PrintJanuary 20, 2007
"Hizbullah is a tool... of Iranian intelligence"
Those words come from former Hizbullah secretary-general Sheikh Subhi Al-Tufeili in an interview with Kuwaiti daily newspaper Al-Siyassa, as translated by MEMRI.
His bitterness toward the kidnapping of the two Israeli soldiers, which led to Israel's war in Lebanon is evident:
Are we allowed to destroy our country [just] so we can say that we abducted two soldiers - when we all knew what the magnitude of the Israeli response [would be]? What happened was an unsuccessful adventure, and there is no escaping the fact that those who carried it out will bear the responsibility for it..."
He does not seem to carry his understanding of Iran, which fancies itself a great nation, far enough:
...why was Lebanon the only arena of bloodshed? Why weren't all fronts opened?... Why has Hizbullah become a tool [serving] individual interests that have nothing to do with the resistance? In my opinion, the issue is broader than the local [context], and is connected to the regional struggle - but it is being carried out by a local tool [i.e. Hizbullah]...
"After all that has happened, I hope that Iran will change from an element seeking its political interests in the region [into an element acting for the] liberation of Jerusalem - if Iran indeed wants to liberate Jerusalem as it claims. [It must stop] using the resistance [i.e. Hizbullah] for its own aims in its struggle with the West..."
Lotsa luck on that one, Sheikh. Like the Palestinians, the Lebanese are pawns of interests which no interest at all in their welfare. Wake up.
Hat tip: Joseph Crowley
