Nasrallah, keep barking

Hassan Nasrallah is in a pickle. In 2006, he lost his front with Israel and has had to call a hole in the ground home. And in 2008, he lost the man who dug his tunnels and guided his fighters to their graves, among other things. The day before the earth shook in southern Lebanon, and as hundreds of thousands of Lebanese were braving rainy weather to bury his pretend alliance with Michel Aoun, he declared "open war" against his eternal enemy, thinking this latest cry of war would recreate the illusion that he and countless others have created around his "resistance party".

Nasrallah's threat to extend the geographic reach of his war failed to impress or convince anyone in Lebanon. First, note the big "if". The Lebanese prime minister rejected it, which is, even if the man is not acknowledged by the Hizbullah crowd, a far cry from the days when no one dared question Hizbullah's warmongering publicly.

"We have no interest in an open war... because this would harm Hezbollah, Arab and Islamic causes," Saniora told Future News in an interview on Friday... Saniora's comments came in response to a speech by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah at the funeral of top Hezbollah security officiall Imad Mugniyah, who was killed in Damascus on Tuesday in a car bombing blamed on Israel. Nasrallah said on Thursday that if Israel wanted open war, "then let the whole world listen: Let this war be open."

Saniora added: "We have endured a similar experience in the past and we do not want it to be repeated," referring to the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006. (Now Lebanon)

Second, even his Christian allies distanced themselves from this open war strategy.

Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Alain Aoun announced that the decision of war-and-peace should be in the hands of the Lebanese state..."No one wants ‘open war,’ and I think that the speech of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah placed the condition of ‘if they want war.’ What is required today is the restoration of rights as a means to prevent war and to bring peace to the region," Aoun concluded. (Now Lebanon)

Since the July 2006 war, and his occupation of downtown Beirut, the number of Nasrallah's enemies has been steadily rising to include at least half of the country he claims to defend. Don't expect anyone, in Lebanon or abroad, to thank Hizbullah for expanding the battlefield. Nasrallah never consulted the Lebanese before turning their land into a permanent war zone. And very few countries, even those with vehemently anti-Israeli populations, will stomach his perpetual Jihad.

Of course this assumes that Hizbullah did indeed restrict its operations to Lebanese territories. Nasrallah himself admitted to assisting Palestinian militias in the past, and Mughnieh, now exposed as an active part of the Hizbullah leadership, was reportedly involved in training the Mahdi militia in Iraq. What was he doing in Syria anyway, vacationing with the murderers of Lebanese politicians and al-Qaeda's facilitators? Nasrallah would like you to believe that by killing Mughnieh outside the Lebanese border, that this violated some unspoken rule of war that confined the Hizbullah-Israeli war to Lebanon. Well, wasn't it Hizbullah that kidnapped an Israeli businessman in Dubai in 2001? 

Nasrallah is now a fighter without a land to defend. His has prostituted his fighters to serve the goals of the Assad regime, creating a widening rift with the Christian, Sunni and Druze communities. The daily street clashes between his supporters and the rest of the population indicate that Hizbullah is quickly losing Lebanon. Nasrallah's only option now is to keep barking, and dreaming of his own little state. And it looks like he has less than a year before a tribunal is set up to call him to the witness stand.   

Comments

[Min Canada]

[ The Kuwaiti daily Awan reported, from a knowledgeable Arab source, that Imad Mughinyua was killed as he was preparing a car bomb.

The source said that Mughniya had prepared several car bombs for sending to Lebanon in order to prevent the March 14 Forces from holding a rally to mark the third anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri.

Source: Awan, Kuwait, February 14, 2008 ]

I wonder if there is some truth to that. If the man was so hard to find because he had changed his looks and no one knew him anymore. How could you just get him with a car bomb as he walks buy it ON HIS OWN WITH NO ONE BESIDE HIM!!!!

Anyway, let's see what al-Sayyid comes up with next!

[JoseyWales]

I agree with the gist of your analyis. Good post AK.

