Whether you respect him or hate him, it�s hard to disagree with Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, on the following point: Lebanon would not be in the state it�s in right now if Israel�s US-backed war last summer had never happened. Lebanon was one of the most progressive countries in the Middle-East until the US/Israel-planned war sparked the sectarian violence we now see. If you need further proof that Bush is in the business of bringing instability and division to Arab nations, the president also recently authorized the CIA to take covert actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Still, our hypocritical president blames Iran for meddling in the affairs of its neighbors.

Speaking at Beirut ceremonies marking the climax of the Muslim festival of Ashura, Nasrallah accused the US of ordering Israel to launch last year’s attack on Lebanon.

“The one who fomented chaos in Lebanon, who destroyed Lebanon, who killed women and children, old and young in Lebanon, is George Bush and (Secretary of State) Condoleezza Rice who ordered the Zionists to launch the war on Lebanon,” Nasrallah said.

The US president on Monday accused Hezbollah and its allies Iran and Syria of stirring up the latest violence in Lebanon in a bid to topple its government and said “those responsible for creating chaos must be called to account”.

Nasrallah said: “The one who must be punished, who must be tried, is the one who ordered the launching of war on Lebanon.”

The July-August war killed nearly 1,200 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

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