## 21

## THE IMPENDING IRAQ WAR AND
“MUSLIM–CHRISTIAN ALIGNMENT”

March 13, 2003

> One week before the US-led coalition began its bombardment of Iraq, Nasrallah told tens of thousands of demonstrators in the Southern Suburb of Beirut that the US should “not expect the people of this region to meet you with flowers, rice, and perfume; the peoples of this part of the world will receive you, rather, with guns, blood, weapons, and martyrdom operations.” In the years that followed, Nasrallah’s prediction would be borne out, although, ironically, it would impact the most on the governing ability of the US-empowered Shia majority in Iraq. Even so, just as the long and brutal Baathist domination of the Iraqi Shia appeared on the verge of elimination, Nasrallah harkened back to an earlier failed and supposedly humanitarian effort by the US in Lebanon: “When the Marines were in Beirut,” he reminded his audience, “and their warships were roaming the Mediterranean, we were shouting ‘Death to America!’ in the Southern Suburb. Today, as this area fills with American soldiers and warships, our slogan remains unchanged.”

(…) We in Lebanon should be proud of the national unity that our citizens from all sects, political leanings, parties, and regions have demonstrated once again. Both Muslims and Christians have expressed together their opposition to the American–Zionist aggression against our nation, America’s war on the region, and on the Arab and Islamic worlds, and the clear and unequivocal objectives behind it. We should also mention Lebanon’s official position in this regard, and especially that of the president of the republic, General Emile Lahoud.1 This is a particularly opportune time to entrench this national unity, not waste the golden opportunity it provides, and take advantage of this historical and most vitally important meeting of minds among the Lebanese people, to overcome the many difficulties that tear our internal cohesion apart and threaten it from time to time.

Today in Lebanon, not only are we in need of such national unity, we should also support the president of the republic, who has demonstrated over the past years a valiant sense of patriotism and nationalism, especially with regard to the resistance and the confrontation with Israel.2 We are in dire need of men like him, and for such meetings of minds among the Lebanese people.

When the Lebanese people come together in such an impressive manner to defend the nation and their Arab brothers in the region, they are above all defending Lebanon, because it is an American–Zionist target, and is right at the center of their ambitions in the region. In the coming days and weeks, since war in the region—and particularly in Iraq—seems inevitable, no one in Lebanon should either feel completely at ease, or spread fear and panic among the people. People in Lebanon should not be unconcerned by the dangers threatening the region, and we shall not deceive them by denying them the truth. Lebanon lives in proximity to a savage country, led by the very ugly, terrorist government of Sharon—the same government that committed the Sabra and Chatila massacres and invaded Lebanon in 1982.3 No one should therefore rest easy or feel reassured by small promises here or there. We should remain on the alert, with all that this entails from the point of view of readiness for various eventualities, and stay politically, publicly, psychologically, morally, and militarily aware of developments. The mujahidin and resistance fighters should work hand-in-hand on various levels and in different sectors, in cooperation with both the Lebanese national army and the Syrian Arab army deployed on Lebanese territory.4 The American war on Iraq and the region will not weaken our resolve; let Sharon not imagine for a minute that the sight on television of his warplanes and missiles, which he could drop on any Arab country any time he chooses, can scare or deter us from confronting another of his attacks.

On the national level, the country’s religious and political leaders should take the initiative and do whatever is necessary to reinforce the cohesion of the Lebanese domestic front; this places a considerable responsibility on their shoulders. When we call for the deferment of certain Lebanese internal issues, we mean issues regarding internal differences, disputes, rivalries, apportioning of positions, and the race to gain advantages. But there are other domestic issues that should never be deferred, and I mean by this the low standard of living, poverty, and neglect from which several Lebanese regions suffer. Thank God that we in Lebanon have adopted a very good official political position, and do not have a big or acute problem in relations between people and the regime, for whatever reason. I wish to tell both the state and the government, however, that it is at such times that you should be closer to the dispossessed, the needy, the poor, and the residents of disadvantaged and less fortunate areas of the country.

