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The Lebanese resistance defeats Israel yet again Issued by: CPGB-ML Issued on: 17 August 2006 We extend our congratulations and greetings to the brave people of Lebanon and their resistance forces, who have yet again dealt a massive blow to the racist, imperialist-puppet state of Israel. We assert that Israel’s bombardment and occupation of Lebanon is unjust and illegitimate. This latest war has not been motivated by the capture of two Israeli soldiers in a run-of-the-mill border incident (Israel has conducted many cross-border raids into Lebanon since being expelled by the Lebanese resistance in 2000 and thousands of kidnapped Palestinian and Lebanese languish in Israeli jails), nor was it motivated by a wish to guarantee the security of Israelis (which could be easily guaranteed if Israel would return to 1967 borders and put an end to its policy of aggression and expansionism). Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon was conducted in service to the United States and Britain, as part of Anglo-American imperialism’s programme of gaining control of the Middle East and stamping out ‘terrorism’ (read: resistance). Lebanon was to be a model country in Condoleezza Rice’s “New Middle East”, where the governments are pliant, the oil flows freely to the west, and nobody complains. The heroic fighters of Hizbollah and the wider Lebanese resistance have a right to defend their country, and have acted with great skill and courage. In spite of Israel’s overwhelming advantage in terms of military resources (statistically the Israeli ‘Defence’ Force (IDF) is the most powerful army in the Middle East), the zionists have been unable to overcome the Lebanese fighters on the ground or to crush them from the air. The Israelis have used their precision bombs to kill more than 1,200 Lebanese civilians (more than one third of whom were children) and to terrorise over a million Lebanese into fleeing their homes, but they were not able to damage the Lebanese resistance. Chief Israeli lackey Ehud Olmert is right to say that the war has “changed the face of the Middle East”: it has dramatically increased the prestige of Hizbollah, it has dramatically reduced the confidence of the IDF, it has dramatically scarred Israel’s international reputation, and it has given great hope to the Palestinians and the wider Arab masses who suffer through Israeli occupation and the threat of Israeli expansion. The victory for the people of Lebanon is a victory for all the Arab masses and, indeed, for all those suffering imperialist exploitation worldwide. Israeli politicians and generals have blamed their defeat on the alleged supply of weapons to Hizbollah by Syria and Iran. Are these politicians and generals implying that the IDF fought only with home-made bows and arrows? The IDF is one of the most technologically advanced armies in the world, and is the beneficiary of $2bn per year in military aid from the US. It has all the gadgetry of the 21st century arms industry available to it, and yet it blames its defeat on a few simple rockets. Israel is by far the most aggressive, militaristic force in the Middle East. It is widely known that Israel has a massive nuclear arsenal, but the government refuses even to allow inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Israel has not ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and is not a signatory to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC). Nonetheless, its soldiers are no match for the Lebanese resistance fighters. As Paul Robeson said: “The people’s will for liberation is stronger than atom bombs.” When it became obvious that it was fighting a losing battle, Israel developed a sudden interest in the negotiations at the United Nations, and willingly signed up to Security Council Resolution 1701, the focus of which is the disarming of Hizbollah by an ‘international peacekeeping force’. We have no doubt that this somewhat more subtle plan for defeating the Lebanese resistance will fail just as surely as did the Israeli bombardment. The Lebanese resistance has proven itself to be extremely robust and flexible, and furthermore it has the support of the large majority of the Lebanese population, both muslim and christian. We are confident that the Lebanese resistance will emerge victorious from this coming challenge, and we urge the workers and masses worldwide to continue to be steadfast in support of the Lebanese people. [ back to Statements index ] |
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