Nasrallah can't find his smoking gun

Hezbollah leader Nasrallah had his press conference today to present the evidence that it was the Israelis who were responsible for the assassination of PM Rafik Hariri He promised to provide 'definitive' proof of Israeli involvement and instead what he provided was proof of Israeli air reconnaissance over Lebanon.

Really – he did. Actually, there was no evidence provided that the actual photographs were taken by the Israelis but Nasrallah's word. I can't stop my eyerolling – so instead read the Lebanon Daily Star's recap:

Nasrallah disclosed that in 1997, the resistance intercepted Israeli transmissions from its aerial reconnaissance aircraft, and he aired a series of excerpts of this footage, predating Hariri’s February 14, 2005, killing.

The footage was divided into three sections: it covered extensive shots of the area between the St. George Club, where Hariri was killed by a truck bomb, and the late premier’s residence in Qoreitem, with repeated shots of turns in the road along Corniche al-Manara. Nasrallah said the footage indicated that the Israelis were likely studying methods of carrying out bombings and assassinations, since official motorcades slow down at such turns.

The footage included shots of what Nasrallah said was Hariri’s path to his vacation residence in Faqra, Kesrouan, as well as the city of Sidon, with a focus on the residence of his brother, Shafik. “And there are no Hizbullah centers or homes of officials in these areas,” he said.

Nasrallah added that the resistance had begun assembling the footage only in the last two years, from an accumulated store of material, and hadn’t had time to compile similar excerpts of Israeli reconnaissance around the areas frequented by other politicians who were assassinated in the wake of Hariri’s killing. “This isn’t definitive proof,” he said, “but it opens up new horizons for the investigations.” Nasrallah added that the aerial reconnaissance footage was necessarily incomplete, because the resistance was unable to crack some of its encoding. “Just because we don’t have footage of [a given location], doesn’t mean the Israelis didn’t take pictures of it,” he said.

And the Israeli kill kittens too – just ask Nasrallah. If he looks long enough he can probably scrounge around the Hezbollah archives for aerial photographs of kitten deaths and provide testimony from an accused Israeli spy who witnessed it too!

xp: The Last Exile

the Lebanese version of special delivery mail

The BBC reports six bombs went off in Beirut yesterday on the eve of national reconcilation talks.

Six makeshift bombs exploded in the Corniche al-Mazraa area of central Beirut overnight on Sunday, Lebanese security officials say.

They caused damage to cars and shops but no casualties.

The blasts were in an area where sectarian clashes took place in May, shortly before the agreement to form a national unity government.

Oh, did I mention the discussion of Hezbollah's arms are tabled for discussion at the national reconcilation talks?

Family Feud

If you still had any questions concerning Hezbollah’s state-within-a-state status within Lebanon, this Ynet News report should be clarifying:

Hizbullah shot down the Lebanese military helicopter earlier on Thursday over the village of Sejoud – sources close to the Shiite group confirmed to Lebanese media. The attack resulted in the death of the pilot, identified as First Lieutenant Samer Hanna. Two other military men who were traveling in the helicopter were wounded in the crash.

The reports, attributed to media associated with the anti-Syrian camp in Lebanon, assert Hizbullah intentionally shot down the chopper: "The helicopter was downed because it crossed the red lines which Hizbullah warned the ministry of defense and military not to go over. "Hizbullah informed them it was their obligation to uphold this. Hizbullah believes that that the ministry of defense and army headquarters did not know that the helicopter entered the no-fly zone."

Hizbullah issued a formal announcement in which it denounced the incident. The organization said however that the region in question was "sensitive" for Hizbullah.

In a move which seems quick to deflect and assign blame for the incident on the ‘anti-Syrian’ elements for the incident there was this statement issued:

But despite the sources' claims, Lebanese officials Ynet spoke with questioned Hizbullah's involvement. They noted that the reports originated from the anti-Syrian camp, which is extremely hostile to Hizbullah. "At present time there are no official reports in Lebanon indicating this," the officials said.

Of course, well all know Hezbollah wouldn’t spill Lebanese blood in pursuit of their agenda…unless the so-called Lebanese are Sunni, Druze or Maronites…I am only surprised no one blamed Zionist fairies with rpg’s.

Hezbollah has found a beard

There are two stories coming out of Lebanon which are rather noteworthy. The first happened earlier in the week when Hezbollah received full veto power in the ‘new’ Lebanese administration. This report from the Daily News of Bahrain:

BEIRUT: Hizbollah and its allies solidified their hold on Lebanon's government yesterday with the formation of a national unity cabinet in which the opposition has veto power over government decisions.Still, the Western-backed parliamentary majority managed to deny the Hizbollah-led opposition any of the most important Cabinet positions, except for the one it had already held - foreign affairs.

Cabinet positions or not, chalk it down to an another win-win for the Hezzies. Then there is this report early morning report inthe Jerusalem Post:

In what is being interpreted in Israel as a declaration of ownership, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has built a road and set up a military position in the Shaba Farms/ Mount Dov area for the first time since Israel's withdrawal from that part of Lebanon in 2000.

Israeli defense officials confirmed the move, which was first reported in the Lebanese media, but would not comment on its significance. According to the reports, the LAF paved a road into the Bastara Farm, which is on the Lebanese side of the Blue Line international border and lies just 300 meters away from the land that Israel conquered in 1967.

A ten hour break from the computer and the first story which catches my eye is this one where the rhetoric is decidedly heating up at the Jerusalem Post:

Should diplomacy fail to return "Israeli-occupied land" to Lebanon, the Lebanese army (LAF) will take it by force, Lebanese President Gen. Michel Sueleiman said on Sunday. Suleiman was speaking at a press conference after meeting Syrian President Bashar Assad on the sidelines of the Mediterranean conference in Paris. The Lebanese president stressed, however, that the military option was the last resort. Assad said Lebanon had an important role to play in the Middle East peace process and that any progress in future Israel-Lebanon negotiations would be made in coordination with Syria.

Mighty feisty words coming from Sueleiman. After all, he was the commander and chief of the LAF who signed off on the 3 month siege of a refugee camp inhibited by approximately only 100 ‘militants’. Not exactly what I would call a great or stunningly brilliant military operation but now he thinks he’s ready to take on the IDF. While it is true Israel failed to accomplish her twofold objectives of the Lebanon war, the fact remains, the Israelis owned every single battlefield as well as the skies over Lebanon.

Shi'ite Solidarity in Lebanon

Ynet News:

At least two people were killed and 41 wounded on Wednesday in renewed sectarian clashes in Lebanon's second largest city Tripoli, security sources said. Explosions and machinegun fire rocked the city from midnight as Sunni Muslim supporters of the government and Alawite gunmen close to the Shiite Hizbullah-led opposition battled on the outskirts of the mainly Sunni Muslim port.

The fighting began after four grenades were fired at a street separating the Sunni Bab Tibbaneh district and Alawite Jabal Mohsen district, scenes of deadly clashes last month.

The sources said two people, one from each side, were killed and 41 were wounded, including two Lebanese soldiers. Army units, which had deployed in the area to end last month's clashes, appeared to be caught in the crossfire and unable to intervene, they said.

I think one would be hard pressed to find a more apt motto for the Lebanese Army ‘caught in the crossfire and unable to intervene’.