Us government functionary John Brennan appears to believe that political parties can validly engage in murder, kidnapping, and violence, if what he wrote is to be believed.
CITE:
"It would not be foolhardy, however, for the United States to tolerate, and even to encourage, greater assimilation of Hezbollah into Lebanon's political system, a process that is subject to Iranian influence. Hezbollah is already represented in the Lebanese parliament and its members have previously served in the
Lebanese cabinet, reflections of Hezbollah's interest in shaping Lebanon's political future from within government institutions. This political involvement is a far cry from Hezbollah's genesis as solely a terrorist organization dedicated to murder, kidnapping, and violence.
He qualifies that assertion by adding: "Not coincidentally, the evolution of Hezballah into a fully vested player in the Lebanese political system has been accompanied by a marked reduction in terrorist attacks carried out by the organization. The best hope for maintaining this trend and for reducing the influence of violent extremists within the organization—as well as the influence of extremist Iranian officials who view Hezbollah primarily as a pawn of Tehran—is to increase Hezbollah’s stake in Lebanon’s struggling democratic processes"
SOURCE:
http://rubinreports.blogspot.com/2009/08/obama-administration-says-hooray-for.html
It is a remarkable statement. Not least because it escaped John Brennan's attention that political organizations which are already fully players in the Lebanese political system, such as Syria and Iran, still actively engage in murder, kidnapping, and violence. Their stake-increase, both in their own countries as well as their pawn Lebanon, has not been marked by advances in responsible behaviour, normal discourse, or civilized ideas.
Far otherwise - they have elliminated competition in those fields.
Instead of yielding any desirable improvement, it is likely that an increased role in Lebanon's internal politics by Hizbullah would result in a concomitant decrease in the influence of parties that do not engage in murder, kidnapping, and violence.
Has there in fact been a return to peaceable politics in the Southern Lebanese areas "pacified" Hizbullah? Is Southern Lebanon today a model of good administration, and flourishing co-existence among various communities all united in a civil society that brings benefit to all its members?
Or have those Hizbullah areas actually become territories where there is no option for alternative voices, where brutality reigns, and dissent is quashed?
Hizbullah has long been a player in Lebanon. Other 'parties' now fear it more than they ever feared Israel or the PLO. No one seriously dares oppose it, at least not without a militia to protect them. And, sadly, the militias that used to protect the Sunnis and Christians in Southern Lebanon have been exterminated. By Hizbullah.
"Hezbollah started out as purely a terrorist organization back in the early ’80s and has evolved significantly over time. And now it has members of parliament, in the cabinet; there are lawyers, doctors, others who are part of the Hezbollah organization. "
http://csis.org/event/john-brennan-assistant-president-homeland-security-and-counterterrorism
This, per mister Brennan, is a desirable development. Just as desirable no doubt as Mafia involvement in Italian politics or Chicago has been.
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