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Ashoura speech of Sayyed Nasrollah (2008 AD)

On January 15, the Secretary General of Hezbollah Sayyed Hasan Nasrollah delivered a speech commemorating the death anniversary of Shi'i Imam al-Husayn. The following is the text of the speech carried by Hezbollah-affiliated al-Manar TV. The text is reprinted here with permission from and thanks to MidEastWire.
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"Esteemed scholars, brothers and sisters.I would like to discuss the political situation in view of the new developments taking place in our region and in Lebanon.

"I will leave to the last two nights [the topic] that I was planning to discuss tonight, God willing, in the hope that we will talk more during the last two nights about some religious, spiritual, and moral aspects that are expressed by Karbala and the leader and men and women of Karbala. As for tonight, we need a calm, simplified, and clear reading of the latest political developments in our region. It seems that what took place in our region these days will pave the way for events and developments over the whole year, that is, the year 2008, especially during the coming few months.

This is what I will clearly talk about in my speech.

"The main development is Bush's visit and the outcome and repercussions of this visit. Before I begin I have to express Hezbollah's denunciation and condemnation of any explosion that takes place in Lebanon regardless of the target that is meant or not meant by this explosion, especially if this explosion leads to the fall of innocent people and to serious repercussions on the security and stability of this country and its diverse conditions. In all cases, this is condemned. [Note: this refers to the explosion targeted at a US Embassy vehicle in Beirut)]. Now I will return to my main subject:

"There is no doubt that Bush's visit to the region is important. I can claim that it is a historic visit because it seeks to draw the picture of the region during the coming stage. I do not exaggerate things by saying this. Therefore, we all and the people of the region as well as the rulers and the political, cultural, media, economic, and all other leaders in our countries should follow up the words, deeds, promises, threats, and expectations Bush made during his visit to our region.

"I do not agree with what we or other people might sometimes say to the effect that this man is foolish, stupid, or crazy and, therefore, we should not count on what he says. Things are not so. This is a big simplification of political facts in the world and the region. To help understand this visit and its axes, results, expected effects, and repercussions, the following introduction is necessary.

"This introduction is based on studies, events, facts, and books published in the United States and major research institutes. These have concluded that the current US Administration of Bush, which has been in power for seven years and will continue this year, is made up of an alliance among three groups that have common interests in the United States. The first group consists of the major oil companies. If you look at the senior officials in the Bush administration starting with Bush and down to Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, and all others, you will find that many of the key officials in this administration either own oil companies or arms manufacturing and trading firms.

"The first group is the major oil companies. The second group is the major arms manufacturing companies. I will, of course, explain things when an explanation is needed and will continue when things are clear in order to save time. The third group has a religious trend. It is today called in the United States the Zionist Christianity. I do not want to use this expression so that no harm will be done to a heavenly religion called Christianity, but I will talk about a special religious trend. What is meant here is this group of Zionist Christians who are so called in the United States today.

"These make up a basic and strong part of this alliance. The interests of this alliance converge as a result of each side's need for the other side and as a result of the aims this alliance seeks to achieve. The major oil companies in our region want to control the oil wells and oil exports, and consequently the prices and markets. The major firms of weapons seek to manufacture the largest possible quantity of weapons and then market and sell them to make huge profits.

"A religious trend - and I will explain this a little more here - today exists strongly in the United States. It has supporters in the tens of millions. It has huge institutions and very strong news media. What does this religious trend believe in? It believes it has to set the stage for the return of Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, to earth. It believes that among the conditions needed for the return of Christ is establishing a state for the Jews in occupied Palestine. This is the State of Israel. They believe that this condition has been fulfilled and should be protected and fully accomplished.

"They believe that Jews should be brought from all parts of the world to live in Palestine. Therefore, we find that one of the policies of this religious trend is encouraging the world Jews to immigrate to occupied Palestine. What is required is not only establishing a Jewish state, which is the State of Israel, in occupied Palestine. What is also required is bringing the Jews from all parts of the world to this promised or required state. This religious trend believes that this state should be protected and should be strong and superior.

"Consequently, any threat in the region or any force in the region that may rise to the level of threatening the existence of this entity should be destroyed regardless of whether this is a state or number of states, or people or number of peoples. They, of course, believe that the existence of a strong and capable Jewish state in occupied Palestine is the condition needed for the return of Jesus Christ, peace be upon him. When they extend all this unlimited support to the State of Israel, they do not do so out of love for the Jews or do it in defence of Semitism or in expiation of the massacres claimed to have been committed in the holocaust and other such things. They do so to serve their ideological project by using the Jews.

"Here I want to draw attention to [one point] . that none in our Arab and Islamic countries should come and hold Christians responsible for what this religious trend is doing in the United States because the overwhelming majority of these Christians if not all of them reject this trend and do not support it at all. Therefore, none should come and say he has to take revenge, retaliate, discipline, or confront this US religious trend by punishing the followers of Christianity in our countries.

"... Back to the main idea, I can say these are the three groups which are today in alliance and which are present today in the US Administration. They have a common interest in the issue of Palestine, Iraq, Iran, and the area surrounding occupied Palestine from Lebanon to Syria, Jordan, and Gulf states. Accordingly, George Bush is today the symbol which honestly expresses the interests of these three groups .

