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Hezbollah cuts Islamist rhetoric in new manifesto
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group has announced a new political strategy that tones down Islamist rhetoric but maintains a tough line against Israel and the United States.
The new manifesto drops reference to an Islamic republic in Lebanon, which has a substantial Christian population, confirming changes to Hezbollah thinking about the need to respect Lebanon’s diversity.
Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who read the new “political document” at a news conference on Monday, said it was time the group introduced pragmatic changes without dropping its commitment to an Islamist ideology tied to the clerical establishment in Iran.
“People evolve. The whole world changed over the past 24 years. Lebanon changed. The world order changed,” he said via a video link.
(Photo: Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah speaks by video to news conference, 30 Nov 2009/Sharif Karim)
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Kudos to Hezbollah for becoming more pragmatic and rationale. unfortunately the same cannot be said about the Israeli government and U.S foreign policy. Both Hamas and Hezbollah have in a sense “matured” and have become real political players who have adopted democratic principals. its about time the U.S and Israel who claim to be the beacons of democracy get on board and stop being hypocrits.
I think it is just evidence that while Hezbullah may have won the media war in 2006, it is not willing for any further military conflicts with Israel.Considering that Hezbullah territory is now occupied by UN peacekeepers, the result was almost a Lebenon civil war, and no rockets are now fired by Hezbullah even to help Gaza during the Gaza war?Toning down the rhetoric is a smart move.