What Really Happened Behind the Scenes in the Hizbollah Arena
11/07/2008
http://www.asharqalawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=2&id=13378
The Hizbollah ("Party of God") is so secretive that its operational and structural integrity remains impervious from anyone outside its inner circle.
The war in the summer of 2006 was destructive and disastrous for the Lebanese people and to a lesser degree to Hizbollah and Israel. Not much is known what went on behind the scenes in the Hizbollah arena. According to a Western intelligence leak, the truth, only now, will begin to emerge.
On July 16, 2006 a Western intelligence source began intercepting a series of phone calls made between Hizbollah and the pro Syrian camp in Lebanon... the latter being in frequent contacted with the Iranian embassy in Beirut as well as Hizbollah delegates in Teheran. The calls were made to the Iranian government as well as Iranian Intelligence and revolutionary guard to plead with the government of Tehran to broker a cease-fire with Israel via European liaisons. The intercepted calls lasted until August 7, 2006.
During this time Hizbollah, who was in frequent contact with the Iranian embassy in Beirut, pleaded for a cease-fire. This was requested from the highest echelons of the Hizbollah leadership and approved by Hizbollah chief, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah.
According to sources, the Iranians refused to allow Hizbollah to ask for a cease-fire and guaranteed they would pay them $200,000,000 to continue fighting Israel. Furthermore, after UN drafted cease-fire would be brokered, the Hizbollah leadership would receive an additional $200,000,000 from Iranian and Syrian-backed sponsors. The monetary guarantee and payments would be coordinated by the cleric, Ali Akbar Mohtashami, and delivered to Hizbollah's representatives in Iran. Then it would be funneled over a period of time back into Lebanon.
Iran meddled in this conflict because they foresaw a possible hope of tricking the world into a false illusion that their Shi'ite proxy guerilla group was ultimately victorious over mighty Israel. This false victory would have the Shi'ite world emerge even stronger, especially after the elimination of their top Sunni rival, Saddam Hussein. And this, Iran had hoped, would deter the US and Israel from an attack on the Islamic Republic because of a new perceived balance of power. But Iran also had a broader agenda. To test both the American and Israeli resolve.
Hizbollah at first refused the Iranian offer because, on the battlefield, Hizbollah was incurring some heavy losses against the Israeli Defense Forces. Its members were being killed and most of their bases destroyed. Sectors of the Hizbollah stronghold of Dahaya al Jnubya in South Beirut was being obliterated every hour. Perhaps most distressing to the Hizbollah leadership was that it had lost the immunity that it enjoyed since the early 1990's and were now being hunted down by both Israeli intelligence and the Israeli Air Force.
According to the Western intelligence source, on July 16, 2006 at 08:04AM the first call came in. A member of the Hizbollah leadership by the name of Khalil made a call to Tehran. "We seek protection of Allah. They are killing us all. We stand no chance against this powerful army. We need a cease-fire. We need out Now! They [our leaders] want this to end. We are loosing."
The Iranian reply was, "This Jihad will bear fruits for your organization in the future. The donors will see to that. We will re-supply you. We will take care of you. May Allah bless your fighters and leaders."
The Iranians took up the initiative to continually re-supply and re-stock Hizbollah during the
conflict, thus ensuring a volley of at least one hundred homemade, unguided rockets a day into Israel. The reason Iran ordered continuos volleys into Israel, was because Tehran was confident that as long as Hizbollah kept on firing 150 rockets a day, Israel would keep on fighting.
On July 19, 2006 at 10:20AM the Hizbollah leadership in Iran sent representatives to make a visit to the Iranian Foreign Ministry in a bid to broker a cease-fire or surrender deal. "Our organization has no chance but to surrender. Soon the Zionist dogs would already have set up base in Beirut." Iran again refused. The Hizbollah leadership demanded to meet with the Grand Ayatolloah Ali Khameni. That request was turned down as well.
Three days later another Hizbollah delegation in Syria was sent to Isfahan, Iran with authorization from Hizbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah to release to the Red Cross the two kidnapped Israeli soldiers. Iran refused and argued that this would be an admission of surrender and defeat for the Shi'ite world. They even threatened Hizbollah that they would cut off all ties with the Shi'ite group if they even dared give a word on the fate of the soldiers. Even up until today, the fate of the two soldiers has become one of the most guarded secrets even within the inner circles of the Hizbollah leadership. Even Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah doesn't know fully of their fate. Perhaps only ten people in the world know where the two reservists are or if, indeed, they are even alive. Someone who does know is the Hizbollah military chief, Imad Fayez al Mugnyie, who has been wanted by both the CIA and Mossad for over 20 years.
Hizbollah was taking on heat at home from the [Lebanese] Siniora Government as well as from Saudi Arabia and from much of the rest of the Arab World. At 05:10PM on July 24, 2006 a coded message was delivered from the Hizbollah leadership in Lebanon to the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, which was in turn forwarded to the government of Teheran. This message read, "With the help of Allah, in the next 24 hours, the Hizbollah organization's political and military leadership would begin to call on all its fighters to pull back [retreat]." Iran shot down that request as well.
