HASSAN NASRALLAH the Hezbollah leader made an important statement over Hezbollah TV last Friday.
He said: ‘In our region we witness a big and serious challenge represented recently by the direct military and intelligence presence of the US Administration to achieve its scheme for the control of our resources, countries, decisions, and destiny.
‘This is the scheme, whose manifestations you witnessed during the past few years.
‘The Americans are not satisfied with dominating and threatening the region through their forward military base, Israel, which usurps the land of Palestine.
‘They personally came with their armies, fleets, intelligence, planes, tanks, media, and funds to wage a direct war.
‘Today, in our region there is a US scheme opposed by a plan for liberation and freedom of a national, pan-Arab, and Islamic dimension. The real conflict in the region is between these two plans. The rest are details.
‘Every one evaluates the US scheme and its strength, failure, accomplishment and victory from the angle from which he sees it; but the one who sees the United States as an absolute power sees only US successes. When you speak to him about the failure, confusion, and retreat in the US scheme he tells you: “This is Arab rhetoric”.
‘Some suffer from weakness and inferiority complex to the extent that they cannot imagine an Arab victory over Israel, for instance.
‘To them, Israel is triumphant even if it has been defeated and triumphant even it has admitted defeat. There are people like that. What can we do? So we will speak with you.
‘If we view matters realistically we will find that the US scheme is facing more retreat and failure. And from it I will speak about Lebanon.
‘The first thing that confirms this conclusion is that several years ago Bush used to come up and deliver the annual State of the Union Message to the congress during the first and second elections.
‘How often did he say that the US plan for the world is to spread democracy and that they want democracy in the Third World, the Arab world, and Islamic world? They also wanted elections and to give people the opportunity to elect whom they want and exercise the freedom of choosing the authority that will run their affairs. He raised the slogan of democracy and elections against dictatorship.
‘Where is democracy in Bush’s recent speech? Where are the elections? The whole subject has changed. The false placard has fallen. Why has it fallen? Because when they allowed even a small dose of democracy for the elections in Palestine, Iraq, and other areas, they found that the results came in the interest of the other real plan and not the US placard.
‘Today, we no longer hear talk about elections and democracy in the Arab and Islamic World. They found out through their own study centres that if free and honest elections take place in the Arab and Islamic World, the patriots, who are hostile to US policy and who refuse to succumb to US hegemony, will win in every country, whether they are Islamists or not due to the general mood in the Arab and Islamic worlds.
‘The general awareness is also very high, as illustrated by its political and intellectual stand on the US Administration and US policies.
‘So what is the subject they raise today? It is moderation and extremism. There is no longer any talk about democracy and dictatorship, only about the coalition of moderates and the coalition of extremists. To them, the acceptable in the coalition of moderates is the one who comes to power through a military coup.
‘The rejected in the coalition of extremists is the one who comes to power through honest parliamentary elections. This means the fall of the big placard with which they deceived our nation and the peoples of the world.
‘This is not just failure, but a downfall. We are through with that now.
‘Second was the failure of the US-Israeli war on Lebanon in July 2006. . .
‘When Olmert says that he planned for this war since assuming the premiership, and when he says that the war decision and war plan were approved in March, which was exactly what we were saving, and that the aim of the war was to implement Resolution 1559 and destroy Hezbollah, this is a clear statement to the world from the one who actually carried out the war.
‘Of course, this is a big thing to say, hence the very big uproar in the Zionist entity among the politicians in the Knesset, the ministers in the government, and the army generals. They all ask Olmert: “What are you doing to us, what are you trying to say?”
‘Before coming here I read in the Arabic translations of the Hebrew press about someone who wrote an article saying: Olmert has now given Al-Sayyid Hassan something to talk about. This is true, and here we are talking about it.
‘Would we hold our tongues on it? No we will talk about it. Someone said: We prepared, planned, and made the war decision in March. He did not speak about the liberation of the two abducted soldiers. He was not serious about the liberation of the two prisoners even in the ongoing negotiations.
‘It was written in the Israeli press a few days ago that the Israeli officer team following the negotiations was complaining about Olmert’s lack of interest in this file. It was clearly announced that the aim of the war was to destroy Hezbollah and implement Resolution 1559.
‘Of course, people in Lebanon and the Arab World will wonder: What is this man saying? Has he gone mad by speaking so clearly? What has gone wrong with this man? He is like a drowning man who would step on his own son to save himself.
‘Olmert is now the drowning man in the sea of defeat. Throughout the history of Israel, never has a prime minister gotten only 2 per cent in a popularity poll; only 2 per cent; and if you look at these 2 per cent they will find that they are frustrated people.
‘He is a man who wants to save himself, his position, and his leadership and says: Everyone can go to hell; the army, the generals, the defence minister, and Kadima Party. The main thing is saving himself. This is the secret as to why he is speaking in this way. He is defending himself.
