Revolutionary Guards Assistance to Hizbullah
The following are excerpts from the Saudi funded Al-Sharq Al-Awsat report on aid extended to Hizbullah by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. The Lebanese group has never denied the backing of Iran, much the contrary, they have publicly stated their pride towards this. Some of our readers have clearly expressed their objection to Hizbullah, while others have expressed their backing to it due to the continous Israeli aggression. The questions I ask are the following: does Hizbullah have the right to be trained by Iran? Does Israel have the right to be armed by the USA? What makes it right for one and wrong for the other?
I leave it to you to decide.
mrtez
“Hundreds of Hizbullah fighters currently confronting Israel’s military array took part in special training courses at the Revolutionary Guards bases in Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad and Ahvaz. According to a high-ranking [Revolutionary] Guards officer, who trained one of the Hizbullah naval units, Hizbullah has many surprises up its sleeve. Until now, there has been no direct confrontation between Hizbullah and the Israeli navy, [but] one of the Israeli navy’s ships was attacked with C802 missiles with the help of Revolutionary Guards [fighters] stationed in Lebanon. Hizbullah has a divers’ unit and a naval commando unit [equipped] with Chinese-made Ho-Dong speedboats, which are capable of dealing [serious] blows to the Israeli navy.”
The Iranian officer added that “thanks to the presence of hundreds of Iranian engineers and technicians, as well as North Korean experts brought [into Lebanon] in the guise of [domestic] servants by Iranian diplomats and by the staff at the Iranian representations and offices in Lebanon, Hizbullah has managed to build a 25-kilometer underground [tunnel]. Each opening in this [tunnel] measures 12 to 18 square meters, and has a mobile floor and a semi-mobile ceiling. Each four openings are connected by a passage that allows fighters to pass easily [from one opening] to the other.
“The [Revolutionary] Guards has also built Hizbullah underground storerooms in the Beka’ Valley, at a depth of no more than eight meters, which hold huge amounts of missiles and ammunition. In the Beka’, there is [also] a central command room operated by four Revolutionary Guards officers and four Hizbullah [fighters]. Each sector has its [own] command and operations room.
“Hizbullah’s missile unit includes some 200 technicians and experts trained in Iran.
Hizbullah has three missile units, each supervised by a staff of 20.”
I leave it to you to decide.
mrtez
“Hundreds of Hizbullah fighters currently confronting Israel’s military array took part in special training courses at the Revolutionary Guards bases in Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad and Ahvaz. According to a high-ranking [Revolutionary] Guards officer, who trained one of the Hizbullah naval units, Hizbullah has many surprises up its sleeve. Until now, there has been no direct confrontation between Hizbullah and the Israeli navy, [but] one of the Israeli navy’s ships was attacked with C802 missiles with the help of Revolutionary Guards [fighters] stationed in Lebanon. Hizbullah has a divers’ unit and a naval commando unit [equipped] with Chinese-made Ho-Dong speedboats, which are capable of dealing [serious] blows to the Israeli navy.”
The Iranian officer added that “thanks to the presence of hundreds of Iranian engineers and technicians, as well as North Korean experts brought [into Lebanon] in the guise of [domestic] servants by Iranian diplomats and by the staff at the Iranian representations and offices in Lebanon, Hizbullah has managed to build a 25-kilometer underground [tunnel]. Each opening in this [tunnel] measures 12 to 18 square meters, and has a mobile floor and a semi-mobile ceiling. Each four openings are connected by a passage that allows fighters to pass easily [from one opening] to the other.
“The [Revolutionary] Guards has also built Hizbullah underground storerooms in the Beka’ Valley, at a depth of no more than eight meters, which hold huge amounts of missiles and ammunition. In the Beka’, there is [also] a central command room operated by four Revolutionary Guards officers and four Hizbullah [fighters]. Each sector has its [own] command and operations room.
“Hizbullah’s missile unit includes some 200 technicians and experts trained in Iran.
Hizbullah has three missile units, each supervised by a staff of 20.”
posted by beirutlive at 10:01 PM
31 Comments:
That is BS. A Hezbollah supporter told me himself that Iran aid is purely moral (moral rockets, moral gusn and moral black money of course).
