Tehran Times – August 14 marks the 14th anniversary of the start of the 33-day Israeli war on Lebanon in which the Hezbollah resistance movement succeeded in dealing a great blow to the Zionist regime‘s army. Hezbollah aborted any move by the Israeli army in the war, which surprised military analysts.
Today, Israel is well aware that its offensive against Lebanon on 12 July 2006 increased the deterrence capability of Hezbollah and boosted its morale. Now Tel Aviv cannot assess the consequences of any possible war against Hezbollah in the future.
Israel is now fearful of waging a new war against Lebanon as it has realized that the resistance movement is able to respond efficiently and strongly. Tel Aviv also knows that Hezbollah has developed new defense strategies to confront drone attacks by Israel.
However, today Lebanon is facing another kind of war – economic war – by the U.S. and Israel and their subordinates. Such an approach toward Lebanon shows the failure of the classic war against Hezbollah and the Axis of Resistance.
By waging such a hybrid war, Israel has been trying to avenge Hezbollah’s victories by provoking economic war on the Lebanese and then portray the resistance movement as the responsible.
It is not surprising that Washington is backing Tel Aviv in the economic and psychological warfare. The U.S. has supported Israel for decades in various means. We never forget U.S. direct military support in the July war, in which Israel used smart and cluster bombs as well as advanced aircraft to target civilians. During the war, the U.S. shamelessly airlifted weapons to Israel.
Political observers are unanimous in their view that Israel is penalizing the Lebanese for their victory over the Israeli army. In such a situation, it is necessary to raise awareness and cherish those heroic moments.
While America is trying to exploit the current economic crisis and the problems arising from the August 4 massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon needs to get rid of the corrupt system by reviewing the mistakes of the past thirty years.
Nevertheless, it seems that the Americans have retreated in recent days, knowing that what they have done was wrong, especially after Nasrallah‘s words about the repercussions of their pressure, which may strengthen the Resistance’s support movement in Lebanon and the Axis of Resistance in the region.
We must recall the speech by Sayyed Nasrallah when he said, “Look at the Israeli battleship on fire at the height of the war.” At the time, he also said, “I considered this a gift for me personally and not only for the nation because this is the language that the enemy understands.”
Hezbollah showed that Resistance could protect Lebanon and gave a lesson to the enemy so that they would not dare to attack the country again. Now Lebanon must provide actual support to guard the Resistance movement because America is seeking to undermine the Resistance movement and depict it as the main cause of the economic crisis engulfing Lebanon.
Resistance proved that Lebanon can win and can rise again from ashes, despite the economic war waged by the U.S.
The awareness and intelligence in countering this war are important factors. To offset the war, Lebanon needs some reforms:
*Shift towards a productive economy,
*Cooperate with the outside world and embrace multiple options,
*Complete the campaign against corruption
In this regard, the Resistance in Lebanon can bet on steadfastness and support of Hezbollah and its allies to prevent the country from falling into an abyss.
Here we recall Nasrallah’s words in the July War when he said, “We are faced with two options. Either we submit to the conditions that the enemy wants to dictate to us, with international, American, and unfortunately Arab support, which tries to put Lebanon under the Israeli control or stand firm and confront the Zionists … and I promise you victory again.”