"[This religious trend's] interests here certainly converged with the interests of the major oil companies, which have ambitions against Iran's oil and natural resources, and with the interests of the major arms firms, which sell their weapons in the Gulf and the entire region for tens of billions of dollars, benefiting from the atmosphere of war with Iran. This is what George Bush came to do in our region.

"If we keep this background in mind when discussing Bush's visit, we will note specific results. There are three main headlines in Bush's visit. On the basis of these three headlines, he paved the way for a confrontation. One is Israel, another is the arms deals, and the third is oil and its prices. These are the same points I spoke about a while ago. I wanted to give this introduction in order to say that George Bush is the person who is trusted to look after the interests of the three groups whose alliance makes up his administration and his project in this region. He came and worked on these three headlines. I will begin with the first headline on arms sales.

Arms Sales

"Today there is talk about selling weapons to the Gulf States at tens of billions of dollars. Who are these weapons then wanted to be used against? [They will be deployed] either against other Arabs or against Iran. What is important is that he is coming to create tension and terror in the region.

"He wants to frighten the Arab countries against Iran so that there will be a reason and an excuse to sell these weapons to the Arab countries, and also to provide Arab countries with the excuse to buy these weapons . Arab funds will be used therefore to finance the major US arms companies. The excuse is that there is an Iranian threat.

The Price of Oil

"With regard to the issue of oil, Bush also came and spoke clearly and frankly. He said oil prices should have specific ceilings. Why? Let me briefly explain this. The Americans have no interest is seeing oil prices go down. Also they have no interest in seeing prices go up much. They can now tolerate a price of $100 per barrel, but they are using the relatively high oil prices to strike at the economies of countries competing with the United States. When oil prices go up in the world, which countries will be harmed?

"China, the EU member states, and the countries importing oil will be harmed. Their economies and industry will be harmed. The poor, oppressed, and tormented people, of course, will also suffer. The United States is using and playing with the oil prices to strike at major world economies competing with the United States, and to humiliate the poor and the oppressed.

Israel

"What was more serious was the issue linked to Israel. On the issue of Israel, he came and presented a clear and specific vision. I will return to this issue shortly. I will talk about three issues and begin now with the main one. I will then finish topics one by one. One is the Iranian issue, another is the Palestinian issue, and the third is the Lebanese issue.

Iran

"On the Iranian issue, Iran is, of course, targeted for the reasons I mentioned a short while ago. These reasons are oil, weapons, and the special religious trend in the United States. Besides, Iran is impregnable to the US Administration and is not subject to US hegemony. US firms have no influence at all on the Iranian oil industry and Iranian natural resources. He came to exaggerate the Iranian threat posed to the Arabs and Israel. He, of course, could not play much with the nuclear file because the US intelligence report said clearly that Iran is not trying to possess nuclear weapons. al-Barada'i's visit to Tehran at this time also helped.

"Here I want to draw attention to something. Two days ago, I heard French President Sarkozy say in a Gulf state - either Saudi Arabia or Qatar; I do not exactly remember - that "the Arabs have the right to possess a peaceful nuclear energy because after 30, 40, or 50 years oil and gas and many of the sources of energy will be exhausted, and the whole world will in the future depend on nuclear energy. Therefore, we have to allow the Arabs to possess nuclear power. This is legitimate and normal. Yes, nuclear weapons are rejected." While listening to him, I was surprised.

"His Eminence Imam Khamenei, may God keep him, has been saying this daily over the past three or four years. Why is such talk accepted from Sarkozy and not from Imam Khamenei? Why is it accepted from the French and not from the Iranians? If you accuse Iran of working for the possession of nuclear weapons, it will say: "We are clear and transparent. Please come forward and install a monitoring and inspection system and place the safeguards you want." Imam Khamenei has even clearly said that his ideological, religious, and jurisprudent position calls for banning the manufacture or use of nuclear weapons.

"Today they come and say we want to give you nuclear energy but they want to manufacture the nuclear fuel in their countries. This means you as Arabs, Iranians, or other peoples in the region are prohibited from having the technology of enriching uranium and producing nuclear fuel. They are ready to build you a nuclear reactor but the fuel should be manufactured by them so that they will continue to control prices and energy. This means they will control your political decision, market, trade, economy, and daily food.

"On the Iranian level, he came to incite against Iran, but did not succeed. Here, falls the responsibility of Arab countries, especially the Gulf States. These should not allow or give cover to a war on the Islamic Republic of Iran - because this will be in the interests of the United States; but it will not to the interest of Iran, the Gulf States, or the Arab countries and the peoples of the region.

"George Bush thinks that Iran will yield to threat and pressure, but Iran is clear in saying it will not yield to pressure. If he talks about launching war, Iran will defend itself. I will tell you that if America wages war on Iran, it would be the most stupid thing ever made in the history of America. The Arab countries should be loyal to their interests and the interests of their peoples. Any war in the region will be a service to America, Israel, the US oil companies, US arms companies, and the rancorous Zionist religious trend in the United States.

"On the Palestinian level, George Bush presented a clear vision about the Jewish State of Israel. I talked about the US religious trend a short while ago. He spoke about a Jewish state and not a state in which the Jews, Muslims, and Christians live. It is not only a Jewish state as I said a few nights ago, but a racist state. This means that what is taken into consideration is not religion but ethnicity and blood. A Jewish state will certainly threaten the 1948 Arabs whether they are Muslims or Christians. Second, they want to modify the territories occupied in 1967.