MRTEZ---
Excellent questions! You have my admiration for starting to think through this conflict from a statecraft level, especially when living in a state under attack.
Philosophically, the question is "does xxx have the right...", but pragmatically, the question is "given xxx has armed yyy, what are the consequences?"
Lebanon is caught in a proxy war.
On one side is Syria and Iran. Syria hopes to regain a greater Syria in the end; Iran hopes to become the hegemon of the MidEast.
On the other side is the US and most of the Commonwealth states. They hope to through Israel eliminate the assassinations and bombings which Hizbollah/Iran has conducted on their populace over the last 20 years.
The precusors are Iran's escalating rhetoric and nuclear activities, and US/Britain's activities in Iraq.
Now let's look at the demands of both sides. Hizbollah's wants the destruction of Israel and the extension of the Caliphate (Sharia) worldwide. They seek the coming of the 12th Imam, an event supposedly preceded by a worldwide conflict.
Israel wants security for its current borders. The US/Commonwealth wants Mid-East Democratization and containment of trans-national/state-sponsored Islamic radical groups.
Which side is a better choice for Lebanon in the long term?
MRTEZ - more of a reason why Lebanon is now getting the devestation killing and bombing! YOU ALLOW IRAN to train and arm these human killers. you deserve the problems you are inflicting upon your nation
its sad
its a shame
history repeat it self
you Lebanon never lear from your mistakes
wish you IRAN and the laws and ethos..... I somehow dont believe time Out Beirut will exist under Iran not I think you will have any art culture clubs and sex to report when IRAN rules your country.
WAKE UP!
hizbullah has the full right to get weapons, aid and training from iran.
for ever, the US has been backing israel to get its destabliation policy set up with sole purpose to control oil. israel is killing thousands of people unjustly and will continue doing so as long as it deems necessary.
why cant iran help hizbullah? whats wrong about that? this is a world we live in where lots of injustices happened. and its completely done by one side> israel.
i dont want to destroy israel like the president of iran said, but it needs to be controlled and they need to know that killing killing killing will not make this world a safer place.
the US is unhappy today because hizbullah and iran are two entities which dont abide by its imperial aspirations (global domination). there is agression in the air, and whenever there is aggression there is a need for protection.
its time for a cessation of aggression and peace in a just manner for all sides.
Proxy wars are nothing new, the Spanish civil war was a major proxy fight, and of course the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
That's some good allies there, Iran is, as they watch Lebanon burn when they helped cause it.
Isreal, the reason they only get attacked by people like Hezbollah is because countries and real armies know they have no chance and the world will swoop in to stop it the next day.... how many muslims are sworn to kill this tiny country of Isreal, yet they know they can't...in very simplistic terms, I want this for Lebanon..I want them with us so they know they are safe and a member of the international community like they were heading before this.
Iran is like herpes...you don't even think about it, and then here it is again causing trouble. I don't worry about them reading this because I doubt they are allowed to be online or think for themselves at all.
BTW Iran doesn't help Lebanon because they are worthless allies simply using Lebanon.
useless question.even if hezbollah was armed by pakistan it would be right.who ever want to help the resistance is welcome.vietminhs were armed by russians.it doesnt disqualify their fight for justice and freedom
What is exactly HA resisting to?
The bombardment of the infrastructure? The leveling of many villages in the south? The creation of 600,000 refugees? It looks to me that they are hurting Lebanon much more than they are hurting Israel. Could someone plese explain why the Lebanese think that the resistance are useful given the actual results?
Eli, what site you visit determines what people in Lebanon are saying. 100% of the sites will say they are very sad about what has happened to their country, but the difference is how they feel about Hezbollah. On this particular site, it leans more toward Hezbollah being a resistence, on other sites, people of Lebanon will tell you how angry they are that Hezbollah caused this.
Iran and Shiites in general are not the best ones to talk about freedoms, so that is not what they are fighting for, they fight for honor, and take every other member of the coutry down with them.
rimstalker,
most of israel's weaponry is based on technologies that emerged from the states! isnt it true?
and wasnt the kfir (not cfir) a plane that was created after stealing the concept from France's Dassault design - the Mirage V?
