Zarqawi calls for disarmament of Hezbollah

[phk]

Zarqawi calls for disarmament of Hezbollah

Head of Iraq's Al-Qaeda accuses Lebanese movement of serving as security wall for Israel against mujahedeen's strikes.

PARIS - The head of the Iraqi branch of Al-Qaeda, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, called Thursday for the disarmament of the Lebanese Shiite fundamentalist movement Hezbollah, according to an audio message posted on the Internet.

Zarqawi accused Hezbollah of serving as a "shield protecting the Zionist enemy (Israel) against the strikes of the mujahedeen in Lebanon," in an apparent reference to Sunni Arab militants loyal to the Al-Qaeda network.

"Why should Hezbollah be exempt from the... Taef accords" which brought an end to fighting in Lebanon's 15-year civil war, a voice purporting to be Iraq's most wanted man asked in the lengthy audio message whose authenticity could not be verified.

"Hezbollah is an independent state inside Lebanon... It puts forth lying slogans about Palestinian liberation when in fact it serves as a security wall (for Israel) and prevents Sunnis from crossing its borders."

Hezbollah has faced growing international pressure to disarm, particularly with the passing of UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which was adopted in September 2004 and called for the disarmament of all militias in Lebanon.

Hezbollah, the only armed group not required to lay down its weapons after the 1975-1990 civil war in Lebanon because it was spearheading the fight against Israel, is considered a terrorist organisation by Washington.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=16627

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Didn't Zarqawi die?

[AkSaber]

Wasn't he whacked over a month ago?

EDIT: Oh, the article is dated 5 days before he died.

[Undisguised Sockpuppet]

Didn't Zarqawi die?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Zarqawi hated Shiites more than the US or Israel, so what's suprising?

[Frodo]

Al Qaeda and Hezbollah are rivals for the hearts and minds of Muslims -it is no surprise that Zarqawi would want to call for the effective elimination of any competitor to Al Qaeda.  Which makes me somewhat worried that if Israel succeeds somehow in destroying Hezbollah, that Al Qaeda would fill the resulting vacuum, and pose an even greater threat to Israel than either the PLO or Hezbollah ever did.   

[John Dibble]

We were told that two 5,000 pound bunker busters pulverized the building Zarkowi was staying in, but yet they had a picture of a dead man who looked like he was layed out in a funeral home.  I don't get it.

If you read other comments, you'd see that the article predates his death.

[dazzleman]

Al Qaeda and Hezbollah are rivals for the hearts and minds of Muslims -it is no surprise that Zarqawi would want to call for the effective elimination of any competitor to Al Qaeda.  Which makes me somewhat worried that if Israel succeeds somehow in destroying Hezbollah, that Al Qaeda would fill the resulting vacuum, and pose an even greater threat to Israel than either the PLO or Hezbollah ever did.   

Interesting point.

It reminds me of one thing I've said a few times -- that the worst thing to happen in the middle east  was when the Iran-Iraq war ended in 1988.  As long as they were fighting each other, the rest of us were better off.  If we could get al-Qaeda fighting Hezbollah into a long-running stalemate, the world would probably be much better off.

[Colin]

Al Qaeda and Hezbollah are rivals for the hearts and minds of Muslims -it is no surprise that Zarqawi would want to call for the effective elimination of any competitor to Al Qaeda.  Which makes me somewhat worried that if Israel succeeds somehow in destroying Hezbollah, that Al Qaeda would fill the resulting vacuum, and pose an even greater threat to Israel than either the PLO or Hezbollah ever did.   

Not really. Sunnis make up a total of about 10% or so of the Lebanese population while Shi'ites make up near to 50% so Al-Qaeda in Lebanon, if such a group were to exist, would have a smaller pool of recruits to draw from. Also simple geography is involved. The Sunnis mostly live in the centre of Lebanon away from the Israeli border and would be out of place, and seriously not welcome, in Shi'ite Southern Lebanon. Al-Qaeda would not draw recruits from Sunni Arabs and Hezbollah would not recruit Sunnis. They aren't fighting for the hearts and minds of the Arabs. You have to remember at one time Hezbollah was the main militia fighting the Sunni Arabs who may be the leaders of "Al-Qaeda in Lebanon". The Civil War is only 16 years removed from the present.

