thoughtmechanics

In his victory speech, Hassan Nasrallah invited all of Lebanon to join in, for victory belonged to the whole nation and not to Hizbullah alone. This was among some of the many resounding messages that Nasrallah had to offer during the speech he made in Beirut’s southern district.

Hassan Nasrallah came across as not only the leader of the victorious Hizbullah, but as a political force to be reckoned with in Lebanon and beyond. Perhaps the most spectacular aspect of his speech, aside from the fact that he took the risk to put in a live appearance in order to make it, is the fact that it was measured, humble and not boastful.

Even when referring to the accomplishments of the Islamic Resistance, he spoke with restraint, but also with dead-serious conviction that did indeed convince. In my opinion, I think that this is a speech of historic dimensions. Those who sit in positions of power in the Middle East, including Israel, and also those in the US and Europe, would do well to sit up and listen to what he has to say…

Here are some of the highlights which relate to the whole region and I believe to be noteworthy:

“We are neither a disorganized and sophistic resistance, nor a resistance gone to ground, that sees before it nothing but soil. Nor are we a resistance of chaos.

The pious, God-reliant, loving, and knowledgeable resistance is also the conscious, wise, trained and equipped resistance that has plans. This is the secret of the victory we are today celebrating, brothers and sisters.???

The message is obvious: if there is to be a resistance to US and Israeli plans in the region, then this must be a resistance that is not only based on faith in God, but perhaps more importantly, based on appropriate preparedness, both mental and material, and with well thought out plans.

This message rang out loud and clear across the whole Middle East. If anything, the victory that Hizbullah brought to Lebanon, and to the people of the whole Middle East, is a shift in perception. This shift has revealed that Israel and the US can be defeated when those who resist are steadfast, organized and well equipped.

To underscore this message of strength, Nasrallah then goes on to describe the Arab ‘initiative’ at the UN:

“Yesterday, a group of Arab states went to the Security Council to beg for peace and a settlement. I tell them: I am not speaking to you about removing Israel, I am speaking to you about the settlement you want. How can you obtain an honourable settlement, while you announce day and night that you will not fight????

This must have sent shivers down the spines of ‘leaders’ in various Arab capitals. Nasrallah’s fight is tactical. He is interested in very specific gains. He is not fighting an ideological war that can be won only when Israel ceases to exist. That is not his goal. The Islamic resistance has specific aims and plans for attaining them. This is the secret to Hizbullah’s success. It also takes most of the hot air out of Israeli arguments that they are involved in an ‘existential’ war.

On the other hand, other Arab states are consumed in ideological battles that can only lead to embarrassment and failure. While playing to the lowest common sentiments on the street with grandiose claims and ideological flourishes, the leaders of these states must then admit that they are too weak to ‘throw’ Israel into the sea, or to ‘wipe them off the map’. Because of this grandstanding, Nasrallah goes on to imply:

“How can these states secure a just and honourable settlement between quotes? Does Israel recognize them in the first place? I tell you: The Israelis today view the Resistance and the men of the resistance in Lebanon with great respect.???

Hizbullah, with its limited but well defined goals, has managed to get the respect that all Arab armies have failed to muster in all the past wars with Israel. This message was clear from the very first days of the war, when Israeli incursions were repelled again and again by Hizbullah, all the way to the end of the war.

But before he moves on to speak about the internal situation in Lebanon, he also makes a statement about Palestine. He derides the Arab leaders who pay lip-service to the Palestinian ‘cause’ and yet remain silent on the issues that matter:

“Until when will this silence continue? Until when will we endure this shame? Nobody is asking you to deploy your armies to defend the Palestinian people. Let us just give support to these people, be it moral, political, financial, or armament. In Palestine, there are leaders, scholars, factions, movements, youths, men, women and children who can repeat the divine miracle [Hizbullah’s victory] in the land of Palestine.???

Perhaps the most worrisome aspect of all this, both for Israel and the US, is the dawning awareness that Hizbullah is not merely a religious organization, but truly a resistance movement that is offering itself as a model for oppressed people throughout the Middle East and, perhaps, beyond.