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In an article on the Lebanese website elnashra.com, Hassan Hardan, a Lebanese journalist affiliated with Hizbullah, calls for popular and armed resistance to American forces and those who collaborate with them in Iraq and in Syria, in response to the economic war which he claims the U.S. is waging against Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. Calls to strike a blow at the American presence in Lebanon specifically were also heard a few weeks ago, following U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea's criticism of Hizbullah.[1]
In the article, titled "Respond to the American Attack with a Counter-Attack,"[2] Hardan writes:
"It is clear that the U.S. has managed to create crises in Syria, in Iraq, and in Lebanon by means of an economic war which has exacerbated the economic and social controversies and crises in an unprecedented manner. It is obvious that the administration of President Donald Trump has decided to wage 'a clean war,' in which the U.S. won't pay with money from its Treasury or with its soldiers' blood…
"The question is how we can cope with this policy which kills people with the weapon of economic strangulation in order to compel them to surrender to the imperialist American government.
"The answer is not to remain in a state of passive defense but to respond immediately… by means of a counter-attack that will turn the tables on the U.S. and create an economic upheaval that will break the siege that spills our blood, and neutralize the card for economic war which is held by the U.S...
"This counter-attack should simultaneously integrate economic and military measures.
"On the economic front – we must generate fundamental change in the economic possibilities and open a channel of economic cooperation and integration among all elements of the axis of resistance, as well as between them and China and Russia…
"On the military front – we must undertake popular and armed resistance against the American forces and against those who collaborate with them, to lead the U.S. to pay a price for the continuing occupation in Syria and in Iraq, and this should be done by causing material damage and human casualties among its forces, which will lead to internal problems for the American administration in advance of the approaching presidential election. And in this way we will force the American administration to face the necessity to withdraw from Syria and from Iraq for the continuation [of the American presence there] will [mean that the U.S. will have to] contend with a war of attrition… The alternative to withdrawal is involvement in a new war which will oblige them to send tens of thousands of soldiers [to the region] and lead to a further immersion in a war of attrition whose price will be tremendously high…
"The American imperialist should take note that it cannot continue with the economic war it is waging to wear us down and kill us by means of economic strangulation, without its own blood being shed and without [paying] an economic price which will continue to rise…"
[1] Hizbullah Supporters On Twitter: Threats To Attack The U.S. Embassy In Beirut Following Ambassador Shea's Critical Comments About Hizbullah, July 1, 2020.
[2] Elnashra.com, July 18, 2020.
