It is gratifying to watch Hezbollah squirm after their recent war with Israel, especially since the international media promoted the militia’s claim of victory in that conflict. The terrorist group found it very easy to win the favor of the press in order to advance their anti-Israeli propaganda. However, during the current ceasefire Hezbollah’s public relations management has proven to be a dismal failure.
Things are not going well for them. Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Fuad Saniora, declared that his forces will confiscate any illegal weapons that are displayed in the southern security zone (which is patrolled by the Lebanese army). While the Prime Minister has made it clear that they will not hunt for hidden weapons, it is still a very important step towards the restoration of the authority of the Lebanese government.
Since Lebanon ended its civil war all militias in the country have disbanded except for Hezbollah. This illegal militia has kept the central government out of their territory and has acted as a sovereign nation in its own right. Now the government is gaining a toe-hold in Hezbollah’s heartland and it hurts their massive ego. The weakness that they feel has forced Hezbollah to adopt a hostile tone towards the government at a time when they are proclaiming to represent the interests of all of Lebanon.
Now the commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, General Alain Pellegrini, has said that if the Lebanese army fails to disarm Hezbollah then UN interim forces would act on its own if necessary. While it can be argued that the UN doesn’t really have the will to do so, this is the first time a UN representative has openly declared such a possibility. It indicates how drastically circumstances are changing.
In another PR disaster, Amnesty International accused Hezbollah’s militia of breaking humanitarian law by indiscriminately bombing Israeli cities during the recent conflict. How does Hezbollah counter such accusations? By admitting the truth behind the charges!!!!!!!
Hezbollah legislator Hassan Fadlallah responded by saying that it was justified to target civilians in order to defend itself. From an interview with Al-Jazeera he stated, “We do not deny that we have bombarded Israeli cities, settlements and infrastructure. But this was always a reaction.” I wonder if this is how Hezbollah shows off how media saavy they are.
Such a statement can only be expressed by an organization that feels that it has complete immunity from international law and the scrutiny of world opinion.
This sense of immunity results from the satisfaction that the militant organization has gained from its ability to manipulate the press. The pro-Hezbollah bias has continued because the media has now focused on internal rivalries in the Israeli government in an attempt to portray this conflict as a defeat. It is very important to Leftists and Islamists to prove that any military solutions by Israel or the US are futile. The reporting of the media is very consistent with this line of reasoning.
To this day the media has taken an uncritical view on the casualties from this conflict. Hezbollah has declared very few deaths (about 70+) out of the 1,000+ Lebanese that were killed. Israel has confirmed 440 Hezbollah guerillas killed in action and has their names and addresses to prove it. This is only the amount of confirmed dead and the true number is believed to be as high as 700. Yet the media still persists in declaring that the majority of Lebanese killed in the conflict were civilian. Of course some bloggers have made the observation that Hezbollah guerillas are civilians anyways (they are not members of a recognized armed forces), but these militia members are still active combatants and that makes a big difference.
The media has failed to tell the whole story in this conflict and that raises serious questions. Has the media lost any claim to objective reporting? A leading intelligence expert stated that it would take Hezbollah at least two years to rebuild the capabilities it lost in the war with Israel. Where are the stories about the seriousness of the beating that Hezbollah received? Why is there only mention of civilian casualties? Where is the concern about the media’s objectivity in light of the many attempts to falsify its reporting of this conflict (as exposed by observant bloggers)?
The fact that Hezbollah has not restarted hostilities reveals their current weakness. If Israel lost this conflict then why is Hezbollah’s land still occupied? This occupation doesn’t even require Israeli troops. They have the UN and the Lebanese army to do it for them.
Anyways, Hezbollah’s militia is the real occupier. They still violate the sovereignty of the Lebanese government on land internationally recognized to be under the jurisdiction of the central authorities. In addition to the Lebanon’s Taif Accords and UN Resolutions 1559 & 1680, the militia is now illegal under a new Resolution, number 1701. No one can justify their existence.
