Hezbollah: Buying hearts and minds
posted at 12:28 pm on August 18, 2006 by Bryan
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Hezbollah sneak attacks Israel. Israel responds, meets worldwide condemnation, fights to a stalemate and signs on to a cease-fire. Now, Hezbollah is counterattacking with the big, Iranian bucks.
Hizbollah handed out bundles of cash on Friday to people whose homes were wrecked by Israeli bombing, consolidating the Iranian-backed group’s support among Lebanon’s Shi’ites and embarrassing the Beirut government.
“This is a very, very reasonable amount. It is not small,” said Ayman Jaber, 27, holding a wad he had just picked up from Hizbollah of $12,000 in banknotes wrapped in tissue.
Israeli and U.S. officials have voiced concern that Hizbollah will entrench its popularity by moving fast — with Iranian money — to help people whose homes were destroyed or damaged in the 34-day conflict with Israel.
If US officials were so concerned about this, why did they maneuver Israel into accepting the cease-fire? This outcome was obvious as long as Hezbollah survived.
Hizbollah has not said where the funds are coming from to compensate people from an estimated 15,000 destroyed homes. The scheme appears likely to cost at least $150 million. The Lebanese government has yet to launch anything similar.
Go ask the mullahs. They won’t tell either.
Hizbollah said it had so far given the one-time cash payment to 120 families whose homes in the southern suburbs of Beirut were destroyed in Israeli air strikes. The money is to help families rent and furnish alternative accommodation.
“We have full information on all the buildings that have been destroyed or damaged,” said a Hizbollah official at one of 12 assistance centers the group has set up in the suburbs.
“Later on, we will either pay for new flats or rebuild the buildings that were destroyed.”
Hizbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah promised the compensation in his first speech after the truce took hold.
What a stupid, stupid world. We have pretty much handed Lebanon over to Hezbollah, which hands it to Iran. The Persian Shiite empire expands, Israel suffers a post-modern defeat and terrorists got stronger. Watch Hamas adopt the lob-and-hide strategy that Hezbollah just used. Watch Syria and Iran slip forces into the Golan, the Shaba Farms and every other disputed territory, lob rockets into Irael and goad it into ineffective, defensive attacks that the world will, quite predictably, condemn.
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It looks to me as Iran planned the whole thing, from the initial kidnapping to the disbursment of funds.
That many people on the receiving end and 150 million bucks in cash takes some advance planning.
Wake up world, Iran is playing you like a string puppet.
shooter on August 18, 2006 at 12:49 PM
Clean and jerk, Hezbollah style;
Now that’s gratuitously freakish strength.
Terp Mole on August 18, 2006 at 2:15 PM
Watched Bush’s press conference earlier… he looked distracted, and not very happy about what was good news on the economy.
Bush, being a reasonable person, tried to deal with folks as reasonable… he just does NOT understand the mindset in the Mid East, and its biteing us on the butt.
Add in our own lefts attacks, and UN incompetance and double dealing… and Israel is in trouble.
Romeo13 on August 18, 2006 at 2:25 PM
Note: Hezbollah is buying the hearts and minds of people with OUR money!
Umnumzana on August 18, 2006 at 3:00 PM
ya, right, what a load of shit. This is what I’ve been saying from the begining. Check it out. And Allahpundit assumed Israel was going to pay for their shit. Once again, we pick up the pieces. What a major clusterfuck!
THeDRiFTeR on August 18, 2006 at 3:06 PM
Sorry, but I have to qualify my last post. Let me put it this way. Israel broke it, let them fucking fix it. What are we talking about. Let them compete with the Iranian madman. What the fuck has this to do with us? I just knew we were going to have to pay for their excesses, both military, and political. Isn’t it time they fend for themselves? Hey, like in business, if its viable, then it survives, no? Shit, this really pisses me off. Calling me an apoligist for Hezbollah. Gonna take them words back there Allahpundit? Now you can see what it is that worries me. Nothing to do with defending the rabid. All to do with not trying to defend the indefensible. Maybe about time you started seeing Israel for what it is, namely a foreign country with interests of their own.
And don’t you think that when they think that their interests are better served elsewhere that they won’t just spit us out and move on. Every man for himself, and fair enough. But let us be the same, is all I’m saying.
THeDRiFTeR on August 18, 2006 at 3:17 PM
The U.S. and Israel are said to be allies, but it seems that the test of an alliance is that so-called allies actually fight together.
Kralizec on August 18, 2006 at 6:46 PM
I’m just worried that Iran’s not planning on USING a nuke on Aug 22nd, that special of special days when mohamed went flying off on a flaming horse or something. THAT would sure be (a powerful) responce that ahmadinejad promised to the UN resolution of no nukes.
rahjr2k on August 18, 2006 at 7:28 PM
The question is whether you want us fighting jihad now, when its target is still–barely–Israel, or after they’ve taken Israel, consolidated their grip on the other nations of the area, developed nukes, and then face us with closer-to-equal power in terms of force.
It’s harsh, especially on Israel, but if you want to talk about self-interest, ours lies there. It’s a shame we’re not promoting it by helping Israel do whatever is necessary to destroy these puppet groups and cow their sponsors back into their unstable little holes.
Anwyn on August 19, 2006 at 1:06 AM
Uh huh. Give me a break. You mean after they take Russia, and all her nukes too? This isn’t a video game.
THeDRiFTeR on August 19, 2006 at 1:14 AM
I’m probably overstating. If Middle East analysis was my forte I wouldn’t spend so much time hanging out here. The point is they will be more dangerous later than now, unless “progressive” opinion is somehow 180ed by them chewing and swallowing Israel. Doubtful.
Anwyn on August 19, 2006 at 1:24 AM
Were. *Were* my forte. That’s for Xrlq.
Anwyn on August 19, 2006 at 1:37 AM
I really wish certain people would try to control their language.
Might as well go over to the DU if I felt the need to read gratuitous profanity.
I can understand the irritation… the rage even, but the indiscriminate use of such words on a public forum like this makes everyone there look bad.
Bad enough when the token liberal does it, worse when it is someone I often agree with.
I wouldn’t mind it at all if we were talking privately, but I’d like to be able to have my kids (or my mother) read the comments here; However, I don’t want them to see that kind of stuff…. So they don’t get the benefit of your ‘wisdom’.
LegendHasIt on August 19, 2006 at 7:14 AM
My bad. I apologize. Will not happen again. I assure you, and I do believe that you should be able to have your mother read the comments…
I shall repent my ways with the language.
THeDRiFTeR on August 20, 2006 at 2:56 AM
Thank you Drifter. I really appreciate it.
Don’t like coming off as a prude or Mr. Etiquette Nanny, but I think this is too nice a place for such language.
LegendHasIt on August 20, 2006 at 5:42 PM
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