A Proxy War Between Iran & The United States
Elza S. Maalouf
"Lebanon has become a proxy battleground for Iran" said Druze Leader Walid Jumblat, most senior Lebanese polititian and a close ally of Prime Minister Saniora.
Iran, defiant about its nuclear program, is using Hezbollah to hit the US at 'home' in Isarel. It looks like both countries are flexing their muscles while squishing Lebanon in the process. If this is Iran's war, and Iran being 'the birthplace of suicide bombers' during the 1980-88 Iraq/Iran war, how can Israel eliminate that through bombing Lebanon?
It was during that war that Ayatollah Khumeini made the decision to balance out Iran's military inferiority by propagating the martyr ideology. The most famous martyrs were 12 to 13 year old boys who strapped bombs around their waists and threw themselves under Iraqi tanks. This mantle is taken on today by few brain washed Palestinians and members of Hezbollah. Those 'believers' cannot imagine something more 'beautiful' than death as a martyr. Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's Leader, boasts with pride when talking about his 'martyr' son who died fighting the Israelis in the 80s. Nasrallah believes that his son's martyrdom will garantee the whole family's 'entry to heaven'.
Iran Today
Unlike the rest of the Arab world where most governments spoke out against Hezbollah contradicting the Arab population who are in full support of Hezbollah's 'resistence', Iran's government is trying to convince Iranians of the 'just' cause of Hezbollah. Most Iranians are indifferent towards the Palestinians or Hezbollah and 'silently' oppose their government in its support Hezbollah's offensive. Their focus is on their decaying infrastructure and economic problems brought about by blinded ambition to become THE superpower in the region. The Iranian people do not understand why their current government has to pour 100s of millions of dollars into Hezbollah coffers; more than 1 billion/year to subsidize Syria's fuel shortage. One of the most frustrating facts to Iranians is that their oil-rich country has to pay $7 billion/year to subsudize their gazoline, 46% of Iran's gazoline is imported. Iran lacks refining capacity and the government spend money on military equipment and support of terrorism before they spend it on infrastructure.
Iran's goal is to assume the role of the leader of the Arab world and the Muslim world, and to import Khumeini's version of Islam to these countries and redeem the unatainable glory of the Shia sect.
Did Iran create Hezbollah?
Khumeini's revolution started few years before Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, and the PLO were expelled from Beirut. A faction of the Shia in Lebanon who did not benefit from Amal, the existing Shia militia at the time , saught help from the Iranians who were looking to spread the Khumeini vision to all Shia in the Muslim world and to the Muslim world period. The Shia sect that follows the teachings of Imam Ali (the Prophet's cousin) was historically treated as 2nd class religion in Islam. And the Shia living in the Arab countries were/are treated as 2nd class citizens.
Iranian revolutionary guards and Iranian activists helped start Hezbollah in Lebanon in 1982. Hezbollah now is a more independent entity, however supported and financed by Iran. It remains a vanguard Islamist organization with similar values to other Sunni Islamist organization in the region.
(...more in tomorrow's post)
Iran, defiant about its nuclear program, is using Hezbollah to hit the US at 'home' in Isarel. It looks like both countries are flexing their muscles while squishing Lebanon in the process. If this is Iran's war, and Iran being 'the birthplace of suicide bombers' during the 1980-88 Iraq/Iran war, how can Israel eliminate that through bombing Lebanon?
It was during that war that Ayatollah Khumeini made the decision to balance out Iran's military inferiority by propagating the martyr ideology. The most famous martyrs were 12 to 13 year old boys who strapped bombs around their waists and threw themselves under Iraqi tanks. This mantle is taken on today by few brain washed Palestinians and members of Hezbollah. Those 'believers' cannot imagine something more 'beautiful' than death as a martyr. Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's Leader, boasts with pride when talking about his 'martyr' son who died fighting the Israelis in the 80s. Nasrallah believes that his son's martyrdom will garantee the whole family's 'entry to heaven'.
Iran Today
Unlike the rest of the Arab world where most governments spoke out against Hezbollah contradicting the Arab population who are in full support of Hezbollah's 'resistence', Iran's government is trying to convince Iranians of the 'just' cause of Hezbollah. Most Iranians are indifferent towards the Palestinians or Hezbollah and 'silently' oppose their government in its support Hezbollah's offensive. Their focus is on their decaying infrastructure and economic problems brought about by blinded ambition to become THE superpower in the region. The Iranian people do not understand why their current government has to pour 100s of millions of dollars into Hezbollah coffers; more than 1 billion/year to subsidize Syria's fuel shortage. One of the most frustrating facts to Iranians is that their oil-rich country has to pay $7 billion/year to subsudize their gazoline, 46% of Iran's gazoline is imported. Iran lacks refining capacity and the government spend money on military equipment and support of terrorism before they spend it on infrastructure.
Iran's goal is to assume the role of the leader of the Arab world and the Muslim world, and to import Khumeini's version of Islam to these countries and redeem the unatainable glory of the Shia sect.
Did Iran create Hezbollah?
Khumeini's revolution started few years before Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, and the PLO were expelled from Beirut. A faction of the Shia in Lebanon who did not benefit from Amal, the existing Shia militia at the time , saught help from the Iranians who were looking to spread the Khumeini vision to all Shia in the Muslim world and to the Muslim world period. The Shia sect that follows the teachings of Imam Ali (the Prophet's cousin) was historically treated as 2nd class religion in Islam. And the Shia living in the Arab countries were/are treated as 2nd class citizens.
Iranian revolutionary guards and Iranian activists helped start Hezbollah in Lebanon in 1982. Hezbollah now is a more independent entity, however supported and financed by Iran. It remains a vanguard Islamist organization with similar values to other Sunni Islamist organization in the region.
(...more in tomorrow's post)
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