hezbollah

[peezey 0]

Ok, so, different things have been said.....Why can't Hezbollah be considered a viable political group in Lebanon if it gets funding from Iran and Syria?

Israel gets most of it's $$/military infrastructure from the US, so is Israel not a viable sovereign government?

[Henia 11]

Cos it a group run by Muslims...

[Ban Hammer 13,681]

Cos it a group run by Muslims...

are they your typical muslims?

[doodlebug 3]

I think they have a long way to go before they are looked upon as a viable polical group. They have had a very extremist terrorist past (killing 200+ US Marines comes to mind). I think they are calming down a bit and maybe if they keep that up for another few years they'll have a chance that others will look at them as serious but until then I don't think it'll happen.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

I think they have a long way to go before they are looked upon as a viable polical group. They have had a very extremist terrorist past (killing 200+ US Marines comes to mind). I think they are calming down a bit and maybe if they keep that up for another few years they'll have a chance that others will look at them as serious but until then I don't think it'll happen.

It is uncertain as to who is responsible for the bombing although several radical Shiite militant groups claimed responsibility for the attacks, and one, the Free Islamic Revolutionary Movement, identified the two suicide bombers as Abu Mazen and Abu Sijaan.[4] Despite the fact that they were not officially an organization until February 1985, many (notably the U.S. government) believe [2] that the Hezbollah, a Lebanese based militant group backed by Iran and Syria, was responsible for this bombing as well as the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in April. Hezbollah, Iran and Syria have denied any involvement.

Many in the U.S. government do not claim Hezbollah is responsible for the Marine barracks attack. For example in 2001 Caspar Weinberger stated: "But we still do not have the actual knowledge of who did the bombing of the Marine barracks at the Beirut Airport, and we certainly didn't then." [5]

Along with the U.S. Embassy bombing, the barracks bombing prompted the Inman Report, a review of the security of U.S. facilities overseas for the U.S. Department of State.

In his book "By Way of Deception: The Making and Unmaking of a Mossad Officer", Victor Ostrovsky claims that Mossad knew in advance of the attack but did not warn the United States.[6] There have been claims that Israel wanted U.S. and French troops to leave Lebanon so it could freely operate in Lebanon without restriction.

In May 2003, in a case brought by the families of the 241 servicemen who were killed, U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth declared that the Islamic Republic of Iran was responsible for the 1983 attack. Lamberth concluded that Hezbollah was formed under the auspices of the Iranian government, was completely reliant on Iran in 1983, and assisted Iranian Ministry of Information and Security agents in carrying out the operation.[7] Among the intelligence information initially uncovered by Thomas Fortune Fay, an attorney for the families of the victims, was a National Security Agency (NSA) intercept of a message sent from Iranian intelligence headquarters in Tehran to Hojjat ol-eslam Ali Akbar Mohtashemi, the Iranian ambassador in Damascus. As it was paraphrased by presiding U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth, "The message directed the Iranian ambassador to contact Hussein Musawi, the leader of the terrorist group Islamic Amal, and to instruct him ... 'to take a spectacular action against the United States Marines.'"[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Beirut_barracks_bombing

[Ban Hammer 13,681]

In May 2003, in a case brought by the families of the 241 servicemen who were killed, U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth declared that the Islamic Republic of Iran was responsible for the 1983 attack. Lamberth concluded that Hezbollah was formed under the auspices of the Iranian government, was completely reliant on Iran in 1983, and assisted Iranian Ministry of Information and Security agents in carrying out the operation.[ 7] Among the intelligence information initially uncovered by Thomas Fortune Fay, an attorney for the families of the victims, was a National Security Agency (NSA) intercept of a message sent from Iranian intelligence headquarters in Tehran to Hojjat ol-eslam Ali Akbar Mohtashemi, the Iranian ambassador in Damascus. As it was paraphrased by presiding U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth, "The message directed the Iranian ambassador to contact Hussein Musawi, the leader of the terrorist group Islamic Amal, and to instruct him ... 'to take a spectacular action against the United States Marines.'"[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Beirut_barracks_bombing

aiding and abetting.........hmmm so are they still just "....a group run by Muslims" as Henia said?

[doodlebug 3]

I definitely don't agree with their violence but on the other hand I'm totally against what Israel has done as well and it sickens me that the US is always on Israel's side, but I guess money talks.

[peezey 0]

Cos it a group run by Muslims...

are they your typical muslims?

Read the other thread to find out if there's a such thing.

[Ban Hammer 13,681]

Cos it a group run by Muslims...

are they your typical muslims?

Read the other thread to find out if there's a such thing.

which other thread is that?

[peezey 0]

Cos it a group run by Muslims...

are they your typical muslims?

Read the other thread to find out if there's a such thing.

which other thread is that?

oh, the Sunday thread is now discussing if there is one kind of Muslim.

[Ban Hammer 13,681]

Cos it a group run by Muslims...

are they your typical muslims?

Read the other thread to find out if there's a such thing.

which other thread is that?

oh, the Sunday thread is now discussing if there is one kind of Muslim.

kind of a moot point as we know there is more than "one kind" eh?

[Caladan 19]

Ok, so, different things have been said.....Why can't Hezbollah be considered a viable political group in Lebanon if it gets funding from Iran and Syria?

Israel gets most of it's $$/military infrastructure from the US, so is Israel not a viable sovereign government?

1) Hezbollah is a political party, but they also act like their own paramilitary group. It's not just the belligerence that's the problem; it's that their fighters aren't the recognized army of Lebanon, but they go and fire rockets anyway. It would be like if the Democrats back in 2004 had lost the election, formed an army, and invaded Canada with French funding. So it's not quite the same as giving aid to Israel (or Egypt, or Morocco); whoever wins the Israeli election, we know the loser won't start another army.

2) Syria and Iran aren't funding the entire Lebanese government, just the faction sympathetic to them. And then it's a question of loyalties. Syria's been accused lately of assasinating a Lebanese minister, and the two countries don't exactly have a peaceful history, so it would be like England funding a faction in the U.S. in 1812.

3) I don't think it's a Muslim problem, or Muslim prejudice, exactly, because the closest historical parallel that leaps to mind is Sinn Fein and the IRA. When the two were tied closely together, Sinn Fein wasn't taken seriously as a party. When they distanced themselves from the violence, they were. Same thing here.

[Henia 11]

Cos it a group run by Muslims...

are they your typical muslims?

I hope not

[~Jess~ 0]

plain and simple it has nothing to do with them being a Muslim group, come on get real Lebanon is in the Middle East, correct, where Muslims live and co-exist. Hezbollah was told if they wanted a stronger voice in government to give up its arms. the Lebanese forces (Maronite Christian party) gave up their arms back in the day for the same cause. Hezbollah is unwilling to do that so why should the 'Soveriegn' 'democratic' country of Lebanon be forced to accept their unwillingness??? They arent better then the Lebanese forces and they shouldnt expect different treatment. The government is the government and when they decide to give up their arms and join the big kids in play and stop acting like a bunch of spoiled brats wanting everything their way they will get there fair share of voice...................

*i am running for 48hrs now on 2 broken hours of sleep so im sorry if some of the words here are slurred..............traveling takes a lot outa a person....................................nite

[~Jackie~ 30]

Are you back in the states Jess?

Jackie