"What does this mean? It means Jerusalem, the major settlements around it, and basic parts of the West Bank will be annexed to the Jewish State of Israel. The remaining crumbs will be given to the Palestinians. Third, there will be no right of return. He called for the start of work to set up a fund. Eventually, the Arab millions will be put in this fund to compensate the Palestinians and deprive them of their natural right to return to their farms and houses.

The implication of Bush's prospective return in May

"After expressing this vision, George Bush promised to return to the region in May to pursue his blessed efforts. I want you to underscore this promise because I will talk about it in a while. This means Bush is telling us that we have to wait for something about the situation of the region and the Palestinian situation by May. Now May could be an ordinary date. Why should we go deep in analysing the issue? But it also may not be ordinary.

"There might be steps or a US plan that was promoted during his visit. What is then required is implementing this plan during the rest of January and in February, March, and April so that George Bush can come in May to reap the fruits of the plan that will be implemented during the coming few months. The date could be quite normal and there is no need for all these fears, but we are here talking about an arch Satan. It is also possible, and this is a stronger and more correct likelihood, that George Bush will come in May to see the results of a certain action on the level of the region.

"One of the most important repercussions of Bush's visit and its impact on the Palestinian level is that he torpedoed the Arab peace initiative. Today, if a resistance movement in the world or a country like Iran or Indonesia, for example, stands up and criticizes the Arab peace initiative, the Arab governments and the official and private Arab news media will raise a hue and cry.

"But George Bush buried and destroyed the Arab peace initiative through the vision he presented. He celebrated its burial and asked people to say their prayers over it. Nevertheless, we have not heard any objection from the Arab rulers or Arab summits which adopted the Arab peace initiative time after time. The guest is currently present and they do not want to embarrass him, but he has practically blown up the Arab peace initiative.

"Today, the negotiations that would be held between the Israelis and the PNA will be held on the basis of Bush's vision of a settlement and not on the basis of the Arab peace initiative. On the other hand, what is more serious - on the basis of my opinion, understanding, analysis, and information - is that the green light has been given to launch a war on the Gaza Strip similar to the July war.

Green Light for a War on Gaza

"What is wanted is ending the current situation in the Gaza Strip as of now and until May. Today's events have been going on for some time now although we do not feel them. Every day 10, 15, or 20 martyrs fall. It was said the other day that 1,000 or 2,000 were martyred only in the Gaza Strip in one or two years. In the light of this large number of martyrs, I say it is clear that there is a green light. Only God knows who publicly or secretly approves, blesses, facilitates, and supports this. One thousand question marks are raised over this issue.

"I want to say that after Bush's visit to the region, the Gaza Strip entered the circle of great danger. I appeal to the brother leaders in the Gaza Strip to be more alert than ever before during this period of time because there is no longer any political cover for anyone. There is no cover for brother Isma'il Haniyah, head of dismissed government, or members of the Legislative Council, or ministers in the government, or ranking leaders in resistance movements. Therefore, the Gaza Strip has entered the circle of great danger.

"I think that from now until 30 January, more caution should be observed in the Gaza Strip because on that day the final Winograd Committee's report will be issued. During the remaining time, Olmert needs any victory, accomplishment, or moral gain in order to be able to protect himself from the repercussions of the serious and negative results of the Winograd report. The Americans have thus far been able to protect him.

"They may be able to protect him longer, but it is clear in Israel today that there is much talk about the earthquake this report may cause. In any case, when I say Gaza has entered this serious stage, I mean the Arab and Islamic governments and peoples and all Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and abroad as well as the various Palestinian factions should all shoulder their responsibility and know what should be done. This has become extremely clear. What is important is having the will to do something. We, of course, count on the patience, sacrifices, steadfastness, solidity, and courage of our Palestinian mujahedin, who have proven their ability to defeat the Zionist sword with the sacrificing, faithful, and sincere jehadist blood in more than battle and more than one dangerous confrontation.

Lebanon

"I will now talk about Lebanon. On the Lebanese level, people usually want us to say things which reassure and comfort them, but we are responsible people and we have to speak honestly, frankly, and transparently. Perhaps due to our frankness and transparency, we are sometimes strongly blamed. What is important for us in this life is that we should carry out our responsibility towards our God and the people whom we love and whom we must serve and defend. Let us speak clearly about the Lebanese issue. We still have some time to talk in detail.

The Visits by David Welch and Elliot Abrams

"In fact, before I heard that Bush will return to the region in May, some information was made available to us during the past few weeks. That information had to do with David Welch's first visit and his second visit when he came to Lebanon with Elliott Abrams. We all know who Welch met with. The main purpose of the visit by Welch and Abrams was regrouping the 14 March forces and closing up their ranks once again as a result of the large shake up that took place after these forces were forced for one reason or another to nominate General Michel Sulayman for the post of president of the republic.

"You may remember that some said they wanted to run away and leave. One said he will close his party offices and emigrate. Some people, however, began to change affiliation. Here the Americans developed the conviction that the front on which they depend on in Lebanon, that is, this group, was largely shaken. Therefore, they sent David Welch to unify ranks. He, however, did not succeed, because he said something and Abrams said something else. Therefore, the two came together to say one thing.

"They met and tried to bring the parties together. They managed to bring this team together, but after the visit by Abrams and Welch we noted how the situation escalated and the language of threats we used to hear in the past returned.

