Hezbollah leader skeptical of US move against Islamic State
Naim Qassem says Washington is only fighting Sunni jihadists in Iraq to further its own interests in the region
Elhanan Miller is the former Arab affairs reporter for The Times of Israel
The United States isn’t genuinely interested in curbing the danger of Sunni jihadists threatening Lebanon but rather is using public fear of the Islamic State to promote its own interests in the region, a Hezbollah leader said on Tuesday.
Naim Qassem, deputy head of Hezbollah, told the Lebanese daily As-Safir that the Islamic State and al-Nusra Front pose “a great danger to Lebanon,” but they can be overcome if confronted by a coordinated effort by Lebanese forces.
US Secretary of State John Kerry will arrive in the Middle East on Tuesday to discuss new ways of combating the Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS, which has taken hold of large tracts of land in Syria and Iraq and declared them an Islamic caliphate. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama is expected to deliver a major policy speech on Wednesday outlining his vision for tackling the Islamic State along with US allies in the region.
But Qassem was unimpressed by the American action.
“The international mobilization led by the United States is not serious in eliminating the Takfiri [Islamist] danger,” Qassem said. “This mobilization strives to create [new] borders… using this danger as a scarecrow in specific areas for political gains.”
The Islamic State is holding some 20 Lebanese soldiers and policemen captured last month in the border town of Arsal. Grisly images of the beheading of one of the Lebanese captives, Abbas Medlej, uploaded on Saturday, have sent shock waves across the small country. Families of the captive men have blocked highways, burned tires and sent gunmen to the streets in protest.
Hezbollah has sent thousands of fighters to Syria over the past two years in a bid to bolster its ally Bashar Assad, who is combating opposition forces, many of them Islamist.
The Times of Israel Community.