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Part 2/2
As'ad Abu Khalil:
A Response to Rashid Khalidi
4) on Iran and its support for Palestinians being for its own national interests. OK. How did Iran support for Hamas and Hizb help Iranian national interests? Please show us and explain to us. Iran has been under savage Western sanctions and facing Israeli conspiracies for decades all because of its support for Palestinian and Arab resistance to Israel. It even armed the PFLP, which is a communist non-Shiite organization. How did that help Iran? If Iran were to end its support for Arab resistance, all sanctions would have been lifted immediately—unless you believe that the West’s problem with the Iranian regime (or with the Syrian regime) is about human rights. If you believe that (and it is possible you believe that) you need to explain how the West has absolutely no problem whatever with Gulf regimes, unless like many Arab intellectuals you believe that they represent virtuous democracies because they are rich dispensing funds to control Arab culture and academia. And if Iran helped Palestinians (and you mock their support for Palestinians when no Arab government EVER in its history—not even the government of Nasser who I admire—helped them as Iran has helped them militarily) for its own interests, why didn’t Arab regime help Palestinians just like Iran? If this would help their national interests. It is hard for people in the West to understand that Khomeini truly planted a doctrine which centers on Palestine and that those who follow Khomeini believe in that doctrine and for that Iran helps the Palestinians. And if this doctrine were to be abandoned, Iran would not be helping the Palestinians and you probably believe that Palestinians would be better off—relying instead on verbal Arab declarations and international legitimacy.
5) it really bothered me how you seem to mock the sacrifices of people in South Lebanon who have been dying since the 1960s in defense of their land. They defended their land in different stages (before there was even an Iranian Islamic regime) because like the Palestinians they have an attachment to their land. They have been defending their lands not for Iran or Khomeini or anybody else. You seem to basically repeat the talking points of March 14 in Lebanon (which has been aligned with the Israeli-Saudi-UAE agenda). And it is rich that you mock the resistance of the Lebanese when you and I witnessed the resistance of Hajj Ismail of Arafat in 1982.
I also want to say that in his last book in reference to Damour battle during the war: he relied in his account and the numbers on Phalanges claim, which are totally untrue—and I told him so.
• • •
As'ad Abu Khalil:
A Response to Rashid Khalidi
4) on Iran and its support for Palestinians being for its own national interests. OK. How did Iran support for Hamas and Hizb help Iranian national interests? Please show us and explain to us. Iran has been under savage Western sanctions and facing Israeli conspiracies for decades all because of its support for Palestinian and Arab resistance to Israel. It even armed the PFLP, which is a communist non-Shiite organization. How did that help Iran? If Iran were to end its support for Arab resistance, all sanctions would have been lifted immediately—unless you believe that the West’s problem with the Iranian regime (or with the Syrian regime) is about human rights. If you believe that (and it is possible you believe that) you need to explain how the West has absolutely no problem whatever with Gulf regimes, unless like many Arab intellectuals you believe that they represent virtuous democracies because they are rich dispensing funds to control Arab culture and academia. And if Iran helped Palestinians (and you mock their support for Palestinians when no Arab government EVER in its history—not even the government of Nasser who I admire—helped them as Iran has helped them militarily) for its own interests, why didn’t Arab regime help Palestinians just like Iran? If this would help their national interests. It is hard for people in the West to understand that Khomeini truly planted a doctrine which centers on Palestine and that those who follow Khomeini believe in that doctrine and for that Iran helps the Palestinians. And if this doctrine were to be abandoned, Iran would not be helping the Palestinians and you probably believe that Palestinians would be better off—relying instead on verbal Arab declarations and international legitimacy.
5) it really bothered me how you seem to mock the sacrifices of people in South Lebanon who have been dying since the 1960s in defense of their land. They defended their land in different stages (before there was even an Iranian Islamic regime) because like the Palestinians they have an attachment to their land. They have been defending their lands not for Iran or Khomeini or anybody else. You seem to basically repeat the talking points of March 14 in Lebanon (which has been aligned with the Israeli-Saudi-UAE agenda). And it is rich that you mock the resistance of the Lebanese when you and I witnessed the resistance of Hajj Ismail of Arafat in 1982.
I also want to say that in his last book in reference to Damour battle during the war: he relied in his account and the numbers on Phalanges claim, which are totally untrue—and I told him so.
• • •