The fifth night of Muharram H.E. Sayyed Nasrallah: We successfully confront enemy’s failing psychological war
Local Editor
His Eminence Secretary General of Hizbullah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah gave another speech on the fifth night of Muharram through the same Giant screen in Sayyed Al Shuhada complex.
Sayyed hassan, and in continuation to his earlier speech about the psychological war that the “Israeli” enemy has been launching through out the many years on the resistance and its people, about the goal and aims as well as the means and methods of this war, discussed the means through which the resistance and its people is entitled to tackle and confront this war.
Here are the detailed points raised by H. E. over this subject:
Today, I will talk about countering the psychological war launched by the enemy against us, and that the purpose of their war is primarily aimed at terrorizing and intimidating the other side (us), in order to lead to our surrender and withdrawal from battle...
His Eminence said I have experienced the July 2006 war (33 days). At the time settlers abandoned settlements, occupation colonies and the cities in the north and the mid-center of occupied Palestine, which was unprecedented in the history of Arab-"Israeli" wars, when more than two million "Israelis" lived in bomb shelters or outside their homes.
Over 33 days they saw with their own eyes the destroyed tanks, the killed soldiers, and the soldiers returning looking deplorable and sad. In the final end, the confidence of the "Israeli" people in its political leadership and military might and army receded and suffered a major setback.
Recent maneuvers and exercises also aim to say to the "Israelis": "This army is regaining its strength, durability, capacity and vitality and you should rest assured of the army's abilities to achieve your goals and ambitions."
After its grand defeat in the July war, the same happened again when the enemy went to war in Gaza in 2008.
It had placed two key objectives on its military map for that war:
1- To terrorize the Palestinians, frighten and intimidate the Lebanese and the peoples of the region, through murder and brutality, bombing and destruction and the use of internationally prohibited weapons in its war on Gaza.
2- To convince "Israelis" that the defeated army in the July war regained its strength, vitality and ability to be a deterrent... although the war on Gaza failed to achieve its objectives as well.
As for us in Lebanon, Palestine, the peoples of this region and our nation as a whole, we too need to confront the psychological war waged by the enemy just as we confronted its military war with similar means: the fighters confronted by fighters, tanks and armored personnel carriers with anti-armor weapons, aircraft with by available air defenses, and so on.
So each battle is countered according to its type, tools and means, a military means for military war, security for security, economic instruments for economic war, and so when a psychological war is being waged against us, we must face it with similar tools, means and methods that are similar, at times innovative and consistent with our values, culture, ethics and codes of legitimacy.
All our fighting, defending and confrontations whether military, security, economic, political or psychological must be consistent with our background of faith, religion, ideological legitimacy and morality.
So, it is natural that we also counter the psychological war, and the first goal, as far as we are concerned is to secure our people, families, will, determination and our strengths and abilities, to prevent the waged psychological war by the enemy from achieving its objectives.
In other words, on the one hand it is about the prevention of enemy attempts to instill despair, fear, and intimidation into us as attempts to subjugate us into surrender or withdrawal from the scene and to persuade us into believing we are weak by instilling uncertainty and confusion in our thinking, choices, identity or our external expression.
On the other hand, we also need psychological warfare countermeasures, against the enemy and its security, military institutions, as well as its entity and society; countermeasures that turn the tables on the psychological war instigators, turn the magic on the magician, to scare and confuse it, to convince this enemy that it is weak, to create doubt and hesitation in their choices, ideas and facts and in its leadership and army ...
When God Almighty orders the faithful in the Holy Qoran to make preparations: "Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies, of God and your enemies" [8:60]
A countermeasure is also required just as the enemy attempts to intimidate and scare us we too must work on intimidate and scare it. We must work on convincing its society of its weakness, to instill doubt and uncertainty toward their army and its leadership.
Now the question is 'how'?
Let's enter the heart of the matter without long introductions.
