August 7, 2006 Politics Arab World Finds Icon in Leader of Hezbollah By NEIL MacFARQUHAR

But Sheik Nasrallah is definitely in touch. He gloats over the evident confusion reflected in the Israeli news media about their military offensive. He is known to have read the autobiographies of Israel’s prime ministers. He always calls Israel “the Zionist entity,” maintaining that all Jewish immigrants should return to their countries of origin and that there should be one Palestine with equality for Muslims, Jews and Christians.

The last sentence sounds reasonable. That is until you learn the real motive behind Nasrallah’s statement. The first thing to notice in his statement is that the nation of Israel does not exist; in its place he wants “one Palestine”. With Arabs far outnumbering Jews in the Middle East, the Jews without its own State will have no political power whatsoever. But this is precisely what Nasrallah wants. You see, back in 2002 Nasrallah already tipped his intention when he said,
“If we searched the entire world for a person more cowardly, despicable, weak and feeble in psyche, mind, ideology and religion, we would not find anyone like the Jew. Notice, I do not say the Israeli. “

“The Jews invented the legend of the Nazi atrocities [...] Anyone who reads the Koran and the holy writings of the monotheistic religions sees what they did to the prophets, and what acts of madness and slaughter the Jews carried out throughout history [...] Anyone who reads these texts cannot think of co-existence with them, of peace with them, or about accepting their presence, not only in Palestine of 1948 but even in a small village in Palestine, because they are a cancer which is liable to spread again at any moment.”

“If they [the Jews] all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them world wide.”

What a nice guy this Nasrallah. The scary part is the various groups around the world that actually support the Hezbollah. Many European countries refuse to call Hezbollah a terrorist organization. The New American Black Panther party and the Nation of Islam supports the Hezbollah.

We are in an ideological war against Islamofacists and we are in a war of sympathy against the moderate Muslim groups around the world. Muslims around the world although denounces violence, nevertheless, would not condemn Hezbollah and label them as a terrorist organization. The excuse used is that Hezbollah uses terrorist tactics but that is the fault of Israeli occupation. The Muslims is incapable of recognizing the initial causes. Israel did not occupy any territories in the Middle East. They have been and continue to resist the attempted occupation of Muslims into the sovereign borders of Israel.

When these terrorist sympathetic groups recalls the current Lebanon and Israel war, the most they can admit is that Hezbollah kidnapped 2 soldiers. You will never hear them voluntarily recall that they also killed 8 soldiers during the Hezbollah occupation.

IDF soldiers from the Herub Brigade confiscated two explosive belts late Saturday night near Nablus.

Forces stopped two cars at a checkpoint and arrested five Palestinians who attempted to throw a bag containing explosives. One of the suspects, a Palestinian woman, was apparently on her way to perpetrate a suicide attack in one of the cities in central Israel.

The explosive belts were detonated safely.

As a result of the attempt, the terror warning level was raised in Judea and Samaria and the surrounding area.

After the water turns to blood at Qana, how long?
by Riad Kassis | posted 08/02/2006 09:00 a.m.

I beg you not to respond by saying that circumstances are not right for a cease-fire or that it is not politically appropriate to do so. There is and will never be an acceptable excuse for the killing of civilians. The excuse that the U.S. is waiting for a “sustainable solution” without calling for an immediate cease fire is nonsense. It is only a green light for Israel to continue its atrocities in Lebanon. For stopping a war, for holding a fight, for checking the destruction of homes and livelihoods, for peace and negotiation, the time is always appropriate.

Sunday morning, I woke up to the news that an Israeli air strike hit a residential building used as a shelter in the southern Lebanese town of Qana, killing and wounding more than 65 people, including 30 infants and young children. According to tradition, Qana is the village where Jesus Christ performed his first miracle by turning water into wine (John 2).

”Riad Kassis is executive director and chaplain at the J.L. Schneller School in West Bekaa, Lebanon. He is also lecturer in Old Testament Studies at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut and formerly at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary, Beirut Lebanon.”

Mr. Kassis along with Mr. Martin Accad are Lebanese Christians that were and is connected with the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary. I understand their pain and I feel for the children and Christians in Lebanon, I really do. My problem with Kassis and Accad is their veiled accusatory tone of putting Christianity on trial of which they are a part of. Why do they think that unless we side with them then Christianity is uncaring and blood thirsty? Kassis intimated that unless we side with him, he might lose his faith as an evangelical? First of all, even if all the Christians in the world are wrong about Israel and we encourage them to slaughter civilians; that still have nothing to do with his faith in God. His faith should be in God and not in Man. Second, Accad accuses us Christians of bias toward Israel and uncaring for the plight of the Lebanese people (whom he calls his people, although he claims to have Semitic blood). The question can be reversed, why are Accad and Kassis so blind and bias in their hatred of Israel and the U.S.?

