‘AFTER the first bombing, the situation was brought under control. After yesterday’s massacre, the situation was brought under control.
‘However, we cannot make predictions. I tell Lebanese officials, Lebanese politicians, the commanders of the Army and the security services, all Lebanese, and all religious authorities that if these bombings continue, Lebanon, whether we like it or not, whether we wanted or not, is at the brink of the abyss.
‘It is at the brink of the abyss. We must act responsibly from this premise and from this understanding of the threat posed to Lebanon. Those who think or believe that this threat is directed towards a sect, a party, or a specific group are mistaken and misled.
‘The party that is destroying the entire region has made a decision to destroy Lebanon. These are the beginnings. The new events must be approached from this perspective.
‘What must be done to achieve this objective? It needs cooperation. It is principally the responsibility of the state and the military and security services of the state. Besides, people in all areas and all political forces in all areas and places must cooperate with the agencies of the state. Work must be done along two lines.
‘What I am saying is not our invention. This is a worldwide practice. The first line concerns precautionary and preventive measures, such as inspections, checkpoints, measures, searching for possible actions here or there, etcetera. This is known.
‘What are these preventive and precautionary measures? These are also standard measures applied everywhere in the world. There are not so many different schools in this regard. There are also modern and advanced experiences. The responsibility of the state and its services is to take these measures. It is the responsibility of all of us to help them. However, I tell you most frankly and most responsibly that this first line is not enough. . .
‘This is the same everywhere in the world. In the strongest countries of the world in terms of security, it is not enough to be satisfied with preventive and precautionary measures. They do not solve the problem.
‘Therefore, the second line is required, which is more important. It works to uncover, besiege, dismantle, apprehend, and eliminate these groups. That is how work is done in the world.
‘This is a standard too. People should not wait, set up checkpoints, carry out measures, do inspections and then wait for the car bomb or the suicide bomber to come to us.
‘The security services concerned should go and check on the backgrounds of suicide bombers. They should check on the identity of groups preparing car bombs to detain them, prevent the sending of car bombs, and to prevent the sending of suicide bombers. That is how terrorism is combatted in the world.
‘Therefore, the second line is required. Of course, this needs everybody’s efforts. This needs huge security, technical, popular, and political efforts. In this context, when we talk about the required cooperation, we also talk about the importance that these groups must not be covered or provided with security or political protection.
‘Nor must they be defended, acquitted, or dealt with leniently, not for us, not for the Suburb, but for Lebanon. This is because these groups want to take Lebanon to destruction. They want to take the Lebanese people to civil war. You must prevent Lebanon from being taken to a civil war. This is the path.
‘Also in this context, what is required – I do not want to say first, second, third – is to stop sectarian and confessional incitement. If there is a political struggle between us, keep it political. Let us talk politics.
Let us attack each other politically. I know it is useless to call for calm or a truce. Some people would lose their salaries if there were a truce and calm. If they do not appear at all that is happening in the region. These have no other project. . .
‘Let me speak transparently and say: If you claim that you are defending the Syrian people – do you want more clarity than this – and that you are punishing Hezbollah for its intervention in Syria -and this is one of the assumptions and analyses made – I will then say two things.
‘The first is that you, takfiri groups, are the most violent in repressing the Syrian people – not only the ones loyal to the regime but also those who oppose the regime. You kidnap and kill the Christian men of religion who are with you and who support the opposition. You blow up mosques, kill children, and send car bombs to the Syrian cities. Are you not so? You are the ones who claim to be defending the Syrian people, but you are the most violent in repressing and killing the Syrian people. This is the first point.
‘Second, and regarding us, I want to speak also with transparency and clarity and say that we entered specific or limited places in Syria for fighting. For the first time, I want to speak with such strong clarity.
Wherever we fight, we fight with our values and controls.
‘We did not kill a wounded person, but you did. We did not kill a prisoner, but you line prisoners up in front of walls and before cameras and then execute them in broad daylight.
‘We did not kill civilians. In some of our battles, we lost martyrs for the sake of avoiding civilians. . .
‘Allow me two or three more minutes. Some of my brothers will ask me why I mentioned names, but I want to mention them. There is Al-Jazeera Channel and there is Al-Arabiyah Channel. Both joined hands against Syria, Iraq, and Iran, and against us in Lebanon. What Al-Arabiyah and Al-Jazeera said used to be accepted in the Arab world. Well, after the splits that have occurred in Egypt, Tunisia, and other Arab countries, Al-Jazeera began to support certain people and Al-Arabiyah other people.
‘I do not want to engage in evaluating this event, but want to speak from the perspective of the media. When you switch on the two channels, you will find that one broadcasts the opposite of what the other broadcasts. The information given is completely contradictory. . .
‘Allow me to say that the freedom of media is open, but unfortunately the Arab media outlets have – specifically during the past few years – descended to the level of fabricating lies and not only broadcasting false news.
‘When we in Hezbollah stand between the hands of Almighty God on doomsday, the whole world will testify that we fought only the takfiri armed groups. In any case, you are not defending the Syrian people. If you think that by killing our women, children, and innocent people and by destroying our suburbs, villages, and cities, we may go back on a vision or position we adopted, you will be mistaken.
‘O fools, read our experience with Israel over the past 30 years. Read this experience. You are mistaken. I tell you very transparently that our response to any such bombing is that if we have 100 fighters in Syria, they will become 200; if we have 1,000 fighters in Syria, they will become 2,000; and if we have 5,000 fighters in Syria, they will become 10,000.
‘You are mistaken and you are striking in the wrong place. You are striking in the wrong place.
‘If the battle with those takfiri terrorists necessitates that I should go myself and all Hezbollah members to Syria, we will go to Syria as we have already gone there for the sake of Syria and its people, for the sake of Lebanon and the people of Lebanon.
‘By God, for the sake of all the Lebanese – Muslims and Christians – who are hiding behind their finger; for the sake of Palestine and Jerusalem and for the sake of the central cause. Therefore, let no one assume that if he starts a battle with us, he will be the one to decisively settle the battle.
‘We are the ones to decisively settle the battle. We are the ones to time the end of the battle. On 25 May, we were the ones who fired the last bullet. During Operation Grapes of Wrath in 1996, we were the ones who fired the last bullet. On 14 August 2006, we were the ones who fired the last bullet.
‘If you want us to wage this battle with you very strongly, I will say then that in the same way as we triumphed in all of our wars with Israel we will achieve victory against the takfiri and destructive terrorism.’
