Why Hezbollah fights on in Syria
Mideast Media Sampler – 08/20/2013 – Why Hezbollah takes a shine to the shrine
It took a while but a few weeks ago the European Union designated Hezbollah’s “military wing” to be a terrorist organization. There is some speculation as to why the EU took the action, but it seems likely that Hezbollah’s support of Assad was a major factor.
Logic-chopping EU may believe Hezbollah political wing distanced from terrorism but Hezbollah itself begs to differ. http://t.co/vTncBOk7fQ
— Melanie Phillips (@MelanieLatest) July 28, 2013
About the same time the Gulf Cooperation Council didn’t split hairs and designated the all of Hezbollah a terrorist organization. A big part of that is that the Gulf states are Sunni and are concerned about being future targets of Hezbollah and its sponsor Iran.
ICYMI: GCC (Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait) blacklist ALL of Hezbollah, unlike EU: http://t.co/f1NlwyORo0
— Tamar Abraham (@tamarabraham) July 29, 2013
As noted last week, in blowback that was inevitable, a car bomb exploded in a Hezbollah controlled area of Beirut.
The New York Times reported Deadly Blast Rocks a Hezbollah Stronghold in Lebanon:
There were no credible claims of responsibility, but many here saw the bombing — and a similar attack nearby last month — as spillover from the civil war in neighboring Syria. Hezbollah has become increasingly involved there, sending fighters to back President Bashar al-Assad against the predominantly Sunni rebels seeking his overthrow. That involvement has enraged Sunnis in both countries, and many said they suspected that extremists among them had used the blasts to strike back.
“It was clear that this was an attack on Hezbollah,” said Moussa Ghamloush, 54, who was standing outside his restaurant, around the corner from the blast site. He had been in the kitchen when the explosion “shook the earth” and sent glass flying.
“This is all because of the fighting in Syria,” Mr. Ghamloush said, accusing Al Qaeda and an extremist Syrian group linked to it, the Nusra Front.
PHOTOS: Beirut car bomb kills 22, injures hundreds http://t.co/DljQ4WWhdG (via @TIMEWorld)
— TIME (@TIME) August 16, 2013
The next day, though, Hezbollah was undeterred from its foreign adventure. The New York Times followed up with Hezbollah Makes Vow to Step Up Sunni Fight:
Addressing the attackers, Mr. Nasrallah insisted the bombing had not affected the group’s position. “If you think that by killing our women, by killing our children, by killing our innocents,” enemies will make Hezbollah stop aiding the Syrian government, “you are wrong,” he said.
In fact, he said, such attacks would lead Hezbollah to double the size of its forces in Syria, where, he said, they were fighting takfiris, or extremists, who consider all but those who follow their school of thought heretics.
“If this battle with these takfiri terrorists requires that I and all of Hezbollah go to Syria, we will go to Syria,” he shouted.
SANA" "Nasrallah: The resistance will be victorious in the battle against takfiri terrorism" pic.twitter.com/7gLzxdLbTH
— Phillip Smyth (@PhillipSmyth) August 16, 2013
Hezbollah gained legitimacy in the Arab world by leading the “axis of resistance,” in other words, the fight against Israel. Now that its main targets are Sunnis in Syria it has lost that credibility. Additionally with hundreds of troops fighting in Syria it can’t even claim that it is defending Lebanon. Perhaps that’s why Hezbollah publicized the explosion that injured four Israeli soldiers last week and why, on Friday, they were celebrating their 2006 war with Israel. Hezbollah, now, is mostly acting a proxy for Iran and it needed to reclaim its anti-Israel credentials.
Last week, however, Hezbollah didn’t just suffer a setback on its home turf, it lost a major player in Syria. According to reports, one of Hezbollah’s leading commanders was killed near Damascus.
“Hezbollah military commander Hossam Ali Nisr, aged 33, was buried on Saturday. He was defending Sayyida Zeinab,” which houses a Shiite shrine southeast of Damascus, “when his group was attacked and he was killed,” one resident told AFP, without giving a date. …
The report of Nisr’s killing comes after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said he was ready to go to Syria to fight extremists he accused of staging a deadly car bomb attack last Thursday in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a bastion of his movement.
https://twitter.com/epaulnet/status/369911492834914304
Whatever the setbacks, Hezbollah is not deterred. According to a piece in Asharq al-Awsat, Hezbollah goes all in, the likely reason Hezbollah is committed to fighting on behalf of Assad, is to protect its supply lines from Iran. But Hezbollah doesn’t describe its involvement in such narrow terms:
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Vera Yammine, a prominent figure in the Marada Party (part of the March 8 Alliance), says that “involvement”—Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria—has a negative connotation. According to Yammine, Hezbollah’s actions are about “defense,” not “involvement.” The decision was taken “not only in defense of religious shrines, but in defense of Lebanon in the shadow of repetitive threats by many,” and also for the sake of “the entire axis of resistance.” By way of example, she mentions Abdul Halim Khaddam, a Sunni Muslim who was vice president of Syria until he fled the country in 2005, who said the Free Syrian Army “will enter Lebanon and remove Hezbollah.”
This is why the Hezbollah has developed the narrative that its fighters are defending the Sayyida Zaineb shrine, it’s a cause many Shi’ites sympathize with while masking its more selfish motivation.
Don’t expect its recent setbacks to dissuade Hezbollah from continuing to fight for the brutal Assad regime.
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Comments
Why the hell not?
You think having a battlefield to play on, where you’re equipped from the Russians. And, you’re fighting “rebels” whose faith is like between Catholics and protestants. Where bloodshed was always anticipated …
And, Syria’s WINNING!
Of course, any day now Obama is gonna zip his pants on backwards and call for a “no fly” zone. Or no flies to see here. And, Jordan’s trained 3000 of its own. Where they’re learning how to repel out of helicopters …
And, where we’re supposed to believe Jordan will set up a “new capital” in Syria. Not named Damascus, but Dar-ha-ha-ha. And, this is going to come off well.
Oh, yeah. An antisemitic American General, Dempsey … who looks old enough to be sitting on a couch in some old age home … Is gonna go deep into a bunker. Built in Jordan. And, he’ll push a button so the fireworks can begin.
It’s a real Yankee-Doodle-Dandy.
Will it happen? Or will Obama dither?
I don’t know. But I’m not so sure we’ll be selling the Jordanians victory balloons any time soon.
Oh. And, “backstage” Turkey’s leader Erdogan just committed suicide. By taking Obama’s well laid plans. And, arm-twisting of Bibi. Where an apology was made to Turkey. And, 26 murderers were released …
And, poor Bibi can’t even get his name up in the news.
Just remember there are only 3000 Jordanian troops involved. What happens when there’s a call for more troops? You know there are millions and millions of arabs (without jobs) … who don’t root for the USA.
Like Irak. Like Afghanistan. We’re in a part of the world where we don’t understand the natives at all.
When has Hezbollah not been a proxy from Iran, at least in somewhat recent times? Hezbollah will continue to fight for Iran’s interests as long as Iran continues to fund and arm them. Whether that interest is attacking Israel or attacking whatever Muslims Iran’s capricious politics desires for them to attack, Hezbollah is there for them.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah STILL controls an international airport in Lebanon. Any terrorist can go through ‘security’ there and change planes in Europe without any additional scrutiny, then fly here.