Gotta to repeat though, Saniora's words (on Mughnieh and war etc) are beyond the pale and he really needs to go strangle himself ASAP.

[fubar]

"The daily street clashes between his supporters and the rest of the population indicate that Hizbullah is quickly losing Lebanon."

Well, okay, but... how come Amal always seems to be overrepresented in these street clashes? Or am I wrong?

(Naharnet) Clashes in the Ras el-Nabeh -Bbechara el-Khoury were started at 22:00 and ended around 23:00 as the Lebanese army intervened between the beligerants to stop the fighting and return calm to the area. Many casualties reported.

*****
(Ya Libnan) Beirut - Lebanese army troops intervened to restore order as pro-government and opposition supporters engaged in fist fights and beat each other with sticks in Ras el-Nabaa, a Muslim neighborhood of Beirut late Saturday, police and TV stations reported.

Gunfire was heard in the melee but it was not clear who fired and there was no immediate word on casualties from the police.

Television footage showed scores of riot police backed by helmeted troops manning armored carriers taking up positions. At least two persons were shown injured in the footage.

Aljadeed TV showed a man, his right cheek bloodied, speaking on a mobile phone. Paramedics carried another man on a stretcher into an ambulance. The station read out names of 11 people reportedly injured in the clashes and said several cars were damaged. They are as follows.

Mohammad Tabbara, Firas Al-Halabi, Hassan Dogan, Saad Mansour, Hassan Mansour, Khader Al-Turk, Ahmed Morsi, Ahmad al-Halabi, Mohammed Wahby, Hassan Arnaout, Ziad Shehab

The total number of wounded was 14 and all have reportedly been taken to nearby hospitals

State-run National News Agency reported trouble in other Beirut neighborhoods and they are:

Khandaq al Ghameek, Barbeer, Beshara el Khoury , Mazraa

Such clashes have become common in recent weeks as tensions escalate between rival Lebanese camps and the country's 15-month-old political crisis deepens.

The Beirut neighborhood of Ras el-Nabaa where the scuffle erupted late Saturday has in the last four days been the scene of sporadic clashes between supporters of the pro-Western government and the pro-Syrian, Hezbollah-led opposition.

Clashes Saturday spread to three nearby neighborhoods, according to TV reports, but ended within a couple of hours.

The neighborhoods involved have a mix of Sunni and Shiite Muslims, whose loyalties are split along the political divide. Shiites support the pro-Syrian opposition as the militant Shiite Hezbollah group does, while Sunnis support the U.S.-backed government.

Hezbollah's al-Manar television later said that followers of a pro-government group tried to storm an opposition's office at Ras el-Nabaa but the report could not be independently verified.

A Shiite opposition protest over electricity cuts in south Beirut neighborhoods last month degenerated into a riot, prompting troops to open fire. Seven people were killed in that violence.

[Bad Vilbel]

I was about to post the same thing as Josey Wales.

AK's analysis aside (and it's a fine analysis at that), it's hard for me to stomach Saniora still using words like:

"I don't believe we have an interest to wage an open war worldwide because this would be harmful to Hizbullah as well as to the Islamic and Arab causes,"

(Why are we still talking about Hezbollah as if it were some sort of victim here? And what are these damned "arab causes" that Saniora's still babbling about?)

And my favorite:

On relations between Iran and Syria, Saniora said Lebanon must contribute in brokering a historical reconciliation between Tehran and the Arab world.

"We have deep-rooted cultural and historical relationships with Iran. We reject any attack on Iran, yet we reject its attempts to dominate Lebanon," Saniora explained.

AHAHAHAHA! Lebanon is going to broker reconciliation between Iran and the Arabs? Wow! We can't reconcile within our own tiny 10,452 square kms, but Saniora thinks we're going to be instrmental in reconciling Iran and the Arabs? Who does he think he is? Has he been smoking some of Aoun's medications?

And of course, there's got to be the traditional comment about sisterly Syria:

"We seek excellent relationships with all Arab nations and on top with sisterly Syria."

And, the pinnacle of stupidity:

Saniora urged Nasrallah to stop accusations of treason against the majority March 14 Forces.

"We must stop accusing each other of treachery and start building trust with Hizbullah."

Someone please tell this idiot in chief that trust is a 2 way street. And that when the other side is not interested in building trust (or building a state for that matter), there really is no point in making continuous advances and talking about compromise and trust. You don't hear Nassrallah talking about having to build trust or compromise with Saniora, do you?

Weeping willow needs to shut the f*** up. If you have nothing good to say, at least have the decency to spare us your imbecilic platitudes, cliches, and ramblings.

Thank you.

[Ex-Aounist]

Wooooow BV :)

"Weeping willow needs to shut the f*** up. If you have nothing good to say, at least have the decency to spare us your imbecilic platitudes, cliches, and ramblings"

PRICELESS !

[danny]

Good post...He'll be hoarse from barking...My sentiments regarding Seniora. Who the hell died and made him King??
Hassoun had lost his relevance long time ago as he started threatening everyone in Lebanon with broken heads/arms etc...if they did not agree with him. He's been exposed TOTALLY for all pontificators and "experts" to see that he is a TERRORIST! there's no spin on this.
Fubar, please you should know by now that they'll use any name but HA when these thugs "scirmish" with the other "boys". Amal is a convenient cover!!

As for FPM... who the fuck cares what they think. They lost all credibility a long time ago. Let them just shut the...up!

[fubar]

"Fubar, please you should know by now that they'll use any name but HA when these thugs "scirmish" with the other "boys". Amal is a convenient cover!!"

Thank you for making my point, Danny.

[danny]

no problem fubar...lol

[Meghwar]

For those of you who do not know, this is the mafia war of the Syrian Secret Agency telling the CIA and Mossad, we will prove to you that we can get whomever we want and whenever we want. We rule Lebanon with or without being inside that little Country.
Deal with us and you will get what you need, deal with the Lebanese whether March 14 or opposition and you will get nothing. Car Bombs in Syria, Car Bombs in Lebanon, Ghazi Kenaan suicide or assasinated, Ask his brother what he would say....
The mossad and CIA went inside Syria and execute it without the knowledge of the Moukhabarat?

Ask any syrian if they dare to talk politics, the very next day they will disappear, in a country where the secret service work is all they do, there is a $25Million being trasnfered to a Syrian Secret Serviceman bank account, Some SOB in the Syrian Moukhabarat is $25M richer today!

[Craig]

Meghwar, what about the theory that he was preparing some car bombs for the "March 14" demo, and accidentally blew himself up? How embarrassing would that be for everyone involved?

I wouldn't have any trouble believing that. That's how the car bombers operate in Iraq... they prepare the car bombs in advance and then drive them to their targets. And they do blow themselves up with some regularity. Especially when they use remote detonators that use radio signals (cell phones, garage door openers, TV remotes, etc). There's a lot that can go wrong.

[Ex-Aounist]

What really Bugs is this SOB Freaking asshole Nassrallah last speech in which he gave israel unlimited alibis to bomb lebanon to smithereens!
After July 2006 and Winograd report israelis need anything to gain back their reputation as the "invincible army" in teh area !! ANYTHING!

After declaring HIS open war on israel, especially OUTSIDE the "NATURAL Battlefield", the israelis SOB would accuse hizb of anything that might happen to any scumbag israeli in the whole world, even if he slips in his shower, on a soap ...

And yet you have this cry-baby Saniora by his apologetic "bla bla" and idiotic stances, involving Lebanon as in "the Lebanese Gov." to cover for that f*#%ing A$$hole mistakes ....freaking unbelievable !!!!