Why are they not able to see things our way? If the Israelis are so blood thirsty, why to they drop leaflets warning the civilians to leave before dropping bombs? Why does Israel strategically bomb specific buildings? It would be a lot cheaper and more effective frankly, to just carpet bomb the entire city. Carpet bombing would be more effective in killing Hezbollah terrorists, while indiscriminately killing civilians. Indiscriminate bombing is the tactic of Accad’s beloved Hezbollah fighters, but it is not the tactics of a benevolent government trying to defend itself. I wonder why Mr. Kassis and Mr. Accad are unable to understand such simple facts. What right do they have to ask non-Lebanese Christians to stand on their side and defend the indefensible?

Second, war is hell as the saying goes. No one wants war, not only do the bad people die, the innocent civilians also gets killed. That is the nature or war which both Kassis and Accad know well, and that is the reason war should be avoided at all cost. Unfortunately, Accad’s beloved Hezbollah fighters don’t see it that way. The Hezbollah have a single fixated hatred for Israel and their only goal is the extermination of the Jewish state. Hezbollah do not care how many Lebanese or Israelis must die to reach this end. This is the reason they hide behind women and children, use innocent civilians as shields to fire rockets at Israel, knowing full well that the counter strike from Israel would kill these innocent civilians.

Every innocent life that is lost in Lebanon in this war is on the bloody hands of the Hezbollah and the Allah that they claim to serve, not Israel. What Kassis and Accad is advocating is for Israel to die. It is just for Hezbollah to use them as shields. Israel is only allowed to strike back if and only if they can kill only the terrorists involved. Israel is not god. They don’t have this kind of power to kill only the terrorists while they are hiding behind women and children. However, Kassis and Accad do not care about justice or Israeli lives. According to their rule of engagement many, many, more Israelis will have to die to save one Lebanese. Do you see the irony? When Kassis and Accad sees that there is a disproportionate death on the Lebanese side they scream and cry with indignation. However, their solution is for disproportionate deaths on the Israeli side and that is supposed to be justice? No, Mr. Kassis and Mr. Accad, you are not noble nor just. If you were, you would have taken your families and flee to northern Lebanon and seek out bomb shelters, just as the Israelis have to do.

Furthermore, where were you and your people during the 17 years of civil war in Lebanon? Why were there no screams and cries of IMMEDIATE cease fire? Why weren’t there burning of Hezbollah flags in the streets? Why were you and the Lebanese people so blood thirsty? Why weren’t you screaming back then “Go for peace!” “Go for reconciliation!” “Go for love!” Go for a cease-fire!”?

Now I hear of fellow Christians who enjoy seeing the turning of water into blood in the name of end-time prophecy. Their call should rather be to turn water into wine of gladness, peace, and life. Are we looking for the presence of Christ in Lebanon and Israel or for the presence of U.S. smart bombs?

This is the kind of ignorance of Christianity that I would expect from a Muslim but not a fellow Christian. The majority of Christians do not hold to this dispensational (Tim LaHaye) type of apocalyptic theology. Why attack Christianity, of which you are a part of, like so many other Muslims? Why not just make a logical and cogent argument using the evidence and the fact on the ground? Explain to the rest of the world how it is just for Hezbollah to use human shields and Israel must suffer more casualties in order for the Lebanese people to allow themselves to be used as shield.

The U.S.’s support for Israel has nothing to do with Christianity nor does it have to do with bias for Israel. The evidence to any logical and ethical mind would conclude the Israeli response to Hezbollah aggression is the only course of action possible.

Tony Blair

What is happening today out in the Middle East, in Afghanistan and beyond is an elemental struggle about the values that will shape our future.

It is in part a struggle between what I will call Reactionary Islam and Moderate, Mainstream Islam. But its implications go far wider. We are fighting a war, but not just against terrorism but about how the world should govern itself in the early 21st century, about global values.

The root causes of the current crisis are supremely indicative of this. Ever since September 11th, the U.S. has embarked on a policy of intervention in order to protect its and our future security. Hence Afghanistan. Hence Iraq. Hence the broader Middle East initiative in support of moves towards democracy in the Arab world.

