Mr. Naim Qassem is the current head, or Secretary General, of the Hezbollah [Party of God in English]. His militia group calls itself “resistance”, even if in reality it has always functioned as Iran’s proxy since its creation in the 1980s.
Insolently, despite its recent harsh defeat, along with Lebanon’s massive destruction and many human losses, Mr. Qassem keeps insisting on his group’s “right to resist“. He does so without any respect and consideration for Lebanon’s sovereignty and best interests.
As reported in l’Orient Today, and according to Mr. Qassem, “the aggressive war against Lebanon is also American, conducted through Israeli crimes to ensure American domination” (https://tinyurl.com/9k95scjj). Of course, there is truth in his statement. However, the latter does not tell us the full story: Hezbollah has always ensured the domination, and maybe now the more fragile survival, of the Iranian regime. As a reminder, it did so by opening an illegal front against Israel on October 8, 2023 for an entire year—claiming to support Palestine or Jerusalem. Israel retaliated in the cruellest way possible and it is occupying the Land of the Cedars once again.
Without any schadenfreude for his group’s losses, and even with respect for its pain despite her anger, Bambi urges Mr. Qassem to remember that he is Lebanese like her ancestors—surely NOT Persian, except through his sickening loyalty to the Iranian regime.
To come back to the reality on the ground in Lebanon, it is about time for the Hezbollah to finally begin to learn to accept its defeat. This would contribute to its transformation from a scary military force into a strictly political voice. No one should prevent it from having the legitimate right to continue with its mission of resistance, mindset of Islamism, and even “love of hating” both Israel and the USA. However, this resistance has to be expressed in legally acceptable ways, both domestically and internationally.
Enough of wars of foreign powers in Lebanon. Just enough, for God’s sake.
