Category Archives: Hezbollah

Al-Qaeda, Europe, Hezbollah, Israel, Terrorism

New Doubts Cast on Bulgarian Accusations in Terror Bombing……..

         

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“But European ministers who demand hard evidence of Hezbollah involvement are not likely to find it in the Bulgarian report on the investigation, which has produced no more than an “assumption” or “hypothesis” of Hezbollah complicity. Major revelations about the investigation by the former head of the probe and by a top Bulgarian journalist have further damaged the credibility of the Bulgarian claim to have found links between the suspects and Hezbollah. The chief prosecutor in charge of the Bulgarian investigation revealed in an interview published in early January that the evidence available was too scarce to name any party as responsible, and that investigators had found a key piece of evidence that appeared to contradict it. An article in a Bulgarian weekly in mid-January confirmed that the investigation had turned up no information on a Hezbollah role, and further reported that one of the suspects had been linked by a friendly intelligence service to Al-Qaeda………….”

There is no need for a “friendly intelligence service” to link the Bulgaria terrorist operation to Al-Qaeda. I noted early on strong doubts about the early Western media and “anonymous officials” allegations, given the MO of the terrorists. Even as Mr. Netanyahu was pointing fingers toward others. I reproduce some comments and my previous posts on this:

“Netanyahu had been sifting through the news for a few days, looking for something new to pin on the Iranians, his usual accusation du jour. It had been a slow week: no terrorist activity, not even a major traffic pile-up disaster. His luck was about to turn. The right-wing Bulgarian authorities got it a bit wrong and blamed Hezbollah instead, but only because of the imminent European Union decision on its “terrorist list”. One day later the center and left-wing Bulgarian “opposition” struck.…….. Why do “they” insist on politicizing these investigations so openly and flagrantly, on aiming them toward certain conclusions? That only loses them credibility, even if their conclusions might be correct. That is just what happened to the corrupt and incompetent Lebanon STL Hariri investigation (remember first it was Syria, then Iran and Syria then Hezbollah then the Mexican Cartel then the Girl Scouts of Arabia). Her are links to some of my posts on this Bulgaria terror attack.……….“

On the other hand, it is possible
that Hezbollah went totally stupid and decided to do a traceable
terrorist bombing in the heart of eastern Europe. On the eve of the EU decision on listing it on a terrorist list. They have done a similarly stupid thing, in the summer of 2006. The Iranians once claimed that the Mossad did the Bulgarian operation, which is as stupid as claiming that Iranians killed their own nuclear scientists.

On the other hand, it could have been the irresistible urge to avenge the Israeli bombing of Imad Mughniyah in Damascus in February 2008. But the timing casts suspicion on the claim of the right-wing Bulgarian authorities. Nevertheless, many Arab leaders and especially royal potentates are holding their breath, praying toward Brussels, for the EU to do the Israeli bidding and “list” Hezbollah.

Bulgaria: Did Hezbollah Go Stupid at a ‘Convenient’ Time?

Case for an Israeli Attack? a Boy’s Wolf, Michael Oren, Deep Throat II, Salacious Pun

About Netanyahu, the Mullahs, and all them Plots

Terrorism: Hallmarks of the Bulgaria Suicide Bomber with a “Shaved Head

N Y Times and Anonymous Deep Throat Certain Iran was Behind Bulgaria Terror Attack

Terrorism: Bibi Natanyahu with Bulgarian Egg on His Face, For Now

Terrorism in Iran and Bulgaria, Netanyahu and Hitler and Danzig and Sudetenland


Cheers
mhg

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Hezbollah, Lebanon

Hariri Ready to Lead Lebanon from Fouquet’s in Paris, Via a Palace in Riyadh…………

         

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“On the eight anniversary of his father’s death, Saad Hariri delivered a speech via video link from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia remembering the man and his legacy. The head of Lebanon’s Future Movement called on the Lebanese people to ensure the country’s future as a civil state in the upcoming elections. He vowed allegiance to the principles of the Cedar revolution, an event which ended the 30 year Syrian occupation of Lebanon. “We will run in the parliamentary elections alongside our March 14 allies and the Lebanese who believe in a civil state,” he said in an address to a rally commemorating the death of Rafic Hariri, affectionately dubbed ‘Mr. Lebanon.’ Saad, who currently lives in France.. …………..”