The American liberal left better wake up or else one day they will wake up from their hatred of the right sitting in a madrassa learning the Qur’an in Arabic. We are at war. It is a war on multiple fronts against Islamofascists, moderate Muslims sympathetic to Islamofascists, and the liberal appeasement mentality. Just because we don’t see riots in the Arab streets it doesn’t mean they don’t hate us. We cannot convert them by delivering them from poverty. We cannot deter them by giving them land. They are brainwashed from infants to hate us. The only way to save ourselves and future generations of Muslim children is to completely defeat the Islamofascists now.

This is a video that was shot yesterday by Israeli forces in Lebanon. It shows a Hezbollah terrorist driving up to a home, parking his car, walking next door to another civilian building where he proceeds to fire several rockets on Israeli cities. Seconds later, he is targeted by an Israeli aerial attack.

So what is the cause or impetus of the perpetual hatred and conflict between Israel and her Middle East neighbors? And let’s be honest, while the fanatic Islamists have delusions of a revival of the Ottoman Empire, the most immediate reason why they hate Americans is because of our unwavering support for the nation of Israel. I am not qualified to analyze all the nuances that have created the modern conflict since the founding of the nation of Israel in 1948. One can argue the root of the conflict can be traced all the way back to Isaac and Ishmael. We can trace the roots back many thousands of years but that would not resolve any current crisis. The fact to the matter is that since the inception of modern Israel, she has been at war with its’ neighbors. Wars that Israel did not ask for but was visited upon her by neighbors, who deny Israel’s right to exist in that part of the world.

Israel’s success in war is also her curse. In defeating her enemies, Israel is justify to occupy the land that was captured, especially in light of the fact that none of Israel’s neighbor acknowledge its’ right to exist. Unfortunately, occupation breeds resentment and resistance. Resistance begets suppression, suppression breeds more resentment, resentment breeds more resistance and thus this vicious cycle gives life to the current impassible gulf between Israel and its’ neighbors.

I am serious when I say that I see this vicious cycle as hopeless, therefore the glass is completely empty. Consider these recent articles from CT and Spiegel.
Another Point of View: Evangelical Blindness on Lebanon
‘Who Is My Neighbor’ in the Lebanon-Israel Conflict?
Lebanon president: We will fight invaders
Reading these articles, if you didn’t know any better, you might have thought that Martin Accad and Lebanese President Emile Lahoud are just 2 more Muslims railing against Jews and Christians. In fact both of these men are Christians. This is the reason why I think the situation is so hopeless in the Middle East. The problem goes beyond the Islamofascists. The hatred mindset for Jews and Christians who support Israel is indoctrinated culturally in the Middle East, across religious lines.

I find it very disheartening that many Arabs are unable to personally call Hezbollah a terrorist organization. I am sure in their mind the Hezbollah are glorified freedom fighters. Consider the words of Accad:

I am angry at self-centered Hezbollah, which has done the inadmissible of taking a unilateral war decision without consulting the Lebanese government of which it is part

This comes at the end of a long article that if not justifying Hezbollah’s actions, it certainly was not giving any blame on them for starting this whole war. I might be wrong but even this short expression of anger at the Hezbollah has a touch of facetiousness. Accad calls the Hezbollah action of crossing the sovereign border of another country to attack and killed 6 soldiers and kidnapping 2 others for prisoner exchange as only ”inadmissible”. This rings a bit hollow when you consider what he said earlier.

In the past, tit for tat has been the only way for any Arab country or armed group to get anything from Israel. So once more last Wednesday, Lebanon’s Hezbollah ventured into kidnapping two Israeli soldiers in order to force the hand of Israel into a prisoner exchange.

You see in Accad’s mind a tit for tat was a justifiable way to force Israel to do anything. So why would he now say what the Hezbollah did was “inadmissible”? It seems to me that he either didn’t mean what he said earlier or he didn’t mean what he said at the end. Accad is not alone in this justification for Hezbollah’s actions. The Lebanese President Lahoud said the same thing.

LAHOUD: All I can say is now two soldiers have been taken and in response they are doing massive destruction in Lebanon. Is that right? I don’t think so because it is very disproportionate. Two soldiers have been taken, and in the past soldiers have been taken and they exchange.

It is almost like a national mantra that it is perfectly fine for Hezbollah to violate an international border and kill several Israelis inside a sovereign nation, then kidnap a couple soldiers to make an exchange. This seems ludicrous to me but it is perfectly justifiable to Accad and Lahoud. This is why I am skeptical that Accad is critical of the Hezbollah. I think he confirms my suspicion in the second article, which I will elaborate later.

