I have always considered Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to be among the most intelligent men of his generation of Lebanese and Arab political figures. However his intelligence betrayed him during his speech on the occasion of Martyr's Day, which also coincided with the anniversary of the passing away of President Yasser Arafat, another martyr. Nasrallah made a mistake when he invoked the so-called Henry Kissinger Letter, and we all make mistakes. However, Nasrallah should have realized that the Zionist pro-Israel Secretary would have never written a confession letter that would incriminate him. What worries me about this is that Nasrallah takes decisions in matters of a very sensitive nature such as those concerned with the confrontation with Israel, Hezbollah's operations, and Arab and Lebanese politics. All these decisions must be based on correct information, because otherwise, this would be a big error and a disaster that would afflict us all. I was surprised that the smart Nasrallah has fallen into the trap of an impossible letter. I was also hurt when he said that the government of Fouad Siniora had been stalling in order to prolong the Israeli war on Lebanon in the summer of 2006. The former Prime Minister responded and denied this, saying that Nasrallah's allegations are dangerous…lack accuracy…are strange…and not well said or accurate. But what this means is that Sayyed Nasrallah has made a mistake. However, Siniora avoided using this word which I believe would have summed up the whole issue well. Before I continue, I want to stress that I am not and will not be bound by any interests of any kind with Fouad Siniora, whether in the past, at present or in the future. Nevertheless, I know him very well, from London to Beirut, as I know his friends. I am thus confident that he is patriotic and that he is a believer. It is impossible for him to go along any Israeli interest against Hezbollah, no matter how bad the internal Lebanese conflict may get. This is not to defend Fouad Siniora, as much as it is to note down a brotherly remark for the leader of the resistance. If I made a mistake, this would affect me alone. However, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has vital or crucial responsibilities. And since I will continue to side with him against Israel whether he makes a mistake or not, I need to trust that Nasrallah is correct in his stances against Israel, because I would submit to them and endorse them without questioning whether they are wrong or whether they are correct. I don't know whether there are many Lebanese like me who support Hezbollah against Israel absolutely. However, I believe that Hezbollah will benefit greatly if it sought to expand its support base beyond the Shiite community. While Nasrallah attempted to reassure the Lebanese in his speech, the threatening tone was more prevalent. The following information is true: - The Special Tribunal for Lebanon was established by a UN Security Council resolution, and thus can neither be abolished nor amended except by another UN Security Council resolution. - An indictment is not a conviction, even if many known parties will consider it a final verdict. In criminal cases, doubt is on the side of the defendant. - Perhaps the indictment is a Franco-American “conspiracy”, but it is not a U.S-Israeli conspiracy. Israel is a despicable and vile state, and the majority of the UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions condemn it, and these would have been many times more were it not for the U.S. veto. - Israel has benefited from the resolution and the tribunal, but this does not mean it is behind this or that, and Israel is less significant to influence this. - If an indictment is issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, then I hope that Hezbollah will have experts in international and Lebanese law to refute and respond to the charges, and hope that the party leadership will heed their opinions because they would be better versed on legal matters than the leadership can be. - It is wiser for Hezbollah to save its efforts to attack the indictment when it is issued, instead of attacking something that has not yet come to pass. - There is a possibility that some of the leaks were deliberate lies, designed to provoke Hezbollah and lure it to create controversy, which is what has happened so far. - Hezbollah must avoid everything that would hurt the Lebanese economy, since its popular support base is part of this economy. - What is needed is for us to resist Israel, not to fight each other, or make the task easier for both nearby and faraway enemies. Yesterday, I read an editorial in the New York Times that goes beyond Hezbollah in that it incites against Syria because of its ties to the resistance, but I shall elaborate on that tomorrow. Returning to the first point I made in the course of the above information, if all three Lebanese leaders went to the Security Council to ask for the resolution on the tribunal to be repealed, this would need a new resolution without any veto by one of the permanent five members of the council, specifically the United States. For this reason, I share Hezbollah's concern that the tribunal may be politicized, since the U.S. administration has placed Hezbollah in a tough corner, and will not allow it to escape without a price. The situation is critical, and Israel benefits from every error committed by Hezbollah, and we all pay the price. But perhaps Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will be reassured by the strength of Saudi-Syrian ties, as each country is capable of convincing its allies not to get mired in an internal confrontation which, should it start, only God know how it would end. In the meantime, I say: everyone makes mistakes. [email protected]
