Saudis blame Hizbullah for Lebanon crisis

[rayofreason]

Saudi Arabia indicated on Thursday that Hizbullah bore the responsibility for the current crisis in Lebanon, Israel Radio reported.

In an official statement, the Saudi government said that a distinction must be drawn between "legitimate resistance" and "adventurous, irresponsible acts" committed by groups in Lebanon who don't recognize the government and don't coordinate with other Arab nations.

The statement said that these groups must take responsibility and solve the crisis themselve


http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1150885994626&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[benburch]

1. Well, that is a positive thing, if true.

It means Saudi Arabia is not entering this war.

[IndianaGreen]

2. No, this is just a spat (as reported by Israel Radio now!)

Saudi Arabia is Wahabi, and they see the Shias as heretics, just as Bin Ladem does. Hezbollah is Shia.

They are all playing musical camels!

[kurth]

4. "My Islam is better than your Islam"

"My prophet beats your prophet"

Same old crap. But, it's good time to raise oil prices.

[VolcanoJen]

17. Always there when clarity counts, IG

I really needed to read that tonight. Thank you. :thumbsup:

[everythingsxen]

15. No this is exactly what I knew they would do

They will publicly criticize it and covertly support it. "Militants" and money is what they will add. While they are Wahabi, they will still make common cause to destroy Israel.

[omenapoint]

3. And they are right.

Hezbollah is evil. Period.

[High Plains]

5. That's not very helpful. Stupid, simplistic rhetoric.

[omenapoint]

6. It is the truth.

Hezbollah wants to see our friends the Israelis destroyed in the same way that Adolph Hitler wanted them destroyed. They are trying to continue Hitlers work. They are evil. Period.

[IndianaGreen]

7. Still it doesn't justify Israel bombing Beirut

It is the same thing Bin Laden did on 9-11, kill a bunch of innocent Americans for someone else's crimes.

[omenapoint]

9. Bologna.

Israel must defend herself against evil. If Lebanon was serious, they'd invite Israel in to destroy Hezbollah.

[IndianaGreen]

10. There is evil on all sides in the Middle East, and we don't help any

by our murderous occupation of Iraq.

Everyone is chasing their Emmanuel Goldsteins!

[omenapoint]

11. Is that a red herring?

I thought we were discussing Israel. Thank God that they are pursuing evil.

[Flanker]

12. Your unequivocal support for Israel is nauseating

Israel is so far out of line they are no different than Bush's war.

[Josh]

22. not quite -

I don't recall any Iraqi militants crossing the 'border' into the United States to snatch and kill some American troops.

It's not the same.

[CanuckAmok]

24. "Good" and "evil" are absolutes.

So if Hezbollah absolutely evil, does that make Israel absolutely good?

I just want to understand how to live in your world of black and white. All the shades of grey in the physical world are confusing me, and I'd like a good night's sleep tonight.

[Bushwick Bill]

8. Pot, meet kettle.

Ahh, the Saudis, that tough on terror shining beacon of democracy.

[rayofreason]

13. Pot has never met kettle..

..at least not in this way.

For Saudi Arabia not to blame Israel is stunning, no matter that Hizbollah is made up of Shia heretics. In fact, it is the first encouraging thing I've seen in this terrible situation. If Hamas and Hizbollah find themselves isolated, with only Iran and Syria supporting them, they may fold quickly and this latest upswing in Arab-Israeli violence will dissipate.

Egypt and Jordan have a peaceful (though not friendly) relationship with Israel, and Egypt has been pretty tough on Hamas in this recent crisis. If the Saudis move in that direction, it is a positive thing, even if they don't allow women to drive. Eventually the Palestinians will have to learn that there is no way that they will destroy Israel and drive the Jews into the sea. Accepting that will be a big step towards peace. Hamas is certainly not there yet.

[alcibiades_mystery]

27. Yeah, they'll fold quickly

Just like their rockets would never reach Haifa.

:eyes:

[rayofreason]

14. The Saudis are not the only ones...

Lebanese MPs criticize Hizbullah, Syria

A group of Lebanese political dissenters, including MP Walid Jumblatt criticized on Thursday the role of Hizbullah and Syria in the recent escalation in Israeli-Lebanese tension.

Speaking live on Lebanese television a Lebanese parliament member raised the question of whether the driving force behind the kidnapping of the Israeli soldiers on Wednesday was not actually a Syrian initiative.


http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1150885990970&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


If enough groups condemn this escalation that began with Hizbullah's actions, there is a chance that the violence can be contained without a full-scale war developing.

[azurnoir]

18. Hezbollah acting on behalf of Syria

This is a possibility. Syria is still fuming after the Lebanese government ousted their military last year, and held elections free from Syrian interference in many years. The Lebonese government is a coalition of Christians and Muslims, both the PM and the defense minister are christian. Hezbollah does have a number of mp's but is still getting major support through Syria

[oasis]

16. Prince Bandar, sell your $35 million home in Colorado and get thee to S.A.

It's public relations time. :puke:

[Behind the Aegis]

19. Holy Shit!

Never thought I'd see something like this...EVER!

[sugapablo]

23. That was my first reaction...

...but now that I think about it, of COURSE they're going to speak out against this.

While Saudi Arabia hates Israel just like everyone else, they like their oil profits more. Anything that endangers their precious oil from getting into their customers hands is a bad thing from their perspective.

[mzarathustra]

20. War as a red herring

The Royal Bin Ladens of Saudi Arabia got the idea of taking the anti-Hezbollah stance while golfing with Bush. They figured that maybe all those years of bailing out GW from failed oil projects were starting to wear thin, so now maybe they ought to prop him up by defending the violence that's so conveniently distracting from GW's failure as a protector of state secrets.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/07/11/state.hackers.ap/index.html

The state department debacle, obviously the result of White House negligence, has to be pretty embarrassing right after he called the NYT traitors for discussing a well-known monitoring project that the terrorists have known about for years. Nothing like a nice little war to distract the gullible American public from the stupidity of the white house.

Convenient timing, eh? Not that Israel's a US puppet or anything like that, as recipient of more foreign aid than the entirety of Africa put together.

[WCGreen]

21. Oh, so it is all right to be adventuous if that action...

is coordinated with other Arab States....

[LivingInTheBubble]

25. misleading

The title suggests it is saudi citizens who blame hizbullah but it is actually the saudi government. What do real saudis think?

[54anickel]

26. Well, is it really even the Saudi govt's view, or was this in answer to

W's phone call?

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13881743/site/newsweek

snip>

..En route to Russia, Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reacted swiftly to contain the war, although they actively backed Israel's right to continue its offensive against Hizbullah. The president, aboard Air Force One, made a round of calls to Arab allies, mainly Egypt and Jordan, pleading the case that Hizbullah's breach of the border was a clear violation of international law. Bush wanted the Arab leaders to know that he was urging Israel to avoid any action that would topple the Lebanese government—and allow Syria to take back control of its neighbor. But in return he urged them to pressure Hizbullah at an emergency Arab League summit in Cairo. In an exclusive interview with NEWSWEEK, Bush said he told the Arab leaders: "Let's make sure this meeting is not the usual condemnation of Israel, because if that's the case it obscures the real culprit"—Hizbullah and Hamas.

To Bush's delight, key U.S. allies offered support. The Saudis issued a statement implicitly blaming Hizbullah for the hostilities, saying "it is necessary to make a distinction between legitimate resistance and irresponsible adventurism adopted by certain elements within the state." Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II, in Cairo, echoed that view in a joint statement.

.