I suspect anything is possible in the People’s Democratic Monarchy that is Lebanon. He aspires to become prime minister of (part of) Lebanon in absentia (just as he was for his last year in office a few years ago). As I suggested a few days ago, he can use Go-to-Meeting or Skype to run his Saudi cabinet in Beirut from the comfort of Paris. No need to do a “return from Elba thing: he will not get the same reception as Uncle Nappy did two centuries ago. Hell, he can be sitting at Fouquet’s while chairing the cabinet meeting. If he gets bored with Paris, he can always fly to Riyadh for a day or two. One look at the dour royal Wahhabi bosses and he’ll appreciate the charms of Paris and fly back in no time.
Maybe he ought to have attended that meeting two days ago in my hometown on the Gulf. He could have gotten some pointers from Ayad Allawi (briefly appointed by the US as prime minister of Iraq by mistake). Then there was Fouad Saniora, the would be liberator of Solidere, or was it Saudi Oger?
Cheers
mhg

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Arab Revolutions, GCC, Hezbollah, Jihadis, Syria

Controlling Syria: is the Regime as Strong as Never? Sharing a Jihadist Paradise with Bashar Al-Assad………

         

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“Head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council Sheikh Hashem Safieddine stressed that the Syrian government is as strong as ever, and said those waiting for the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad and its possible impact on Lebanon’s next parliamentary elections are mistaken. Sheikh Safieddine’s remarks came while certain foreign countries, including the US, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are trying hard to “overthrow the Syrian government” in order to influence Lebanon’s next parliamentary elections. He noted that Lebanon’s next parliamentary elections and formation of the new government in the country “will take place while Syria’s incumbent government will still be in power”, Al-Ahd news agency reported. Sheikh Safieddine said those thinking about the collapse of the Syrian government should know that pressures cannot force it to fall, alluding that President Assad’s government will survive beyond Lebanon’s upcoming parliamentary elections……………”


He said that “the Syrian government is as strong as ever”. An odd Iranian and Hezbollah assessment. This, or a position close to it, has also been repeated by some Iranian officials over the past months. Do these Hezbollah and Iranian officials know something the rest of the world doesn’t know? Something even CNN and Wolf Blitzer and the democratic shaikhs of Qatar don’t know? Or are they being delusional? Possibly putting the best face on a bad situation? So how can it be as strong as ever if it does not control a large swath of the country and if everyone outside Damascus agrees that there will be regime change ‘at some point’ in the future?
No doubt regime change is coming but the squabble may be over the “how and when and who” of it. That “how and when and who” determines the relative winners and losers in this game that goes beyond the borders of Syria. It is probably the details they are fighting over and it is true that “the devil is in the details”.

Who will control Syria: the toothless political exiles of the Syrian National Council, or is it a Coalition, (SNC) or the heavily-armed Jihadists and Al-Qaeda affiliates? Poor, poor Syrian people: their choices are all lousy. The SNC is basically a new-old bureaucracy waiting for the West and the GCC to hand it the keys to Damascus (like the Western Allies to for the Hashemites in 1918). It is the Jihadists who are doing most of the fighting inside the country, and they know the West does not want them anywhere near the seat of power (even as some Arabs do). But they don’t have to be in Damascus to exert control. Besides, many of them are foreign Arabs and not Syrians. No doubt the Jihadists are more motivated: if they live they win, if they die they expect rivers of wine and pretty Houris as reward.
Of course, my educated, well logical, guess is that they will most likely end up consoling each other in Jehannam (hell), possibly right next door to Bashar Al-Assad. Possibly sharing a hot suite with a few of the Arab potentates who support and finance them.
Cheers
mhg

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Europe, Hezbollah, Lebanon

European Right Target Hezbollah, Wahhabi Quest for Eternal Candy…………..

   

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                          Neck of the woods

“Europe is embarking on a potentially divisive debate over whether to place the military wing of Lebanese-based Shiite group Hezbollah grouping on its terrorist list, with the U.K. and Dutch governments urging action Friday. Europe has long resisted pressure from Israel and Washington to list Hezbollah, with many member states feeling it was important to keep lines of contact open to a group that plays a key role in Lebanese politics. But after accusations that Hezbollah was behind a bomb attack in July in Burgas, Bulgaria, that killed five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian bus driver, U.K. Foreign Minister William J. Hague………….…”

The European right wing governments, especially in Britain and Holland are speeding up their attempt at listing Hezbollah. So they were “accused” of being behind a bomb attack. “Accused” quickly by Netanyahu, hardly a credible person in this case. In a case of “suicide” attack, which is not a usual Hezbollah method of operation. Suicides are al-Qaeda type of operation, done by horny young Wahhabi men eager to detonate, drop out, and get to their promised sweet ‘rewards’ of candy on the other side.
This, if approved, will be bad news for peace in Lebanon since Hezbollah is by far the most powerful party in Lebanon, and represents a larger section of Lebanese society than any other party or group or militia or dance troupe. It will be like boycotting the largest section of Lebanese (like boycotting the Pashtun in Afghanistan). It will, however, make the Likud extremely happy: Netanyahu may declare that World War II is finally over.