Let me address the issue of occupied Palestine, and say that the main banner under which we are holding this great demonstration today, here in the Southern Suburb of Beirut, and in other regions of the country, is that of solidarity with the resisting, struggling, and revolutionary Palestinian people. These thousands of Palestinian flags are but a symbolic expression of our solidarity with them. However, allow [me] to tell our Palestinian brothers the following: be sure that you have succeeded in achieving great and marvelous things in record time. Some will tell you that your intifada is hopeless, and that it will not produce results; these words are nothing but deception, lies, hypocrisy, and treason to the blood of the martyrs, and to the orphans’ and widows’ tears in occupied Palestine. This Palestinian intifada has in fact—and for the first time in 50 years—succeeded in shaking the Zionist entity to the core, and threatening its very existence and survival. These are not mere slogans, and those who follow the political, psychological, and economic repercussions of the intifada on the Zionist entity know very well that what I am saying is the truth, and only the truth.

Let us now move on to Syria. In this bad, difficult, and tragic period for our Arab nation, it is our duty on this Ashoura Day, the day of courage and steadfastness, to stand in awe and respect for Assad’s Syria, and its leadership, army, and people. In difficult days such as these, no Arab can disregard the words of a young Arab leader, especially in this particularly dangerous and significant time, of the stature of President Bashar al-Assad.5 This young leader has his finger on the pulse of the Arab street and reflects its conscience, spirit, and feelings of anger and dejection. Nobody can simply or easily disregard him or his words, especially since he is president of a country being threatened by the United States, which tells him that his country’s turn will come in the second or third round. His is also a country at which the US Congress is brandishing the Syria Accountability Act,6 and threatening to implement it at any moment, and a country living in proximity to the Israeli entity, which may attack at any time.

In the Arab world today we need men like him—men who know how to lead. Such men will no doubt find themselves and their positions held close in the Arab people’s hearts, because they are sick and tired of living in a state of constant humiliation, dejection, and submission to the will of the American ambassador, or this or that American officer.

From here in Beirut, we address ourselves to Damascus and tell Syria and its courageous Arab leader: You are not alone; the whole nation is with you; every honorable Arab is behind you; the whole of Lebanon supports you, and this resistance has fought, and is still fighting with you.

We declare our opposition to the American war on Iraq, and to all the deceptive, lying, and hypocritical American objectives and slogans about saving nations, instilling democracy, and granting people their freedom. From this place, we declare our condemnation of this diabolical, arrogant, and Zionist administration, and say: Do not expect the people of this region to meet you with flowers, rice, and perfume;7 peoples of this part of the world will receive you, rather, with guns, blood, weapons, and martyrdom operations. This is the reception the people are preparing for the American invaders, for we have never been afraid of the United States. When the Marines were in Beirut, and their warships were roaming the Mediterranean, we were shouting “Death to America!” in the Southern Suburb. Today, as this area fills with American soldiers and warships, our message remains unchanged.

Muslims should also stand in a show of respect and appreciation for the position adopted by various Christian churches throughout the world—namely, the Eastern churches and countless Western churches, including the Vatican and Patriarchs in Syria, Lebanon, and all over the region. Muslims should appreciate such positions, in particular because they remove Bush’s religious excuse for the war, which he says he is waging because he swore to accomplish what the New Testament says.8 Yet these churches tell him that his war is immoral and illegal, and has nothing to do with the New Testament. This is a great and historic position, whose importance, at this stage, we need to understand and deal with appropriately. My advice to the Muslims, preachers, and members of the media is to avoid, in this political and media war, any terms that could offend or insult Christians opposed to the war. If the term “Crusade” insults them, we should then look for another one. Muslims should at all costs avoid using any word that offends Christians opposed to the war.

The Jews have long hoped for a war that pits a Jewish–Christian alliance against the Muslim nation. In this context I would like to say: Let us look to form a Muslim–Christian alliance to confront all those who attack Moses, Jesus, and Mohammad. Why don’t we form a political alliance of this kind? Those positive positions, we see today, whether in the East or the West, are positions taken by Christian countries, churches, and prominent individuals and elites, and this only encourages the formation of such an alliance.

Why do we not seek a meaningful, public, and official Muslim–Christian alliance such as this, in the face of an American–Zionist scheme, which only seeks to spread ruin, destruction, war, humiliation, and corruption throughout the world?