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Hezbollah leader vows to fight back if U.S. operations target it
The leader of the militant Hezbollah vowed on Sunday to fight back against the United States if White House-organized operations were to target the guerrilla group in Lebanon. Hassan Nasrallah said he was reacting to a recent report in the Washington Post that said U.S. President George W. Bush's administration has authorized widening a list of approved operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon aimed at curtailing Iran's influence in the region. "The Americans know that if they want to attack us, the one who will defend us is God. But also our religious duty calls on us to defend ourselves, our dignity and our blood," Nasrallah told hundreds of Shiite Muslim supporters at a rally in Beirut's southern suburbs Sunday night. His remarks, which appeared to be his interpretation of the newspaper report, drew repeated chants of "Death to America" from the crowd.U.S. officials last week said American troops in Iraq have authority to kill or capture Iranian agents deemed to be a threat as part of measures taking a tougher stand toward Tehran and its suspected meddling in the war. The Washington Post also reported in Friday's editions that Bush authorized other measures meant to curb Iranian influence in the Mideast including a widening of a list of approved operations that can be carried out against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. The report, which cited anonymous government and counterterrorism officials, said the administration's plan included military, intelligence, political and diplomatic strategies in the region. It did not elaborate. Posted by: Fred 2007-01-29 |
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