Nasrallah Wants ‘National Resistance’ Movement to Liberate Shabaa Farms
|
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday called for the formation of a multi-faction “national resistance” movement to liberate the Israeli-occupied Shabaa Farms. In an address marking the Ashoura Anniversary, Nasrallah told the crowd: “I call for the creation of a national resistance to liberate the Shabaa farms. …whoever was prevented by us from liberating Shabaa Farms should step forward to liberate and we’ll be with him.” Nasrallah’s call was the first ever acknowledgement by Hizbullah that it had prevented factions comprising the leftist National Resistance Movement from carrying out attacks against the Israeli-occupation forces in south Lebanon. Nasrallah stressed that there should be a “sole national resistance (movement) to liberate our national land … the state is responsible for protecting the borders.” He admitted that Hizbullah fighters are not along the southern confrontation line with Israel, saying “this is not a secret.” Nasrallah was referring to the deployment south of the Litani river of U.N. peacekeepers and regular troops of the Lebanese army since U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 ended a 34-day war between Israel and Hizbullah on Aug. 14. The Hizbullah leader said U.S. President George Bush “should be punished.” He said the U.S. President and his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had “ordered the Zionists to launch war against Lebanon.” He accused Washington of devising a “conspiracy to retaliate against resistance movements by instigating civil wars in Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq.” The alleged plot, according to Nasrallah, was to start “civil wars and inter-communal fighting” in states hosting resistance movements. Syria was not mentioned by Nasrallah as a target of the alleged plot, presumably because President Bashar Assad’s regime does not permit resistance attacks against Israeli troops occupying the Golan Heights since 1967. Nasrallah stressed that Hizbullah’s Islamic Resistance was “ready” to confront any Israeli aggression, stressing that whoever believes that it has weakened is “deluded.” He pledged that Hizbullah would make Lebanon a “graveyard for invaders.” The crowd in Beirut’s southern suburb responded by repeated chants of “death to America, death to Israel and death to the great Satan.” The outspoken Hizbullah leader stressed that his party will “not be lured into using its weapons” against other Lebanese factions, and called for an independent judicial investigation to bring to justice culprits in the violence that swept Beirut last week. “We underline our determination to avoid any collision” with other Lebanese factions, Nasrallah said declaring that “I adhere to the just demands of the opposition” which has been trying since Dec. 1 to topple Premier Fouad Saniora’s Majority government. He called for the formation of “a state (government) based on cooperation … to steer Lebanon out of its crises.” The opposition demands, according to Nasrallah, are of a “political nature and the solution can only be a political one.” |
| Beirut, 30 Jan 07 |
| No Breakthrough in Lebanon Crisis in the Offing Efforts to reach a breakthrough in the ongoing political crisis have reportedly ran into the same old rigid stands with the Hizbullah-led Opposition insisting on a one-third veto power, a demand vehemently rejected by the ruling majority. The daily An Nahar, citing well-informed sources, said Monday the Opposition is yet again calling for a broader cabinet on the 19-plus-11 formula.The sources said the Opposition reiterated its rejection to what has been known as the “neutral” cabinet minister in a 19-plus-10-plus-1 formula. The Opposition wants a “guaranteed one-third,” one source told An Nahar. On the controversial issue of the International Tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and related crimes, the sources said the Opposition also refused to propopse amendments to the plan before the new report is released by Chief investigator Serge Brammertz next June. The sources also said that the Opposition is once again insisting on early parliamentary elections as a condition to any settlement. As Safir newspaper also said that contacts between Iran and Saudi Arabia have not yet reached a “serious political breakthrough.” The sources said little progress has been made toward reaching a compromise between pro- and anti-government factions. “There are questions that require answers from both sides,” one source told As Safir. Meanwhile, Premier Fouad Saniora reached out to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and President Emile Lahoud in a fresh bid to resolve the political impasse that has crippled Lebanon since the resignation of six ministers last November. Saniora’s office said the premier spoke by telephone with Berri and Lahoud late Friday. |
| Beirut, 29 Jan 07 |
بشرعية تحالف حزب الله مع عون
نشرت صحيفة “كورييري ديلاسيرا” المسائية الايطالية في 24 كانون الثاني (يناير) الجاري تقريراً لغويدو اولمبيو، من ميلانو، جاء فيه:
“بدعم ايران، يعزز حزب الله حلفه مع مسيحيي ميشال عون في لبنان، ويعيد تنظيم جهازه العسكري الخاص. ولا شك في ان التظاهر في الشوارع الآن يستند الى تعليمات غير معلنة. وقد كشفت مصادر المعارضة الايرانية ان آية الله خامنئي اصدر فتوى مهمة، منذ بضعة اسابيع جاء فيها: “ان التحالف مع مسيحيي عون ليس مخالفاً للمبادئ الدينية، ولذا يمكن مواصلة السير في هذه الطريق. في المدى القصير على الاقل”.
