Lebanon must be united against ISIL danger: Commentator

Press TV has conducted an interview with Radwan Rizk, a political commentator in Beirut, about Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah calling on the international community and especially on the Lebanese authorities to step up fight against ISIL Takfiri group, which is threatening mankind.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: The Secretary General touched on of course several issues but the main one it seems to be is talking about the united front that is needed in countering ISIL.

Do you think that he can be successful and actually getting others on that bandwagon even looking at inside of Lebanon which he talked about a few different times as for as the division inside. Do you think that he can be successful in actually trying to get forces united?

Rizk: Well to tell you the truth, to be honest, I do not think that that is reachable [in] the near future because some groups inside Lebanon and outside Lebanon still believe that they can be on the side of ISIS, they can use ISIS just to confront with the Lebanese resistance and to oust President Bashar al-Assad.

So I think they are not capable to understand the warning and the words of Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah. They hope, the other groups hope that ISIS could achieve some sort of victory and then they can get rid of what they call enemies for them. They want to use them. They want to employ ISIS in their political confrontation with Hezbollah inside Lebanon and with President Bashar al-Assad and the other groups in Bahrain and also in Iran and Iraq.

So I believe that the call of Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah will have no attention from other groups. They will keep on going with their policies. They are denying the needs of this unity. Even though I think they do not understand the danger coming from ISIS towards everybody. It is the Sunnis before the Shias plus other minorities and they did not learn from what is happening or what has happened in Syria so far and what is happening In Iraq. And I believe that if they do not understand this, we could see this scenario repeated in Lebanon as the groups warned or they have threatened Lebanon or they said that so many times, they announced that they have the capability to invade Lebanon.

Well fortunately that the resistance forces have the force and the capability to stop them from invading Lebanon especially in the Qalamoun mountains ...       

Press TV: Well let just expand on what you have just said Mr. Rizk, let me just jump in here. Mr. Rizk, you just talked about the resistance having the forces. I want to look at that aspect of it because Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah a couple of times talked about the strength of the resistance and actually swore that the resistance has never been stronger and never been more ready to confront, dealing with confrontations.

I want to look at that aspect of it because of course there have been many inside of Lebanon and of course outside of Lebanon talking about losses that resistance had to dealt with and that they were not as strong as they used to be but he reiterated several times about the strength of the resistance. Your take on that aspect of things.   

Rizk: Well of course because if we look at the details of the Qalamoun battle we know that it is a very high mountains, very difficult mountains and we have seen that lots of technology and weapons, new technology and weapons being introduced by the Lebanese resistance and especially what is the most new and sophisticated was they have used drones in these battles and success was on their side in very short heroic time. It is a time that nobody knew or could believe that these difficult mountains or difficult territories could be liberated in such a short time.

After knowing that those groups, they were prepared for the battle they were there, they were dug in very well in those mountains and they had all the supplies needed, all the enforcements needed, even though that did not protect them from being hammered by the power of Hezbollah.

And Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah irritated many times that we have not forgotten about the southern front against the Israelis and yet we have not called for a general, let’s say, embarkation in the Lebanese resistance and that the resistance is still fighting with its normal forces and even he also mentioned that the Lebanese resistance has the power to call for tens of thousands of fighters which means that could turn the whole situation upside down.

I believe that Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah trying to call for some sort of political solutions inside Lebanon to unite the Lebanese people, all Lebanese people behind the Lebanese resistance just to eliminate this kind of danger coming from outside the country by ISIS coming from Syria.

So he is hoping that he could protect Lebanon from such a danger because he does not want any or he believes that he has the power or the responsibility to protect every Lebanese town and does not has to be a Shia or a Sunni as we know that Lebanese Bekaa Valley is full of different religious groups and the invasion of ISIS would not protect or differentiate between any kind, any groups either be Christians or Sunnis or Shias.

So he is trying to explain to them in his best words that the country is under danger. It is not only Shias, it is not only the Lebanese resistance but the whole country just in the eye of the storm and we must be united against this kind of storm.

As I said, I am not so optimistic that they can understand the words of Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah.

AHK/KA

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