The master of Lebanon
Peace In Our Time Update: “Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah: The Disarmament of Hizbullah Should Not Be Discussed Now.” from MEMRI:
The following are excerpts from a speech delivered by Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, which aired on Al-Manar TV on August 14, 2006.
TO VIEW THIS CLIP: http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=1236 .
“We are Facing a Strategic and Historic Victory”
Hassan Nasrallah: “We are facing a strategic and historic victory. This is no exaggeration. This is a victory for Lebanon — all of Lebanon — for the resistance, and for the entire [Islamic] nation.”
[…]
“What is strange is that the debate revolved around the status of the weapons and the resistance south of the Litani River. Nobody is asking Lebanon now – not even the enemy or the international community – to rush into the disarming of the resistance. This issue is included in the long-term treatment, the permanent solution, and so on. But unfortunately, some have been saying that if there must be disarmament south of the [Litani] River, what will the weapons of the resistance north of it and in all Lebanon be good for? Therefore, we must start discussing all these weapons now… It is not, in fact, a discussion. They did not bring it up for discussion. They are demanding to put an end to this issue. This issue, my dears, will not be determined in this manner, and in such haste. I recommend that no one turn to provocations, intimidation, or pressure, using humanitarian arguments or arguments pertaining to security.
“We know that one of the most important goals of the recent American-Israeli war in Lebanon was the removal of these weapons. But they could not do this.”
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“Some say that removing the weapons of the resistance is a basic condition for the building of a strong and capable country. I say the opposite. The building of a strong and capable country, a country of resistance which provides a sense of security, should naturally take place before that country turns to the Lebanese people, to the people of the South, and says to them: Our people, we constitute a strong, capable country, a country of resistance that can defend your honor, your blood, your dignity, and your pride, and you have no need for the popular frameworks known as the resistance, or for the private weapons of the resistance.”