Your Voice in a World where Zionism, Steel, and Fire, have Turned Justice Mute

 

 

The *FREE ARAB VOICE*
July 15, 2000
In this issue of the Free Arab Voice (FAV) we bring you part three
of the Lessons of South Lebanon series. In this part, we look at the
organizational experience, modus operandi, and internal discipline of
Hizbullah and the Lebanese resistance. This aspect of the lessons of
South Lebanon is examined from two separate, albeit complementary,
angles:
1) The Organizational Experience of Hizbullah, the Impressions of a Visitor,
   by Dr. Tariq Kayyali
2) The Great, and the Greater Victory in South Lebanon, by Laith Shubeilatt.
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About this issue of FAV:
In the last issue of FAV, we discussed the military strategy of the
Lebanese resistance. We demonstrated how the resistance succeeded
through the adaptation of people's war and guerilla warfare to the
specific circumstances of South Lebanon in neutralizing the technological
and conventional edge of the Zionists (See elsewhere on the website).
In part three of the Lessons of South Lebanon series, we look at the
organizational structure and habits of the Lebanese resistance, specifically
Hizbullah. The first article in that regard constitutes the observations of
Dr. Tariq Kayyali, a physician, and a long-time political activist who did
around eight years in jail intermittently since the sixties. Dr. Kayyali
is the coordinator of personnel in the Steering Committee of the Association
against Zionism and Racism (AZAR). His stints in Jordanian jail were on
account of belonging to or organizing cells belonging to 'illegal'
organizations on the left, and the PLO. In the early nineties he was one of
the founders of the [Arab] Nationalist Action Front. He was a member of the
Jordanian delegation to visit South Lebanon recently, and his remarks below
are the fruit of that visit.
Laith Shubeillat is the well-known Jordanian and Arab opposition figure
whom we have featured in FAV several times before (see elsewhere on FAV's
website). He is the President of the Association against Zionism and
Racism (AZAR), among other things. His comments below focus on the
transformation of organizational approach into political victories.
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1) The Organizational Experience of Hizbullah, the Impressions of a
   Visitor, by Dr. Tariq Kayyali
The symptoms of defeat abound all over the heavily fortified Zionist
posts in South Lebanon.
Upon visiting some of these now liberated posts, one is likely to find
a hastily deserted shoe laying over here, a hastily deserted sock scattered
over there, a personal Identification Card forgotten on the floor, in
addition to all of the weaponry and hardware the enemy has left behind. It
is clear then that these posts have generally been hastily deserted and that
those who were supposed to defend them have chosen to beat it to safety in a
very disorderly retreat, to the point of causing traffic jams on the roads
leading to occupied Palestine.  Therefore, what happened in South Lebanon
can be safely classified as a genuine collapse for the Zionists and their
allies.  And there will be no question whatsoever in the mind of any
impartial historian that in the year 2000, the invader has been conquered
and defeated in South Lebanon.
However, one cannot understand the process that led to this great victory
without studying, in addition to the military and political experience of
the Lebanese resistance, the manner in which the ORGANIZATION of Hizbullah
in particular operates.
Yes, we were all flabbergasted with the victory of liberating South Lebanon.
  But I have been equally at awe with the institutional MACHINE that
Hizbullah has created. One may not be able to directly observe or see the
structure of that organization. But those who watch carefully for its
effects in action will definitely be able to feel and probe its muscles and
sinews nevertheless.
For example, our large Jordanian/Palestinian delegation of about 150 found
that every detail related to our visit to Lebanon from beginning to end was
well-organized and attended to.  This included the schedule for visiting
different sites, meetings, speeches, hotels, and down to the press
conference. The members of Hizbullah were real escorts, in the full sense
of the word, in the organizational as well as the security sense.
The greatness of that INSTITUTION could also be noted during our meeting
with Nassrallah, the General Secretary of Hizbullah.  Hizbullah members were
extremely organized in their arrangements.  Their words were counted,
specific, and always served a purpose.  Each one of them knew exactly what
his role was. This is no one-man show, but an institution where even
leaders lead as part of a team.
When we went to the South to inspect the liberated posts, we found that the
enemy has built around each post a set of heavy fortifications.  Take the