The US has given $2.5 billion to support Israel's Lavi fighter and Arrow missile projects. Israel buys discounted, serviceable "excess" US military equipment. Israel uses roughly 40 percent of its $1.8 billion per year in military aid, ostensibly earmarked for purchase of US weapons, to buy Israeli-made hardware. It also has won the right to require the Defense Department or US defense contractors to buy Israeli-made equipment or subsystems, paying 50 to 60 cents on every defense dollar the US gives to Israel.
Also Israel appropriations from the US Department of Defense is a total of $6.794 billion. The largest items have been the canceled Lavi attack fighter project, the ongoing Arrow anti-missile missile project, the ongoing tactical high energy laser anti-missile system, the ongoing Bradley reactive armor tiles program, and the completed Merkava tank.
israel has the right to arm itself, but to go and say the reason is because it is not FULLY funded is not purely not true. it has been funded to enormous proportions.
Israel has also been designated a “major non-NATO ally,” enabling it to receive outdated military equipment at either reduced cost or no charge; the FY ‘05 defense appropriations bill includes a provision authorizing the DOD to transfer an unspecified amount of “surplus” military items from inventory to Israel...
anonymous,
believe me when i say that i am very angry at what hizbullah has done to the country. extremely angry.
but what we should do is channel this anger to try and find why we are where we are so that we can find solutions that can benefit all of us, even hizbullah's base.
i know for a fact that there is enormous fear in the south, and the core of that fear is israel.
i am sure you know that alot of non-hizbullah supporters in this country liked the group becuase of their belief that they can defend the country against israel. they didnt even believe the army could defend us as much.
hizbullah has been able to build a state within a state because the majority of the shia where not aided or even taken care of by the lebanese state.
we shouldnt just be angry, we have to do more and find solutions that can make this lebanon a powerful, sovereign state. and that can only be done by lebanese...
I believe 20% of Isreals military gear is American...I thought it would be more when I read that stat, but maybe I am wrong?
Isreal can pretty much manhandle anyone in the middle east and no country will attack them because they know, unlike Hezbollah with Iran for friends, Isreals allies will never let it happen.
If someone was launching rockets at China, the U.S. would support their counter-attack as well....
All in all I really feel like people turned to Hezbollah because the rest of the world let them down. What gets me is that with all the good things Hezbollah did do in southern Lebanon, they could have eventually taken over the countries government and even became the leaders of a powerful country, yet they decided instead to launch some pitiful rockets at another country and start a war...
The people that think when another country has your people in prison it is a good idea to kill some of their people and take hostages to trade for your people back is a good running government type deal....then go on ahead and stay south.
MrTez, there I am at a loss because I don't fully understand Hezbollahs motives for all the good they did do. I also am not schooled in just how tightly they are tied to Iran.
We are talking about Lebanon and not Iran, so Lebanon should have say here and Iran should have none. If Hezbollah answers to Iran, I am at a loss as to how they could merge into the Lebanon army...do you have any idea how they think about this notion? If they did merge into the Lebanon army, would they remain loyal to Iran and actually end up giving some power of the Lebanon army to Iran such as we see in Iraq where insurgents join the police and have corrupted it?
MRTEZ. It is Syria and Iran who stopped Lebanon under jumaiel to sign a peace acord with Israel! coz they were afraid of peace and loosing the opportunity for conflict and warmaking.
WAKE UP. instead you got a weak governments and IRAN waiting to impose its lovely laws on your small country
I've researched a lot since this started and talked with many people, and although Hezbollah has actually done amazingly good things in the south for the people so in need of help, at the same time, I am amazed at the absolute determination to set up a battle field on which to fight Isreal.
In 1991 all militias disarmed aside from Hezbollah who refused. The international community demanded that Isreal leave Lebanon and that never works right, but in 2000 they did...the blue line was set by international bodies and that was the deal. Both Hezbollah and Isreal have violated the blue line on numerous occassions. Hezbollah would cross it, and Isreal would invade Lebanon airspace...for nyears nothing but fighting
If you think about it, the U.S. and international community was always trying to help with resolutions, but in reality, what good are resolutions? For decades resolutions have been written trying to address the issue, but most were ignored by both sides. You have to laugh as they try to write more? The U.N. peace keepers in the south were a joke really and did no good at all..
