Hezbollah International

[Casey]

From: The 801

Hamas, Hezbollah agree to uphold resistance against Israel

By The Associated Press

BEIRUT - Hezbollah and Hamas have agreed to uphold the resistance option against Israel despite U.S. pressure on the militant Lebanese and Palestinian groups, a Hezbollah statement said Sunday.

The agreement came in a meeting between Hamas leader Khaled Mashal and Hezbollah leader Sheik Assn Nasrallah at the latter's office in south Beirut.

The talks covered developments in the Arab region, "particularly pressure to which the resistance and steadfastness forces in Syria and Lebanon are subjected through [UN] Resolution 1559 and in Palestine through the continuing (Israeli) aggression on the Palestinian people," the statement said.

"Agreement was reached that the resistance and steadfastness option is the only option in confronting the current pressure," it said.

UN Resolution 1559, passed last September, calls for the dismantling of Hezbollah and armed Palestinian groups and a withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.

Lebanon and Hezbollah have rejected the resolution, saying it contained Israeli demands.

On Saturday, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath announced in Damascus that Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another militant group based in Syria, have committed to a temporary cease-fire with Israel, but only if the Jewish state halts attacks on Palestinian areas and releases Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad, branded terrorist organizations by the United States, are responsible for killing scores of Israelis in suicide bombings.

Israeli officials have accused Hezbollah of funding suicide bombings in Israel.

Describing Hamas' relationship with Hezbollah as "strong," Mashal told reporters after meeting Nasrallah, "We are partners in this march of confronting a common enemy. In the same way south Lebanon was liberated, we have hope that all of Palestine will be liberated."

Hezbollah, a Syrian- and Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim group, led a guerrilla war against Israel's 18-year occupation of a border zone in southern Lebanon that ended in 2000. Israel and the United States consider Hezbollah a terrorist group, but Lebanon regards it as legitimate resistance against Israeli occupation.

Mashal said that the "resistance program" was being fought regionally and internationally, "particularly by the U.S. administration and the Zionist enemy."

801 comment and Analysis:
1) Hezbollah's "boss' Sheik Hassan Nasrallah is closely linked with command and control of mugniyeh in the last 15 years. Nasrallah does not do anything political or militarily, unless Mugniyeh and his iranian handlers, tell him to. Why? Money.

2) Hamas is a thugocracy (kleptocracy?) or criminal organization that was supported or paid by Arafat to wage low intensity war (terrorism) against Israel. Now that they are not being paid by Arafat, they need to work for someone, and Hezbollah now is the paymaster. Previously Iran paid Arafat (who created Mugniyeh) who intern paid Hamas. now they are paid by Iran though Hezbollah. It would be logical to assume that Mugniyeh has some sort of hand in this arraignment.

3) The Iranians reinvigorated Arafat a few years ago by getting Mugniyeh to smuggle arms and money to them, improving armaments, and bringing in outside contractors ( snipers) to harries the Israelis. With Arafats demise it is only logical that Mugniyeh would be called on again to re invigorate the cause.

[Casey]

From: The 801

Quick, check this link out... there is a great inadvertent juxtaposition of Nasrallah and a chimpanzee on the page...


Hizbollah Tells Lebanese to Cool Anti-Syria Line
Sat Feb 19, 2005 07:10 AM ET

http://olympics.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7679626

By Alistair Lyon
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned Saturday that popular agitation against Syria's grip on Lebanon after the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri could plunge the country back into civil war.

Opposition leaders are urging Lebanese to join a peaceful "independence uprising" to free their country from Syria's military and political dominance, intensifying a war of words after Hariri's assassination in a huge bomb blast Monday.

"God forbid, if the roof collapses, it collapses on all of us," Nasrallah told tens of thousands of Shi'ite Muslims gathered for Ashura, the most solemn event in their calendar.

"Today we are responsible for a nation that came out of the civil war ... but we face acute problems, especially this year and in the past few months," the black-turbaned cleric declared. "As Lebanese, we have no choice for remedying our crises and problems except to discuss and meet, even if we are angry and tense," he said. "We must not repeat the mistakes of the past."

Hizbollah, backed by Syria and Iran, is now a formidable Lebanese political party as well as an anti-Israel guerrilla force that still controls much of south Lebanon since helping end a 22-year Israeli occupation in May 2000.

The death of Hariri, a wealthy Sunni Muslim businessman, sparked an outpouring of public grief mixed with anger against Syria, instinctively held responsible by many Lebanese.

The anti-Syrian sentiments now uniting many of Lebanon's Christians, Druze and Sunnis have not been voiced by Shi'ite leaders counted among the most loyal allies of Damascus. Shi'ites form the country's biggest religious community.

Hizbollah, the only militia to retain its guns openly since the civil war ended, could come under intense pressure to disarm, in line with United Nations demands, if Syria left.

Nasrallah called for a speedy investigation into Hariri's killing, but rejected international involvement in Lebanon.

"COOPERATE OR ELSE"

The United States, which this week recalled its ambassador from Damascus in response to the bombing, told Syria Friday to cooperate in the investigation or face further sanctions.

Washington imposed some economic sanctions in May, including a ban on U.S. exports to Syria other than food and medicine.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Syria could avoid further punishment by changing its policies. "We are not trying to isolate Syria, what we are trying to do is to get Syria to engage in more responsible behavior," she said.

The United States has not blamed Syria for Hariri's assassination and Damascus has denied involvement.

Washington has previously told Syria to withdraw its 14,000 troops from its tiny neighbor, crack down on Iraqi insurgents and stop backing Hizbollah and Palestinian militant groups.

The Beirut government has rejected U.S. and French calls for an international inquiry into Hariri's killing, but the United Nations has asked an Irish policeman to lead a U.N. team to report on its "circumstances, causes and consequences."

Deputy police commissioner Peter Fitzgerald is expected to leave for Beirut in the next few days, a U.N. spokesman said.

The Bush administration wants Security Council members to consider measures that could be taken against Hariri's killers but it was unclear how many council members would agree.

In September, France and the United States engineered a council resolution demanding Syrian troops get out of Lebanon. That measure, resolution 1559, squeaked through 9-0, the minimum number of votes required, with six abstentions.

Nasrallah attacked the resolution as an Israeli-inspired measure that would not bring Lebanon sovereignty, freedom and independence, as some Lebanese imagined.

"There is another viewpoint that says this resolution will ruin the country and make it hostage to international powers and enemy powers, specifically Israel," he said. "The demands made in 1559 are entirely Israeli demands."

(Additional reporting by Lin Noueihed)

[Casey]

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Ibrahim Ajwa,48 a Jordanian resident, heads the Abu Mousa Fatah terror network in Amman.

The Abu Mousa faction broke away from the Fatah mainstream organisation
in 1983, its leader, a former Fatah colonel resides in Damascus and maintains close ties with Hezbollah.

The recent arrest of three Nablus-based Fatah activists-all brothers-, led to links of extensive financial assistance rendered to the Palestinian Intifada by the Iranian Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC). Channeling funds through Hezbollah operatives in Jordan, huge sums were transferred to secret Ramallah based bank accounts, some of which were seized by the controversial IDF/ISA operation last February.

On July 2003, Fadi Nazmi Hamdi Abuda, a key Fatah Tanzim operative was arrested in an IDF raid. Fadi served as general secretary of the Fatah student's movement, the "Shabibah" at Al-Najah university Nablus, one of the key centers of Palestinian terrorist activities in the West Bank. Under interrogation, Fadi revealed his contacts with Fouad Balbisi, a Fatah activist operating from Amman, Jordan. Balbisi acts as coordinator of links between Fatah and Iran, funneling funds via Hezbollah bank accounts in Beirut.
Another contact of Fadi was Ali Hussein Saleh, a key operative with the Lebanon based IRGC. Israeli intelligence suspected Saleh to act as liaison between Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorist cells in the West Bank. Last August, Hussein Saleh was killed by a mysterious explosion travelling in his car. The ISA report mentioned Saleh being the Lebanese contact to Kamel Taha Ahmad Ghanem, heading the Fatah Tanzim cell in Yassir Arafat's Muqata compound.

In December 2003 the ISA achieved a major coup, which could have lasting effect on Hezbollah activities in the West Bank. In a night raid on Hamas cells in Ramallah, last December, ISA arrested Haldun Ruhi Asfour Bargouti, of Syrian origin. Haldun told his interrogators that Hezbollah was attempting to infiltrate cell phones with inbuilt advanced GPS to Hamas. This new device, which can be operated from a car cigarette lighter socket, is highly accurate and experts believe that it could be used to range mortars or rockets onto high profile targets.

But Hezbollah activities in establishing its undercover cells in the Palestinian West Bank are not its only effort. For years, especially after Israel's withdrawal from South Lebanon, Hezbollah has been trying to build its independent infrastructure among the Israeli Arab community focusing foremost on the Galilee.

Two Israeli Arabs from Reine, near Nazareth gave evidence of their contacts with Hezbollah agents. Ghassan Athamlah was recruited to Hezbollah by a Jordanian representative of the Abu Mousa faction. Athamlah then sent his younger brother, Sirhan to a Hezbollah training camp in Lebanon, where he was taught the 'art' of sabotage, using high-grade C-4 explosives and weapons training. Sirhan was directed to perpetrate terrorist acts against Israeli targets, but was arrested on his return to Israel.

Hezbollah also recuited several Druse residents from villages in the north of Israel and the Golan Heights. The Alawite border village of Ghajar, which is divided between between Israel and Lebanon has become the key center of trans-border drug and arms smuggling operations.

In July 2002 a gang of drug dealers from Nazareth and Ghajar was arrested. Suspected of illegally selling computer software, maps and military equipment into Lebanon, and in return smuggled explosives, including Claymore mines from Hezbollah depots into the West Bank, they revealed their activities to their interrogators.

Their information led to the arrest of an IDF officer named Omar al-Hayb from the village of Beit-Zarzir, who had maintained long-time relations with Lebanese drug baron Kamil Nahara.

Israeli and Lebanese drug dealers often act as couriers between Hezbollah and their Israel based clandestine cells. One of these links was uncovered recently, when two detainees revealed smuggling Israeli mobile phones into Lebanon, with which Israeli cell-phone networks could be monitored. One of these was found on the body of a slain terrorist killed in an attack on northern Israel.

Last, but not least, Hezbollah has been involved in at least three major arms smuggling attempts by sea. The first of these was carried out on the MS Santorini, which was sized on on its third trip to Gaza on 6 May 2001.
Some interesting information was revealed since by a recent declassified ISA report, on this incident.

One of the Santorini crew, Dib Muhammad Rashid Awita told his interrogators that the original boat was registered in Syria under the name of MS Abd al-Hadi, based at Tartus port. Bought by Hezbollah agents and registered in Lebanon under its new name the Santorini evaded the Israeli navy blockade several times until finally caught on May 6, 2001.

The Santorini's last voyage was carefully prepared under a strict military operation, due to its valuable load. No less than 25 Hezbollah operatives secured the beach head, all nearby access roads were sealed off and the boat sailed escorted by Hezbollah Zodiacs until reaching high sea. In overall charge of the operation was Hezbollah commander Hajj Bassam.

A year later the IDF intercepted the largest yet Iranian-Hezbollah sponsored shipment of arms by seizing the Karine A in the Red Sea.

In May 2003 Israel captured an Egyptian fishing boat off Gaza, the Abu Hassan. On bord was Masalem Mussa Abu Amra a known Hezbollah explosive expert sent to Hamas in Gaza to instruct advanced IED technology. In his possession were found no less than 35 CD disks displaying instructions on explosive charge construction.

Hamas and Hezbollah Alliance in Gaza
Hezbollah's aims to infiltrate Hamas have for years been high on their strategic list. However, as long as Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was alive, its role was limited mainly to provide technical support to the Hamas military activities.

Yassin was not merely the principal founder of Hamas, but its prime spiritual leader, dominating its disciples by his charisma and reputation. Yassin strived to maintain Hamas independence throughout his leadership tenure, even when incarcerated in Israeli jails. He strongly opposed attempts by Iran and Hezbollah to directly intervene into Hamas activities, although he willingly accepted their technical and to some extent, after the closure of Saddam Hussein's lifeline, limited Iranian financial support.

All this changed rapidly after his demise. His immediate successor, Dr Abdelaziz Rantisi, quickly invited Hezbollah to play a guiding role in the Hamas Gaza branch, which was denied to them by Sheikh Yassin. The prospects of a dangerous 'unholy alliance' between Hezbollah and Hamas, was probably the decisive factor behind Israel's decision to eliminate Rantisi only shortly after his taking over the Hamas leadership in April.

But Rantisi's demise did not halt the Hezbollah gaining more and more influence in the Gaza Strip. Its image among the Gaza masses skyrocketed following Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah's monumental achievement to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in the dubious January exchange, something that the PNA had never managed to attain during all its negotiations with Israel.

Hezbollah's absorption of Hamas in Gaza, which is rapidly gaining momentum, will have enormous implications, as Sharon's disengagment plan is shaping into a timetable. While the Israelis are discussing pulling their troops out of the Gaza Strip and struggling with the settlers, whom they will have to evacuate, the Hezbollah is solidifying its hold. Their success in gaining a strong foothold before the Israelis leave, will render them to become the de facto power in Gaza, regardless of wether Hamas or the PNA will be in nominal control.

Having the experience from 18 years guerilla war against the IDF, the financial backing from Tehran and its ever growing links to Islamic fundamentalist terrorism, it hardly needs lots of imagination to estimate the new threat, which Israel will face, once Hezbollah deploys its rockets along the 80km border fence in Gaza.

Sofar, Hamas has been unable to extend the range of their Qassam rockets to reach Ashkelon, although a year ago first attempts to launch a 9km rocket did reach its southern outskirts. Hamas rocket experts, aided by Hezbollah instructors have managed to develop a +17km (?) Qassam- 3 rocket, which was test fired last August into the Mediterranean. This rocket could hit Ashkelon's center, in which over a hundred thousand Israelis live.

On June 18 Israel radio reported an advanced type of Qassam rocket hitting Sderot east of the Gaza Strip. Police officials mentioned this to be the first Nasser-3 rocket, carrying a heavier explosive payload, but maintaining its predecessors's limited range. The Nasser-3 could indicate that more developments in rocketry could be expected, as new technologies supplied by Hezbollah experts become available.

But a major threat of strategic proportions will become reality, once Hezbollah manages to enter its Katyusha type rockets into the Strip.
Israeli intelligence has already detected hidden depots of BM-21 rockets in northern Sinai, ready to be smuggled into the Gaza Strip. With their deployment, vital strategic targets, such as the power station at Ashkelon as well as Israel's major port of Ashdod will come within rocket fire range.
Should this trend not be eliminated in time, Israel will face a situation, which could threaten their north from Hezbollah in Lebanon, their center from Hezbolla-Fatah cells in the West Bank and Hezbollah-Hamas from the Gaza Strip.

No nation wishing to survive can tolerate such a mortal threat, without reacting drastically.

[Casey]

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Although a little known terrorist group calling itself "Jund Ash Sham" claimed responsibility for the killing, Hezbollah immediately accused Mossad.
__________________________________________________ ___________________

Jund As Sham is a Sunni splinter group of Osbat al-Nour, which is considered more radical than Hamas and PIJ. Active from the Palestinian refugee camp Ayn al Hilwah on the Lebanese coast, under the 'wings' of Colonel Mounir Maqdah, the camp's strongman. Some of its members include remnants of the disbanded Takfir wal Hijra group, which were involved in the 2000 clashes with Lebanese security forces at Dinnieh, north of Tripoli. Unconfirmed reports indicate relations with an Iraqi active terrorist cell named Jund ash-Islam, which is linked to Osama Bin Laden's AlQaeda.__________________________________________ ___________________________
After the death of Awali who had been a Hezbollah activist directing Palestinian terrorist squads in the PA-administered territories, an enraged Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah publicly announced, for the first time, that his organization was providing support for the insurgents in "occupied Palestine."
In the eulogy he delivered at Awali's funeral, Nasrallah said: "Today we declare Ghaleb Awali a shaheed [martyr for the sake of Allah] of Lebanon. He is also a shaheed of Palestine. That is because Ghaleb Awali was, like Ali Hussein Salah (killed by a similar blast in August 2003) , one of those who devoted the last years of their lives to helping our brothers in occupied Palestine. We do not wish to hide the truth. We state it openly and proudly. Today Ghaleb Awali died for Palestine. He died for Jerusalem. He died for Al-Aqsa. He died confronting the Zionist enterprise…" (Al-Manar Hezbollah TV, Lebanon, July 19, 2004).

Nasrallah's speech drew harsh criticism from within Lebanon . An editorial in the popular Lebanese newspaper Al-Nahar ( Al-Nahar Internet site, July 21, 2004) attacked the speech and the negative influence Hezbollah's aid to Palestinian terrorism was likely to have on Syria and Lebanon. Al-Nahar commentator Sarkis Naoum wrote,

"Worse than what Nasrallah said about [Ghaleb] Awali's death was that he revealed his role in the organization and exposed his part in coordinating between the Islamic resistance in Lebanon and the Palestinian resistance in occupied Palestine. The gravity of the revelation, which was like a kind of admission, is that it confirmed the long-standing Israeli and American accusations that the organization [Hezbollah] 'is involved' in the Palestinian issue and in the Palestinian resistance, arms it, trains it, funds it, and recruits members…"

Hezbollah's Infiltration into the Westbank and Gaza Strip
Although Hezbollah efforts to infiltrate Israel are not new, the current trend of its growing involvement in actively supporting the Intifada is causing the Israeli security community considerable concern.

In a recently declassified document, the Israel Security Agency ( ISA-formerly GSS), renders a rare glimpse into the makings of Hezbollah's activities in the West Bank and Gaza.

In a large scale seek and grab operation in the Nablus Qasbah, Saturday June 24, the IDF oncovered a secret hide-out in a concrete underground bunker. In it were hiding the three top leaders of the local Al Aqsa Brigades, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. All were killed after a short firefight by handgrenades lobbed into the cache.Naef Abu Sharh, the head of the Al Aqsa brigade in Nablus and a key link to Hezbollah in the West Bank, was the prime target of the raid. According to ISA reports, Abu Sharh maintained close relations with Nafez A'araj, a former Palestinian Islamic Jihad activists and currently Hezbollah link in Gaza, who manages the Hezbollah sponsored Al Ansar Charity Association which is funding families of suicide bombers and Palestinian prisoners. Al Ansar personal accounts found in Nablus banks were under the name of Yamam Faraj, a senior fugitive, head of the PFLP military infrastructure in Nablus, as well as Naef Abu Sharh were recently uncovered in a raid.

On 15 December 2003, the ISA had uncovered a dangerous terrorist cell in the Gaza Strip which was directly operated by Hezbollah agents. The leader of this cell, Shadi Abu Alhatzin, a 22-year old Khan Yunis resident, was arrested while preparing a remote controlled unmanned aerial platform packed with explosives to attack an Israeli position. His personal details are of interest, as they indicate a dangerous trend which is developing in the territories.

Alhatzin, married and father of two children was born in Yemen in 1981 to a Palestinian father and lebanese mother. He came with his family to Gaza in 1991 settling in Khan Yunis studying pharmacology at the Khan Yunis technical college. Joining the Fatah-affiliated " Shabiba" youth movement, he received his first military training, in Hamas summer camps.

Under ISA interrogation Alhatzin admitted that he first became exposed to Hezbollah activities by watching Al Manar TV broadcasts, which listed an e-mail address for interested candidates whishing to join the organisation.
In 2000 Shadi made contact with Hezbollah via a Lebanese relative, Hassan Dukmak, who willingly sent him funds to finance his activities in Gaza.
A local Hezbollah agent then took over jointly establishing the Khan Yunis cell, which perpetrated several rocket, mortar and shooting attacks in the Gaza Strip against Israeli settlements and IDF positions. Alhatzin's links with his Hezbollah contacts in Lebanon were carried out via e-mail, which instructed him to expand the Khan Yunis cell, enhancing its capabilities.
In 2002 Shadi received instructions to build an explosive-laden model airplane in order to fly this into an Israeli position ( see JTIC 24 February 2003 Exploding Toy Planes). Several thousand dollars were transferred to secret accounts in Gaza banks to purchase machine tools and cover production costs.

During that time, Alhatzin tried twice to dispatch personal emissaries to Lebanon for special sabotage training. Bassam Abu Nimr, 38 from Khan Yunis and Ismail Garabeli, 30 from Rafah-were arrested by the ISA on their return from Egypt.

Garabeli admitted to his interrogators, that he met with a Hezbollah agent in Cairo, who gave him $700 and a flight ticket to Turkey, where he would be ferried to a Hezbollah training camp in the Lebanese Beqa'a Valley.
For several years Hezbollah has been instructing Palestinian activists in its IRGC- run training camps. Hamas recruits underwent basic military and sabotage courses at the Iranian Revolutionary Guards training facility at Jenata Camp in the Beqa'a, coordinated by Brigadier General Ali Reza Tamizi, who was the officer in charge of the IRGC in Lebanon. Included in the instruction program was the operation of SA-7 Strela, short range Katyusha rockets and shoulder launched RPG. A key figure in this Iranian sponsored activity, was the charismatic Fatah commander in Lebanon, Colonel Munir Al-Makdah, the actual go-between Hamas and Hezbollah.

The lethal results of this advanced training had already surfaced in 2002, when Hamas managed to blow up two IDF Merkava Mk3 tanks by ultra-heavy IEDs culminating last May, by the fearful destruction of the two IDF explosive laden M113 APCs through RPG in Zaytoun and Rafah.

The February 2004 bulletin issued by the Center for Special Studies (CSS), which is the official organ of the Israeli intelligence community, reveals the growing level of Hezbollah's involvement in a special study.
According to CSS, Jordan has become a significant platform for launching Hezbollah intelligence activities in the West Bank.

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[Casey]

http://www.defense-update.com/2005_01_16_defense-update_archive.html
Monday, January 17, 2005
Hamas-Hezbollah: An Unholy Alliance

One of the most dangerous developments is currently emerging, following Israel's elimination of the Gaza Hamas leadership, earlier this year.
Having created a power vaccum in the traditional Islamic fundamentalist organisations, it paved the way for the Iranian sponsored Hezbollah to enter the Palestinian Intifada as an active player.

This trend, which has been monitored by Israeli intelligence since 2001, has grown into dangerous proportions after the removal of Saddam Hussein, who had maintained, for many years, the dominant funding source fueling the Palestinian campaign.

Now, with Saddam's regime gone, the Tehran Ayathollahs have moved into this void, becoming the major source, through their Lebanese Hezbollah proxies, providing financial, technical and moral support for the Palestinian factions fighting Israel.

Behind this move, the Ayathollas aim to achieve, their sofar unattained strategic goal, to gain a strong foothold in the Eastern Mediterranean, propagating their political influence in this region. The so-called "Hezbollahland" in South Lebanon, which is under full Shi'ite control since May 2000, when the IDF withdrew from its 'Security Zone', is already a firmly established Iranian outpost, with Hezbollah threatening Israel's northern region through its huge arsenal of short, medium and long range rockets, supplied by Iran.

Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan for the Gaza Strip is actually providing Tehran's leadership with the second stage of their strategic plan, to confront Israel in a two-, if not three-frontal strategic threat, a perfect scene for a shrewd political blackmailing campaign, which could place the Ayathollahs as dominant actors in the future Mid-East powerplay.
Hamas fits neatly into the Iranian plans, playing a dominant role in Middle Eastern politics. By filling the power vacuum created in Hamas by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin's assassination, Hezbollah was given the unique opportunity to consolidate its position in the Gaza Strip.

A repeat performance of the UN sponsored 'Blue Line' fiasco along the Lebanese-Israeli international border could easily follow under the chaotic turmoil, which will certainly emerge after the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
The Lebanese authorities, unable, or refusing to take control of South Lebanon in May 2000, created Hezbollaland shaping soon, with Iranian help and Syrian acquiesce, into a dangerous strategic threat to Israel.
In the Gaza strip there is not even a central authority available. The 'streets' are controlled by armed militias, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the the Popular Resistance Committees, all currently funded by Hezbollah. The Palestinian National Authority (PNA), although still maintaining a strong security apparatus,

is actually a 'Paper Tiger', unable, or unwilling to exercise its power against the powerful local Islamic fundamentalist warlords.

The coffers of the Palestinian Authority are virtually empty. The corrupt Fatah-Tunis leadership has wasted most of the huge financial assistance to fill its own pockets.

Thus, with the PNA virtually bankrupt, Iran, Syria using their proxy Hezbollah, are now more and more dominating the local scene in all aspects of life in the occupied territories. The once central leadership in Ramallah, has lost its control to local warlords and in the West Bank cities, total chaos rules the streets.

Such a situation can only forebode more dangerous escalation in the endless circle of violence, enhancing the suffering of the two people involved, but would ideally serve the vicious goals in Tehran.

Hezbollah publicly admits supporting Palestinian terrorists
Until recently, Hezbollah was careful to play down the aid it gave Palestinian terrorists and certainly never boasted of it in public.

Then, on the morning of July 19, a bomb killed Ghaleb Awali, 40, outside his home in the Muadad quarter, right in the so-called Shi'ite inner sanctum stronghold of Beirut. According to intelligence sources, Ghaleb Awali ( his nome de guerre "Hajj") headed the highly secret Hezbollah "Special group" working under guidance of the notorious Imad Mughniyeh. Awali was in direct contact with senior Fatah-Tanzim officials in the West Bank and Hamas leaders in the Gaza strip.

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[Petronas]

Leader of Hizbullah, Hassan Nasrullah, Tells Lebanese to Cool Anti-Syria Line
Sat Feb 19, 2005 02:50 PM ET

Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrullah warned Saturday that popular agitation against the Syrian presence in Lebanon after the killing of former Prime Minister Rafia al-Hariri could plunge the country back into civil war. Opposition leaders are urging Lebanese to join a peaceful "independence uprising" to free their country from Syria's military and political dominance, intensifying a war of words after Hariri's assassination in a huge bomb blast Monday.

"God forbid, if the roof collapses, it collapses on all of us," Nasrullah told at least 100,000 Shi'i Muslims gathered for Ashoura, the most solemn event in their calendar. "Today we are responsible for a nation that came out of the civil war ... but we face acute problems, especially this year and in the past few months," the black-turbaned cleric said. "As Lebanese, we have no choice for remedying our crises and problems except to discuss and meet, even if we are angry and tense," he said. "We must not repeat the mistakes of the past."

Hizbullah, backed by Syria and Iran, is now a formidable Lebanese political party as well as an anti-Israel guerrilla force that still controls much of south Lebanon since it put an end to a 22-year of Israeli occupation when it forced Israeli forces to withdraw from South Lebanon, in May 2000.

The death of Hariri, a wealthy Sunni Muslim businessman, sparked an outpouring of public grief mixed with anger against Syria, instinctively held responsible by many Lebanese. The anti-Syrian sentiments now uniting many of Lebanon's Christians, Druze and Sunnis have not been voiced by Shi'i leaders counted among the most loyal allies of Damascus. Shi'is form the country's biggest religious community.

Damascus, which denies involvement in Hariri's killing, echoed Nasrullah's warning. Its allies have often justified Syria's troop presence as a barrier against renewed civil war. "We agree on how critical the situation is in Lebanon and that it must not be used to stir civil strife," Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara said in Damascus. Hizbullah, the only militia to retain its guns openly since the civil war ended, could come under intense pressure to disarm, in line with Israeli-prompted US and UN demands, if Syria left. Nasrullah, who visited Hariri's family Friday night to give condolences, called for a speedy investigation into his killing but rejected international involvement in Lebanon. ...

http://www.aljazeerah.info/News%20archives/2005%20News%20archives/February/19%20n/Leader%20of%20Hizbullah,%20Hassan%20Nasrullah,%20T ells%20Lebanese%20to%20Cool%20Anti-Syria%20Line.htm

[The 801]

Lebanon is convulsing politically. I think we are about to see political inertia at an attempt at a democratic revolution. Truly the greatness of Hariri and his message and spirit has lead to this. Pretty impressive stuff to see happen anymore. But this is weird. Or the Turkish press is making stuff up.

Lebanese opposition urges Hezbollah to join up
AFP: 2/22/2005
BEIRUT, Feb 22 (AFP) - A leading member of Lebanon's opposition called on Tuesday on Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Shiite fundamentalist group Hezbollah to join forces.

"Nasrallah, a great Lebanese who freed Lebanese territory from Israeli occupation, should join the caravan of those who want liberty and independence," Druze leader and MP Walid Jumblatt told journalists.

Nasrallah had called on the opposition Saturday to engage in dialogue to resolve the political crisis following the February 14 assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri.

The opposition has stepped up its campaign to oust Syrian forces from Lebanon, blaming Damascus and the pro-Syrian government in Beirut of having a hand in the murder of Hariri

"Lebanon is no longer sovereign because all of its institutions are appendixes of the intelligence services in Anjar," he said, in reference to the headquarters in eastern Lebanon of Syria's military intelligence.

Hezbollah, a political and military movement, is backed by both Syria and Iran. Its militia spearheaded the guerilla campaign that led to Israel withdrawing its forces from southern Lebanon in 2000 after two decades of occupation.


02/22/2005 14:44 GMT - AFP
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?ID=37628

[The 801]

hezbollah is in a bad position over what is happening. They can't take a position with out getting between there sponcers syria and iran, and their outreach to the public. The chickens have come to roost...

Hizbullah won't take sides in rift
Qassem says issue of disarming resistance not up for discussion


BEIRUT: Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem said on Wednesday his party would not take sides between the opposition and the loyalists, denying that the Ain al-Tineh pro-Syrian gathering replaces the anti-government Bristol gathering.

Speaking on the Arabic News Broadcast (ANB) to a group of students representing different political affiliations from the loyalists and the opposition, Qassem added that the issue of disarming the resistance group was not a subject of discussion between any groups because the arms are not confronting any other Lebanese armed force.

"Why does Hizbullah reject the opposition's call to join the 'forces of change and democracy?' The answer is that we do not believe in such definition to describe the rift between the different Lebanese parties; in this respect, we are not talking about volume and strength," Qassem said.

"If we join one side it means we cancel out the other side; both represent factions of the Lebanese people from all sects and religions," he added.

Qassem said that Hizbullah did not extend President Emile Lahoud's mandate in defiance of UN Security Council Resolution 1559.

"The resolution was prepared earlier in June by France and stipulated only the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon. When they needed the U.S. to pass the resolution, they added the issue of disarming the resistance," Qassem added.

Asked if Hizbullah would submit to the will of a new majority choosing to disarm all militias including his party, Qassem said that the question was wrong.


"The question should never be whether to disarm Hizbullah or not but rather which political stance should the Lebanese people and their political parties take to safeguard the country against any Israeli threats or invasion," he added.

"It is a political question whereby each party expresses its views. Some would advocate a diplomatic approach, others would suggest a military deterrence," Qassem said. "We believe the threat is imminent and we must keep our arms to defend ourselves."

As to Monday's vote of confidence session in Parliament, Qassem would not reveal Hizbullah stance. "We should keep our cards covered; why expose one stance or the other before the vote of confidence is laid out on the table," he said.

In all cases, according to him, Hizbullah would not vote out the government on the grounds of holding it responsible for assassinating former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

"We consider the government responsible for a thorough and effective investigation into the murder. If they fail to do so, then we hold them responsible for this failure," he said.

"So far we believe the government is doing what is within its capacity and capabilities, hoping to use the expertise and cooperation from other countries and international agencies," he said.

http://www.lebanonwire.com/0502/05022404DS.asp

[The 801]

Ugg, A world net Daily report....

Sources: Hezbollah paid
up to $100,000 for attack
Palestinians finger Lebanese terror group in Tel Aviv bombing

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: February 26, 2005
11:49 a.m. Eastern


By Aaron Klein
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

TEL AVIV – The suicide bombing here last night that killed four Israelis and wounded over 50 was funded and directed by Hezbollah forces, which may have paid up to $100,000 for the attack, security sources told WorldNetDaily.

A suicide bomber detonated a powerful explosive, reportedly about 66 pounds, around 11:30 p.m. last night among patrons waiting outside the seaside nightclub Stage in the packed Herbert Samuel promenade popular with young Israelis.

The three main terror groups – Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades – denied involvement, and none hung the customary posters of congratulations at the bomber's home. An Islamic Jihad cell had earlier taken credit for the blast, but the faction's leadership in the Gaza Strip denied any knowledge, considered an unusual response if indeed the group was responsible.

The bomber was identified as Abdullah Badran, 21, a university student from the village of Deir al-Ghusun near the West Bank town of Tulkarem. Earlier today, Israeli forces arrested two of Badran's brothers and four neighbors, including a local mosque preacher. It was not immediately clear whether all were suspects, or if the brothers were taken to provide DNA samples for identification of the bomber.

Israeli security sources, working in part with Palestinian preventative security, say a group of terrorists, mostly from Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and some from Islamic Jihad, working for Hezbollah, was responsible for the blast. They say Hezbollah has created a terror apparatus of Palestinian militants in the West Bank receiving full-time salaries from the Lebanese group.

Palestinian security the past few weeks has intercepted a series of communications, including phone calls and e-mails, between Hezbollah and West Bank terrorists indicating Hezbollah had been trying to recruit suicide bombers to carry out attacks that would sabotage a truce reached by Israel and the Palestinian Authority earlier this month, sources say.

One official said intercepted bank transactions suggested Hezbollah had raised its cash offers to Palestinian terrorists and is now willing to pay $100,000 for a suicide bombing operation. In the past, information indicated Hezbollah would pay $20,000 for such attacks.

Sources say Hezbollah maintains hundreds of West Bank gunmen on its payroll. One militant who said he was retired recently claimed to reporters a Hezbollah recruiter had called him several weeks ago and offered a generous payment for returning to violence. He said a squad of five or six men from Palestinian terror groups typically receives $5,000 to $8,000 a month for expenses, including bullets, weapons, cell phone calling cards and spending money.

Hezbollah declined to comment on the allegations. "As far as we are concerned, there is no need to respond to such lies," a Hezbollah official said in Beirut.

The bombing last night did not surprise Israeli officials. There had been a series of failed attempts all week. Israeli forces Monday foiled a terror attack, capturing terror cell members on their way to carry out a bombing. On Wednesday, Jerusalem police arrested two Palestinian terrorists and an accomplice after chasing them down a major highway that wraps around Jerusalem. And early Thursday, a would-be suicide killer armed with a bomb belt, rifle and grenades was captured outside Jerusalem after a night-long hunt.

"I knew this was coming," an Israeli police officer in Tel Aviv told WND early this morning. "We've been on high alert all week. I was just counting the days until an attack would get through."

Israel and the United States demanded Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas act quickly and forcefully – despite his reluctance thus far to take military action against terrorist groups – if he wants to rescue the truce declared with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Egypt Feb. 8.

Abbas reportedly met with cabinet ministers and security chiefs today to discuss a possible response. He condemned the attack as "sabotage" and said he was exchanging information with Israel, the United States and Europe.

But Gideon Meir of Israel's Foreign Ministry said, "Words are not enough. We must see action. We must see arrests, collecting illegal weapons from those terrorist organizations ... The only language they understand is force."

Sharon met with cabinet members last night to discuss an initial response. An aide to Sharon told WND Israel has no plans at this time for any large incursions into the West Bank. He said Israel will restrict travel around the territories and said plans to turn certain sections of the West Bank over to Palestinian Authority control next month have been called off.

Last night's bombing was the first suicide attack since the death of PLO leader Yasser Arafat on Nov. 11. It was similar to a June 1, 2001, attack that killed 21 and wounded more than 120 outside the Dolphinarium nightclub, a few blocks away from yesterday's bombing. The last suicide bombing in Israel killed three people in a Tel Aviv market on Nov. 1.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aaron Klein is WorldNetDaily's Jerusalem bureau chief, whose past interview subjects have included Yasser Arafat, Ehud Barak, Shlomo Ben Ami and leaders of the Taliban.

http://www.lebanonwire.com/0502/05022801WND.asp

[The 801]

Syria's bloody plans
for Lebanon 'retreat'
Damascus political shakeup signals
Hezbollah terror to be turned loose

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: February 28, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern

Editor's note: Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin is an online, subscription intelligence news service from the creator of WorldNetDaily.com – a journalist who has been developing sources around the world for almost 30 years.

By Yoram East



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

While Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is telling the world his military forces will leave Lebanon, a political shakeup in Damascus signals his army won't be leaving without a fight, Middle East intelligence sources tell Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

With increasing international diplomatic pressure to withdraw troops, as well as a mounting popular uprising in Lebanon, Assad has appointed a family member to the No. 1 intelligence post and given him sweeping new powers meant to maintain the Assad dynasty at any cost.


It was the threat of a Lebanon crisis, sparked by the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, that prompted Assad's sister, Bushara Chawkat to approach her brother with a plan of ascension for her husband. She requested him to grant more authority to her husband, Assaf Chawkat, so that they would be able to avoid an end to their family dynasty begun with the rise to power of their father, Hafez al-Assad, in 1969.

Like others close to the president, Bushara Chawkat, a powerful background player in Syrian politics, is worried that a retreat from Lebanon will signal the end of the Assad regime.

They are feeling the pressure of eroding U.S.-Syria relations over the death of Hariri, for which Damascus is widely believed responsible, as well as allegations Syria is holding sensitive Iraqi weapon systems sent there by Saddam Hussein prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In addition, Syria is believed to be supporting terrorists in Iraq.

The 54-year-old Gen. Assaf Chawkat has long been responsible for maintaining close ties with Hezbollah, monitoring and controlling its activities and connections with Iran. He has also entrusted with the highly secretive Assad financial issues. According to various intelligence agencies, G2 Bulletin reports, the family has accumulated over the years close to $4 billion stashed in a web of bank accounts in almost every continent.

Chawkat immediately took steps to assure Iran regarding the future of Hezbollah should Syria be forced to move out of Lebanon. General Chawkat is a firm believer in the use of force and in using the Hezbollah as a tool to settle certain Syrian political or military scores. He also gave the Iranians verbal assurances Damascus would not restrain Hezbollah should the U.S. or Israel attack Iran’s nuclear assets.

This calculated variant to use Hezbollah in a direct anti-U.S. campaign fully correlates with tactical theories developed by Chawkat. He plans, according to G2 Bulletin sources, to permit Hezbollah to confront the U.S. and Israel as an Iranian sub-contracted military tool – giving Syria plausible deniability for such attacks. Against the backdrop of growing tension in Beirut, Chawkat is leading the so-called “Lebanon lobby,” a group of active or retired Syrian intelligence generals and Baath Party extremists who are contemplating using Hezbollah to stir up a new Lebanese civil war.

Long-time observers of the Lebanese political scene point out that Syria entered Lebanon 29 years ago under the pretext of a civil war.

In his new position, the president’s brother-in-law is now also in charge of the Iraq desk, which includes control over Syria’s share in the Iraqi guerrilla and terror scene. Therefore, Syria’s alliance with Iran places Chawkat in an important position to influence the Shiite-Iraqi scene through Tehran. An early intelligence report on Chawkat’s Iraq tactics suggests he instigated the allocation of a special multimillion dollar budget to finance anti-coalition terrorist activity in Iraq. He is also willing and able to take the campaign outside of the Middle East – through the sponsorship of foreign terrorist attacks.

Chawkat, according to international intelligence sources who have watched him for years, believes in the use of brute force and terror as political tools. To facilitate his policies, he has already transferred some of the staff in Syrian embassies, consulates and legations. Intelligence officers officially described as drivers or low-level consular clerks were ordered back home for "vacations," actually direct briefings or, in some cases, replacement by Chawkat loyalists.

Other signs include a stream of Hezbollah officials summoned to Damascus individually or in small groups. Israeli intelligence agents working on the Lebanon desk are convinced Hezbollah was told by Chawkat to prepare for operations. According to G2 Bulletin sources, Chawkat did not shy away from hinting their future would depend on compliance with Syrian demands.

As Chawkat continues to establish his new power base as sole controller of intelligence and security, Egypt and other Arab countries have begun to whisper their concerns. Alarmed by rapid developments in Syria and with the prospect of a deteriorating situation in Lebanon, President Hosni Mubarak is worried over the possibility Syria will get in the way of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. He sent to Damascus his own intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, who met Chawkat privately, apparently to warn him of any hasty moves that might disrupt the peace process.

At this stage General Chawkat is emerging together, along with his wife, as the strongest link in the iron Syrian dictatorship fist, reports G2 Bulletin.

For years, Chawkat has been regarded as both door keeper and security officer of the ruling family. He is described by those who know him well as highly intelligent, cunning and ruthless to the point of utter cruelty. In the past, Chawkat survived attempts on his life and at least twice survived what were ironically described as "traffic incidents."

