Arab world fed up with Hizbullah
The Jerusalem Post
Khaled Abu Toameh, Jul. 17, 2006
With the exception of the Palestinians, the Arab world appears to be united in blaming Iran and Syria for the fighting in Lebanon. Until last week, Arab political analysts and government officials were reluctant to criticize Hizbullah in public. But now that Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and his top aides are in hiding, an anti-Hizbullah coalition is emerging not only in Lebanon, but in several other Arab countries as well.
The Palestinians and Hizbullah feel that their Arab brethren have once again turned their backs on them. On Monday, hundreds of Palestinians who marched in downtown Ramallah in support of Hizbullah chanted: “Hassan Nasrallah is our hero, the rest of the Arab leaders are cowards” and “O beloved Abu Hadi [Nasrallah's nickname], bomb, bomb Tel Aviv.” The second battle cry is reminiscent of the famous slogan the Palestinians used during the first Gulf War: “O beloved Saddam, bomb, bomb Tel Aviv.”
Hizbullah and their supporters were hoping that the massive Israeli military operation in Lebanon would trigger large-scale protests throughout the Arab world, creating instability and threatening to bring down some of the Arab regimes.
But the response on the Arab street has been so disappointing for Hizbullah that its leaders are now openly talking about an Arab “conspiracy” to liquidate the Shi’ite organization. The few Hizbullah supporters in Ramallah, the Gaza Strip and some Arab capitals have therefore been directing most of their criticism against the Arab presidents and monarchs, accusing them of serving the interests of the US and Israel.
Tuesday 18 Jul 2006 | JBL | Terrorism |
This surprises anyone? I keep coming across articles that lump Iran and Osama Bin Ladin together as conspirators. You’ve all seen them, I’m sure.
Shia Muslims hate the Sunni.
Sunni Muslims hate the Shia.
Need to see an example?
Check out the Jihadis car bombing each other in Iraq.
Where there is division, there is opportunity.
From one of my Assyrian friends in Beirut Lebanon.
But hey, what do you expect out of an anti-Semitic, anti-American dhimmi? He’s got to be lying right?
But, hey, didn’t the Christians in Lebanon fight the Shia and Druze in a bloody civil war? Aren’t the Lebanese Christians actually pro-American? Why would my friend lie?
Or, maybe he is telling the truth and the Israeli campaign isn’t just about hitting Hezbollah, but is playing havoc with the civilian population as well.
Nah, couldn’t be. That would be a crime, you see, to deliberately target civilians like that, especially Christians? Why would God’s chosen people bomb Christians?
So he must be lying. That is what many people reading this will believe. They have to believe that to keep straight, in their minds, the image of perfect and immaculate Israel, God’s own nation, standing tall and perfect.
The Israelis have the IDF to protect them. My Christian friends in Beirut have no one.
May God have mercy on them all.
So Glen, you don’t believe that Hizbollah, Syria, and Iran bear no responsibility also for what is going on in Lebanon?
JBL writes: “So Glen, you don’t believe that Hizbollah, Syria, and Iran bear no responsibility also for what is going on in Lebanon?”
Reading between the lines on Glen’s posts, I think he is saying that there is a constructive way of dealing with the situation, but that Israel’s attacks on the civilian, especially Christian, population is not that way, and that the seeming unconditional support of the U.S. toward Israel is not that way. I am interested in what are his specific recommendations.
So you don’t think there’s a problem that Hizbollah fires their weapons from civilian populated centers?
My home parish has several families visiting in Lebanon who are caught in the war. We had special prayers for them and our brothers and sisters Sunday. About the war, my bishop said this: The Christians are caught between two warring parties that believe a lie: Jews, who believe that Jesus is a false Messiah, and the Muslims who believe Jesus was a prophet, but not God. The folks who believe the lies have the power. The Christians don’t.
My bishop’s position seems to be that martyrdom for the Christians in that part of the world is what is occurring.
Since politics is always about power, it is not surprising that the US policy would be based on supporting one of the participants who has power rather than those who do not. It would be amazing if US policy did anything else.
JBL - While I’m not defending the actions of Hizbullah; in the eyes of many Arabs their attacks against Israel are seen as just retribution for Israeli actions against the Palestinians in Gaza. As we were just discussing last month, Israeli artillery shells were raining down upon the Gaza Palestinians, in one instance wiping out 7 members of a family sunbathing at the beach. The Israelis destroyed the main electrical power plant in Gaza, (whose construction was funded by the United States, as is the insurance) was deliberately destroyed causing physical and economic hardship for thousands.
In Lebanon as in Gaza we see that the Israelis have adopted a policy of collective punishment that goes beyond striking back only at terrorists. The Israeli policy of collective punishment is based on the idea that if you create a level of suffering that is severe and widespread enough in communities where hostile political entities are based, eventually those communities will turn against those organizatons and bring them under control.
As we have seen over the past 6 years this idea is entirely fallacious and has nearly always been completely unsuccessful. Hitler could not turn the British people against Churchill in 1940 by bombing London. Nazi depradations against the Russian civilians during WWII generated tremendous support for Joseph Stalin. Many of my conservative friends have argued that President Clinton’s targeting of civilian targets in Serbia during the Kosovo conflict was immoral and I have to agree.
Policies of collective punishment violate Article 75 of Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions.
JBL -
Hezbollah is a Shiite terrorist organization with ties to Iran. It was called in to being by a combination of Iranian support and Shia opposition to the Israeli occupation.
Read this carefully - it is an illegitimate force in Lebanese politics. It is a dangerous organization. It should be disarmed and suppressed.
The fact that it was allowed to stand for election last year is one reason why I considered the ‘Cedar Revolution’ to be a sham.
Hezbollah bases are primarily in the South, but the Israelis are striking targets all over Lebanon, including Christian areas. If the IDF wants to close down Hezbollah bases in the South, then the IDF can bloody well move across the border and go after those bases.
The Church of St. George was not a Hezbollah base camp. The Beirut airport was not a Hezbollah base camp. Knocking out roads, bridges, and power stations is not hitting Hezbollah base camps.
Dean is correct on the concept of collective punishment. Israel is making Lebanon pay for the sins of Hezbollah. That includes everyone - Christian, Druze, Sunni, and Shia. Never mind if you are a Phalangist who fought the Shia tooth and nail in the civil war. The Israelis are making you pay also.
Here is an Arab evangelical commenting on this situation:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/129/42.0.html
JBL - if another state (besides Israel) responded to terrorist attacks by launching a massive bombing campaign that put 25,000 U.S. citizens at risk along with over 1 million Christians who do not support the terrorists one bit - what would your reaction be?
Well, if it were any other nation than Isreal you’d be out there calling for us to slap that state down. Israel is risking the lives of almost 10 times the number of our citizens who died on 9/11. Yet - you don’t care. The number of Christians at risk is massive, yet you don’t care.
It’s all Hezbollah’s fault. I agree, so why are the Israelis attacking non-Hezbollah targets? Why are they bombing civilian infrastructure and Christian neighborhoods/villages?
What are you going to say, JBL, that because Hezbollah is based in Lebanon the whole country is fairgame?
Every Jew that dies is a major catastrophe in the world, but no matter how many Arab Christians die, no one cares. Not even Orthodox like you JBL.