"What was the magic recipe Welch and Abrams presented during the second visit to make this team get together once again after Welch could not do so during the first visit? We are saying what we know based on our information. We are not fabricating things against them. It will later become clear if this information is right or wrong. Our information says this group was told: "You have to get together, unite, and hold out for three or four months, that is, from now until April or May. The whole situation in Lebanon and the region will then change in your favour."

"This, of course, is not the first time the Americans promise changes in the region and Lebanon although nothing happens. They think the Americans are a god that can do what he wants. They do not know that there is a conflict of wills in the region. In any case, they were told that the situation in the region will change from now until May and that there will be new developments and the situation will then be in their favour and all they want will be done, so be assured about that. Accordingly, they felt reassured and no longer needed to speed up dialogue or negotiations. One began to beg the representative of the pro-government team to meet with the representative of the opposition. We began to hear an escalatory language once again.

Changes afoot - Attack on Iran; Siege of Syria

"What are the changes they said would take place in the region and on which they are counting? All I am going to tell you is part of the information available to us, but I am going to say it in a story-like manner in order to be very clear. I tell you now not to be afraid or worried. Anyway, listen to them. It was said that there was talk with this group that a US strike or a US war would be launched against Iran before May. Accordingly, Iran will be struck, Syria will be besieged, and the allies of Iran and Syria will be weakened - they classify everything as an Iranian-Syrian axis - and the situation will be in your favour 100 per cent.

"I gave you this piece of information and now I will comment on it. My direct question to this group is: Are you sure that the Americans are telling you the truth? How many times have they said they will strike at Iran? If they strike at Iran and a war breaks out with Iran, will they or you guarantee the results? Who says war with Iran will achieve the US expectations? Who says war on Iran will not introduce a change in the region that might eliminate not only the Americans, but also all the Americans and their supporters?

"Who guarantees this will not happen? They will come after a while and say I am making threats. No, I am saying facts. I am expecting things the way you expect a war on Iran to finish it off, weaken Syria, and destroy all the revolutionary and genuine national trends in the region. You have the right to expect things and I, too, have this right. I am saying this so that you will not waste your time by betting on things that may not take place and if they take place they might not at all be in your interest.

"Another thing was said or hinted at. I am not 100 per cent sure about it, but I know it was hinted at. There was talk about a new Israeli aggression. This happened in the past in the July war and some people wagered on it. There were people here who were upset because the resistance held out and the Israeli war did not achieve its aims. The July war at that time did not target only Hezbollah. It was also aimed at bringing about a radical change in the country and in the region. Did Rice not say the war of Lebanon is the birth pangs of a new Middle East?

"They wanted to change the region through the war on Lebanon, but they failed. This war toppled generals and political figures. Olmert is struggling to keep his position. His ministers from Kadima and other than Kadima are daily talking about their failure and about the strength of Hezbollah after the war. Therefore, if anyone is today wagering on a new Israeli war or a new Israeli aggression to bring about internal political changes in his interest, he will be completely mistaken.

Prospect of Israeli attack in Lebanon exaggerated

"Today I do not want to repeat what I said on the 14 August anniversary, but I would like to stress to you that a large part of the talk about an Israeli aggression is mere exaggeration. Some events are also taking place perhaps for the purpose of exaggeration so that it will be said that these events may give the Israelis a pretext to attack Lebanon. We know the Israelis. When they want to commit an aggression against Lebanon, they will not need a pretext because the whole world regrettably supports them. They can also create a pretext. Was there anything on the borders in 1982?

"There was nothing. An attempt was made to assassinate the Israeli ambassador in London. The PLO was accused of the attempt and Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982. If Israel wants to commit an aggression one day, it can carry out any security operation abroad - and not necessarily on the Lebanese border with occupied Palestine - against an ambassador, diplomat, consul, or Israeli group, and then say Hezbollah or any other side in Lebanon is responsible.

"It will then follow this with an aggression against Lebanon. This is not the issue. The issue is that if Israel wants to commit an aggression against Lebanon this time, it has to have a thousand apprehensions. Yes, as I said in the past, I will repeat and stress on the Day of 'Ashoura, God willing, that the dreams, delusions, and fantasies of all those who are wagering on Israel after the July war and all of those who are wagering on Israel in Lebanon and the region have miserable, failed, and wrong options.

"A third thing was said. They said: "Be patient until April or May when the situation in Lebanon and the region changes." One of the things they talked about was the need to expedite the formation of the international tribunal. We are for any tribunal that reveals the truth and both identifies and punishes the assassins of former Prime Minister Martyr Rafiq al-Hariri, but we were always afraid of the political exploitation of this tribunal. A few days ago, French President Sarkozy mentioned this in Cairo. This was also said to this group here. It was asked to be patient. There is now rush. The public prosecutor has been appointed. The place has been rented. The budget is being secured. The names of judges are being circulated. The tribunal will have been formed by April and will then start summoning people. The situation of Syria will be difficult because accusations are levelled at it without an investigation.

"The international tribunal will be used [by the United States] to put pressure on many Lebanese political parties . Therefore, by April or May we will find that main parties in the opposition will be busy with themselves, Syria will be busy with itself, and the people will be seeking shelter and safety, so the 14 March group can do what it wants. This was also said. These are also bets. Counting on them in a situation like the Lebanese situation will be wrong.

"The first victim of the politicization of the international tribunal if they are planning to work in this way in April and May will be the truth all the Lebanese are calling for. We called for knowing the truth when we took to the streets on 8 March and when they took to the streets on 14 March. The Lebanese were unanimous about the need to reveal and know the truth, but a politicized tribunal will not uncover the truth or the assassins. The court will be used to serve the suspicious US plans in the region.

