Beirut: A Victory For the Dark Side?
Beirut has fallen under the yoke of Nasrallah militiamen. Hezbollah is once again flexing its muscles. What does it mean for Lebanon? What does it mean for the West? Here are two excellent and informative articles on these important new developments.
The first from Aurora at The Midnight Sun:
http://www.themidnightsun.org/?p=2447
BREAKING NEWS: The Dark Side has just burst down the dam.
A free, democratic country is falling under the steely fingers of totalitarian violence. Mayhem reigns.
God help those Lebanese who dream of a free country. I have heard from even a Muslim Lebanese how they hate and fear Hizbullah! And God help, all the more, our vulnerable Christian brothers and sisters in that place.
Beirut has fallen under the yoke of Nassrallah militiamen. A victory some are calling it. Hordes of militiamen running in the streets shooting at civilians and residential areas. TVs, newspapers and magazines are being closed down. Checkpoints are being built. Welcome to the new age, the age of Hezbollah iron grip!
Dream on! Hundreds or even thousands of militiamen cannot occupy a city. Pitiful street thugs will never close down free press and Tvs. Dream on, for today is the start of the end of what was once called a resistance, but now is only a milita, specialized in terror and blackmail, holding a whole city, and economy of the whole country hostages for some political gains.
Dream on! A battle is lost but the war rages on, where it should in our hearts in our minds and in our faith in a free, democratic and secular LEBANON!
Dream on Mr. Nassrallah…
Hat tip: Michael
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And more insightful analysis from Findalis' Monkey in the Middle:
http://findalismonkeyinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2008/05/has-hezbollah-bitten-off-more-than-it.html
Has Hezbollah Bitten Off More Than It Can Chew?
Beirut, was once called the Paris of the Arab World .A city that was cosmopolitan, vibrant and dynamic. A city that was once renowned for its press, theaters and cultural activities. A city that was the intellectual capital of the Arab world and a major commercial and tourist center until 1975 when civil war broke out. This once jewel is now in flames.
The last time Beirut was in flames was during the Second Lebanese War in 2006. Then the IAF flew hundreds of sorties over Beirut, destroying Hezbollah targets, and causing major damage to Beirut's infrastructure.
This time the destruction is being caused by Hezbollah in an attempt to wrest control of the Lebanese government.
Hezbollah first emerged during the Lebanese Civil War in the early 1980s as a militia of Shia followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini, trained, organized and funded by a contingent of Iranian Revolutionary Guard. In its 1985 manifesto Hezbollah listed its three main goals as the eradication of Western colonialism in Lebanon, the bringing to justice of those who committed atrocities during the war (specifically the Phalangists), and the establishment of an Islamic government in Lebanon.Hezbollah has popular support in Shi'a Lebanese society and has mobilized demonstrations of hundreds of thousands. Hezbollah receives its financial support mainly from the donations of Lebanese Shi’ites. "According to frequent accounts in the western press, the group also receives considerable support from Iran and Syria", UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says. Syria openly supports and helps Hezbollah.
It was Hezbollah that was responsible for the 1983 US Embassy Bombing in Beirut. A total of 63 people were killed in the bombing: 32 Lebanese employees, 17 Americans, and 14 visitors and passersby. Of the American dead, eight worked for the Central Intelligence Agency including the CIA's top Middle East analyst and Near East director, Robert Ames, and the entire Middle East contingent of the CIA. An additional 120 or so people were wounded in the bombing.
It was Hezbollah that was responsible for the 1983 Beirut Barracks Bombings. In the attack on the American barracks, the death toll was 241 American servicemen: 220 Marines, 18 Navy personnel and 3 Army soldiers. Sixty Americans were injured. In the attack on the French barracks, 58 paratroopers were killed and 15 injured, in the single worst military loss for France since the end of the Algerian war.
Hezbollah was responsible for the 1992 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Argentina, the 1994 attack on a Jewish Center in Argentina, the hijacking of TWA flight 847 in 1985, numerous kidnappings, torture of prisoners, and attacks on Israel and Israeli civilians.
Hezbollah has not revealed its armed strength. It has been estimated that Hezbollah's military force is made up of about 1,000 full-time Hezbollah members, along with a further 6,000-10,000 volunteers.
Hezbollah organizes extensive social development programs, running hospitals, news services, and educational facilities. Social services have a central role in the party's programs. Most experts believe that Hezbollah's social and health programs are worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Thus they attempt to show to the Muslim population of Lebanon their kinder, gentler side.
Hezbollah was one of the major parties of the March 8 Alliance. This was formed in opposition to the Cedar Revolution that forced the withdrawal of Syria from Lebanon. Hezbollah had joined the new government in 2005. In 2006 it demanded a national unity government in which they demanded early elections and one third of the Cabinet seats; effectively, veto power. When negotiations with the ruling coalition failed, five Cabinet Ministers from Hezbollah and Amal resigned their positions.
Hezbollah operates a satellite television station, al-Manar (The Beacon), a radio station al-Nour (The Light) and its own telephone network.
Now you ask what has caused today's temper tantrum.