Citadel of Shaqif for example.  It forms a high man-made stone structure on
top of a hill. It is practically unreachable.  The invader built another
citadel around that citadel. Still, the enemy did not have the luxury of
moving freely within these positions. Neither did he have the ability to
move in and out of these fortifications, except in what looks like moving
forts.  Even then, these moving forts were to have no openings whatsoever,
neither windows nor shooting holes, because these would have become very
enticing targets for the resistance. Some of the operations that the
resistance has undertaken in the Citadel of Shaqif required several days and
nights of surveillance and biding. The men of the resistance would
eventually be able to crawl or sneak up into the Shaqif to slay the invader
with knives, as gunfire would have given away their positions.  That is the
greatness of organization and DISCIPLINE. Unruly blabbermouths can never do
something like this!
Indeed, both special operations and battles on a larger scale presuppose a
great degree of preparation, accuracy, and organization. The readiness of
the Hizbullah organization has proven to be immaculate as far as that goes.
They have been perseverant, patient, and steady. They have upheld a firm
belief in the justice of the cause for which they were fighting and a clear
and specific objective in mind. They knew that the invader should not be
left in peace and should not be allowed the chance to settle down if the
Lebanese South is not to become infested with Zionist colonies like other
occupied Arab lands. Thus, the resistance did not let a day pass without
giving the invader hell.
Upon entering the Lebanese South, one will discern isolated villages and
an infrastructure that lies in shambles. In spite of that, our delegation
did not experience any chaos or disruptions of schedule. Everything went
in an orderly fashion. More importantly, we DID NOT SEE a single armed
Hizbullah member roaming the streets. That is the greatness of organization!
We saw no bullies or hooligans. What we saw was modesty, calm, order,
security, and a state of relaxation prevailing amongst the people. And
that is extremely important because this modest victor seeks to preserve
and enhance his victory. He knows better than to antagonize other elements
of the population. This made the emergence of national unity on the internal
front possible.
(Compare that to the criminal excesses of the gangsters of the
so-called Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank and Gaza - FAV).
We have gone to many of the posts of the resistance. We noted that each of
those has a specific role to play.  Each center maintains contact with the
other centers to form an umbrella that covers all of the areas controlled by
the resistance. When Zionists shot some members of our delegation at
Fatima's Gate, everything was over in a matter of seconds. Before I could
do much as physician, members of Hizbullah began hauling our brothers atop
motorcycles to the hospital.
In summary, we found them ready for everything. This means that they have
succeeded in BUILDING INSTITUTIONS. This includes political, social,
organizational, and military institutions, as well as some economic
establishments. Thus emerges the need to build institutions in order to
resist the invader, and to achieve the liberation of Palestine. It is
possible if we take good notes from those who have shown us how.
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Using order to deal with the disorderly, using calm to deal with the
clamorous, is mastering the heart - Sun Tzu, the Art of War
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2) The Great and the Greater Victory in South Lebanon, by Laith Shubeilatt
Lebanon and its resistance has become the most important MODEL in these
times. The state of Lebanon as small as it is, used to be taken very
lightly and discounted very quickly in regional politics until the recent
past. Yet it turned out to be the one state holding fast while larger Arab
states fell down.
From within this small state, a smaller group of freedom fighters then
emerged to hold fast and make victory for Lebanon.  BUT THE GREATER VICTORY
IS UNDOUBTEDLY THE PEACEFUL ORDERLY WAY WITH WHICH THE VICTORS ENTERED THE
LIBERATED LANDS.  In that respect, they have provided a moral epitome of the
best that our Arab-Islamic heritage has to offer. The humble confidence
with which the resistance handled its victory has disgraced all the
pseudo-claimants and impostors of civilization, be they European or not,
who keep on labeling us as 'terrorists'.
By contrast, General De Gaulle allowed the French Resistance, upon
entering Paris with the Allies in 1945, to engage in an extensive
campaign of ruthless killings, persecutions, slayings, and abuses
of Frenchmen who cooperated with the Vichi government and the Nazis.
This went on for several months before the rule of law was imposed.
On the other hand, THE MEN OF THE LEBANESE RESISTANCE DID NOT ENGAGE
