PR'bollah

While I have been in Lebanon, I have talked to numerous people. Many of them, Christians, Sunnis, and Shi'ites voice their support of Hizbollah. Talking to Hizbollah members and their supporters is a bit like playing high stakes poker. You need a good poker face and have to put up with the hand you are dealt. When I ask them about Hizbollah's connection to terrorism I get one of four answers:

1. "Its all American propaganda/Whenever America decides it doesn't like a group it calls it a terrorist group." (Its America's fault, as usual)

2. "They are resistance fighters, they never committed acts of terror." (Outright denial; Play the "Resistance Card")

3. "Has anyone from Hizbollah been nasty to you?" (Answering a question with a question. See, if they aren't mean to you, how in the hell could they bomb an embassy?!)

4. "They haven't killed any Lebanese." (Self Interest Card; This is factually incorrect considering they killed many in the Amal party during the war of the camps. When they bombed the US embassy in 1983 they killed 43 Lebanese. During the 1984 bombing of the US embassy they killed 20 Lebanese)

How is it Hizbollah can sway so many people into their sphere of thinking? It can't be ALL smoke an mirrors. They do legitimately (though massive Syrian and Iranian aid) provide social services for impoverished Shi'ites in the south,Bekka, and Beirut. They did have a hand in kicking out the Israelis from the south. Nonetheless, they still committed acts of terror (two bombings of the American Embassy in Beirut in '83 and '84; bombed the AMIA building in Buenos Aires; and kidnapped a number of Westerners), through instigating the war with Israel last summer they directly caused Lebanon's fledgling economy to collapse, and their armed presence causes an uproar amongst many other sectarian groups (namely the Sunnis, Christians and Druze).

The 2006 Israel-Lebanon War is another topic that solicits a number of responses:

1. "This was in response to Hizbollah members kidnapped by the Israelis." (Big Lie Technique; If you tell a lie enough people will believe it; just for the record Israel hadn't kidnapped any Hizbollah members before the war began. The operation to kidnap Israeli soldiers was originally called "Operation Free Samir Kuntar." Kuntar was a member of the PLF [Palestine Liberation Front] who murdered 4 people in Israel, including a 4 year old girl, with his rifle butt.)

2. "Hizbollah was trying to free Shebba Farms." (Occupation Card; Shebba Farms is a part of Syria that Israel has occupied since 1967, Syria has said its "given" the area to Lebanon. The UN stands behind Israel [a first] in saying the Israelis fully pulled out of Lebanon in 2000)

3. "All Hizbollah did was kidnap 2 soldiers, Israel killed 1200 Lebanese and destroyed the country; it was a disproportionate attack." (Turn the Aggressor Into the Victim; Who decides what is disproportionate (a very big moral-subjective)? If a terror group say [and I am speaking hypothetically here]...Attacked 2 buildings in NYC and one in Washington, DC is invading the country that supported them disproportionate?)

4. "Israel was planning to do this for a while" (Facts Taken Out of Context; Olmert admitted Israel had plans on the books in case Israelis were kidnapped in the north. Even so, if the US was attacked by China and we used one of our already made plans to strike back, does that mean America had been planning to attack China and was simply waiting for an excuse?)

Responses aside, the question remains how so many people can believe these things? Its a bit like believers in 9-11 conspiracies (and trust me there are plenty of those here), scientifically and factually, all of the theories have been disproved. When the facts are stacked up against people who believe these things, their response is to claim there is yet another conspiracy trying to hide the truth or alter reality. Here in Lebanon, Hizbollah has a number apparatuses to make sure those who believe in their web of conspiracies is believed:

1. Al Manar TV. Al Manar is Hizbollah's TV station here in Lebanon, it comes complete with Hizbollah propaganda videos, documentaries on how wonderful Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is, and anti-Semitic cartoons for the kids (like the cigarette industry, 'you gotta get 'em while their young').



2. Pop Stars. Many pop stars here in Lebanon (as in the US) love to jump onto a cause and support it all the way. Usually in the US, the cause isn't one involving armed Islamists (except for of course Janeane Garofalo) For example Julia Boutrous did a song based on a speech Nasrallah gave during the war:



Who needs Brittney Spears showing cleavage when you have steamy Jihadist action like this?

3. A Culture of Blame. Many Lebanese I have met subscribe to a culture of anti-self-responsibility. Nothing is ever their fault, it is always an outside actor. This all ties into the belief in crazy conspiracies to explain bad/good/odd things that happen.

4. That 'Ole Time Religion. Mix militancy with religion and you have a great "good vs. evil" fight. Satan is played by Israel/America ...[insert Western nation here]. God and his righteous forces is represented by the Davidesque (as in David and Goliath) Hizbollah. Its a real win-win situation using religion. If you militarily lose it can easily be written off as a punishment by God for failing to do something. If you win, it was divinely inspired, and shows how God is actually on your side. "If God is with us, who could be against us?"
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* In the US we have restaurants shaped like hot dogs, always fun to eat in a place that looks like what you're eating. In the photo above, Hizbollah constructed a roadside, Dome of the Rock. For Hizbollah its always good to drive by what you launch rockets for.

* I've heard conflicting reports that Julia Boutrous is a Communist, a member/supporter of the SSNP, and/or likes Michel Aoun. If anyone can give me the interview where she outlines her real political philosophy that would be great. For now I'll take down the "Michel Aoun supporter bit"