Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah: I Told Lebanese Political Leaders We Would Abduct Israeli Soldiers

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

On July 24, 2006, Al-Jazeera TV aired an interview with Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.

The following are excerpts from the interview: [1]

TO VIEW THIS CLIP, VISIT: http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=1200.

Hassan Nasrallah: "I say categorically that the Israeli response to the capturing operation could have been harsh, but limited, if not for the cover provided by the Arabs and international community. It is not that Israel got the green light from America, Ghassan. Israel received an American decision that said: 'Go on and finish that business in Lebanon.'"

[...]

"In addition, some of the Arabs provided a cover, and encouraged Israel to continue the battle. Israel was told that this is a golden and historic opportunity to annihilate the resistance in Lebanon. They don't want to annihilate only the resistance of Hizbullah in Lebanon. They want to annihilate any motivation to conduct resistance in Lebanon, whether by Hizbullah or anyone else. They want to bring the country to a situation in which the word 'resistance' is considered derogatory. Martyr, jihad, wounded, steadfastness, challenge, liberation, freedom, power, honor, nobility, dignity - all these words must be removed from the vocabulary of the Lebanese, from the press, the political writings, from the political thinking, from the popular conscience. This is what Israel is doing. America needs this if it wants to reorganize the region."

[...]

Hassan Nasrallah: "This thing you asked me about - that I didn't inform or ask [the Lebanese government]...

[...]

I told them on more than one occasion that we are taking the issue of the prisoners seriously, and that abducting Israeli soldiers is the only way to resolve it. Of course, I said this in a low-key tone. I did not declare in the dialogue: 'In July I will abduct Israeli soldiers.' This is impossible."

Interviewer: "Did you inform them that you were about to abduct Israeli soldiers?"

Hassan Nasrallah: "I told them that we must resolve the issue of the prisoners, and that the only way to resolve it is by abducting Israeli soldiers."

Interviewer: "Did you say this clearly?"

Hassan Nasrallah: "Yes, and nobody said to me: 'No, you are not allowed to abduct Israeli soldiers.' Even if they had told me not to... I'm not defending myself here. I said that we would abduct Israeli soldiers, in meetings with some of the main political leaders in the country. I don't want to mention names now, but when the time comes to settle accounts, I will. They asked: 'If this happens, will the issue of the prisoners be over and done with?' I said that it was logical that it would. And I'm telling you, our estimation was not mistaken. I'm not exaggerating. Anywhere in the world - show me a country, show me an army, show me a war, in which two soldiers, or even civilian hostages, were abducted, and a war was waged against a country - and all for two soldiers. This has never happened throughout history, and even Israel has never done such a thing."

[...]

"It is true that I did not inform the Lebanese government, but I did not inform my closest allies either. Syria and Iran did not know. No Syrian or Iranian knew. They did not know, and I did not consult any of them."

[...]

"For 23 years, we have been talking to our people, motivating them, talking about martyrdom, the honor of martyrdom, and the place of the martyrs. Do the Zionists, or those who encourage them, believe that I, or anyone in the Hizbullah leadership, fears martyrdom? We love martyrdom. We take precautions in order to prevent Israel from making any gains. But on the personal level, and as a personal aspiration, each and every one of us hopes to be destined to martyrdom at the hands of those people, the killers of the prophets and the messengers, and most hostile to the believers, as it says in the Koran."

http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD121106

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Anywhere in the world - show me a country, show me an army, show me a war, in which two soldiers, or even civilian hostages, were abducted, and a war was waged against a country - and all for two soldiers. This has never happened throughout history, and even Israel has never done such a thing."[/b]

How about the death of a single man causing a world war. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assinated in Sarajevo, 1914. Terrorists need to learn their history.

[mawilson 2,133]

Anywhere in the world - show me a country, show me an army, show me a war, in which two soldiers, or even civilian hostages, were abducted, and a war was waged against a country - and all for two soldiers. This has never happened throughout history, and even Israel has never done such a thing."

Always nice to surprise the enemy

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Anywhere in the world - show me a country, show me an army, show me a war, in which two soldiers, or even civilian hostages, were abducted, and a war was waged against a country - and all for two soldiers. This has never happened throughout history, and even Israel has never done such a thing."[/b]

How about the death of a single man causing a world war. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assinated in Sarajevo, 1914. Terrorists need to learn their history.

That's a rather contentious claim depending on what history you read...

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Anywhere in the world - show me a country, show me an army, show me a war, in which two soldiers, or even civilian hostages, were abducted, and a war was waged against a country - and all for two soldiers. This has never happened throughout history, and even Israel has never done such a thing."[/b]

How about the death of a single man causing a world war. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assinated in Sarajevo, 1914. Terrorists need to learn their history.

That's a rather contentious claim depending on what history you read...

Far as I can remember, that's always been taught to me in school and college as the "short and easy" answer to what started WWI. Kinda like the "short and easy" answer to what started the US Civil War is "slavery". Sure, things are more complicated than that but complicated answers don't fare well in an educational system that needs to be able to turn every factoid into a multiple choice question

[zyggy 9]

Anywhere in the world - show me a country, show me an army, show me a war, in which two soldiers, or even civilian hostages, were abducted, and a war was waged against a country - and all for two soldiers. This has never happened throughout history, and even Israel has never done such a thing."[/b]

How about the death of a single man causing a world war. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assinated in Sarajevo, 1914. Terrorists need to learn their history.

That's a rather contentious claim depending on what history you read...

Far as I can remember, that's always been taught to me in school and college as the "short and easy" answer to what started WWI. Kinda like the "short and easy" answer to what started the US Civil War is "slavery". Sure, things are more complicated than that but complicated answers don't fare well in an educational system that needs to be able to turn every factoid into a multiple choice question

Sure.. there many many issues that were boiling under the surface prior to WWI... The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was just the catalyst that caused the pot to boil over... just as act of incursion onto Israeli territory, ambushing a patrol and the subsequent kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hizbollah was enough to get the Israeli pot to boil over...

Edited July 25, 2006 by zyggy

[lostinlove228 0]

Anytime a war is started over a couple of people, it just an excuse.