Chawkat is not exactly a professional soldier. He was elevated to the rank of general by his late father-in-law, who saw in him a talent to be developed and gave him the assignment of creating an inner intelligence and security apparatus in charge of Assad’s court and entourage.

The Assad family fortune, overseen by Chawkat, was built through ad hoc deals such as warehousing of sensitive Iraqi equipment, brokering delicate scientific and material purchases for Iran, receiving commissions from governments such as North Korea for arranging weapon deals with a number of Arab countries and lucrative ties with financial sources in the international illicit drug market.

A senior Israeli intelligence official described General Chawkat as “the one Syrian interested more than any other in defending the Assad family.” Another expert, also following General Chawkat’s career, remarked: “In today’s situation Bushara and Assaf as a political team are the only immediately available options to replace President Bashar Assad.”

Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin is a premium, online intelligence newsletter published by the founder of WorldNetDaily.com.


http://www.lebanonwire.com/0502/05022801WND.asp

[Casey]

Hezbollah International Archive
http://www.afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?t=6266

[The 801]

Mullahs of Iran Terrorist Activities Enter New Phase
Feb 26, 2005, 16:04


Iran responsible for Tel Aviv attack


Palestinian security forces on Saturday arrested two suspected militants in connection with a suicide bombing that killed four Israelis at a Tel Aviv nightclub, acting on orders from Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to track down and punish those responsible.

Palestinian sources say an operative from the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, which they say has been trying to disrupt an informal Mideast truce, financed the Tel Aviv attack and recruited the suicide bomber, reports CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger.

Abbas hinted at Hezbollah involvement, holding a "third party" responsible for the bombing.

Hezbollah, which is funded by Iran's mullahs, has hundreds of West Bank gunmen from various Palestinian militant groups on its payroll.


© Iranian.ws

http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_5879.shtml

[The 801]

Man pleads guilty in US court to supporting Hezbollah

WASHINGTON, March 1 (AFP) - A 33-year-old man, Mahmoud Youssef Kourani, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to provide support to Hezbollah, which is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by Washington, the Justice Department said.

The department said in a statement that Kourani entered the plea in a federal court in Detroit, Michigan, before District Judge Robert Cleland.

Government prosecutors said Kourani organized and hosted meetings at his Dearborn, Michigan, residence during Ramadan of 2002.

During the meetings, a guest speaker from Lebanon solicited the participants to make donations to Hezbollah, according to the government.

"The money solicited by Kourani's conspiracy was intended to support Hezbollah's 'orphans of martyrs' program to benefit the families of those killed in Hezbollah terrorist operations or by Hezbollah's enemies," the department said in a statement.

"Combating terrorism is the number one priority of the Department of Justice, and this prosecution underscores our commitment to disrupt the funding of terrorist organizations," said United States Attorney Craig Morford.

Kourani is due to be sentenced on June 14. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in jail and a 250,000-dollar fine, to be followed by deportation to Lebanon.

The Lebanese Shiite movement categorically denied Saturday that it had anything do do with an overnight suicide bombing in Tel Aviv that killed four Israelis and wounded 53 people. The bombing has cast a cloud over the Middle East peace process.

http://www.lebanonwire.com/0503/05030201AFP.asp

[The 801]

Hezbollah United States

Testimony of Robert S. Mueller, III Director Federal Bureau of Investigation Before the Senate Committee on Intelligence of the United States Senate


"Lebanese Hizballah retains the capability to strike in the U.S., although we have no credible information to indicate that US-based Hizballah members have plans to attack American interests within the U.S. or abroad. In 2004, we had some success in uncovering individuals providing material support to Hizballah.

In Detroit, Mahmoud Youssef Kourani was indicted in the Eastern District of Michigan on one count of Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to Hizballah. Kourani was already in custody for entering the country illegally through Mexico and was involved in fundraising activities on behalf of Hizballah.

Also in Detroit, Fawzi Assi was arrested in May of 2004 and was charged under the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act for providing material support to Hizballah. Assi was initially arrested in 1998 after an outbound US Customs search at the Detroit Metro Airport discovered night vision goggles, one thermal imaging scope and two Boeing Global Positioning System devices. Assi later fled the country after being released by the court on bail but was later turned over to us in Lebanon to face US criminal charges."

http://nyjtimes.com/cover/02-21-05/CIA-FBICategorizeTerrorThreats.htm

[Petronas]

Hezbollah: We'll be 'destroyed' if added to terror list
Posted: March 3, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern

If the European Union follows Israeli recommendations this week and places Hezbollah on a list of official terror organizations, the economic consequences of sanctions would "destroy" the Lebanese terror group, Hezbollah's leader told Arabic language television. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom Monday called on the European Union to add Hezbollah to its list of terrorist groups – a step Europe so far has been reluctant to take. The request follows a suicide bombing Friday in Tel Aviv that Israel says was directed by Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad with funding and assistance from Syria. Shalom said he reiterated the long-standing Israeli request regarding Hezbollah during a meeting this week with his Belgian counterpart, Karel De Gucht, and will express the Jewish state's concerns to other EU members. Shalom told reporters Hezbollah operates dozens of terror cells, directs a group of Palestinian terrorists and offers millions of dollars in assistance to West Bank militants. "We see they make every effort to sabotage progress in the peace process," Shalom said. The United States also has attempted to persuade the EU to list Hezbollah as a terrorist group.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said European blacklisting would "destroy" his group. Designating Hezbollah a terror group in Europe will mean "the sources of [our] funding will dry up and the sources of moral, political and material support will be destroyed," Nasrallah told Al Manar, Hezbollah's satellite television station. "The political option [used by the Israelis], which is more important and dangerous, is manifested by the Israeli-Zionist unceasing efforts to lay siege to [Hezbollah] in Lebanon and in the future in Palestine and globally, internationally, regionally and even locally in Lebanon. That is the most dangerous challenge we have had to face during the past few years, and we stand firm today and will stand firm in the future," said Nasrallah.

France has already responded to Israel's Hezbollah request, with French President Jacques Chirac claiming the timing was not right for such a move. Israeli officials told reporters the French are aware of the information linking Hezbollah to terrorism, but they are now allegedly focusing their efforts on the civil uprising in Lebanon and say they don't want to risk harming relations with the group. France's objections are considered the main obstacle to the EU approving the move to add Hezbollah to the terror list.

Israel this week also launched a major diplomatic offensive lobbying for increased international isolation of Syria. Military intelligence chiefs in Jerusalem met several foreign ambassadors, mostly from European countries, to present information linking Syria to the Tel Aviv bombing. Presentations are also scheduled for Washington, London and Paris. "What we are doing is trying in every capital of the world ... to show them the direct links from Syria to Islamic Jihad, which has a direct connection to what we saw on Friday evening in Tel Aviv," said Ron Prosor, a spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43129

[Petronas]

U.N. must accept Hezbollah, Annan says
Tuesday, March 8, 2005 · Last updated 7:40 p.m. PT

UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations must recognize Hezbollah as a force to be reckoned with in implementing the U.N. resolution calling for the withdrawal of all Syrian forces from Lebanon and the disarmament of the country's militias, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday. He was responding to a question about the disarmament of Hezbollah, which showed its strength Tuesday at a huge pro-Syrian rally in Beirut attended by hundreds of thousands of people who chanted anti-U.S. slogans. Two huge banners read in English: "Thank you Syria" and "No to foreign interference."

Annan said the world needs to accept that in every society different groups may hold different views. "Of course, we need to be careful of the forces at work in Lebanese society as we move forward," he said. "But even the Hezbollah - if I read the message on the placards they are using - they are talking about non-interference by outsiders ... which is not entirely at odds with the Security Council resolution, that there should be withdrawal of Syrian troops," Annan told reporters. "But that having been said, we need to recognize that they are a force in society that one will have to factor in as we implement the resolution," he said.

The rally by the Hezbollah vastly outnumbered anti-Syrian rallies of the past weeks. The Syrian-backed Lebanese guerrilla group, which is funded by Iran, is the best armed and best organized faction in Lebanon and enjoys strong support among Lebanon's Shiite Muslim community.

Many of the signs at the rally in Riad Solh square denounced U.N. Security Council resolution 1559, which calls for Syrian troops and intelligence agents to leave Lebanon immediately and demands the disarming of militias, referring to Hezbollah. Syrian soldiers entered Lebanon in 1976 to try to quell a civil war that began the previous year. They remained through 14 years of fighting that ended in 1990, and some 14,000 are still there, though they began redeploying from central Lebanon toward the border began late Tuesday.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=UN%20Lebanon%20Syria

[Petronas]

Sharon Pressures European Prime Ministers to Blacklist Hizbullah
Beirut, Updated 15 Mar 05, 17:43

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stepped up pressure Tuesday on the European Union to blacklist Hizbullah as a terrorist group, during talks with European premiers. "It is important that the EU acts with determination to include Hizbullah on the terrorist organization list and that it makes no distinction between its military and political wing," Sharon told visiting Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. "Hizbullah is the chief threat to Abu Mazen's stability," he added in comments published by his office, referring to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. "Hizbullah fosters terrorist operations and endangers the ceasefire that he is trying to negotiate," Sharon added. The Israeli premier made exactly the same appeal in earlier talks with visiting French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, his office said.

Last Thursday, the EU parliament backed unspecified measures against Hizbullah in a resolution referring to "clear evidence of (its) terrorist activities." But it did not put Hizbullah on a European list of terrorist organizations, which already includes radical Palestinian faction Hamas.

http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&0A34487519A36C88C2256FC50055F6FE

[Atlas]

(So much for Sheikh "we're just a political movement" Nasrallah)

March 19, 2005
Beirut Car Bomb Wounds 7
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

EIRUT, Lebanon, Saturday, March 19 - A car bomb destroyed part of a building and wounded at least seven people Saturday in a mostly Christian neighborhood in northern Beirut, the police said.

The target of the attack was not immediately clear. But it came amid turmoil after the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and the beginning of a withdrawal of Syrian troops toward the border.

[Petronas]

How the World Health Organization Makes Terrorism Respectable
By Avi Jorisch Published 03/15/2005

While many associate the World Health Organization (WHO) with projects to improve healthcare in developing countries, the millions who watch Arabic television can now link the WHO to terrorism. In a development that went almost unreported in the English-language media, a WHO-organized panel in Lebanon awarded prizes in December 2004 to television and radio stations controlled by the Hezbollah terrorist group, which has killed hundreds of Americans, including more than 250 U.S. soldiers and diplomats in the 1983 bombing of the marine barracks in Lebanon. The awards came just days after France took Hezbollah's al-Manar off the air for a brazenly anti-Semitic broadcast and the U.S. State Department designated the station as a terrorist organization.

The WHO is mandated to achieve "the highest possible level of health" for all people. To achieve this goal, it has an $880 million annual budget, of which up to a fifth comes from the United States. The WHO uses local media outlets to educate people in developing countries about the dangers of tobacco and to encourage healthier diets. To back these goals, the WHO hands out accolades to local media with the best health education programs.

In Lebanon, these health education Oscars went to terrorist media that encourage suicide bombing. A Lebanese media panel supervised by the WHO decided that the best anti-smoking educational program was "Shadows and Visions," which is aimed at juveniles but which was broadcast by Hezbollah's television channel, al-Manar (The Beacon). Also feted by the WHO-supervised panel was the Hezbollah radio station, Al-Nur (The Light) for its nutritional show "Your food is your medicine."

The prizes may appear trivial, but that's the point. By giving health promotion awards to terrorist media, the WHO trivializes their evil output. The WHO, and its local Lebanese partners, a committee of local media representatives, have sent the message that terrorist media are respectable.

Anyone who has watched al-Manar knows that respectable is the last word that can be applied to a channel that promotes terrorism with the same vigor that American television promotes the Superbowl. Set up in 1991 by Hezbollah using Iranian funds, al-Manar soon established a reputation as a mouthpiece for murder. Potential recruits are told that "the path to becoming a priest in Islam is through jihad" and mothers are encouraged to give up their sons, to prepare them "for battle knowing that their blood will mix with the soil."

In many ways, Hezbollah is a media innovator, but not the kind that WHO should be awarding. By founding al-Manar, Hezbollah was the first terrorist group to go into the television business, the first terrorists to realize that the media could be used as an effective operational weapon. Indeed, Hezbollah now has its own media empire, including Al-Nur, a newspaper, a radio station, and various websites, all of which promote its radical, hate-filled Islamist ideology and incite violence.

So while al-Manar makes the odd health information commercial that please the WHO, its output is mostly Hezbollah incitement to violence. The channel, which is under Hezbollah editorial control, mixes staple broadcasting to attract viewers -- including news, dramas, sports programs, children's programming and soap operas -- with a clear call to terrorism. Speaking on al-Manar the Secretary General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah declared recently, "those who love death defeated those who fear death . . .The weapon of loving martyrdom, sacrifices, and readiness for death is one that nobody can take away." On al-Manar, the message is homicide, not health.

Those who dismiss al-Manar, and its parent Hezbollah, as Lebanese patriots who only oppose Israel will find little support from al-Manar's output. Al-Manar viewers are instructed that "the main source of terrorism in this world…is the United States of America…America is a beast in all meanings of the word. A beast that is hungry for power and hungry for blood."

One of the most potent weapons in the battle of ideas against terrorism is the fact that in most societies terrorism is spurned and despised. If we want to defeat terrorism, then we have to delegitimize terrorists and their apologists. The mouthpiece of Hezbollah, al-Manar, is into death, not health. Neither deserves the respectability and legitimacy that they so clearly crave. Yet thanks to WHO, and by extension its UN superiors, terrorist media have been given an international seal of approval. The message: smoking may be bad for your health, but suicide bombing is good for your soul.

Avi Jorisch is the executive director of the Coalition Against Terrorist Media (www.stopterroristmedia.org), a project of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, where he is a senior fellow. He is the author of Beacon of Hatred, Inside Hizballah's Al-Manar Television.

http://www.techcentralstation.com/031505B.html

[Petronas]

Coalition Against Terrorist Media Praises Netherlands for Banning Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV
Washington, Mar 17

The Netherlands today banned Hezbollah's al-Manar television from New Skies Satellite following an agreement by the European national audiovisual authorities to oppose broadcasts inciting hatred and violence. The move follows a month of meetings and briefings with European officials by the Coalition Against Terrorist Media and its executive director, Avi Jorsich. "This move by the audiovisual authorities is a tremendous blow to al-Manar and opens the door to even further action,” said Jorisch. “The Netherlands should be praised for recognizing that al-Manar is a deadly weapon in the hands of known terrorists who use it to incite violence and sow hatred.”

The Coalition Against Terrorist Media , which was organized by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, has been in Brussels this week meeting with the audiovisual authorities, members of the EU parliament, and other officials concerned with al-Manar. Prior to today's meeting, the coalition provided each of the national audiovisual authorities with a copy of Jorisch's book on al-Manar, Beacon of Hatred, (published by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy), a CD-ROM of video clips, and background information highlighting al-Manar's history, operations, and support for terror. Jorisch had met with many European officials during an earlier visit in February arranged with the support of one coalition member, the American Jewish Committee.

The Coalition Against Terrorist Media includes American Muslim, Christian, Jewish and secular organizations urging action against terrorist owned and operated media outlets, in particular Hezbollah's al-Manar television station. Since beginning its work last year, the Coalition has briefed more than 100 government officials in the U.S. and Europe and appeared in major international media numerous times to educate the public about the danger posed by al-Manar. Its U.S. efforts were rewarded when, on Dec. 17, 2004, the U.S. State Department added al-Manar to its Terrorism Exclusion List, which resulted in satellite providers ending broadcasts of al-Manar to North America.

"While there have been some significant victories against al-Manar, much more remains to be done to end its threat,” said Jorisch, including:

* Pressuring Saudi-owned Arabsat, Egyptian-owned Nilesat, Spain-based Hispasat and France-based GlobeCast to remove al-Manar.
* Having al-Manar named as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity by the U.S. Treasury Department, which would allow the U.S. government to freeze financial assets tied to the station and to sanction foreign banks that provide services to the station, affecting its ability to broadcast.
* Having the European Union name Hezbollah to its official terrorist list; and,
*Ending advertising by global companies on al-Manar.

Hezbollah uses al-Manar to recruit terrorists and incite violence through direct calls for killing and through programming – including music videos – preaching hatred. According to one al-Manar official, the station is meant to “help people on the way to committing what you call in the West a suicide mission.”

http://www.stopterroristmedia.org/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=1569

[Alli]

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese authorities, put on the defensive by a damning U.N. report on security failings, indicated Friday they would accept an international inquiry into the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

A U.N. fact-finding team said in a report released on Thursday that Lebanon's own inquiry into Hariri's death on Feb. 14 was seriously flawed and called for an international investigation, a demand long made by the Lebanese opposition.


Opposition figures said the U.N. findings strengthened their calls for such an inquiry and for resignations in the Lebanese security, who they say had a role in Hariri's death.


Hariri's assassination has plunged Lebanon into a political crisis that prompted the resignation of the government, led to mass protests by the opposition and loyalists and piled pressure on Syria to withdraw all its forces from its tiny neighbor.


Asked about the U.N. report's call for an international investigation at a news conference, caretaker Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud said: "We welcome all means that lead us to the truth... We have nothing to hide."


Hammoud said authorities would wait for the U.N. Security Council to issue a resolution on an investigation.


He also criticized the findings for blaming Lebanon for not protecting Hariri, saying: "This conclusion is alien to reality... There is no absolute security in any country in the world... No one can stop security crimes."


The United States and France, which co-sponsored a resolution calling for Syrian forces to leave, were expected to introduce a resolution in the Security Council calling for an international inquiry, council diplomats said Thursday.


Analysts said the U.N. report put pressure on the pro-Syrian authorities but was unlikely to alter the power balance in the deeply divided country.


"It will have some limited use in the polemics but I don't think it will fundamentally change the internal balance of power," said political scientist Sami Baroudi.


The fact-finding mission said Syrian military intelligence bore primary responsibility for a lack of security, protection and law and order and that and Lebanese security forces showed "systematic negligence."


"The report confirms that reaching the truth is not possible with the presence of the security heads, so they must be removed to make way for restructuring and training the Lebanese security," Christian opposition MP Nassib Lahoud told Reuters.


Lebanese authorities had until now rejected opposition calls for an international investigation saying it would infringe Lebanese sovereignty, but Syrian-backed President Emile Lahoud indicated a shift after the U.N. report's release.

complete article (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050325/wl_nm/lebanon_dc)

[The 801]

Defiant Nasrallah Invites America to “Disarm” Hezbollah
21:07 Mar 31, '05 / 20 Adar 5765


(IsraelNN.com) Taking a cue, perhaps, from Bush’s “bring ‘em on” speech defying terrorists in Iraq, Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah has challenged the United States to disarm Hezbollah in Lebanon.

``What is left for them is that the Americans come themselves to disarm the resistance and the [Palestinian refugee] camps in Lebanon. I wish they would come, I wish they would come,'' he said to applauding followers at a Beirut rally.

``We tell America and all those who want to disarm the resistance in Lebanon and the resistance in Palestine to safeguard Israel...This is forbidden. It is not possible,'' Nasrallah insisted.

http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=79401

[The 801]

Brigade's leader: Hezbollah funds terror

LONDON, England, Apr. 4 (UPI) -- The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades have received money from Hezbollah to fund terrorist attacks, according to the Brigades leader Allah Sanakra.

In an interview, published in the London Sunday Times, Sanakra said he no longer receives money from Hezbollah, but the Islamic Jihad does and he believed the money is coming from Iran, the Ha'aretz news agency reported Monday.

Israel has said Hezbollah has been trying to sabotage the calm on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip by supporting terrorist organizations there.

Sanakra told the Times members of Hezbollah had telephoned him and other militants in the West Bank from Beirut. The largest sum that had been transferred was $9,000, but that Hezbollah generally sent the Brigades payments of $4,000, according to Sanakra and other brigades

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050404-114120-7874r.htm

Oh my! How long has this been going on? How about....forever.
The 801

[Petronas]

Editor of Kuwaiti Daily: "Nasrallah Has Lost His Mind"
April 1, 2005

Editor-in-Chief of the Kuwaiti Daily Al-Siyassah and Arab Times, Ahmed Al-Jarallah [1] recently wrote an article critical of Hezbollah and its leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah. The following are excerpts from the article: [2]

"…If the [Syrian] regime is subjected to a military attack, as in the case of Saddam Hussein, what will happen to its allies in Lebanon, such as Hizbullah and its leader Hassan Nasrallah? This question has come to the fore after the speech of U.S. President George Bush, who promised to dismantle all dictatorial regimes in the Middle East.

"Hassan Nasrallah, who has a sharp brain, is aware of the oncoming dangers and has built a network of connections through southern Beirut, Damascus, and Tehran. In his wisdom, Nasrallah has vowed to inflict a disgracing defeat on the U.S. troops if they approach Lebanon. This man has chosen to adopt an arrogant attitude, similar to that of Saddam Hussein, knowing fully well how Saddam's power and authority came to an end.

"Nasrallah is speaking the language of the Fifties and Sixties. He is acting in line with the slogans of Syrian students, who in those days used to chant 'half of the Americans died in Vietnam and we will kill the other half.' It is unfortunate some wise people are delivering such speeches to the Syrians and Lebanese.

"Such speeches may jeopardize the lives of the people in Syria and Lebanon because neither Syria, nor Hizbullah, can fill the huge gap in the balance of power with their adversaries. It appears Hassan Nasrallah has lost his mind because he has abandoned his political wisdom and angered the only superpower in the world instead of calming his people. The Lebanese are aware of the capabilities of the United States. They, and all Arabs, know the real size of this man and his threats."

"Nasrallah is threatening the opposition in Lebanon, echoing the voice of the Syrian regime. The whole world - including the Secretary General of Hizbullah - knows the battle is … between the international community and the Syrian regime. Nasrallah knows his speech won't delay the Syrian withdrawal or end the international pressure on Syria to comply with UN Resolution 1559.

"We hope the Syrian regime, which is struggling under international pressures, won't dance the tune of Hizbullah. This cornered regime should seriously think about accelerating its withdrawal from Lebanon and give in to international demands, Gaddafi style.

"The Syrian regime has to make a wise choice to save its people…"

"[Syria and Hizbullah] should show their patriotism by wanting to see Lebanon free and independent. They should know Syria won't remain in their country for long but there will be mutual ties between two equal countries. Threatening and taunting the U.S. troops won't help Hizbullah, Lebanon, Syria, or Iran. Hassan Nasrallah won't be able to face them if the U.S. forces come to Lebanon. We remember how Saddam boasted he would chop the heads of Americans if they dared to come near Baghdad. In the end it was his head which was chopped off."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] For more on Ahmed Al-Jarallah, see: Special Dispatch No. 826, "Editor of Kuwaiti Daily: 'Arab Regimes Must Understand the U.S. Administration Supports The Freedom and Rights of the Arabs,'" December 10, 2004, http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP82604;

Special Dispatch No. 775, " Editor of Kuwaiti Daily: 'We are with President Bush,'" September 1, 2004, http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP77504;

Special Dispatch No. 701, "Editor of Kuwaiti Dailies Ahmad Al-Jarallah's Recent Editorials on the Middle East," April 26, 2004, http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP70104;

Special Dispatch Series No. 626, " Editor of Kuwaiti Daily: 'The U.S. is not Going to Quit… It will Convert Poles of Jihadi Flags into Arrows to Pierce the Hearts of Terrorists,'" December 10, 2003 http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP62603;

Special Dispatch Series No. 620, " Editor of Kuwaiti Daily: Syria's Secret Service is Behind the 'Iraqi Resistance'" December 5, 2003 http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP62003;

Special Dispatch No. 606, "Editor of the Kuwaiti Daily Al-Siyassa: The New Iraq Will Be 'the Beacon of Freedom, Democracy, and Respect to Human Rights in the Middle East,'" November 10, 2003 http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP60603;

Special Dispatch No. 495, "Kuwaiti Paper Criticizes Syria: Assad's Regime More Criminal than Saddam's Regime," April 22, 2003 http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP49503.

[2] Al-Siyassah (Kuwait), " Do a Gaddafi," March 9, 2005, http://www.alseyassah.com/arabtimes/opinion/view.asp?msgID=695

http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD88705

[The 801]

Hezbollah probe confirmed
FBI sees no proof of cell in Boston
By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff | April 6, 2005

The FBI has confirmed assertions in a new book that agents have been targeting Boston-area supporters of the Islamic militant group Hezbollah for a decade and that in 1996 the agency urged officials at Logan International Airport to fire a baggage handler with suspected links to the group.


Hezbollah is believed to have sympathizers and fund-raisers in Boston and other major US cities, but investigators have not uncovered any evidence that a terrorist cell is operating in the city, according to top agents in the FBI's Boston office.

''There's no evidence of a Hezbollah cell here, but Hezbollah has always been a grave concern to us," said Thomas Powers, an assistant special agent in charge who oversees the FBI's counterterrorism efforts in New England. ''We have conducted investigations of people we think are affiliated with or sympathetic to Hezbollah."

During an interview last week, Powers and Kenneth Kaiser, special agent in charge of the Boston office, confirmed the accounts in the book ''Lightning Out of Lebanon: Hezbollah Terrorists on American Soil," by Tom Diaz and Barbara Newman, about people thought to have ties to the organization who have been investigated over the past decade.

The baggage handler was in the country legally, and there were no grounds to arrest him, according to Powers. But FBI agents warned airport security officials in 1996 because ''we thought he posed a threat." The incident had not been made public before.

Hezbollah, Arabic for ''Party of God," represents Lebanon's Shi'ites and has members in parliament. But the group, formed in 1992 by Muslim clerics with the financial backing of Iran, was placed on the US State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations in 2001.

Hezbollah was responsible for the 1983 bombing that killed 241 Marines in their Beirut barracks, the 1983 US Embassy bombing in Beirut that killed 63, and the 1985 hijacking of a TWA flight during which a US Navy diver was killed.

Joseph Lawless, former director of public safety for the Massachusetts Port Authority, said FBI agents alerted him in February 1996 that a man who had been hired as a baggage handler by one of the airlines a few weeks earlier could have ties to Hezbollah.

''My reaction was, let's get this guy out of here; we don't want him in an area where he has access to bags being loaded onto the belly of an aircraft," said Lawless, who notified a top security official at the airline. Lawless said the airline either fired the baggage handler or pressured him to resign.

Lawless, now Massport's director of maritime and bridge security, said the baggage handler had undergone a criminal background check before he was hired and didn't show up on any state or federal databases that airport officials had access to at the time. Those databases, as well as information-sharing among agencies, has improved over the past four years, he said.

FBI officials said there was ''absolutely no connection" between the baggage handler and the terrorists who hijacked two planes from Logan on Sept. 11, 2001.


The new book also contends that Hezbollah had a large and active cell in Boston before the 2001 attacks, and describes how members showed up in federal court and tried to intimidate a prosecutor after a member had been arrested on criminal charges.

Powers confirmed that a suspected Hezbollah member was arrested in Boston in the late 1990s on federal charges not related to terrorism and that a member showed up to support him. But, he said, investigators never uncovered evidence of a cell, a group of people actively involved in planning terrorism, operating in the city.

Diaz said in an interview that he and Newman gathered information from at least several senior law enforcement officials that there were ongoing investigations of suspected Hezbollah activity in 14 US cities, including Boston, New York, and Newark.

The book focuses mostly on a cell that operated in Charlotte, N.C., which was broken up by the FBI in 2000 for running a cigarette smuggling ring.

''There are very few actual recorded criminal cases that involve Hezbollah," Diaz said, adding that members around the country have been commonly charged with fraud relating to credit cards, personal information, and marriages.

Kaiser and Powers said they have investigated a number of cases over the past decade involving suspected Hezbollah members, but because the criminal or immigration charges have not been connected overtly to terrorism, the suspected Hezbollah links were never made public.

In 1999, for example, Boston's Joint Terrorism Task Force had a suspected Hezbollah member deported before he could get a green card, Powers said.

But Powers said there have not been any suspected Hezbollah members prosecuted in Boston since the Sept. 11 attacks.

''The bureau has moved more from prosecution to prevention and disruption," Kaiser said. ''We do more to run out these leads, prevent things from happening, and disrupt organizations."

US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan said there is no evidence to suggest that Hezbollah cells exist in New England, but ''we are on constant alert to the risk that some Hezbollah sympathizers or supporters may attempt to create an active cell in this region."

He added that federal prosecutors share the FBI's national strategy of launching a ''preemptive strike" against those suspected of terrorist ties -- by charging them with crimes such as document fraud or immigration violations.

''Certainly, it's made clear to all the US attorneys across the country that we should use all the tools that are available to us to disrupt and dismantle possible terrorist threats," Sullivan said.

Shelley Murphy can be reached at shmurphy@globe.com.

© Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/04/06/hezbollah_probe_confirmed/

[The 801]

Hizbullah Cell Found Operating in Shechem
19:00 Apr 05, '05 / 25 Adar 5765


(IsraelNN.com)IDF troops operating with Shin Bet agents on February 25th arrested members of a Hizbullah cell learned to be operating in Shomron, in PA-controlled Shechem. The terrorists in custody have been identified as Wassam Badoui Salah Nasser, 21, a student at An-Najah University; Mouad Rateb Haj-Muhammad Aslim, 21, employed as an upholsterer and barber; and Raad Aouni Hasni Bader, 21, a student at An-Najah University.

From the investigation of Wassam Nasser, it was learned that during a family visit to Lebanon, he was recruited into Hizbullah, with the aid of local relatives. He underwent military training that included small arms fire and various methods of espionage. He was trained how to collect information ahead of an attack on a senior VIP. Among his missions were the photographing of military checkpoints and bases, and settlements. He took a great many photographs, which he sent – via the Internet – to his handlers in Lebanon. He was equipped with a GPS (global positioning satellite) device, hidden in a tape player on the dashboard of his car. He was requested to pinpoint the location of military bases and checkpoints in the Shechem area; he also sent this information via the Internet to his handlers in Lebanon.

Mouad Aslim admitted that after Wassam Nasser revealed to him he had been recruited into Hezbollah, they had transferred the cell members’ details to Hizbullah handlers in Lebanon, and those handlers began to financially assist the cell’s activities. Mouad admitted that he was in on bomb attacks in the Shechem area even before affiliating with Hizbullah.

Raad Bader admitted that Wassam Nasser had revealed to him that he had been recruited into Hezbollah and that he had asked him to aid in the collection of intelligence information. He was aware of Wassam’s GPS device, the financial assistance from Hizbullah and the aforementioned Internet connection.

The cell’s activities continued during the recent period of calm. The phenomenon of recruiting PA residents into Hizbullah while they are on family visits to Lebanon in order to establish local cells to perpetrate terrorist attacks Israeli civilian and military targets in both Judea and Samaria, and inside pre-1967 Green Line Israel, is becoming increasingly widespread, authorities report.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=79655

[The 801]

Hezbollah Signals It's Open to Talks With United States

BY ELI LAKE - Staff Reporter of the Sun
April 11, 2005


WASHINGTON - A Hezbollah political leader told a delegation of former European and American officials last month that the Bush administration approached the organization for talks following September 11, 2001, and that the group would be open to new discussions.

According to a former CIA station chief in Islamabad who attended the meetings in Beirut, Milton Bearden, the representatives of Hezbollah, which has long been implicated in terrorist attacks, said the Bush administration approached them shortly after the Twin Towers were destroyed.

The White House denies having made an approach.

Mr. Bearden recalled that the leader of the Hezbollah delegation said: "The Americans came to us after 9/11 wanting to open a dialogue, at a political level. ... 'It came through the Israeli gate,' meaning the Israelis brokered it." Mr. Bearden added that the representative said his organization would "be open to a direct approach from the Americans."

Another former CIA operations officer who was there, Graham Fuller, told The New York Sun the message was delivered by Hezbollah's chief of international relations and top political adviser, Nawaf Mousawi.

"I would view Mousawi's presence as important," Mr. Fuller said. "I would assume this would go directly to Sheik Nasrallah. "The sheik is the spiritual leader of Hezbollah, and Mr. Fuller said Mr. Mousawi is "his chief political adviser."

A spokesman for the National Security Council, Frederick Jones, said: "There was no envoy or outreach to Hezbollah following September 11."

The catastrophe in New York and northern Virginia did spur the White House to open new channels with Hezbollah's two chief state sponsors, Iran and Syria, and other states and entities it had previously shunned for ties to terrorism. For example, the CIA began a liaison relationship with Syria's intelligence service focused narrowly on apprehending Al Qaeda operatives.

The Israelis, too, have worked with foreign governments in the past to help negotiate with Hezbollah. For several years, Israel has worked with German intelligence to arrange exchanges of hostages and dead bodies with Hezbollah. Messrs. Bearden and Fuller are said to have been the only two former CIA officers, acting as private citizens, in a 12-person delegation that met with Hezbollah and other groups March 21-22. The delegation included the head of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, Robert Muller, as well as academics and former European spies and government officials. They met with leaders from Hamas, Hezbollah, Pakistan's Jemaat Islamiya, and the Muslim Brotherhood. The first three groups are designated as terrorist organizations by the State Department, while the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was once led by Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

The meetings were arranged by a former British MI-6 officer, Alastair Crooke, who served as the European Union's liaison with Hamas between 2001 and 2003, before he was recalled to London.

Mr. Fuller, who did not serve under President Bush, said he believed it was plausible that Mr. Mousawi was telling the truth about the American approach, though he had no direct knowledge.

"After 9/11 there was a great deal of panic and a willingness to reach out to anyone and everyone who might be allies," he said. "My personal hunch is that, as the fear in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 subsided, the war on terror grew in its breadth and the Bush administration began to include more and more organizations under the umbrella of terrorism."

And while it may appear to Mr. Fuller that the Bush administration has widened the circle of American enemies, in recent weeks the president has sent a message of possible reconciliation with Hezbollah, the group responsible in 1983 for the truck bombings of the American Embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut.

On March 16, five days before the parley between the ex-spies and current terrorist leaders, Mr. Bush told reporters he viewed Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, but he left open the possibility it could shed the designation. "I would hope that Hezbollah would prove that they're not, by laying down arms and not threatening peace," he said.

Following those remarks, the European Union and the United Nations began publicly encouraging political talks among Lebanon's various parties, including Hezbollah. Last week, the U.N. envoy to the Middle East, Terje Roed-Larsen, said disarming Hezbollah was "not on the action agenda," indicating that the world body would be willing to let the group keeps its arms until after the Lebanon elections scheduled for next month.

"With Hezbollah and Hamas, whatever one may think of the organizations and their tactics, the fact is it is analytically absurd to lump them into the same category as Osama bin Laden, taking on the United States," Mr. Fuller said. "These organizations are fighting highly discreet local wars and are not targeting the world or the West."

Mr. Crooke, who arranged the meetings, generally agrees with that analysis. An opinion piece he wrote last December 10 in the Guardian newspaper of England put quotation marks around the word terrorist and recommended negotiations with the groups.

The former British M16 man is no stranger to meeting with what he called "violent political actors." Before Mr. Bush's June 24, 2002, speech that washed America's hands of Yasser Arafat, Mr. Crooke had met with Sheikh Ahmed Yasin, spiritual leader and founder of Hamas, who was killed in an Israeli air strike March 22, 2004.

At the time, Israel argued that the organizations of Arafat and Yasin were coordinating their activities, and documents captured by the Israel Defense Force appear to prove that. Last week, a think tank associated with Israeli intelligence, the Center for Special Studies, published an English translation of a June 24, 2002, communique from the head of external relations for the Gaza Preventive Security service, Suheil Jabr, to the deputy of the group, Rashid abu Shbak. The document, which the center says IDF troops captured from the Palestinian Preventive Security compound in Gaza, includes an account of the conversation Mr. Crooke had with Yasin and other Hamas leaders.

Mr. Crooke said the document's account of his conversation with Yasin, which portrayed the British spy as sympathetic to Hamas's gripes with the Israeli presence, was inaccurate. Mr. Crooke said that his job as liaison to Hamas was largely to negotiate a ceasefire.

In an interview, he said he stressed to Yasin, "There were some actions that were unacceptable to anyone in Europe and America. Nobody believed that blowing up children eating pizzas, that these children were responsible for the plight of Palestinians." But he added that he drew a distinction between "terrorism" and "resistance," offering that his family had been involved in fighting the Nazi occupation in France in World War II.

A former adviser on Palestinian affairs for the ministry of defense who was familiar with Mr. Crooke's diplomacy, Reservist Brigadier General Shalom Harari, said the former MI-6 officer had "become addicted to Hamas."

"I'm not saying he is not very knowledgeable, because he is," Gen. Harari said. "What happened to Crooke is what happened to many researchers who make research on biology. He fell in love with the microbes he was researching."

The meeting last month that Mr. Crooke arranged through the Conflict Forum was publicized in the British and Arabic press. Al Jazeera and the BBC covered the talks, along with the Beirut Daily Star. The London Sunday Times bluntly said Mr. Crooke was opening the door for American negotiations with Hamas and Hezbollah. Mr. Crooke disagreed with the account in the Sunday Times.

In an interview Friday, he said the purpose of the talks was to hear out the two organizations, which long had been categorized as foreign terrorist organizations by America and more recently the European Union.

"We did not touch on the policy issues, we were not there to resolve particular issues," he said. "Hezbollah gave us a clear vision of a party that was acting in a Lebanese context as a Lebanese party. They were dealing with an extremely complex and complicated situation and dealing with it in a way that will bring about a resolution."

Hezbollah has a dozen members of parliament, and it wields a great deal of influence in government. In January 2002, Lebanese police confiscated 600 DVDs from the Virgin Megastore in Beirut after a Hezbollah senior cleric, Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, gave an interview criticizing some Western films. Nonetheless, Hezbollah's terrorist wing has been responsible for a number of attacks on Americans, Israelis, and Jews. After the 1983 truck bombings, Hezbollah kidnapped a string of American diplomats, spies, journalists, and military officers, only to release them after America and Israel sold arms to Iran.

The September 11 commission concluded last year that some Al Qaeda operatives had trained in a Hezbollah compound in the Bekaa Valley. A staff report released by the commission in June speculates that Hezbollah and Al Qaeda, along with Iran, may have collaborated on the 1996 bombing of an American Air Force barracks in Saudi Arabia known as Khobar Towers. A former FBI director, Louis Freeh, in sworn court testimony last year, implicated former senior Iranian government officials in the attack. Hezbollah's attacks against America through the years led a former deputy secretary of state, Richard Armitage, to say the organization owed America a "blood debt," promising that its "time will come" in a press conference on September 5, 2002, in Brussels.

That blood debt in particular is owed by Imad Mugniyah, who is regarded as the chief architect of the 1983 truck bombings and is one of the FBI's most wanted men. Mr. Bearden said he pressed the leader of the Hezbollah delegation about Mr. Mugniyah.

"I hit him pretty hard on the Mugniyah business. His first reaction was the 1982-to-1985 period was difficult and undisciplined. He was trying to walk away from it that way," Mr. Bearden said. "He paused and said that blood is not on Hezbollah's hands. The thought to me is he has some formulation in his mind that allows him to say that with a straight face. My sense was that he was saying Mugniyah was never our guy, but Mugniyah was Iran's guy."

Mr. Fuller said any potential for improved ties between America and Hezbollah would depend on addressing the issue of Mr. Mugniyah.

Some former CIA officers with experience in the Middle East said the initiative will not work.

The founder of the CIA's counterterrorism center, Duane Clarridge, said: "To have a modicum of success, the agendas of both parties have to be beginning to intersect. I'm not so sure that Hezbollah and Hamas are ready for that."

Similarly, a protege of Mr. Clarridge who worked for years at the CIA to find Mr. Mugniyah, Robert Baer, said: "America and Hezbollah are too far apart on the issue of Jerusalem right now."

Mr. Baer also said, however, that it was significant that Hezbollah would be meeting with former CIA officers and would say it was open to talks with America.

"Hezbollah is convinced the CIA set off a car bomb that almost killed Fadlallah. I don't think they did. I know the Lebanese who did this, but this is the kind of suspicion Hezbollah has to overcome."

The vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Malcolm Hoenlein, said last week that he was concerned the outreach could be a "stalking horse for the European Union."

"Does this give them a legitimate way to deal with Hezbollah before they have taken any steps to reduce terrorist activities?" he said. "It gives the appearance that this is more than an unofficial study group - the nature of the participants gives it the appearance that it is much more official."

Mr. Crooke insisted that the initiative was strictly a private matter and that there had been no formal government coordination for last month's talks.

