“Let us overcome all this and calm the situation and form a national emergency government where there will be genuine partnership to save our country. Congratulations and may God’s peace and blessings be upon you. I beseech the young men not to fire shots in the air. This is a very bad custom. Those who want to get rid of the bullets they have in their houses let them send them to me and I will take them and thank them for this.”
More on Israel’s Heartthrob …
(Hezbollah leader) Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah drives everybody crazy in Israel. He sits there with this very calm voice. He is never angry, he doesn’t curse, in a way he even looks gentle. For that, our political leaders and the military wanted to take revenge.
Military Revolt …?
“There are four or five generals and admirals we know of who would resign if Bush ordered an attack on Iran,” a source with close ties to British intelligence said. “There is simply no stomach for it in the Pentagon, and a lot of people question whether such an attack would be effective or even possible.”
The propaganda wars are in full swing in the British press. Let the leaks continue …
ADDENDUM: It seems Sy Hersh has prepared an update on US war plans. I think I am on record here saying that Hersh sometimes gets played by his sources and cherry-picks and then over-inflates evidence to fit his particular narrative, but his work is unparalleled here in the US. If it is somewhat conspiratorial in form and content, it seems a necessary evil in the national security state. It is also a bit funny that Nasrallah says he is willing to talk to the Americans, but Jumblatt says he cannot talk to Hizbullah. I had thought Hersh was coming out with a piece on the Hariri assassination. I guess not.
Ecce Homo …
Some on this blog have a fascination with Hizbullah leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. It’s hard not to, regardless of your opinion of the group. I, myself, have written:
(Although I would add at the risk of being criticized that Nasrallah is the very image of Lebanese patience, sophistication, and cunning and I imagine it would be quite fun to hear his stories of dealing with some of the stone-age cretins he must come across when travelling to Iran and across the clerical world and hearing about his dealing with the cold-war, cold-brain miscreants within the Syrian Leviathan.)
Leaving aside the young women who wrote him love letters (bech, do you have something to confess?) during last summer’s war with Israel, it seems Nasrallah is also the most popular leader throughout the Arab world, according to a recent study. A summer poll also found that Israelis found him much more trustworthy and in possession of leadership qualities absent from Israel’s political elite.
To my mind, he is no “angel,” but he is a master politician, endowed with the intellect and psychological insights such status requires. To be sure, the demogoguery is there, but he is able to project an authenticity and sensitivity that is rare to say the least.
Love him, hate him, whatever, but he is something to behold.
Remarkz 