[Meghwar]

Craig,
Either what you wrote, which might be true ( to a certain extent ..) the guy was an ACE in these booby-traps and car-bombs preparations, explosives and you name it...so it is a possibility, or the syrians finished him off...( either directly or by letting the mossad or CIA reach him easily ) yet no one can convince me that these 2 organizations offed mughniyeh without an inner help...They never knew his freaking looks !! they could not possibly have recognized the SOB all by themselves, I even tell you this maybe someone was killed and it is not mughniyeh who knows ? Maybe the syrians are selling it to the mossad and cia as mughniyeh ( with $25M0 cashed in ...who can tell if it is he or not ?
I must admit these freaking syrians are smart ...very very smart...unfortunately, in Lebanon, we have those freaking assholes calling themselves politicians !

[Vox P.]

I really doubt that Mughniye was building and driving bombs himself. He's way too high in the Hezbollah hierarchy to be involved in such petty work. And only wannabe bombers detonate their own devices by accident. A professional terrorist would know better than that.

[Craig]

Actually, Vox, I'd be surprised if he *wasn't* doing things himself. The situation with Hezbollah is much too delicate to be trusted to amateurs or beginners. Imagine somebody got caught red handed trying to assassinate a VIP in Lebanon? With ties to Iran, Syria and HA? Game over. Also, he seemed to have enjoyed his work. He was well known for being personally involved with the hostage taking in the 1980s.

I kinda agree about it being unlikely he accidentally blew himself up, though. I think it'd be more likely somebody he was working with decided to take advantage of a good opportunity to take him out with his own car bomb. Or it could have gone down a completely different wya. We'll probably never know the truth.

[Yaeli]

Sigh, we get no news of Lebanon unless there is a major bombing or Nasrallah squeaks. There are daily clashes going on in Lebanon?!?

[Yaeli]

Sigh, we get no news of Lebanon unless there is a major bombing or Nasrallah squeaks. There are daily clashes going on in Lebanon?!?

[danny]

Stop the conspiriacy theories. He was offed!! By whoever. How does it help the Lebanese whether it was Massad, CIA, Mukhabarat or his jilted boyfriend?

[danny]

...and why would an "illustrious" terrorist leader build a car bomb in the middle of an upscale neighbourhood in Damascus...Please enjoy life and forget about the "theories"!

I can still hear the dog barking!!!

[lol]

"More than one million people showed up in downtown Beirut on Thursday to pay tribute to former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on the third anniversary of his assassination" Naharnet.!
HAHAHAHAHA, now I know why you're so 'credible' and such a bird-brain, you actually get your news from Naharnet? HAHAHAHA. You, my friend, are a joker!

On the 10 December 2006, the Lebanese opposition stunned the world by filling 3 squares in Beirut and the surrounding roads, including the bridge next to Martyrs Square. The squares totally filled were Riad Solh and Martyrs square, among other locations. The whole world witnessed this and no one can refute this fact.

However, on Valentines Day 2008, people made their way to what was to become the most clumsy and decietful memorial in the worlds history. Despite Nayla Mo'awads "yalla yalla" and "ya ayyohal lubnaniyoun" one-liners that made no sense, and despite Amine Gemayels call for Michel Aoun instead of Michel Suleiman to become President and despite the fist-fight that broke out between Harriri's and Abu Fa'ours guards - there was more embaressment than anticipated.

Al-manar, together with OTV, exposed the rally as the biggest farce. The March 14 rally was given half of the Martyr's Square, while the other half was reserved for the oppositions tents. The total size of half Martyrs Square is 34,000 meters squared. By any calculation, the maximum anyone can fit into such a small space is four average sized people, and that is if you squash them in. By that means, 4 multiplied by 34,000 does not equal 'more than a million' or as Sa'ad Hariri fooled himself to believe 'one and half million on a rainy day, how about if it was sunny'.

4 multiplied by 34,000 is 136,000. I'm going to allow it and say 200,000. But this is not where the flaw is. No, no, nooo. The most embaressing of all is while Harriri was talking and saying his 'one and a half million', OTV and Al-manars cameras started catching the rally from all sides. From West side, it looked massive. Then on the East side, when one takes the focus off the stage and onto the crowds, it is clear that HALF of the space given to them was not filled. That means half of the half of martyrs square (yes, i said that correctly) was left empty. That means only a quarter of the square was filled. Could someone please explain to me how 4x17,000 = 1.5million? Where did they pullt hat out from? Whos ass did that come from?