General Harari, however, said the meetings indicate a new desperation for the terrorist groups involved.

"The American army is still in Iraq. Syria is under big pressure as a sponsor in Lebanon. They see European state after state putting Hamas and Hezbollah on the blacklist," he said. "They see how the Russians understand the terror better after the terrible events in Beslan. They see what happens in Saudi Arabia - the main source of money will dry up. They see in Jordan the regime is strengthening its hold on the Islamic movement. The overall view is that they are going to have a very tough process between two and three years from now. This is a way for these groups to whiten their image and say they are not terrorists."

Mr. Fuller said that Hezbollah leaders were open to future meetings with the delegation of Americans and Europeans, and that future meetings were being considered.

http://www.nysun.com/article/11974

[Petronas]

I'll believe it when I see it...

Lebanese PM says Hizbollah not a ‘militia’ but will disarm
Monday, May 09, 2005

UNITED NATIONS: A UN Security Council resolution demanding the disarmament of Lebanese militias does not apply to the Hizbollah guerrilla group but the group will be disarmed, Lebanon’s new prime minister, Najib Mikati, said on Friday. The disarming of Hizbollah, however, “would have to be in the context of a Lebanese framework,” Mikati told Arab-language reporters after meeting with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. “They will. I said it,” he said in Arabic when asked if the group would be disarmed. But “in our terminology, Hizbollah is not a militia. It is a resistance (group), and we believe that there is a difference between a resistance and a militia,” Mikati told Reuters in English. “To a certain extent,” he said, without elaboration, when asked if that meant the resolution did not apply to Hizbollah.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_8-5-2005_pg4_10

[The 801]

Life after death
By Roula Khalaf
Published: May 27 2005 15:47 | Last updated: May 27 2005 15:47

The Arab world has had few heroes in the modern world that it can call its own. A dashing Gamal Abdel Nasser inspired a generation in the 1950s and 1960s with dreams of pan-Arab pride and dignity. But today the leading candidate for Arab hero is probably a plump religious scholar. This is not because of his religion, however. It is because he leads the only group in the Arab world that can claim a military victory against its historic enemy, Israel. Since the guerrillas of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s Hizbollah (”Party of God”) pushed Israel to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon in May 2000, it has become an inspiration across the Middle East. Nasrallah’s picture appeared alongside that of Moqtada al-Sadr, the renegade Shia cleric who rebelled against US forces in Iraq last year. And Palestinian militants have adopted the suicide tactics that Hizbollah used against Israeli military targets (though the Palestinian suicide attacks have struck Israeli civilians, which Hizbollah’s did not).

The headquarters of Hizbollah in the Beirut suburb of Haret Hreik are in an inconspicuous building in a side street protected by two sets of gates. Past a metal detector at the entrance, I am escorted to a meeting room decorated with crystal chandeliers and patterned blue-and-yellow sofas. I sit down and wait as told, straightening the black scarf I have chosen to wear in deference to the man of religion. Only a few minutes later, he enters alone. With a heavy black beard, his eyes hidden behind thick glasses and his hair tucked behind a black turban, Nasrallah might look to some like the terrorist the Americans say he is. But he’s also charismatic in some respects, though he has a habit of fiddling with his turban as he talks. He speaks with a lisp and occasionally injects a touch of humour into his discourse, but he comes across more as politician than preacher.

Nasrallah embodies the two faces of Hizbollah: he terrifies and he fascinates. Despite his youth - he was only 32 when he took over the leadership of Hizbollah - he led the group through a war of attrition with Israel, at the same time deepening its political roots in Lebanon. And, along the way, he managed to carve out a measure of independence from his two main backers, Syria and Iran.

My visit took place before the most recent bout of the country’s interminable troubles began in February. I was there to talk about Nasrallah’s past, but above all about the party’s future. Tomorrow, the Lebanese will start voting in the first parliamentary elections free of meddling by Beirut’s bigger neighbour, Syria. This tiny Mediterranean country, associated with incomprehensible sectarian and religious divisions - almost the spiritual home of civil war, car bombings and hostage-taking - is being watched now by the rest of the world with more than a morbid curiosity. The massive protests for freedom from Syria’s grip that swept the streets of Beirut after the murder of the former prime minister Rafiq Hariri in February captured the interest of George W. Bush. His administration would like to hold up the elections (staggered over four Sundays) as an example of the success of its drive to democratise the Middle East.

The elections are supposed to be the start of a more hopeful future for Lebanon, one in which the US and Europe are looking for Hizbollah to put down its arms and promote itself as a political party, the other demand of a UN resolution sponsored by Washington and Paris that called first for Syria’s withdrawal. (Hizbollah has said it will remain armed until its conflict with Israel ends, and that includes resolving a dispute over a piece of land it claims Israel did not leave when it pulled out its troops in 2000. Its critics say this is a hollow pretext to hang on to its guns.)

Hizbollah is already the most organised party in the country. But Lebanon’s democracy has its limits: seats in parliament are divided among various sects, and Shia parties - Hizbollah is one of two main Shia groupings - are allocated only 27 seats in the 128-member parliament. Participating in the elections, on its own, can provide a measure of legitimacy to an organisation seen in Washington as terrorist. It shows that men who once carried guns and strapped explosives to their bodies can turn themselves into members of parliament. But these elections are also a new and more uncertain beginning because their sponsor and protector, Syria, has been sidelined. If indeed, after the election, the parties that have opposed Syria’s strangle-hold have a majority in parliament, Hizbollah will be forced to make the choice it has been avoiding: between peaceful political action and confrontation with a new, independent Lebanese government.

Could Hizbollah survive without its guerrillas? This is one of the main questions I put to Nasrallah. He looks at me and smiles. “We’re not people sitting around looking for a job. If you’re a doctor, you have to go to a hospital for a job, not to an architectural firm. But Hizbollah is not a job, it doesn’t lose its raison d’etre,” he says. “It’s a movement with a message and with objectives. So long as this requires sacrifices and giving from this group, then Hizbollah will continue.”

The existence of Hizbollah, which emerged with Iranian backing from radical Shia ranks to resist Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982, is not based on the conflict with the enemy, he says. “Hizbollah is also a political party, which has its programme and its responsibility in the country. So it represents a popular movement. Outside the conflict with Israel, we have a big following and a presence in syndicates, media and student unions. And we’re concerned with everything that happens in the country.”

You would not know this if you relied only on what you saw. But this is Lebanon. The Beirut suburb of Haret Hreik, for instance, looks like any other lively Muslim neighbourhood, an odd mix of traditionalist culture and western influence. Its heaving streets are lined with toy stores, boutiques and electronic goods shops. Women hide behind long dresses, some shrouded from head to toe in black robes, but a few girls wear tight jeans, their hair flowing down their backs. It is in the side streets, such as the one I was visiting, that things look different. They are blocked off and manned by armed guards in military uniform. Beyond them, the noises fade and the bustle disappears.

This was once a mostly Christian neighbourhood. You can still find the old church a few blocks away from a new mosque. But over the past decade, it has metamorphosed into Hizbollah-land. Hizbollah militants - the only group permitted to carry weapons since the end of the civil war, on the grounds that they are fighting Israel, not the Lebanese - protect the political hierarchy and a vast empire that includes charities, a television station, hospitals and schools. Construction Jihad, a Hizbollah company, was created to rebuild houses destroyed by Israeli bombardments. There is also a Hizbollah-funded marriage service that helps newlyweds pay for weddings and buy furniture for their first apartments.

For nearly two decades, Hizbollah has thrived in this state within a state, controlling its own security and that of perhaps half a million people living in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Further south, near the border with Israel, it has an arsenal of missiles that can reach deep into Israeli territory. Its infrastructure and its policies have been protected by successive Lebanese governments, which have answered to their masters in Syria. It has received a steady flow of arms and money from Iran (they pass through Syria), seeking to export its radical Shia revolution.

The early days of Hizbollah are at the core of the party’s conflict with the US, which still holds it responsible for blowing up the US marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, and later the US embassy, as well as the spate of brutal kidnappings of foreigners. More than 300 Americans died in those attacks, the first suicide bombings against US targets. This is why, long before September 11, Hizbollah topped the American terrorism list. Richard Armitage, a former deputy secretary of state, famously declared three years ago that Hizbollah may well be the A-team of international terrorism while al-Qaeda was actually the B-team.

Nasrallah says that, since the party had not been officially formed until 1985, it could not carry the blame for earlier violence. “That doesn’t mean that some Islamic groups or jihadi groups or young men who are religious did not do these acts - I don’t deny it. But it wasn’t part of Hizbollah’s group. They were independents. In fact, Hizbollah later knew some of these groups and played a very positive role with Iran and Syria to release the hostages and close this file. If there is any link to Hizbollah it is this. The US should have rewarded it.” The Americans believe the mastermind of the Lebanon attacks at the time - Imad Mughniyah - has remained a top Hizbollah operative, later put in charge of the so-called external terrorist arm of the movement. No one knows his whereabouts and no reliable photograph of him exists. But US intelligence suspects he was involved in the 1992 attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires and the bombing of a Jewish community centre there two years later (European diplomats are less certain).

To Nasrallah, this is all a figment of America’s imagination. While his speeches are peppered with excessive anti-American rhetoric - before the Iraq war, he warned that the US would be greeted with “rifles, blood, arms, martyrdom and martyrdom operations” - Hizbollah has not been involved in an attack against Americans since the early 1980s. “Not everyone whose policies we object to we must fight. But if someone attacks militarily or occupies us, of course we will fight and we will defend ourselves and our country, whether they’re Americans or others.”

That Nasrallah was willing to sacrifice his eldest son, Hadi, to military operations against Israeli troops lifted him to a near-sacred status within the party and encouraged young Shias to join Hizbollah’s ranks. Hadi died in September 1997 under Israeli mortar fire after his group ambushed a patrol in the occupied zone. The next day, Nasrallah surprised his own aides by going ahead with a planned speech, and said he considered the death of his son a worthy martyrdom. I ask him if he cried on that day. “We were in battle at the time, part of it is military, part of it is psychological, part of it is mediative. So you had to be strong. I did not want to shed a tear in front of my enemy. But when you’re alone with yourself or with your family, where the enemy does not see you, then you can give your emotions freedom. Otherwise you wouldn’t be human. This is what happened with me.”

Lebanon’s opposition has always treated Hizbollah with a mixture of apprehension and respect. Although many opposition leaders, particularly among the Christian community, can hardly wait to strip Hizbollah of its weapons, everyone’s emphasis today is on preventing a rekindling of sectarian conflict. So, at least in public, most of the opposition has been holding a rather friendly, reassuring discourse with Hizbollah. First, it called on Nasrallah to join them in their “intifada for independence”, telling his supporters that the fight against Syria was a new phase of the war of liberation that Hizbollah had started. More recently, it has been reassuring Nasrallah that the fate of his group was an internal affair, whatever the UN resolution might say.

Ghattas Khouri, a medical doctor and an MP in the Hariri bloc, says that once the land dispute with Israel is resolved, “the rest of the Lebanese population won’t accept a continuation of the resistance. Hizbollah had a successful resistance because all the Lebanese population supported them, including the Maronite [Christian] patriarch. If they deviate from the national consensus, they’ll be on their own.”

Hizbollah has remained ideologically tied to Tehran and its followers pay religious allegiance to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader. But the movement has not blindly followed orders from Iran and Syria. It no longer has to. The vast majority of its estimated $1bn budget is said to be generated in Lebanon, partly through Hizbollah’s own business but, through an agreement with leading politicians, it has also been receiving a regular portion of the state telephone company’s revenues, possibly between $150m and $250m a year. An Islamic state remains, in theory, a Hizbollah goal (Nasrallah studied for three years in the Shia holy city of Najaf, in Iraq). But the ambition is rarely raised by Hizbollah officials in a country with large liberal and westernised sections of society and a sizeable Christian minority. MPs do not advocate that Lebanese women wear the veil, for example, knowing that it would be a lost cause. One Hizbollah official once suggested to me that its military actions tended to drop in the summer season so as not to disrupt the tourism from which other communities benefit.

Some politicians in Lebanon doubt that Hizbollah would be satisfied with only a political role in a country where parliamentary seats and government posts are divvied up according to a sectarian quota. One of the nagging questions that politicians have is whether an eventual Hizbollah disarmament would also mean the end of its support for Palestinian militants. No Hizbollah official would confirm that the Lebanese organisation is a vital backer to Palestinian groups such as Islamic Jihad and al-Aqsa Brigades. Nasrallah is adamant that Hizbollah’s fight does not extend beyond Lebanon. “We offered a model, a good model of resistance that respects its people and works with the government of its country... It’s possible Palestinians are using this model and so Americans come and say Hizbollah should take responsibility. But those fighting in Palestine are Palestinians and if there’s resistance in Iraq, it’s Iraqis.” Yet, when explosives ripped through a car carrying Hizbollah official Ghaleb Awali on a street in Haret Hreik more than a year ago, Nasrallah acknowledged, curiously, that Awali’s job was to assist the Palestinians. And, when I mention to Sheikh Naim Qassim, Hizbollah’s deputy head, that Israel says 74 per cent of operations are organised by Hizbollah, he tells me that Palestinians have enormous will and all they need is a bit of training and logistical support.

Nizar Hamza is a professor of political science who has has just published In the Path of Hizbollah. In his cluttered office at the American University of Beirut, he tells me the assumption that Hizbollah could not survive only as a political party with a purely Lebanese agenda is nonsense. “This party is so big with an institutional infrastructure, investments in the country. It has become self-sufficient and it wouldn’t collapse even if Iran collapsed.”

The more pertinent question, he says, is whether Hizbollah, as a party, would be acceptable to others, given the demographic trends in the country. It can only expand its constituency among Shia in Lebanon but they are already the largest minority, making up more than 30 per cent of the population. An average Shia household has eight to nine children, compared with four to five in Sunni Muslim families, and two to three in Christian families. What Hizbollah wants in return for disarmament is a guarantee that it can campaign peacefully for what will remain radical ideas, including opposition to normalisation with Israel.

The transformation of Hizbollah, in Hamza’s view, is a complex affair that drags in Iran, which would have to agree to an end to the resistance, and the US, which would have to turn the page on the past. But it is not only the Lebanese who have an incentive in a successful Hizbollah transition, Hamza says. It is also America. “The US is in need of co-opting the Shia in Lebanon as they did with the Shia in Iraq.” The more potent threat, after all, comes from the Sunni jihadis of al-Qaeda.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/4307a21c-cda3-11d9-9a8a-00000e2511c8.html

Roula Khalaf is the FT’s Middle East editor.

[Casey]

Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Washington insists Hizbullah is still a terrorist group
By Mayssam Zaaroura
Daily Star staff

BEIRUT: Washington insisted that Lebanese resistance group Hizbullah must disarm, despite its strong showing in Lebanon's elections on Sunday. In America's first reaction to Hizbullah's sweeping victory at the polls, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said: "In terms of Hizbullah, I think our views are well known and they remain unchanged. You have a Security Council resolution that calls for the disarming of groups like Hizbullah and that remains our view. Hizbullah, as you are well aware, is a terrorist organization."

But newly elected Hizbullah MP Mohammed Raad said: "The South has democratically expressed its national choice to back the resistance. And it did so without any instructions from anyone on how to practice democracy."

He added: "If democracy is the measure used to rule on all sides, then Hizbullah has been democratically backed by all the Lebanese people especially in the South."

He said: "The U.S. needs to stop using democracy as a slogan to back Israel's terrorism and occupation in the region. The resistance abides by UN rules and the UN deems Hizbullah a legitimate resistance force."

But when asked if Hizbullah would comply with 1559 he said: "Resolution 1559 does not say Hizbullah should disarm. It says all 'Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias must disarm.' Hizbullah is not a militia."

Hizbullah and its pro-Syrian ally, the Amal Movement, swept South Lebanon's parliamentary elections by a landslide, clinching 23 seats in the country's 128 seat Parliament.

The resistance group's slogan for the polls had been a rejection of Resolution 1559 and U.S. interference in Lebanon's politics.

Hizbullah insists its massive win in the South, which increased its parliamentary showing by two seats, was a show of public support for the group in the face of international pressure to hand over its weapons. The U.S. demand comes as UN investigators kicked off their work yesterday, inspecting the site of the explosion that killed former Premier Rafik Hariri four months ago, in Beirut. The UN-mandated investigators began their work on the scene two weeks after arriving in Lebanon. The team is headed by Detlev Mehlis, the senior public prosecutor in Berlin's attorney general's office. - With Agencies

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=15716#

[Casey]

Hizbullah claims win is message to U.S.
Resistance says their victory in polls is a sign Lebanese are united in support of party's right to bear weaponsBy Samer Wehbe and Mohammed Zaatari
Daily Star correspondent

SOUTH LEBANON: Hizbullah and its allies have won all 23 seats in South Lebanon; a landslide victory the Islamic resistance group is touting as a direct message to the international community that the Lebanese are united in their support of the party's weapons.

But in the first American reactions to Lebanon's second round of parliamentary elections, a White House spokesman said the U.S.'s primary concern was to make sure the polls are free and fair and with no outside intimidation or interference. He said: "Hizbullah, as you are aware, is a terrorist organization."

He added that the United States is still concerned about outside interference in Lebanon, mentioning that the killing last week of anti-Syrian journalist Samir Kassir "kind of underscores the environment created by Syria's long presence in that country."

"His assassination is something that needs to be fully investigated. We continue to call on Syria to make sure that all intelligence operations are out of Lebanon," he said.

Kassir, a 45 year-old columnist for the newspaper An-Nahar, had long demanded the removal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and an end to its influence there.

Israel also expressed concern over the resistance group's electoral victory.

According to a Foreign Ministry spokesman, "Hizbullah is unfortunately a heavily armed terrorist organization. The solution to Lebanon's problems will begin with the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 which calls for disarming Hizbullah."

Hizbullah has rejected the resolution and vowed to fight "to the death" any attempts to forcibly disarm its military wing.

The party has expressed willingness to engage in dialogue with other Lebanese groups over its fate, but stressed it will keep its weapons for as long as Israel "continues to threaten Lebanon."

In comments Sunday night, Hizbullah's second in command Naim Qassem said: "The aim is to defend Lebanon not the weapons of the resistance. But to defend Lebanon we must defend the weapons."

He continued: "Today, southerners said this and the international community must listen."

Reporting the official results of Sunday's polls, Interior Minister Hassan Sabaa said the alliance of Hizbullah and the Amal Movement had won, convincingly, all 17 contested parliamentary seats. Their list had already been declared uncontested winner of the region's six other seats.

Official tallies showed the alliance receiving more than 80 percent of votes cast. Turnout among the 675,000 eligible voters was given at 45 percent.

The interior minister also said clashes in Rmeish, Sawfar and Bsharri had been contained and the perpetrators arrested. Clashes had broken out between supporters of key opposition leader Walid Jumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party and pro-Syrian candidate Talal Arslan's Democratic Party over the weekend, with three people reported to have been wounded.

Sabaa said additional security personnel would be mobilized for the two remaining rounds of elections to avoid such incidents.

Asked how those displaced during the country's 1975-1990 Civil War would vote, Sabaa said measures have been taken to satisfy all parties, explaining that offices have been set up on the border of Kfar Matta and Abey to allow the displaced to vote freely.

He added security forces will protect voters closely in those areas to avoid any frictions.

Elsewhere, Amal head, Speaker Nabih Berri said in a news conference held in Mosseileh: "The South has declared clearly and before international observers its backing for the resistance as a path for the past, present and future." He continued: "Even the rival candidates are resist-ance fighters."

Berri said the elected MPs in the South will be responsible for resisting any attempt to disarm Hizbullah, holding the new government accountable, preparing projects to enhance sustainable development and additional social services for the region's impoverished people.

He further said the new Parliament must also undertake the issuing of a new and modern electoral law in line with the Taif Accord and the drafting of a law to regulate political parties.

According to the speaker, the level of voter turnout in Sidon (43.8 percent) had come as a pleasant surprise. A low turnout had been expected in the southern port town due to the uncontested victory of Sidon MPs Bahia Hariri and Osama Saad.

Berri thanked Hariri's campaigners for their "strong commitment to the South, its history, present and future, and to campaigners of other MPs."

One Hizbullah official described Hariri as a "bulldozer" for being able - within a mere three hours - to increase turnout from a meager 13 percent in the morning to 43.8 percent when polling stations closed, through her calls for voters to participate in the electoral process.

The head of Hizbullah's Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc, MP Mohammad Raad, said the overwhelming victory of the joint Amal-Hizbullah list "was southerners' decisive expression of their refusal of Resolution 1559 and attempts to interfere in Lebanese internal affairs."

He added: "It is an expression of your strict commitment to protecting the resistance."

During celebrations at the end of the news conference, newly elected MP Mohammad Fneish said laughingly: "I hope somebody would tell us what has happened to the U.S. ambassador after the results were announced."

"I think he has sustained a big shock," added Fneish, who received the highest number of votes. He said each vote he had received had been addressed directly against the Americans and Resolution 1559 for attacking the resistance. Newly elected MP Hassan Fadlallah said the high voter turnout revealed the people's will to protect the resistance, adding: "The Americans should read this message." - With agencies

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=15708#

[Ono]

Yet another open and unfettered election.

[Casey]

Hizbullah appeals to UK over ban
Don't bow to US pressure, urges leading member

Vikram Dodd
Monday June 13, 2005
Guardian

A leading member of the militant Lebanese group Hizbullah has urged Britain not to bow to US and Israeli pressure by continuing to outlaw the organisation.

Rima Fakhry, the only woman member of Hizbullah's leadership, spoke to the Guardian during a trip to London that ends today.

The British government has outlawed Hizbullah's military wing, which it calls its "external security organisation", because it regards it as a terrorist operation. A UK review of whether to ban the group's political wing is expected to report soon, the Guardian has learned.

Mrs Fakhry urged Britain and Europe to resist US and Israeli pressure to decide Hizbullah is a terrorist group: "There is no reason for that and Europe knows it is not true Hizbullah is a terrorist group."

She insisted the group's military actions were targeted only against Israelis inside Lebanon: "When someone comes and kills our people we have to kill him, and we have many ways to defend our people."

Hizbullah was prominent in Lebanese armed resistance to Israel's invasion and occupation. In 2000, when Israeli forces pulled out, Hizbullah claimed a small area of the country, Shebaa Farms, which borders Lebanon and Syria. The Israelis continue to occupy the farms, although the official view of Syria, the current Lebanese government and Hizbullah is that the area belongs to Lebanon, which is why Hizbullah engages with the Israelis there.

Mrs Fakhry, appointed to Hizbullah's political council six months ago, said the group would ignore a UN resolution demanding militias in Lebanon disarm: "We keep our weapons because Israel occupies Shebaa Farms, we still have captives in Israeli jails and Israel is still practising violations against us."

Israel accuses Hizbullah of aiding violent Palestinian resistance to Israeli rule and terrorism attacks against citizens of the Jewish state.

Mrs Fakhry said: "We have no involvement in Palestine. We have strong feelings towards Palestine, if we can, we can help a lot.

"We will send weapons if they need, but there are borders, it is difficult to get the weapons to them.

"We are working for the liberation of Lebanese land. Inside Palestine is the role of Palestinians."

She said she could not see a time when Lebanon and Israel could coexist peacefully: "Do you imagine one day the wolf and the sheep will live in peace? This is only in Walt Disney [films] maybe."

Mrs Fakhry said her group believes in the destruction of Israel and expulsion of tens of thousands of Jews: "This is a hope, a long-term strategy.

"Israelis don't have a right to stay in Palestine, the state of Israel is an illegal state.

"One day the Palestinians will destroy Israel and return to their land."

Hizbullah wins kudos among the Lebanese for its fighting prowess against the Israeli invaders, but is also making more moderate noises.

She says the September 11 al-Qaida attacks on the US were wrong because they targeted civilians: "The US people is not our enemy, the US leadership is against us and agitate the US people against Hizbullah."

The US brands Hizbullah as a terrorist organisation because it believes the group was involved in the kidnapping and murder of its former CIA chief in Beirut and in the 1983 bombing of a US marine barracks in Beirut which killed 240 Americans.

Mrs Fakhry said the attack, which followed US warships pounding targets on Lebanese land, was self-defence, words that will anger Washington: "It's a result of what the US did to the Lebanese but we had nothing to do with it.

"It is the right of someone whose family and children were killed because of the US bombardment ... It was a state of war.

"It was an act of self-defence, it got a result and the US went out."

Today sees the third round of elections in Lebanon. Hizbullah did well in the second round and is expected to do well today.

Yesterday Mrs Fakhry spoke at a London conference about Palestine.

A Home Office spokeswoman said Hizbullah's political wing was not banned in Britain because the government believed "there was a prospect of engaging the military wing of Hizbullah in the Middle East peace process", while a Foreign Office spokesman said the UK used "low level" contacts with the group to "encourage them to renounce violence and focus instead on politics". The Foreign Office added: "We keep their status under constant review."

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,11538,1505123,00.html

[Casey]

Monday, June 13, 2005
Baalbek-Hermel backs Hizbullah
By Morshed al-Ali
Daily Star correspondent

Bekaa

BAALBEK-HERMEL: Hizbullah's electoral list took the majority of votes in Baalbek-Hermel, which saw a total voter turnout of 50 percent. Three electoral lists competed in the Bekaa first district with a sweeping victory for Hizbullah and its allies, including the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, the Baath Party, the Amal movement and the Phalange Party.

Several irregularities were reported to the concerned authorities regarding access to electoral cards and the absence of names on polling registration lists.

A Lebanese Forces (LF) presence was felt for the first time in the Maronite town of Deir al-Ahmar, which saw loud demonstrations of flags and pictures of LF's jailed leader Samir Geagea and his wife Strida.

Lebanese Forces supporters also joined a demonstration held in Qaa by the families of those missing or detained in Syrian prisons.

Meanwhile, the Free Patriotic Movement hit the streets with its only candidate Brigadier Salim Kallas.

The town of Arsal, having a majority of Sunnis, had two main candidates from the Future Movement.

Candidates from the electoral list of Yehia Shamas threw accusations at Hizbullah candidates concerning the issuing of fake electoral cards in the border town of al-Qasr, and sources said a supporter of Shamas was attacked in the town of al-Boustane.

In other developments, some 3,200 Lebanese living in Syria, as well as naturalized residents, entered the Lebanon to cast their votes in the nine polling stations provided especially for them in the town of al-Qasr.

There were complaints of a lack of EU observers visiting the polling stations, particularly in the town of Hermel.

During his visit to the polling stations, Baalbek-Hermel MP Ghazi Zeaiter said: "The Lebanese people were capable of facing the Israeli enemy and will be capable of defending their national unity."

He added that this year's parliamentary elections differed from previous elections as "they determined the fate of the country."

For his part, Baalbek-Hermel MP Ibrahim Bayan urged the citizens to vote for Hizbullah in order to protect the resistance and preserve its arms.

Duraid Yaghi, Vice President of the Progressive Socialist Party and candidate in the Baalbek-Hermel Development electoral list, said that the candidates were competing in a democratic way and that the elections there were transparent. For his part, member of Hizbullah's Shura Council Sheikh Mohammad Yazbek said: "The elections in Baalbek-Hermel display the loyalty of its citizens to the martyrs who fought against Israel and for the Lebanese resistance."

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=15871#

[Casey]

Hezbollah appeals to Britain over ban

By Vikram Dodd
LONDON: A leading member of the Shia Lebanese group Hezbollah has urged Britain not to bow to US and Israeli pressure by continuing to outlaw the organization. Rima Fakhry, the only woman member of Hezbollah’s leadership, spoke to the Guardian during a trip to London. The British government has outlawed Hezbollah’s military wing, which it calls its “external security organization”, because it regards it as a “terrorist operation.” A UK review of whether to ban the group’s political wing is expected to report soon, the Guardian has learned.

Mrs Fakhry urged Britain and Europe to resist US and Israeli pressure to decide Hezbollah is a terrorist group: “There is no reason for that and Europe knows it is not true Hezbollah is a terrorist group.” She said the group’s military actions were targeted only against Israelis inside Lebanon: “When someone comes and kills our people we have to kill him, and we have many ways to defend our people.”

Hezbollah was prominent in Lebanese armed resistance to Israel’s invasion and occupation. In 2000, when Israeli forces pulled out, Hezbollah claimed a small area of the country, Shebaa Farms, which borders Lebanon and Syria. The Israelis continue to occupy the farms, although the official view of Syria, the current Lebanese government and Hezbollah is that the area belongs to Lebanon, which is why Hezbollah engages with the Israelis there.

Mrs Fakhry, appointed to Hezbollah’s political council six months ago, said the group would ignore a UN resolution demanding militias in Lebanon disarm: “We keep our weapons because Israel occupies Shebaa Farms, we still have captives in Israeli jails and Israel is still practising violations against us.”

Israel accuses Hezbollah of aiding Palestinian resistance to Israeli rule and “terrorism” attacks against citizens of the Jewish state. Mrs Fakhry said: “We have no involvement in Palestine. We have strong feelings towards Palestine, if we can, we can help a lot. “We will send weapons if they need, but there are borders, it is difficult to get the weapons to them. “We are working for the liberation of Lebanese land. Inside Palestine is the role of Palestinians.”

She said she could not see a time when Lebanon and Israel could coexist peacefully: “Do you imagine one day the wolf and the sheep will live in peace? This is only in Walt Disney [films] maybe.” Mrs Fakhry said her group believes in the destruction of Israel and expulsion of tens of thousands of Jews: “This is a hope, a long-term strategy.

“Israelis don’t have a right to stay in Palestine, the state of Israel is an illegal state. “One day the Palestinians will destroy Israel and return to their land.”

She says the September 11 Al Qaida attacks on the US were wrong because they targeted civilians: “The US people are not our enemy, the US leadership is against us and it agitate the US people against Hezbollah.” The US brands Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation because it believes the group was involved in the kidnapping and murder of its former CIA chief in Beirut and in the 1983 bombing of a US marine barracks, carried out by a female member of Hezbollah, in Beirut which killed 240 Americans.

Mrs Fakhry said the attack, which followed US warships pounding targets on Lebanese land, was self-defence, words that will anger Washington: “It’s a result of what the US did to the Lebanese but we had nothing to do with it. “It is the right of someone whose family and children were killed because of the US bombardment. It was an act of self-defence, it got a result and the US went out.”—Dawn/The Guardian News Service
http://www.dawn.com/2005/06/15/int14.htm

[The 801]

'Hezbollah drugs ring' broken up

Police in Ecuador say they have broken up an international drugs ring which was raising money for the Islamic militant group, Hezbollah.
The authorities have declined to give details of the gang's alleged links with the group, but say it was sending Hezbollah up to 70% of its profits.

Ecuadorean officials say the drugs network was run by a Lebanese restaurant owner in the capital, Quito.

Officials are hailing it as a success in both the war on drugs and on terror.

Arrests abroad

Along with the restaurant owner, identified as Rady Zaiter, who was arrested in Colombia last week, six other suspects were also detained in Ecuador.

They are said to originate from Algeria, Ecuador, Lebanon, Nigeria and Turkey.

The police investigation, codenamed Operation Damascus, led to the arrests of a further 19 people Brazil and the United States.

Police say that the gang were obtaining cocaine from neighbouring Colombia and trafficking it to Europe, the Middle East and the rest of South America.

The drugs were either hidden in suitcases with false bottoms or in the stomachs of couriers.

The BBC's Elliot Gotkine says airport officials are said to have been bribed to turn a blind eye.

Ecuadorean police say that each drugs shipment was worth $1m and that up to 70% of the profits went to the Islamic militant group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah - or Party of God - emerged in Lebanon in the early 1980s and became the region's leading radical Islamic movement, determined to drive Israeli troops from Lebanon.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4117960.stm

[Casey]

Winner on Gaza sidelines (http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20051026-095053-8089r.htm)

By Aaron Mannes
Published October 27, 2005


While the headlines focus on the power struggle between Hamas and Fatah for control of Gaza, the real winner is Iran, which, with its proxy Hezbollah, has been infiltrating all of the Palestinian terrorist groups for over a decade. The general disorder will leave Iran with a free hand to use Gaza as a platform for terror, not just against Israel, but worldwide. Along with Tehran's quest for nuclear weapons and subversion in Iraq, the Iranian effort to subsume the Palestinian terrorist groups is a central component of Iran's bid to become the dominant Middle Eastern power.

Iranian influence extends deeply into every Palestinian faction, guaranteeing Tehran's sway whatever power structure emerges in Gaza. Palestinian Islamic Jihad is entirely dependent on Iranian funding and has been Iran's proxy in the West Bank and Gaza for nearly a decade. Fatah and Hamas, the leading Palestinian factions, are also being taken over by Iran. Working with Hezbollah, Iran has generously supported every Palestinian faction, providing cash, training equipment, medical treatment, and even how-to bomb making videos. Hezbollah provided assistance in launching many of the al-Aqsa Intifada's bloodiest attacks, including the March 2002 Passover Massacre. This generosity, combined with the vacuum created by Israel's strategy of eliminating terrorist leaders, has enabled Hezbollah to recruit Palestinians and establish their own network in the West Bank, Gaza and among Israeli Arabs. Israeli intelligence reports that Hezbollah now directs most Palestinian terror operations.

Some leaders from both Hamas and Fatah have complained about Hezbollah's infiltration. Weeks before he died, Yasser Arafat complained, " Khamenei is working against us. He is giving money to all these fanatical groups. Khamenei is a troublemaker."
But Hezbollah and Iran are also recruiting Hamas and Fatah leaders. Hamas' Gaza leaders had tried to maintain the organization's independence. But with Israel's spring 2004 assassination of Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin, control of Hamas passed to the Damascus-based leadership who are aligned with Iran and Syria. They quickly invited Hezbollah to play a more active role in the al-Aqsa Intifada.

A Fatah victory over Hamas for control of Gaza will not contain Iranian influence. Farouq Qaddumi, Arafat's successor as Fatah leader, is relocating to Gaza to better compete with Mahmoud Abbas for control of Fatah and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Mr. Qaddumi, who has close links to Iran and Syria and opposed the peace process, has founded his own militia and has actively aided Hezbollah infiltration of the PA and Fatah. Many of the thousands of Lebanon-based Fatah members relocating to Gaza are also linked to Hezbollah and Iran. Fatah's leader in Lebanon, Munir Maqdah, head of the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, helped Hezbollah funnel money to West Bank terror cells.

Israel will continue to be the primary target of Gaza's terrorists. Israeli officials now view Gaza as a secure rear echelon for emboldened West Bank terrorism. But there are regional and international implications beyond Iran's ability to strike Israel and disrupt Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.
Within the Middle East, Persian and Shia Iran's efforts to export its Islamist revolution were hampered by its ethnic and sectarian isolation from the Sunni Arab mainstream. While Hezbollah has been an effective Arab proxy, it was still isolated from the Sunni mainstream by its Shi'ism. The Palestinians of Gaza are Arab Sunni Muslims and Hamas, which grew from the Muslim Brotherhood, may prove a particularly effective intermediary to the broader Arab world. Gaza based-radicalism threatens both Egypt, which has its own violent Islamist movements, and Jordan, where Hamas is closely aligned with the Islamic Action Front, Jordan's leading opposition party.

The Palestinian terrorist groups will augment Hezbollah's international reach. Hamas has a global logistics network that could support operations. Both Hamas and Fatah have international reputations that could attract recruits for terror attacks around the globe. The attack on Mike's Place by two British citizens of Pakistani descent who were recruited in Britain by Hamas could be a harbinger of this trend.

From Beirut to Buenos Aires and throughout Europe and the Middle East, Iran has used terrorism to achieve its ends. Influence over the Palestinian terrorist networks extends Iran's ability to intimidate and murder its enemies and is an integral part of Tehran's efforts to dominate the Middle East.

[I]Aaron Mannes, author of the TerrorBlog (www.profilesinterror.com) and "Profiles in Terror: The Guide to Middle East Terrorist Organizations" (Rowman & Littlefield-JINSA Press), researches terrorism at the Maryland Information and Network Dynamics Laboratory (profilesinterror.mindswap.org) at the University of Maryland. Opinions expressed here are his own.

http://washingtontimes.com/commentary/20051026-095053-8089r.htm

[Petronas]

Lebanon's Largest Government University Hosts Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV Symposium Calling to Wipe Israel Off The Map: "Just Like Hitler Fought The Jews…We Too Should Fight The Jews and Burn Them"
December 15, 2005

The following are excerpts from a symposium of students at Universite Libanaise, hosted by Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV and broadcast on November 29, 2005. The symposium marked the anniversary of November 29, 1947, the day the U.N. General Assembly passed the Partition Plan, which is marked annually in the Arab world with ceremonies of solidarity with the Palestinians. Al-Manar's TV symposium was devoted to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and participants included Shafiq Al-Hut, a former PLO representative in Lebanon, and Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian students.

It should be noted that Universite Libanaise [1] is Lebanon's only government-run university, and the country's largest. [2]

TO VIEW THIS CLIP, VISIT: http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=962 .

Mediator: "The Arab regimes have all accepted the establishing of a Palestinian state on the territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In other words, the 1967 borders only. They believe that the reality and the balance of power do not allow more than that at this stage. Do you support this 'realism,' or do you adhere to what has come to be known as the historical, original Palestine? Let us... Let us... Go ahead."

Student 1: "My name is Hisham Sham'as, and I study political science. I just want to say everyone is talking about..."

Mediator: "Please address the question."

Hisham Sham'as: "The state shouldn't be only within the 1976 borders... Or rather, 1967... Israel must be wiped out."

Mediator: "You mean, reviving the motto of erasing Israel from the map."

Hisham Sham'as: "Israel should be completely wiped out, so the Palestinians will have a country to return to."

Mediator: "If someone tells you this motto is unrealistic, how would you respond?"

Hisham Sham'as: "There is no such thing as unrealistic. Just as Israel... Just like Hitler fought the Jews - We are a great Islamic nation of Jihad, and we too should fight the Jews and burn them."

[...]

Student 2: "Avian flu hit the entire world, and they are trying to find a cure for it now. As for Israel - the only cure for it is to wipe it off the map."

[...]

Mediator: "What's your name?"

Student 3: "Mahmoud Fakhri. I hope what I have to say is not too inciting."

Mediator: "Go ahead and incite. This is what we're looking for. We want some action."

Mahmoud Fakhri: "In all honesty, the Arab people should overturn the disappointing regimes."

Mediator: "Now you are really inciting..."

Fakhri: "In all honesty, any disappointing government that wants to normalize relations with the Zionist enemy and to sell out the Arab cause, and especially Jerusalem - the people must topple this regime and have its say."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] The University was created in 1953 by the Lebanese State. According to its website, it is "morally independent and enjoys administrative, academic and financial autonomy." The rector is Dr. Ibrahim Kobeissi. The site is both in French and Arabic, but the home page is in French http://www.ul.edu.lb/index.htm . The University Rector - Ibrahim Kobeissi, wrote the following in his personal message on the site: "The Universite Libanaise is a moral entity enjoying administrative, academic and financial autonomy. Its mission mainly focuses on the following three points: teaching, research and the spreading of culture [...] The philosophy of the university is founded on freedom of thought, independent judgment and reject of authoritarianism." http://www.ul.edu.lb/francais/presiden.htm

[2] According to the University's website, in the academic year 2000/2001 there were 68,510 students. 85.7% of the foreign students (6,165 in 2000/2001) came from Arab countries.

http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD104905

[Vancouver]

Hizbollah is Shiite (Lebanon/Syria/Iran), and it shows in this "university symposium" staged by Hizbollah.

Mediator: "What's your name?"
Student 3: "Mahmoud Fakhri. I hope what I have to say is not too inciting."
Mediator: "Go ahead and incite. This is what we're looking for. We want some action."
Mahmoud Fakhri: "In all honesty, the Arab people should overturn the disappointing regimes."He must be referring to Sunni regimes and maybe the PA. I don't know anything about that Lebanese university, but it's common for a totally biased organization to try to hold its "debates" at a university, in the hope of stealing some caché of education and impartiality. I say again, watch the manipulation of students by Ahmadinejad in Tehran.

Hamas is different. Sunni. Based in Gaza. Endorsed by Sunni dictators and Sunni terrorist revolutionaries alike. But a lot of Israelis have Hizbollah on the brain and they see it everywhere.

But with Israel's spring 2004 assassination of Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin, control of Hamas passed to the Damascus-based leadership who are aligned with Iran and Syria.
...
But Hezbollah and Iran are also recruiting Hamas and Fatah leaders.
That's not in line with what I've been seeing: increasing Salafism and general Sunni religiosity on the part of Hamas. I'll get back to Hamas and Gaza.

