Sunday, August 06, 2006

Is Nasrallah Facing His Vietnam?

Ahmed Al-Jarallah, Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times, writes that Nasrallah is now facing the prospect of something that till now has only haunted the US: the Q-word:
HASSAN Nasrallah is in a quagmire. If, according to his own statements, Nasrallah knew Israel would attack Lebanon between September and November, if he was aware the Zionist enemy was ready for war and if he had received this information, which even the Pentagon and CIA could not receive, why did he give Israel an opportunity to launch the war before time by kidnapping two of its soldiers? Nasrallah has called for the beginning of a second phase of this war.
In what he calls "Beyond Haifa," Nasrallah says his fighters will begin rocket attacks deeper into Israel, south of Haifa. We wonder if Nasrallah took any time to review his achievements in the first phase of the war against the enemy before thinking about the next. So far his only achievements have been causing the destruction of Lebanon's infrastructure and killing of innocent Lebanese. If he begins the second phase the only result will be wiping out of whatever remains of Lebanon's infrastructure and killing of the rest of the Lebanese.

...Dictatorial decisions taken by a single man like Nasrallah, who gets instructions from foreign countries, will always lead to sorrow.
The US was supposed to have been a quagmire in Vietnam.
The US now is supposed to be a quagmire in Iraq.
Is Nasrallah now stuck in a quagmire too?

According to Al-Jarallah, the fact that Iran is now supporting the proposal for a cease-fire indicates that Iran is afraid of losing the war and wants to cut its losses--but if so, the message is lost on Nasrallah. Nasrallah apparently believes he is a link in the chain of great Arab leaders, but if so--he is the weakest link:
Nasrallah's dictatorship will sink like those of Saddam Hussein and other regimes, which did not know their true ability. Egyptians suffered under the dictatorship of the late Gamal Abdul Nasser who led them to war in 1967. The late Egyptian President believed Arab power can defeat Israel. However, the result was different as Arabs were handed out a humiliating defeat. Nasrallah, who is being remote-controlled by Iran and Syria, believes he is in the mold of many Arab leaders. But the fact is he is playing with fire.
And when the smoke has cleared, the Lebanese may ultimately hold Iran and Syria responsible as the force behind Hezbollah, but Nasrallah will be closest at hand.

How long can he hide in the Iranian embassy?

Technorati Tag: and and and and .

No comments: