Bill Clinton: "Hezbollah can't have it both ways"

[sabra]

http://www.komotv.com/stories/44690.htm

<snip>

"Hezbollah can't have it both ways," Clinton said to me after his speech. "They can't run down there and deliver social services and be the good guys and get in the government, and then turn around and shell Israel with a hundred missiles a day and drive a hundred people away from their homes, and not expect a response."

Clinton spoke optimistically about plans for peace in the Middle East, but criticized the Bush Administration on everything from its handling of the situation in Iraq to issues about the environment.

[ShortnFiery]

1. That's just sad, Big Dog has become a Lap Dog ...

for the DLC. :(

[blue2helix]

2. Actually, this is a risky statement

This is a very clever way of saying that Hez has a right to exist as a genuine political/social organization, provided that it truly abandon terrorist activity. I don't think I've heard such a bold pronouncement from any US politician.

(And yes, I'm pissed at him for helping Lieberman and trying to appeal to right wingers for Hillary's sake)

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Bingo, but watch

:popcorn:

[cali]

5. Agreed.

That's exactly what he said.

[calmblueocean]

7. Clinton's smart as hell.

That's how you defuse tensions. Show a path to resolution. Wish he was handling this mess instead W.

[Finder]

9. Exactly what he said about the IRA and he is correct. n/t

[Solly Mack]

11. That's the way I'm reading the intent of his statement

[frankieT]

12. what terrorist activities ?

I read that last terrorist attack by Hezbollah was a bombing in 1992 in Argentina.
Attacks and skirmishes with IDF and other border incidents are not exactly terrorist activities.

But I agree with Clinton, Hezbollah is useful in Lebanon politics to represent the disadvantaged shia of the south, they have a record of taking good care of their interests and being the less corrupted political party in Lebanon. But they shouldn't control South Lebanon with weapons and leave this task to the national army.

I guess Israel should retreat from Shebaa farms, exchange prisoners and give Lebanon the map of the +300.000 land mines they left.

[Laotra]

18. Real problem - Shia underrepresented under Taif

SyriaComment:

"The Lebanese root cause of this problem is that the Shi'ites are terribly under-represented in parliament. They have been kept at the bottom of the Lebanese political heap despite being the largest sectarian community in Lebanon. They accepted this position in the 1989 Taif Accords, largely because Syria allowed them to keep their weapons. Since Syria left Lebanon in 2005 the other Lebanese communities – Sunnis, Druze, and Christian - have been demanding that Hezbollah give up its military weapons. At the same time, they have refused to allow the Shiites their proper constitutional role in government. They can’t have it both ways. If a deal to disarm Hizbullah is to be made in Lebanon, the Shi'ites, who represent 40 per cent of the population, will have to get close to 40 percent representation in parliament. This is going to be a major headache.

America professes that it wants a democratic solution to the Middle East, but it is refusing to promote true democracy in Lebanon. This is an analogy to the Hamas problem in Palestine and it is one of the reasons why Hezbollah and Hamas find themselves on the same side and why Arabs throughout the Middle East are rooting for them. So long as there is no solution to this fundamental injustice, there will be no peace in the Middle East. American and Israeli military might is no replacement for equity, justice and democracy.

The way Hezbollah has justified maintaining its arms is by focusing on its resistance role. If you want to eliminate that role of resistance, Hezbollah is going to have to be brought into the political center of Lebanon’s government so it becomes an established power, not an outsider throwing stones at a government dominated by others.

Syria helped broker the Taif accord, along with Saudi Arabia and America. The Americans were interested in maintaining Christian power in Lebanon, which they succeeded in doing by making sure that the Christian seats in the Lebanese parliament were not reduced below 50 per cent even though they constitute roughly 40% of the Lebanese population. The Saudis were interested in maintaining Sunni power in Lebanon which they succeeded in doing by making the Sunnis the most over-represented community in Lebanon - they were allotted the same number of seats as the Shi’ites even though the Sunnis are half as numerous. So in effect, a Sunni Lebanese is worth two Shi’a Lebanese in political terms. The Syrians went along with the deal because they wanted to look like good actors and, most importantly, because they were going to disarm the Sunnis and Christians and allow the Shi’ites to maintain their military weapons to act as a resistance to Israel. This allows Syria to maintain pressure on Israel to give back the Golan Heights.

All the outside actors were happy and the Shi’ites were compensated for their under-representation in constitutional power by gaining extra-constitutional powers in the form of the right to bear arms. Now the international community, Saudi Arabia and the US most particularly, wants to disarm Hizbullah without compensating the Shi’ites. Syria is not going to stand by and watch this happen. This also means that the Taif Accord is now effectively dead."

http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/L/Joshua.M.Landis-1/syriablog/index.html

[blue2helix]

22. Informative

Thanks

[donsu]

3. neither can Bill have it both ways - he can fight for america or fight

for the neo cons

[truebrit71]

6. Agreed 100%...you don't suppose that all of his remarks are carefully...

...shaded not to piss off the base of his spouse's upcoming election/Presidential run do you?

Mr President, you disappoint me sir...

[WA98296]

10. Agreed totally!

[bigtree]

8. It might make sense if Hizbollah was getting the brunt of the 'response'

However, the Lebanese civilians are bearing the weight of Israel's deadly reprisals while Hizbollah continues, mostly unabated.

To suggest that this assault has been Israel against Hizbollah is an amazing simplification of events. I imagine that was his goal in this calculated statement. Politics. That seems to be all that our party is concerned with in regard to this conflict.

[Poll_Blind]

13. Almost 4 years ago to today...Bill Clinton said:

NEW YORK - Former President Bill Clinton, who avoided the Vietnam War, told
Jewish supporters in Toronto that he would fight and die to protect Israel if
Iraq ever invaded.

"I would personally get in a ditch, grab a rifle, and fight and die," Clinton
said to cheers at a Hadassah children's charity fund-raising dinner this week.
His comments were first reported in the Toronto Star.

You can Google this for more.

PB

[partylessinOhio]

15. Sigh...

Go to it if you're that stupid.

[flpoljunkie]

14. Recommend that Clinton read this from Tel Aviv prof Tanya Reinhart...

http://www.counterpunch.org/reinhart07272006.html

Burning Lebanon

Israel's New Middle East

By TANYA REINHART

Tel Aviv

]Beirut is burning, hundreds of Lebanese die, hundreds of thousands lose all they ever owned and become refugees, and all the world is doing is rescuing the "foreign passport" residents of what was just two weeks ago "the Paris of the Middle East". Lebanon must die now, because "Israel has the right to defend itself", so goes the U.S. mantra, used to block any international attempt to impose a cease fire. Israel, backed by the U.S., portrays its war on Lebanon as a war of self defense. It is easy to sell this message to mainstream media, because the residents of the North of Israel are also in shelters, bombarded and endangered. Israel's claim that no country would let such an attack on its residents unanswered, finds many sympathetic ears. But let us reconstruct exactly how it all started.

On Wednesday, July 12, a Hezbollah unit attacked two armored Jeeps of the Israeli army, patrolling along Israel's border with Lebanon. Three Israeli soldiers were killed in the attack and two were taken hostage. In a news conference held in Beirut a couple of hours later, Hezbollah's leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah explained that their aim was to reach a prisoner exchange, where in return for the two captured Israeli soldiers, Israel would return three Lebanese prisoners it had refused to release in a previous prisoner exchange. Nasrallah declared that "he did not want to drag the region into war", but added that "our current restraint is not due to weakness ... if they choose to confront us, they must be prepared for surprises."

The Israeli government, however, did not give a single moment for diplomacy, negotiations, or even cool reflection over the situation. In a cabinet meeting that same day, it authorized a massive offensive on Lebanon.As Ha'aretz reported, "In a sharp departure from Israel's response to previous Hezbollah attacks, the cabinet session unanimously agreed that the Lebanese government should be held responsible for yesterday's events." Olmert declared: "This morning's events are not a terror attack, but the act of a sovereign state that attacked Israel for no reason and without provocation." He added that "the Lebanese government, of which Hezbollah is a part, is trying to undermine regional stability. Lebanon is responsible, and Lebanon will bear the consequences of its actions."

At the cabinet meeting, "the IDF recommended various operations aimed at the Lebanese government and strategic targets in Lebanon", as well as a comprehensive attack on southern Lebanon (where Hezbollah's batteries of rockets are concentrated). The government immediately approved both recommendatons. The spirit of the cabinet's decision was succinctly summarized by Defense Minister Amir Perertz who said: "We're skipping the stage of threats and going straight to action."

<>It was at that point, early on Wednesday night, following the first Israeli attack, that Hezbollah started its rocket attack on the north of Israel. Later the same night (before the dawn of Thursday), Israel launched its first attack on Beirut, when Israeli warplanes bombed Beirut's international airport and killed at least 27 Lebanese civilians in a series of raids. In response, Hezbollah's rocket attacks intensified on Thursday, when "more than 100 Katyusha rockets were fired into Israel from Lebanon in the largest attack of its sort since the start of the Lebanon War in 1982". Two Israeli civilians were killed in this attack, and 132 were taken to the hospital. When Israel started destroying the Shiite quarters of Beirut the following day, including a failed attempt on Nasrallah's life, Hezbollah extended its rockets attacks to Haifa.

more...

[daa]

16. Clinton is looking out for Clinton

I think he wants to be like Lieberman and get in good with the RW and then when they start quoting him he thinks he will hav ehis credibility back. Problem is, as he gains credibility with the RW he loses it with us.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

17. But isn't that EXACTLY what we do in Iraq?

:shrug:

[xultar]

19. DING! DING! DING! But...we're building schools...then rape and burn

your sister and kill the rest of your family.

[warrens]

20. Israel can't have it both ways either

Condemning terrorism while it terrorizes civilians.

[jpkenny]

21. Somthing that is worth pointing out to the choir but the people who need

to understand this have blindfolds over their eyes and ear plugs in their ears.

[newyawker99]

23. Hi jpkenny!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast: