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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| No link between al-Qaeda and Hezbollah says Nasrallah |
| 2008-01-04 |
| (AKI) - The leader of Hezbollah, Hasan Nasrallah, has hit out against recent statements allegedly by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden criticising the militant Lebanese Shia movement for allowing "crusader" troops from the United Nations into Lebanon after the 34-day conflict with Israel in 2006. "The criticism that Osama bin Laden made in his last message proves that we are different," he said in an interview aired on Hezbollah's Al-Manar television channel. "He has the right to criticise us but not to offend us," he said in the two-hour interview aired on Wednesday night. An 56-minute audio message purportedly by bin Laden was released on Islamist websites on 29 December in which the al-Qaeda leader accused Nasrallah of aiding Israel by accepting the deployment of United Nations Interim Force in South Lebanon (UNIFIL) troops in South Lebanon. "UNIFIL troops were deployed in 2006 to protect 'Jews,'" the al-Qaeda leader said. However when asked about his reaction to bin Laden's criticism of Hezbollah, Nasrallah said that his group was "left hanging in the middle." "Some criticise us from one side, and others from the opposite end. I don't want to comment on his [bin Laden's] statement, because sometimes when a debate is opened it ends up being a competition, and we have nothing to gain by this," he said. "I know that this is a useless fight and I do not want to enter into a competition with him," he said. However the Hezbollah leader took the occasion to distance himself and his group from the international terrorist network. "It's enough for me to say that he has a vision and an opinion and what he said is useful for me and Hezbollah because we have always said that Hezbollah is different from al-Qaeda and we have no links," he said. "After 11 September [the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States], Israel has been trying to find a link between Hezbollah and al-Qaeda to implicate us in the attacks of 11 September." But the Israelis "have not been able to provide any proof because in reality, we are not linked. On top of that we have a different vision from al-Qaeda on the issues of resistance and Jihad, and how to classify people and political issues," he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 Must be my turn to say it this time: "And then his lips fell off!" |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-01-04 02:26 |
| #2 "He's lying." "How can you tell?" "His mouth is moving." |
| Posted by: Slease Mussolini7865 2008-01-04 01:30 |
| #1 Nasrallah is like Joe Biden. Whatever he says pick the opposite and 9 out of 10, you are good to go |
| Posted by: Kojo Omeans9930 2008-01-04 01:08 |