Things are not going well for them. Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Fuad Saniora, declared that his forces will confiscate any illegal weapons that are displayed in the southern security zone (which is patrolled by the Lebanese army). While the Prime Minister has made it clear that they will not hunt for hidden weapons, it is still a very important step towards the restoration of the authority of the Lebanese government.
Since Lebanon ended its civil war all militias in the country have disbanded except for Hezbollah. This illegal militia has kept the central government out of their territory and has acted as a sovereign nation in its own right. Now the government is gaining a toe-hold in Hezbollah’s heartland and it hurts their massive ego. The weakness that they feel has forced Hezbollah to adopt a hostile tone towards the government at a time when they are proclaiming to represent the interests of all of Lebanon.
Now the commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, General Alain Pellegrini, has said that if the Lebanese army fails to disarm Hezbollah then UN interim forces would act on its own if necessary. While it can be argued that the UN doesn’t really have the will to do so, this is the first time a UN representative has openly declared such a possibility. It indicates how drastically circumstances are changing.
In another PR disaster, Amnesty International accused Hezbollah’s militia of breaking humanitarian law by indiscriminately bombing Israeli cities during the recent conflict. How does Hezbollah counter such accusations? By admitting the truth behind the charges!!!!!!!
Hezbollah legislator Hassan Fadlallah responded by saying that it was justified to target civilians in order to defend itself. From an interview with Al-Jazeera he stated, “We do not deny that we have bombarded Israeli cities, settlements and infrastructure. But this was always a reaction.” I wonder if this is how Hezbollah shows off how media saavy they are.
Such a statement can only be expressed by an organization that feels that it has complete immunity from international law and the scrutiny of world opinion.
This sense of immunity results from the satisfaction that the militant organization has gained from its ability to manipulate the press. The pro-Hezbollah bias has continued because the media has now focused on internal rivalries in the Israeli government in an attempt to portray this conflict as a defeat. It is very important to Leftists and Islamists to prove that any military solutions by Israel or the US are futile. The reporting of the media is very consistent with this line of reasoning.
To this day the media has taken an uncritical view on the casualties from this conflict. Hezbollah has declared very few deaths (about 70+) out of the 1,000+ Lebanese that were killed. Israel has confirmed 440 Hezbollah guerillas killed in action and has their names and addresses to prove it. This is only the amount of confirmed dead and the true number is believed to be as high as 700. Yet the media still persists in declaring that the majority of Lebanese killed in the conflict were civilian. Of course some bloggers have made the observation that Hezbollah guerillas are civilians anyways (they are not members of a recognized armed forces), but these militia members are still active combatants and that makes a big difference.
The media has failed to tell the whole story in this conflict and that raises serious questions. Has the media lost any claim to objective reporting? A leading intelligence expert stated that it would take Hezbollah at least two years to rebuild the capabilities it lost in the war with Israel. Where are the stories about the seriousness of the beating that Hezbollah received? Why is there only mention of civilian casualties? Where is the concern about the media’s objectivity in light of the many attempts to falsify its reporting of this conflict (as exposed by observant bloggers)?
The fact that Hezbollah has not restarted hostilities reveals their current weakness. If Israel lost this conflict then why is Hezbollah’s land still occupied? This occupation doesn’t even require Israeli troops. They have the UN and the Lebanese army to do it for them.
Anyways, Hezbollah’s militia is the real occupier. They still violate the sovereignty of the Lebanese government on land internationally recognized to be under the jurisdiction of the central authorities. In addition to the Lebanon’s Taif Accords and UN Resolutions 1559 & 1680, the militia is now illegal under a new Resolution, number 1701. No one can justify their existence.
12 comments:
This was my last stop today before heading for bed. Nice to retire for the night on an optimistic note.