والفتوى رد على محافل محافظة متطرفة في ايران عارضت هذا الامر. فقد ارتأى آية الله مصباح يازي على الخصوص ـ وهو يقف وراء الرئيس احمدي نجاد ـ ومعه متطرفان دينيان آخران، ان المسيحيين ينبغي النظر اليهم على انهم “هراطقة”. لكن خامنئي رفض تفسيرهم هذا، ولاحظ القيمة التكتيكية التي يتسم بها هذا الحلف مع عون، منذ شباط (فبراير) 2006. وشرح ان الحلف مفيد لحزب الله لقلب الحكومة اللبنانية.
ومع ذلك فالاتفاق قابل للالغاء في المستقبل، ما ان تبلغ الميليشيا الشيعية اللبنانية اغراضها منه. والواقع ان المصادر نفسها كشفت ان خامنئي اعترف بأنه لابد من مراقبة وثيقة على المسيحيين، لانهم “ليسوا جديرين جداً بالثقة”. وقد اضفت صحيفة سعودية رشّة ملح على هذا الجدال حين قالت ان الملتزمين المؤيدين لايران يدفعون 20 يورو في اليوم للذين يشاركون في التظاهر.
وقد اعتمد حزب الله، الذي يحظى بدعم قوي متزايد لدى رجال الدين في طهران، برنامجاً عسكرياً طموحاً ايضاً. فقد وضع عماد مغنية، مسؤول الجهاز العسكري في حزب الله، ومصطفى ربيع نائب قائد كتائب القدس الايرانية هذا البرنامج، الذي يتضمن التجنيد وإعادة بناء الملاجئ في بيروت وجنوب لبنان، وتوفير التدريب والتسليح المتطور. وتدفقت موارد مهمة في قطاع الصواريخ الذي اثبت جدواه في الحرب ضد اسرائيل الصيف الماضي.
وقد بدأ التدريب، بفضل مدد جديد (يمر عبر سوريا) في التعامل بصواريخ ارض ـ ارض: فجر 3 و5 وزلزال 1، ومداه 125 كيلومتراً، وطراز مارك 2 القادر على ضرب اهداف تبعد 240 كيلومتراً. وقد دربت كتائب القدس في الحرس الثوري (الباسداران) نحو 50 مقاتل غوار، على الاطلاق والتمويه على السواء. ولا شك في ان قدرة حزب الله على اخفاء صواريخه جيداً امر حيوي لحمايتها من الضربات الاسرائيلية المحتملة، وهذا يعني انشاء مستودعات تحت الارض، وملاجئ، ومنصات اطلاق داخل انفاق.
لكن هذه المسلحة ستكون تحت حماية لا تقتصر على التمويه. إذ قالت مصادر لبنانية ان الايرانيين ارسلوا ايضاً نظامي ثاقب وميثاق المضادين للطائرات (لمطورين من نظام صواريخ IWQ الصينية). ووضع بعض هذه الصواريخ على شاحنات “تويوتا” وسيارات “جيب”. ويُكسب هذا الامر وحدات الدفاع قدرة كبيرة على الحركة. وقد حثت النتائج الممتازة التي احرزت ضد دبابات اسرائيل، ايران على إعادة ملء مخازن السلاح. ويقال ان قوى الامن اللبنانية لاحظت وصول نظم رعد، فيما بدأ عدد جيد من المقاتلين التدرب على استخدام الصواريخ المضادة للسفن، من طراز “سي 802″، مرة اخرى. وقد اصاب احد هذه الصواريخ زورقاً عسكرياً اسرائيلياً بأضرار في اثناء النزاع العسكري الاخير.
وانشأ حزب الله، منذ الصيف، برنامجاً جديداً في “سلاحه الجوي”، الذي يضم طائرات شراعية وطائرات من دون طيار (من طراز ابابيل الذي تصنعه ايران) للاستخدام في “اعمال مفاجئة” عبر الحدود مع اسرائيل. وأمر مغنية، وهو رجل مغرم بالعمل السري، بعض رجاله بتحسين شبكة استخبارهم في جنوب البلاد. ولهذا الغرض جند حزب الله جواسيس جدداً بين سكان المنطقة. والجديد في هذا الامر هو ان بين المجندين اربع نساء، على نسق “ماتا هاري” حقيقيات يعملن لحزب الله، وهدفهن جنود في الجيش اللبنان
Fire Erupts in One of Aoun’s Tents
| Fire Erupts in One of Aoun’s Tents Fire broke out Saturday in one of the more than 200 tents erected in downtown Beirut by anti-government protestors. Security sources told Naharnet the tent that caught fire belongs to Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement. One source said the fire was “most probably caused by a stove kept in the tent.” No casualties were immediately reported. He said protestors from the Hizbullah-led opposition rushed to combat the blaze and prevent it from spreading to other tents erected in downtown Beirut since Dec. 1 in an effort to topple Premier Fouad Saniora’s majority government. |
| Beirut, 27 Jan 07 |
Tufaili Lashes Out at Nasrallah, Iran
Hizbullah founder and ex leader Sheikh Subhi Tufaili on Saturday accused Iran of stirring trouble between Shiites and Sunnis to destroy both Iraq and Lebanon, urging Shiites to mend fences with the majority Sunni sect.