For Americans and those who have not been under the occupation of Israel, it seems obvious that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. Why? Hezbollah has engaged in terrorist activities such as:

• a series of kidnappings of Westerners in Lebanon, including several Americans, in the 1980s;
• the suicide truck bombings that killed more than 200 U.S. Marines at their barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983;
• the 1985 hijacking of TWA flight 847, which featured the famous footage of the plane’s pilot leaning out of the cockpit with a gun to his head;
• two major 1990s attacks on Jewish targets in Argentina—the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy (killing twenty-nine) and the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center (killing ninety-five).

Accad while he and his family might have suffered under Israeli occupation fails to mention any of these facts. In fact, Accad in the following article actually praises the Hezbollah.

As for the “real” profile of your so-called “terrorist,” come with me to the Beirut suburbs or to the villages of South Lebanon or to some parts of the Bekaa Valley. I will introduce you to many of my friends who eat the same food you do, watch the same movies, share your humanity, and yet happen to be staunch adherents to a group called Hezbollah.

Excuse me Mr. Accad, the Hezbollah are not “so-called” terrorists, they are indeed terrorists. They most certainly DO NOT share my humanity. My humanity do not randomly kidnap civilians of friends of my enemy and kill them out of hatred for my enemy. My humanity do not allow for the wanton arbitrary targeting of civilians for killing. No Mr. Accad the Hezbollah terrorists and I do not share the same humanity.

And before you try to rebut with the usual retort that Israel is also doing the same thing by targeting the civilians in your country. Let me assure you that we are not as blind and dumb as you believe us to be. We see your beloved Hezbollah fighters hiding behind civilian buildings and houses. Your beloved Hezbollah instead of helping the women and children out of the combat areas; they are hiding behind them to elicit sympathy from the gullible when Israel kills the civilians along with the terrorists. The Hezbollah are devious devils. Accad’s beloved Hezbollah friends know that they cannot defeat Israel through combat so they sacrifice some civilians to create international pressure to force Israel to back down. If the mighty Hezbollah was as powerful as Accad and Lahoud thinks, they should be asking the international community to stay out. Let the mighty Hezbollah fighters defeat the Israelis and again drive them out of Lebanon. Instead these Hezbollah, the social humanitarians, who educate and provide for the poor are now using the very people they helped as human shields. No the Hezbollah are not the same as the Israelis.

While Mr. Accad chastises Christians in America and abroad for losing their sense of ethics and Christian balance, I would suggest he look in the mirror instead. However, I doubt these words would make any sense to Mr. Accad and Mr. Lahoud. Their minds are so indoctrinated with their own perspective that unless you agree with them then you must be unethical or imbalanced. Again I don’t carry any of the apocalyptic baggage that Accad is accusing the Christians of having. As a matter of fact if you replace the Israelis with Indians, Asians, Africans or any other ethnic groups in the same situation, I would feel the same way. What the neighbors of Israel are doing to the people in that country is wrong and they don’t see it themselves. The scary part and the reason why the glass is empty, is because people like Accad and Lahoud is supposed to be the moderates in the Middle East. And even they are blinded by their hatred; there is no hope of any dialogue with the Islamofascists.

Let’s objectively analyze the claims of Lebanese casualty. Why are the Lebanese casualties predominantly women and children? I suspect it is because they are family members of the Hezbollah fighters who live in those buildings. They are giving aid and comfort to these Hezbollah fighters. It is statistically improbable that the casualty numbers are predominantly women and children. Where did all the men go? Did they just abandon the women and children and ran for safety? Or does Lebanon have an inordinate number of widows and orphans?

We know the Hezbollah is the welfare provider in southern Lebanon. Many of these buildings are built with Hezbollah money. It is also logical to assume that many of their Hezbollah fighters are living in these buildings. It would follow that they would hide and keep their arms in these buildings. This makes these buildings legitimate targets, especially when rockets are fired from behind these buildings.

Even if this was not the case, why didn’t they leave and not allow themselves to be used as human shields for terrorists unless they fully support the terrorists, in which case they become legitimate targets during a state of war. Furthermore the Hezbollah knows that there are civilians in these buildings, not only do they have no regards for these people by helping them leave, they are using them as shields to hide behind.

Muslims should recognize these despicable tactics and ask themselves is this the way of Allah? Is this what the Koran teaches them, to fight by hiding behind women and children? Is this how the Muslim terrorists expect to win by appealing to the compassion of their enemy? I thought it was Allah who is the compassionate? Instead the Muslim terrorists are depending on the compassionate of the infidels to win this war and not Allah. They are disgusting human beings and betrayer of their faith.

I will also post on world events and theological issues through the eyes of a theological conservative.

To God Only Be Glory.