A few days ago, CNN aired an interview with Ibrahim Moussawi, a Lebanese parliament member of the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, the political arm of Hezbollah. In it, Moussawi warned Israel against an invasion of Lebanon. Up until this point, the event was relatively unremarkable. However, immediately following the interview, Hezbollah’s propaganda machine exploited the interview, bestowing political and military significance upon it. Observers might have thought that Hezbollah had not only reached Jerusalem but had also hoisted its yellow flags over the White House. Al-Moussawi defended his decision to interview with an American news channel, claiming that Operation Al-Aqsa Flood reshaped the consciousness of the American public, forcing US media to adapt to these new realities to retain credibility with its audience. What Al-Moussawi did not explicitly state was filled in by the propaganda machine, which suggested that the United States, which had once labeled Hezbollah a terrorist organization, chose to give airtime to a senior member of this organization. In light of growing complaints about its significant human losses and the challenging environment in which it operates, Hezbollah has attempted to craft an image of victory. This effort is purportedly directed by the party’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah. To this end, Hezbollah’s propaganda apparatus systematically exaggerates events, brushing aside all facts. By perpetuating this image, Hezbollah aims to undermine critics who argue that the organization’s actions merely serve Iran’s interests at Lebanon’s expense. Nasrallah spearheads this campaign. Listeners to his speeches might momentarily believe Israel’s primary reason for wanting to cease aggression in Gaza is to alleviate pressure from Hezbollah. Those who delve into the party’s rhetoric might assume the Israeli Air Force is intimidated, refraining from dispatching planes to Lebanon out of fear of Hezbollah’s advanced surface-to-air missile capabilities. In this context, Ibrahim Al-Moussawi’s interview with CNN has been imbued with “mythical” significance. Yet, Hezbollah’s propaganda machine conveniently ignores several crucial facts. Just days before the US invasion of Afghanistan, CNN dispatched a team for an extensive interview with the al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Subsequent events revealed this was neither an “American capitulation” to al-Qaida nor a sign of US surrender. Similarly, before the Iraq invasion, CBS conducted a wide-ranging interview with then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. This interview did not signal an American desire to reconcile with Hussein nor an acknowledgment of his military prowess but rather preceded his downfall. There are numerous such examples, but there are too many to enumerate here. Indeed, if we were to extrapolate theories from these American television precedents, it would appear that any openness to an “enemy” is often a precursor to a decisive strike. This suggests that Hezbollah’s attempt to dramatize one of its representatives being featured on CNN is fundamentally flawed. Historical precedents starkly contradict the narrative Hezbollah is trying to construct. —Fares Khachan (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)
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