Hezbollah and Syrian Army Units Finishing Off
Terrorists of Al-Nusra
By
Andre Vltchek
August 14,
2017 "Information
Clearing House"
- It came unexpectedly, rapidly and with great
force: on 21 July 2016, Hezbollah in Lebanon and
the Syrian army from their side, in unison,
attacked positions of the malevolent terrorist
group, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly known as
Al-Nusra Front), in the mountainous province of
Jroud Arsal in Bekaa Valley, on the border of
two countries.
Simultaneously, the Lebanese Army surrounded and
hermetically sealed the area around Arsal town,
preventing new terrorist forces from entering
the battle zone.
More than
150 militants were killed. Two dozen Hezbollah
fighters lost their lives. Despite the difficult
mountainous terrain, the battle was swift,
heroic and well coordinated. The group was
forced into accepting a ceasefire agreement,
which went into effect on 27 July, and which
stipulates that all of its fighters will be
transferred by the army to a designated area
inside Syria (Idlib).
Vanessa
Beeley, Associate Editor of the 21st Century
Wire, wrote this comment for my essay, literally
from “the rubble of East Aleppo”:
“This
is a momentous victory for the Resistance
against the NATO and Gulf state terrorists.
The black flags have been torn down in Arsal
and the flags of Hezbollah, Lebanon and
Syria are flying side by side as a symbol of
the unity of anti-imperialist, anti-Zionist
forces in the region. The heroes who gave
their lives for this hard-won victory will
always be remembered and honored by those
whose lives and culture had been under
threat from the malevolent forces of
extremism and terrorism.”
Who are
these terrorists, based for so long at both
sides of the border?
The Nusra
Front was al Qaeda’s official wing since the
beginning of the Syrian war, but in 2016 it
decided to split, at least formally, from its
former mentor. It rapidly ‘reinvented’ itself.
Now it is fighting as part of the Jabhat Fatah
al-Sham Islamist Alliance, or more precisely, as
its dominant force.
Lebanon
has often been described as a time bomb, with
dormant ISIS cells spread all over the country
(even in the predominantly Christian areas),
with al Qaeda first and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham
later controlling several pockets in the north,
and with the constant threat of an Israeli
invasion from the south. Tiny Lebanon also has a
notoriously weak government, and it is divided
along religious lines. For years it has been
facing perpetual refugee crises, with
Palestinian refugees literally ‘stuck’ here for
decades (with extremely limited rights), and
with still more than one million Syrian
refugees, most of them forced to flee the brutal
war triggered by NATO and its allies in the
Gulf.
As
Hezbollah and the Syrian army were leading a
decisive battle against the terrorists, the
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri was
meeting U.S. President Donald Trump in
Washington D.C., discussing, among other issues,
additional U.S. sanctions against Hezbollah,
which most Western countries label as a
“terrorist group (either entire organization, or
at least its military wing).”
On 26
July, Reuters reported:
“Standing beside Hariri in the White House
Rose Garden, Trump said Hezbollah is a
threat to Lebanon from within. He called the
powerful Shi’ite Muslim group a “menace” to
the Lebanese people and to the entire
region… U.S. lawmakers introduced
legislation last week seeking to increase
sanctions on Hezbollah by further
restricting its ability to raise money and
recruit and increasing pressure on banks
that do business with it.”
Mr.
Hariri, a sworn enemy of Syria and its
government, said nothing to contradict the U.S.
leader. Born in Saudi Arabia (he holds both KSA
and Lebanese citizenships), Mr. Hariri stood
still, as Mr. Trump unleashed derogatory
rhetoric against the only group in Lebanon which
is capable of providing social services to all
of its citizens, and which heroically defended
Lebanon during the Israeli invasion.
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As Trump
spoke and Hariri obediently listened, shock
waves were running through political and even
financial circles in Lebanon. Here, life without
Hezbollah would come to a total standstill, most
social services would collapse, and the country
would be virtually left exposed and defenseless.
“America’s
assistance can help to ensure that the Lebanese
army is the only defender Lebanon needs,” Trump
said at a White House news conference. He made
sure not to mention the amount of money or type
of hardware the U.S. was willing to supply. No
details were given. Mr. Hariri never dared to
ask publicly.