Cheers
mhg
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Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Iran, Israel, Terrorism

Terrorism: Hallmarks of the Bulgaria Suicide Bomber with a “Shaved Head”………

   

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                       Neck of the woods


“Mileva said the bomber “had a white face, light eyes, and very thick
brown hair. The facial bones were shattered in the explosion.”On Friday, district prosecutor Kalina Tchapkanova cited witness reports that the suspect had dark eyes………”

“Bulgarian police along with the CIA, FBI and Interpol are struggling to identify a suicide bomber who killed six people, including five Israelis, as the United States said the attack bore the “hallmarks” of Hezbollah. Investigators have released CCTV footage of the person they believe carried out Wednesday’s attack at the airport of the Black Sea town of Burgas on a bus carrying Israeli holidaymakers, which also claimed the life of the Bulgarian driver.……… Burgas prosecutor Kalina Tchapkanova quoted witnesses as saying the man “spoke English with a slight accent” and appeared to be Arab. The car rental service owner’s wife Afrodita Petrova said she was sure he was of Arab origin and had shaved head ………….”

The mystery suicide bomber with a “shaved head”: who almost looked like a European Neo-Nazi.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the consummate opportunist, predictably and quickly accused Iran, then accused Hezbollah, then both Iran and Hezbollah. That was before anyone said anything about any suspect. Bulgarian press initially said he was a Swedish-Algerian al-Qaeda member who had served in Guantanamo, a Mr. Ghezali. The Swedes denied that was him, cryptically saying Ghezali is “not in Bulgaria”. It is possible that Hezbollah was behind it, or more likely al-Qaeda, or some European neo-Nazi group (with shaved heads).
One thing is certain: this was a suicide terror bombing targeting civilians. Hezbollah and Iran don’t use suicide bombings. It is not part of their operational style, the ‘suicide‘ part. That would be more like al-Qaeda Salafi jihadists who commit suicide terror attacks then wait for the promised rivers of wine and the renewable virgins on the other side. Netanyahu of course knows that, as do most Western intelligence services. Apparently most and not all, given that some US “official” told the New York Times that the operation was Iranian-Hezbollah, just as Netanyahu claimed. The American official said, apparently with a straight, that the operation bore the “hallmarks” of Hezbollah. Someone ought to have asked him: when was the last time Hezbollah used a suicide bomber? They may have done some bombings in the past, but not ‘suicide‘ bombings as far as I know. Unless they have changed their operational methods (or their ‘hallmark’ drastically. 
Now about that shaved head, European neo-Nazi style………….
Cheers
mhg
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Hezbollah, Lebanon, Middle East, U.S. Politics, US Foreign Policy

New Band in Middle East Town? Romney’s Warmongers……

    

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                       Neck of the woods
“Rick Perry labeled the Turkish government “Islamic terrorists.” Newt Gingrich referred to Palestinians as “invented” people. Herman Cain called Uzbekistan “Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan” and memorably blanked when asked what he thought of NATO’s incursion into Libya. Michele Bachmann pledged to close the US embassy in Iran, which hasn’t existed since 1980. Rick Santorum gave a major foreign policy speech at a Jelly Belly factory in California…………. Few advisers personify the pugnacity of Romney’s foreign policy team better than Bolton. He has been a steadfast opponent of international organizations and treaties and seems never to have met a war he didn’t like. “John’s wisdom, clarity and courage are qualities that should typify our foreign policy,” Romney responded……….”

President Obama started in office being generally well-liked by Arabs and Muslim. He has come along way: now he is not liked much in the Arab and Muslim worlds. He is considered no more than any other recent US President, probably less because he is waging more wars in the Middle East than any other American president.
I have no doubt that Willard (Mitt) Romney will immediately become the most-hated (by Arabs and Muslims) US president in history. He is already setting himself up, if elected, to expand America’s wars in the Middle East to Iran and Syria and possibly a few other places. John Bolton is such an extremist that even a Republican-controlled Senate refused to confirm him as UN ambassador when Bush nominated him. He was appointed at recess for one year only. He will no doubt be back with Romney, either as deputy at State or Defense or at National Security or as UN ambassador. Bolton assiduously evaded serving in the Vietnam war, a war he verbally supported. Sort of like Cheney and Bush and many other rightist ‘war lovers from a safe distance‘.