It was all caught on TV and soon I will upload it on youtube for all those who don't heed trust in my words. But seriously, every news outlet minus LBC, Naharnet and Future TV said there were 'tens of thousands', which means the number did not reach even ONE hundred thousand. Let us assume that the army did not divide martyrs square into two, and that the tents didn't exist in the other half and that the square was FILLED to the max. The opposition still did better.

[danny]

lol,

you need a brainwash...also, spare us the photoshop artists with their immaculate brushes...You win my friend. Nobody on this blog gives a rat's ass on how big the size was, but apparently you do!!
...the barks are on surround system, I can hear them everywhere!!

[Meghwar]

LOl,

I have had the misfortune of reading some idiotic comments in my Life but you break all the records, really dude ??? do you think we give a damn fuck about the 1 million or 100.000 ???
Jeeeeezzzzzz Man go get a brain, Ah and pls DO NOT get married and do not even think of having children...Give Lebanon a fucking break...you and the likes of you are TOO MUCH barking RETARDS for one COUNTRY.

[Ex-Aounist]

الاستخبارات الاميركية تتهم حزب الله بإغتيال عماد مغنية
Could it be that Hezballah killed Mughniyeh because of what he knew and their involvement in all the killings since 2005?
Possible....

[danny]

The ease that he was killed leads one to believe that it was a Syrian Job...

He knew too much and was getting too old for a terrorist...Poof!!

As why he was killed in Syria...remember Hariri's killing? Syrians still denied it. Same here...In their mindset that gives them plausible deniability!!!

[danny]

The ease that he was killed leads one to believe that it was a Syrian Job...

He knew too much and was getting too old for a terrorist...Poof!!

As why he was killed in Syria...remember Hariri's killing? Syrians still denied it. Same here...In their mindset that gives them plausible deniability!!!

[Leb (ExExile)]

LOL,

I was in martyr's square alone!
you would have seen me on Manar...

[Meghwar]

US Intelligence Chief Says Hizbullah, Syria Eliminated Mughniyeh

The U.S. intelligence chief said Sunday that internal Hizbullah or Syria may be to blame for the killing of a top Hizbullah commander that has led the FBI to put domestic terror squads on alert in the United States.
Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell said on the television show "Fox News Sunday that the United States is still reviewing the case following the death last Tuesday of Commander Imad Mughniyeh in a car bombing in the Syrian capital of Damascus.

Hizbullah blamed Israel and has pledged to attack Jewish targets worldwide in retaliation. That led the FBI last week to be vigilant for possible threats in the U.S. against synagogues and other potential Jewish targets.

McConnell said he considers the threat to be primarily against Israel. But he said U.S. intelligence officials are keeping a close watch and taking any necessary action to protect the United States because Mughniyeh has been "responsible for more deaths of Americans and Israelis than any other terrorist with the exception of Osama bin Laden."

"It is a serious threat," McConnell said. "There's some evidence that it may have been internal Hizbullah. It may have been Syria. We don't know yet, and we're trying to sort that out.".....
"(AP)

[Ex-Aounist]

Meghwar,
You can deduce from the statement that the US/CIA learnt that it was not the mossad ;)
then it is either Hizb or syria or BOTH !
Why? well for many reasons...
check out the timing and the location and you have to ask who benefits the the most!
syria and hizb are the primary benificaries of this killing. they were able to get rid of him because of internal struggle on leadership, and too much info to keep with wan dead man walking anyway.
Iran was unhappy with Nassnass for he uncovered and exposed hizb military capabilities far too early and got pushed out of south of the litani.
their plan got screwed up as it relates to the nuclear crisis they have with the UN.
they were able to take away the momentum from m14 rally in beirut. third, it prvided them with reason for open war decleration agaianst israel, something they desperatley needed to spin the opinion of the arab street in their favor. besides this attack by the alledgedly israely SHOULD make the ARAB Summit solidary with " Kalaat assoumoud watassadi " NO ????
so, all in all, nassnass, Ass-ad and their gangs offed the guy to get rid of a witness to their crimes on one hand on teh other Syria would reap the fruits from arabs and maybe from US, Hizb has now all teh latitude to conduct his attacks a la Bin Laden...
What Israeli reap is what I posted before...they have now multiple choice of accusing hizb and destroying Lebanon if any Israeli farts and/or gets Diarrhea !