[Vancouver]

About the Shiite Axis of Iran/Syria/PartOfLebanon, it would be nice to know more about the smuggling of Iranian-made weapons, which, of course, are for sale to Sunnis too.

[Petronas]

Terror group cloned cellphones of Rogers execs
Sun. Dec. 18 2005 8:54 AM ET

A group linked to terrorist organization Hezbollah has cloned the cellphones of Rogers Communications executives, including that of CEO Ted Rogers, The Globe and Mail reported Saturday. Cloning involves duplicating a cellphone's number and encrypted security code.

The story came to light after law professor Susan Drummond returned from a month-long trip abroad, only to find her Rogers cellphone bill was more than $12,000, The Globe reported. The Rogers Wireless bill listed more than 300 calls made in the month of August, some to foreign countries, including Pakistan, Libya, Syria, India and Russia. When Drummond called about the bill, she was told she would have to pay it -- and that prompted her and her partner, Harry Gefen, to begin researching the cellphone giant.

In September, Gefen attended the Toronto Fraud Forum -- an annual conference for security experts -- where he spoke to Cindy Hopper, a manager in Rogers security department. She told him that terror groups had repeatedly cloned cellphones of Rogers executives to make thousands of calls overseas, The Globe reported. Hopper also said terror groups had identified Rogers executives as perfect targets because the company would be reluctant to shut off their phones due to inconvenience to busy executives.

Gefen, who is a technology journalist, tape recorded his conversation with Hopper, who did not know he was an aggrieved customer, according to The Globe. Based on that interview, Drummond is considering legal action against Rogers. She claims that Rogers can spot a fraud-in-progress, and yet does not shut down the phones. Rogers has automated security systems alerting them to radical changes in calling patterns, Hopper reportedly told Geffen.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051217/rogers_cellphones_cloning_051217/20051217?hub=TopStories

[Petronas]

Hezbollah highly skilled at infiltrating technology, experts say
Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Security experts say it's no surprise that a group linked to Hezbollah cloned the cellphones of Ted Rogers and other high-level Rogers executives. The Iranian-backed radical Shia group based in Lebanon -- regarded by many as even more sophisticated than al-Qaeda -- has sharpened its counterintelligence expertise over the years by keeping a step ahead of Mossad, Israel's secret service. Hezbollah, whose name means Party of God, has become ever more adept at intercepting electronic surveillance, penetrating cellphone networks and recruiting computer science technicians. "Hezbollah has a long history of underworld wrestling, matching wits with Israeli intelligence agents," said Wesley Wark, an intelligence expert at the University of Toronto. "Hezbollah has become technologically more sophisticated to avoid detection. It's an ironic spinoff of having Western agencies monitor their communications."

Cindy Hopper, a manager at Rogers security department, told a Toronto fraud conference in September, 2005, that a group linked to Hezbollah not only cloned Mr. Rogers' cellphone, but search warrants revealed the group was also making phony passports, credit cards and other false documents. She discovered the individuals were taking their scanners to Rogers' north building, where the senior executives worked, knowing that nobody would want to cut off the cellphones of Mr. Rogers or those directly reporting to him. The impostors would call Iran, Lebanon, Kuwait and Syria on the cloned phones.

Martin Rudner, head of the Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security Studies at Carleton University, said Hezbollah's terrorist arm raises funds in Canada, and has also been involved in the stealing of cars that are shipped to southern Lebanon. "Hezbollah successfully recruits computer scientists and is very effective in telecommunications and in encrypting their messages in order to defeat national security agents in Canada and the U.S.," he said.

In December, 2002, Hezbollah, whose goal is to establish a radical Shia theocracy in Lebanon and to destroy Israel, was declared a terrorist organization in Canada.

A recent high-profile case involving cigarette smugglers based in North Carolina revealed a Hezbollah cell had penetrated Vancouver three years earlier. In their book, Lightning out of Lebanon, authors Tom Diaz and Barbara Newman describe the 1999 case. They note that CSIS began tracking a group of Hezbollah agents in Vancouver. They were buying high-tech equipment, using money sent to them from Hezbollah in Lebanon and from a cigarette-smuggling ring in North Carolina.

Mr. Diaz and Ms. Newman note that Hezbollah in Canada is also known to recruit operatives.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20051220/HEZBOLLAH20/TPNational/Canada

[Petronas]

I am concerned that, if there is a an attack in the near future on the Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States, or Israel with U.S. support, Hezbollah, with its strong Iranian sponsorship, may break with past precedent and carry out attacks against the United States. I believe that their infrastructure in North America, so far used only for recruiting and fund raising, may well equal or exceed that of Al Qaeda.

[Casey]

Terror group cloned cellphones of Rogers execs
Sun. Dec. 18 2005 8:54 AM ET

A group linked to terrorist organization Hezbollah has cloned the cellphones of Rogers Communications executives, including that of CEO Ted Rogers, The Globe and Mail reported Saturday. Cloning involves duplicating a cellphone's number and encrypted security code.

Follow-up

Rogers Responds to Globe and Mail Story

TORONTO, Dec. 19 /CNW/ - Rogers today responded to a story that
originally appeared in the Globe and Mail on Saturday, December 17th. The
Globe's story described an incident in 1998 which involved the "cloning" of
analogue cell phones of senior Rogers' executives. The facts are as follows:

The cloning incident referred to occurred seven years ago on a single
Rogers' executive phone. At that time, cloning was an industry-wide problem
which has been removed as a result of the industry move to digital technology.

In fact, the vast majority of Rogers' customers today are on GSM digital
phones, the world standard upon which more than a billion phones are in
operation worldwide, and cloning of these phones is virtually impossible.

Ms. Susan Drummond's situation had to do with a lost or stolen phone and
had nothing to do with cloning. The phone charges have now been eliminated and
costs will be reimbursed. Ted Rogers was personally involved and apologized on
behalf of the company.

Rogers Wireless Inc. is Canada's largest wireless voice and data
communications services provider with offices in Canadian cities across the
country, more than 6.0 million customers, and two powerful brands: Rogers
Wireless and Fido. Rogers Wireless, which operates Canada's largest integrated
wireless voice and data network, providing advanced voice and wireless data
solutions to customers from coast to coast, is Canada's only carrier operating
on the GSM/GPRS technology platform, the world standard for wireless
communications technology. Rogers Wireless is a subsidiary of Rogers
Communications Inc. (TSX: RCI; NYSE: RG), a diversified Canadian
communications and media company. For further information, please visit
www.rogers.com
%SEDAR: 00006019EF

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2005/19/c1991.html

[Casey]

An interesting forum Lebanese Forces Political Forum

http://www.lebanese-forces.org/vbullet/forumdisplay.php?f=18

[Casey]

Hizbullah is Lebanon's bulwark against Al-Qaeda
'We do not have any relations with that group'

By Clancy Chassay
Special to The Daily Star
Saturday, December 24, 2005

Hizbullah is Lebanon's bulwark against Al-Qaeda

ANALYSIS

Since the events of September 11, 2001, there have been numerous attempts to link Hizbullah to Al-Qaeda - some more plausible than others. Investigation, however, reveals considerable animosity between the two groups, and two leading academics on the subject suggest Hizbullah may be Lebanon's best protection against an Al-Qaeda presence in the country.

On October 28, the Kuwaiti newspaper As-Siyassa reported Hizbullah was training Arab fighters for Al-Qaeda in Iran. In August the same paper ran a story with the headline: "Most of [Al-Qaeda's commander in Iraq Abu Musab] Zarqawi's men are Palestinians trained by Hizbullah."

Then last week, the Shiite weekly Ash-Shiira claimed Al-Qaeda had set up a major base of operations in Lebanon and that alleged Hizbullah associate Imad Moughniye was now representing Al-Qaeda in talks with potentially sympathetic Palestinian groups in the country.

Hizbullah's director of media relations Mohammad Afif Naboulsi firmly denies the alleged links to the militant jihadi network, "We do not have any relation with that group, not in the present nor in the past. They are working toward tearing the Islamic Nation apart, dividing Muslims into numerous sects and mutilating the face of Islam in the world."

Amal Ghorayeb of the Lebanese American University believes any operational cooperation between the two groups is out of the question. "Hizbullah would in no way share Al-Qaeda's goals. The Americans have to understand Al-Qaeda is a threat to American security, Hizbullah is simply a threat to American interests," says Ghorayeb.

An expert and writer on Hizbullah, Ghorayeb says: "Al-Qaeda would never work with Hizbullah; their greatest enemies are the Shiites. There is a very strong cultural and religious animosity on the side of Al-Qaeda."

Last week a Shiite cleric in Lebanon received a death threat from an Al-Qaeda-type Salafi jihadist group confirming this hostility.

And on July 27, Al-Mustaqbal reported that a group calling itself the "Al-Qaeda Organization in the Levant, Umar Brigade - Lebanon Province" had announced plans to assassinate senior members of Hizbullah along with the country's most senior Shiite clerics and politicians.

The statement accuses senior Hizbullah officials of "treason with the US, British and Israeli enemies of Islam against the victorious resistance and its great leaders ... our master Imam Osama bin Laden and the mujahid Sheikh Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi."

Afif dismisses the statement as "fabricated locally" but says: "These groups have issued threats before and they find it very easy to kill so we must take them seriously."

According to Dr. Redwan Sayyed, considered Lebanon's foremost expert on Al-Qaeda and a professor of Islamic history at the Lebanese university, Salafi Jihadi ideologues, described as the intellectual voices of Al-Qaeda, view Hizbullah with deep disdain and are threatened by the Shiite group's popularity on the Sunni Arab street.

Contributors to pro Al-Qaeda Web sites such as Global Islamic Media regularly refer to Hizbullah as Hizb al-Shaytan or "party of the devil" and in 2004, a leading scholar of jihadists in Saudi Arabia Abed al-Munim Mustafa Halimah published an article "the Lebanese Hizbullah rejectionist school" condemning Hizbullah for being nationalist, serving local interests and for their relationship with apostate Shiite Iran and the secular Assad regime in Syria.

Halimah, known as Abu Basir, accuses Hizbullah's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah of exploiting the January 2004 prisoner exchange with Israel solely for his organization's goal of exporting "Shiite Islam" to the Muslim world.

Sayyed says Hizbullah regards Al-Qaeda with similar contempt and has been preventing the network from gaining a foothold in the country.

"Al-Qaeda could not maintain a base in Lebanon because Hizbullah is against Al-Qaeda and has always worked to hinder Syria's accommodation of Al-Qaeda in Lebanon. One of the reasons Al-Qaeda has not been allowed by Syria to operate in Lebanon under the Sunnis is because of Hizbullah objection."

Sayyed believes "Hizbullah is not only a big military power, it is also a very big intelligence power and is using its intelligence network to keep Al- Qaeda out of Lebanon."

Ghorayeb agrees with this assessment, saying Hizbullah has been using its extensive intelligence network to counter Al-Qaeda growth in the country. "Nasrallah, drawing from Hizbullah intelligence, warned Al-Qaeda was trying to infiltrate Lebanon."

Sayyed says: "Hizbullah has a policy of taking action against Lebanese Sunni individuals who even claim to have links with Al-Qaeda, either by warning the individuals or telling the Syrians that if they didn't stop them 'then we will.'"

Hizbullah says they would act to prevent an Al-Qaeda attack but, apparently cautious of being drawn into an intra-Muslim sectarian conflict, the group says the organization needs to be defeated on an intellectual level.

Afif claims the party has been approached by mediators from the CIA "who asked us to collaborate by supplying them with information about Islamic groups."

He adds: "We will not be taken into a sectarian war between Muslims, but we believe it is the responsibility of the Islamic theologians, the Sunnis, as well as social figures and media to play a role in raising awareness about the dangers of these ideas."

Ghorayeb says Hizbullah is playing a delicate balancing game between Lebanon's Sunni and Shiite communities.

"There are many instances of this Sunni-Shiite tension in Lebanon now, Hizbullah is really trying to safeguard the relations between the two groups. Now, I can tell you, the tension is a lot more palpable than it was," says Ghorayeb.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=21003#

[The 801]

Does anyone feel that this could be disinformation? The daily Star is usually a good source, but this contradicts some other items they have printed and goes against some of my personal beliefs here. Others opinions would be appreciated.

The "shakey" 801

[Casey]

Does anyone feel that this could be disinformation? The daily Star is usually a good source, but this contradicts some other items they have printed and goes against some of my personal beliefs here. Others opinions would be appreciated.

The "shakey" 801
I was thinking along those lines.

For an analysis it is confusing.

Interesting about the Hizbullah leaders being targetted by al Qaeda.

I can't say I've seen that statement...??

[Vancouver]

In August the same paper [As-Siyassa, Kuwait] ran a story with the headline: "Most of Zarqawi's men are Palestinians trained by Hizbullah."That is definitely false -- just Kuwaiti state propaganda for local consumption.
Amal Ghorayeb of the Lebanese American University believes any operational cooperation between the two groups is out of the question.I agree. Osama was never personally very anti-Shiite, but Zarqawi is, and so are Zarqawi's backers and recruiters in Arabia. Zawahiri nowadays is secondary to Zarqawi, and indulges the latter with anti-Shiite spew, encouraging him to expand the jihad to Syria, in particular. Obviously that is not what Hizbollah wants to hear.

[The 801]

German says Zarqawi behind her abduction
Wed Dec 28, 2005 4:27 PM ET


BERLIN (Reuters) - A German woman held hostage in Iraq for three weeks believes a group allied to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, abducted her and yet also set her free.

"I was quite clearly told about whom it concerned, namely a grouping of the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi group," Susanne Osthoff said in an interview conducted by German public television station ZDF on Tuesday and broadcast on Wednesday.

Zarqawi, who has a $25 million reward offered for his capture, is blamed for a relentless series of attacks, suicide bombings and beheadings in Iraq. His supporters have killed many, if not most, of the people they are known to have abducted.

Groups not allied to him have also kidnapped Westerners and have been more ready to free them in return for ransoms.

Osthoff, speaking from Doha and dressed in a yashmak or black veil covering all but her eyes, did not say why she believed she had been released.

The archaeologist, who converted to Islam and lived in Iraq, was seized heading north from Baghdad on November 25 by gunmen who threatened in a videotape to kill her and her driver unless Germany ended all support for the Iraqi government.

She was freed by December 18 after the intervention of the German government, which has declined to comment on any conditions for her release.

Osthoff, 43, has made it clear she is not rushing back to Germany, but there have been conflicting reports about whether she plans to return to Iraq.

She gave her first interview since her ordeal to Al Jazeera, telling the Arabic station her kidnappers had promised not to hurt her because she was a Muslim. Some German media wrongly referred to her saying she planned to return to Iraq.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and other leading government figures have strongly urged Osthoff not to go back to Iraq.

Asked by ZDF if it was indeed her intention to head for Iraq, Osthoff replied:

"That's a lie, I have the cassette here ... I have never said that, I wouldn't do so to such a dumb question and it has never been asked by the Arabs."

ZDF broadcast excerpts from the interview, in which Osthoff gives few direct answers and digresses at length.

She ended by thanking former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who made a televised appeal for her release, but pointedly declined to thank her sister who did the same.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-12-28T212701Z_01_KNE877174_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-HOSTAGE-GERMAN.xml&archived=False

OK, now this contradicts the Clancy Chassay assertion. Why would Hezbollah get a guy back from someone captured by AQ. I still see Mugniyeh's hand, or at least his philosophy in action here.

Second, I googled that Chassay guy, and he appears to have mainly published humanitarian type stories in the Palestinian press. And very few. That article that Casey posted looks like it was originally from last July or august. I think this Chassay is a red herring, and primary publishes with others.

I am assured that Hezbollah and AQ are in league with each other, and that Mugniyeh maintains that cooperation in the name of Islamic/Iranian hegemony.

The "more sure than ever, but thanks Casey" 801

[Casey]

I am assured that Hezbollah and AQ are in league with each other, and that Mugniyeh maintains that cooperation in the name of Islamic/Iranian hegemony.

The "more sure than ever, but thanks Casey" 801
Thank you, 801.

[The 801]

See seperate analyisis under Mugniyeh thread.

Lebanese Hezbollah's dignity result of jihad: Reyshahri


MECCA (IRNA) -- The Supreme Leader's representative for Hajj affairs, Hojatoleslam Mohammad Mohammadi Reyshahri, said here on Friday that the prestige achieved by the Lebanese Hezbollah has come as a result of jihad, resistance and obedience to Imam Khomeini's calling and that of his rightful successor.

Reyshahri made the remark at a meeting with the head of the Lebanese Hezbollah's representative office in Mecca, Sheikh Mohammad Yazbok.

He expressed the hope Hezbollah fighters, under the able guidance of their chief, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, would continue the path of resistance until they achieve complete victory against the Zionist occupiers.

Enemies of Lebanon and Islam are aware of Hezbollah's role, he said, adding that their efforts to defeat Hezbollah are doomed to fail.

Representatives of Hezbollah at the meeting praised the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the anti-Zionist resistance in Lebanon, and said Hezbollah fighters would never yield to pressure from the enemies and will not end their fight until the occupiers are defeated.

Meanwhile, Reyshahri, during a meeting with head of the Iraqi high delegation to the Hajj, Khalid al-Atiyah, said the Iraqi nation would be wise to walk in the path of religious jurisprudence.

He said a bright future awaits the Iraqi nation if it manages to establish a broad-based government in the country.

The enemies are continually hatching conspiracies in Iraq to serve their interests, he said, and urged the Iraqi ulema and nation to remain united and vigilant to neutralize their plots.

The Islamic Republic of Iran fully supports a government in Iraq that reflects the people's choice and is ready to expand bilateral cooperation with that country in all political, cultural and social fields, Reyshahri said.

Al-Atiyah, for his part, said terrorist acts do not diminish the Iraqi people's unity because they believe these are all orchestrated by foreign elements and regimes.

He said he was praying for peace and friendship to reign among Muslims all over the world in obedience to Islamic teaching.

Reyshahri urges Iranians to disseminate true Islam

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is considered the only state whose constitution is based on the Holy Quran and which is run by officials, led by the Supreme leader, who are committed to removing the people's weaknesses and capitalizing on their strengths," he told a gathering of Iranian pilgrims in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. He then urged Iranians to defend the Islamic system in this country in view of the fact that "arrogant powers, headed by the U.S. and the Zionist occupying regime, have mobilized to bring defeat to Islamic Iran."

Elsewhere in his talks, he hailed the Hajj pilgrimage as the most perfect mission ever mandated by God upon human beings through which they can clean their own impurities and those of societies in which they live.

He urged the Iranian pilgrims to follow the practices recommended by the Prophet Mohammad, his successor Imam Ali, and his infallible daughter Hazrat-e Fatemeh (PBUH).

http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=1/8/2006&Cat=2&Num=006

Whew, sound like they are picking a fight, and getting the troops in line. I believe this is not just for domestic consumption, but a warning of a warning, if that makes sense. - The 801

[Petronas]

HIZBULLAH ACQUIRES ADVANCED RUSSIAN WEAPONS
01/05/2006 11:55:52

TEL AVIV [MENL] -- Hizbullah has acquired advanced Russian-origin weapons from Syria. Israeli military sources said Hizbullah has deployed advanced rocket-propelled grenades procured from Syria. The sources said the RPGs, which arrived in April 2005, were used in the massive Hizbullah barrage on northern Israel in December. "Hizbullah is using rocket-propelled grenades that were bought by Syria from Russia," Israeli military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeevi-Farkash, told the Israeli Yediot Aharonot daily on Dec. 29. Later military sources identified the RPG acquired by Hizbullah as the RPG-29N. They said the rocket used in the launcher was the PG-29V.

http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2006/january/01_06_2.html

[The 801]

Iran's Hezbollah Connection
January 16, 2006 21 19 GMT

Summary

Iran's calculus in pursuing its ambitious nuclear agenda undoubtedly involves its key asset based in Lebanon: Hezbollah. Although Hezbollah has proven a useful tool for Tehran in the past, the Iranian regime might not be able to rely fully on its militant Shiite allies in the Levant to offset the Israeli threat.

Analysis

As evidenced by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's bellicose statements involving the relocation of Israel, Tehran's nuclear ambitions are underscored with a great deal of confidence. Iran derives much of this confidence from its reliance on its militant creation in Lebanon: Hezbollah.

Part of Iran's strategy in pushing its nuclear agenda involves tactically using Hezbollah to deliver timely reminders to Israel that the militant group's large cache of Katyusha rockets can effectively counter any threats of military action against Tehran; though it cannot be confirmed, Hezbollah is believed to have missiles that can reach Haifa in northern Israel.

Rumors are circulating in Beirut that Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani made an unofficial visit to Lebanon prior to Jan. 9, the date on which Iran decided to remove U.N. seals and resume uranium enrichment research; the rumored visit and Iran's decision could well be linked. Iran has persistently signaled to Israel that it can hit close to home, and whenever Israel's border with Lebanon flares up with rocket fire Tehran uses the opportunity to up the ante on the nuclear controversy. This is similar to Iran's tactic of using its links with Iraq's Shiite militias -- and Iraq's Shiite community as a whole -- to remind the West that Tehran can incite attacks and mass uprisings if its geopolitical interests are not met.

Hezbollah -- created by Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards in 1982 to export the Islamic revolution to the Arab world -- receives financial, ideological and armed support from Iran and from the Islamic republic's Alawite allies in Syria, who share Tehran's interest in pressuring Israel. The organization was particularly useful in the days of the civil war when Lebanon was overrun with warring militias and crawling with U.S., Israeli and French security forces along with Palestinian Liberation Organization fighters. However, the assassination in 2005 of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri considerably altered the political landscape in Lebanon. A number of resulting complications have affected Hezbollah's ability -- and willingness -- to serve as an effective Iranian satellite.

Iran is apparently displeased with Hezbollah leader Sayyid Hasan Nasrallah's failure to demonstrate complete loyalty to the regime. Complaints are circulating in Iran's regime that Nasrallah receives more directives from Damascus than from Tehran. Nasrallah might be acting under increased pressure to demonstrate that Hezbollah is an Arab-Lebanese entity, but whatever the reason for his behavior, Iran allegedly is now aiming to replace Nasrallah and merge the pro-Syrian Shiite Amal movement with a revamped Hezbollah. Unconfirmed reports indicate that Iran is grooming Hezbollah's Hashim Safieddine to replace Nasrallah -- a move that could erupt into a major rift within the organization.

Iran's concerns over Nasrallah coincide with its diminishing confidence in Syrian President Bashar al Assad, whose regime has been humiliated relentlessly by the ongoing U.N. investigation into the al-Hariri killing and former Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam's public display of defection. With Syria wrapped up in its own political tangle, Iran is setting out to secure a strong Shiite Lebanese bloc for itself -- beginning with its plan to consolidate support within Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has struggled to redefine itself as a Lebanese nationalist movement since the al-Hariri assassination. The group wants to avoid the touchy issue of disarmament and maintain its legitimacy as a resistance movement against Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon's Shebaa Farms, rather than be branded a "militia" and forced to disarm. To this end, Hezbollah has been using its political capital to negotiate with Saad al-Hariri -- Lebanon's leading Sunni political figure and son of the former prime minister -- to alter the government's stance toward fully implementing U.N. Resolution 1559, which calls for the disarmament of all Lebanese militias. Hezbollah and the Amal movement recently prompted a major Cabinet crisis and returned Lebanon to its usual political chaos when the government's Shiite ministers decided to boycott the Cabinet and gridlock the political system until the organization's demands are met. The Shiite ministers have refused to resign, and the prime minister cannot dismiss them -- which gives the Shiite bloc an effective bargaining tool to diminish international attempts to intervene in Lebanon, pressure the Syrian regime and force Hezbollah to disarm.

Adding to Hezbollah's difficulties is the growing presence of al Qaeda-linked militants attempting to set up a jihadist base in Lebanon. Lebanese security forces arrested 13 suspected al Qaeda members Jan. 13 and charged them with plotting terrorist attacks, forging documents and possessing weapons. It comes as no surprise that al Qaeda is attempting to build a presence in Lebanon. On Jan. 10, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq said in an Internet statement that it has waged "a new attack" against Israel by launching 10 Katyusha rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel "at the instructions of Osama bin Laden." As al Qaeda's Iraq node is threatened, the group faces more pressure to team up with dissident Palestinian militants in order to target Israel, penetrate al-Zarqawi's hometown in Jordan and develop an al Qaeda cell in Lebanon. Fledgling cells have already taken root in certain Palestinian refugee camps, such as Ain al-Hilweh in southern Lebanon.

Al Qaeda's major obstacle to setting up shop in Lebanon's mostly Shiite south is none other than Hezbollah, which views al Qaeda militants as encroaching on its territory. Hezbollah has serious ideological differences with al Qaeda and especially with al-Zarqawi, whose fighters have killed thousands of Shia in Iraq and reportedly have threatened to kill senior Shia Lebanese political and religious leaders. Al Qaeda's entry into the picture also complicates Hezbollah's relatively quiet resistance against Israel and its efforts to bolster its legitimacy as a political and military force working in Lebanon's interests.

Hezbollah's nature has changed significantly since the Lebanese civil war. Since then, the militant group has grown less useful to Iran as a counter to Israeli moves against Tehran. Though Iran highly values Hezbollah's physical threat to Israel, Tehran's big question as it charges forward with its nuclear campaign is whether Tel Aviv will consider Hezbollah a serious factor when it comes time for Israel to decide between rocket attacks from Lebanon and the larger threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.

http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=260881

[The 801]

Hezbollah acknowledges Funding Militant Palestinians
Thursday, 27 April, 2006 @ 3:57 PM

Beirut- Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged giving militant Palestinian factions financial and political support but denied arming them, in an interview published Thursday in a Lebnaese newspaper.

katayusha rockets 2.jpg Nasrallah did not name the groups in an extensive interview with As-Safir newspaper, but Hezbollah is known to have close ties to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

"They (the Palestinians) have fighters and expertise. They can produce a missile by logging on to the Internet," Nasrallah said.

"What they need is financial, political and media support. And we do not deny that we help them on those fronts," he said.

It was the first time that the Hezbollah leader, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, publicly acknowledged funding Palestinian militant groups -- an accusation made by Israeli officials.

Nasrallah said his group used to channel weapons to Palestinian militants but stopped in December 2001 after Jordanian authorities arrested three Hezbollah members carrying Katyusha rockets from Syria, bound for the West Bank.

"After the Jordan incident and arrest of a number of our brothers, the Palestinians told us, 'This is costing you politically and is a burden for the fighters. Send us the money and we will take care of it ourselves,"' Nasrallah said, adding that the Palestinian militants got their weapons from "the mafia and Israeli officers."

Nasrallah has repeatedly called on various Palestinian factions to step up their armed uprising against Israel as the only way to liberate their country from Israeli occupation. But he has denied past Israeli accusations that the Iran-backed Hezbollah was directing suicide bombings and other attacks on Israelis, or that it was a key sponsor of Palestinian violence.

His latest remarks take on added significance with the emergence last month of a Hamas-led Palestinian government. The United States and the European Union cut off funds to the Palestinian Authority because of Hamas' refusal to renounce violence and recognize Israel.

Nasrallah said Hamas should not have to recognize Israel.
"The people gave (Hamas) their confidence based on their commitment not to recognize Israel," he said.

Hamas and Hezbollah are both on the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist organizations, but are regarded in much of the Arab world as legitimate resistance movements against Israel. Hezbollah fought the Israeli occupation of south Lebanon until troops withdrew in May 2000, but still launches occasional attacks on Israeli forces in the Shebaa Farms area where the borders of Lebanon, Syria and Israel meet.

Iran & Hezbollah

The US appears to be extremely worried about Iran's involvement in the region. Yesterday U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said the United States wants a new U.N. Security Council resolution on continued Syrian interference in Lebanon and Iran's financial backing of guerrillas there.

Iran vowed on Wednesday to strike at U.S. interests worldwide if it is attacked by the United States, which is keeping military options open in case diplomacy fails to curb Tehran's nuclear program .

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the threat two days before the U.N. nuclear watchdog reports on whether Iran is meeting Security Council demands to halt uranium enrichment.

The US intelligence experts believe Iran will use Hezbollah teams to carry out terrorist attacks worldwide ,in the event of a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.


Source: Naharnet, AP, Ya Libnan

http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2006/04/hezbollah_ackno.php

[Hound]

posted elsewhere, but a must read for anyone following this thread, so, in case you missed it...

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=22249

[The 801]

N.Y. HEZBOLLAH HUNT


FEDS FEAR STRIKE AMID NUKE SHOWDOWN


By NILES LATHEM Post Correspondent



May 22, 2006 -- WASHINGTON - The Hezbollah terror group - one of the most dangerous in the world - may be planning to activate sleeper cells in New York and other big cities to stage an attack as the nuclear showdown with Iran heats up, sources told The Post.
The FBI and Justice Department have launched urgent new probes in New York and other cities targeting members of the Lebanese terror group.

Law-enforcement and intelligence officials told The Post that about a dozen hard-core supporters of Hezbollah have been identified in recent weeks as operating in the New York area.

Sources said the activities of these New York-based operatives are being monitored by FBI counterterrorism agents as part of a nationwide effort to prevent a possible terror strike if the confrontation with Iran over its nuclear program spins out of control.

Additional law-enforcement attention is being centered on the Iranian Mission to the United Nations, where there have already been three episodes in the last four years in which diplomats and security guards have been expelled for casing and photographing New York City subways and other potential targets.

The nationwide effort to neutralize Hezbollah sleepers in the United States, being spearheaded by the FBI and Justice Department's counterterrorism divisions, was triggered in January in response to alarming reports that Iran's fanatical president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, met with leaders of Hezbollah and other terror groups during a visit to Syria.

Among those attending the meetings, according to reliable reports, was Hezbollah's chief operational planner, Imad Mugniyah - considered one of the most dangerous terrorists in the world - who is responsible for the bombings of the 1983 U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut and who, more recently, provided Iraqi guerrillas with sophisticated explosive devices.

U.S. officials stressed there is no intelligence information pointing to an imminent attack by Hezbollah.

But officials said they have detected increased activity by Hezbollah operatives - including more heated rhetoric by its leaders and in Internet chat rooms as the U.S.-Iran diplomatic showdown heats up.

"Hezbollah is a group that the U.S. has to be concerned about in the current climate. Hezbollah is already coming under heavy pressure by the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon, and Ahmadinejad is under pressure on the nuclear issue," said Walid Phares, an outside terror expert who has briefed law-enforcement officials on Hezbollah in recent weeks.

"They are well funded, very well organized, and we assume that their penetration of the U.S. is deeper than al Qaeda's. It is only rational for the U.S. to think in pre-emptive ways. An attack here is clearly in the realm of the possible," Phares added.

A U.S. counterterrorism official called the latest effort a "major undertaking," with separate probes also under way in Los Angeles, Boston and Detroit.


Hezbollah has so far limited its activities in the United States to fund-raising and criminal enterprises. The FBI has already taken down two major rings, one in Charlotte, N.C., and one in Detroit, in which members were smuggling cigarettes, Viagra and baby formula, and kicking profits back to Hezbollah.

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/64107.htm

[Casey]

Hezbollah and al-Qaeda mirror growing tensions between Sunnis and Shiites

By Donna Abu-Nasr
ASSOCIATED PRESS

8:51 a.m. June 24, 2006

BEIRUT, Lebanon – To the outside world, the two groups appear to have much in common: Devoutly Muslim, fiercely hostile to Israel and the U.S., and high on Washington's list of terrorist groups.

Yet al-Qaeda in Iraq and Lebanon's Hezbollah are waging a worsening verbal dispute that threatens to burst into confrontation.

First came a fiery diatribe from al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi – just a week before he was killed by a U.S. airstrike – accusing Hezbollah of acting as a protective buffer for Israel.

Hezbollah, generally reserved in its comments on internal Islamic issues, began to react: One of its main political figures told The Associated Press it wasn't his group at all but al-Zarqawi that was the “tool” of United States and Israel.

The accusations on their face could be seen as little but competing propaganda. But the animosity runs far deeper than these two radical groups. There is a growing divide in the Middle East between Sunni Muslim extremists, including al-Zarqawi's group, and Shiite Muslim militants personified by Hezbollah.

Many see the emerging tensions as a dangerous trend that could lead to violent Shiite-Sunni conflict not just in Iraq but around the Persian Gulf.

What's unknown yet is whether al-Zarqawi's death could help ease the tensions. But the omens are grim: The man who al-Qaeda says is al-Zarqawi's successor has already vowed to complete what his predecessor began, including a brutal campaign against Shiites aimed at sparking a civil war in Iraq.

Shiite and Sunni tensions have existed in the Middle East for centuries.

The two branches of Islam live uneasily side by side in some countries, such as Lebanon, or in Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Other countries have a strong majority of one or the other that dominates, such as strongly Sunni Saudi Arabia whose Shiite minority is mostly politically repressed.

Al-Zarqawi brought all of that to a boil, because of “his personal hatred of Iraq's Shiite population,” said Richard Evans, terrorism editor at Jane's Information Group in London.

His goal was to create a Sunni Muslim religious-based government in Iraq, and he believed “that could only be achieved with the defeat of any Shiite-led Iraqi government,” Evans said. Thus, he tried to kill Shiites in Iraq, which is now ruled by a Shiite-led government.

Al-Zarqawi also may have worried that Hezbollah was too popular among Arab Sunnis – that it was his rival for Sunnis' affections across the region – because of its fight against Israel.

Hezbollah has wide political support among Arabs because it spearheaded the guerrilla warfare against Israel's 18-year occupation of a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, which ended with an Israeli withdrawal in 2000.

In his last audiotape, al-Zarqawi accused Hezbollah of having “serious ties” with the Jewish state.

“The party has raised false banners regarding the liberation of Palestine, while in fact it stands guard against Sunnis who want to cross the border” into Israel to launch attacks, he said.

Hezbollah publicly has remained quiet on the issue, apparently so as not to inflame feelings. But its officials, when reached by AP, were quick to react.

Hezbollah's political bureau member in charge of international relations, Nawaf al-Mussawi, accused al-Zarqawi of being a U.S.-Israeli tool against Arab resistance groups.

“His criminal acts are aimed at igniting civil wars and inciting sectarian fighting,” al-Mussawi said. “We will not permit the United States, Israel or its tools to kindle any kind of conflict in Lebanon – between Christians and Muslims or between Shiites and Sunnis.”

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden himself has never attacked Hezbollah and has always presented himself as trying to eliminate strife among Muslims, Evans said.

Indeed, al-Zarqawi's attacks on Shiite civilians in Iraq have been a point of conflict between his group and bin Laden.

Bin Laden has refrained from attacking Shiites despite the fact that his fundamentalist Sunni strain, called Wahhabi or sometimes called Salafist – like al-Zarqawi's – also considers Shiites as heretics.

“He (bin Laden) may, as an austere Salafist, have no particular love for Shiites or Hezbollah. But I'm not aware that he's ever singled them out for specific criticism,” Evans said.

With al-Zarqawi himself gone and despite the vow to carry on his work, Ibrahim Bayram, a Lebanese journalist who follows Hezbollah, said he did not expect the dispute to escalate.

“Hezbollah is very sensitive about getting involved in a sectarian quarrel,” said Bayram, who writes for the Lebanese An-Nahar daily. “It's very keen on keeping its image pure where the Sunnis are concerned because of its relations with Sunni groups, like the Palestinian ones.”

Hezbollah has close ties to several other Sunni militant groups, including the Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which it has provided with financial support and, allegedly, military training.

Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20060624-0851-militantsplit.html

[The 801]

Thanks Blood Hound,
While I always believed that anti US terrorism was a pressure relief for domestic problems that were covered over by repressive govenments, it seems that the real problems are being brought to the fore by the competition of the branches of islam. You cannot have an educated population and repression at the same time. One is has got to go.

This whole issue of a Caliphate and the hidden iman are just waiting to explode. If it wasn't for oil we could just step back and let them go at it.

Bad news all around.

An old essay....

The Palestinian/Israeli conflict and the War on terrorism
The Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism has made it clear that terrorism cannot be justified under any circumstances. We also said that the real cause of terrorism is an ideology called Political Islam.

We now need to focus on actions to defeat terrorism. With this in mind the Coalition believes that nothing can do more to win the war on terror than solving the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. No other issue has been more frequently used to justify global terrorism than the alleged support for the Palestinian cause.

The issue of Palestine and the suffering of the Palestinians is the single most important issue that unites the entire Muslim and Arab world. No issue evokes the passion of Muslims and Arabs as much as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is so important to Arabs and Muslims that every terrorist group from Morocco to Indonesia that seeks legitimacy and a following, places the "liberation" of Palestine at the forefront of their agenda. For example, Saddam Hussein responded to the world's request that he leave Kuwait by insisting that Israel first evacuate the West Bank and Gaza. Osama Bin Laden also invoked the Palestinian issue to justify 9-11. Iran has made the Palestinian issue its most important foreign policy priority since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Radical Shia cleric Muqtadar Al-Sadr tried to enhance his credibility by equating Iraqi suffering with Palestinian suffering.

In reference to this trend, Ibrahim Bayram, an analyst with Lebanon's An-Nahar Daily news paper, recently stated, "Whether in Lebanon or in Palestine, Hezbollah considers resisting the Israeli occupation to be part of its own struggle, if the Palestinian uprising ends, the justification for Hezbollah's own military existence ends too."
The strategic adoption of the Palestinian cause by terrorist organizations has made it difficult for peaceful Muslims and Arabs to attack these organizations whose sole basis for legitimacy comes from their adoption of the Palestinian cause and their publicized goal of ending the suffering of the Palestinians.

While the Coalition rejects the hijacking of the Palestinian issue as an excuse to use terror, we believe that the United States must be fully engaged in bringing peace between the Palestinians and Israelis. President Bush needs to place the full weight of the United States behind solving this issue. After the First Gulf War, President Bush Sr. understood the power of the Palestinian issue and did all he can to bring the parties together. President Clinton also understood the power of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and was unrelenting in bringing the parties together. George W. Bush must continue down that path that was begun by George Bush Sr. and continue to do everything possible to bring peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

We understand why President Bush does not want to work with Yasser Arafat. However, President Bush's refusal to work with Arafat does not mean we should do nothing. The United States can work with the Palestinian Prime Minister instead. If Arafat fires the Prime Minister, the United States should work with the prime minister that replaces him. This approach will keep the United States fully engaged in the search for peace while at the same time strengthens the office of the Palestinian Prime Minister. As the prime Minister's office becomes stronger, the ability of a Prime Minister to negotiate an end to hostilities will improve. This suggested approach is by no means the only available approach to bringing the Palestinians and Israelis closer together. However, no matter what approach the United States takes, it must continue being engaged and doing everything possible to solve the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.

Hundreds of innocent Palestinians and Israelis have been killed. The Killing of innocent civilians must stop. At the end of the day, the Palestinians and Israelis want freedom and peace. The Palestinians and Israelis want normal lives, want to be employed, want their children to become engineers, doctors and lawyers and we should do everything we can to help them achieve this goals.

Whether we like it or not, the suffering of the Palestinians is shared by more than a billion Arabs and Muslims. This fact has been manipulated by terrorist organizations and countries to gain recruits for their evil causes. By working to solve the Palestinian/Israeli conflict the United States can neutralize the most powerful recruiting tool available to terrorists.

There are only four million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The world has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on the war on terror. Spending a fraction of that money on improving the lives of the Palestinians and on bringing peace to Palestine and Israel will go a long way to winning the global war on terror.

By Kamal Nawash

http://www.freemuslims.org/document.php?id=32

[Casey]

Sheikh Sobhi parasite accuses Iran is the most dangerous sectarianism in the world


Sobhi parasite former Secretary-General of "Hezbollah" speaking newspaper Middle East : Iran threat to sectarianism in the world and the American spearhead the project and the resistance in Lebanon "hijacked" and become Israel's Border Guard

Sheikh parasite in the first modern press since Tuarih : I am willing to let the Ministers responsible for Justice, the Judiciary will hold accountable those who public money.

The Middle East wrote :

We watched "Sheikh", and shorten his supporters talk about. In what he described as a "saloon", which is similar to the room and area of about ten square meters. Mentala Khava bag over his head and a big "Rafiq path," Ayatollah Khomeini, and to part - Kalashnikov machine gun.

