0 thoughts on “Al-Jazeera interview with Nasrallah”
To put this in context just a few hours ago some people believed that Nasrallah had been killed in an Israeli strike. There was http://agonist.org/20060719/middle_east_crisis_open_thread_ii\” rel=”nofollow”>speculation that he would need to manifest himself by appearing on TV pretty soon. Am waiting for more info, but it looks like he\’s still alive.
I was wondering what killing him would have achieved. I\’m not sure how HB is structured, so I don\’t know who would take over or whether there is a designated successor, especially since he is a spiritual leader as well as a political one. Presumably the Israelis think it would cripple the organization and demoralize them, but I also wonder whether it might not make them more difficult to deal with in the eventuality of a ceasefire if there is no longer any clear leadership to deal with. If you look at Hamas, the death of Yassin and Rantissi removed two clear \”historic\” leaders and has somewhat muddled the picture as to who is in charge and who has real authority.
DUBAI, July 20 (Reuters) – Hizbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday two Israeli soldiers seized last week would be released only in a prisoner swap.
“If the entire universe came (to pressure Hizbollah) it will not bring back the Israeli soldiers unless through indirect negotiations and a prisoner swap,” he said in excerpts of an interview with Al Jazeera television.
On Wednesday, Israeli warplanes dropped 23 tonnes of explosives on a suspected Hizbollah bunker in southern Beirut, believing senior leaders of the Shi’ite group were there, perhaps including Nasrallah.
But Nasrallah, who appeared in the interview, said that the group’s leadership structure was intact.
“I can confirm without exaggeration … that the leadership structure of Hizbollah has not been hurt,” he said. “All this Israeli talk that they hit 50 percent of our rocket capabilities and warehouses, this talk is all wrong and nonsense.”
Israel launched its offensive on Lebanon after Hizbollah captured two soldiers and killed eight in a cross-border raid on July 12.
Nasrallah’s whereabouts are unknown and the Jazeera correspondent who conducted the interview said it took place amid heavy security procedures and he did not know where he was.
Nasrallah also noted that Israeli warplanes on Wednesday had “conducted a fierce raid on a building in the southern suburb. They spoke of 22 tonnes of explosives … and they said they killed Hizbollah leaders and large numbers of resistance members, this was not true.”
An Al Jazeera official said the full interview would air at 2200 GMT
The man might be alive today however since Munich in 72 Israel always gets it man and they will. Killing him by the way at least kills off some the ferver. I note that the leaders of these terrorist organizations never seem to put their lives on the line, they always go into hiding while they send out homicide bombers on their behalf. I know what kind of men they are, they are the kind who hide behind women and children to fight instead of face to face combat ie: pussies. I love the rapture of civilians who would allow “men” to use their houses and places of worship to set up rocket launchers and use their children as body armor. When you have that kind of insanity their is no proportional response because they don’t care if they live or die and they don’t care who they take with them. Nasarallah is the devil in robes pretending to be a social worker for the people while using the same people for his own demonic means.
Ohfercrissakes Erin, don’t be so dramatic. Leaders never go into battle — Is Ehud Olmert flying a combat jet? Is George Bush pulling recon in downtown Ramadi? Of course Nasrallah is not on the front line, that’s not what leaders do. And as far as civilian support for Hezbollah, civilians have been hiding and helping resistance movements since forever — that’s the hallmark of a successful resistance movement. Name your rebel movement — Salvadoran guerillas, pre-48 Haganah or Irgun, Irish groups, Iraqi mujahideen, anti-Nazi French resistance, they all hide with civilians and “use them as body armor.” Besides, aren’t Hezbollah currently engaged in face to face combat with the Israelis in the south right now? Why is every enemy who refuses to stand up and die in the face of superior forces called “cowardly” or to use your particularly eloquent turn of phrase, “pussies”?
To put this in context just a few hours ago some people believed that Nasrallah had been killed in an Israeli strike. There was http://agonist.org/20060719/middle_east_crisis_open_thread_ii\” rel=”nofollow”>speculation that he would need to manifest himself by appearing on TV pretty soon. Am waiting for more info, but it looks like he\’s still alive.
I was wondering what killing him would have achieved. I\’m not sure how HB is structured, so I don\’t know who would take over or whether there is a designated successor, especially since he is a spiritual leader as well as a political one. Presumably the Israelis think it would cripple the organization and demoralize them, but I also wonder whether it might not make them more difficult to deal with in the eventuality of a ceasefire if there is no longer any clear leadership to deal with. If you look at Hamas, the death of Yassin and Rantissi removed two clear \”historic\” leaders and has somewhat muddled the picture as to who is in charge and who has real authority.
From Reuters:
DUBAI, July 20 (Reuters) – Hizbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday two Israeli soldiers seized last week would be released only in a prisoner swap.
“If the entire universe came (to pressure Hizbollah) it will not bring back the Israeli soldiers unless through indirect negotiations and a prisoner swap,” he said in excerpts of an interview with Al Jazeera television.
On Wednesday, Israeli warplanes dropped 23 tonnes of explosives on a suspected Hizbollah bunker in southern Beirut, believing senior leaders of the Shi’ite group were there, perhaps including Nasrallah.
But Nasrallah, who appeared in the interview, said that the group’s leadership structure was intact.
“I can confirm without exaggeration … that the leadership structure of Hizbollah has not been hurt,” he said. “All this Israeli talk that they hit 50 percent of our rocket capabilities and warehouses, this talk is all wrong and nonsense.”
Israel launched its offensive on Lebanon after Hizbollah captured two soldiers and killed eight in a cross-border raid on July 12.
Nasrallah’s whereabouts are unknown and the Jazeera correspondent who conducted the interview said it took place amid heavy security procedures and he did not know where he was.
Nasrallah also noted that Israeli warplanes on Wednesday had “conducted a fierce raid on a building in the southern suburb. They spoke of 22 tonnes of explosives … and they said they killed Hizbollah leaders and large numbers of resistance members, this was not true.”
An Al Jazeera official said the full interview would air at 2200 GMT
The man might be alive today however since Munich in 72 Israel always gets it man and they will. Killing him by the way at least kills off some the ferver. I note that the leaders of these terrorist organizations never seem to put their lives on the line, they always go into hiding while they send out homicide bombers on their behalf. I know what kind of men they are, they are the kind who hide behind women and children to fight instead of face to face combat ie: pussies. I love the rapture of civilians who would allow “men” to use their houses and places of worship to set up rocket launchers and use their children as body armor. When you have that kind of insanity their is no proportional response because they don’t care if they live or die and they don’t care who they take with them. Nasarallah is the devil in robes pretending to be a social worker for the people while using the same people for his own demonic means.
Ohfercrissakes Erin, don’t be so dramatic. Leaders never go into battle — Is Ehud Olmert flying a combat jet? Is George Bush pulling recon in downtown Ramadi? Of course Nasrallah is not on the front line, that’s not what leaders do. And as far as civilian support for Hezbollah, civilians have been hiding and helping resistance movements since forever — that’s the hallmark of a successful resistance movement. Name your rebel movement — Salvadoran guerillas, pre-48 Haganah or Irgun, Irish groups, Iraqi mujahideen, anti-Nazi French resistance, they all hide with civilians and “use them as body armor.” Besides, aren’t Hezbollah currently engaged in face to face combat with the Israelis in the south right now? Why is every enemy who refuses to stand up and die in the face of superior forces called “cowardly” or to use your particularly eloquent turn of phrase, “pussies”?