"We will speak when we reach that day. Why do you think the opposition parties - Syria can speak for itself - will collapse, weaken, or hesitate? We will see on that day. We will know from the behaviour of the new prosecutor and the international tribunal if work is judicial or political. In the light of this, the people will make a decision on how to act. None can force anyone else to surrender or yield when there is political exploitation.

"The group was told changes will occur in the region. These might take place in Palestine, which will certainly influence Lebanon, Syria, and all of us. They told them there is Iran and there is the possibility of an attack on Lebanon and there is an international tribunal. I tell them: Let us, we the Lebanese, get together now and tonight so that we can think of the interests of this country calmly. Do not prepare yourselves for an attack on me because this makes no difference to me.

"I would like to tell you that all wagers on the outside world, on the behaviour of this outside world, or on regional developments will be useless. I am in a challenge with you. I say regional changes will not be in your interest but in our interest. It is in your interest now to reach agreement with the opposition if you are waiting for changes on the regional level in particular and the international level in general. Today, the opportunity is still open. It is called the Arab initiative. We welcomed the Arab initiative.

"Tomorrow, the Arab League secretary general will come to Lebanon. I welcome him again. The Arab foreign ministers worked hard, came up with an initiative, and asked the secretary general to implement it. The text is clear. The one who reads Arabic, understands Arabic, and knows logic, rhetoric, and grammar, will find that the text has only one meaning. But sometimes the cameleer may have one intention, the camel may have another, and the load may still have another. Some ministers may have another intention but the text they have is different.

"I do not want to publicly explain the text now, but the initiative is still valid. I call on the Arab officials to extend serious assistance to Lebanon and to make sure that the Arab initiative is not a waste of time on the Lebanese level. It is hoped that the Arab initiative is not meant to put pressure on the opposition. Some of the ideas we heard are the same ideas expressed by the French and others - ideas which did not succeed. The Arabs are required to come and help Lebanon and not put pressure on one team. It was said there is an appeal to Syria to help persuade its allies to accept the Arab initiative.

"I, too, call on the rest of the Arab countries to persuade their allies in Lebanon to accept the spirit of the Arab initiative on which we agree and in which there is no victor or vanquished although we may differ over its interpretation or text.

"We heard the French foreign minister two days ago threaten to internationalize the Lebanese issue. We ask Minister Kouchner to be patient with us a bit. He said he loves Lebanon but it seems that some love kills. The Arab initiative should not be a step on the way of internationalizing the crisis. Second, internationalization will not benefit Lebanon. What is internationalization? Is it something other than getting a Security Council resolution? What can the international community impose on us?

"In Lebanon there is a will and there are national and independent forces and there is a majority of Lebanese people with vision and certain interest. The entire world cannot impose on us anything that conflicts with our interests. Therefore, none should put pressure on us through the notion of internationalization or the bringing together of the international community. I will today say what I said behind closed doors because everything leaks.

"Let me say it to help the Arab initiative and Arab mediator reach a solution. If someone proposed the Arab initiative to put pressure on the opposition, this will not be useful. If someone wrote the Arab initiative to hold the opposition or a certain party in Lebanon responsible for failure, I will then tell him not to waste his time. This is what I said to Mr Amr Mousa. I am saying it to you in my own words so that it will not reach you distorted.

"I will say again now that I told the Arab League secretary that if pursuing the Arab initiative is only meant to say one day who in Lebanon is responsible for failure, you can then blame me and Hezbollah and you can tomorrow say that the pro-government group accepted the initiative but the opposition did not. What was presented was what the pro-government group rather than the Arab initiative demanded. I told him he could say that all opposition forces accepted it but there is one called Hasan Nasrollah in Hezbollah who is responsible for foiling the Arab initiative.

"I will accept that. I told him: You do not have to trouble yourself and this is the end of the line. I tell the Lebanese officials today that there is no need for the pro-government group to hold the opposition responsible for foiling the initiative, or the opposition to hold the pro-government group responsible. There is no need to fill the pages of newspapers and spend hours talking about this issue and thus exhaust the Lebanese. The opposition says the other side is responsible for foiling the Arab initiative and the other side says the opposite. If you are looking for someone to blame, go ahead and blame us. I told him why. I am not saying this only to defend myself. I told him this does not frighten us.

"The ones who carried on their shoulders the July war, which came upon an international decision by the international community and the eight industrialized nations with the approval of some Arab brothers and the whole world, did not shake or fear. Not a single heart, foot, or hand trembled. They are ready to bear any responsibility or consequence anyone in this world wants to put on us. The issue should not be one of who we want to hold responsible for failure. This is shameful. This wastes the Lebanese people's time.

"What we are looking for is having a serious initiative. When the secretary general comes tomorrow, we hope there will be a serious and real effort. We hope that time will not be wasted and that no attempt will be made to embarrass or put pressure on a certain side. Finally, I want to tell the Lebanese people: Yes, we want to assume that from now and until May big changes will take place in the region as Bush promised us.

"Bush and the US Administration want to keep the current government of Prime Minister Senyourah in power or reproduce a government similar to it following the election of the president that would follow and agree with the entire US plan in the region. Lebanon and Palestine are targeted by the US plan in the region and it is an extremely dangerous plan.