[Meghwar]

"Muallem: We Will Soon Reveal Mughniyeh's Killers
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has said investigations are under way into who was behind the car bomb that killed top Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus, adding that he expected the perpetrators to be found soon. "

Well Let me guess, you will discover that it was planned by the mossad,financed by hariri prepared by Geagea, and executed by Jumblat...kiiif...very suitable...:)...what a great investigation...how about helping help the IT ...??? :P

[Craig]

danny,

...and why would an "illustrious" terrorist leader build a car bomb in the middle of an upscale neighbourhood in Damascus...

Dunno, Danny. Why would Syrian and Iranian intelligence offices be located in such a neighborhood? What was he doing in that neighborhood? Did he not feel safe there? Obviously he did, or he wouldn't have been there, would he? Not one of the most "wanted" men on the planet... no sir, he wouldn't have been there unless he felt 100% protected. And where exactly would you expect terrorists to plan their attacks, if not in the "safest" possible locations for them to do it?

Please enjoy life and forget about the "theories"!

You would rather I embrace a theory that's highly implausible, instead of exploring more rational explanations? It seems clear to me that the US didn't do this. Also, that Israel didn't do this. Why? Because, quite simply, if Israel or the US had managed to pull this off they'd be bragging about it, not scratching their heads and trying to figure out what happened. I don't know about Israel but the US has been trying to kill this guy for more than 20 years, and has made at least on failed attempt on his life in the past. There's absolutely no reason for the US to try to deny involvement.

So if it wasn't the US, and it wasn't Israel, then who was it? Aren't you the least bit curious? I agree with you, the important thing is that he's dead (hopefully) but it's still useful to try to explore the the possible motivations of other actors isn't it?

[danny]

Craig,
""Dunno, Danny. Why would Syrian and Iranian intelligence offices be located in such a neighborhood? What was he doing in that neighborhood? Did he not feel safe there? Obviously he did, or he wouldn't have been there, would he? Not one of the most "wanted" men on the planet... no sir, he wouldn't have been there unless he felt 100% protected. And where exactly would you expect terrorists to plan their attacks, if not in the "safest" possible locations for them to do it?""
It is obvious that you do not know how these scumbags work. You think this is the USA and thus if a terrorist works in an upscale neighborhood then it is protected...He was not a regular Joe my friend, so yes I think most likely liquidator was Syrian Mukhabarat. I have stated this before. It makes sence. Also, I repeat every terrorist or spy has their "life span", after which they are "retired". To kill him publicly has multiple affects. It gives HA a new rallying cry to gather their sheeple. It eliminates someone who most likely has a lot of knowledge of mukhabarati involvements in Lebanese assasinations...great for Syria.etc..etc..etc...

[Craig]

Danny, I'm not interested in arguing the obvious with you. No crime ever gets solved in Lebanon. Ever. And yet you would have me believe that YOU know how terrorists work. Is that right? Well if everyone in Lebanon knows how terrorists work, how come terrorists never get caught? And not only that, nobody knows who the terrorists even are.

There is a lot of data available on how terrorists work, these days... mostly from Iraq. If you want to know, do some research. Or you can just keep going with your old assumptions, even though they never seem to get you any where.

so yes I think most likely liquidator was Syrian Mukhabarat.

It may have been. That doesn't contradict what I said. I think he got blown up by his own car bomb, which was probably detonated deliberately to kill him by somebody he trusted.