Now Syria is forced to stage heroic embassy gunfights just to keep themselves in the media. Lebanon has totally rejected Syria and now Syria is waking up to the fact that they were just a pawn to be played by Iran. They have maneuvered themselves into an isolated corner of Middle East politics. Even Hezbollah disdains Syria. Syria's only use is to provide a weapons corridor.
Iran and Hezbollah wouldn't hesitate to take down Syria's Sunni gov't.
Syria has proven oil reserves of 2.5 billion barrels. This sounds like a lot but in truth would keep the United States supplied with oil from January to about the end of May. The only other export that Syria has is terrorism.
Syria should make a bold move and align itself with the West. Unfortunately, reasonable rational decisions are not on their export list.
Kuhnkat,
You have a good point that some Lebanese are furious at Hezbollah for the suffering they have brought that country. Unfortunately, Hezbollah is adept at the philosophy of totalitarian democracy. Their 'one-party' organization uses their subjugation of the masses to rally them around causes that promote Hezbollah's best interests. The Pro-Syrian demonstrations last year are evidence of this.
Therefore, I was a little skeptical that I could get much traction on that point.
You are right we should point out the dissent to the Hezbollah party line. Those who are critical of the Party of God face persecution and should be supported.
AC,
It is true that the Sunni form the majority of the Syrian population, but the government is ruled by Alawites like Farmer John pointed out (he is quite a knowledgeable guy, thanks FJ). There is much resentment of the Alawite regime by the Sunnis, but the Alawites have effectively (and many times brutally) suppressed the majority.
Assad Jr has proved to be a much weaker ruler than his father and his efforts to mimic dad’s policies have been a failure. The assassination of Hariri was a major miscalculation of the regime.
Internally, Assad has initially benefited from backing Hezbollah in this conflict because the party rank and file was thrilled to see some of his father’s adventurism in the lad.
However, he has backed a losing horse in this race and the kidnapping of the two Israeli soldiers is now recognized as a major blunder by Hezbollah.
The terrorist group has gained nothing that it didn’t already have from this conflict. While Israel has gained a buffer zone that is maintained at no expense to them and they have also increased the pressure to disarm Hezbollah’s illegal militia.
Syria has lost every major gamble under Assad Jr’s feeble leadership.
As usual....Excellent post Freedom Now....and some very insightfull comments. Always a pleasure to come over here and read yur post's mate....
I was saying this weeks ago. However, even MZ seems to have absorbed the absurd media spin.
He wants to nail Olmert more than he wants to nail Hezbollah. That is how we get divided during war time.
All I could ask myself last month, was, what did they win? Besides the "hearts and minds" of the msm and moonbats in general?
Totally off topic alert!
Flo is closing down his blog site, seems life has intruded!
Now we return to our regularly scheduled mayhem, er, program!
Good morning, G*D bless and Maranatha!
tmw
Thats a shame!!! I can relate to Flo's dilemma. There isnt enough time in the day to blog. Thanks for the heads up.
Yeah, the hearts and minds of the media and moonbats were already in Hezbollah's corner before the conflict. They both gave the bare minimum of weak condemnations to Hezbollah’s provocations but invariably side with the terrorist organization in every conflict.
oh stop - there is plenty of time in a day to blog - ask any mother! it's called micromanaging - guys may be smarter as recent studies have shown, but - AHA - we have more common sense! and just to show how smart we really are - WE MARRY MEN! well, real women do anyway...
Nanc,
Well I guess guys are just after looks, while women want more substance...
Maybe you are on to something, but its 11:30pm and I have to wake up at 6am so maybe not...
Surfer dude,
Its a crime that Hezbollah hasnt been dismantled yet. However, it just wasnt realistic to expect such a thing.
I wanted to post about the Hezbollah victory celebration today but the transfer of a 2nd province to Iraqi control won out. Its funny that you can never run out of material on this phony Hezbollah victory!!!
Hot Damn!!!!!!!!!
I didnt even hear about this. F'n media!!!
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