"I want to tell Muslims and Christians that the Americans are not concerned about Muslims or Christians in Lebanon. They are concerned about the interests of Israel and the strength and supremacy of Israel, and the oil and arms market at the expense of the sectarian, religious, partisan, ethnic, and regional conflicts in the region. All these are details for the Americans. Today, we the Lebanese renew the invitation to dialogue. There is a clear and authorized representative for the opposition.

"The others are required to sit with him and hold negotiations with him. What is required is dialogue and understanding. What is required is reaching results. Yes, we accepted the principle of no victor and no vanquished, so let us sit to see how we can interpret it. Finally, my advice to the other side is: If you are wagering on Lebanese changes, then you are mistaken. By this I mean if you expect a change in the will of the opposition and its steadfastness, cohesion, and strength, you will then be mistaken. If you are wagering on changes in the regional situation, you will then be much mistaken.

"Therefore, let us wager on each other and let us, away from any regional or international changes, join hands and reach agreement. Let us cooperate, let us make concessions to each other, and let us try to reach a settlement internally. This is what rescues the country and addresses the country's crises and makes us rebuild and strengthen our country so that it can confront the repercussions of any regional or international developments that may take place in the region.

"This is what I wanted to say tonight calmly, clearly, and in detail. Tomorrow they might say I am frightening people. I am not frightening them. I am saying there are events and there are possibilities for which we have to be prepared. The will of the Americans is not the final will. Does this will come from heaven? No. You and we broke this will in July-August 2006 and we can break this will as long as we have the will and determination. We are capable of standing firm, confronting [attacks], and achieving victory, God willing. We are capable of preventing anybody in this world from imposing on our country and people what is not in keeping with its interests, dignity, fate, and future."

Qliphot means "shells" и проч

THE ARCANE ARCHIVE - a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects. - в т.ч. P. Elvidge SATANISM
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THE QLIPHOTH / Asim MaThep Lamm 1991
"Two are the methods of becoming God: The Upright and the Averse." Mega Therion

0.
During several years the question of a dark path to liberation of the individual, side by side with the one of light, has interested me enormously. It all began with that a good friend of mine recommended me to read "Outside the Circles of Time" by Kenneth

Grant many years ago. Since then has the interest for the possibility of a western genuine left-hand path equivalent to the hindu or Tibetan Buddhist tantrik vama marg or left-hand practices wherein negative forces are contacted and utilized as means to liberation interested me.

The occult tradition of the West being hidden for almost 2000 years reached its summit in the creation of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn which made a practical synthesis of Magick, Astrology, Alchemy and the Qabalah added to by Enochiana and Geomancy. In the "Tree of Life" of the Qabalah the aspects of Cosmos was classified and coordinated to become the foundation of many forms of magical practice amplified by Enochian evocations gathered from the works of John Dee and Edward Kelly in the 14th century. The old grimoire "The Sacred Magick of Abramelin the Mage" made out the central theme for the quest: The knowledge and conversation of one's own guardian angel.

Inherent in these systems were the magick of the Dark Paths. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn trained many adepts, among them maybe the most famous was Aleister Crowley. He recreated through the transmission of "Liber Al" and the cult of Thelema the worship of the egyptian Gods Horus and Set. He was one of the first to carry magick into the "New Age" or New Aeon as he preferred to call it.

The New Aeon, the New Age, has manifested in many aspects for different adepts which have themselves embodied this occult current. Crowley's, probably most advanced interpreter today is Kenneth Grant, the OHO of the Typhonian OTO in London, England. It is through his books which the gnosis of the new aeon has taken shape and been brought out to the public. It is he who has lifted the veil of Isis for the occultists of the modern world.

Other interpreters of the current are Nema, Michael Bertiaux, Michael A. Aquino, Stephen Flowers et al which all bring to light different aspects of what can be called The Mysteries of the New Aeon and their specific forms of Gnosis. It has of course roots in the magical cults of older epochs and cultures of whom especially ancient Egypt has a key-role to play.

1.
To understand the forces of the Qliphot it requires that one knows something about the foundations of the Qabalah itself. The Qabalah was from the beginning a jewish tradition, but have been transferred to the west through the agency of gnostics, alchemists and rosicrucians. One can today easily differentiate between two separate currents, one purely jewish and one western, and as part of those several sub-currents.

The central structure of the Qabalah is called "The Tree of Life". It described the creation of the Universe, the Cosmos as a series of 10 emanations from the limitless light, which in its turn has its roots in negative existence, no-thing, the void. The ten emanations are called the Sephiroth (which means cipher or number). They have titles such as "The Crown", "Wisdom", "Understanding", "Beauty" etc. etc. Each Sephira can be contacted through the use of ritual or active meditation in four stages: Physical, Astral, Mental and Spiritual through planetary forces, angelic choirs, archangels and the different names of God (with the magical image).

The "Tree of Life" does not only describe creation and the macrocosm but also the microcosm and the path of initiation, from material existence to pure spirit. It is this path which is named High Magick and through it the true goal of all magick. An advanced form of spiritual psychology and alchemy to transmute matter to spirit ("lead to gold"). The dark or averse aspects of the Sephiroth are called the Qliphot.

2.
`The `higher' you reach the gods of light, the `lower' you must plunge to the gods of darkness." – Nema.

