Nasrallah should look toward peace.

Cleric Nasrallah was far more wise to stay out of the fray as he stated in the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas. Cleric Nasrallah needs to reflect on the fact that Israel formally declared war against Hamas and he was giving aid and comfort to the enemy of Israel. They didn't come for the Cleric. Israel knew exactly who was to be dealt with and they carried out an act to end one of the masterminds that killed 1200 of it's citizens.

January 3, 2024

Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah (click here) said in an address Wednesday that Israel should expect “a response and punishment” a day after the death of senior Hamas leader Saleh Arouri in a suspected Israeli drone strike in a Beirut suburb. Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group based in Lebanon, has traded fire with Israel in recent weeks, though the Lebanese government said it was urging Hezbollah to show restraint. “If the enemy thinks of waging a war on Lebanon,” Nasrallah said, they “will regret it.” Before Nasrallah’s speech, the Israel Defense Forces said its troops were “prepared for any scenario.”...

Cleric Nasrallah should be careful not to become a puppet to Iran. This war is not about the Shi'ites. This is about a deadly attack on citizens of Israel within their own borders. I wish Cleric Nasrallah and the Grand Ayatollah Sistani (click here) would collaborate to find a peaceful end to all this. I remind that the power of Islam is it's people. The Grand Ayatollah knows all too well how the people marched to the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf and that march ended a siege of American troops and their tanks. It was correct and right that it occurred and the mosque was intact and maintained as a place of worship.

Hezbollah is not a part of this, nor should its members be seeking revenge against Israel for defending it's citizens. The tragedy of Palestinians has yet to be defined, but, one thing is certain, the citizens of Gaza were used as a weapon of war as Hamas deployed the strategy of "human shields." That strategy led to the death of the very people Hamas should have sought to protect.

Cleric Nasrallah needs to maintain the understanding this is not about the Shi'ites. This is about the violent regime of Hamas that brought innocent Israeli lives to an end. Iran is attempting to bring about a war of inclusivity with all Shi'ites, but, that is a wayward view of the world. This war is about ending the blood thirsty regime of Hamas. This is not about Hezbollah or Iran or Iraqi Shi'ites. It is wrong to expand this conflict. It will lead to greater and greater deaths. The Shi'ites should be standing up for peace and not the death of others.

I remember it like it was yesterday. The Grand Ayatollah Sistani moved the people to walk the path of Mohammad and stopped the hostilities of the USA military. It was the most magnificent movement of people I ever witnessed. The Shi'ites cannot compete with advanced militaries. However, militaries can't compete with the people.

August 25, 2004

Shiite Muslims (click here) demonstrate outside the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, southwest of Baghdad

...Makeshift barricades (click here) set up to protect the entrance were torched as tanks moved along the western side of the compound wall towards the surrounding Old City.

To the east, US forces had smashed through militia defences in the marketplace in Midan square while the heavy boom of artillery fire thundered out across the area from the southern side.

The situation on the northern side, closest to the city's vast cemetery, was not immediately clear but the southern and northern exits from the shrine were in the sights of snipers, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.

The shrine -- one of the holiest Shiite pilgrimage sites in the world -- was very close to being sealed off from the rest of the city, the AFP correspondent said....