‘He says we prepared the plan and studied it and Sharon said such and such a thing, we did this, and the generals said this and I made a decision according to procedures. He is defending himself. He is not offering any service. But while he is defending himself he is offering a service.
‘Of course, we hope – this is our enemy and among the positive points about him is that he is being held to account.
‘There are investigation committees, accountability, and serious elections. This is our enemy. True, he is savage and aggressive and so on, but he has these positive points.
‘We also hope that one day even the US documents will certify in your favour and tell you and the world verbatim how the decision was made in March to declare war on Lebanon, and who went to Washington and asked the Americans to order the Israelis to destroy Hezbollah and implement Resolution 1559?
‘This will come. I know it, but I will not tell you. The day will come and they will tell you, just as Olmert spoke yesterday, and the people will know the truth.
‘On this issue I would like to say that Hezbollah did not unilaterally make the decision on war and peace because it did not create the war. Hezbollah carried out an arrest operation and this is its natural right as a resistance movement. The one that created the war is the United States and Israel.
‘If there are Lebanese who were involved in asking for the war, they were the ones who unilaterally made the war decision and not the resistance and Hezbollah. This war was intended to destroy the resistance in Lebanon. And had it succeeded, the intention was to change the face of the region in Palestine and Syria.
‘Many equations would have changed in the region and Israel would have been imposed as a mythical dominant power anew; that is, Israel would be feared by all and everyone would tremble from it.
‘But this has failed. The failure of the July War was the failure of the US plan first and foremost. We have spoken enough on this subject so let us now move to Palestine.
‘The US plan failed to drag the Palestinian arena to civil war and internal sedition. The brothers in Palestine managed by their awareness and will power to overcome this ordeal with the help of their friends and brothers. . .
‘Fourth is the failure to isolate Iran and Syria. For there have been attempts for years to isolate Iran and Syria, to single them out, and to issue descriptions and accusations etc.
‘At any rate, the Baghdad conference, which will be held within days, is a reflection of this failure.
‘When the Americans admit that in dealing with the regional files, like the Iraqi file, they cannot ignore Iran or Syria, this indicates a failure in the US policy and the US scheme. It is a failure in some of its provisions and bases.
‘Take Iraq, for instance. There is political and security failure in Iraq. I do not need to cite proofs. The Democrats say that, two thirds of the American people admit that, and the US Administration also admits that the situation in Iraq is difficult, complex, and problematic. . .
‘In the past few weeks, there has been a clear announcement about the presence of serious Islamic, jihadist resistance in the Iraqi arena by Shi’ite trends and groups.
‘This is a very important development. The Americans admitted that. They have always been careful not to admit that. The scenes that have been aired by some television channels, showing qualitative operations by the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haqq (Leagues of People of Right), the Islamic resistance-Abu-Al-Fadl al-Abbas Brigades, the Imam Ali Brigades, the Imam Al-Sajjad Brigades, etc all confirm the existence of vast, strong, and effective resistance on the Shi’ite level beside the resistance on the Sunni level.
‘The days will further show the efficacy and strength of this resistance during the past period also, which was not covered by the media.
‘Of course, immediately after the revelation of these facts and the declaration of these operations, the Americans began to say that such and such groups are run by Iran, or such and such groups are run by Hezbollah.
‘This has been stated by the director of the Intelligence services, the US ambassador in Iraq, and others. This is their custom. Didn’t they say about the Lebanese resistance that its groups were run by Iran and Syria? Didn’t they say for many years that the resistance factions in Palestine were groups run by Iran and Syria?
‘US information policy does not normally admit the presence of national resistance. It is accustomed to mercenaries.
‘Therefore, it cannot understand or comprehend the presence of Lebanese, Palestinian, and Iraqi nationalists who are ready to resist. Therefore, they assume they are tools or mercenaries for a regional state here or a regional state there.
‘Of course, this is an important development. It is essential to ponder it long and to re-evaluate the developments of the Iraqi arena by understanding what is taking place there and by issuing judgments about the people there.
‘I repeat in a short sentence what I said some time ago. In Iraq, it is impermissible for us to view and assess matters on a sectarian basis. . .
‘When an error is committed by a Shi’ite in Iraq, for example, the news media are expected to instigate all the Sunnis in the world against all the Shia in the world, so as to say: Look what the Shi’ites are doing?
‘And, when suicide bombers come and kill the visitors of Al-Husayn, the intention is to instigate all the Shi’ites in the world against all the Sunnis in the world.
‘We must be careful here. I tell you frankly, these groups must be besieged, isolated, and condemned, as we often said. What is carried out by these people must not be taken against our Sunni brothers, who are killed just as we are killed and hit just as we are hit. Yes, these ignorant murderers offer the biggest service to the US scheme. . .
‘Therefore, there will be nothing before the Americans but more failure and one outcome, which is to leave our countries, peoples, and resources alone. They must leave the peoples of this region to determine their own destiny.’