In all the ages have mankind struggled with the problem of "good" versus "evil". The ideal one wants to attain, the frightening, damaging one wants to avoid. Good and evil are human terms which does not have any function to fulfil on the cosmic arena. One can instead study these aspects as a dynamic interaction between negative and positive forces in the cosmos, Yin and Yang.

Dion Fortune (1) defined two forms of evil: Negative and positive. The negative evil is the cosmic inertia, an inherent resistance against development, against new projects.

The positive evil is a willed direction of force against the stream of evolution, back towards earlier forms of consciousness. It is directed, willed negative power designed to harm.

The jewish-christian image of the world has made use of the method of "demonizing" the gods of other religions to make it easier to condemn and through artificial polarization be able to justify its own religious system.

The negative forces of the Cosmos has been looked upon as threatening and one has tried to almost expel them from mankind. An example of this is the Shiva-Set-Shaitan (Satan) godform which is looked upon as the great adversary in the cosmos, whose hordes of demons and small devils wants to take over and rule.

This archetype is admittedly destructive, Shiva is the destructive god of the hindus which is the Lord of all Yogis, it is He who destroys the relative reality or existence, the ego of the Yogi, which then reveals the Absolute. Both Shaitan and Set have had their own cults in the past which had their great days with their own esoteric cults, similar to Shiva.

The inner teachings of the jewish religion does also have their own different schools which studied the "problem of evil". The Qabalah looks upon evil as something fundamentally good but on the wrong spot, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. According to the Qabalah nothing exists outside of the Divine and the creation emanated from the first impulse, the thought in AIN SOPH AUR. That is why evil cannot be something self-existing. Qliphot means "shells". As shells they are described as being without content, being empty. That evil has no centre.

To find one's own centre is the most important thing for both the mystic and the magician, therein lies the source of will, and without a centre – no will!

The forces of the Qliphot can be looked upon in three different ways (from the point of view of creation or becoming i.e. evolution): 1) They are relative to the Sephiroth and does not have any energy of their own; 2) They are energies of Chaos which have remained from a) older worlds or b) in the process of creation ("leftovers"); 3) They are a part of the cosmic inertia, the resistance against creation which is self-existent within AIN SOPH AUR (2).

1 has as a consequence that the Qliphot are conditions within a person in relation to the sephira and if the condition is transcended and oneness attained – the qliphot will disappear itself.

2a states the fundamental understanding that the Qliphot cannot be evil in themselves but are on the wrong place in time, leftovers from earlier cycles of evolution. They have no will of their own but are doing that which they always have done, although it may be "wrong" from the point of view of the present cosmos.

Several modern western interpreters of the Qabalah adhere to 2b, that the Qliphot are leftovers when the Sephiroth become equilibrated. Chaos can be described as the primal matter. According to an old alchemical treatise (3) all four elements were separated from chaos. The Qliphot would then not be "evil" but primal forces that never have been put to use (or equilibrated), they would be enormous reserves of energy that one can get creative energy from. One can of course make comparisons with modern Chaos research and Quantum mechanics.

When they in modern terminology are looked upon as evil they are described as anti-sephiroth or sephirothic qualities carried out into extreme: "…the Contending Heads of Thaumiel are applied to Kether as a denial of Divine Unity; Chokmah is given to Ghagiel – the Hinderers in like manner, and the silence of Binah is perverted into Satariel – meaning `Hiding'. The benevolent ruling sphere of Chesed has the Smiters, and Geburah, the Flaming Ones, while the Harmony of Tiphareth is shattered by Thagirion – the Litigation.

The forces of Netzach are scattered by the Raven of Dispersion, and Falsity, the Vice of Hod, is exemplified by Samael, the False Accuser, The Foundation of Yesod is the Obscene Ass and the overpowering lust of material values is the domain of Lilith – the Woman of Night." (4)

The Qliphot have their roots in the same archetypal forms that the Sephiroth themselves but are carried out to their extremes when they become unbalanced and thereby place themselves outside of the cosmic harmony which is described by the Tree. One can also describe them in psychoanalytical terms as complex which have lost the contact with consciousness and act outside of the conscious will and have an effect on the behaviour from an unconscious or repressed level.

3 states that the metamorphoses of the Sephirotic energies describes the hierarchies of forces which guides existence and its different levels of vibration, that the qliphotic powers have their roots in non-being. They are placed on the back of the tree. A modern interpreter of the gnosis of the new aeon has written:

It is at the moment of manifestation that the elemental forces are transposed, or evoked, from Space into Time. The Abyss typifies the primal Mother as space. The stellar universe (space) seeded with souls (stars) typifies chaos become cosmos by the introduction of periodic cycles of time. The blind forces of chaos in the infinities of space preceded the planets and stars as celestial intelligences, which established order by creating time on the form of aeons etc. The forces of the `other side', being timeless, were therefore chaotic and existed only in the spaces that were considered dark, disruptive, lawless, qliphotic; they were the inverse spaces of the Sephiroth, or cosmic emanations inclusive of the planets as representing phenomenal law and order in the form of time cycles. (5)

Horus is a solar godforce in the new aeon. Although he can be perceived as destructive (wargod). He is the Lord over the Sephiroth and the paths on the Tree of Life. The Lord over the caves and tunnels on the back of the tree is the godforce Set. They are the twins, mirror images of each other. The tunnels of Set are passages in and out to other dimensions, other forms of being and worlds. The Gate to the tunnels have traditionally either been Daath or Kether. Daath because it is a hidden Sephirah which has got number eleven. The number of the Qliphot is eleven.