I've also said that psychological war today has become a science and a competence taught in colleges and universities, bearing in mind that when the Islamic resistance in Lebanon launched its media psychological war throughout all recent years, it did so without any college or university studies in the field. Its war was based on our innate nature, divine teachings and guidance, which God promised to teach the Mujahideen and guide them to His paths.
It was also due to our constant referral to our faith, beliefs and Qoran which teaches us a great deal, sufficiently enabled us to confront the most powerful psychological warfare throughout history. What is taught in universities and colleges often depends on what is written or composed in the most common materialistically based schools.
What I mean, to begin with those who do not believe in the existence of God Almighty - either atheists or who believe God exists but is inactive, ineffective, does not interfere or his hands are tied and therefore God is neutral in battles regardless of whether or not you call for His help, His name or request His support, that nothing will change and that the existing God is out of the equation.
Followers of the materialistic school speak of methods and tools as weapons in psychological war from the enemy's same mode of engagement, one that prevailed among the largest two camps in the world in recent times, the Western camp led by the United States of America and the Eastern bloc led by the former Soviet Union.
Another mode of psychological warfare has been revived through the Islamic experience, the experience of the Islamic revolution in Iran under the leadership of Imam Khomeini (God bless his soul), in Islamic awakening and in movements in the region, this type or mode of warfare is not materialistically based but on the divine Qoran school, an experience that has been the more useful, powerful and effective.
So, we will talk in this context based on this understanding and against this background.
Because a long time is needed to cover the wide range of headings, I will focus on three titles only:
1- Countering psychological war waged by the enemy, not only serves our strength and stability but goes beyond serving our psychological and moral security, to scaring and confusing the enemy.
This is based on our belief that God the Exalted exists and is able, the skies and the earth lay in His hand, He is all capable and He is not neutral. We believe everything that happens in this existence, even the simplest and smaller things are subject to His will and manifest only by the will of Almighty God as the Holy Qoran says "But ye will not, except as God wills" [76:30] ... God Almighty is effective, provider, it is He who takes life and gives it, He is the preserver of this existence, and if it was not for the Greater God the heavens and the earth would become non-existent and collapse ...
The insight is the ability of the mind, heart and soul to envisage and know the truth, and among other titles for insight we should have the knowledge of our times and age, knowing the enemy and the friend so that we don't suspect neither the enemy nor the friend, in order not to fight the friend or ignore the enemy.
Yet, we should use the friend in facing the enemy. The insight also includes knowing your points of strength and weaknesses, as we talked previously. We work to bring out our strengths for our peoples and our enemies, for our people to trust, and for our enemy to despair from defeating us. We should know our weaknesses so that we treat them.
Here we enter to the psychological war, knowing what we want and how to get what we want, moreover, to know the targets of our enemy to disrupt his plans and conspiracies, this is also a part of vision, and therefore the most important thing that people should have, particularly believers not only leaders but also scholars, elites and general public is a vision.
In his political discourses manners between us and the "Israelis", the "Israeli" says that he launched a war in order to blaze Arab and Muslim awareness. Meanwhile, the Resistance fights to destroy the awareness of the enemy's society, leaders as well as its army. For he who has insight, awareness and faith will never be defeated. This is different than the issue of divine help and assistance. When there are people of faith, awareness, knowledge and insight, then let them say what they want and let them lie as much as they want, for they cannot touch the will and the determination of such people.
The third and the last title is one of the Islamic precautions in addition to resorting to God and being from the people of insight. Islam has also called upon us to be from the people of verification. The eople are not infallible, of course, and when we talked about the theme of finding doubts, uncertainty and reiteration, it is a kind of immunity. God says" O ye who believe! If a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth ".Wicked person doesn't only mean the reprobate man who conveys a story, but there is also an unreliable and hostile media outlet that also comes to us as news.
