| "Sure, he may be a bloodthirsty raving Islamofascist terrorist, but he's our bloodthirsty raving Islamofascist terrorist." |
Hezbollah's executive has re-elected Sheik Hassan Nasrallah as chief target leader of the militant Shiite Muslim movement, according to a statement Monday by the party that the United States brands as terrorist. Nasrallah begins his fifth consecutive term as secretary-general of the terrorist organization Hezbollah, a post he has held since an Israeli helicopter gunship killed his predecessor, Sheik Abbas Musawi, in south Lebanon in 1992.
| I'll bet the guy would be a great mattress spokesman, never sleeps in the same one twice. |
The bearded, black-turbaned Nasrallah, 44, has steered Hezbollah toward the mainstream of Lebanese politics.
| ... which doesn't say much for the Lebanese mainstream. |
Under his leadership, Hezbollah has abandoned the extreme anti-Western policies with which it was associated during the civil war years of the 1980s and become a party that champions the poor and holds nine seats in the country's 128-seat parliament.
| ... and developed an entire new set of extreme anti-Western policies. |
He remains, however, a goofy fiery orator who regularly denounces the United States and Israel, whose Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said Nasrallah is on a list of possible targets for assassination. Hezbollah's statement said Nasrallah was chosen as leader for another three years by a closed meeting of the seven newly elected members of the Shura Council. The party said the members of the policy-making council had also been re-elected, and their portfolios would be announced in the coming days. The council is elected by party officials. Despite his condemnation of the United States, Nasrallah has refused to commit Hezbollah publicly to the conflict between U.S.-led forces and Iraqi insurgents, such as the militia loyal to fellow Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the holy city of Najaf. Nasrallah has said his group operates only in Lebanon.
| Demonstrating a keen survival instinct if not good sense. |
The United States has asked the Lebanese government to freeze Hezbollah's assets and curb its activities, arguing it is a terrorist organization. Lebanon has refused, saying that Hezbollah is a legitimate resistance movement. |