I have stated this before. It makes sence.

It only makes sense if he was the one who assassinated Hariri and others in Lebanon. Which is quite likely, actually.

Otherwise, he was far too valuable to HA, Iran and Syria for them to have killed him.

Also, I repeat every terrorist or spy has their "life span", after which they are "retired".

I don't agree with that at all. Most of the top tier terrorists in the world are middle-aged, or older. It's not a young man's game, at the top.

To kill him publicly has multiple affects. It gives HA a new rallying cry to gather their sheeple. It eliminates someone who most likely has a lot of knowledge of mukhabarati involvements in Lebanese assasinations...great for Syria.etc..etc..etc...

It also removed HA's single most effective tactician, and their most skilled operative. Who is going to replace him? That fat-ass Nasrallah, hiding in his bunker? Or some young kid, who doesn't know shit? Guys like him are not that easy to find, and once found it takes a lot of investment of time and money to train them up. Street thugs area dime a dozen, but legendary terrorists... not so much.

[danny]

craig,

It seems we are in agreement...almost. You dream in technicolour if you think any organization is centered on one man's "genius"...A lot of rats in the gutters...

[fubar]

Romeo (posting as lol),

First, if I recall correctly your hall pass was revoked some time ago.

Second, you are worried about how many people filled Martyr's Square on Feb. 14? Maybe you should be just a little bit more concerned about how many leaders from the opposition were kissing the ass of Manouchehr Mottaki on Feb. 14. You have have no idea who he is and you couldn't care less, could you? You have are more interested in playing games than having a serious thought run through your head. Grow up and take your head out of your ass.

(Iran Focus) London, Aug. 24, 2005 –– Manouchehr Mottaki, 52, who was confirmed on Wednesday by Iran’s hard-line parliament (Majlis) as the new Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, was involved in a series of terrorist attacks outside Iran, according to Iranian exiles and defectors from the theocratic regime.

Before the vote of confidence in parliament, several deputies privately expressed concern that Mottaki would face difficulties when travelling abroad, because the Turkish authorities had asked him to leave the country in 1989, when he was Iran’s ambassador in Ankara, after his role in several terrorist incidents in Turkey became known.

Iran Focus has learnt that Parliament Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel, a hard-liner close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, reassured deputies in private that Iran had obtained assurances from the Turkish authorities that they would not pursue the case against Mottaki any further.

Mottaki, until now chairman of the foreign affairs sub-committee of the Majlis, is a former Deputy Foreign Minister and served as Iran’s ambassador to Turkey and Japan.

As a radical Islamist in his student days in India’s Bangalore University, Mottaki was a fervent supporter of Ayatollah Khomeini. He returned to Iran during the revolution and joined the ranks of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) soon after the fall of the Shah’s regime in 1979. After taking part in the bloody campaign against Kurdish dissidents, Mottaki moved to the Foreign Ministry, where for some time he was the IRGC liaison officer.

Mottaki was appointed Iran’s ambassador to Turkey in 1985 and it was during his tenure in Ankara that the Revolutionary Guard-turned-diplomat became involved in a number of terror attacks and assassinations of dissidents, according to Iranian opposition figures and defectors. In the 1980s and the early 1990s, at least 50 Iranian dissidents were kidnapped or assassinated in Turkey by Iranian secret agents often working closely with diplomats from Iran’s embassy and consulates.

On Mottaki’s watch, the Iranian embassy in Ankara and the consulate-general in Istanbul were turned into safe houses for agents of Iran’s notorious secret police hunting down Iranian dissidents, according to exiles.

In his highly-acclaimed book, Islamic Fundamentalism, the New Global Threat, published in 1993, author Mohammad Mohaddessin named Mottaki as “a member of the Guards Corps before joining the diplomatic service” and wrote that “Mottaki was involved in at least two assassination attempts against the Mojahedin”.

