From The Washington Times:
Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said yesterday that he would not have ordered the July 12 seizure of two Israeli soldiers had he known it would provoke a war that leveled Shi’ite villages and neighborhoods throughout Lebanon.
“We did not think, even 1 percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude. You ask me, if I had known on July 11 … that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not,” he told Lebanon’s New TV station.
Say what??
[… Gee, if we had known America would be so mad, we never would have brought down those towers. People sure do over-react, don’t they? Silly me. I thought the Israelis were pacifists. And no, absolutely not, I didn’t put my hand in the cookie jar.]
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, The Jerusalem Post reports that Lebanon is cracking down, too:
Hizbullah has dismantled 14 posts on the Israel-Lebanon border near the Shaba Farms, Lebanese security sources reported on Monday.
Eyewitnesses said that bulldozers were used to flatten the bases in the Arkov area and block access to tunnels and bunkers.
A French news agency reported that the group evacuated the posts using trucks to carry artillery shells, missiles, other weapons and military equipment northward, while other Hizbullah vehicles laden with generators and furniture made their way out of the region.
According to the Lebanese newspaper A-Sapir, the Lebanese army had deployed troops along the border with Syria, and soldiers had blocked routes used by weapons smugglers.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese government demanded from Palestinians in refugee camps in the Litani area to disarm in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701, senior Fatah operative in Lebanon, Monir Al-Makdah, said on Monday morning.
Reportedly, Lebanese Prime Minister Faud Saniora made the request to Fatah representative in Lebanon Abbas Za’aki.
The only way the Lebanese “government” would be allowed to do this is if Hizbullah [Iran] gave permission. Notice that the terrorists took out their toys first, before the area was flattened. And notice that the kidnapped soldiers haven’t been returned. If that duplicitous snake, Nazrallah, were serious those men would be back in Israel now.
Makes you wonder what Iran is up to.
From Debka:
“Hizballah’s leader said in a broadcast speech Sunday night that he would not have ordered the kidnap of two Israeli soldiers had he know it would lead to war.
DEBKAfile reveals the other side of the picture: While saying mildly that in his view a second round of the war is not indicated, Nasrallah has just finished reconstituting his Southern Nasser Brigade command (short range Katyusha rockets) in the port town of Tyre after collecting its elements form various south Lebanese villages to the east. His fighters reached Tyre at the same time as French UNIFIL troops landed in the same port but were not noticed by the TV cameras focusing on the French landings.
While I don’t know what his long range plans are (or Iran’s) I am sure that for now he is moving his forces and equipment away from where the new “International Force” will be, as he doesn’t want it all falling into their hands or being forced to give it up.
But as said, this is a “developing story” which will be under a microscope for awhile.
After the world’s attention is turned elsewhere, is when bad things really will begin to happen.
Papa Ray
Why is that every time I hear the name Nasrallah I instantly think of the words predator drone?
Not to mention the sonorous phrase hellfire missiles
(Some people look best in a charcoal portrait. [AKA smudge.] Especially terroristic theocratic maniacs. Smouldering good looks… and enough DNA left to cross them off the Big list.)