Everyone
in the Middle East knows clearly what all this
could mean: perhaps the U.S. aid would increase
the salaries of top military officers, and even
buy few new fancy (US or EU made) weapons, but
it would definitely not save Lebanon in case it
was once again attacked by Israel, or if it were
to be overrun by the huge number of NATO and
Gulf-sponsored or directly supported Islamist
extremists, who have already been infiltrated
for years, into Syrian territory which is right
across the border.
For now,
however, there is much hope and plenty of
reasons to celebrate, in both cities and
countryside, all across Lebanon. Mr. Modar Nasr
(not his real name), a leading young Syrian
intellectual presently based in Beirut,
explained to me:
“What happened in
Arsal showed that there is actually hope for
a better Lebanon. For the first time in
years the forces of ‘March 14” and “March 8”
stood together to fight against Nusra and
other terrorist factions. The operation was
not only led by Hezbollah, but also by the
Lebanese army and the Syrian army. That is
why we saw this sweeping victory in battle
expected to last at least one month.”
Now the
next stage of this sweeping operation is just
beginning. It consists of a frontal attack
against Daesh (ISIS) in an adjacent area of the
border zone.
On 28
July, the Lebanese Army was heavily engaged,
using tanks, pounding positions of the
Islamic State on the outskirts of Ras
Baalbeck.
So
far, everything has been going according to
plan. That is, according to a plan created and
being implemented by Hezbollah, Syria and the
Lebanese Army.
Where the
U.S. and present Lebanese Prime Minister stand,
is clear. It is also obvious that their designs
do not coincide with the interests of the
majority of the Lebanese people, and those from
the entire region.
The
leadership of Hezbollah reacted with civility
and calm to the events in Washington. On June
26, The Daily Star in Beirut reported:
“At the start of
his televised speech Wednesday, Hezbollah
Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
said he would not respond to comments made
by U.S. President Donald Trump during his
meeting with Prime Minister Saad Hariri
earlier in the week, so as not to embarrass
the Lebanese delegation to Washington.”
In
reference to the ongoing battles, Hassan
Nasrallah proclaimed:
“The
objective is to have the armed groups that
Nusra control exit from Lebanon to Syria…
This is a righteous battle … anyone who is
hesitant can ask the people [starting in
Hermel] who used to have rockets rain down
on them … and behind them all of Bekaa. Let
them ask in the areas that suffered [the
deaths of] martyrs from car bomb attacks and
the areas who were on the verge of being
targeted. Let him ask these questions of
himself…”
“We
took the decision. This is not an Iranian
decision; it’s not Iran that told Hezbollah
… it is not a Syrian decision, not even in
Flita. We called the Syrian leadership and
asked them for their help in this area
because they had priorities elsewhere … this
is an internal decision.”
The speech
was concluded by a clear message of defiance and
confidence, sent across the ocean to the United
States:
“Our people today
are afraid of no one … not a [Donald] Trump,
or a [George] Bush or a [Barack] Obama or
[Ariel] Sharon.”
The
balance of power in the Middle East is rapidly
changing. The West is discredited, and so are
several of its allies. The involvement of Russia
and to some extent China, has reassured various
regional powers and movements that are fighting,
directly or indirectly against both Western
occupations and interventions. Countries located
as far away as Afghanistan, are watching
closely, with great interest.
Andre
Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker
and investigative journalist. He has covered
wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. Three
of his latest books are revolutionary novel
“Aurora”
and two bestselling works of political
non-fiction: “Exposing
Lies Of The Empire”
and “Fighting
Against Western Imperialism”.
View his other books
here.
Andre is making films for teleSUR and Al-Mayadeen.
Watch
Rwanda
Gambit,
his groundbreaking documentary about Rwanda and
DRCongo. After having lived in Latin America,
Africa and Oceania, Vltchek presently resides in
East Asia and the Middle East, and continues to
work around the world. He can be reached through
his website
and his
Twitter.
The
views expressed in this article are solely those
of the author and do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of Information Clearing House.