Such news aim to scare us by magnifying the enemy in order to make us surrender or to affect our idols, leaders, culture, choices and thoughts. As what is going on since several distortion attempts that target Resistance movements their leaders, scholars, and symbols in this nation through the promotion of rumours, lies and accusations. Well, the bottom line, God says, be aware and assured. We should face what is said and doubt targets us in what is said and not in what we believe As we know, in July war, we lived all what we talked about in experience and not just in theories. In Lebanon and in Palestine, in the experience of Lebanon, the "Israelis" launched a psychological war for a period of twenty-seven years against this resistance, its society and its people.
"Israel "did everything to defeat your will and your determination, your faith and your trust , from assassinating our scholars , leaders and Mujahideen , bombing houses on the heads of women and children, repeated invasions, launching media war through all outlets, in addition to doing whatever it is capable of, and I'd like to tell you at the conclusion of the psychological warfare, America and "Israel" have done everything which they are capable of to undermine your will ,your determination and your faith , yet they have failed.
In July war, there was destruction and displacement, massacres and murder, intimidation and discouragement, and all what can be done as a part of a psychological warfare have been used. Yet, what was the scene in return? Have we seen any fighters fleeing from the battlefield? Never, as I told you earlier, the "Israelis" said themselves that they besieged the city of Bint Jbeil, and opened a door for fighters to flee. Yet, that door was turned for a passage for more fighters to enter the city. There are some military readings which say that the mass of the usage of the air force during the 33 days on this small spot of Lebanon exceeds what the "Israeli" Air Force used in some great wars.
Yet, the believers and Mujahedeen didn't fear on the contrary they fought in the frontier villages despite the non-stop barrages which continued till the last moment before announcing the cessation of military operations. This was the situation of Mujahideen in the South, the Bekaa Valley and in all areas. Regarding people, how many times did the media come to take displaced people's stance or a word which discourage or affect the morale of the resistance fighters but they couldn't.
During the 33 days, displaced people were watching on television that their homes were being destroyed. They did not know whether they will find their homes or not after they will return to their villages. They didn't know if their son was dead or alive. However, they failed to take from the people any word which affects the morale of the resistance. Isn't a great thing, such tranquillity and steadfastness?
Thirty three days and the Mujahedeen slept under fire. God was keeping them safe while asleep. So what marks the war in July is that we in July war as in all confrontations resorted to the first item. We trusted in God Who affirmed our hearts and in turn unleashed terror in the hearts of our enemies. Forty thousand officers and soldiers walked in our land. They stumbled with their tanks and their choppers, and they could not achieve any victories, as we saw the horror and confusion in their faces, who did it? God Al Mighty did it.
Therefore, when we go to what they threaten us in future days or years or ages, we say through this experience, through this understanding, this faith, this knowledge and this divine prophetic belief. I say to you and you say to me and together we say to the enemy. You have tried all forms of psychological wars in the past, and that escalated our resilience and hardness, strength and courage, steadfastness and faith. In the future, we will be the same, rather, we will be better than that because we tried what we believed in, and we have done what we said, and during all the years you remember the verses that we have always recalled.
When they met in Sharm el-Sheikh in 1996, the whole world gathered from end to end, regionally and internationally against resistance movements in Lebanon and Palestine, but on that day, I remember how we faced the situation. Did we feel weak or hesitating for the world threatened us?
None of us, felt weak, not from our elite or public, from our women or men. We faced and kept facing by Almighty saying: Men said to them: "A great army is gathering against you": And frightened them: But it (only) increased their Faith: They said: "For us God sufficeth, and He is the best disposer of affairs."
And the result was:" And they returned with Grace and bounty from God: no harm ever touched them: For they followed the good pleasure of God: And God is the Lord of bounties unbounded.
It is only the Evil One that suggests to you the fear of his votaries: Be ye not afraid of them, but fear Me, if ye have Faith.
This method works with people who don't believe in God nor trust him. Yet who believes in God, he should not fear intimidation nor this political, psychological and media campaign which is waged against us. So by this faith and this depth, certainty and insight, we faced all forms of psychological warfare in the past and won. So would we, God willing, as companions of Imam Hussein (AS), who did not fear tens of thousands of people who were around them, did not hesitate, withdraw nor escape.
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