Even though so many there are mad at the west, I truly think people here are on the side of the Lebanon people. Lebanon as you know enjoys more freedoms than most in the middle east, and in more peaceful times, I think the people there aren't so mad at us...
A solution? I don't have one, but I really truly believe Hezbollah must disarm or be forced to..and I say this knowing people will die in the process, but I also know Isreal will not, and would not attack Lebanon without being attacked first...this isn't the past, this is now, the actual government of Lebanon is U.S backed and Isreal would never attack the government , but Hezbollah they will.
The answer to your question was finally answered by the previous post on your blog. HA does not have the right to carry arms full stop. It is operating against the laws of the state and as such it cannot seek either training or arms from any source. Israel , or any other legitimate state has the right to establish any kind of commercial or military relationship with any country that is chooses. There is no equivalence between a privately armed group and a democratically elected government. No private militia has the right to act on behalf of a people that have not entrusted that militia with such acts. The mere existence of the armed wing of HA constitutes a serious breach of the powers of the state.
Hezbollah is not destroying Lebanon -- Israel is. Hezbollah is responsible for its own sins and Israel is responsible for its sins. It would be ludricious to blame the IDF for Hezbollah's rocket attacks on Haifa, wouldn't it? If anything, Israel is by far the worse for refusing to a cease fire while Hezbollah is willing to do so. I think we need to look at things with a clear head and see exactly what each side is responsible for.
Here'a a great idea:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4089574.html
Hezbollah does not represent the Lebanese people and therefore has absolutely no right to act on their behalf. Had they not acted we wouldn't be having this conversation. Some protection they provided.
I dont understand onething particularly, How come a group who saved Lebenon from Isreal few years and called as 'freedom fighters' suddenly called as 'terrorists'?? Is it a propaganda what US allies are making in this world?
i think hizbullah must disarm. but this will never happen if the popular base of hizbullah is not first and foremost taken care of by the state of lebanon. ie: now that all these poor people have lost their homes, their schools and their hospitals built by hizbullah, the state has to rebuild under the banner of lebanon and no other group. these people in the south were left abandoned by the state in the past, which created a gap filled by hizbullah.
already over 30% of shias dont believe in hizbullah and another 20% dont abide fully by the way they operate (ie creating a state within a state). but the operational netwrok of hizbullah is so vast, with some 250,000 people directly employed by the group, that this process needs to be taken seriously and a vast amount of money needs to be at hand.
if the lebanese state can aid the people of the south, build their homes, their schools, their hospitals and make sure that they are not abandoned, then alot of popular support would shift, allowing the state to take full control of the country.
A msg to all you hezbollah/Iran bashers. The Lebanese were ON THEIR WAY to disarming hezbollah. We dealt a sevre blow to hezbollah by cutting off their supply lines by kicking the Syrian Army out, and we were having a "national dialog" (for the first time in Lebanon's history i think) to plan it's fate of carrying weapons... this is a sensitive subjuct and requires time to find ways to avoid a civil war... and now you've MESSED IT ALL UP. we're back to square one again, and not only that, everyone is back to supporting hezbullah again! BRAVO ISRAEL! BRAVO THE INTELLIGENT AND WISE IDF! BRAVO BRAVO!
Yes Bash but it seems that the lebanese government didnt do anything!
and where rockets and abductions occurr over international borders , the attacked party must defend itself or it will get wiped out of the map!
IDF will defend Israel and Israelis.
also it doesnt really seem clear yet that syria is really out of your country.... Syria is still controlling your army indirectly.... and is a major contributor to this conflict.... on your expense as punishment for humiliating them....
When this conflict will finally finish you will see mor eof Syria back in your country because of stupid people that cant think for themselves and choose freedom peace and full soverignty rather than support for the bloody Hezbullah.
Peace to you and all.
