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Originally Posted by Lanny_MacDonald
Something lost on us westerners is the rhetorical nature of the Arab communication style. They use a lot of metaphors and overstatements in their communication. Sure, Hizbollah and Iran and any other power in the Middle East may have said that Israel should be wiped from the earth, but I doubt that is the literal expectation. I think if you use the Arab rhetoric-to-english dictionary you'll find that "wiping them from the earth" is equivalent to a "crushing defeat". Its kind of like when you pants the local bully in gym class and he states he's "going to kill you." He's not really going to kill you, but the rhetoric sure scares the hell out of you.
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Lanny, it is clear that this is EXACTLY what they want, it says so in their manifesto.
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Hezbollah's founding primary aim is resistance against the occupation of Lebanon by Israel, which Lebanon government claims it continuous up to now. From the inception of the organization to the present the elimination of the state of Israel has been Hezbollah's primary goal.
Secretary-General Nasrallah’s has stated that “Israel is an illegal usurper entity, which is based on falsehood, massacres, and illusions.”, and considers that the elimination of Israel will bring peace in the middle east: "There is no solution to the conflict in this region except with the disappearance of Israel." In an interview with the Washington Post, Nasrallah said "I am against any reconciliation with Israel. I do not even recognize the presence of a state that is called "Israel." I consider its presence both unjust and unlawful. That is why if Lebanon concludes a peace agreement with Israel and brings that accord to the Parliament our deputies will reject it; Hezbollah refuses any conciliation with Israel in principle.".
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Or was he just misunderstood?