When : What made disappear from the scene and why the decision to return now? What is the legal Zak? He replied : "If it is necessary to honor the one in Lebanon, it is myself. Founded resistance that has derailed the Israeli enemy from our land occupied, I stood along with the people's issues and I remain. " We have started movements designated as "hungry revolution" of 1997, after I saw that the economic situation threatens the greatest dangers, people are no longer able to prospect. I have tried to move to compel the State to consider the issues Bakaeiin and the Lebanese in general, I called on everyone to Mouazerti or at least neutrality, But I was surprised Borthe Khomeni (Hezbollah) stand alongside those who public money and the wealth of expert state and the people aggressors against our people and mothers of the martyrs and the poor. Under the pretext that supporting the resistance does not make them capable of engaging in economic subjects and life. This absurd logic, and that Alaskhv not resist. Where supporting the weak and powder? The irony that some Iranian officials - in the face of enemy movements - and that their projects will be implemented within six months and will change the situation in the region considerably, But years have passed and these projects did not materialize foresight.

Q : When is that the resistance is over?

Is it under discussion? We have begun the end of the resistance since entered command deals Ktefahm July (July 1994), understanding of April (April 1996), which afforded protection to the Israeli settlements, with the consent of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iran.

But this understanding was considered a victory for Lebanon because a single Lebanese civilian also recognized the legitimacy of resistance. Although the resistance operations in the Shabaa Farms receive occasional understanding that the primary objective of neutralizing resistance into agreements with the Israelis. The operations Folkloric receive occasional useless because the Israeli satisfied. Is there a difference between Israel in the Shabaa Farms and Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories? This recognition by the occupying I think that the tents (Lebanese border town) is such as Acre and Haifa. What saddens me when that resistance Ahdeni young people to die for the liberation of the occupied Arab territories. now standing guard the borders of Israeli settlements, It is trying to carry out any action against the Israelis who are arrested and are weary of the types of torture in prisons.

Q : What prisons?

There have been more than one case, and who has acknowledged trying to Lebanese authorities to investigate the subject classification.

Q : It was a moment of transformation in the attitude of Iranian Hika, and whether Iran had a role in Abaadk resolution on the status of the party?

Despite everything that happened to me, I was keen to put the personal dimensions and on the overall situation, It did not touch on Iran, the leadership in spite of all the characters past events and personal situation. I was careful not to introduce any issue in the general framework of the positive person. But after the transformation that has occurred in the attitude of resistance and the transformation of Iran to the American coordinator in the region revealed that the Wright Samati.

* Returning to the moment of transformation in regard to the project which you represent in the "Hizbullah", which carries several titles including the failure of appeasement and attitudes sharp, In addition to the name associated with the party in that period Files serious as kidnapping hostages, and others.

Talk about the Western hostages and timely. We affirm that there is no connection to us. As for the matter of transformation is talking about can be summed up two things, first that there is a policy in Iran began to emerge after the departure of Imam Khomeini, It was clear that this policy is the understanding of Islam itself. The second matter that there are people who normally do not like fawning.

Q : You mean?

Iranians repeatedly said that when running with the same conviction Saglb last, and will never be clients Iran policy. I am your brother, no more, no less. But in the whole world, the powerful do not want partners, but would prefer the weak who condemn them blind loyalty. I do not like to Lathrk stepped on the foot in any direction. Is it between Muslim scholars say may insist support injustice to the poor and the Muslims? That is when it can not comply with the order eventually to Abadtk force and the means available.

Q : But the party discriminated Badek tone Lebanese.

In Lebanon, says that Iran does not interfere false. The resolution is not in Beirut, but in Tehran.

* Even during your term of office?

Yes, even during the mandates of the (leadership) central location in Iran in the resolution. But then there is harmony in attitudes and decisions. We did not consider that the decisions dictate, but convictions. When an order comes from the Imam Khomeini or others appointed by the Israel fought tell us, we do not consider it to be but one of the convictions.

* Was the departure Khomeni early separation with Iran?

Transport : the beginning of the disparity.

Q : Does the inconsistency in what it speaks of collusion between the Iranian and American pressures exerted on Iran and the West?

So as not to delude ourselves, I would say there is no doubt that there is a dialogue initiated by the Iranian American invasion of Iraq. The delegation from the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in favour of Iran visited Washington this end. The Iranian currents in Iraq is part of the structure established by the United States in Iraq. Even if a senior preachers in the Iranian capital Friday said in a Friday sermon that Iran would not Lgerqet America in the solution of Afghanistan. Iranians directly Americans enter Afghanistan and facilitate their survival. The saying about the arrest of a former ambassador here and talk about nuclear weapons is entering a section of the American quest to improve the conditions of Iranian cooperation. Sectarianism is now being used in Iran to support the American project in Afghanistan. From here I tell all the Shiites in the world that the name is nothing to do with them. These acts of the injured, most of Islam and sectarianism.

* Atakul that there is a danger to him from Iran?

Yes, it could be that some forces want to prove jurisdiction. I am sure that the day will come when the American defeated, then there will be anger on both Sar project. It may be revenge and liquidations which are victimizing minority Shiite Iran powerful state can protect itself. We sow what we truly declare openly and clearly that we reject any policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and other support infidel invasion of our country. We consider this an act of aggression on our nation. It may not be that good of the people who came Balamam Khomeni to tie prevented from carrying out his duties. I would like to all Muslims in the world to say to them that any discord serves your enemy.





الشيخ صبحي الطفيلي يتهم إيران انها الاخطر على التشيع في العالم


صبحي الطفيلي الأمين العام الأسبق لـ"حزب الله" تحدث لصحيفة الشرق الاوسط : إيران خطر على التشيع في العالم ورأس حربة المشروع الأميركي والمقاومة في لبنان "خطفت" وأصبحت حرس حدود لإسرائيل
الشيخ الطفيلي في أول حديث صحافي منذ تواريه: أنا مستعد لأكون وزيرا للعدل أو مسؤولا عن القضاء الذي سيتولى محاسبة سارقي المال العام .
فقد كتبت الشرق الاوسط :
استقبلنا "الشيخ"، كما يختصر انصاره حديثهم عنه، في ما وصفه بـ"الصالون" وهو يشبه الغرفة ومساحته تقارب العشرة امتار مربعة، منتعلاً خفاً بلاستيكياً وفوق رأسه صورة كبيرة لـ"رفيق دربه"، آية الله الخميني، والى جانبه رشاش من طراز كلاشنيكوف.
سألناه: ما الذي جعلك تختفي عن الساحة ولماذا قرار العودة الآن؟ وما هو وضعك القانوني؟ فأجاب: "اذا كان لا بد من تكريم احد في لبنان، فهو انا. فقد اسست المقاومة التي اخرجت العدو الاسرائيلي من ارضنا المحتلة، ووقفت الى جانب قضايا الناس وما زلت". لقد بدأت حركتي التي سميت "ثورة الجياع" عام 1997 بعدما رأيت ان الوضع الاقتصادي ينذر بأكبر الاخطار والناس لم تعد قادرة على الاحتمال. وقد حاولت القيام بتحرك لاجبار الدولة على النظر الى قضايا البقاعيين واللبنانيين عموماً، ودعوت الجميع الى مؤازرتي او على الاقل الحياد، لكني فوجئت بورثة الخميني (حزب الله) يقفون الى جانب سارقي المال العام وناهبي ثروات الدولة والمعتدين على الشعب ضد شعبنا وامهات الشهداء والفقراء. وذلك بذريعة ان دعم المقاومة لا يجعلهم قادرين على الخوض في المواضيع الاقتصادية والحياتية. وهذا منطق سخيف، والاسخف منه ان لا مقاومة الآن. فأين نصرة الضعيف والمسحوق؟ وللمفارقة ان بعض المسؤولين الايرانيين - في مواجهة حركتي - وعدوا بأن لديهم مشاريع ستنفذ خلال ستة اشهر وستغير اوضاع المنطقة بشكل كبير، لكن السنوات مرت وهذه المشاريع لم تبصر النور.
* اذاً، تعتبر ان المقاومة انتهت؟
ـ وهل ذلك موضع نقاش؟ لقد بدأت نهاية هذه المقاومة مذ دخلت قيادتها في صفقات كتفاهم يوليو (تموز) 1994 وتفاهم ابريل (نيسان) 1996الذي اسبغ حماية على المستوطنات الاسرائيلية وذلك بموافقة وزير خارجية ايران.
لكن هذا التفاهم اعتبر انتصاراً للبنان لأنه حيد المدنيين اللبنانيين ايضاً واعترف بشرعية المقاومة، مع ان عمليات للمقاومة تحصل في مزارع شبعا بين الحين والآخر هذا التفاهم الهدف الاساسي منه تحييد المقاومة وادخالها في اتفاقات مع الاسرائيليين، كما ان العمليات الفولكلورية التي تحصل بين حين وآخر لا جدوى منها لأن الاسرائيلي مرتاح، وهل هناك فرق بين الاسرائيلي في مزارع شبعا والاسرائيلي في الاراضي الفلسطينية المحتلة؟ هذا اعتراف بالاحتلال، انا ارى ان الخيام (بلدة حدودية لبنانية) هي مثل عكا وحيفا. وما يؤلمني ان المقاومة التي عاهدني شبابها على الموت في سبيل تحرير الاراضي العربية المحتلة، تقف الآن حارس حدود للمستوطنات الاسرائيلية، ومن يحاول القيام بأي عمل ضد الاسرائيليين يلقون القبض عليه ويسام انواع التعذيب في السجون.
* اي سجون؟
ـ لقد حدثت اكثر من حالة، وقد سلم الذين قاموا بمحاولاتهم الى السلطات اللبنانية التي اخضعتهم للتحقيق والتصنيف.
* متى كانت لحظة التحول في الموقف الايراني حيالك، وهل كان لايران دور في ابعادك عن مركز القرار في الحزب؟
ـ رغم كل ما حصل معي، كنت حريصاً على ابعاد وضعي الشخصي عن الوضع العام، كما لم اتناول ايران وشخصياتها القيادية رغم كل الاحداث الماضية والحالة الشخصية. كنت حريصاً على ان لا ادخل اي قضية عامة في اطار وضعي الشخصي. لكن بعد التحول الذي حصل في الموقف من المقاومة وتحول ايران الى منسق للشؤون الاميركية في المنطقة رأيت ان اخرج عن صمتي.
* نعود الى لحظة التحول في ما يتعلق بالمشروع الذي كنتم تمثلونه في "حزب الله" والذي يحمل عناوين عدة منها عدم المهادنة والمواقف الحادة، بالاضافة الى ارتباط اسم الحزب في تلك الفترة بملفات خطيرة مثل خطف الرهائن وغيرها.
ـ الحديث عن ملف الرهائن الغربيين له وقته. ونحن نؤكد ان لا علاقة لنا به. اما في شأن التحول الذي تتحدث عنه فهو يتلخص بأمرين، الاول ان هناك سياسة في ايران بدأت تبرز بعد رحيل الامام الخميني، وكان واضحاً ان هذه السياسة ستصطدم بفهمنا للاسلام. والامر الثاني ان هناك اشخاصاً بطبيعتهم لا يحبون التزلف.
* تقصد انت؟
ـ قلت مراراً للايرانيين انه عندما تصطدم مصلحتهم مع قناعتي سأغلب الاخيرة، ولن اكون ابداً عميلاً لايران ولسياستها، انا اخوكم وشريككم لا اكثر ولا اقل. لكن في كل العالم، الاقوياء لا يرغبون بالشركاء، بل يفضلون الضعفاء الذين يدينون لهم بالولاء الاعمى. انا لا احب ان يداس على قدمي لاتحرك في اي اتجاه. وهل من بين فقهاء المسلمين من يقول بجواز نصر وتأييد الظلم على الفقراء والمسلمين؟ ولهذا عندما لا تستطيع ان تتماشى مع النظام يصار الى ابادتك بالقوة وبالوسائل المتاحة.
* لكن الحزب تميز بعدك بنغمة لبنانية.
ـ من يقول في لبنان ان ايران لا تتدخل كاذب. القرار ليس في بيروت وانما في طهران.
* حتى خلال ولايتك؟
ـ نعم، حتى خلال ولايتي كان لـ(القيادة) المركزية في ايران موقعها في القرار. لكن حينها كان هناك انسجام في المواقف والقرارات. ولم نكن نعتبر ان القرارات تملى علينا، بل هي قناعاتنا. وحين يأتي امر من الامام الخميني او غيره ممن يعينهم يقول لنا قاتلوا اسرائيل، فنحن لا نعتبره امراً بل هو من قناعاتنا.
* هل كان رحيل الخميني بداية الفراق مع ايران؟
ـ لنقل: بداية التباين.
* الا ترى تعارضاً في ما تتحدث به عن التواطؤ الايراني وبين الضغوط التي تمارس اميركياً وغربيا على ايران؟
ـ حتى لا نخدع انفسنا، اقول لا شك في ان هناك حواراً اميركياً ـ ايرانياً بدأ قبل غزو العراق. وان وفداً من المجلس الاعلى للثورة الاسلامية المؤيد لايران زار واشنطن لهذه الغاية. والتيارات الايرانية في العراق هي جزء من التركيبة التي تضعها الولايات المتحدة في العراق. حتى ان احد كبار خطباء الجمعة في العاصمة الايرانية قال في خطبة صلاة الجمعة انه لولا ايران لغرقت اميركا في وحل افغانستان. فالايرانيون سهلوا للاميركيين دخول افغانستان ويسهلون بقاءهم الآن. اما القول عن اعتقال سفير سابق هنا او حديث عن سلاح نووي هناك فهو يدخل من باب السعي الاميركي لتحسين شروط التعاون الايراني. التشيع يستخدم الآن في ايران لدعم المشروع الاميركي في افغانستان. ومن هنا اقول لكل الشيعة في العالم ان ما يجري باسمهم لا علاقة له بهم. وهذه اعمال المتضرر الاكبر منها الاسلام والتشيع.
* اتقول ان هناك خطراً على التشيع من ايران؟
ـ نعم، لأنه يمكن ان بعض القوى تريد ان تثبت سلطانها. وانا مطمئن الى انه سيأتي اليوم الذي يهزم فيه الاميركي، وعندها سيكون هناك غضب على كل من سار في مشروعه. وقد تجري انتقامات وتصفيات يذهب ضحيتها شيعة الاقليات لأن ايران دولة قوية تستطيع ان تحمي نفسها. نحن بما نمثل من تشيع حقيقي نعلن صراحة وبوضوح اننا نرفض اي سياسة من ايران وغيرها بدعم الغزو الكافر لبلادنا. ونعتبر هذا الفعل عملاً عدوانياً على امتنا. ولا يجوز لهذا الشعب الطيب الذي اتى بالامام الخميني ان يكبل ويمنع من القيام بواجباته. واتوجه الى كل المسلمين في العالم لأقول لهم ان اي عمل يدفعكم للتناحر يخدم العدو.



http://www.ebaa.net/khaber/2003/09/25/khaber011.htm

[Casey]

"Hezbollah" defeat of the Palestinian resistance from the south Nazareth Quds Al-Arabi :

5 - 4-2004 m

Said Brigadier Sultan Abul-Enein secretary of the Fatah movement in Lebanon to the Lebanese Hezbollah frustrated in the last week of four of the Palestinian resistance has planned to implement them against Israel from southern Lebanon on the northern border with the Jewish state. Abul-Enein added that Hizbullah had arrested the Palestinian resistance and bring them to trial.

In reply to a question whether it is now appropriate to the circumstance that the Palestinian factions to respond to the Israeli crimes, or conduct that is meant to relieve the pressure on the Palestinian people in occupied territories in the light of some of the operations carried out by Hizbullah on the northern borders. Abul-Enein said Brigadier Let us be frank we support the Palestinian people as we have heard earlier this way is never, all Palestinian borders for Arab and protections are closed to any Palestinian resistance.

Support of Hezbollah is not only from the Shabaa Farms, and is thus the Palestinian brother Palestinian is through the gate of Palestine, Hezbollah said we will be at your side when adversity, But three years ago we adversity and we no longer accept slogans false one.

Abul-Enein added in a statement published in the newspaper of all Arabs, the Lebanese government and Hezbollah does not give the Palestinian factions distance to the resistance in southern Lebanon. He wondered why it should be the struggle of the Lebanese Front, where the only remaining Arab fronts. They are closed, including within the Lebanese security arrangements unstated, In the last week foiled four attempts Palestinian on the Israeli-Lebanese border. The Palestinian elements to the court by Hezbollah.

The Brigadier Abul-Enein, that the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May were among the security arrangements and security agreement that there is no single bullet fired into northern Palestine from the south of Lebanon, This Agreement shall apply since the Israeli withdrawal, Any resistance was unable to penetrate the northern border have been more than an attempt by all the Palestinian factions, all of Hizbollah seized and submitted to the court. In reply to another question that Hezbollah wants to limit resistance in the occupied Shabaa Farms Brigadier Abul Enein said that Hezbollah wants resistance as exclusive and exclusively in the Shabaa Farms, No one from Hizbollah shelling of the northern Palestine rocket and I am a witness to what is happening. He pointed out that the control of Hezbollah, the Lebanese resistance in the south stems from the conventions and security arrangements. any agreements with Israel, through a third party, said : on the Palestinian people not to rely not only on Hezbollah and not on party Satan, but the dependency on the same only because Hizbullah's priorities and political positions, He wants to fight the latest Palestinian us on the ground in Palestine, and we want Hezbollah position explicit and clear about the PLO and its leadership legitimacy Although we are not waiting for the recognition of President Arafat from the one it derives its legitimacy from the Palestinian people including children, elderly and women. We do not need lessons and across one.

As for the prisoner exchange deal, which came into effect in late January (January) between the Jewish state and Hezbollah. Brigadier General Abul-Enein said that Hizbullah wanted exchange of POWs sponsor political Lebanese to ensure political results in Lebanon Lihossdha politically in the parliamentary elections.

No Source

"حزب الله" يحبط عمليات المقاومة الفلسطينية من الجنوب


الناصرة ـ القدس العربي :
5-4-2004م


قال العميد سلطان أبو العينين أمين سر حركة فتح في لبنان أن حزب الله اللبناني أحبط في الأسبوع الأخير أربع عمليات كانت المقاومة الفلسطينية قد خططت لتنفيذها ضد إسرائيل من الجنوب اللبناني انطلاقا إلى الحدود الشمالية مع الدولة العبرية. وأضاف أبو العينين أن عناصر حزب الله قامت باعتقال المقاومين الفلسطينيين وتقديمهم للمحاكمة.

وفي معرض رده علي سؤال فيما إذا كان الظرف الآن مناسبا لقيام الفصائل الفلسطينية بالرد علي الجرائم الإسرائيلية، أو القيام بعمليات يراد منها تخفيف الضغط علي الشعب الفلسطيني في الأراضي المحتلة علي ضوء بعض العمليات التي قام بها حزب الله علي الحدود الشمالية، قال العميد أبو العينين دعنا نكون صريحين الدعم للشعب الفلسطيني كما سمعنا سابقا لا يكون بهذه الطريقة أبدا، كافة الحدود الفلسطينية عليها حمايات عربية ومغلقة أمام أي مقاوم فلسطيني.

تقديم الدعم من حزب الله لا يتم فقط من مزارع شبعا، ولا يكون بالتالي الفلسطيني علي أخيه الفلسطيني، إنما يكون من خلال البوابة الفلسطينية، حزب الله قال سنكون إلى جانبكم عند المحن، ولكننا منذ ثلاثة أعوام نعيش الشدائد ولم نعد نقبل شعارات مزيفة من احد .

وأضاف أبو العينين في تصريحات نشرت في صحيفة كل العرب أن الحكومة اللبنانية وحزب الله لا تعطيان الفصائل الفلسطينية المسافة اللازمة للمقاومة من جنوب لبنان. وتساءل لماذا يجب أن يكون النضال من الجبهة اللبنانية فقط وأين الجبهات العربية الباقية، فهي مغلقة بما فيها اللبنانية ضمن ترتيبات أمنية غير معلنة، ففي الأسبوع الأخير أحبطت أربع محاولات فلسطينية علي الحدود الإسرائيلية ـ اللبنانية، وقدمت العناصر الفلسطينية إلى المحكمة من قبل حزب الله .

وأكد العميد أبو العينين أن الانسحاب الإسرائيلي من الجنوب اللبناني في أيار تم ضمن ترتيبات أمنية واتفاق امني بأن لا تطلق طلقة واحدة علي شمال فلسطين من جنوب لبنان، وهذا الاتفاق يطبق منذ الانسحاب الإسرائيلي، فلم يتمكن أي مقاوم من اختراق الحدود الشمالية وجرت أكثر من محاولة من جميع الفصائل الفلسطينية وجميعها ضبطت من حزب الله وقدمت إلى المحكمة . وفي رده علي سؤال آخر أن حزب الله يريد حصر المقاومة في مزارع شبعا المحتلة قال العميد أبو العينين أن حزب الله يريد المقاومة كوكالة حصرية له وحصرا في مزارع شبعا، ولا ينتظر أحدا من حزب الله أن يقوم بقصف شمال فلسطين بالصواريخ وأنا شاهد علي ما يجري. وأشار إلى أن سيطرة حزب الله علي المقاومة من الجنوب اللبناني نابعة من اتفاقيات وترتيبات أمنية، أي اتفاقيات مع إسرائيل بواسطة طرف ثالث، وقال: علي الشعب الفلسطيني أن لا يعول لا علي حزب الله ولا علي حزب الشيطان، بل عليه الاتكال علي نفسه فقط لان لحزب الله أولوياته ومواقفه السياسية، وهو يريد أن يقاتل بآخر فلسطيني منا علي ارض فلسطين ونحن نريد من حزب الله موقفا صريحا وواضحا حول منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية وقيادتها الشرعية مع أننا لسنا بانتظار اعتراف بالرئيس عرفات من احد فهو يستمد شرعيته من الشعب الفلسطيني بأطفاله وشيوخه ونسائه، ونحن لسنا بحاجة إلى دروس وعبر من احد.

أما بالنسبة لصفقة تبادل الأسري التي خرجت إلى حيز التنفيذ في أواخر كانون الثاني (يناير) بين الدولة العبرية وحزب الله، قال العميد أبو العينين أن حزب الله أراد من صفقة تبادل الأسري تقديم ورقة سياسية للبنانيين لكي يضمن نتائج سياسية في لبنان ليحصدها سياسيا في الانتخابات البرلمانية.

[Casey]

The previous 2 posts are older articles.

What I am getting is, Hezbollah offered their services as gate keeper for Palestine quite awhile ago.

Still reading them.

[The 801]

Israel Official: Iran Helping Hezbollah
By Associated Press

July 15, 2006, 7:28 AM EDT

JERUSALEM -- A missile fired by Hezbollah, not an unmanned drone laden with explosives, damaged an Israeli warship off Lebanon, the army said Saturday. Iranian troops helped fire the missile, a senior intelligence official said.

One sailor was killed and three were missing.

The intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information, said about 100 Iranian soldiers are in Lebanon and helped fire the Iranian-made, radar-guided C-102 at the ship late Friday.

The attack alarmed Israel because initial information indicated the guerrillas had used a drone for the first time to attack Israeli forces.

But the army's investigation showed that Hezbollah had fired an Iranian-made missile at the vessel from the shores of Lebanon, said Brig. Gen. Ido Nehushtan.

"We can confirm that it was hit by an Iranian-made missile launched by Hezbollah. We see this as very profound fingerprint of Iranian involvement in Hezbollah," Nehushtan said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Another Hezbollah missile also hit and sank a nearby merchant ship at around the same time, Nehushtan said. He said that ship apparently was Egyptian, but had no other information.

Nehushtan said the body of one of the four Israeli soldiers missing in the attack was found aboard the damaged warship. Other Israeli military officials said two bodies had been found.

Israel launched an offensive after Hezbollah guerrillas crossed the Israel-Lebanon border on Wednesday and captured two Israeli soldiers. Israel has bombarded Lebanon's airport and main roads in the most intensive offensive against the country in 24 years, while Hezbollah has launched hundreds of rockets into Israel.

The intense fighting has sent shock waves through a region already traumatized by Israel's battle against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. With Israeli officials pointing fingers at Hezbollah's close allies, Syria and Iran, the crisis could soon spread.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-israel-attacked-ship,0,2787533.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

[Petronas]

It seems the reference to a "C-102 missile" is a misprint. It probably should be the Chinese C-802 anti-ship cruise missile, which is part of Iran's inventory.


but it became clear that Hezbollah had used an Iranian-made C-802 missile to strike the vessel late Fridayhttp://times-news.com/feeds/apcontent/apstories/apstorysection/D8ISJLE03.xml.txt/resources_apstoryview

C-802



Ying Ji-82 (C-802)
Basic data
Function: anti-ship missile
Manufacturer: China Hai-Ying Electromechanical Technology Academy (CHETA)
Entered service:


General characteristics
Engine: turbojet engine
Launch mass: 715 kg
Length: 6.392 m
Diameter: 36 cm
Wingspan: 1.22 m (unfolded); 0.72 m (folded)
Speed: Mach 0.9
Range: 120 km
Flying altitude: 20-30 m (flight); 5-7 m (attacking)
Warhead: 165 kg time-delayed semi-armour-piercing high-explosive
Guidance: Inertial and terminal active radar
Launch platform: ground-based vehicles, naval ships, fixed-wing aircraft


The Ying Ji-82 (NATO reporting name CSS-N-8 Saccade) is a Chinese anti-ship missile developed by the China Hai-Ying Electro-Mechanical Technology Academy (CHETA), also known as the CASIC 3rd Academy. Its export name is the C-802.

Design
The Ying Ji-82 (C-802) anti-ship missile was derived from the YJ-8 (C-801) with extended range. The YJ-82 is externally similar to the YJ-8, and has the same solid-propellant rocket booster and guidance system as the YJ-8. The most distinctive difference on the YJ-82 is that it employs a turbojet with paraffin-based fuel to replace the original solid rocket engine. This caused the fuselage to be extended to accommodate the extra fuel. The max range of the missile has also been extended from the original 40 km (or 80 km for YJ-81/C-801A) to 120 km.

YJ-82 fired from land-based launcher
The YJ-82 missile is carried by the latest Chinese-made surface combatants including the Type 051B (Luhai class) destroyer and Type 053H3 (Jiangwei class) frigate. Some ships built in earlier years have also been upgraded to carry YJ-82 missiles. Because of its extended range, the YJ-82 missile sometimes has to rely on airborne radar systems carried by helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft to provide target information. Iran reportedly bought about 60 land-launched variant YJ-82 missiles following the 1991 Gulf War.

The air launched variant of the YJ-82 is designated YJ-82K (C-802K). A JH-7 fighter-bomber can carry four missiles. Some unconfirmed reports indicated that there is a 400 km-range land-attack cruise missile (LACM) variant of the YJ-82 fitted with GPS/TERCOM guidance. Although this has never been confirmed, it is certain that the YJ-82 missile does have the potential of being modified into LACM without too much difficulty.

China has also developed the YJ-83 (C-803) anti-ship missile based on the YJ-82 design. Also powered by a turbojet engine, the YJ-83 is said to be supersonic and have an operational range of 250 km. A datalink antenna is fitted on the missile to receive midcourse target information from naval surveillance aircraft and helicopters.

Launch platforms:
Land-based semi-mobile/mobile launcher
Type 051B (Luhai class) DDG, Type 053H3 (Jiangwei-II class) FFG
JH-7 fighter-bomber

Variants
YJ-82 (C-802): Basic variant
YJ-82K (C-802K): Air launched variant
YJ-83 (C-803): Extended range supersonic variant
[edit]
YJ-83 anti-ship missile mockup

Design features
The YJ-82 is almost identical to the Yj-8 in appearance apart from a slightly longer fuselage and an air inlet for the turbojet engine. The missile has a slim body and ovoid nose. There are four front delta wings, four smaller control surfaces, and four large tail stablising wings. The tail wings are mounted on the rocket booster and will be lost when the booster detaches from the missile body. The air inlet is located between the main fins under the missile body. The front and tail wings are folded when the missile is in the launcher.

Flight profile
When the missile is launched, the solid rocket propellant booster accelerate the speed of the missile from 0 to 0.9 Mach in few seconds. After the booster burns out, it detaches from the missile body and the missile's turbojet engine starts working. Controlled by the inertial autopilot system and radio altimeter, the missile flies at a cruising speed of 0.9 Mach and a flight altitude of 20-30 metres.

When entering the terminal phase of flight, the missile switches on its terminal guidance radar to search for the target. Once locking on the target, the missile reduces its flight altitude to 5-7 metres at a distance of few kilometres away from the target. The missile may also maneuver during the terminal phase to make it a more difficult target for shipborne air defense systems. When approaching the target, the missile dives to hit the waterline of the ship to inflict maximum damage.

Guidance
As well as its terminal guidance radar, the YJ-8 missile is also equipped with a radio altimeter for use with its autopilot during cruise. The missile's terminal guidance radar with monopulse system possesses high anti-jamming capabilities. The high precision radio altimeter allows the missile to have minimum-altitude flight above the sea, which is normally 20-30 m.

Warhead
The missile uses a 165 kg semi-armor-piercing anti-personnel blast warhead which relies on the missile's kinetic energy to pierce the deck of a ship, penetrate into and explode in the ship's interior. In addition, the YJ-82 might have a higher single hit probability than the YJ-8/YJ-81.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-802

[Atlas]

Hezbollah is to Iran as the Foreign Legion is to France

[The 801]

For those who have joined us while the show is in progress.

Who is Hezbollah?[/B]
By John Walcott
McClatchy Newspapers

Iran began trying to export its brand of Islamic rule to Lebanon soon after its own Islamic Revolution in 1979. Its early efforts failed, however, and Hezbollah, the Party of God, was formed by Shiite Muslim clerics only after Israel invaded the country in 1982 to root out Palestinian terrorists. Although it's now a political party that's represented in the Lebanese cabinet, Hezbollah has ignored demands to defuse its military wing, the Islamic Resistance, which has become the most potent military force in Lebanon.

Its goals include destroying Israel, promoting Islamic law and advancing the cause of Lebanon's traditionally disenfranchised and impoverished Shiites, who are the largest religious community in a country long dominated by a Christian and Sunni elite.

Backed by Syria and Iran, Hezbollah's initial aim was to drive the Israelis out of Lebanon. But after American, British, French and Italian troops were sent to Beirut in 1982 to help restore order after Israel's Christian Lebanese allies massacred hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of Palestinians in two Beirut refugee camps, Hezbollah began attacking them, as well.

In 1983, suicide bombers destroyed the American Embassy in Beirut and the U.S. Marine headquarters at Beirut airport; the latter attack killed 241 Americans. Hezbollah terrorists also hijacked TWA Flight 847 and took Americans hostage. Imad Mugniyah, who masterminded the hijacking and many of the kidnappings, remains one of the FBI's most wanted terrorists.

Some Hezbollah members, though, run social welfare programs while their radical colleagues are mounting terrorist operations and attacks on the Israeli military. Funded largely from Iran, Hezbollah has built schools, medical clinics and other facilities in Lebanon's Shiite south, as well as its own television station, al Manar, which the Israelis bombed this month after the group fired rockets into Israel.

Its social programs and its campaign to force the Israelis to withdraw their troops from Lebanon, which they did in 2000, helped make Hezbollah a political force as well as a military and terrorist one. But some Lebanese think the group may now have overplayed its hand by plunging Lebanon into another war.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/15047532.htm

[The 801]

BARING FIENDS' BURIED SECRETS

Sorry, bias not 801's

July 21, 2006 -- INSIDE ISRAEL JERUSALEM - What the Israeli military has learned since the Lebanese border war began nine days ago is that Hezbollah managed to secretly build a network of underground tunnels and bunkers to house a vast artillery arsenal.

In the six years since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon, it has learned that Hezbollah was collecting a huge number of Katyusha rockets and Iranian-made missiles shipped from Syria.

But the drone planes and electronic intelligence didn't reveal what was going on underground.

To go after those fortified bunkers, Israel has begun sending special teams.

One team paid the price yesterday when it ended up in a firefight with Hezbollah in the Lebanese town of Marun a-Ras. Four Israelis were reported killed.

From the air, Israel has hit some 1,500 targets, mainly artillery arsenals and launchers.

"We are operating around-the-clock to interrupt the launching of rockets," said Air Force Brig. Gen. Benny Gantz.

He noted that only 60 Katyushas were launched at Israel yesterday, compared with 140 on Wednesday and 136 on Tuesday.

But to know where to shoot, his gunners need good information.

Former armed forces Chief of Staff Dan Shomron, who commanded the celebrated 1976 raid on Entebbe, said yesterday, "Without using ground operations to pinpoint targets and Hezbollah commanders, we will not be able to accomplish our mission in Lebanon."

http://www.nypost.com/commentary/baring_fiends_buried_secrets_commentary_uri_dan.ht m

[The 801]

For those of you who are longtime readers here on itshappening, at one time we had a discussion going about the Hezbollah Video Game, "Special forces".

A clip has turned up on Youtube that shows this game, and I have included it for referance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvmj7wj1UOw&mode=related&search=hezbollah

[The 801]

Hezbollah Cartoons for the young kids.

" A Palestinian Cartoon aired on 3.5.2002 on Hezbollah's Al Manar TV Station."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM-XeaIn06g&search=hezbollah

And an Iranian cartoon, for the older kids:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llIfT1kgqv4&NR

[Mike]

Hassan Nasrallah threatened Israel with 24-hour bombing Tel Aviv

Since Hassan Nasrallah fought battle Islamic nation must forget Israel 24 hours to leave the Gaza Strip and the final stop killing Palestinians, but Siqsaf Tel Aviv missiles earthquake and the dawn
Maraikm?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think this means they gave Israel 24 hours to get out of the Gaza Strip and if they don't, Hezbollah will bomb Tel-Aviv

Original:
حسن نصر الله يهدد اسرائيل 24 ساعة ويقصف تل أبيب

بما أن حسن نصر الله يحارب معركة الأمة الإسلامية فيجب أن يمهل اسرائيل 24 ساعة لمغادرة قطاع غزة نهائيا والتوقف عن قتل الفلسطينيين وإلا سيقصف تل أبيب بصواريخ زلزال وفجر
مارأيكم ؟؟

[Mike]

Hassan Nasrallah threatened Israel with 24-hour bombing Tel Aviv

Since Hassan Nasrallah fought battle Islamic nation must forget Israel 24 hours to leave the Gaza Strip and the final stop killing Palestinians, but Siqsaf Tel Aviv missiles earthquake and the dawn
Maraikm?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think this means they gave Israel 24 hours to get out of the Gaza Strip and if they don't, Hezbollah will bomb Tel-Aviv

Original:
حسن نصر الله يهدد اسرائيل 24 ساعة ويقصف تل أبيب

بما أن حسن نصر الله يحارب معركة الأمة الإسلامية فيجب أن يمهل اسرائيل 24 ساعة لمغادرة قطاع غزة نهائيا والتوقف عن قتل الفلسطينيين وإلا سيقصف تل أبيب بصواريخ زلزال وفجر
مارأيكم ؟؟

or maybe it's just a suggestion?

[al-Canine]

Hezbollah leader said to be hiding in Iranian Embassy

By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published July 28, 2006

Intelligence reports indicate the leader of Hezbollah is hiding in a foreign mission in Beirut, possibly the Iranian Embassy, according to U.S. and Israeli officials.

Israeli military and intelligence forces are continuing to hunt for Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's secretary-general, who fled his headquarters in Beirut shortly before Israeli jets bombed the building last week.

"We think he is in an embassy," said one U.S. official with access to the intelligence reports, while Israeli intelligence speculates Sheik Nasrallah is hiding in the Iranian Embassy.

If confirmed, the reports could lead to an Israeli air strike on the embassy, possibly leading to a widening of the conflict, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Foreign embassies are sovereign territory and an attack on an embassy could be considered an act of war.

But other reports from the region indicate Sheik Nasrallah may be in Damascus. A Kuwaiti newspaper, Al-Seyassah, reported from the Syrian capital yesterday that Sheik Nasrallah was seen moving through the city with Syrian guards in an intelligence agency car, Associated Press reported. He was dressed in civilian clothes, not his normal clerical robe.

The newspaper quoted Syrian government sources as saying Iranian national security council official Ali Larijani was in Damascus and was to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad and Sheik Nasrallah.

Hezbollah officials in Beirut said they did not know whether Sheik Nasrallah had gone to Damascus.

Asked about the reports of Sheik Nasrallah in Syria, a U.S. official said they are unconfirmed, but noted that because of the proximity, it is easy to travel between Lebanon and Damascus.

U.S. officials confirmed the existence of intelligence reports about Sheik Nasrallah hiding in a Beirut embassy after Israel's Ma'ariv newspaper reported Wednesday that the Hezbollah leader was thought to be in the Iranian Embassy. The newspaper, quoting intelligence officials, said Sheik Nasrallah has set up an operations center in an embassy basement that is coordinating Hezbollah attacks.

However, the U.S. officials said the intelligence reports have not confirmed Sheik Nasrallah's precise location.

Iran's embassy in Beirut is located in the Shi'ite stronghold known as the Bir Hasan section, in the western part of the city.

The embassy also is a major base for Iranian intelligence and is used by large numbers of Ministry of Intelligence and Security agents, as well as by senior members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran's shock troops that are linked to international terrorist activities.

President Bush said yesterday that Iran is linked to the problems in Lebanon. "Hezbollah attacked Israel. I know Hezbollah is connected to Iran," Mr. Bush told reporters after meeting Romanian President Traian Basescu. "Now is the time for the world to confront this danger." Mr. Bush said the root cause of the violence is "terrorist groups trying to stop the advance of democracies."

Israel has dispatched both military special operations units and intelligence personnel in an effort to kill the Hezbollah leader, who has continued to issue statements since the two-week-old war began, said the U.S. officials. In a Wednesday television broadcast, Sheik Nasrallah threatened more attacks throughout Israel.

On July 14, Israeli jets bombed the Hezbollah headquarters, also located in Bir Hasan, starting a campaign of "decapitation" strikes designed to eliminate the group's leaders, weaken the organization and limit its military effectiveness.

Iran's government has called for a cease-fire.

A Middle East diplomat confirmed that Israel is seeking out Sheik Nasrallah and that the Iranian Embassy appears mostly evacuated. However, the diplomat stated: "Wherever he is, he is a legitimate target," similar to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. "He's responsible for organizing attacks and killing Israelis," the diplomat said.

In Tehran, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman denied that the embassy in Beirut was sheltering Sheik Nasrallah and dismissed reports of his presence there as Israeli government "disinformation."

Hezbollah forces in the past were known for specializing in coordinated suicide bombings. The group, however, has shown a different military effectiveness in the recent fighting with Israel through its coordinated attacks with small bands of guerrillas.

The Shi'ite terrorist group was behind the 1983 suicide truck bombings that killed 241 U.S. troops and 58 French paratroopers who were deployed to Lebanon as peacekeepers.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20060728-123022-5852r.htm

[Chaos]

For those of you who are longtime readers here on itshappening, at one time we had a discussion going about the Hezbollah Video Game, "Special forces".

A clip has turned up on Youtube that shows this game, and I have included it for referance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvmj7wj1UOw&mode=related&search=hezbollah

This is not a Hezbollah video game. These are in-game captures from a game called "Battlefield II" by EA Games. The map is called "Karkland," and is one of the most popular. They've done some minor editing to place the Star of David on a tank, but otherwise it is nothing more than captures from that game.

More here: http://www.bf2.org/

[The 801]

Thanks Chaos. Just as I would suspect, a re-skined ripoff. No surprise there.

[Petronas]

God's army has plans to run the whole Middle East
July 23, 2006

You are the sun of Islam, shining on the universe!” This is how Muhammad Khatami, the mullah who was president of Iran until last year, described Hezbollah last week. It would be no exaggeration to describe Hezbollah — the Lebanese Shi’ite militia — as Tehran’s regional trump card. Each time Tehran has played it, it has won. As war rages between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Tehran policymakers think that this time, too, they can win.

“I invite the faithful to wait for good news,” Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last Tuesday. “We shall soon witness the elimination of the Zionist stain of shame.”

What are the links between Hezbollah and Iran? In 1982 Iran had almost no influence in Lebanon. The Lebanese Shi’ite bourgeoisie that had had close ties with Iran when it was ruled by the Shah was horrified by the advent of the clerics who created an Islamic republic.

Seeking a bridgehead in Lebanon, Iran asked its ambassador to Damascus, Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour, a radical mullah, to create one. Mohtashamipour decided to open a branch in Lebanon of the Iranian Hezbollah (the party of God).

After many meetings in Lebanon Mohtashamipour succeeded: in its founding statement it committed itself to the “creation of an Islamic republic in Lebanon”. To this end hundreds of Iranian mullahs, political “educators” and Islamic Revolutionary Guards were dispatched to Beirut.

