[BUSINESSWEEK] The European Union...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
said it will discuss designating Hezbollah as a terrorist group after Bulgaria implicated the Leb-based organization in the 2012 bombing of a tourist bus.
"They boomed a busload of tourists. Does that make them terrorists?"
| Don't be silly: they weren't tourists, they were Israelis. That changes things, donchaknow. |
"There are lots of other options. Like... ummm..."
An investigation by Bulgaria found "evidence of links and financing" from Hezbollah based on information about the suspected conspirators in the attack, Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said yesterday. That prompted Israel and the U.S. to renew calls for the EU to follow them in designating Hezbollah as a terrorist group.
The EU's position, if I recall (and understand) correctly, has been that since Hezbollah is a political party and a significant faction in the Leb govt, it's not a terrorist group despite the activities of its "armed wing," which is somehow distinguished from the rest of it.
The EU has declined to label Hezbollah a terrorist group, which would block its fundraising and other activities in Europe, because some Europeans governments see it as a legitimate political organization and a powerful influence in Leb.
I just said that. Maybe I didn't mealy-mouth it enough.
'Negative Impact'
Placing Hezbollah on the EU terrorist list would have a "negative impact on the commercial relationship between Leb and Europe, which is the first commercial partner of Leb," Sami Nader, an economist and a professor of international relations at Beirut's St. Joseph University, said in a telephone interview. "That would shake the trust in the Lebanese economy and banking system at a time when we need to increase our relationship with the rest of the world."
Counterbalancing that is the fact that Hezbollah's the big cheese in Leb, fully capable of starting wars on a whim or occupying downtown Beirut when it gets its back hair up. It controls significant territory which is closed to outsiders, to include the Leb army. And as we've seen in the past week, Hezbollah "security officials" seem to be exempt for making appearances in Leb courts. I'm guessing it's the largest political entity in Leb. And it's an integral part of the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah axis of evil. So the question for the EU becomes: Are you going to continue doing business with a rogue terrorist group that's within 2.6 hairs of controlling Leb, whether Leb wants it or not?
The EU is reviewing the findings of the investigation by Bulgaria into the July 18 attack near Burgas, a holiday spot on the Black Sea, Kocijancic said.
There's gotta be an out there, somewhere. Maybe the fact that Hezbollah "rejects" the findings? That usually does it.
"We will look into the outcomes of this investigation and discuss the appropriate response," Kocijancic said.
"The options include spitting and going blind. We shall decide which is appropriate in due course, unless Short Attention Span Syndrome kicks in, which it probably will."
In addition to the terrorist list, "there are also actions that can be taken through various channels," she said, citing "judicial action, political and diplomatic measures," and the EU's police-coordination arm, Europol.
Right. Issuing a warrant for the killers that'll never be served might do it, and then they won't have to do any more.