A Lebanese government decision to declare Hizbullah's telecommunications network illegal amounts to a "declaration of war," the organization's leader Hassan Nasrallah said Thursday.The US-backed government on Tuesday declared the military telecommunications network illegal and said it was a threat to state security. The government also said it would dismiss the security chief of the country's only international airport because he was suspected of ties to Iranian - and Syrian - Hizbullah.
Nasrallah vowed to fight any attempts to disarm Hizbullah members saying: "Those who try to arrest us, we will arrest them. Those who shoot at us, we will shoot at them. The hand raised against us, we will cut it off."
"The decision is tantamount to a declaration of war ... on the resistance and its weapons in the interest of America and Israel," Nasrallah said.
He offered a way out of latest crisis, saying the "illegitimate" government must revoke its decisions against Hezbollah.
He said the telecommunications network was "the most important part of the weapons of the resistance" and added Hizbullah had a duty to defend those weapons.
"I am not declaring war. I am declaring a decision of self-defense," he said. The government has "crossed all the red lines. We will not be lenient with anyone."
Nasrallah who commands Hezbollah from the safety and security of Damascus, who sends his children to school in England, cries foul when the Lebanese government finally start to crack down on them.
Hezbollah wants one thing. Total control of Lebanon. To create an Islamic Republic of Lebanon. This state would give Hezbollah total control of the Lebanese military. Its tanks, artillery, and planes. It would give Iran a puppet state on Israel's northern border, to match the puppet state now on Israel's southern border in Gaza.
With 2 puppet states so close to Israel, there would be nothing to stop Iran from attacking Israel either directly, through their proxies or both. A nightmare scenario of an nuclear attack from Iran compounded with attacks from both Lebanon and Gaza.
Hezbollah claimed victory after 2006, saying that it defeated Israel and won that war. Israel's response was the Winograd Commission. Its finding shook the IDF to its core and forced the IDF to make drastic changes to its training programs. The IDF of today is not the one that Hezbollah faced in 2006. It has corrected the mistakes it made.
While the upcoming scenario for the next Lebanese/Israeli war is not yet written, this recent outbreak of violence in Lebanon does make it more inevitable if Hezbollah would seize control of the Lebanese government.
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A note from Radarsite: As we all know, we are engaged in a war of ideas. To win this war we need reliable information and good intelligence. We are grateful to authors such as our friends Aurora and Findalis for their diligent research and their pertinent analysis. We are fighting naked evil, and for the sake of everything we hold dear, we must win. - rg
Latest update from Findalis' Monkey in the Middle:
Yesterday fighting broke out in Beirut. Hezbollah started taking over Sunni neighborhoods and closed the airport off. Today Hezbollah controls 1/2 of Beirut. Although they are handing the neighborhoods they control over to the Lebanese Army, make no doubt that they are in charge.
And what is the Lebanese Army doing? Nothing! They stand by and watch their nation becoming an Iranian puppet. Are their officers afraid that if they try to stop Hezbollah when the takeover is complete they will be taken out and shot? Yes. For that is the modus operandi of terror groups when they conquer a nation. So they sit back and watch, praying for a miracle, but doing nothing to stop the violence.
Read the rest here:
http://findalismonkeyinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2008/05/lebanon-is-now-in-hezbollah-hands.html
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As I write this, Hezbollah has control of 14 neighborhoods in Beirut. The Lebanese government will soon collapse and a Islamic regime will take its place. With Hezbollah controlling Lebanon's military, there will be no stopping them from attacking Israel. They can now hit every city in Israel.
ReplyDeleteWhat will keep them from attacking this summer is they are waiting for the results of the US elections.
If McCain wins, they know Israel has a strong friend in the US and the US will help Israel.
If Obama wins, they know the US is weak and won't fight. Israel would be on its own.
It is not if Hezbollah will use the Lebanese Army to attack, but when and it will be a coordinated effort with Hamas with Iran pulling the strings. That is why Iran has been spouting rhetoric all year.
This operation that Hezbollah is doing has been planned well in advance by Iran. Now Israel is waiting for the other shoe to drop and the attack to begin. Let us pray that Olmert and his government is out and Bibi is in.
Let's not fail to look at Lebanon with a long view historically; to ages before the War of the Great Powers, and even before that. It was a stage upon which inter-religious and inter-sectarian communities once acted without compromise of confessional ethics.
ReplyDeleteSince then Christians have been marginalized, Jews abandoned and the more moderate of the Arabs live in absolute fear. As an example, even the Grand Mufti is finally speaking out. http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2008/05/grand_mufti_leb.php
The "Switzerland of the Middle-East (1950's)" has become the "Chicago of Capone".
The very element taking this country over is doing so at the cost of our Marines and civilian personnel; not to mention the amount of money (US Currency - Dollars - $$) raised in the United States.
As Goethe wrote: "Against frustration, even the gods struggle in vain."
(And that part of the Levant has known most of those gods personally.)
Thank you Findalis and Shawmut. We will be following events in Beirut very closely.
ReplyDeleteThe airport plays a big bit here too. It's HBA's direct supply line to Preacher Command in Tehran. So the legit Leb gov makes a move to seize it and cut off HBA's communications.
ReplyDeleteBody Part Collector General Nasrallah was very plain in his 'defiant speech' that HBA needs those weapons, runways and commo lines to survive.
Leb may be taking an Iraqi style 'Basra' blitz and also check out that USS Truman hit the hood to hook up with Nassau Expeditionary Force.
As sworn enemies of Great Satan - the most proficient killers and serial tormentors of Americans til 911 time - holders of a blood debt that has no statue of limitations - few tears would be shed if Hiz'B'Allah was taken out - all the way out.
Great points GSG. And good luck with your exams. Keep us posted.
ReplyDeleterg
The Lebanese government is collapsing, the Lebanese Army is just sitting back watching it all happen. And Hezbollah will control Lebanon by the end of the weekend. G-d help Israel. They will be attacked within the next 12 months.
ReplyDeleteIsrael's only hope is to strike Lebanon hard and fast. Strike with everything she has and not to worry about the UN. For once Obama is elected, he will sell Israel out.
I agree regretfully with findalis; her assessment of the situation is too accurate.
ReplyDeleteThis situation is a historical object lesson for the world: there is no compromise with Isdamn.
With a near 50/50 Christian/Isdamn split, they tried to compromise, institutionalizing a Christian Presidency and Isdamn Prime Minister.
As Christians were slowly driven out family by family by constant harassment, and weakened by corrupt and treacherous leadership, the state of the nation deteriorated so much that it can not be saved.
Isdamn must be eliminated; there is no way to coexist with it. Let the world observe and learn.
Thanks for the update Findalis -- even though it's not very pleasant.
ReplyDeleteAnd right on Ben. Brigitte Gabriel is a perfect example of the plight of the Lebanese Christians, and the comparisons she makes between the Muslim world, from which she came, to Israel, to which she fled, are powerful and unforgettable.
An aside from Radarsite:
Now, I hate to brag - lol, but I think that Radarsite has some of the smartest commenters on the web.
Thanks to all.
rg
Roger, thanks for the link. Findalis, the implications are truly awful for Israel and the prospect of the coming elections adds a dimension that every Israeli must be dreading. Hezbollah is more evil than we can get our heads around here in the west. Having spoken to a Lebanese man who knows them first hand, I got the picture that they're a vicious, territorial Mafioso style gang of thugs and worse. Now they've got their finger on the Lebanese army as Findalis points out and a consolidated base, they're in a position to inflict a huge amount of human misery on that region. I fear for the people there.
ReplyDeleteI have written a follow up to my original post in which I outline a scenario that could happen.
ReplyDeletehttp://findalismonkeyinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2008/05/lebanon-is-now-in-hezbollah-hands.html
With Hezbollah poised to take over Lebanon it is just a matter of time before all Hell blows up.
What we seem to slide by too easily is the fundamental question of Lebanon's statehood (in its own eyes or the world's). It's been an arena for anarchy for too long. If it is a 'state', which usually implies a government, it seems unable, afraid or too compromised, to commit it's own armed forces to properly restore order.
ReplyDeleteRemember Pristina, Kosovo, the control of the airport, a point which Great Satan's Girlfriend points out, (an issue so obvious, I've always held with irony, that it was never suitably controlled -and so obvious for so long). It has never been put under any form of interdiction. And it's not as though it could not be monitored.
Along with buds of spring that I am observing here in Boston, I also see the nearly seasonal stepping up of teasers that develop in the Middle East. (whether it be "Lebanon 06 or Sanai 67').
Reasonable it may seem, as Findalis suggests, is holding off for the US Election results. But there is also the "black swan", that Hezbollah may commit to more extreme action to further indulge the anarchy. The opportunity to play this out is Iran's advantage with Nazrallah leading the charge.
Think about this; 'The pro's' have been bandying the term "asymmetrical warfare" for some time. (Let's think 'asymmetrical strategy' for a moment') So let's line up the reasonably logical in one matrix; consider movements, logistics, (even factor in the UN and EU, and the US Election). In another create the extreme (of course factor in the UN and EU, indifferent to the US Election {after all there's no time to debate an exit strategy}) and remember - there is a 'no-loss ratio' with Hezbollah.
Well, I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Good points as usual Shawmut. There's a lot at play here. Although many will say that this "civil war" in Lebanon doesn't really concern us, we know better.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid that I've become an unapologetic hawk. Now is the time for us to flex some of our own awesome muscle in this area. Now is the time to scare the pants off some of these petty hoods, who are puffed up by the apparent weaknesses of the Liberal democratic governments, both in the EU and here at home.
We owe Hezbollah big time. They are still gloating over our withdrawal from Lebanon after the bombing of the Marine barracks. Now is the time for a real Shock and Awe campaign. We must do what it takes to be perceived once again as the Strong Horse.
Whether it is in Beirut, or Syria, or Iran we simply must act -- and to hell with the UN and "world opinion"; the only opinion that matters now is our enemy's opinion of our strength and our willingness to use it. And right now I'm afraid they regard us with contempt.
Procrastination only increases our ultimate peril.