IN ANY OF THESE VICIOUS PRACTICES AGAINST THE LEBANESE WHO COOPERATED
WITH THE LAHD GOVERNMENT AND THE ZIONISTS. The Lebanese resistance in
general, and Hizbullah in particular, have proven beyond reasonable
doubt that they are freedom fighters, not murderers, and a clique of
believers, not a gang of killers.
When they won, they swept the lands they liberated with their ethics
first. Before defeating the enemy, they had already defeated their
whims and caprices. A prime example of that is the freedom fighter
from Hizbullah who refrained from taking revenge on his father's
murderer, preferring instead to deliver him to the Lebanese authorities,
where the authorities had no presence in the liberated South yet.
The Lebanese collaborator who murdered the fighter's father was perfectly
at his disposal, but the discipline and the political education that make
for a genuine freedom fighter prevailed over the primal instinct to kill
one's killers, and thus become like them, like a Zionist.
This sort of cohesive organization had an important political advantage,
besides achieving liberation.  For when the Zionists were contemplating a
unilateral withdrawal from South Lebanon, before that withdrawal turned
into a disorderly retreat, they were betting that with the absence of
the rule of law in the Lebanese South, sectarian strife would erupt
between the Shiites, the Maronites, and the Druze.
Of course, the humiliating way in which the Zionists and their allies
retreated was quite a pleasant surprise to all of us. In spite of the
surprise, however, the men of the resistance did not rush in to settle
accounts with collaborators.  Instead, the ethics, discipline, and
organization they GREW UP ON prevailed, leading to the failure of the
Zionist plot to foment sectarian strife in South Lebanon, and through that
sectarian strife in the rest of Lebanon and the Arab World. The men of the
resistance entered in peace and humility, as God has taught us in the Quran,
and following in the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad (SAAW) when the early
Muslims conquered Mecca.
THAT WAS THE GREATER VICTORY.
This sort of self-control also gave the Lebanese government the ability
to insist on not sending its troops to the liberated South except when
it finds that politically expedient, not at the time the Zionists and
the U.S. Government choose. The government of Lebanon is still resting
assured that there will be no security penetration in the South. So the
law and order card remains something that Lebanon, not its enemies,
can play.
Furthermore, it is extremely important to point out here that what
happened in Lebanon was as well the political outcome of the way
in which the resistance APPROACHED the other groups in Lebanon.
Their style was inclusive, cooperative, and open to others, with
unwavering focus on the common grounds, which is the liberation
of the South.  The close relationship between Nassrallah and Emile
Lahoud, the President of Lebanon, for example, has been crucial
to the success of the liberation effort and its aftermath.
Note here that the national consensus in Lebanon emerged around
leaders who came from many sects. For example, Maronites gave to
Lebanon this great leader, the President of the Lebanese Republic.
The Sunnis gave an honest man called Salim El Houss. The Shiites
gave a group of militant leaders foremost among whom is Hassan Nassrallah.
*EACH GAVE TO LEBANON A NATIONAL FIGURE, NOT THE LEADER OF A RELIGIOUS SECT*.
This made national unity possible in Lebanon. Whereas the political bet was
to turn Lebanon into the model along which the Arab World would be divided
and fragmented in the internal fires of sectarian and ethnic conflicts,
Lebanon has become a model for unity. The resistance made national unity
possible. And LEADERSHIP made this unity hold.
Thus Lebanon became the most relevant model for the rest of us.
Whereas 'Lebanonization' used to mean civil war and disintegration,
that same motto has become lofty and luminous. We should all seek
Lebanonization now. We should all seek to implement the Lebanese
model, and to emulate the political example of Lebanese society,
where people coexist and thrive on mutual understanding, where no
one group practices tyranny on the other, and where everybody cooperates
for the common good. Granted, there will be a race and a competition
in that model where the winners are those who stand up to the invader
more than the others. So let those who can provide the nation with a
stream of martyrs lead ahead, and let those who do nothing but talk
get out of the way.
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Watch out for part four of the Lessons of South Lebanon series.
Coming soon!




  

    

    

    
FAV Editor: Ibrahim Alloush Editor@freearabvoice.org
Co-editors: Nabila Harb Harb@freearabvoice.org
  Muhammad Abu Nasr Nasr@freearabvoice.org
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