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Unlike the United States and Israel, the European Union refuses to label Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, despite the fact that Hezbollah has killed more Americans than any other terrorist organization prior to the September 11 attacks. Indeed, Hezbollah was responsible for the April 1983 US Embassy bombing in Beirut that murdered 241 US Marines, 58 French paratroopers, and 6 civilians; the 1992 Buenos Aires Israeli Embassy bombing, which killed 29; the 1996 Khober Towers Bombing in Saudi Arabia, which slaughtered 20; and most recently, the bus bombing in Bulgaria that resulted in five Israeli tourists’ deaths plus a Bulgarian bus driver, among many others. Nevertheless, in spite of all of this, the Netherlands is the only country within the European Union that presently labels Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in its entirety.
Some European countries, like Great Britain, do label Hezbollah’s military wing a terror organization, but not the organization’s political wing and social infrastructure. Great Britain has this policy, despite the fact that Hezbollah’s second in command, Naim Qassem, asserted, “We don’t have a military wing and a political one; we don’t have Hezbollah on one hand and the resistance party on the other.” Indeed, Islamist terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas use dawa (social infrastructure) in order to build up popular support for their terror activities.
Yet European Union member states such as Cyprus, France, and Germany are against labeling Hezbollah a terrorist organization at all out of the fear that it would destabilize Lebanon’s coalition government, of which Hezbollah plays a dominant role. Since many EU states have forces on the ground in Lebanon as part of UNIFIL, this issue concerns them. Yet they don’t grasp that weakening Hezbollah significantly aids progressive forces within Lebanon, thus allowing Lebanon to break free of the domination of terrorist organizations. Such a move might make things less stable on the short term, yet will make things more solid if one has a long-term perspective.
As Hassan Nasrallah stated himself, labeling Hezbollah as a terrorist organization would “dry up the sources of finance, end moral, political and material support, stifle voices, whether they are the voices of the resistance or the voices which support the resistance, pressure states which protect the resistance in one way and another, and pressure the Lebanese state, Iran and Iraq, but especially the Lebanese state, in order to classify it as a state which supports terrorism.”
Unfortunately, however, the stability of Lebanon’s coalition government is not the only reason given by EU member states for not labeling Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. The other excuse given is that many European countries fear Hezbollah striking within their country and thus would rather appease than confront them. In fact, a German intelligence report claims that up to 10,000 Hezbollah members presently operate in Germany, thus making such fears not far-fetched. In this, the Europeans have not taken to heart Winston Churchill’s famous quote that “an appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping he will eat him last.” Thus, with these words of wisdom in mind, it is pivotal for Europe to take preventive steps against Hezbollah by labeling them to be a terrorist organization, instead of enabling them.
Please write the European Union to complain!
e-mail: maja.kocijancic@ec.europa.eu
Dear Catherine Ashton,
As a concerned citizen, I am deeply disturbed by the fact that the European Union refuses to label Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, especially given the fact that Hezbollah has murdered more Americans than any other terrorist organization prior to the September 11 attacks. Indeed, Hezbollah was responsible for the April 1983 US Embassy bombing in Beirut that murdered 241 US Marines, 58 French paratroopers, and 6 civilians; the 1992 Buenos Aires Israeli Embassy bombing, which killed 29, the 1996 Khober Towers Bombing in Saudi Arabia, which slaughtered 20; and most recently, the bus bombing in Bulgaria that resulted in five Israeli tourists’ deaths plus a Bulgarian bus driver, among many others.
Given that the most recent Hezbollah terror attack in Bulgaria occurred on European soil, it is very much time for the European Union to label Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. As Hassan Nasrallah stated himself, labeling Hezbollah as a terrorist organization would “dry up the sources of finance, end moral, political and material support, stifle voices, whether they are the voices of the resistance or the voices which support the resistance, pressure states which protect the resistance in one way and another, and pressure the Lebanese state, Iran and Iraq, but especially the Lebanese state, in order to classify it as a state which supports terrorism.” Thus, Europe truly has the potential to make a difference and to cease being an appeaser, which according to Winston Churchill is one “who feeds a crocodile, hoping he will eat him last.”
Sincerely,
Your Name
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