoning fails to explain why said resistance cannot be the Lebanese army. After all, wouldn’t resistance be more effective if united under one front and giving allegiance to one organization (e.g., the Lebanese government)? Hezbollah’s reasoning is full of holes…
In terms of Israel, I doubt they’d attack Lebanon unless provoked–especially now that the government has gotten the bodies of their soldiers back. Dealing with the Palestinians is much higher on the Israeli list of priorities–a war with Lebanon would just be another headache.
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