"I dont understand onething particularly, How come a group who saved Lebenon from Isreal few years and called as 'freedom fighters' suddenly called as 'terrorists'??"
this is not hard thing to grasp. many "freedom fighters" are also "terrorists" depedends how you ask and when.
to see wht terror is see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism
if you are doing a trror acts you are a terrorist.
many israelis think, and the main claim of the right wing israel was that israel had to stay in lebonon in order to deffend israel from hizbblla - i.e. the ones that "saved" you from israel, can be the ones that coused it to stay in lebanon for the last cupple of years (its true that the entrence os israel to lebonon was linkd to PLO and to araiel sharon not to HA)
israel is attcking lebaon and not HA. true. but its like saying that bneing thrown to gail is becouse of the police not becouse you robbed somone. israel would not attck lebaon if it would not be attcked. israel people want peace with lebanon, how is stoping lebaonon from start talking peace with israel?
israel is against sease fire. true. myself i don't knwo if im pro or con. if israel stop now, many people will be alive and that great. on the other hand if HZ will "win" the hole thing will repete itself in a few years. HZ will find some reason or excuse to attck israel and after some time israel will retalite. this i fear is the most probeable future.
if EU like the lebaon so much. why are they not suppling it with wepons and tryining so lebanon can defend itself from israel and syria form outside and from groups like HZ from inside? maybe thay jsut like to talk becouse talking is cheap?
israel had once ahd a dillema about sperate militia ,
the prime minsitre didn't wait for the world to solve the problem, but risked a civil war and acted
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altalena_Affair
everyone is forgetting Lebanon.. let me ask u one thing, if someone came into ur place and wanted to take it, and give u a small corner to live in, sleep with ur wife, kill ur kids. what will u do?? of course u will defened urself, ur family and ur house, how can someone live without dignity?? ... and if any accepts to be treated like that, better for him to kill himself.
All ppl have the right to live... and we dont need anyone to interfer in our lives, if someone need only to help us without any interest in return, he is most welcome other than that dont dream...I dont support HA in everything but at least they r trying to do something...and i hope they have good intentions...Guys noone can delete anyone, so better for us to learn to respect eachother and live with eachother because noone cares for Lebanon, every country searching for its interest... it is our legal rights to defend our country, our Mokawama is our legal rights, but we have to be smart enough how to use it and how to defend ourself.. war is never the right way to solve any problem...one more question, what is a terrorists?? ppl defending their homes r terrorirts?? children, old ppl barely can walk r terrorists..let me tell u what terrorist means in isreali and american words: anything or anyone that might stand against their dreams and plans. Well all what i can say, all r going to die now or after, and we all r going to be judged by our Creator, the strongest; God. I ask from God to have mercy on us all and put the lost ppl to the right track...ppl, u still have time to change and do something good in ur life..
hey guys whaen is Sharon going to die? I need to use my fireworks. fack!
"if someone came into ur place and wanted to take it, and give u a small corner to live in, sleep with ur wife, kill ur kids. what will u do?? of course u will defened urself, ur family and ur house, how can someone live without dignity?? ... and if any accepts to be treated like that, better for him to kill himself"
that's why most israels are pro the war, thay say exactely the same thing about HZ (execpt the dignety part which is mainly extream right wing and generals)!
the diffrence is that HZ says it want to wipe out israel, and try evrything in its power to do so:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah#Ideology
Speaking at a graduation ceremony in Haret Hreik, Nasrallah announced on October 22, 2002: "if they all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide."[61][62] The New York Times qualifies this as "genocidal thinking"[63], whereas the New York Sun likens it to the 1992 Hezbollah statement, which vowed, "It is an open war until the elimination of Israel and until the death of the last Jew on earth."[64] Michael Rubin qualifies his goal as genocide too, quoting Nasrallah ruling out "co-existence with" the Jews or "peace", as "they are a cancer which is liable to spread again at any moment."[65] The Age quotes him like so: "There is no solution to the conflict in this region except with the disappearance of Israel."[66]
also iran has same stand about this.
but israel never said, and most israelis i know don't think that is good idea to wipe out all arabs or to invade lebanon or sirya or egept. this conflict has many sides, and as israelis SEE it (not always true, nut not always wrong) they are most of the time the side that seek peace.
israel has no "resistance" to keep israel safe by keep invading others land, give pacse and get peace. give israel war and get back one. i belive most states would do the same shit. you can calim it's not fare (why?) but this is how things are right now.