Within two years several radical Shi’ite groups in Lebanon, including some with Marxist backgrounds, had united under the Hezbollah name and became the main force resisting the Israeli occupation of Lebanon after the expulsion of Yasser Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in 1983.

Terror has been its principal weapon. Throughout the 1980s Hezbollah kidnapped more than 200 foreign nationals in Lebanon, most of them Americans or western Europeans (including Terry Waite, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s envoy). It organised the hijacking of civilian aircraft and more or less pioneered the idea of suicide bombings against American and French targets, killing almost 1,000 people, including 241 US marines in Beirut and 58 French paratroopers.

The campaign produced results. After Hezbollah’s attacks, France reduced its support for Saddam Hussein. America went further by supplying Iran with TOW anti-tank missiles, shipped via Israel, which helped to tip the Iran-Iraq war in favour of Iran. In exchange Iran ordered Hezbollah to release French and American hostages.

Once the Iran-Iraq war was over, Tehran found other uses for its Lebanese asset. It purged and then reshaped Hezbollah to influence the broader course of regional politics while using it to wage a low-intensity war against Israel.

In 2000, when the Israelis evacuated the strip they controlled in southern Lebanon, Tehran presented the event as the “first victory of Islam over the Zionist crusader camp” and Hezbollah was lauded across the Arab world. Hezbollah taunted the Israelis with billboards on the border reading, “If you return, we return”.

To prop up that myth, Tehran invested in a propaganda campaign that included television “documentaries”, feature films and books and magazine articles. The message was simple: while secular ideologies — from pan-Arabism to Arab socialism — had failed to liberate an inch of Arab territory, Islamism, in its Iranian Khomeinist version working through Hezbollah, had achieved “total victory” over Israel in Lebanon.

Since 1984 Iran has created branches of Hezbollah in more than 20 countries. None has equalled the success of the Lebanese branch, which until recently enjoyed something akin to cult status among Arabs, including non-Muslims, because of the way it stood up to Israel.

It has not even cost Iran very much. Hezbollah was launched with just £13m. After that, according to best estimates, Iran spent £32m to £54m a year on its Lebanese assets. Even if we add the cost of training Hezbollah fighters and equipping them with hardware, Hezbollah (the strongest fighting force in the Middle East after Iran and Israel) has not cost Iran more than £1.3 billion over two decades.

According to Naim Kassem, Hezbollah’s number two, the party has an annual budget of £279m, much of which comes from businesses set up by the movement. These include a bank, a mortgage co-operative, an insurance company, a travel agency specialising in pilgrimages to Muslim holy places, several hotels, a chain of supermarkets and a number of urban bus and taxi companies.

In its power base in southern Lebanon, particularly south Beirut and the Bekaa valley, it is possible for a visitor to spend a whole week without stepping outside a Hezbollah business unit: the hotel he checks into, the restaurant he eats in, the taxi that takes him around, the guide who shows him the sights and the shop where he buys souvenirs all belong to the party.

Hezbollah is a state within the Lebanese state. It controls some 25% of the national territory. Almost 400,000 of Lebanon’s estimated 4m inhabitants live under its control. It collects its own taxes with a 20% levy, known as “khoms”, on all incomes. It runs its own schools, where a syllabus produced in Iran is taught at all levels. It also runs clinics, hospitals, social welfare networks and centres for orphans and widows.

The party controls the elected municipal councils and appoints local officials, who in theory should be selected by the central government in Beirut. To complete its status as a virtual state, the party maintains a number of unofficial “embassies”: the one in Tehran is bigger and has a larger number of staff than that of Lebanon itself.

Hezbollah also has its own media including a satellite television channel, Al-Manar (the lighthouse), which is watched all over the Arab world, four radio stations, newspapers and magazines plus a book publishing venture. The party has its own system of justice based on sharia and operates its own police force, courts and prisons. Hezbollah runs youth clubs, several football teams and a number of matrimonial agencies.

Its relationship with the rest of Lebanon is complex; it occupies 14 seats in the 128-seat national assembly and holds two portfolios in the council of ministers. But it still describes itself as “a people-based movement fighting on behalf of the Muslim world”.

The backbone of all that is Hezbollah’s militia, a fighting force of about 8,000 men, trained and armed with the latest weapons by Iran and Syria. Of these about 2,000 men represent an elite force under the direct command of the party’s secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, a former pupil of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, the man who founded Iran’s Islamic republic. But the party also claims more than 30,000 reservists.

Arab and western experts concur that Hezbollah’s militia is a stronger fighting force than the Lebanese army that is supposed to disarm it under United Nations resolution 1559. Also, most soldiers in the official Lebanese army are Shi’ites who would balk at fighting their own.

Accounts concerning Hezbollah’s arsenal of weapons vary. The militia is said to be armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles and an Iranian rapid-fire gun initially modelled on the Israeli Uzi. The party’s crown jewels, however, are an estimated 14,000 rockets and missiles shipped in from Iran over the past six years. Most of these are modified versions of the Soviet-designed Katyusha. The party also has some Chinese-made Silkworm missiles for special use in naval warfare.

“The Israelis would be foolish to think they are dealing with nothing but a bunch of mad fanatics,” says a former Iranian diplomat now in exile. “Hezbollah in Lebanon is a state in all but name: it has its territory, army, civil service and economic and educational systems.”

A few minutes’ drive south from central Beirut takes you into what appears to be a different country. Beirut itself has European-style architecture, shops, hotels and cafes with men and women mostly wearing western clothes.

Once you enter Hezbollah land, the scene changes. You feel as if you are in Qom, the Iranian holy city, with men sporting bushy beards and women covered by mandatory hijab, milling around in noisy narrow streets fronted by nondescript shops. Billboards that advertise global bands in Beirut are used in Hezbollah land for pasting giant portraits of Khomeini and the Iranian “supreme guide” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Not surprisingly Hezbollah describes its territory as “Dar al-Iman” (House of Faith).

When it took over southern Lebanon, Hezbollah found a territory devastated by years of domination by the Palestinian al-Fatah (the area had once been called Fatahland) and the Israeli invasion of 1982. There were almost no schools, no hospitals, few jobs and certainly no security.

Hezbollah provided all that. At the same time the movement imposed a strict religious code that gave the poor Shi’ites a sense of moral superiority over other Lebanese who aspired after western lifestyles. A generation of Shi’ites in southern Lebanon has grown up in a world shaped by Hezbollah’s radical ideology.

Over the years the Lebanese branch has been woven into Iran’s body politic. Many Hezbollah militants and officials have married into Iranian religious families, often connected to influential ayatollahs. Dozens of Lebanese Shi’ites have worked and continue to work in the Iranian administration, especially in the ministries of security, information and culture. Since the mid-1980s, most of the Lebanese Shi’ite clerics have undertaken training in Iran.

In exchange, thousands of Iranian security officers and members of the Revolutionary Guards have lived and worked in Lebanon. As Ali Yunesi, Iran’s former intelligence minister, said: “Iran is Hezbollah and Hezbollah is Iran.”

Support for Hezbollah cuts across the political divides within the Iranian ruling establishment. Whether “reformist” or “hardliner”, Iran’s ruling mullahs and their political associates look to Hezbollah as a reflection of their own revolutionary youth. Last week parliamentary members of the Islamic Majlis in Tehran set aside their disputes to unite in their demand to go and fight alongside Hezbollah in Lebanon if Sheikh Nasrallah called them.

Why has Tehran decided to play its Lebanese card now? Part of the answer lies in Washington’s decision last May to reverse its policy towards Iran by offering large concessions on its nuclear programme. Tehran interpreted that as a sign of weakness. Ahmadinejad believes that his strategy to drive the “infidel” out of the Islamic heartland cannot succeed unless Arabs accept Iran’s leadership.

The problem is that since the Iranian regime is Shi’ite it would not be easy to sell it to most Arabs, who are Sunni. To overcome that hurdle, it is necessary to persuade the Arabs that only Iran is sincere in its desire and capacity to wipe Israel off the map. Once that claim is sold to the Arabs, so Ahmadinejad hopes, they would rally behind his vision of the Middle East instead of the “American vision”.

That strategy pushed Israel to the top of Tehran’s agenda. This is why, in May, Tehran became the first country to grant the Hamas government in the occupied territories an emergency grant of £27m to cope with a freeze imposed by European Union aid and other international donations. As moderate Arab countries have distanced themselves from Hamas, Iran along with Syria has stepped in.

The pincer war launched by Hamas and Hezbollah against Israel is also related to domestic politics. In the occupied territories, Hamas needs to marginalise Mahmoud Abbas’s PLO and establish itself as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. In Lebanon, Hezbollah wants to prevent the consolidation of power in the hands of a new pro-American coalition government led by Fouad Siniora, the prime minister, and Walid Jumblatt, the Druze leader.

(Shi’ites make up about 40% of the population, Christians 39% and Sunnis, Druze and others the remainder.) If the pincer war against Israel is won, Iran would be able to expand its zone of influence, already taking shape in Iraq and assured in Syria, to take in Lebanon and Gaza. This would be the first time since the 7th century that Persian power has extended so far to the west.

The strategy is high risk. If the Israelis manage to crush Hamas and destroy Hezbollah’s military machine, Iran’s influence will diminish massively. Defeat could revive an internal Hezbollah debate between those who continue to support a total and exclusive alliance with Iran until the infidel, led by America, is driven out of the Middle East and those who want Hezbollah to distance itself from Tehran and emphasise its Lebanese identity. One reason why Hezbollah has found such little support among Arabs in Egypt and Saudi Arabia this time is the perception that it is fighting Israel on behalf of Iran, a Persian Shi’ite power that has been regarded by the majority of Arab Sunnis as an ancestral enemy.

In Lebanon, for the first time in two generations, a consensus is emerging among the country’s different ethnic and religious communities that the only way they can live together in peace is by developing a sense of Lebaneseness.

This means that Arab Sunnis must abandon their pan-Arab aspirations while Christians must stop looking to France as their “original motherland”. In that context Hezbollah’s Iranian ideology cannot but antagonise the Sunnis, the Druze and the Christians, many of whom are angry at the destruction of their country that Hezbollah has brought about by once again antagonising Israel.

The mini war that is taking place between Israel and Hezbollah is, in fact, a proxy war in which Iran’s vision for the Middle East clashes with the administration in Washington. What is at stake is not the exchange of kidnapped Israeli soldiers with Arab prisoners in Israel. Such exchanges have happened routinely over five decades. The real issue is who will set the agenda for the Middle East: Iran or America?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2092-2281184_1,00.html

[Casey]

Iran calls on Muslim nations to arm Hezbollah Tue. 01 Aug 2006 Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Aug. 01 – A senior Iranian cleric called on Muslim nations on Tuesday to provide arms to the Lebanese militia Hezbollah which has been in intense battle with Israel for the past three weeks.

“At present, it is expected of Muslim states to not hold back any support, in particular military, medical, and food aid, to Hezbollah and the Lebanese people”, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the head of the powerful Guardians Council, told the state-run news agency ISNA.

Jannati said that it was the religious duty of all Muslims to give political and financial aid to Hezbollah and spread the group’s cause.

“Hassan Nasrollah has currently become the man of the century”, Jannati said of the Lebanese militia’s leader.

The United States accuses Iran and Syria of providing money and arms to Hezbollah.


http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=8117

[rectar]

Rectification is at hand !http://www.albawaba.com/img/site/corner_l_t.1.gifPosted: 30-07-2006 , 14:04 GMThttp://www.albawaba.com/img/site/corner_l_b.1.gifhttp://manager.albawaba.com/img/new_sys/mediabank/21724_mb_file_93a35.jpgThe decision by Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to respond to Western demands to a new proposal (http://www.albawaba.com/en/news/201361#) regarding the cessation of Iran’s nuclear efforts on August 22, a seemingly arbitrary date, rather than the earlier date set by the West raises some interesting questions.

Western demands for a response by mid-July have gone unheeded thus far, while August 22, which falls at the end of the corresponding Iranian month of Mordad, will likely be when Iran will voice its opinion (http://www.albawaba.com/en/news/201361#) of the controversial proposal, according to the Free Republic.

An explanation as to why Ahmadinejad chose such a date may lie in the heart of Islamic (http://www.albawaba.com/en/news/201361#) tradition, while at the same time highlight the West’s inability to understand the extent of the clash of civilizations at hand between the age-old Judeo-Christian (http://www.albawaba.com/en/news/201361#) tradition and that of their successor, Islam.

According to the Shiite Muslim (http://www.albawaba.com/en/news/201361#) tradition, of which Ahmadinejad is a strong follower, the 12th imam, or the so-called “hidden” Imam Mahdi, has miraculously been kept alive since his disappearance in 874 AD.

The revered Imam is set to return at a time of great global chaos, war and bloodshed, after which an era of Islamic justice will be ushered in.

Some believe that Imam Mahdi will be returning some time this August, also the time some military (http://www.albawaba.com/en/news/201361#) experts predict that Iran will be ready to construct its first nuclear weapon.

Also important to note is that fact that August 22 of the current year also corresponds with the Islamic date of Rajab 28. This day is the same day on which the great Saladin conquered and entered Jerusalem, further evidence of Ahmadinejad’s belief in the regional importance of the date chosen by him to report to the West.

Apparently, Ahmadinejad sees himself as an instrument to pave the way for the arrival of Imam Mahdi as well as an important successor to Saladin in terms of the liberation of Jerusalem. He has reportedly used public appearances on a number of occasions to make clear his confidence that he and other true believers can affect the apocalyptic timetable, urging Iranians to prepare to back him in the momentous endeavor at hand.

Though many maintain that such connections many be coincidental at best, time will tell whether or not Ahmadinejad is in fact attempting to influence the coming of Imam Mahdi and a return of worldwide Islamic justice, Jerusalem included.

[rectar]

http://www.aljazeerah.info/News%20photo%20negatives/2006%20News%20Photo%20Originals/July/chaveznejad31jl6ann.jpg
:add18: Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, awarding an Iranian medal to the Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez. The two countries have become closer after realizing that they're going to be next on the agenda of the Zionist Empire ruler for invasion, as they possess large reserves of oil. (Annahar, 7/31/06).

[rectar]

http://www.albawaba.com/img/site/corner_l_t.1.gif:add18: Posted: 01-08-2006 , 12:45 GMThttp://www.albawaba.com/img/site/corner_l_b.1.gifhttp://manager.albawaba.com/img/new_sys/mediabank/22465_mb_file_48c27.jpgA senior Iranian cleric has called on Islamic (http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/Iran/201431#) nations to provide weapons to Hizbullah to fight Israel, an Iranian news agency reported Tuesday.

Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the head of the powerful Guardian Council, was quoted by the semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency as saying that Islamic states should arm Hizbullah in fighting Israel in Lebanon (http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/Iran/201431#). "Now, it is expected that Muslim states not spare any assistance to Hizbullah and the Lebanese people, especially providing weapons, medicine and food," Jannati told ISNA.

Meanwhile, Iran's Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel Tuesday called on parliament speakers of Islamic states to hold an emergency following a call from Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to study Israeli air and ground aggressions on Lebanon.

"Some 10 states have given a positive response to the request so far but based on the procedural requirement, at least 24 countries should agree with the session," Haddad-Adel told ambassadors (http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/Iran/201431#) of Islamic states based in Tehran.

[The 801]

A new face to Hezbollah's resistance
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

SOUTH LEBANON - The US ruling political elite failed to understand (or deliberately ignored) the real pulse of the post-September 11, 2001, situation when they decided to invade Iraq in 2003, despite repeated opposition from top Pentagon and intelligence officials.

The ongoing chaos in Iraq is evidence enough of the dire consequences of this miscalculation.

Now, Asia Times Online has learned from contacts both in Lebanon and in the region that Israel, too, has embarked on a military adventure in defiance of warnings from within its establishment of the need for caution.

As with Iraq, the consequences could be dire.

An alliance of hawkish Israeli politicians and military top brass is
determined to eradicate Hezbollah once and for all from Lebanon, despite warnings from Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, Asia Times Online is told.

Those arguing for restraint say that the Iraqi war has changed the dynamics and mood in the Middle East. The region is no longer the same as when Israel could flex its muscles with impunity: there is now a groundswell of anti-Israeli and anti-US sentiment.

And Israeli intelligence admitted to the ruling establishment before the war began that it had failed to penetrate the tightly knit folds of the ideologically and religiously motivated cadre and leadership of Hezbollah. Therefore, they opposed the war until their proxy network could gather more information on Hezbollah's military strength, manpower, logistics and positions.

Israeli intelligence dispatches warned that Hezbollah, with Iranian backing, had grown way beyond a small resistance group like Hamas in Palestine and would fight with much more than small weapons and suicide attacks.

The dispatches cautioned that before going into any large-scale war, it was essential to measure the full extent of Hezbollah's war machine, otherwise it could turn into a military catastrophe.

On Tuesday, Israel sent 10,000 troops in armored personnel carriers and backed by tanks into south Lebanon, Israeli defense officials said. Thousands more were gathering at staging areas on the Israeli side of the border. Israel called up 30,000 reservists over the weekend.

At least 539 Lebanese have been killed in three weeks of air and missile attacks, including 468 civilians and 25 Lebanese soldiers and at least 46 Hezbollah guerrillas, although Israel claims that Hezbollah casualties are much higher.

A total of 51 Israelis have been killed since the start of the military campaign, 33 of them soldiers, according to Israeli figures. Hezbollah claims to have killed more soldiers than stated.

Given the Israeli escalation, and Hezbollah's fierce resistance, it is clear that the massive aerial bombing (about 30 raids a day) has not inflicted too serious a loss on Hezbollah. Israel targeted the traditional strongholds of Hezbollah, such as offices and mosques administered by them in south Lebanon.

Mossad, according to Asia Times Online contacts, warned of an extensive network of underground tunnels and bunkers that Hezbollah could use to stockpile arms in preparation for a long guerrilla war. The problem was that it was not able to identify their whereabouts accurately.

A boiling anger
During this correspondent's travels in south Lebanon over the past few days, the indications have been that dozens of Fallujahs could be in the making, as in the Iraqi town that put up strong resistance to US-led forces.

After Israel bombed the border town of Qana on Sunday, causing more than 50 civilian deaths, a mass evacuation to the north has been under way. Many of the empty houses in any number of villages have now been occupied by young men.

They are not Hezbollah, but they definitely are sympathizers. They wear different-colored shirts, but all have similar green trousers. They call themselves "volunteers" and avoid any long conversations.

In Sarafan, a small town between Tyre and Sidon, Asia Times Online spoke to a shopkeeper, Ahmad Basbishi.

"Almost 60% of the population has left the area," he said. "We are here for two reasons. We do not have relatives out of this town and so do not want to be roaming around like beggars with our families in other cities. And second, we do not want to give the Israelis easy access to our land. Whatever strength we have and whatever firepower we have, we will put it in place and resist Israel if they try to occupy south Lebanon again."

A group of Palestinian refugees in Tyre put it in even stronger terms.

"Let the Israeli forces come on the ground and you will see how we sacrifice our lives and butcher them. They have snatched everything from us, and now they do not even want us to stay alive," said Shadi Ibrahim, one of the refugees.

"This is not a question of Hamas, Islamic Jihad or Hezbollah. Neither is it a question of [Hamas leader] Khaled Mishal or Sheikh Osama [bin Laden] or [Hezbollah leader] Hassan Nasrallah. This is a question of do or die. And whoever leads the battle, we will be with them."

Dr Jawad Mahmood Najam, who runs a hospital near Tyre and Qana, gave another perspective.

"During the mid-1990s civil war and Israeli raids, all of our doctors ran away. Nobody was ready to handle the casualties. But this time things surprisingly turned out differently. Not only have doctors and nurses refused to go to safe places, they are also working around the clock, even without monetary compensation. I think this is because everybody is now measuring the situation from a new angle and understand that this is a serious battle."

In Iraq, after the US-led invasion, people decided at the neighborhood level to form bands of resistance. These turned into Islamic groups, which in turn melted into the broader resistance.

The Lebanese street, certainly in the south, appears much the same. But a trustworthy organization - Hezbollah - is already on the ground and people only need to join forces with this broad resistance.

The next step, therefore, is for this resistance of Lebanon to become a part of the international anti-US Islamic movement. The Israelis were warned.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HH03Ak02.html

[Casey]

Ruling Mullahs, Al-Qaeda And Hezbollah

http://wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?p=761252#post761252

[Casey]

2/8/2006

"Brothers Lebanon" reveal fight alongside Hizbollah in the south



Ibrahim Al-Masri, Deputy Secretary-General of the Islamic Group in Lebanon (Muslim Brotherhood) that fighters follow the fighting alongside Hizbollah in the villages and areas of southern Lebanon, pointing out that his stand with Hezbollah in the military dates back to the 1980s.

This coincided with the announcement of Islamic groups in Lebanon to the formation of a Sunni Islamic Front flying banner of jihad and stresses that it explicitly aimed at the formation of a unified reference for the year in Lebanon as one of its leaders revealed Arabic. Net.

Alliance Brotherhood and Hezbollah.

In modern "Arab. Net "Egyptian families Ibrahim, the Islamic Group in Lebanon, information on the battle group as well as Hezbollah, saying : "We in the villages south of a group of brothers who are committed to defending their villages in coordination with Hezbollah. and the size of this coordination rises and falls according to the circumstances and participation at the frontiers of these villages. "

While "there is a series of Sunni Muslim villages in the border strip from the west coast and the villages of Al Bustan, and Yarin, The Sunni Muslim group of villages in the central sector, such as Sheba and Kfar Shuba and their neighborhoods. The Islamic Community in a lawsuit, we have institutions and the extension of the lead forensic and national defense of these areas. "

He stressed that the Egyptian Community fighters "have no problem with arming and where there are old accounts with stores of food and weapons for defence, and perform their role well, "before they bring the" armed partially any defensive weapon, rather than those they launched rockets Hizbullah. "

He pointed to the existence of coordination with Hizbullah and holding meetings with constant leaders in the "framework of the Islamic Resistance", but the "group move decision motivated by self-preservation of the Islamic presence in those areas."

The "Dawn forces," the military wing of the Islamic Group in Lebanon. participated in 1982 when it began the Israeli invasion "of the resistance against the occupation with Hizbullah before the formation of the party and announced the formation of joint Islamic resistance forces continued on behalf of Dawn" It also says Egypt.

The Islamic group in Lebanon to provide humanitarian assistance through several associations receive relief and medical assistance, provided by the people, as well as conducting a number of mobile clinics to assist the displaced, displaced persons and groups are highlighted in the south in Sidon and its surroundings, where the density of the process of displacement.

Refused foment sedition

Ibrahim criticized the Egyptian talk about "spreading Shia in Lebanon and the region," saying that "lead to sectarian strife, we feel that this proposal is not suspicious in the interests of Muslims is one year and not Shiites We stand with Hezbollah in the face of this speech which is sedition."

In the same vein, he says that most Egyptian Muslims in Lebanon hold the view that talking about his group of Hezbollah, He noted the past week, which "include all Sunni Islamic currents occur and everyone did not hear a voice asking one, but we need to hear the desires of the Declaration of Jihad, We who gathered represent 90% of the year in Lebanon. "

A new front "jihad" in Lebanon

In addition, it was announced in Lebanon for the formation of the "Islamic Action Front" Islamic currents and organizations from different regions of Lebanon.

He said Fathi Yakan "Arabic. Net, "is the most prominent founders of the Front, It consists of the Islamic Tnzemyat Lebanese from all governorates in the north and south and the Bekaa, Beirut : both unification movement led by the leader, Sheikh Said Shaaban Sami Hashim, Muslims sans Frontieres (Bekaa), led by Ramsey Bishom. In Beirut, Sheikh Abdel Nasser forced head the Islamic and other Islamic factions have armed resistance acts in the past. And religion scholars from Beirut and Sidon as well as former deputy.

Recalling that the emergence of this front was beginning in the north and in conjunction with the protest marches against abusive fees Prophet, Sheikh not say that the main point behind the formation of this front is to "establish Marjean Sunni sect."

He explained : Greenfield did not come primarily because of the support of Hizbullah, but may meet later in the support or work Jihad, Although jihad with the pulse and consider ourselves in the same trench with Hezbollah. But ours is to reflect the position of front reference Sunni openly in Lebanon. In Lebanon, there are many references either Sunni reference that was almost absent in the recent events in the terms of reference of each of the other communities, This is not an attack or conflict with, but in order to retain its resolution independent from others and to cooperate with other leaders in the best country.

He described the reference Mufti Sheikh Rashid Qabbani, "an official reference," while referring to the front, "popular movement, and no one cancels the other of us."

He said : We are ready for Jihad and Shaaaratna mean, our strategy and meet with Hezbollah if landing sea or land, for example, but not the front of it, There is no trusteeship of the system or what part of the jihad duty and can not stand idly by.

He continued : "We support the position of Hezbollah, but what we are doing work struggler Sunni Islamist general, It does not end the role of the front end of military jihad is a part of jihad. "


2/8/2006

"إخوان لبنان" يكشفون عن قتالهم إلى جانب حزب الله في الجنوب



قال ابراهيم المصري، نائب الأمين العام للجماعة الاسلامية في لبنان ( الإخوان المسلمون) إن مقاتلين يتبعون للجماعة يقاتلون إلى جانب حزب الله في قرى ومناطق جنوب لبنان مشيرا إلى أن وقوف جماعته مع حزب الله في العمل العسكري يعود إلى الثمانينيات.

وتزامن ذلك مع إعلان مجموعات اسلامية في لبنان عن تشكيل جبهة اسلامية سنية ترفع شعار الجهاد وتؤكد صراحة أنها تهدف إلى تشكيل مرجعية موحدة للسنة في لبنان كما كشف أحد قادتها للعربية.نت.

تحالف الإخوان وحزب الله ..

وفي حديثه لـ"العربية.نت" أسر ابراهيم المصري، من الجماعة الاسلامية في لبنان، بمعلومات حول قتال جماعته إلى جانب حزب الله، قائلا:" لنا في القرى الجنوبية مجموعة من الاخوة الملتزمين بالدفاع عن قراهم بالتنسيق مع حزب الله، و حجم هذا التنسيق يرتفع وينخفض وفق الظروف وهناك مشاركة في تخوم هذه القرى".

واستطرد " هناك سلسلة قرى اسلامية سنية في الشريط الحدودي بدءا من منطقة الغرب على الساحل وقرى مروحين والبستان ويارين ، ومجموعة قرى اسلامية سنية في منطقة القطاع الأوسط مثل شبعا وكفر شوبا وجوارها ، وللجماعة الاسلامية فيهما وجود دعوي ولنا فيها مؤسسات وامتداد يؤدي دوره الشرعي والوطني في الدفاع عن هذه المناطق".

وشدد المصري على أن مقاتلي الجماعة "ليس لديهم مشكلة في التسليح وحساباتهم قديمة حيث توجد لديهم مخازن مواد غذائية واسلحة للدفاع، ويؤدون دورهم بشكل جيد"، قبل أن يلفت إلى أنهم " مسلحون جزئيا أي بسلاح دفاعي وليس عندهم صواريخ كالتي يطلقها حزب الله".

وأشار إلى وجود تنسيق مع حزب الله وعقد لقاءات مستمرة مع قادته في "إطار المقاومة الاسلامية" لكن " الجماعة تتحرك بقرار ذاتي بدافع الحفاظ على الوجود الاسلامي في تلك المناطق".

وكانت "قوات الفجر" ، الجناح العسكري للجماعة الاسلامية في لبنان، شاركت عام 1982 عندما بدأ الغزو الاسرائيلي "بعمليات مقاومة ضد الاحتلال مع عناصر حزب الله قبل تكوين هذا الحزب وأعلنوا سويا تكوين المقاومة الاسلامية واستمروا باسم قوات الفجر "، كما يقول المصري.

وتقوم الجماعة الاسلامية في لبنان بتقديم مساعدات إنسانية من خلال عدة جمعيات إغاثية وطبية تتلقى المساعدات وتقدمها للناس ، فضلا عن تسيير عدة مستوصفات نقالة من أجل مساعدة المهجرين والنازحين وأبرز المجموعات موجودة في الجنوب في صيدا وجوارها حيث توجد الكثافة من عملية النزوح.

رفض إثارة الفتنة

وانتقد ابراهيم المصري الكلام عن " امتداد شيعي في لبنان والمنطقة" ، قائلا إنه " يؤدي إلى فتنة مذهبية ونرى أن هذا الطرح مشبوه لا يخدم مصالح المسلمين لا سنة ولا شيعة ونحن نقف مع حزب الله في وجه هذا الكلام الذي يثير الفتنة ".

وفي السياق ذاته، يقول المصري إن معظم المسلمين في لبنان يحملون الرأي الذي تتحدث عنه جماعته حول حزب الله ، لافتا إلى مؤتمر الأسبوع الماضي الذي "ضم كل التيارات الاسلامية السنية وتحدث الجميع ولم نسمع صوتا نشازا واحدا بل كنا نسمع الرغبات بضرورة إعلان الجهاد، ونحن الذين اجتمعنا نمثل 90 % من السنة في لبنان".

جبهة جديدة "للجهاد" في لبنان

إلى ذلك، أعلن في لبنان عن تشكيل "جبهة العمل الاسلامي" من تيارات وتنظيمات اسلامية من مختلف المناطق اللبنانية.

وقال فتحي يكن لـ"العربية.نت"، وهو أبرز المؤسسين لهذه الجبهة، إنها تتألف من تنظميات اسلامية من كل المحافظات اللبنانية في الشمال والجنوب والبقاع وبيروت: حركة التوحيد بشقيها بقيادة كل من بلال سعيد شعبان والشيخ هاشم منقارة ، مسلمون بلا حدود ( البقاع) بقيادة رمزي بيشوم ، في بيروت الشيخ عبد الناصر جبري رئيس كلية الدعوة الاسلامية وفصائل أخرى اسلامية كان لها أعمال مقاومة مسلحة في الماضي. وعلماء دين من بيروت وصيدا إضافة إلى نواب سابقين.

وإذ يشير إلى أن نشأة هذه الجبهة كانت بداية في الشمال وبالتزامن مع فترة المسيرات الاحتجاجية ضد الرسوم المسيئة للرسول، يقول الشيخ يكن إن الهدف الرئيسي من وراء تشكيل هذه الجبهة هو " إقامة مرجيعة للطائفة السنية".

وأوضح : لم يأت التأسيس لسبب رئيسي هو مؤازرة حزب الله ولكن قد نلتقي فيما بعد في المؤازرة أو العمل الجهادي، رغم أننا مع النبض الجهادي ونعتبر أنفسنا في خندق واحد مع حزب الله. ولكن نحن نشكل جبهة لنعبر عن موقف المرجعية السنية بكل صراحة في لبنان . و في لبنان توجد مرجعيات عديدة وأما المرجعية السنية كانت شبه غائبة في الأحداث الأخيرة في وجه مرجعيات كل الطوائف الأخرى، وهذا ليس تعديا عليها أو صراعا معها ولكن لكي تحتفظ لنفسها بقرارها المستقل عن الآخرين والتعاون مع المرجعيات الأخرى بما فيه خير البلد.

ووصف مرجعية المفتي الشيخ رشيد قباني انها " مرجعية رسمية" ، فيما إشار إلى الجبهة أنها "شعبية وحركية ولا أحد منا يلغي الآخر".

وقال : نحن جاهزون للجهاد وشعاراتنا تعني ذلك، لنا استراتيجية خاصة ونلتقي مع حزب الله إذا حصل إنزال بحري أو بري ما مثلا ولكن الجبهة غير تابعة له، ولا توجد وصاية عليها من جهة ما أو نظام ما والجهاد جزء من واجبها و لايمكن أن نقف مكتوفي الأيدي.

وتابع "نحن نؤيد موقف حزب الله ولكن ما نقوم به عمل سني جهادي اسلامي عام ، ولا ينتهي دور الجبهة بانتهاء الجهاد العسكري الذي هو جزء من الجهاد العام".

[rectar]

:add18: ....http://www.aljazeerah.info/News%20photo%20negatives/2006%20News%20Photo%20Originals/July/waleedayyoub2au6ap.jpg Hassan Nassrullah enters history as one of the main Arab heros: Palestinian artist Waleed Ayyoub draws a picture of Hizbullah leader Shaikh Hassan Nasrullah, in the West Bank city of Ramallah Wednesday Aug. 2, 2006. Other portraits seen in the picture are of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, top right, late Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser, bottom left, and Jesus Christ, top left. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi, 8/2/06).

[Mike]

Arab arena : Squares The political arena Urgent : Trkoboa speech Mr. Hassan Nasrallah, shortly

As stated by the media :
Anticipated speech of Mr. Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of Hezbollah, Al-Manar channel island

O God, Mr. Hassan Nasrallah, and the party and paid thrown, and a thousand hearts among Muslims

[Mike]

Network Palestine Dialogue > Axes > Political axis
Aaaaajl ... Address by Mr. Hassan Nasrallah


Al-Manar Television

God's victory speech televised shortly

[Mike]

The Secretary General of Hizbullah, Hassan Nasrallah speech via television channel Al-Manar

Who spoke of the everyday realities of war land said to be taking a new form two days ago.

He said that what is a sort of miracle in attacking the resistance groups in more than one location that they are fighting and taking hold, and causing Alkhsar enemy. It miracle.

The second element is the capacity available Resistance to the destruction of the enemy with the knowledge that the tanks of the latest military tanks However Valmujahidon destroy the Israeli army relies on the mechanisms and when the mechanisms pays its soldiers on the ground to search for places where there are no resistance Ftlahakhm and kill.

Nasrallah stressed that the number of casualties suffered by the Israeli army but the big media blackout reduced those losses.

He stressed that Israel depends on the policy of targeted land lies open as part of the psychological warfare waged by the enemy. It portrays through statements that entered and occupied the control of large areas of southern Lebanon, many of them part of the psychological warfare incorrect tries to triumph.

The 24th Nasrallah some of the statements by the Israeli military claimed control over some of the sites army said that violent battles, even though they have not been as well.

He added : "The fight is not systematic killing of an army and seek Alial_hagh Khosar human Israeli army and this is now being achieved on the battlefield. to go into a guerilla war

With regard to the sea : Nasrallah said, quoting a statement Resistance bombing frigate at sea, the Israelis denied despite the news blackout.

Nasrallah and dismissive statements issued by the Israeli Prime Minister, which he described Balgbi and Chief of Staff "senility" on the destruction of the infrastructure of Hizbullah, stressing that the missile force still unchanged.

[Ono]

An Essay Deriding Claims that Hassan Nasrallah is the Head of the Muslim Nation, by Dr. Hani Sibai, Director of al-Maqreze Centre for Historical Studies
By SITE Institute
August 1, 2006
http://www.siteinstitute.org/images/hr.gif

An essay written by Dr. Hani Sibai, Director of al-Maqreze Centre for Historical Studies, recently published to the center’s website (http://www.almaqreze.com/articles/artcl049.html) and then posted to a password-protected jihadist forum, derides the perception of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, as the “head of the Ummah”. Dr. Sibai’s presentation looks at the situation of the Muslims in Kashmir, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine, describing their depravity and actions by Mujahideen, and questions that if there is one, solitary Muslim Nation, then how could Nasrallah possibly be its head when Hezbollah and the Shi’ites either are absent from affairs within these states and territories or are harming the Sunnis within them.

He further questions: “For whose benefit do Nassrallah and his party monopolize the resistance, and deprive its sons from practicing it? Who caused an imbalance of population in southern Lebanon? Who weakened the Sunni people in Lebanon until they became prey?”


The discussion also draws the appearance of different faces when confronting Hezbollah, which is referred to as both Khomeini’s Party and Nasrallah’s Party, including a duplicitous Iran, giving the false impression of challenging America, “the big devil,” and supporting the Palestinians, and a means to relieve pressure on Syria and Iran by keeping the Lebanese people pre-occupied with the war with Israel.

Dr. Hani Sibai then argues that Iran seeks an “international military confederacy” to eliminate the Sunni Muslims in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, and the establishment of a unified Shi’a nation consisting of Iran and Iraq. Also, via “Nasrallah’s war” with Israel, Dr. Sibai believes that the “defeated” American leadership is made to look better as the purported massacres against Muslims and attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq are not given as much attention. He states: “The Anglo-American project is failing in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Nasrallah’s party is saving that barbaric project.”

Believing that some may become angry if Mullah Omar, Usama bin Laden, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri or Abu Musab al-Zarqawi are hailed as the “master of the Ummah” or its “crowned knight,” Dr. Sibai concludes by stating that if Hassan Nasrallah is the head of the Ummah, then “Allah would never have blessed it”.

http://siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications200406&Category=publications&Subcategory=0

[Vancouver]

Here's what I wrote about Hani al-Siba'i al-Londinistani in a blog a year ago.
----------------------
هاني محمد يوسف السباعي
Hani Mohammed Yusuf al-Siba'i

هاني السيد السباعي يوسف
Hani al-Said al-Siba'i Yusuf

Siba'i lives in the UK with the status of a political refugee from Egypt. He usually goes by Hani al-Siba'i
هاني السباعي
or "Sheikh Doctor" Hani al-Siba'i on the strength of sham degrees including a doctorate in "quranic law". He asks the press to introduce him as the director of a crank academic body called the Almaqreze Centre for Historical Studies:
مركز المقريزي للدراسات التاريخية
http://www.almaqreze.com
There you can find, among other things, his authoritative explanation of why southern Spain is the rightful property of contemporary Muslim Arabs.

Siba'i is endorsed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's fan club run by Maqdisi:
http://www.tawhed.ws/a?i=173 [tawhed is now as dead as Zarqawi himself]
http://www.tawhed.ws/c?i=196
They give his full name as Hani al-Said al-Siba'i Yusuf, as does he himself.

He is on the UN "1267 list":
http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/committees/1267/tablelist.htm
His name was one of seven added to the list at the request of the Egyptians (out of the twenty whom they had nominated). All seven are Egyptian.

Siba'i was a regular contributor at Sa'ad al-Faqih's forums islam-minbar, qal3ah, and islah, before Kufr pulled the plug on those outfits.

[pixikill]

to the tune of "the happy wanderer."

i love to go
a terrorising
along the dusty track
and as i go,
i always have
a bomb belt on my back

hezbolleeeee
hezbollah!
hezbolleee!
hezbolah-ha ha ha ha ha

hezboleee!
hezbollah!
a bomb belt on my back

[Petronas]

Iran supplies Hizballah with a battery of upgraded Zelzal missiles that can reach Israel’s nuclear reactor in Dimona
August 4, 2006, 11:09 PM (GMT+02:00)

This disclosure by DEBKA-Net-Weekly 264 was confirmed Friday, August 4, by Ali-Akbar Mohtashami-Pour, former Iranian ambassador to Damascus and Tehran’s senior liaison with Hizballah. The acquisition of an improved Zelzal through Syria with a range of 350-400 km was behind Hassan Nasrallah’s threat to bomb Tel Aviv if Beirut came under another Israel air attack. Tel Aviv is 150 km north of Dimona and therefore well within range of the improved Zelzal missile.

The battery consists of 16 missiles which, fired from northern or central Lebanon, can hit the Negev town of Beersheba which is some 34 km west of the nuclear center. Iran knows that a missile attack on the Dimona reactor, even if it is a direct hit, will not do much harm because the nuclear installations are buried deep underground and guarded by anti-missile defenses. But both Tehran and Hizballah are after the psychological impact on Islamic and world opinion of aiming the first Muslim missile against Israel’s atomic center.

http://www.debka.com/

[Petronas]

U.N. boss: Hezbollah deserves U.S. respect
Global group's deputy secretary-general would give terrorists conference-table seat
August 3, 2006

A top United Nations official says to quiet the "demons" across the "wider Islamic world" the United States and the international community must respect Hezbollah as a political party, not a terrorist organization.

"Everybody would want a solution here which takes away the recruiting power of Hezbollah in the broader Arab world," said Mark Malloch Brown, the U.N.'s deputy secretary general. That would be one, he said, that "allows Hezbollah a political as against a militia future inside an independent Lebanon." ...

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51372

[Ono]

U.N. boss: Hezbollah deserves U.S. respect
Global group's deputy secretary-general would give terrorists conference-table seat
August 3, 2006

A top United Nations official says to quiet the "demons" across the "wider Islamic world" the United States and the international community must respect Hezbollah as a political party, not a terrorist organization.

"Everybody would want a solution here which takes away the recruiting power of Hezbollah in the broader Arab world," said Mark Malloch Brown, the U.N.'s deputy secretary general. That would be one, he said, that "allows Hezbollah a political as against a militia future inside an independent Lebanon." ...

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51372

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!!!

