Saturday, December 10, 2005

Destabilization and Confrontation - two related stories

The following is Shaykh Mohammed Yazbak's comments concerning the attempted assassination yesterday, which were broadcast on al Manar television. Shaykh Yazbak is a member of Hizballah's Shura Council. This transaltion was supplied by BBC World Wide Monitoring. (Highlights are my own).
The enemy we are fighting is Israel. Sharon issued threats at the Israeli Knesset. He threatened that he would liquidate and kill the leaders and members of Hezbollah, and he recalled what happened to [former] Hezbollah Secretary-General His Eminence Al-Sayyid Abbas al-Musawi, the pre-eminent martyr of the Islamic Resistance. It is as if Sharon wanted to remind those who had forgotten - we have not forgotten - that the Israeli enemy would not forgive Hezbollah - leaders, members and people - and that he is working for revenge. This is the first message in Ba'labak, and it has been received. We reserve the right to reply. We hope that all the Lebanese would put their arguments aside and unify their positions and focus on the enemy, which wants to tamper with the security of our kinsmen, area and people.
Some pertinent questions:

  1. Who is Shaykh Yazbek targeting that last request to (specifically, which Lebanese)?
  2. Who committed this act of political violence - considering how it was poorly executed and that it was carried out in Ba'albeck of all places as opposed to Beirut or the South?
  3. Will the Lebanese authorities get the chance to investigate this crime? Or will Hizballah's own security apparatus do the honors?
  4. When and how will Hizballah reply?


On another note that is somewhat related, it appears that some rockets were found in the Shouf, and disposed of safely by army personnel. UPI filed the following report:

Police discovered Saturday four rockets on a mountainous road south of Beirut, but said they were not set to explode or be launched.

The rockets were found in a small water canal on the side of the main road in the Shouf mountains, the Druze heartland and stronghold of Druze chieftain Waleed Jumblat, who has become one of the most outspoken anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians.

Police said the 35-millimeter rockets were old and each measured 50 centimeters in length.

Two of the rockets were found inside a bag and the other two next to them. An army patrol was dispatched quickly to the scene and removed the rockets as police started an investigation.

There appears to be a deliberate campaign of destabilization going on in our country. Watch out for more of these stories in the coming days and weeks! Is something going to be found in the Metn next? Or the North? What about the camps?

4 comments:

programmer craig said...

Somebody was preparing an Iraqi style IED next to that road :\

That's not an accusation, btw. Just an observation.

On the other hand, the fact that it was found before it was used could be considered suspicious in itself. As could the "failed" assassination attempt.

JoseyWales said...

...as police started an investigation.

I just love these $%^#*! investigations.
The police and we never find out anything.

Anonymous said...

Will the Lebanese authorities get the chance to investigate this crime?

Raja, I think the guys in this pic are from lebanese autherities. They got there chance; will they give anything in turn? I doubt.

Anonymous said...

The pic on the aljazeera website is from the archive. It looks like the scene fron the Ashrafieh explosion. Compare it with this picture:
http://www.tayyar.org/galleries/displayimage.php?album=234&pos=14