The Romney Middle East and Arab policy looks pretty bad when we know his advisers who are mostly neoconservatives. The only native Middle Eastern among them is a veteran of the Lebanese right-wing militia the ‘Lebanese Forces‘ (LF) which were implicated in massacres like those at the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps. (Actually the LF militia committed the rapes and massacre, with the dead estimated at between 1,000-3,000 victims, while Israeli forces kept a lookout outside). His name is Walid Phares. This does not bode well especially for a Romney policy toward Lebanon and Syria. It does not bode well for US relations with a majority of the Lebanese people who, like it or not, support Hezbollah and its allies (they won 54% of the votes during the last Lebanese elections). It does not bode well for relations with the plurality of Lebanese who are the political base of Hezbollah.

No matter who wins next November, he will become the least popular American president in history as far as Arabs and Muslims are concerned. I am talking the people not the princes and potentates who no doubt prefer Romney but can learn to continue loving Obama.

Cheers
mhg
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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Arabian Peninsula, Hezbollah, Iran, Saudi Arabia, US Foreign Policy, Yemen

The Usual Suspects: Hezbollah and Hamas in Yemen and Casablanca………….

    

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Captain Renault: “Major Strasser’s been shot. Round up the usual suspects.“  Casablanca

“Washington believes Iran is working with Shi’ite Muslim rebels in northern Yemen and secessionists in the country’s south to expand its influence at the expense of Yemen’s Gulf neighbours, the U.S. envoy to Sanaa was quoted as saying on Sunday. The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat cited Gerald Feierstein, in an interview in London, as accusing Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Hamas of helping their backers in Shi’ite Iran at the expense of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a bloc in which Sunni-led oil giant Saudi Arabia’s influence is dominant. “The Iranians want to build influence in Yemen… both internally and more broadly in the region by establishing a foothold in the Arabian Peninsula,” the paper quoted Feierstein as saying in remarks published in Arabic. “It’s something that’s naturally regarded as a security threat to Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC states.” Feierstein told Reuters in an interview last month that there were signs of greater Iranian activity in Yemen, There is evidence that Hezbollah and Hamas support this Iranian effort ……….”

Also sprach the US ambassador quoted by Saudi semi-official daily al-Hayat (owned by Prince Khalid Bin Sultan).
Yemen is much more complex than the picture this ambassador paints. Al-Qaeda has become a major disruptive force across Yemen now, including the once secular south. That is what 20 years of union with the tribal north Yemen has done to the rest of the country. That and nearly twenty years of Saudi Wahhabi influence.
The fact is that the GCC (Saudi) plan that the West supported in Yemen does not meet the aspirations of most Yemeni people (excluding Tawakkol Karman). The killings by regime forces continue, except that Arab and Western media are not covering them anymore. The people want a regime change, but they had a reactionary status-quo GCC plan rammed down their throats. Clearly they are not accepting it.
There is some Iranian involvement and influence in parts of Yemen, just as there are Saudi influences in parts of Yemen. And there is American influence, especially in the skies. But it is not clear how Hamas and Hezbollah got together in Yemen. Hamas is Muslim Brotherhood Sunni, Hezbollah is Shi’a. Maybe the ambassador has some evidence he can’t share with the public. It is also quite likely he is just mouthing the same old manta the Yemen regime has been repeating for the past two or three years. The “foreign interference” mantra most Arab regimes repeat when they are in trouble in places like Bahrain and Syria and before them in Egypt and Libya.
Of course, this is not to say there is no Iranian interference, there probably is some of that (the theory of political vacuum and all that). But Hamas and Hezbollah? That sounds like a 2012 American presidential campaign slogan, produced by AIPAC.
Cheers
mhg


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Espionage, Hezbollah, Iran, Lebanon, Terrorism, U.S. Congress, U.S. Politics, US Foreign Policy, War on Iran

New Iranian Terror Plot Uncovered by, You Guessed it, NYPD………..

    

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“A senior New York police official disclosed that at least 13 suspects with ties to the Iranian government had been questioned by authorities in the last seven years after conducting surveillance of possible attack sites. Mitchell Silber, the New York Police Department’s director of intelligence analysis, said the city’s large Jewish population and international significance as a terror target made it ripe for a strike by either Iran or Hizbollah, the Lebanon-based militant group it sometimes uses as a proxy. Testifying before the House of Representative’s Homeland Security Committee, he said the suspects included six people on a sightseeing cruise who were taking photographs and film of well-known New York landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge in 2005. And in September 2010, federal air marshals detained four people taking pictures and films at a heliport in the city. During questioning, all 13 people admitted that they were associated with the Iranian government, but they were ultimately released without charge…………”