[Petronas]

Nasrallah's Men Inside America
Aug. 14, 2006 issue

It began, as the Feds tell the tale, with a run-of-the-mill tax-fraud scheme. Imad Hammoud and his ring of Lebanese Americans from the Detroit area would buy boxes of cigarettes in North Carolina, where the state tax on smokes is among the lowest in the country, allegedly truck the goods back to Michigan and sell them at a profit of more than $10 a carton. Hammoud, an immigrant with ties to Hizbullah, according to an indictment filed with a U.S. district court in Michigan earlier this year, would then wire a portion of the earnings to a member of the group in Lebanon. By 2002, Hammoud and some of his colleagues were believed to be running $500,000 worth of cigarettes a week across state lines and expanding into stolen contraband and counterfeit goods, including Viagra tablets. During a three-month period that year, authorities allege, more than 90,000 Viagra knockoffs were purchased, with a plan to sell them as the real thing. "They're small, they're high in demand and they're easily transportable," says Bob Clifford, a senior FBI agent. "They're the perfect medium."

The Hammoud case is among a handful of money scams uncovered across the country in recent years bearing Hizbullah's fingerprints. Though the revenues are not huge, the cases together underscore a daunting reality: one of the most proficient terrorist groups in the world has at least a small web of operatives in America who, prosecutors believe, are loyal to Hassan Nasrallah. Hizbullah has not targeted Americans since the 1980s, when attacks on a Marine barracks in Lebanon and on the U.S. Embassy there killed more than 300 people. Sometime later, the group apparently made a strategic decision not to tweak the world's only superpower. Law enforcers say there's been no sign the fighting between Israel and Hizbullah, with all the Arab anger it stirs against America, will goad the group into action against the United States. Still, security officials worry that if Hizbullah does one day decide to strike, it can exploit an already-existing network in this country. "You often see in these groups that people who deal in finances also have military backgrounds," says Chris Hamilton, who was the FBI's unit chief for Palestinian investigations until last year. "The fact is, they have the ability [to attack] in the United States."

The FBI has made Hizbullah a central target of its counterterrorism efforts, setting up a unit dedicated to tracking the group and assigning agents to develop sources in Lebanese and other Middle Eastern communities across the country. Clifford, who once headed the unit on Hizbullah and Iran, made his biggest Hizbullah bust six years ago, cracking a North Carolina ring that forged credit cards and laundered money, using some of the profits to buy gear for Hizbullah. The ringleader, Mohammed Hammoud (no relation to Imad), was convicted of providing "material support" for terrorism and sentenced to 155 years in prison. Although he and his followers were not linked to actual terror attacks, the FBI found evidence they did engage in "tactical" arms training and would have been ready to strike if told to do so. "If they were given an order to conduct an operation in the United States, they would have found a way to do it," Clifford says.

What might prompt Hizbullah to issue such an order? American screw-tightening on Iran over its nuclear program, for one. Iran is Hizbullah's main political and financial backer. Some analysts believe the group's deadliest terrorist attacks, including bombings at Israel's Argentine Embassy in 1992 and at a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994, were ordered up by Iranian handlers. "It would be enough for the Iranian leadership to say the word for Hizbullah to launch an attack," says Congressman Ed Royce, a Republican from California who chairs the House subcommittee on international terrorism and nonproliferation.

But Hamilton, who is now a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Studies, says Hizbullah would be more likely to attack Americans abroad. "They would go for soft targets in places where they have lots of resources," such as South America or Turkey. Other experts believe Hizbullah would have too much to lose from an attack on American soil. "Their fund-raising activities have been very fruitful in the United States," says Dennis Lormel, who was the FBI's section chief for terrorist financing until 2003. "With Israel clamping down on their other sources of revenue, it wouldn't make sense for them to wreck their own ability to continue making money here."

Support for Nasrallah runs high in Lebanese communities across the country, and it spikes when Israel's war with Hizbullah or with Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza heats up. When Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy Lt. John Stedman searched the home of a Lebanese immigrant in Los Angeles two years ago, he found Hizbullah flags decorating the walls, along with pictures of Nasrallah and audiotapes of his speeches. "We love him," Stedman quotes a resident of the home as saying, "because he protects us from the Jews." In a case against a Lebanese immigrant in Dearborn, Mich., who is suspected of tax fraud, prosecutors have showcased pictures of the suspect seated alongside Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, Hizbullah's spiritual leader, at a 2002 fund-raiser in Lebanon.

But Arab-American leaders complain law enforcers are too quick to equate the pride some ex-patriates take in Hizbullah's stand against Israel—or even just the sympathy they feel for the Lebanese people—with support for terrorism. "Any time somebody sends money to somebody in Lebanon, they [prosecutors] say it's for Hizbullah," says Maurice Herskovic, who initially represented one of the defendants in the Detroit case. Last month two of the defendants reached a plea bargain with prosecutors, admitting to several fraud charges that carry a penalty of up to 30 months in prison, but they were not charged with terrorism. Hammoud was not among them. Though three of his brothers entered not-guilty pleas in the case, prosecutors say Hammoud slipped out of the United States and is probably back in Lebanon, where Hizbullah gunmen are waging bloody street battles with Israeli troops. "This is a new organization [compared with what it was years ago]," says Bob Baer, a retired CIA agent who spent years in the Middle East. "It's fighting a conventional war." Yet it also has the capacity to carry out devastating terrorist attacks. In Europe and South America, and possibly in the United States as well, that's a threat law enforcers must take seriously.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14208386/

[Petronas]

Since I don't have the link, I'm posting the entire article, despite its length. While much in it we have seen alsewhere, it contains a number of interesting details I had not seen before.


Vol. 6, Issue 265, August 11, 2006

Hizballah’s Superior Tools of Terror - I
Surprisingly Sophisticated Anti-Tank Missiles, Fortified
Bunkers and Iranian Electronics

It was said in the dark days of the 1973 Yom Kippur
War that the anti-tank rocket could bend the wings
of an Israeli warplane. They were referring to the
heavy losses the Israeli Air force sustained from the
Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles used by the
Egyptian and Syrian armies battling Israel.
Of the 380 warplanes on active service, 102 were
downed - a few in dogfights, but most shot down by
anti-aircraft fire. Not counting helicopters, the Israeli
Air Force lost in that war more than a quarter of its
air fleet.
Although Israel also lost many tanks, the blow to its aerial might, the proud
jewel of its armed forces, left the most painful impact.
In the Lebanon War, 33 years on, the soldiers have a similar saying: the
rocket is bending the Israeli tank. They have been shocked by the loss of life
and damage inflicted by Hizballah’s anti-tank rocket and its ability to pierce
the armor of the Merkava (Chariot), which Israeli arms manufacturers hold
up as the best protected tank in the world.
In 30 days of the war which erupted on July 12, the three types of missiles
wielded by Hizballah guerrillas have seriously hampered the advance of
Israeli tanks columns through the mountains, wadis and valleys of south
Lebanon, and prevented them from breaching the fortified villages used as
Hizballah strongholds.
DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military sources report that the Sagger AT-3A
missile, the Metis-M 9K115-2 and the Kornet ATGM have been hitting an
average of 1.8-2 tanks a day, which adds up to 55-60 tanks knocked out, the
equivalent of a tank brigade, in 30 days of combat.
Some of the tanks were also hit by missiles and huge roadside bombs
containing 50-150 kilos of explosives each.

Three Kinds of Missiles to Fell a Tank

This is how Hizballah functions. An estimated 500
to 600 members of their roughly 4,000-strong
fighting strength in South Lebanon are divided into
groups of 5 or 6, each armed with 5-8 anti-tank
missiles, with a further supply in their small wellfortified
camouflaged bunkers, built to withstand
Israeli air attacks.
The bunkers Israeli troops captured in fierce fighting were found to contain a
supply of ordnance and 4-6 anti-tank rockets.
The Hizballah guerrillas take care to fire them at Israeli tanks by night from a
distance of 2-3 km. After a hit, the Israeli tank crew calls up reinforcements –
one part of which tows the tank back behind the Israeli border while second
dashes forward to engage the Hizballah assault group.
Hizballah then reacts in two ways. The assault team advances towards the
Page 1 of 13
Israeli force under cover of a heavy shelling by 120 mm and 220 mm mortars,
Syrian and Iranian short range 107mm and 122 mm rockets and 230 mm
Katyushas. This tactic gives the Hizballah team the chance of striking another
tank or armored vehicle in 38 percent of the instances.
Another Hizballah team may also lie in wait for a tank unit in the bunkers
strewn among the fortified dwellings after sowing the area with anti-tank
mines and huge roadside bombs. The guerrillas in the bunkers wait quietly for
the tanks to pass by and then shoot them in the rear from their bunkers while
also activating the roadside bombs.
This is the shape of the deadly battles fought Wednesday August 9, near the
Ayt a-Chaab village in the Western Sector of South Lebanon near the border
with Israel and at the village of Debel in the Central Sector, in which Israel
lost 15 men and several tanks.
That was the largest number of Israeli losses in a single battle since the war
erupted.
DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s Washington and Moscow sources disclose that the
rate of Israeli tank losses so horrified US officials that Monday, Aug. 7, the
White House sent Russian president Vladimir Putin a secret request for
clarifications regarding the arms deals he signed with Damascus.
They cover a Russian commitment to sell Syria the Metis-M 9K115-2 antitank
missile which by virtue of its sophisticated features gives Hizballah a
deadly edge against Israel troops.
All versions of this weapon, which weighs 5-20 kgs., are man-portable over
long distances. Its guidance elevation has a 15 degree span. The small
module’s elevation and field view are easily adjustable to target ground
targets or hovering helicopters. The Russian 1PN86V/Mulat-115 thermal
sight can be attached to the launcher for a detection range of 3,200 meters and
recognition beyond the missile’s 1,500-meter range. Its field of view is 4.6
degrees.
On Feb. 24, 2005, the United States and Russia signed an Arrangement on
Cooperation in Enhancing Control of Man-portable Air Defense Systems
(MANPADs),” usable by terrorists to endanger civil aviation. It was agreed at
the Bratislava, Slovakia summit between Presidents George W. Bush and
Putin.
The Russian president ducked any suggestion of extending this arrangement
to man-portable anti-tank missile systems.
The Lebanon War and the abundance of these missiles in Hizballah’s hands
dramatically illustrate the destructive power of man-portable anti-tank
weapons and the danger they pose to national armies in the hands of
terrorists.

The Drive for Peace that Dulled Vigilence

The White House asked the Kremlin if the sale contract
with Syria contained a non-transfer clause to a third party
and, if so, what guarantees Syria offered for abiding by this
clause.
The message from Washington referred Putin to the
assurances he gave the US president and secretary of state
Condoleezza Rice in private conversations that he had
made sure of personal guarantees from Syrian president Bashar Assad to
refrain from transferring weapons bought from Russia to guerilla fighters in
Iraq and Hizballah in Lebanon.
The White House demanded to know what steps Putin was planning to take to
have those contractual clauses upheld.
Our sources report that, so far, no reply has reached Washington from the
Kremlin.
DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s Moscow sources suggest cynically that it is more
Page 2 of 13
likely that the Russian government and arms industry are patting themselves
on the back over the exceptional performance of their product. The fact that
their missile is capable of piercing Israel tank armor is a feather in their cap
and a prestige booster for their arms exports.
As to the Israeli tank, our military experts point to some of its vulnerabilities.
1. There is no such thing as tank armor which is absolutely impregnable to
attack.
2. Some of the tanks may have been from the first series that came off the
Israeli production line without the protective devices affixed to the later Mark
3 and Mark 4 series.
3. Up until the shock of the July 12 Hizballah attack, Israel’s policy-makers -
and therefore the army - were ruled overwhelmingly by a conviction that
Israel faced no major war threat in the next five years, except for the daily
grind against Palestinian terrorists. Therefore, they enacted some economies
in defense spending, including cutting out the installation of Rafael’s Trophy
active protection system for all the IDF’s tanks.
Trophy creates a hemispheric protected zone around a vehicle such as a tank
which intercepts and destroys incoming threats. It has three elements: The
Threat Detection and Warning subsystem, which consists of several sensors,
including flat-panel radar placed at strategic spots around the vehicle to
provide full hemispherical coverage.
Once an incoming threat is detected, identified and verified, the
Countermeasure Assembly is opened and the countermeasure device
positioned so as to intercept the threat. It is then launched automatically into a
ballistic trajectory to intercept the incoming threat at a distance.
Trophy is marketed by General Dynamics, which plans to install the system
on every new and existing combat vehicle it produces, including Stryker, M-
1A2 and FCS. It has completed hundreds of live tests with Israeli Defense
Forces and demonstrated its effectiveness in neutralizing anti-tank rockets
and guided missiles. The system is in full-scale engineering for inclusion on
the Merkava Mark 4 and the light armored vehicle (Stryker).
While Israel saw no need for this protective device until too late, DEBKANet-
Weekly’s military sources report that the US army, seeing the steep
strategic price Israel paid for this omission, has decided to purchase the
Trophy for its tanks and armored vehicles.

Hizballah’s Superior Tools of Terror - II
Iran’s Unknown Systems Neutralize Israel’s Electronic Warfare
Gadgets

Until the watershed date of July 12, 2006, when the
Hizballah triggered the Lebanon War, Israel was
accounted an important world power in the
development of electronic warfare systems – so much
so that a symbiotic relationship evolved for the
research and development of many US and Israeli
electronic warfare systems, in which a combination of
complementary American and Israeli devices and
methods was invested.
The collaboration covers almost every military
branch – ground units, air and navy, special
operations forces and the devices that track terrorists
worldwide.
Israel’s electronic warfare units belong to its Signal Corps, and its early
Page 3 of 13
warning systems units are part of the Military Intelligence Corps-AMAN.
In combat against Hizballah (whose makeup and methods of operation will
be outlined in a separate article in this issue), both were not only found
wanting, but had been actively neutralized, so that none performed the
functions for which they were designed.
DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military sources reveal how this happened:
1. The intelligence and electronic warfare units of Iran’s Revolutionary
Guards Corps provided Hizballah with an electronic warfare arm.
2. Iran developed special systems capable of blocking a large section of
Israel’s electronic warfare network.
3. Thirty days into the Lebanon war, American and Israeli officials have
concluded that Iran decided to use the Lebanon conflict as the testing ground
for its military, intelligence and electronic capabilities in preparation for a
potential clash with the United States and Israel in other theaters of war.
The first indication of something amiss on the Israeli side showed up on day
three of the Lebanon War
On July 14, shortly before 20:00 local time, two Iranian-made C-802
Silkworm shore-to-sea missiles fired from a Hizballah base in Beirut port
seriously damaged an Israeli Saar-5 corvette, the “Hanit”.

The mysterious beam that blocked the Barak anti-missile device

The first was shot in a high arc to drop amidships on
the vessel from above; it missed and exploded in the
water. The second was fired at a difference angle to
skim the water’s surface in the manner of a cruise
missile. It homed in and struck the helicopter pad,
setting the pad, the deck and the crew’s living quarters on fire. The captain’s
fast reflexes and the crew’s bravery in jumping into the flames to extinguish
the fire saved the Hanit from exploding and sinking.
The C-802 missile is based on the Chinese Ying-Ji 802 land attack and antiship
cruise missile (designated in the West as SACCADE).
Fitted with a small turbojet engine with paraffin-based fuel, the missile has a
165 kilo warhead and a range of 120 km. Most significantly, this missile has
small radar reflectivity, attacks the target only a few meters above the sea
surface and its guidance equipment has a strong anti-jamming capability. It is
therefore exceptionally difficult to intercept and boasts a 98 percent hit
probability.
The Ying-Ji-802 can be launched from airplanes, ships, submarines and
motor vehicles and rivals the American Harpoon as among the best anti-ship
weapons on the market.
The Israeli warship was taken completely by surprise because Israeli
intelligence had had no idea that the Hizballah had acquired this missile.
The experts tried to find out why the stricken vessel’s advanced Barak shipborne
anti-missile defense system and its anti-air/anti-surface gunnery system
had not been activated to thwart the attack.
The Barak missile is a vertically launched, supersonic, lightweight missile
with a very large and powerful warhead designed for Israeli Navy missile
boats to counter anti-ship missile and airborne attack by aircraft. It uses
advanced radar techniques for target acquisition and target tracking. Using an
autonomous capability to gain a tactical picture and evaluate threat, the Barak
can interface with various sensors, guns and weapons.
The system operates successfully on the ships of various foreign navies.
So why didn’t this marvel of electronic engineering do its job for the Israeli
corvette?
DEBKA-Net-Weekly reveals here that, 12 hours before the Israeli ship was
crippled, Hizballah fighters seized control of Beirut’s naval radar station,
throwing out its Lebanese operators. Two minivans then drew up and a team
Page 4 of 13
of Iranian Revolutionary Guards naval intelligence officers and radar
technicians jumped out carrying a load of unfamiliar equipment which they
installed.
A subsequent probe revealed that they must have used this gear to beam a
mysterious electronic wave to disarm the Barak system.

A state of the art communications room in (almost) every bunker

Hours after the Hanit was attacked, the Israeli air
force destroyed Lebanese coastal radar facilities. An
Israeli officer who works with electronic warfare
systems told DEBKA-Net-Weekly that no one
knows to this day what gear the Iranians installed, or
where and when the next electronic ambush will be
coming from.
Since the attack, therefore, Israeli missile ships blockading the Lebanese
coast are wary of coming in too close to the shore. That is why the Israeli
naval commandoes who raided the hideout of a Hizballah rocket crew in Tyre
last week were flown in and evacuated by helicopter, not by sea.
DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military sources report that, in the course of the
Lebanon War, Hizballah – or rather Iran - had more than one surprise in store
In the first three days of the war, Israel was certain it had cast an electronic
blanket over South Lebanon and jammed military communications and
telephone networks, including mobile phones. The IDF general staff were
under the illusion that they had knocked out the communication links
between Hassan Nasrallah and his local commanders.
They were wrong.
It took a while to discover that Iranian electronic warfare operators had
chalked up another major success in the Lebanon War. They had prevented
Israeli electronic devices from jamming Hizballah’s communications
networks in the battle zones of South Lebanon and blanking out the signal
systems connecting Hizballah command and control posts across the country
and linking them to Syria. This explains why, despite repeatedly bomb strikes
of Hizballah’s Al Manar TV and Nour Radio studios in S. Beirut, the station
has been able to broadcast almost without interruption.
The Iranian electronic engineers’ success was such that, on Wednesday, Aug.
9, Day 29 of the war, Hizballah’s communications networks were still
operating at points only 500 meters from the Israeli border.
They were also functioning at the toughest strongholds holding out against
Israel attacks: Ayt a-Chaab in the west and Al Khaim in the east.
However, after a fierce battle at Qantara just south of the Litani River, the
bodies were found of three Iranian intelligence officers with documents of
identification and gear that showed them to have been operators of local
networks for jamming Israeli radar and communications.
Israeli forces searching through the bunkers they cleaned out in South
Lebanon were amazed to discover that many contained subterranean state of
the art communications rooms fitted out with advanced instruments with
Iranian encoding.
Not every part of the Hizballah militia is armed with standard military
communications equipment, it is important to note. They also use SMS,
runners and ordinary telephones to transmit messages.

The terrorist war room in the Iranian embassy

So concerned were some members of the Bush
administration by Iranian electronic successes in the
Lebanon War that, according to DEBKA-Net-
Weekly’s military sources, they sent over last week
Page 5 of 13
a large team of electronic warfare experts to work with the Israelis on
cracking the dual problem of Iranian interference and the protective measures
guarding Hizballah.
Both sides came to the conclusion that neither Israel nor the United States
took enough notice of the naval exercise Iran staged in the Persian Gulf last
April, its largest in recent years. Both the Americans and Israelis dismissed
most of the weapons systems as old-fashioned. Some were clearly
functioning badly.
But among them were the C-802 cruise missile and several electronic warfare
systems, both of which turned up in the Lebanon war with deadly effect.
American and Israeli military experts have since decided they may have
missed the most important feature of the Iranian exercise, their electronic
prowess. Now, the Lebanon War is giving them a second chance to catch up
with the Iranian accomplishments they missed last April.
They are particularly troubled by Iran’s success in making its Beirut embassy
totally impregnable to any electronic or hi-tech ears or penetration.
It means that the war room the Hizballah high command has set up in the
embassy can function free of oversight. Our sources report that Hassan
Nasrallah, Hizballah’s “chief of staff” Ibrahim Akil and chief of special
operations the arch terrorist Imad Mughniyeh, fled Beirut to a northern
underground command post in the Hermel region in the early part of the war.
But at some point, they slipped back and made it to the Iranian embassy.
Israeli and American intelligence tried dismissing their presence in the
embassy as a wild rumor. However Monday, August 7, Turkish military
intelligence tipped Washington that a very reliable source had placed
Nasrallah and his high command in the Iranian embassy. The source did not
know how long he had been holed up there. But US intelligence watchers
noted that when the Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki visited
Beirut Wednesday, August 9, he gave the embassy a wide berth. Aware of the
suspicions that Nasrallah was in the building, the minister decided not to
draw attention to the embassy or create the impression he had come to hold
talks with the Hizballah leader.

Hizballah’s Superior Tools of Terror - III
Islamic Terror Groups Agog: Rockets Are the Stuff of Victory

Word is whizzing around the Islamic fundamentalist
terrorist movement in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq
and the Palestinian territories: There is a better way
to vanquish the Jews and Christians than suicide
bombings, hostage-taking and massacres, it says:
The era of the mighty rocket and missile is at hand
Thousands of videotapes, leaflets and the Internet
sites used by radical Muslim groups are full of
reports about the miracles performed for Hizballah
by short-range surface and medium-range rockets,
anti-tank missiles and electronic warfare systems
used against Israel.
Hassan Nasrallah has found the ultimate weapon to confound Israel and all
Western unbelievers, they say.
He is being glorified on several counts.
By keeping up a rocket blitz against northern Israel of up to 200 rockets a day
for 30 days in defiance of Israel’s air, ground and naval power, he is said to
have outshone Osama bin Laden’s 9/11attacks on New York and
Page 6 of 13
Washington.
Muslim military analysts have counted the rocket total and calculated that he
shot more rockets at the Jews than Nazi Germany dropped bombs over
Britain in World War II. His admirers have searched high and low and found
no parallel of this feat in modern history. Even the Serbian barrage against
Sarajevo in the mid-1990s is said to pale by comparison.
Muslim war experts are drawn particularly to four Lebanon war
developments.
1. The inability of Israel’s armed forces to halt or even reduce the tempo of
rocket attacks. This leads them to conclude that no modern Western army is
capable of saving medium-sized towns from devastation by rockets and
missiles.
2. The fact that Hizballah’s rockets ravaged and practically depopulated two
thriving northern Israeli towns, the popular Mediterranean holiday resort of
Nahariya whose 60,000 population was reduced to 12,000, and Kiryat
Shemona of Upper Galilee, which is left with no more than one-tenth of its
30,000 inhabitants.
Dozens of smaller communities, including Arab villages, likewise suffered
cruel damage, loss of life and destroyed livelihoods. More than 6,000
apartment buildings were leveled and rendered uninhabitable, most of the
public buildings and infrastructure, including schools, factories, hotels and
roads, are in ruins.
All this destruction is hailed by radical Islamic commentators as a heroic
achievement by Nasrallah.
3. The displacement of more than three-quarters of a million Israelis of the
northern communities by his rockets and their flight south is held up as one of
the greatest Muslim triumphs in modern times. For the first time, an Israeli
government is being forced to set up tent cities for tens of thousands of
homeless refugee families in the parks of North Tel Aviv and in Petach
Tikva, along the Yarkon River.
4. The invincibility of Hizballah’s anti-tank rockets against Israeli tanks and
armor.
All this published material shows how deeply impressed the Islamic
fundamentalist movement is by the unlimited flow of rockets reaching
Hizballah and the fact that no one in the western world, except the Israeli air
force, lifted a finger to stem the flow from Syria and Iran.
The fundamentalists infer from this that the Hizballah model is well worth
emulating in other places and against other armies. The fact that the
predominantly Sunni Muslim Syria and the Shiite Iran are able to work
together as Hizballah’s sponsors and logistical backers inspires radical
Muslim commentators to hope that the Muslim world is capable of healing
itself the violent sectarian conflict besetting Iraq.
They urge a separation of universal Islam from the troubles in Iraq. They
must be treated as an internal Iraqi malaise, say the commentators, which
cannot be allowed to infect the entire Muslim nation.
For radical Islamists of both Sunni and Shiite sects and their terrorist
movements, Iran is emerging as the key to a global Islamist revival. The
Islamic Republic is poised to recover the acknowledged leadership role in the
Muslim world, which it enjoyed in the first four years after Khomeini’s 1979
revolution established a radical Islamic theocracy in Iran.

Structure of the Hizballah Army
Rigid Regimentation and Iron Discipline
Page 7 of 13
The Lebanese Shiite Hizballah terror group is usually
described as a radical Islamic militia. According to
DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military experts, Hizballah is
in fact a unique manifestation in modern military
history and a standout on the terrorist scene.
It is in fact a rigidly regimented regular army in very
sense which, together with its reserve units, numbers 20-25,000 trained men.
They are organized in brigades, each capable of autonomous operation and all
under a single central command.
The Hizballah army belongs to no state but to a religious organization. It is the
most disciplined force in the Middle East, whose troops are also rated high for
bravery and willingness to fight to the last bullet. An Israeli officer who faced
Hizballah in hand-to-hand combat told DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military
sources this week that, in his view, Hizballah has produced a new breed of
Muslim-Arab fighter in the Middle East. “They fight like lions,” he said, “And
their structure and methods of warfare contribute to their extreme discipline
and fighting prowess.
The Hizballah organization brings every Shiite village and urban
neighborhood into its fold under the governance of the local “security
committee.” This is a form of local command office that keeps the regular
army of 6,000 men strictly in line. The heads of these local committees train
as officers for six months at officers schools of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards,
followed by specialist courses of three to four months in such military
disciplines as intelligence, rockets and commando techniques.
Upon returning home, they are kept in close touch with the RGs – either
through the Iranian officers posted at the Iranian embassy in Beirut or visiting
RG officers who come through Damascus to keep an eye on their Hizballah
subordinates and help them solve logistical or even personal problems, such
as medical difficulties or lack of a living income.
These Revolutionary Guards supervisors also hunt for talented Hizballah
officer or NCO trainees to be sent for advanced tuition. After basic training at
the Baalbek or Lebanese Beqaa training facilities, they qualify for three
months of expert instruction in Iran as anti-tank rocket operators,
communications experts, mortar-men, saboteurs, or paramedics.
Every Hizballah fighting man is made conscious that he is the link in a dual
chain of command made up of his immediate commander who defers to
Hassan Nasrallah and a supreme command level, which consists of the
Iranian Revolutionary Guards and has the supreme ruler of Iran, Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei, at its apex.
This duality came into play during the Lebanon war, when Imad Mughniyeh,
deputy secretary general of Hizballah, was appointed to lead the war effort in
the south. (See HOT POINTS)

The Hizballah combatant’s dual loyalties to Nasrallah and Tehran

Every Hizballah combatant was fully aware that, while
Mughniyeh ranks formally as Nasrallah’s lieutenant, he
is in fact so high up in Iran’s ruling hierarchy that his
orders come straight from Khamenei in person. His
appointment therefore signified to Hizballah’s rank and
file that Tehran had not forgotten their dedication in
confronting the Israeli army and would look after them
and their families as a reward.
Each local “security committee” is aided by two additional bodies – taabiya
(recruitment office), which is charge of army reservists. These men are taken
away three days a month for refresher training. They also keep their personal
firearms at home, even if they are heavy machine guns or mortars, so that
when summoned for duty by their “security committee” they are ready to
Page 8 of 13
report at a moment’s notice.
The taabiya corps is estimated to be 7,000 to 10,000 strong.
The other body attached to the “security committee” is the mutfaririn
(paramilitaries), a loose force of 10,000 to 15,000 irregulars who are called
up as needed for home front duties such as manning roadblocks, guarding
arms stores and Hizballah office premises, or securing mass meetings of
Hizballah followers.
No one knows exactly how many of these irregulars actually fight on the
front against Israel.
Hizballah also maintains a special operations force of five companies of 150
to 250 men each. They are trained at the RG marine bases in Iran and
instructed in commando techniques by Iranian intelligence.
In times of calm, they serve as bodyguards for Hizballah chiefs. They also
undertake hit operations against their enemies. In wartime, they operate
behind enemy lines.
These commandoes carried out two missions in the current Lebanon war and
were commended for their performance.
One company crossed into Israel on July 10 or 11, spent 24 or 48 hours on
the Israeli side of the border undetected and, on July 12, attacked an Israel
patrol, killed 8 of its members and abducted two men, so sparking the current
war.
A second company confronted Israeli troops in Bin Jubeil in southern
Lebanon. In the first week of the war, an Israeli unit captured a large part of
the village and cleared it out of Hizballah fighters. Nasrallah then sent this
commando company to raid the village and force an Israeli withdrawal with
heavy losses. Three weeks later, the fighting there is not over and still
exacting a heavy toll.
Hizballah also maintains three rocket brigades, the militia’s artillery arm.
It is composed of the Nassar Brigade which is armed with Iranian and Syrian
107 mm and 220 mm Katyusha rockets; the Khaibar-1 Brigade (named for
the Muhammed’s battle against the Jews of Medina), which uses an array of
medium range missiles – from the Iranian-made Naziyat, the Syrian 302 mm
Katyusha with a range of 110 km, the Fajer-5 with a similar range, and the
Zelzal-1 surface missile which can reach a target at a distance of 120 km.
The third brigade has an arsenal of long-range Zelzal-2 missiles whose range
of 250 km. Two weeks ago, Iran sent Hizballah a supply of improved Zelzal
missiles capable of hitting targets 450 km away (including Israel’s nuclear
reactor in Dimona.)

HOT POINTS
A Digest of DEBKAfile Round-the-Clock Exclusives in Week
Ending August 10, 2006

Hizballah long-range rockets come within 45 km of Tel Aviv

4 August: Two or three land for the first time in the Hadera and Pardess
Hannah areas 50 km south of Haifa, deepest yet. Hizballah claimed to have
hit Hadera with its Khaibar-1 long range rocket. Residents of Binyamina and
Caesarea ordered to shelters for the first time. DEBKAfile: Another longrange
rocket fired at Jezreel Valley southeast of Haifa was aimed at the
Ramat David air force base.

Iran supplies Hizballah with a battery of upgraded Zelzal missiles that
can reach Israel’s nuclear reactor in Dimona

Page 9 of 13
4 August: This disclosure by DEBKA-Net-Weekly 264 was confirmed
Friday, August 4, by Ali-Akbar Mohtashami-Pour, former Iranian
ambassador to Damascus and Tehran’s senior liaison with Hizballah. The
acquisition of an improved Zelzal through Syria with a range of 350-400 km
was behind Hassan Nasrallah’s threat to bomb Tel Aviv if Beirut came under
another Israel air attack.
Tel Aviv is 150 km north of Dimona and therefore well within range of the
improved Zelzal missile.

Four Israel women killed in Hizballah barrage of 175 rockets Saturday

5 August: Three of the victims on Day 25 of the war were a mother and her
two daughters in the W. Galilee village of Arb al-Aramshe. In an earlier
barrage in the Haifa region, Frieda Kellner, 87 died of heart failure when an
11-rocket volley landed outside her home. Six people were injured in Haifa’s
Kiryat Motzkin, Kiryat Haim and Kiryat Yam, which suffered major damage
to homes and cars, as did Kiryat Shemona in the afternoon.
A mortar shell seriously injured a soldier at his border post.

Israel prepares to target Sidon region, from which long-range missiles
fired against Hadera Friday night

5 August: Rocket stores as well as launch sites are located in and around
Sidon, a town of 200,000 inhabitants south of Beirut and in the outlying
villages between the town and the Zahrani River.

Tehran Sends Legendary Mughniyeh to Rescue Hizballah

5 August: In the middle of the fourth week of the Lebanon War, the tide
began to turn in Israel’s favor.
The setbacks of the first three weeks were partly due to tactical incompetence
and laggard decision-making on the part of prime minister Ehud Olmert and
defense minister Peretz. Israeli troops therefore spent too long in abrading
combat against stubborn Hizballah resistance in such places as Maroun er Ras
and Bint Jubeil. But as soon as Israeli ground forces shifted to the massive,
long-distance firing mode which it knows best, the impact on the warfront
was immediate.
Hizballah soon showed signs of distress. Lacking the weapons and resources
to stand up to IDF’s precise-shooting juggernaut, their commanders quickly
pulled their men out most combat sectors of South Lebanon and ordered them
to regroup in five places.
These pockets became the main launching-pads for rockets fired into Israel.
With the right Israeli manpower level, Hizballah’s abilty to fire rockets can
be dented, notwithstanding claims by Israel officials and generals. However,
Olmert is still keeping the army short.
Still, by Thursday, August 3, Hizballah was showing signs of being in
trouble.
Local Hizballah village commanders signaled repeated appeals for more
manpower and ammunition and, most significantly, Hizballah’s shadowy
special operations chief, the long-wanted Imad Mughniyeh, was hurriedly
appointed commander of the southern front as a last resort to save South
Lebanon.
DEBKAfile’s military and counter-terror sources maintain that this
appointment raises the conflict to a new and dangerous level. Mughniyeh is
important enough to take orders from no-one but Iran’s supreme ruler,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Therefore, placing Mughniyeh at the head of
Hizballah forces in South Lebanon brings prime minister Olmert
Page 10 of 13
uncomfortably close to facing Iran’s supreme leader.

In two deadly attacks Sunday, Hizballah rockets killed 15 Israelis

7 August: Twelve Israeli army reservists died, 13 were injured, as they
unloaded trucks outside Kibbutz Kfar Gileadi near Kiryat Shemona. Most of
the 260 rockets fired Sunday were directed against the Kiryat Shemona
region of the Galilee panhandle in the east.
Eight hours later, 3 Israelis were killed, 189 were wounded, in a second
heavy Hizballah rocket attack which focused on Haifa in the west. Six
residential blocks were hit in different parts of Israel’s third largest city as
well as the port area. Seven rockets started fires in Nahariya in the west.

Hizballah’s rocket offensive against Israel is orchestrated from a rear
command located in the Syrian town of Anjar

7 August: While Israeli officials insist that Syria must be kept out of the
conflict, the Assad regime is already in it up to their ears.
The command which coordinates the pace of those attacks is located at the
Anjar base of the Syrian Army’s 10th Division opposite the Lebanese town of
Az Zabdani. It is manned by Iranian and Hizballah officers, who take their
orders from a Syrian military intelligence center in Damascus to which
Iranian Revolutionary Guards intelligence officers are attached. It is headed
by a general from one of Syria’s surface missile brigades. This joint
command is provided with the most up-to-date intelligence and electronic
data available to Syria on targets in Israel and IDF movements. The timing
and tempo of Hizballah rocket strikes are set according to that information.
They keep Hizballah supplied with rockets through smuggling rings using
mules and donkeys to slip across the mountain frontier.
A senior Israeli officer told DEBKAfile: We can go on bombing Lebanon for
many weeks, but that will not stop the rockets.

Lebanon Hostilities Are Nowhere Near a UN-initiated Cessation

8 August: Tuesday night, Aug. 8, the UN Security Council was to begin
discussing a resolution drafted by the US and France calling for a full
cessation of hostilities based on the immediate halt of all Hizballah’s attacks
and immediate end of all Israeli offensive military operations.
A second resolution, the second half of the US-French effort to resolve the
Middle East crisis by diplomacy, would set out a mandate for an international
force to be sent out to Lebanon.
An Arab League delegation arrived at the UN in time to overshadow the
deliberations with a strong representation of the Lebanese position, which
insists on an Israel’s withdrawal after a ceasefire starts.
France pushed for two changes in the original text to address the Arab-
Lebanese demands.
If the French-Arab-Lebanese initiative is allowed to proceed according to
plan, DEBKAfile’s analysts foresee a serious erosion of the original draft
which named Hizballah as the cause of the crisis.
The emerging text would deploy a token Lebanese force backed by an
expanded UNIFIL contingent and French troops in southern Lebanon after
Israel withdraws.
Hizballah will face a corresponding demand to pull its forces out of South
Lebanon. But it will be understood in private exchanges that they will leave
only after Israel cedes to international control the disputed Shebaa Farms. In
the interim, Hizballah fighters will stay put with the status of “civilian
residents.”
If this plan goes through, the Olmert government will come out of a painful
Page 11 of 13
and devastating war without achieving any of its objectives. Hizballah will
have suffered a beating without being broken or bowed. The IDF will not
have repaired its deterrent strength, and Hizballah, rather than Israel, will be
seen - at least by Arab opinion - as having come out on top. A ransom in the
coin of a prisoner exchange will be paid for the Israeli hostages. It is hard to
see any force capable or willing to make Nasrallah pull his troops out of
South Lebanon or disarm after the Israeli army failed.
Financial assistance will flood into Lebanon to repair the damage caused by
Israeli bombardments; Israel will have to foot its own bill for the destruction
wrought by Hizballah to one third of the country and the ruin of its economy.
Of course, Israel is still free to accept or reject these terms.

Israel’s security ministers approve widening of military ground
operation in Lebanon up to the Litani River and beyond

9 August: The decision Wednesday by 9 votes, none against and 3
abstentions, limits the expanded operation in time to 14 days and includes
areas as far north of the border as the Nabatea plateau and Arnoun past the
Litani River.
The objective of the extension is to reach rocket-launch centers. It deepens
Israel`s thrust to some 45 km from the border and calls for a further large
influx of army reserves.
DEBKAfile’s military sources add the extended operation does not promise
the total stoppage of all rocket fire against Israel, but could potentially bring
about a sizeable reduction from up to 200 a day to some 30 or 50.
The ministers who abstained were Dep. PM Shimon Peres, Labor’s Ofer
Pines and Shas leader Eli Yishai.
Wednesday Israeli forces sustained high casualties from major Hizballah
onslaught of anti-tank missiles in heavy clashes at Ayta a-Chaab and Debel.
Israeli special forces are already fighting in the Qantara region east of the
Litani. Despite massive Israeli aerial strikes and ground operations in the
Tyre region in the west, Hizballah fired a series of long-range Khaibar-1
missiles from there which reached Haifa, Beit Shean, Afula, Zichron Yaacov
and Jenin.

Lebanese PM rejects multinational force for South Lebanon in latest
setback for diplomatic effort

9 August: Fouad Siniora told visiting US state department official David
Welch Wednesday that only a Lebanese force backed by UNIFIL would be
acceptable.
French president Jacques Chirac stressed in a broadcast statement that any
ceasefire formula must embody two essential principles: full Lebanese
sovereignty over all its territory and Israel’s right to security.

Hassan Nasrallah says he forbade Lebanese PM Siniora to give an inch
on a multinational force

9 August: In a recorded TV statement, Wednesday night, the Hizballah
leader said he is ready to fight Israel on the Litani River.

Israel lost 15 soldiers dead, 34 injured Wednesday in four clashes with
Hizballah in S. Lebanon. Nine belonged to special operations units

9 August: This was the highest number of Israeli war losses in one day in
thirty days of combat against Hizballah.

Eight Palestinian kidnap plots and 20 suicide bombing attempts against

Page 12 of 13

Israel foiled in month-long Lebanon war

9 August: Their main destinations were Tel Aviv, Rehovoth and Bnei Berak.
DEBKAfile: Violent Palestinian groups were instructed to step up their
terrorist action to support the Hizballah war against Israel.
9 August: DEBKAfile: Violent Palestinian groups were instructed to step up
their terrorist action to support the Hizballah war against Israel. Their main
destinations were Tel Aviv, Rehovoth and Bnei Berak.

Israeli forces face heavy resistance Thursday at al Khiam and Marjayun
on the east bank of the Litani River

10 August: DEBKAfile’s military sources report: While officially the
expanded Israeli ground offensive up to the Litani River and beyond was put
on hold for 48 hours Thursday to allow diplomacy to kick in, the massive
influx of men and tanks were already on the move Wednesday. Their
missions are as defined by the security cabinet Wednesday are to seek out and
destroy rocket sites, take out the estimated 2,500-3,000 Hizballah fighting
men in the south and seize control of the Nabatea and Arnoun plains north of
the Litani.
The Israeli force is advancing in four columns, spearheaded by special forces
units and covered by exceptionally heavy artillery fire. Aerial bombardments
are striking Hizballah positions in their path.
DEBKAfile further reveals that the supreme commander of this widened
offensive is Maj.-General Benny Gantz, commander of the IDF’s land forces.
The ground offensive is pushing forward so that if diplomacy takes hold and
a ceasefire is declared, Israel will have attained a good portion of its war
objectives.