Mohaddessin, who is the foreign affairs chief of the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran, was himself the target of a failed assassination attempt in Turkey in March 1990. Iran’s official media, unaware that the terrorists attacked another NCRI official, precipitously broke the news that Mohaddessin had been killed in Istanbul. A sombre-looking Mohaddessin told journalists in Turkey that news of his death were “premature”.

Abolhassan Mojtahedzadeh, an Iranian political activist from the opposition Mojahedin-e Khalq (MeK), was abducted in Istanbul in 1988. He was tortured inside Iran’s consulate in Istanbul. Turkish police miraculously found him in the boot of an official Iranian embassy vehicle only a few kilometres from the Iranian border, as Tehran’s diplomats were trying to smuggle him to Iran.

Not all the victims were able to survive. According to Amir Farshad Ebrahimi, a former central council member of Ansar-e Hezbollah, a pressure group organised by the ultra-conservative leaders, Mottaki ordered the assassination of two Iranian exiles, Bahram Azarnia (Azarfar) and Mohammad Qaderi, in Turkey. Azarnia was found lying dead in a pool of blood after he had been shot eight times. Qaderi was kidnapped and his dead body was found two days later by Turkish police.

On August 7, 1988, while Mottaki was still Iran’s ambassador to Turkey, 58 Iranian nationals who had escaped their homeland were handed over to the Iranian embassy in Ankara by Turkish authorities. Four of them were later found dead in the town of Gomoush. The other 54 were executed en masse in the Iranian town of Orumieh as soon as they were transferred over the border. The Turkish security service revealed later that the Iranian ambassador, Manouchehr Mottaki, had bribed local Turkish officials to keep a lid on the gruesome murders.

According to Ebrahimi, less than four months after that incident, on November 16, 1988, Mottaki oversaw the kidnapping of nine members of the MeK. Three members of the group were murdered in cold blood and six were smuggled to Iran and have been serving life sentences for their opposition to Iran’s clerical rulers, he wrote.

Mottaki’s alleged terrorist acts include the 1986 kidnapping of a former Iranian Air Force colonel. Mohammad Pedram was forcefully taken from Ankara to Tehran, where he was imprisoned in the notorious Evin Prison until his execution in 2001.

The Turkish authorities ordered Mottaki to leave Turkey in October 1989 for his role in assassinations and kidnappings in that country. The expulsion was couched in diplomatic terms, and Turkey agreed to allow Iran to avoid public embarrassment by withdrawing its ambassador.

Mottaki later became Vice-president of Islamic Cultural and Communications Organisation, an agency created by the Supreme Leader for export of Islamic revolution to other parts of the Muslim world.

[theCourtFool]

You know... I always wondered Hassan Nasrallah is a serious man. no doubt. Mar Nasrallah Sfeir on the other hand is sincere.

I would always imagine the Patriarch Mar Nasrallah discretely saying to Hassan Nasrallah:”I understand your predicament - but I disagree with the means”.

Sayyed Hassan Replies:”Arms and war is the only way to deal with Israel?”

Mar Nasrallah Sfeir:”True, but you are the weaker entity”

Sayyed Hassan:”You mean we?”

Mar Nasrallah Sfeir:”No, I mean you”

[Marillionlb]

I will not indulge in conspiracy theories for I do not care as to who killed Imad; like I say "kahra bil nakess".
As for Saniora I have to agree with BV and Josey, that guy has lost what ever marbles he had, and does not represent me in any way, neither should be associated with the Cedar Revolution anymore.
The most striking point I see in Hassan's speech after the death of the TERRORIST is that he has now publicly informed us Lebanese that retaining his arms extend way beyond the Shebaa farms. In order to avenge the death of Imad (like he promised to do) he is informing us that his weapons and men have just found a new "raison d'etre" to be added to Shebaa, the plight of the Palestinian people, protection of persecuted Muslims in the Arab world, and maybe untill water is found on the moon. That's how I see it.
Revert back to the Hizb original manifesto (which I posted on my page) and tell me if you still can believe that there is still a way of living in harmony (wifak watani) with those armed thugs.