On July 26, 2006 an Israeli warplane attacked a UN observer post in South Lebanon killing four UN observers. Until today the precise motive for that attack is unknown. However, there is speculation that Hizbollah, with direct assistance from the Iranian Elite Revolutionary Guard, set up a transmitter next to the observation post to transmit radio signals so Israel would target the facility. The following morning Hizbollah officials in Teheran were told that this event and the expected international condemnation that would follow would cause Israel to slow down her offensive. Israel did not...
Iran did have more tricks up her sleeves. At the end of July, Iran decided it would pay off a Lebanese individual via Hizbollah intermediaries in the Baalbek region of Eastern Lebanon to claim his name was "Nasrallah.." Villagers were complicit in misleading Israel that one of Nasrallah's sons was hiding in the Baalbek hospital. The plan was put into action on August 1st. Israel sent in its commando teams and captured the individual whom was alleged to be Nasrallah's son. Days later the individual was freed. Another incident in which Iran had a hand was the providing of fake intelligence to Israel via another Lebanese intermediary of a secret location of a supposed underground bunker which housed the entire Hizbollah leadership. Israel fell for the trick again and dropped 24.5 tons of explosives on the location. That location was a mosque. The motives for these deceptions were to embarrass and tarnish the invincibility of the Israeli intelligence services. By doing so, Iran also tarnished Israel's claim that Tehran was developing a nuclear arsenal.
On July 31, 2006 3:17PM a representative of Naim Qassam, Nasrallah's chief deputy, made a surprise visit to the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. There, via satellite phone he made a tearful plea to Tehran telling them: "The Zionist enemy is succeeding in annihilating the Moqwama (Moqwama "Resistance" in Arabic and a common name referred to Hizbollah). We must have a cease-fire. Even if perceived as surrender, let it be. We already lost. Over 500 of our fighters have already martyred. We call on our Iranian brothers to let Allah have mercy on us."
The Iranian source denied Hizbollah"s request and demanded they keep fighting in order to test Israeli and American resolve in case of a possible attack on Iran. Teheran was guaranteed through several unnamed sources that Israel was not planning on attacking its nuclear plants in Nantaz, Isfahan and Arak for two reasons:
1) Israel was not yet military prepared for such a long-range strike as they were waiting on a US weapons shipment which was scheduled to come in at the beginning of 2007.
Israel would not prepare to attack its nuclear plants until all attempts at a political solution by the United Nations were exhausted.
Hence, via its war with Hizbollah, Israel would expose most, if not all, of its cards on the table. Iran wanted to keep up the fighting as long as possible until the UN-brokered cease-fire, which was foreseen on the horizon. Meanwhile, over a thousand Lebanese were killed in the fighting, both civilians and "militants." The tragedy in Qana occurred and much of Lebanon's infrastructure lay in rubble. Lebanon was a country in a complete vegetative state.
At 01:26 PM August 2, 2006 another call from Hizbollah came into the Iranian embassy, this time in Syria. "Al Moqwama has been destroyed in Bint Jbeil. Tens of our brothers have been killed by the Zionist thugs." Iran instructed Hizbollah to cover up all traces. "Just blend them in with the rest of the dead. Make them disappear. With GodÃf¢ââ?s‰â?z¢s Help we will claim victory for the resistance in Bint Jbeil... Be brave like the almighty Hussein [the father of Shiite Islam]."
The village of Bint Jbeil lies on the Israel/Lebanon border. It has special historical significance concerning the chronicles of the past 20-year Israel/Hizbollah conflict. In this village Nasrallah gave his famous victory speech in 2000. Hence, during the 2006 war, Hizbollah dispatched hundreds of its fighters especially to this village in specific, to directly confront the IDF. Israel lost 8 soldiers there. But in this village alone the IDF killed nearly 100 Hizbollah combatants.
Hizbollah managed to cover up its loses by burying their dead in mass graves. Those who survived were evacuated in civilian cars from the neighboring villages. Others fled on foot. Others were simply mixed in with the civilian deaths. The Iranian suggestion was, "When the war is over, divide the Zionist death toll by half, plus or minus a few, and that will be your death toll. This is a war not only for us but for the Shi'ite world, the Prophet Muhammad, and Hussein of Karbala." In total 124 Israeli soldiers lost their lives during the one month long conflict. Not surprising, after all hostilities ended, Hizbollah claimed only 68 of their fighters were lost (68 is what you get when you divide 124 by half, and then plus or minus from it).
Throughout the conflict Iran did allow Hizbollah to have scattered cease-fires here and there, under the disguise of allowing humanitarian aid, evacuation of Lebanese civilians populations, or evacuation of US citizens from the country, to allow their Shiite proxy to come up for a breather and to temporarily shut them up from their whinnying and crying for a cease-fire. The only pre-condition was, that those temporary cease-fires must be first initiated and offered by either the UN, EU, or US.