For a leftist who lives in Dahieh.. all lebanese must know how much i hated it before! pictures of war leaders everywhere and people supporting them 'to death' used to haunt me and made me feel that i'm in the wrong place!
but after this,all i can think about are people, relatively poor people who fled their war-torn homes in the south and bekaa and built these suburbs, house after house.. until it became their home and shelter!
to look at it now pains me so deeply coz after all it is a neighborhood that accepted me as part of it despite the ideological differences...
it made me feel safe to be among people and neighbors who care about eachother and smile at you and greet you every single time u pass by them!
these people are my people, maybe their ideology is a result of their experiences or un-experiences.
i do understand these people more than any time before and i don't blame them...
i blame the 'bigger' society that was detached from them most of the time and they felt they were not welcome any other place in beirut for example... i blame the political system and the absent civil society which forced them to elect on sectarian basis and to seek help from other sect-based organisations and parties.
they felt safe in dahieh... i felt safe among them too...
where will they go now?
why war even if it hits everyone, it hits them the most?
do they need more misery?
i know a family who lost their home in dahieh, their other home in the south and the father;s business during this war!
can anyone put himself in his shoes? i try and i find it cruel!
i wouldn't forgive...
but u know how he feels about it? he thanks 'God' because he kept him and his family safe and got all the damage to things which can be ribuild!
he feels more sorry for the people who lost their lives and their loved ones' lives...
he considers himself lucky!
This is what i was talking about... this is the spirit of people of Dahieh, who suffered a lot in the past few decades but kept their spirit up and so is their faith in God.
sometimes i just wish i had this faith in something or someone which keeps me so optimistic and strong... maybe this is a rare kind of faith and belief which does a good thing to its people after all...
Oh Camarada,
I cry as I read your words. I went to Lebanon several years ago, I am American and raised Christian, I stayed in Dahiya as my inlaws are shia. They live there and like you were not fond of it. I have been crying the last 3 weeks as I felt their spirit when there. They are exactly as you describe. It pains me so much. Even though I do not care for Hez, I feel the moment of dignity given to the southern population that lived under Isreali terror. I experianced the terror of the jets when I was there. Noone is talking about Isreal breaking Res 425, they violated sovereign Lebanese airspace many times, breaking sound barriers and even dropping a few bombs over the last 6 years. In other words they have no right to talk about 1559. My heart is so hurt right now. Isreal has no reasonable objective, as always the Lebanese are slaughtered. We can never let this be forgotten. The world should NEVER allow Isreal to fly into Lebanon again. Everyone go to Human Rights Watch for the news releases and reports on Palestine and Lebanon.
i care said...
"The world should NEVER allow Israel to fly into Lebanon again"
great! most Israelis i know will sign every word in this sentence. as long as the world keep HZ rockets and shells
on the Lebanon side of the border Israelis jets won't have reason to go there.
the problem is that "the world" don't care that much about Israel or Lebanon citizens. never did in the past and not likely to be so in the future, so its up to Lebanon people to keep their country safe.
good point Dror, in any case the Lebanese government and previous ones were always weak and under external influence.
what this war will breed is a religious strict country Iran style that will have stronger and closer pact with Iran and Syria for the front in the war against Zion they are so obsessed with.
this will be as usual at the expense of decent citizans like RS BASH or MRTEZ and all that prefer the good life... culture sex drugs fun festivals prosperity... oh dare I say western influnce? but instead lets support the extreme strict IRAN and Syria that impose public killing.... for Women etc... be interesting to see what square will be used for public killing under the new Lebanon laws?
Wake up!
get rid of these external bastards
once and for all!!
MRTEZ, with your kind permission I translated your posting into German
and also some analyzes, done by www.stratfor.com. Unfortunately, for copyright reasons I cannot make their English texts avilable but I recommend a subscription.
My conclusion is: that Hezbollah has many faces, and, that the military option is not the one and only and, if preferred, will make results and outcomes worse - even from an Israeli point of View.
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