Salam Eid, a veteran Lebanese journalist who specializes in covering Hezbollah, gave a chilling interview (video) to Israel’s InfoLive.tv about the prospects for revenge against Israel for the killing of Imad Mugniyah. Though Eid tells us nothing new, just hearing what is likely in store for Israel gives one pause:
In my opinion, the moment Hezbollah heard about the news of the killing of Imad Mugniyah it took the decision to retaliate. It will be looking to target key people in the Israeli government or key people in the IDF…They will do whatever it takes to take out or kill anyone that they can reach outside Israel. Hezbollah is coordinating with Syria and Iran, no doubt about it. But when they do their special operations, I believe they will do it with the Iranians only; and if they will be capable of carrying on a unique operation in their perspective–I mean a unique operation in their perspective will mean they will be able to target a key person in Israeli intelligence or a key person from the ministry of defense. And I could tell you that Imad Mugniyah is for Hezbollah what Ehud Barak is for Israel.
…Israel should be ready for a severe retaliation whether it will happen tomorrow or one year from now. After years of covering those people I can tell you if they need to do something to take revenge they will wait and wait until they can make it happen. So the Israelis should not forget about it and three months from now they should enjoy their life in a normal way and then the retaliation will reach them.
Eid, who knows Hezbollah far better than I, says that Mugniyah is irreplaceable, which will only ratchet up the group’s thirst for revenge. Given what I’ve written here about previous assassinated Hamas and Hezbollah figures and their successors, it seems to me that Mugniyah’s replacement will be at least as resourceful as he was. And this does not bode well for Israel.
A Ynetnews report notes that the Shin Bet is increasing security for ministers traveling overseas for private vacations. The Israeli intelligence agency shares Eid’s belief that Hezbollah will attempt to strike at Israeli targets abroad. It will find that it is one thing to plan a targeted assassination when you know who your quarry is and can track him and execute your plan. It is quite another to defend against such a liquidation when you don’t know who the enemy’s target is, nor where nor how they will strike.
My first reaction to the Muganiyeh hit was, “good riddance.” but someone in Ha’aretz pointed out that with one bomb in Argentina, Hezbollah killed more Jews outside Israel than anti-Semitism has since WW2. Also, when Israel killed the man who pioneered Hamas’ bombmaking Yehiya Ayyash, AKA “the engineer,” 100 Israelis died in retaliatory bombings. So are these hits really ever sensible?
Journalist Allen Nairn suggests the Israel murder of Muganiyeh was a deliberate intent to cause a reaction by Hezbollah, which reaction in turn would give Israel a reason to attack Lebanon.
“]IDF] apparently departed Lebanon feeling politically inadequate.
The official feeling was that they either did not destroy enough, or destroy enough of the right people and items, to avoid the embarrassing perception that they lost to Hezbollah.
So to have the option of solving this problem they’ve apparently staged a provocative assassination in hopes of goading Hezbollah into retaliating and providing a pretext for new — better — destruction that this time around will “succeed,” i.e. soothe hurt Israeli feelings.”
http://www.counterpunch.org/nairn02202008.html
–ellen
Your making the supposition that hezbollah and hamas are not constantly trying to hit Jewish targets anyway. But I digress. How does not trying to anger Hezbollah work. And what makes guys like Richard Silverstein think, ( no offense Rich) that peace is possible with these people.
These are political movements besides being military ones. Their actions are based on political calculations. First, they don’t attack Jewish targets. They attack Israeli ones. There is a difference. Second, they attack Israeli targets only when they’ve made a calculation that they have a political pt. to make. That is why they must respond to Mugniyah & it is why the northern border has been quiet until now. Hezbollah has other Lebanese fish to fry & doesn’t want to take on Israel. At least it didn’t until now.
Peace is possible based on negotiation & compromise coming fr. both sides–even with an enemy like Hezbollah, Hamas or Syria.
Ellen is perhaps right – this reminds me very much of the Chechnya situation, where the Chechens won the first war for their independence, and then the Kremlin itched for a rematch with a massive force.
The second war is still ongoing, and it is a goody – routine torture of Chechens, police state, Russian conscripts throats’ slit in the night – the world tuned out of that human catastrophe.
Muslims Against Sharia congratulate the organization responsible for elimination of terrorist Imad Mugniyeh on a job well done!
[ed. link removed–do not spam yr site on this blog!]
“Muslims Against Sharia”?
And which republican millinares sponsor this pathetic propaganda organization?
Make of it what you will, but I think a new Gaza invasion is coming, and this time no more Mr. Nice Israel:
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/latestnews/Israel-poised–for-.3786115.jp
“Sources told Scotland on Sunday: “The military leadership is telling the political leadership: ‘If you send us to war, let us fight’.”
“There would be no pussy-footing this time around,” one source said. “There’s much debate as Olmert doesn’t want a large-scale military operation, but since he also doesn’t want to negotiate directly with Hamas, there will come a time when he will need to give the go-ahead.””
“Sources confirmed that lessons had been learnt from Israel’s disastrous war in Lebanon in 2006.
“There’ll be no over-reliance this time around on aerial support, that’s for sure,” one source said.”
Yeah…. just like the Russians in Chechnya; perhaps less genocidal….
americangoy,
Just because someone does not fit your degenerate stereotype of Muslims, it does not make them a “propaganda organization”. If you actually read our website, even you could have realized the stupidity of your statement.
Good point I should never judge before checking something. Hear hear sir… oh… wait… ummmm…
http://www.freethinker.co.uk/?p=175
“So far so good. MASh appears to do exactly what it says on the tin: they are Muslims, and they are against sharia.
So it was surprising to see, buried away in their Blogger profile, that one of their main “Team Members” was Atlas Shrugs (aka Pamela Geller) – the right-wing, Bushier-than-Bush blogger who only last month was calling for Islam to be banned. Had Pamela “reverted” to the one true religion?”
Yes, this is a (moslem?) profile of Atlas Shrugs:
http://www.blogger.com/profile/15790266762319846499
And this is her blog:
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/
The blog has catchy titles like “EXCLUSIVE PAUL WILLIAMS: CLINTON’S MUSLIM BRIGADE”, “MUSLIMS BOMBING DENMARK”, and “How much is that Doggie in the Window?Jail & 30 Lashes Infidel!”
Yeah surely Atlas Shrugged is a moslem woman, going by the titles on her blog alone?
Snicker…… Sorry cant hold it in Hahahahahahahaha
Oh wait Pam did a great post on her blog about her wishing that… Islam should be banned:
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2007/08/ban-islam-uh-ye.html
Yeah – what we have here is a true moslem there.
This website is not a (really, really, comically bad) right wing propaganda site. All legit here, sir!
Hahahahahahahaha.
Thanks for the laugh – I haven’t laughed so hard for weeks.
Drinks are on me everybody!
Wow, [Alleged] Muslims Against Sharia Law is really desperate spamming their blog here. They don’t even do me the favor of a trackback so we both can gain exposure. Are these people morons or merely chutzpaniks that they think I’d go for promoting their site?
I’ve banned the dolt who posted these 2 comments (& deleted one that used the ever-popular-among-Jewish-wingnuts homophobic smear against American Goy). But if anyone fr. that site is reading this I’d challenge you to name a single actual Muslim involved with your site.