Page 13 of 13

[Casey]

Aug 25, 2006

Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah look to make up
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

KARACHI - Hezbollah has emerged as the new champion of the jihadist world, eclipsing even al-Qaeda as it battled the might of the US-backed-and-supplied Israel Defense Forces.

Shi'ite Hezbollah's newfound international popularity is likely in turn to encourage closer ties between it and Salafi-dominated al-Qaeda, which had fallen in Hezbollah's esteem for its targeting of

Shi'ites in Iraq.

An Iranian intelligence official explained to Asia Times Online, "There have been some contacts between Hezbollah and al-Qaeda in the past, but those contacts were at the individual level. The two organizations never spoke to each other officially. Neither did they exchange any official delegations.

"However, nobody can deny that individuals of both organizations carried out operations jointly. And as the situation is emerging, there are chances that any time soon the two organizations will be compelled to interact officially."

This is confirmed by a Pakistani intelligence source who is part of an international intelligence cartel investigating regional arms markets.

He told Asia Times Online, "There are so many common interests between the two organizations that it is impossible that bitterness about Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's role against Shi'ites [in Iraq] will continue to be an irritant between Hezbollah and al-Qaeda.

"There is a big arms black market in Central Asia, and Iraqi Kurdistan is the main route [through which] goods are smuggled into Afghanistan and into Syria and then Lebanon. Both Hezbollah and al-Qaeda have been dealing in the same markets, and many times with the same dealers.

"However, this is not the only thing. The channels of money transfers are the same. International financial investigators have tracked al-Qaeda's financial arteries from South Africa through diamond traders. All these diamond traders come from Nabatiyeh [southern Lebanon] - they are Shi'ites and indirectly linked with Hezbollah," the intelligence officer said.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has in the past made extensive capital out of the plight of south Lebanon, pinning much of his anti-American rhetoric on US-backed Israeli actions there.

A Hezbollah fighter who called himself Nidal told this correspondent recently in the Baalbek region of south Lebanon, "Osama always referred to the Israeli bombing of a UN building in Qana in the mid-1990s. He called the incident his inspiration for his hatred against the US, as the Americans backed the Israeli attack. So we were surprised when Osama was tight-lipped when the Taliban killed Shi'ites [of the Hazara sect] in Afghanistan, and then Abu Musab al-Zarqawi declared war on Shi'ites in Iraq."

Nidal was referring to the Qana incident of 1996 in which Lebanese women and children were killed and bin Laden used the incident to justify calls to take revenge against the "Zionist-American alliance".

British journalist Robert Fisk recalled in an article in 2002, "When I last saw bin Laden, he was still obsessed with the Israeli massacre of 107 Lebanese refugees sheltering at the UN camp at Qana in April 1996. Israel claimed it was a 'mistake', the UN conceded otherwise and president Clinton called it only a 'tragedy' - as if it was a natural disaster. 'It was,' said bin Laden, an act of 'international terrorism'. 'There must be justice,' he said, and 'trials for the Israeli perpetrators.'"

While the perception on the streets of Lebanon and Syria might be that al-Qaeda, the flag-bearer of anti-Americanism, is anti-Shi'ite, this has never been the case.

[B]Al-Qaeda has always wanted to cooperate with organizations such as Hezbollah, but its efforts at extending its international reach were curtailed after it lost its sanctuary in Afghanistan in 2001 and its leaders, including bin Laden and his deputy, Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri, were forced to lie low in the border areas with Pakistan. In effect, they were cut off from the rest of the world, as well as from their organization.

Then came the Pakistani military operations in the tribal areas of South and North Waziristan from 2003 to 2005 to root out al-Qaeda fugitives. This gave rise to the takfiri faction in al-Qaeda, which took advantage of the leadership and ideological vacuum to make its mark.

Sheikh Essa is an example. He is an Egyptian and longtime takfiri (one of those who believe all non-practicing Muslims are infidels). Though he is respected for his convictions and his knowledge on religion, he had had nothing to do with al-Qaeda's tactical affairs.

He seized the initiative, and along with Mustafa Seth Marium al-Suri began to to propagate his takfiri ideas against Shi'ites. They found a soulmate in Zarqawi, who like them had never been a part of the al-Qaeda command. Zarqawi took charge of affairs in Iraq and began to foment civil war by attacking Shi'ites.

Once the military operations in Waziristan eased and bin Laden and Zawahiri were able to reconnect with their men throughout the world, they moved quickly to rein in Zarqawi and try to re-establish harmony among Shi'ites and Sunnis in Iraq to fight against the Americans. Zarqawi's killing at the hands of US forces in June was therefore a blessing in disguise for bin Laden, although sectarian strife might already have reached the point of no return.

With regard to Hezbollah, though, it is certainly not too late for al-Qaeda to mend fences and improve ties, given their similar illicit arms and financial needs, as well as the perfect public relations that US-backed efforts in south Lebanon give bin Laden and the al-Qaeda propaganda machine.

Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HH25Ak01.html

[Petronas]

The Man in Nasrallah's Shadow: A Profile of Sheikh Naim Qasim
08/22/2006
By Sami Moubayed (from Terrorism Focus, August 22)

Sheikh Naim Qasim, the deputy secretary-general of Hezbollah, is one of the most interesting politicians in Lebanon. He is also one of the most under-covered by the Western media because he remains overshadowed by the towering influence of his boss, the charismatic 46-year-old Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. Yet the life and career of the number two man in Hezbollah is important since he is the leader who would likely lead the controversial party if Nasrallah were to step down or get killed by Israel. Sheikh Naim Qasim was born in the Basta district of Beirut, a predominantly Sunni neighborhood, in 1953. He was originally from the village of Kafar Vila in South Lebanon. His father had come to Beirut as a young boy, searching for a better life like so many Shiites of his generation, working at his uncle's bakery in the Lebanese capital. The Shiites at the time were overwhelmingly poor, underrepresented in the Lebanese parliament and their areas were greatly underdeveloped.

When Qasim was born, his father was working as a taxi driver in Beirut. Qasim recalled that his father would start his work day at 6 am and remain behind the wheel until 8 pm, struggling to earn a living for the young Qasim, his three brothers and one sister. Honest and reliable, the father transported money and goods to customers around Lebanon, earning enough money to buy a house in the Msaytbeh neighborhood, which the family moved to when Qasim was 14. Qasim's father was illiterate but insisted that his son receive a proper education to compensate for the lack of schooling in his own childhood. At school he excelled in French and chemistry. The young Qasim then studied at the Department of Education at the state-run Lebanese University (al-Rajul, March 1, 2005).

While still in school, Qasim became interested in religion and Islamic studies. No member of his immediate family was a cleric. At a young age, Qasim went to the local mosque during Ramadan where he was influenced by the clerics of the Shiite community. He began doing his own research into scholarly Islam and journeyed to different parts of Lebanon to attend lectures and read about Shiite history. By 1983, Qasim had decided to wear the turban of Shiite Islam. He was 30 years old. This decision, he recalled many years later, was a "revolution" in his life. He added, "many things changed [after I became a cleric], such as the way of life, the nature of relationships and the degree of social interaction. There are many restraints that come with the turban" (al-Rajul, March 1, 2005). When asked what he would do if all the restrictions that came with his political and religious office were suddenly lifted, he immediately replied: "I would walk in the streets," claiming that since 1992 this is something he has been deprived of doing at will due to the security restrictions of his job in Hezbollah (al-Rajul, March 1, 2005).

When the Lebanese Civil War broke out in 1975, Qasim joined the Amal movement of the Iranian-born cleric Imam Musa al-Sadr. He became active in student politics while studying at Lebanese University and rose among party ranks, becoming "deputy officer" of ideology and culture in Amal (http://www.naimkassem.org). He parted from Amal after the "disappearance" of the party founder Musa al-Sadr in 1978 and devoted his time to research and deeper understanding of Islam. When former members of Amal founded Hezbollah in the early 1980s, Qasim joined their ranks but did not become an active member until 1989. Under the first secretary-general of Hezbollah, Sheikh Subhi al-Tufayli, Qasim became deputy president of the Executive Council. When Abbas al-Musawi became secretary-general, Qasim was chosen as his number two man. Six months later, however, al-Musawi was assassinated by the Israelis and Hassan Nasrallah (only 32 years old at the time) replaced him as secretary-general. The decision to bypass Qasim and choose Nasrallah, who was seven-years his junior and less experienced in political affairs, remains a topic of controversy until the present. It is believed that this was the doing of the Grand Ayatollah Ali Akbar Khamenei due to Nasrallah's connections to Tehran. Qasim, on the other hand, is not as well connected to Iran, although he is allied to the Islamic regime there.

Currently, in addition to his political office, Qasim is the media man for Hezbollah. He is also dubbed the "Hezbollah intellectual" for the numerous books and articles that he has authored, in addition to the interviews and seminars that he gives (al-Arabiya, August 4, 2004). Qasim says that he did not start writing until 2001. Before that he had lectured extensively but never had the time to devote himself to composition (al-Arabiya, August 4, 2004). His first book was a collection of 10 lectures he had given on Imam Ali, the fourth grand caliph of Islam. Recently, he wrote a book about Hezbollah in Arabic, and in 2004 it was translated into English and published by Saki Books in London. He then wrote a book about the holy Shiite ceremony of Ashura, following it with a book on good manners, and is currently writing a book on "how to strengthen one's will power" (al-Rajul, March 1, 2005). He confesses that he reads a lot of books on education and psychology, but prefers to read politics from newspapers and other media outlets, unlike Nasrallah, who repeatedly said that he spends his free time reading political books authored by the Israelis, mainly the biographies and autobiographies of the political and military leaders of Israel (Ya Lesarat Ol-Hoseyn, August 10).

With regard to his personal life, Qasim says that all of his children are religious but none are considering a religious career, except his youngest son, who is 15 years old. He adds that he will not influence his son's choice of lifestyle or career, saying that his son must navigate his life on his own (al-Rajul, March 1, 2005). At the signing ceremony of one of his books, Qasim thanked his wife for her support, something that raised eyebrows within religious establishments as uncommon for a turbaned cleric. Qasim commented on the matter saying that "I support the rights of women" claiming that women's rights are a must in proper Islam. He adds, "She is not a slave. She is not only there for delivering children. She is a human being in every sense of the word. She has full rights" (al-Rajul, March 1, 2005). In his own words, his wife is "educated and intellectual," proudly saying that she used to lecture on various matters and was very active in public life but had to limit her public activities in order to raise their children. When asked about friends he commented: "Nobody lives without friends" (al-Rajul, March 1, 2005). He lamented not having time to see his friends regularly or to spend quality time with them, due to the amount of time his work consumes, pointing out that even when he wants to see his mother, he has to fix an appointment with her in advance.

Looking back at his career, Qasim says: "I feel that I can no longer differentiate between myself and the party. The crossovers are very strong. I cannot imagine myself without Hezbollah" (al-Rajul, March 1, 2005).

[I]Dr. Sami Moubayed is a Syrian writer and political analyst. He is the author of many books on Syria including Steel & Silk: Men and Women Who Shaped Syria 1900-2000 (Cune Press 2005).

http://jamestown.org/news_details.php?news_id=196

[The 801]

First wave of arrests inside Hizballah of suspected informers to Israeli intelligence

No commissions of inquiry for Hassan Nasrallah. Our exclusive sources learn that Hizballah’ special security service has begun rounding up suspects in the northern Beqaa Valley, Baalbek and South Lebanon of members and others suspected of tipping off Israel intelligence on the location of the storehouse holding the heavy Zelzal missiles.

Those missiles, no more than three or four, were held in reserve as Hizballah’s most devastating strategic weapon against Israel, capable of hitting Tel Aviv.

Monday, Aug. 28, prime minister Ehud Olmert revealed for the first time that the Israeli air force destroyed those missiles in the first 34 minutes of the Lebanon war on July 12. Nasrallah needs urgently to find the leak through which the missiles’ place of storage and very existence, one of Hizballah’s most tightly kept secrets known only to very few top leaders of the organization, reached Israel.

The first arrests were made among people living in the vicinity of the missile cache.

More arrests have been carried out in the Shiite communities who live near or are connected with the Hizballah intelligence and secret command centers in Baalbek, which were targeted by Israeli air strikes and commando forays.

DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources reveal that Hizballah’s special security apparatus is focusing on two lines of inquiry:


1. Israel’s Aug. 1 commando raid on the Deir al Hikhma hospital in Baalbek.

2. The series of Israeli incursions in the course of the war in the hills northwest of Baalbek, where Hizballah’s main command center, including its intelligence headquarters, are hidden underground in well fortified quarters – and are still in place.

Debka

[Petronas]

Hizbullah: We're arming for second round
08.30.06, 18:31

Hizbullah representative in Iran Muhammad Abdullah Sif al-Din, said Wednesday that Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah has a new strategic plan to rearm ahead of the "next round against Israel ." In an interview with the Iranian news agency Fars, al-Din said: "No one can promise us that Israel won't attack again. Whoever lives as a neighbor to the Zionist regime is in danger and must not save any effort to obtain all of the means to defend himself. We are convinced that there still danger and the situation has not yet been solved. We must, all the time, prepare ourselves for self-defense and to plan for the next stage."

During an interview, al-Din was asked about Hizbullah's military situation after the war. "Our situation is very good, the Israelis didn't manage to strike Hizbullah's military command and our ability to launch missiles. In the first days we launched 100 missiles and in recent days we fired 350 missiles a day. So we have no problem from a military perspective," he replied.

Unlike Nasrallah, the Hizbullah representative in Iran expressed no regret for kidnapping soldier, the operation which caused the outbreak of the war. "In retrospect, if Israel would have attacked again and we had to defend ourselves, we could have done it again and with great vigor," he said.

Regarding UN Resolutions 1559 and 1701, calling for, among others, the disarmament of Hizbullah, Sif Al-Din said that his organization had no intention of disarming, as the issue was an internal Lebanese one. ...

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3297797,00.html

[Petronas]

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7050/620/1600/hezbollah%20venezuela3.png

Chávez joins the terrorists: his path to martyrdom
By Gustavo Coronel
September 2, 2006

On the Venezuelan side of the Guajira Peninsula, a territory shared with Colombia, the members of the tribe of the Wayuu walk across political boundaries without restrain. They were there before Venezuela and Colombia existed and they think of themselves as a nation. Recently a disturbing group has appeared, as alien visitors, in their desert landscape: Hezbollah. The Islamic fanatics of Hezbollah are rapidly infiltrating the tribe of the Wayuu. They are indoctrinating the members of this tribe, to convert them into Islamic fanatics in charge of disseminating the terrorist message that has already created chaos, death and misery in the Middle East. The Hezbollah group invading Venezuela is doing its work openly in the Venezuelan side of the Guajira Peninsula. They are disseminating, via Internet, a strategy "to change Venezuela," including:


Total destruction "of the sex industry" (whatever that means),
Attacking the upper classes, "who are the most corrupt," all white-collar criminals and continuing the cleaning downwards,
Attacking corruption in government (not such a bad idea) and in the masses, both civilians and military,
Attacking false idols and satanic cults, as defined by them.

The logo adorning the main page and document is an AK-47 rifle. The propaganda appearing on the Web presence of the Venezuelan subsidiary of Hezbollah talks about installing the kingdom of God in Venezuela by imposing a military-theocratic type of government, an explosive mixture similar to what already exists in Iran. It claims: "The brief enjoyment of life on earth is selfish. The other life is better for those who follow Allah." Where have we heard this before? In the leaflets that encourage the suicide missions of children and teenagers in Palestine.

Is the Venezuelan Hezbollah for real or is just the product of pranksters with a macabre sense of humor? Available photographs suggest they are for real. This ghoulish presence in Venezuelan territory certainly deserves an immediate investigation and decisive action, if true, to eradicate such a horrible pest from our country. The problem is that Chávez is supporting Hezbollah in the Middle East and will most probably support their criminal work in Venezuela. Would the U.N. or the OAS take note? ...

http://venezuelatoday.net/gustavo-coronel/hezbollah+venezuela_hugo-chavez_syria-iran_wmd+terrorism.html

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2006/09/hezbollah-is-working-openly-in.html

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7050/620/1600/hezbollah%20venezuela2.1.jpg

[Petronas]

Hezbollah: We could have up to 70,000 rockets left in arsenal
10/09/2006

Hezbollah could have tens of thousands of rockets still left in its arsenal, the group's deputy leader Naim Qassam said in an interview published Sunday in a London-based Arabic-language newspaper. Qassam said that the reconstruction of Hezbollah's military wing was not a top priority as the group still had a plentiful supply of weapons.

"We had the option to confront Israel for many months," he said. "The 8,000 missiles that we fired at Israel could be a quarter or even just 10 percent of the rockets we have." The group is now contemplating how best to move ahead following the deployment of Lebanese soldiers and United Nations troops in the south of the country, Qassam said. He said that Hezbollah has yet to decide on its policy toward Israel if it does not pull out of the Shaba Farms, but indicated the group would not give up its "right to resistance."

He stressed that Hezbollah has no plans to strike American targets and said that the resistance to Israel would be carried out only on Lebanese soil, not "all around the world."

Qassam also repeated the previous declarations by Hezbollah leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, that the group had scored an historic victory against Israel. "After the war, there was great destruction in Lebanon, but the decision to go to war was an Israeli-American one, with the declared aim of breaking Hezbollah. This aim was not ultimately achieved and in that we see an historic victory," he said.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/760878.html

[Petronas]

Amnesty International report: Hezbollah guilty of war crimes
14/09/2006

Amnesty International has accused Hezbollah of "serious violations of international humanitarian law, amounting to war crimes" during the recent Lebanese war. In a report published in London Thursday, the human rights group condemned the "deliberate targeting" of Israeli civilians by Hezbollah. The report states that 43 civilians, including seven children, were killed in these Hezbollah attacks.

In meetings with Amnesty International, Hezbollah had argued that its rocket attacks on northern Israel were a reprisal for Israeli attacks on civilians in Lebanon and were aimed at stopping such attacks. In its report Amnesty rejects the Hezbollah claim by pointing out that international law forbids the targeting of civilians and reprisals.

During the month-long conflict, Hezbollah fired nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel, killing 43 civilians, seriously injuring 33 others and forcing hundreds of thousands of civilians to take refuge in shelters or flee, the report said. Approximately a quarter of all rockets were fired directly into urban areas, including rockets packed with thousands of metal ball bearings.

"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 International's Secretary General Irene Khan said in a comment on the report. "The fact that Israel has also committed serious violations in no way justifies violations by Hezbollah. Civilians must not be made to pay the price for unlawful conduct on either side." ...

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/762447.html

[Petronas]

Hizbollah still has 20,000 rockets, Nasrallah tells 300,000 at rally
23/09/2006

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbollah's leader, made his first public appearance since the war with Israel yesterday, and threatened to break Lebanon's political system. More than 300,000 supporters filled a square in Beirut's southern suburbs to hear Mr Nasrallah claim that the group had survived intense Israeli bombardment and retained an arsenal of rockets.

"The resistance today — pay attention — has more than 20,000 rockets," he declared. "[It] has recovered all its organisational and military capabilities. It is stronger than it was before July 12 [the start of the conflict]." ...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=N511SIZOFJHLRQFIQMGCFF4AVCBQ UIV0?xml=/news/2006/09/23/wleb23.xml

[Petronas]

Hizbullah moving rockets to Palestinian camps
09.26.06, 07:49

Hizbullah has been transporting rockets and heavy weaponry to Palestinian camps in south Lebanon just a few miles from the Israeli border, according to Lebanese officials.

The officials told WND the office of Lebanese Prime Minister Faud Sinora sent a letter last week to Abbas Zakir, the Palestinian Authority's most senior representative in Lebanon, outlining the alleged Hizbullah weapons transfers into Palestinian camps. The letter noted "unusual activity" in and near the Palestinian camps, including the coming and going of trucks suspected of carrying weapons.

Palestinian groups, including Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, maintain armed bases in Lebanon, mostly in the al-Naemeh province just south of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley, near Lebanon's border with Syria and Israel. Fatah is the party of PA President Mahmoud Abbas. The reports follow a WND article last month quoting Lebanese officials claiming Hizbullah, with the help of Iran, started building underground war bunkers in Lebanon's Palestinian camps.

During its 34-day confrontation with Hizbullah in Lebanon that began July 12, Israel destroyed scores of complex Hizbullah bunkers that snaked along the Lebanese side of the Israel-Lebanon border. Military officials said they were surprised by the scale of the Hizbullah bunkers, in which Israeli troops reportedly found war rooms with advanced eavesdropping and surveillance equipment they noted were made by Iran.

A senior Lebanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told WND Hizbullah started building a new set of bunker systems, this time in Palestinian refugee camps. "The Lebanese Army doesn't have the authority to patrol inside the camps," said the official. "Hizbullah knows it is safe there to rebuild their war bunkers, and they began doing so with Iranian help."

A second Lebanese official confirmed the information, which came one day after Israel's Army Radio reported Hizbullah was seen by the Israeli army dismantling 14 outposts near the border with Israel, removing rockets and equipment for transport.

According to Army Radio, Hizbullah members blocked entry to their outposts using bulldozers. Trucks then removed weapons and other munitions from the area. Vehicles also reportedly cleared furniture and equipment from the outposts.

The Lebanese Army and a contingent of several thousand international troops have deployed in South Lebanon. None of the forces are authorized to enter Palestinian refugee camps. The Lebanese government has stated its army will not confront Hizbullah or work to disarm the group. An agreement reached with Hizbullah last month allows the Lebanese militia to retain its weapons as long as it doesn't display the arms in public.

The agreement is in violation of the UN ceasefire resolution that ended confrontations initiated when Hizbullah ambushed an Israeli patrol unit, kidnapping two soldiers and killing eight others. The resolution calls for the eventual disarming of Hizbullah.

During a Hizbullah "victory" parade in south Beirut last Friday, the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, declared Hizbullah possesses more than 20,0000 rockets aimed at Israel and pledged his group will quickly reestablish militant bases in Lebanon. Making his first public appearance since the war started, Nasrallah drew loud applause from the crowd when he vowed: "We will rehabilitate the force and bases within a short period of time. The resistance today is stronger than it was on July 12," Nasrallah said. "He who wants to weaken us is miscalculating."

Israeli security officials did not deny Nasrallah's claims of continuing to maintain a large rocket arsenal. An official pointed to a volley of 240 rockets fired by Hizbullah one day before last month's cease-fire was imposed, the largest number the group had launched in a 24-hour period. One Israeli civilian was killed in the attacks; 26 others were injured. "The message sent is that Hizbullah absolutely maintains the capability of firing hundreds of rockets per day into Israel," commented the official. "Wasn't one of the (Israeli) military campaign's main goals to eliminate the rocket threat?"

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3308105,00.html

[Casey]

More in the Saudi Arabia thread:
http://wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?p=854942#post854942



"Hezbollah" support the Shiite uprising in Bahrain
الوطن العربي ـ 27/9/2006Arab World September 27, 2006


منذ الاشتباك الذي جرى بين حزب الله وإسرائيل بين 12 يوليو "تموز" و 14 أغسطس "آب" 2006 والحديث لا ينقطع عن الصعود الشيعي، واحتمالات الفتنة بين السنة والشيعة في المنطقة بتحريض من الجمهورية الإسلامية الإيرانية بهدف السيطرة بعد التمكن!، وفي البحرين على سبيل المثال لم يتوقف أمر الشيعة فيها على تأييد حزب الله أو الدعوة لمقاتلة إسرائيل، بل تجاوز الأمر ذلك إلى مظاهر استعراض القوة وتحسين نتائج الدخول في مواجهة مع السلطة السُنية الحاكمة، والمثير في الأمر أن حزب الله اللبناني أراد أن يرد جميل شيعة البحرين نظير مساندتهم له فأرسل يشد أزرهم ويدعم انتفاضتهم في وجهة النظام محددا لهم المنهج الذي ينبغي أن يسيروا عليه تحقيقاً لهدف الاستقواء واستحواذ مواقع قيادية ومؤثرة في المجتمع.

Since the clash, which took place between Hezbollah and Israel, between July 12, "July", August 14, "August" in 2006, she did not talk to ascend the Shiite and the prospects for sedition between Sunnis and Shiites in the region instigation of the Islamic Republic of Iran in order to be able to control yet! In Bahrain, for example, is not dependent on the support of the Shiite Hezbollah or call to fight Israel but beyond the matter to the manifestation of force and improve the results of entering into a confrontation with the Sunni ruling, The exciting thing is that the Lebanese Hezbollah wants to Bahrain is a beautiful Shiites have sent their support for tightening the morale and support the Intifada against Israeli occupation forces in a system specific to the curriculum, which should be tread upon realizing the goal of owning strength and leadership positions and influence in society.


من المؤكد أن النجاح في نقطة يغري بالانتقال إلى أخرى لتحقيق المزيد، هذه قاعدة عامة تصدق على الشأن الشخصي كما تطبق في المنحى السياسي العام، وهذا ما فعلته إيران ومن يوالونها في المنطقة، فمنذ العام 2001 واللعبة ناجحة تغري بمزيد من التكرار لحصد الكثير من المغانم، فقد تدخلت إيران في أفغانستان ثم العراق وتعاونت مع الولايات المتحدة في حربها ضد هذين البلدين مستعملة الشيعة الأفغان والشيعة العراقيين، وكسب الملالي من ذلك التعاون وتخلصوا من نظامي طالبان وصدام المعاديين لهم وللشيعة، وحاليا فإن الشيعة بأفغانستان يقيمون دويلة شبه مستقلة في الوسط، وكذلك شيعة العراق الذين تسلموا السلطة في البلاد!، والآن تحاول إيران عن طريق شيعة لبنان تكرار النموذج ليصبح الثالث للتدخل الإيراني من خلال المجموعات الشيعية في المنطقة لتحقيق مشروعها الاستراتيجي الذي هو حتى الآن مشروع سياسي تستخدم في سبيل تحقيقه كل الأوراق المتاحة حتى ولو كانوا من السنة أيضا مثل حركة حماس الفلسطينية.

Sure enough, the success at the point of temptation to move to the other to achieve more, this general rule ratify the personal regard as applied in the general political trend, This is what Iran did Iwalonha in the region, Since 2001, and the game successful entice more repetition to reap much of the spoils. Iran has intervened in Afghanistan and then Iraq and cooperated with the United States in its war against these countries used Afghan Shiites and Iraqi Shiites, and winning the mullahs of cooperation and disposed of both the Taliban and Saddam antagonists themselves and the Shiites, Currently, the Shiites residing in Afghanistan semi-independent state in the middle, , as well as Iraqi Shiites who have assumed power in the country! and now trying to Iran through the Shiites of Lebanon repetition of the model to third for interference through Iranian Shiite groups in the region to achieve its strategic, which is so far a political project used to achieve all the cards available, even if they were part of the year as well, such as the Palestinian Hamas movement.

البحرين ..Bahrain. الرابعةFour
وفي إطار السعي الإيراني الدؤوب لتطبيق نموذجها يتوقع المراقبون أن تكون البحرين الدولة التالية لتزكية التحرك الشيعي داخلها فهي دولة خليجية صغيرة في مساحتها، كبيرة في أحداثها ويلعب الوجود الشيعي فيها دوراً خطيراً في رسم الأحداث التي تدور في هذه الجزيرة، فقد لعبت قضية "الأكثرية" الشيعية دوراً في أعمال العنف التي بلغت حد المطالبة بإلغاء النظام الملكي واقتفاء النموذج الإيراني، كل ذلك تم بفعل انتشار مقولة "الأكثرية" وتروجيها لأغراض سياسية واضحة، حيث دأب الشيعة على رفع نسبتهم في جميع البلدان التي يقيمون فيها لأسباب سياسية لا تخفى على أحد، ومن تلك الدول البحرين التي بالغ البعض بالقول بأن الشيعة العرب منهم ذوو الأصول الإيرانية يشكلون 60 إلى 65% من إجمالي عدد السكان!.

In seeking Iranian hard for the application model observers expect that the State of Bahrain following the endorsement of the Shiite moves inside is a small Gulf state in the area, significant events in the Shiite presence and play a role in drawing serious events that have taken place in this island, they have played the "majority" Shiite role in the violence that the extent of calling for the abolition of the monarchy, tracing the Iranian model, all of this has been due to the proliferation argument of the "majority" and Trujiha for obvious political purposes, as has been to raise the proportion of Shiites in all countries in which they reside for political reasons that are no secret to anyone. Among these countries is Bahrain, which is extremely some saying that the Shiites are Arabs with the Iranian assets constitute 60 to 65% of the total population!.

وقد جاء في تقرير مركز ابن خلدون المصري حول الأقليات لسنة 1993 أن سكان البحرين ينقسمون إلى ثلاث مجموعات، العرب الشيعة ونسبتهم 45% من مجموع السكان، والعرب السنة ونسبتهم كذلك 45% أما الإيرانيون فنسبتهم 8%، وثلثهم من السنة والثلثان من الشيعة، وبذلك يصل الشيعة العرب والإيرانيون إلى حوالي 52%، أما السنة العرب والإيرانيون البلوش فنسبتهم 48%، إلا أن تقرير ابن خلدون ذاته الصادر سنة 1999 فقد رفع نسبة الشيعة في البحرين إلى حوالي 70% وهي نسبة غير واقعية ومنافية للواقع السكاني في البحرين، ولم يذكر التقرير الأسس التي استند عليها لرفع نسبة الشيعة من 52% إلى 70% خلال 6 سنوات، على الرغم من أنه لم يحصل ما يدعو إلى ارتفاع النسبة بهذا الشكل وخلال هذه الفترة القصيرة، سوى ما عزاه التقرير إلى أن الشيعة معظمهم ريفيون يكثر عندهم الإنجاب وتعدد الزوجات، وبالرغم من صحة هذا الأمر الذي يتم بدعم وتشجيع القيادات الطائفية مع التكفل بالمصاريف اللازمة وذلك من أموال الخمس!، وقد نقل د.

The report of the Ibn Khaldoun Center for the Egyptian on minorities in 1993 that the population of Bahrain divided into three groups. Arabs and Shiites represent 45% of the total population, The Sunni Arabs and also accounted for 45% either Iranians their proportion of 8%. one third of the year, and two thirds of the Shiites, Thus, the Shiite Arabs and Iranians to about 52% The Sunni Arabs and Iranians Baluch their proportion of 48%. However, the report of the Ibn Khaldoun of the same in 1999 has increased the Shiites in Bahrain to about 70%, and is unrealistic and contrary to the reality of the population in Bahrain, The report did not mention the foundations on which to raise the proportion of Shiites from 52% to 70% during the six years, although he did not receive the calls to the high percentage of this figure, in such a short period, only attributed to the report, the Shiites mostly rural frequently have a baby, polygamy, Although the authenticity of this, which is to support and promote sectarian leaders with the necessary expense and ensure that funds five! The transfer d.

خالد العزى في كتابه: "الخليج العربي في ماضيه وحاضره" نداءً إلى شعوب وحكومات الدول العربية بغرض اتخاذ كافة السبل لردع خطر التسلل الإيراني في الأرض العربية حتى لا يشكلوا طابورا خامساً ووصف خطر التسلل الإيراني بأنه لا يقل خطورة عن التسلل الصهيوني الذي يعتبر أحد أسباب ضياع فلسطين واغتصابها إذ لا يخفى أن زيادة عدد ا لشيعة في الخليج عامة والبحرين خاصة كان بسبب الهجرة الإيرانية المتزايدة إلى بلدان الخليج أثناء الحكم البريطاني، في ظل غفلة أهلها وتساهل شيوخ الخليج، بل إن بعض الذين زاروا البحرين أو كتبوا عنها في بدايات هذا القرن يذكرون صراحة أن الوجود الشيعي هو وجود أجنبي حيث يقول أمين الريحاني في كتابه "ملوك العرب": إن الجعفريين مثل الهنود يعدون من الأجانب لأنهم إيرانيون أو إيرانيو التبعية.

Khalid Azi in his book : "Arab Gulf in the past and present" appeal to the peoples and governments of Arab States to take all means to deter the threat of Iranian infiltration in the Arab lands they do not pose a fifth column and described Iran as a threat to infiltrate no less dangerous than the Zionist infiltration, which is one of the reasons for the loss of Palestine and rape as no secret that the increase in the number of a for Shiites in the Gulf in general and Bahrain in particular was due to the growing Iranian migration to the Gulf countries during the British rule. in light of the absence of its complacency and Gulf sheiks, but some of those who visited Bahrain or writing about them in the beginning of this century remember explicitly that the Shiite presence is the presence of foreign Alerihani Secretary says in his book "Arab kings" : that Aljafariin such as Indians are foreigners or because they IRANIANS Airanio dependency.

وقد جاءت نتائج الانتخابات البلدية والنيابية سنة 2002، وحصول الشيعة في الأولى على 23 مقعداً من 50 وعلى 13 مقعداً من أصل 40 مقعداً في الثانية، لتعطي صورة تقريبية عن حجم الشيعة في البحرين، فإذا كان حصولهم على أقل من ثلث مقاعد المجلس النيابي بسبب مقاطعة بعض تنظيماتهم للانتخابات يبدو مفهوماً بعض الشيء، فإن حصولهم على أقل من نصف مقاعد البلديات في الانتخابات التي شارك فيها جميع قطاعاتهم تبطل نظرية الأغلبية الكاسحة أو المطلقة، وعند الحديث عن علاقات البحرين بإيران وأثرها على شيعة البحرين نقف عند حقيقتين هامتين هما:

The results of the parliamentary and municipal elections in 2002, and that the Shiites in the first 23 of the 50 seats and 13 seats out of 40 seats in the second, to give a rough picture of the size of the Shiites in Bahrain, If they have less than one third of seats in the parliament due to their organizations boycotting some of the elections seemed somewhat understandable, the access to less than half the seats in municipal elections, in which all segments negate the theory of the overwhelming majority or absolute, When talking about Bahrain's ties with Iran and its impact on the Shiites in Bahrain stand at two important are :

ـ أن إيران بعد ثورة الخميني سنة 1979 أصبحت قبلة الشيعة في العالم، ووضعت نفسها وصية على الطوائف الشيعية في كل مكان، وكذلك الطوائف الشيعية جعلت من إيران نموذجها وقدوتها، وهذا لا يمنع وجود تيارات وهيئات شيعية تعادي إيران أو لا تعترف بولايتها لأسباب ترجع للتنافس على الزعامة مع الخميني بالدرجة الأولى، وهذا هو أيضا سبب انشقاق مجاهدي خلق على الثورة الخمينية وغيرها من التيارات والشخصيات الشيعية، ولم تكن المشاعر الشيعية تجاه إيران محصورة بدولة الخميني، إنما كانت الدولة الصفوية التي حكمت إيران بدءاً من سنة 906هـ (1500م) تمارس الدور ذاته.

Iran after Khomeini revolution in 1979 before becoming the Shiites in the world. A itself the guardian of the Shiite communities everywhere. as well as the Shiite communities of Iran made the model and their positive, This does not preclude the presence of streams and bodies of Shiite antagonize Iran or does not recognize the mandate, due to compete for the leadership with Khomeini first place, This is also the reason for the breakup of MKO on the Khomeini revolution and other trends and the Shiite personalities, There were feelings toward Shiite Iran confined State Khomeini, but the State Safawi movement, which ruled Iran starting in the year 906 e (1500) exercise the same round.
أطماع إيرانيةIranian ambitions


ولقد كانت العلاقات الإيرانية ـ البحرينية مثالاً للتوتر والشكوك في معظم فتراتها، بسبب أطماع إيران في هذه الجزيرة واعتبارها جزءاً من أراضيها، وعدم الاعتراف بجوازات السفر التي كانت تصدرها البحرين، واعتبارها إحدى المحافظات الإيرانية بل واحتسابها من إرث مملكة فارس التي ورثتها إيران اليوم، ومع قدوم الخميني سنة 1979، تبنت إيران مبدأ تصدير الثورة، وهو أن تنشر مذهبها وفكرها بالقوة، واصطدمت بالعراق ودخلت معه في حرب مدمرة استمرت 8 سنوات، وأما دول الخليج العربية فقد نالها من الأذى والتخريب الإيراني الشيء الكثير، وكان الخميني يقول: إن العرب حكموا المسلمين وكذلك الأتراك وحتى الأكراد، فلماذا لا يحكم الفرس وهم أعمق تاريخاً وحضارة من كل هؤلاء؟!، وقد حاول الخميني؛ خلافا لجهود الشاه في ضم البحرين؛ أن ينتفض الشيعة للقضاء على آل خليفة، وكانت الأداة الرئيسة "الجبهة الإسلامية لتحرير البحرين"، وكان من قادتها هادي المدرسي الذي أبعدته السلطات البحرينية، وبعد إبعاده اشتغل ببث التطرف وسط شيعة البحرين وكان له دور في محاولة انقلاب سنة 1981 والذي حدث بعدما أثارت الثورة الإيرانية الشجون في نفوس شيعة البحرين على وجه الخصوص وأثارت فيهم الرغبة بالتبعية للوطن الذي صار قبلة لشيعة العالم، وتجسد ذلك في أعمال العنف والتخريب التي مارسها شيعة الخليج طيلة سنوات الثمانينيات وجزءاً من عقد التسعينيات، حيث باتت أعلام إيران وصور الخميني وخامنئي وأعلام حزب الله اللبناني التابع لإيران مشهداً مألوفاً في أنشطة وتظاهرات شيعة البحرين وتشكلت أولى حركات المعارضة الشيعية في البحرين "الجبهة الإسلامية لتحرير البحرين" في سبتمبر (أيلول) من العام نفسه، ثم تشكلت بعدها كل من "حركة أحرار البحرين الإسلامية" التي تتخذ من لندن مقراً لها، و "حزب الله ـ البحرين" الذي كانت السلطات البحرينية تنظر إليه بوصفه تنظيماً سياسياً شيعياً تابعاً لسلسلة تنظيمات أنصار الثورة الإيرانية في الخارج، وبعد الأحداث الدامية التي اندلعت في سنوات التسعينيات، وكان أشدها سنة 1994 بين الشيعة والسلطات البحرينية، هدأت الأمور سنة 1999 مع استلام الشيخ حمد بن عيسى مقاليد السلطة، ودخلت البحرين مرحلة جديدة فتم تحسين الأوضاع الداخلية والعفو عن المعتقلين السياسيين وإطلاق الحريات، وأخذ الشيعة يستفيدون من الوضع الجديد، ومن ذلك تأسيسهم للجمعيات التي تمارس العمل السياسي، حيث لا يسمح في البحرين بتشكيل الأحزاب وتلعب من خلال هذا الدور ما يسمح بتعظيم وجودها في المجتمع تحينا لساعة الوثوب على السلطة بعد تعبيد الطريق إليها.

Our relations with Iran Bahraini example of the tension and uncertainty in most of its periods, because of Iran's ambitions on the island as part of its territory, not recognizing passports that were issued by Bahrain, and as one of the Iranian provinces and even computed from the legacy of the Kingdom of Fars, which inherited the Iran of today, With the advent of Khomeini in 1979, Iran adopted the principle of exporting revolution. It is to publish its denomination and its thought force, Iraq and collided with him and entered into a devastating war lasted eight years. The Arab Gulf States were awarded from harm and sabotage Iranian much, The Khomeini says : Arabs ruled that the Muslims as well as the Turks and Kurds so, Why not ruled Persians are deeper history and civilization from all of these?, He has tried to Khomeini; Contrary to the efforts of the Shah in the annexation of Bahrain; Shiites to rise up to eliminate Al-Khalifa, The principal vehicle "Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain." One of the leaders Hadi school subsequently the Bahraini authorities, After expelling worked broadcast extremism amid the Shiites of Bahrain and had a role in a coup attempt in 1981 and what happened after the Iranian revolution, raised concerns in the minds of the Shiites of Bahrain, in particular, raised including the desire subservience to the nation, which has become a focus of Shiites around the world, reflected in the acts of violence and sabotage exerted by the Shiites Gulf for years part of the 1980s and the 1990s, where are flags and pictures of Khomeini Iran, Khamenei and Lebanese Hizbollah flags of the Iran scene familiar in the activities and demonstrations Bahrain, the Shiites formed the first movements of the Shiite opposition in Bahrain, "the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain" in September (September) of the same year, then formed after each of the "free movement of Bahrain Islamic" taken from the London-based, , "Hezbollah Bahrain," the Bahraini authorities, who consider him as a Shiite political group organized a series of organizations, the supporters of the Iranian revolution abroad. After the bloody events that erupted in the 1990s, The most 1994 betwee