Crowley defines this number as: "The greatest number of magick, or energy tending to change" (6).

Practically it means that one travels up the paths (Horus) to Daath i.e. one confronts the Abyss and the gnosis which that experience gives on the inner planes (where all real gnosis exists, to which, in comparison, all books are but shadows) to be able to tread into the Realms of Night without the risk of madness or getting lost in one of the tunnels of the tree. In "The Monastery of the Seven Trays" (7) one walks up to Kether and then down again through the tunnels of reflected light. Michael Bertiaux has developed a specific method to be able to work with the back of the tree so that initiation, magic shall be complete.

Even if one has done lists of correspondences in which the tunnels and the paths correspond they are not so ordered in reality. The Qliphot are not limited to their specific sphere but reaches out to all spheres and reaches into one another. They are chaos. The Sephiroth are cosmos.

According to Dion Fortune (8) it is impossible to isolate the cosmic, positive creative force from the negative, qliphotic. If one works with The Tree of Life one awakens also the negative, dark forces, although in most cases it is unconscious. In the life of a human being there exists a natural "balance of terror" between these forces which in the microcosm reflects the macrocosm. When the forces becomes a part of consciousness the state of equilibrium is lost. That is why it is so important to meet with and work with the Dark Side as well.

The Sephirotic and Qliphotic forces in the different Qabalistic Worlds
World Hebrew Sephiroth Qliphot
Spiritual Aziluth
Godname Demons (reflections of negative light in Assiah)
Mental Briah
Archangels Archdevils/demons
Astral Yetzirah
Choirs of Angels Cohorts
Material Assiah
Planets Hells

The initiate must be a wanderer both on the dayside and nightside of the Tree of Life to be able to reach the complete gnosis and control over the magickal forces:

"Our system of cabala does not work with both forms of being, and actually it is necessary to work with both lines of pure being. Our system is quite complete in that it is concerned with magical forceswhich are expressed through the negative (Klipha) and positive (Sephira) aspects of the Tree of Life." (9)

"The initiate will become the master of both the dark and the white lights, and will be able to command the demons or nether regions as well as the angels of the mental spheres." (10) "He will always allow the negative take the place due to it, and the negative must be as useful to him as the positive." (11).

In the end there is only Maat-Thelema, the True Will, which is the individual's, the Adept's relationship to the Absolute, which does not serve either side but which is beyond both and over which neither side has any power over. "A man who is doing his True Will has the inertia of the Universe to assist him", says Aleister Crowley in one of his magickal theorems. (12)

Practically one can through creative visualization build forms on the astral which vibrates in resonance with the forces (or powers) and thereby form links to their spheres. (A similar process does also take place in the mental and spiritual spheres.) In ritual meditation the forces are contacted which gives energy to the astral body which get during a period conscious links to all spheres, including the negative tunnels – in the magical cosmos. In the end the magician can, as Shiva, become Lord both in heaven and hell.

Notes:
(1) Fortune, Dion: "The Mystical Qabalah", Aquarian Press, 1987, 9. 297.
(2) According to Gershom Scholem there were two different forms of AIN SOPH AUR, one with the idea of creation and one without. The one who was without "works against" creation, a form of inertia creating disharmonies. (Kabbalah", Dorset Press, New York 1987, p 122).
(3) "The Golden chain of Homerus", Chapter V, published in "The Hermetic Journal", No. 2, p. 15 (vintern 1978).
(4) Knight, Gareth: "A Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism", vol 1, p. 232, Samuel Weiser, NY 1978.
(5) Kenneth Grant: "Nightside of Eden", Frederick Muller Ltd, London 1977, 9. 87.
(6) Crowley, Aleister, 777 revised, p. xxv in "777 and Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley", Samuel Weiser Inc, York Beach, Maine 1982.
(7) This process of initiation is described shortly in Kenneth
Grant's: "Cults of the Shadow" p. 169. The Monastery of the Seven Rays is the outer school of which Le Couvre Noirse is the inner. Michael Bertiaux is the adept who transfers knowledge from other regions to the earthly sphere which gives the energy and gnosis to the sects he leads.
(8) See (1).
(9) Bertiaux, Michael: The Monastery of the Seven Rays, 4th year course, part one, paper to follow between lessons 6 & 7.
(10) Edred Flowers, "Fire and Ice", Llewellyn, St Paul, Minnesota, 1990, p. 40
(11) Bardon, Franz: "The Practice of Magical Evocation", Dieter Ruggerberg, Wuppertal, Vasttyskland, 1975, p. 14.
(12) Crowley, Aleister, "Magick in Theory and Practice", Lecram Press, Paris 1929, p. XIX.
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из письма:
Q.:
I have noticed some satanic orders like the ONA among others
are using both humnan and animal sacrifices. ... the bigger animal is, the bigger energy will be released when sacrificing it..?

A.:
It would stand to reason, the higher on the evolutionary scale, the grandeur the offering. Developementally, a human more grand then inscect where an inscect being more grand then a plant-mineral. I would also think the grandeur the life-force, which would conclude something sacred as opposed to large, as being larger in quality of lifes-force, and therefore a more abundant offering.

Something/animal that is large could very well also be sick-diminishing in life-force. This is perhaps where offering a "kid" was adopted, as vibrant-free from diminishing life-force. Which by the way is where the confusion in our culture came from regarding human sacrifice. Kid as a small calf.

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