Thursday, August 24, 2006

Why Hizbollah sees France as a Friend

The Telegraph's blogger David Renniehas a rare take. He opens with
There’s an interesting interview today with a senior Hezbollah official in Libération, the French newspaper, in which he makes clear his belief that France isn’t that serious about disarming his militia – which is why Hizbollah regards France as “a friend”.
The interview is of a Hizballah minister in the Lebanese gummint, Trad Hamade, by French journalist Isabelle Dellerba, and is a wowser if there ever was one (original interview is in Fwench).

It includes this:
Q: “You say that France is a friend of Hizbollah. But France, with the United States, was behind Resolution 1559 which demanded that Hizbollah disarm.”


A: “I have my own theory about Resolution 1559. I think the French priority was the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. Disarming Hizbollah was a demand of America and Israel. A lot of people in Hizbollah share my opinion. France knows the internal political game in Lebanon very well, and supports the process of national dialogue as a solution to the question of Hizbollah’s arms. That’s why we are not enemies, and why our relationship is one of friendship.”

So we should trust a force of armed Frenchmen standing guard at the border precisely... why, again?

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