These cease-fires were interpreted as legitimate and even went as far as to fool the US, Israel, and the International Community that they were actual "good will gestures by Hizbollah. Purportedly According to the unnamed source, every time throughout these cease fires, Hizbollah would try to use them as loop holes in order to not have to resume the fighting. But the Iranians would constantly force them to continue.
Hizbollah claimed that even though they succeeded in hitting a couple of Israeli tanks, the IDF was advancing. A separate phone call was received on August 4, 2006 at 2:37PM by another high ranking Hizbollah military official saying, "Brothers, contact the Europeans, we need a cease-fire by any means necessary even if it means calling on all our fighters in Lebanon to wave a white flag, admitting defeat. We shoot rockets at their tanks. Most of the time they miss. Sometimes they are deflected. Sometimes they cause damage. Even a few times we succeeded in destroying them. But, nevertheless, the enemy are advancing like wildfire." The official went on to say, "It's like 1:10. We kill one of theirs, they kill ten of ours. For every tank we blow up they bring back ten. Your [Iranian fighters] agents blew up their ship they brought back ten. There is no winning with this American/British backed enemy."
In the beginning of August Hizbollah got the good news they were awaiting. International leaks started to emerge that a mutual cease-fire agreement was in the works. The less welcomed news was that the terms of a cease-fire would call on UNIFL and Lebanese Army to be deployed throughout South Lebanon, international inspectors would be positioned in Beirut naval and airports and Hizbollah must disarm... a disarmament everyone knew would never happen.
Israel in part agreed to this cease-fire because they knew it would be the first, last, and only time they would ever be offered a legitimate proposal to have the Lebanese Army and UNIFL to reign control over Southern Lebanon. It was also the first time in which Hizbollah had ever agreed to relinquish its control over Israel's northern border. Israel knew that even if they would have destroyed every Hizbollah member in Lebanon, occupy Lebanon for 10 years, dig up every Hizbollah member, or even demolish all of South Lebanon, the moment they would withdraw Hizbollah would return to the Israeli border.
Iran was furious. If Hizbollah were to agree to the terms of the cease-fire, Hizbollah (and its Iranian sponsor) would relinquish control over Southern Lebanon. However, the UN Resolution 1771 cease-fire was not without one goal being reached by the Islamic Republic. Iran was able to test (even as a recipient) sophisticated Israeli and American weapon technology...
Looking back at the summer war, Israel did not do that badly. Perhaps a 70:30 pro-con ratio. During the last days of the conflict Israel sent tens of thousands of its forces into Lebanon, most of the Hizbollah members south of the Litany River fled, hid, or were killed. There were a few groups of brave ones who still fought during the final days, killing about 30 Israeli soldiers. Killing only 30 soldiers is not something to be proud of, since the last days of the conflict Israel had over 32,000 troops over every millimeter of South Lebanon. But in total Israel killed between 700-800 Hizbollah fighters.
Had the Iranians allowed Hizbollah to agree to a cease-fire before the UN-brokered cease-fire, then Hizbollah would have remained in control over much of Southern Lebanon.
However, all was not lost. Hizbollah is almost half a billion dollars richer and Nasrallah is being funneled at least one million dollars every month by the Iranian embassy in Beirut in appreciation of the fact that he remains in an underground bunker. This war took a physical toll on Nasrallah as well. His beard became 70% whiter just in the first two weeks of the conflict.
Not only that Hizbollah pocketed such a large sum of money from Iran, but on top of it, Iran is also the sole monetary sponsor behind all the repairs and construction of the Shiite neighborhoods of Beirut and South Lebanon, that were obliterated by Israel during the 2006 War. Iran is constructing prime real estate in major portions of war torn South Beirut. Luxurious modern buildings, commercial centers, and neighborhoods being constructed there every moment of every second of the day. Iran is also the one who has been organizing all the Shiite victory celebrations and festivals in Beirut since the end of the war. Hence, Iran has succeeded astonishingly in making tons of new friends in the region of what has been formerly known in the past, as the Monte Carlo of the Middle East.
Iran always funded Hizbollah between $150,000,000-210,000,000 annually. On those annual funds there are always strict directions and requirements of where to allocate the money, some goes to; investments, charities, arms, hospitals, education, building construction for Shiite neighbohrhoods and businesses, but only a small sum of those annual funds Hizbollah is actually able to pocket every year, which is usually only a few million dollars. But that $400,000,000 that went to Hizbollah after the war was scotch free, Hizbollah got to pocket the whole entire amount. In addition to the $400,000,000 sum, Iran also continued to donate the same amount ($150,000,000-$210,000,000) of the regular funds for the usual yearly requirements ( investments, charities, arms, hospitals, education, building construction for Shiite neighbohrhoods and businesses), this year and last year.
Much of the world fell for the false illusion of a Hizbollah divine victory. Essentially, Hizbollah was Iran's sacrificial lamb for Iran has emerged even wiser and more ready than ever to counter an Israeli or American attack on its soil.
Hizbollah lost this war because they were squashed and defeated militarily by Israel. Israel lost this war because it fell into the hands of Iran's tricks. Unlike Hizbollah and Israel, Iran emerged the real true winner of this war.