I wonder if it is still legal to take pictures of the Empire State building. That used to be my favorite landmark in New York when I was a teenage student back east, it still is, along with the Statue of Liberty. I used to take photos of it, then climb on top and take more amazing photos.
I don’t know about this. They haven’t been able to catch any Iranian terrorists yet (just a few weapon and technology smugglers). Even with Hezbollah agents, the best they could find was some hapless Lebanese trying to smuggle bullets for pistols to Lebanon. Bullets for pistols! I guess he didn’t realize that Hezbollah has missiles and anti-aircraft guns and drones and is waiting for the first Iranian nuclear bomb.
I am near despair that they ever will catch a genuine Iranian or Hezbollah terrorist in the US: unless they can revive that old Cheney idea of a meeting in Prague between Mohammed Atta and Iranian intelligence. Woops, that was Iraqi intelligence, allegedly. Then there is Jack the Texas used-car dealer who conspired with Ali Khamenei and the Quds Force and Hezbollah and the Mexican Cartel and FARC to blow to smithereens an Arab yes-man ambassador in Washington. I am beginning to suspect that there
probably are no such thing as “Iranian terrorists” in the United States,
none in New Jersey-NYC, none in Westwood. Not even any hiding under the bed of the Saudi ambassador or Representative
Peter King or, heaven forbid, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fl).


More seriously: it pays to be vigilant these days. If there is a new war, all bets are off. Terrorism may become a reality instead of just an opportunity for some ambitious or overeager cop or agent or East Coast DA.
Cheers
mhg


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Hezbollah, Iran, Israel, Syria, Weapons deals, WMD

Syrian Air Defenses, Hezbollah Air Defenses……………

    

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“Syria has been arming and training Hezbollah fighters in the use of advanced antiaircraft weapons in recent months, Israel Defense Forces sources have told Haaretz. A senior officer in the Northern Command says hundreds of fighters were taught to use surface-to-air missiles in Syria and Iran. IDF officers are worried by two developments involving Syria and Hezbollah that could change the balance of power in the region. The first is the transfer of huge quantities of surface-to-air missiles; the second, the transfer of chemical and biological weapons. IDF officers believe that Hezbollah use of advanced antiaircraft missiles could jeopardize Israeli aerial supremacy……….”

Training is possible, in fact both Iran and Syria do it. However, supplying sophisticated weapons or WMD is doubtful (especially WMD). There are no doubt some sophisticated missiles supplied to Hezbollah by the Iranians but not by the Syrians (and certainly not WMD).


The Syrians don’t give away their somewhat sophisticated air defense systems, especially not to a Lebanese group. Any Lebanese group. Same applies even more to WMD: contrary to the Western (especially American) fear-mongering legend, Middle East regimes do not supply outsiders with WMD (or sophisticated conventional weapons).
Besides, the same air defense system failed the Syrians when the Israeli air force bombed the alleged nuclear plant (an odd story that has not been explained to the public in either Syria or Israel). Of course the Syrians may have been unwilling, too afraid, to use their air defenses; Hezbollah is certain to use them, if they have them, if Lebanon is attacked.
Cheers
mhg


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Hezbollah, Israel, Palestine

Jerusalem: Hezbollah Makes an Improbable Prediction……..

 

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Iran’s Fars News headlines that “Hezbollah Leader Optimistic about Imminent Liberation of Occupied Quds. Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah Movement Seyed Hassan Nasrallah voiced optimism about the liberation of the Holy Quds specially after the recent developments in the regional and Muslim states. “The regional developments are happening in a way that makes us feel that the liberation of Quds is close to us more than ever,” Nasrallah said Sunday, addressing a forum titled “Declaration of Al-Quds as the capital of Palestine, the Arabs and Muslims” in Beirut……”

Imminent (al-Quds means Holy City: Jerusalem)? To which I would respond, politely, “Imminent, my eye”. The Arabs have been repeating this mantra since before 1948. Almost any Arab army, take any one of the lot, and you’ll agree with my assessment that its commanders can’t organize a piss-up in a brewery let alone a military campaign (as I have noted here in the past). As for Hezbollah: it does a good job in defending its own land, in keeping Israelis out of Lebanon. It has not been defeated; it has inflicted several defeats on the IDF. It will do an even better job in kicking the Saudi Wehrmacht out should the princes revisit their old plan of intervention (Wikileaks). But Hezbollah’s ability at offensive military campaigns is nothing to take seriously. It is about the same as the rest of the Arab armies, the same “piss-up in a brewery” rule applies.
Cheers
mhg


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