They aren’t so bad. They’re friends of a certain north London MP……
D Ward
2 years ago
Shocking what has happened to Lebanon in the last 40 years. Truly tragic.
Chris Wheatley
2 years ago
(I have to say that I’m not an expert on the area or its politics). About 20 years ago I read an old copy of ‘Survival In Beirut’ by Lina Mikdadi Tabbara. This is a diary of the civil war in 1975.
My main memory of this is that she, the diarist, was shocked or merely observed that the ‘terrorists’ were so young. She comments on the fact that they seemed to be 15-year-old ordinary kids who had been transformed from poverty and obscurity into heroes because they carried submachine guns. The action took place in 1975, which would make the survivors into 60-year-old terrorists now. If experience is required on your cv as a terrorist, this would make Hezbollah into super-terrorists.
When I have watched footage of ISIS on Al Jazeera I have always thought that they also looked like 15-year-old ordinary kids with submachine guns. This observation would support the above essay’s thesis that Hezbollah are indeed super-terrorists and well organised because they would have a lot of experience. Hamas were also late on the scene because they had to wait for Yasser Arafat to die.
In Gaza, Hamas did not wait for Arafat’s death (2004). They took over in 2001, since when, and following Sheikh Yassin’s assassination by Israel, Gaza has been developed more as an Iranian forward base than for its people – goals that will hard to reconcile in the perpetual deadlock, not least with Iran’s goal of casting Israel into the sea on principle, regardless of policy.
Last edited 2 years ago by Matt B
Lesley van Reenen
2 years ago
Makes uneasy reading.
Christopher Barclay
2 years ago
Which begs the question: “Why did the US invade Iraq in 2003 ?”
Unless of course the plan was to use Iraq as a base to invade Iran.
Friedrich Tellberg
2 years ago
Conspicuous by his absence in the article: Qassem Suleimani, eliminated by the US shortly before the pandemic. Building and training Hezbollah is one of his early successes, and indeed part of his legacy.
As the article rightly explains: Iran and Suleimani in particular, unlike Sunni petrol monarchies, did more than just pouring money over fanatics.
Armand L
2 years ago
How fascinating! Another UnHerd piece that carries water for Salafism and the interests of Saudi Arabia.
They aren’t so bad. They’re friends of a certain north London MP……
Shocking what has happened to Lebanon in the last 40 years. Truly tragic.
(I have to say that I’m not an expert on the area or its politics). About 20 years ago I read an old copy of ‘Survival In Beirut’ by Lina Mikdadi Tabbara. This is a diary of the civil war in 1975.
My main memory of this is that she, the diarist, was shocked or merely observed that the ‘terrorists’ were so young. She comments on the fact that they seemed to be 15-year-old ordinary kids who had been transformed from poverty and obscurity into heroes because they carried submachine guns. The action took place in 1975, which would make the survivors into 60-year-old terrorists now. If experience is required on your cv as a terrorist, this would make Hezbollah into super-terrorists.
When I have watched footage of ISIS on Al Jazeera I have always thought that they also looked like 15-year-old ordinary kids with submachine guns. This observation would support the above essay’s thesis that Hezbollah are indeed super-terrorists and well organised because they would have a lot of experience. Hamas were also late on the scene because they had to wait for Yasser Arafat to die.
In Gaza, Hamas did not wait for Arafat’s death (2004). They took over in 2001, since when, and following Sheikh Yassin’s assassination by Israel, Gaza has been developed more as an Iranian forward base than for its people – goals that will hard to reconcile in the perpetual deadlock, not least with Iran’s goal of casting Israel into the sea on principle, regardless of policy.
Makes uneasy reading.
Which begs the question: “Why did the US invade Iraq in 2003 ?”
Unless of course the plan was to use Iraq as a base to invade Iran.
Conspicuous by his absence in the article: Qassem Suleimani, eliminated by the US shortly before the pandemic. Building and training Hezbollah is one of his early successes, and indeed part of his legacy.
As the article rightly explains: Iran and Suleimani in particular, unlike Sunni petrol monarchies, did more than just pouring money over fanatics.
How fascinating! Another UnHerd piece that carries water for Salafism and the interests of Saudi Arabia.