If Hezbollah were to be completely annihilated by Israel, which isn't likely, I seriously doubt that they would find a home in Lebanon. You have a Shi'ite population that has a fierce hatred for the Sunnis, as well as the Druze and Christians, that is still visible from the Lebanese Civil War. They are unlikely to be supportive of Al-Qaeda, though Al-Qaeda may work in conjunction with a Shi'ite group in attacks against Israel. This hypothetical Al-Qaeda in Lebanon would also not have the resources of two larger nations, in this case Syria and Iran, to back their operations nor would they have a large crop of weaponry to draw from, as in Iraq were most of their supplies came from abandoned Iraqi Army arms caches.

Also I think this article shows another truth about the Middle East. That Sunni-Shi'ite hatreds can almost overcome any hatred of the "infidels" and "Zionists". Especially with a rising Iran and Iraq descending into Shi'ite rule the Sunnis are becoming worried that their superiority, both in numbers and militarily, to the Shi'ites is waning and the possibility of an intra-religious war is high.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Besides, al-Qaeda is hardly comparable to Hezbollah, they don't want to destroy just Israel, but every other country in the Middle East. Israel is really no worse than Jordan, Egypt, Iraq or any hypothetical Palestinean state in bin Laden's eyes, they are all illegitimate and should be replaced with a Caliphate.

[Frodo]

Al Qaeda and Hezbollah are rivals for the hearts and minds of Muslims -it is no surprise that Zarqawi would want to call for the effective elimination of any competitor to Al Qaeda.  Which makes me somewhat worried that if Israel succeeds somehow in destroying Hezbollah, that Al Qaeda would fill the resulting vacuum, and pose an even greater threat to Israel than either the PLO or Hezbollah ever did.   

Not really. Sunnis make up a total of about 10% or so of the Lebanese population while Shi'ites make up near to 50% so Al-Qaeda in Lebanon, if such a group were to exist, would have a smaller pool of recruits to draw from. Also simple geography is involved. The Sunnis mostly live in the centre of Lebanon away from the Israeli border and would be out of place, and seriously not welcome, in Shi'ite Southern Lebanon. Al-Qaeda would not draw recruits from Sunni Arabs and Hezbollah would not recruit Sunnis. They aren't fighting for the hearts and minds of the Arabs. You have to remember at one time Hezbollah was the main militia fighting the Sunni Arabs who may be the leaders of "Al-Qaeda in Lebanon". The Civil War is only 16 years removed from the present.

If Hezbollah were to be completely annihilated by Israel, which isn't likely, I seriously doubt that they would find a home in Lebanon. You have a Shi'ite population that has a fierce hatred for the Sunnis, as well as the Druze and Christians, that is still visible from the Lebanese Civil War. They are unlikely to be supportive of Al-Qaeda, though Al-Qaeda may work in conjunction with a Shi'ite group in attacks against Israel. This hypothetical Al-Qaeda in Lebanon would also not have the resources of two larger nations, in this case Syria and Iran, to back their operations nor would they have a large crop of weaponry to draw from, as in Iraq were most of their supplies came from abandoned Iraqi Army arms caches.

Also I think this article shows another truth about the Middle East. That Sunni-Shi'ite hatreds can almost overcome any hatred of the "infidels" and "Zionists". Especially with a rising Iran and Iraq descending into Shi'ite rule the Sunnis are becoming worried that their superiority, both in numbers and militarily, to the Shi'ites is waning and the possibility of an intra-religious war is high.

Point taken, but it's worth remembering each successive terrorist group that Israel has to face in southern Lebanon from the PLO to Hezbollah always tend to be more radical than the last.  If Hezbollah goes, imagine what monstrosity would take its place.