Hizbullah has taken 'vast military and security measures' along Lebanon's border with Israel, reinforcing Party of God's frontlines and rear positions in anticipation of a large-scale Israeli offensive to cover up the withdrawal from the Gaza strip, An Nahar reported on Tuesday.
The Hizbullah border movements were noticed over the past two days, An Nahar said. That followed the return of Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah from a 5-day visit to Tehran armed with a 'carte blanche' support from Iran's new regime of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Nasrallah had warned before making the Tehran trip that Israel was likely to mount a large-scale military attack against Lebanon to shift attention off the Gaza disengagement operation.
Israel, in turn, has put its air force on maximum alert, claiming Hizbullah might stage hit-and-run attacks against northern Jewish settlements once the Gaza pullout begins at mid-August.
Hizbullah made it plain on Monday that it won't allow the Lebanese army to advance onto frontline positions on the border with Israel, defying a thinly veiled U.N. threat to withdraw the international peacekeeping force from South Lebanon unless the Lebanese army takes over the borderline from Hizbullah by Jan. 31, 2006.
Beirut, Updated 09 Aug 05, 10:22
http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&D0230AFB7F2934A1C22570580026B9AC
Wanted: Aspiring martyrs
By Sudha Ramachandran
BANGALORE - Recruitment of potential suicide bombers, which has generally been shrouded in silence and secrecy, appears to be going more public. An Iranian publication recently carried an advertisement calling for applications from aspiring "martyrdom seekers".
The advertisement calls for men and women to enlist with the "Lovers of Martyrdom Garrison" and promises those who are picked that they will be given "specific and specialized training". The aim it seems is "to achieve all-round readiness against the enemies of Islam and the sacred Islamic republic and to protect the foundations of Islam". To this end, "a martyrdom-seeking division" would be set up for each province in the country.
All that aspiring candidates to the "Lovers of Martyrdom Garrison" need to submit are two photographs of themselves, a copy of their identity cards, and a filled-in application form. The advertisement even provides an address – PO Box 16535-664, Tehran – where aspiring candidates to the "Lovers of Martyrdom Garrison" should forward their application forms.
The publication in which the advertisement appeared is one that is produced by an institute run by one of Iran's most conservative and radical clerics, Ayatollah Mazbah Yazdi, believed to be a spiritual advisor of Iran's new president, Mahmud Ahmedinejad, who, like its proponents, has described suicide operations or "martyrdom operations" in glowing terms. In a speech delivered some days after his election and broadcast on Iranian television, Ahmedinejad said: "Is there art that is more beautiful, more divine and more eternal than the art of martyrdom? A nation with martyrdom knows no captivity. Those who wish to undermine this principle undermine the foundations of our independence and national security. They undermine the foundation of our eternity."
This is not the first time that recruitment of volunteers for suicide operations has been done publicly and application forms for registration of aspiring bombers distributed openly in Iran. A year ago, tens of thousands of registration forms were distributed at local Islamic universities to aspiring martyrdom seekers. This distribution of registration forms was preceded by speeches in mosques where calls were made to young men and women to register.
The application form for "Preliminary Registration for Martyrdom Operations" requires the applicant to provide name, age, address and contact details. It also requires the applicant to affirm his "preparedness for carrying out martyrdom operations" and gives a choice of three targets: "occupiers of the Islamic holy sites" (referring to the US occupation of Najaf, Karbala and other places in Iraq), "occupiers of Jerusalem" (referring to Israel), and Salman Rushdie, the author of Satanic Verses against whom Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa or legal judgment for death in 1989.
The public enlistment of "martyrdom seekers" in Iran has drawn considerable media attention. But such public enlistment of suicide bombers is not exclusive to Iran. Militant organizations in other parts of the world extol martyrdom and publicly solicit suicide bombers.
Catching Tigers
This is the case with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the world-leader in suicide bombing. The martyrs' cult is very strong in the LTTE. The honoring of Tiger martyrs - martyrs are described in LTTE propaganda as gods to be worshipped - is an extremely effective recruiting tool. While fighters are recruited all year round, enlistment shoots up during Martyrs' Week ( November 21-27) when the LTTE publicly honors its dead fighters, especially those killed in suicide operations. Through songs and speeches, Tamil boys and girls are called on to sacrifice their lives for the cause of the Tamil homeland and many, moved by the propaganda, enlist.
But those who are recruited from the general public are taken on as fighters. Some might aspire to be suicide bombers, which would qualify them for the top rungs of the LTTE's martyr hierarchy, but suicide bombers are not directly recruited from the public.
The LTTE has a separate suicide squad called the Karum Puligal or Black Tigers. According to a source in the Research and Analysis Wing of India's external intelligence agency, Black Tigers are recruited from among the LTTE's fighters. These are boys and girls who have already shown extraordinary commitment to the LTTE. The LTTE is extremely selective in recruiting members for suicide operations. "Suicide operations especially against high-profile targets are planned and put into effect with utmost secrecy," the source said. "The identity of future suicide bombers cannot be revealed. This is essential for the success of an operation."
So the LTTE motivates and glorifies martyrdom, especially that which comes from suicide operations in public. It even recruits its ordinary fighters in public. But the recruitment of suicide bombers is a highly secretive process.
Similar is the case with Hamas and Islamic Jihad (IJ), which celebrate martyrdom in public to draw in more members. Funerals are occasions for these groups not only to deliver speeches on martyrdom but also to recruit. However, enlistment of suicide bombers or their registration is not done in public. What sets apart the recruiting style of Hamas and IJ from an organization like the LTTE is that in the former, functionaries approach individuals who are not always already members of these groups to carry out suicide operations.
In the case of Iran, it is unlikely that those who registered to become martyrs in response to the advertisement will actually be sent on suicide operations, especially against high-profile targets. The advertisement and application forms should be seen as a propaganda exercise to signal that ordinary Iranian men and women are willing to blow themselves up for a cause. The public registration of these aspiring suicide bombers signals that they are willing to take the risks that come with revealing their identity as potential suicide bombers.
While it is unlikely that those who responded to the advertisement and signed on as martyrdom seekers - tens of thousands are said to have signed up - will be dispatched on individual suicide missions, the possibility that some of them at least will figure in operations to defend cities should the United States attack Iran cannot be ruled out.
The value of the public recruitment of suicide bombers is not so much to enlist volunteers as it is a means to send a message to potential occupiers of what lies ahead.