Tufaili at a news conference said Shiites are “small minorities scattered in the vast sea of the Islamic world. It is in their interest to be allies for the majority and to mend fences with Sunnis.”
“Otherwise, we will destroy even our future… this is crazy…we’ll be slaughtered like sheep even in Lebanon. This is a reality.”
He said Iran’s spiritual leader Ali Khamenei has a dual policy. “In Iraq, he destroys Iraq under the slogan of alliance with America and in Lebanon he destroys Lebanon under the slogan that says the Sunnis are the allies of America.”
He stressed Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is the person who carries out Khamenei’s policy.
I am an ex-secretary general for Hizbullah and I know that Sayyed Hassan is in charge of carrying Sayyed Khamenei’s policy in Lebanon. Sayyed Abdul Aziz al Hakim is the person who executes Khamenei’s policy in Iraq.”
He accused Hizbullah, of which he was fired more than eight years ago after disagreeing with the Iranian leadership, of forming its own state in Lebanon and “the resistance is its weapon.”
“There cannot be two states and two weapons, that of Hizbullah and that of the government. We need to unify the weapons under one command. Two states would lead to war,” he said.
Beirut, 27 Jan 07
Bush’s backdoor attack: Iran via Hizbullah
New policy authorizing attacks on Iranian agents in Iraq also allows for covert ops against Iran-backed terror groups all across ME, including Hizbullah
Yitzhak Benhorin
| Published: | 01.26.07, 21:38 |
President Bush has authorized an aggressive program aimed at impeding Iran’s influence all around the Middle East, including in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.
Friday, the Washington Post reported Bush’s authorization of a new, more intensive policy that allows for more stringent measures against Iran. This includes, primarily, the authority to capture or kill Iranian agents active in Iraq, a story Bush and other US officials did not deny. However, the new policy extends far beyond Iraq.
The Post reported that the new plan is part of a wider US strategy aimed at destroying Iranian influence from Afghanistan to Lebanon, as well as to hinder Iran’s nuclear program. In this context, the plan addresses known terrorist entities within the sphere of Iran’s influence, such as Hizbullah.
According the Post, during the Lebanon war, senior US officials concluded on the importance of exposing the connection between Iran’s nuclear plan and its extensive assistance in arming, training and funding terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda, Hizbullah and insurgent militias in Iraq.
As part of the new plan, US intelligence has now begun covert operations against Hizbullah. It is also focused on weakening Tehran’s funding chain to Hizbullah and to various Palestinian terror organizations.
The Post also reported that the White House ordered an extension of what is known among the intelligence community as the “Blue Game Matrix”, a list of potential operations to be taken against Hizbullah.
In his State of the Union Address Tuesday, Bush mentioned Hizbullah, referring to it as “second only to al-Qaeda in the amount of American lives it has taken” and condemning its attempts to sow turmoil and undermine the existing Lebanese government.
Geagea to Nasrallah: You Won’t Achieve Anything
| Lebanese Forces Leader Samir Geagea on Friday urged Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to call off the nearly two-month protest, predicting it would fail to achieve its declared objective of toppling Premier Fouad Saniora’s majority government. Addressing Nasrallah during a news conference, Geagea said: “If you proceed with your protest through democratic means it wouldn’t lead you to achieving results because you cannot alter the balance of power.” “If you go beyond democratic means, that would lead you to civil war in which, also, you will not achieve your declared objective,” Geagea added. He said the attempt on Tuesday by the Hizbullah-led opposition to block roads “was the beginning of a coup to be carried out by the opposition throughout Lebanon.” Such an alleged coup, Geagea said, “failed because the Lebanese forces intervened and reopened roads.” He set the basis for a deal between anti and pro government factions, telling Nasrallah: “You want to change the government and we want to change the president” Emile Lahoud. “Let’s sit and talk,” Geagea added. Geagea also lashed out at Gen. Michael Aoun, saying His Free Patriotic Movement was trying to carry out a plot in cooperation with Hizbullah and other factions of the opposition to “topple the regime” in Lebanon. That plot, Geagea stressed, was “foiled by the Lebanese Forces … that is why they called off the move in order to re-plan and repeat what they have started doing, but couldn’t complete.” “If they repeat the attempt we’ll interfere again,” Geagea pledged. “Lebanon was facing a real threat on Tuesday.” At least eight people were reported killed and more than 300 wounded in violence between pro and anti-government factions on Tuesday and Thursday. |
| Beirut, 26 Jan 07 |