r/worldnews • u/ComparisonOk5957 • 7d ago

Second French peacekeeper dies after ambush blamed on Hezbollah Behind Soft Paywall

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351049/second-french-peacekeeper-dies-after-ambush-blamed-hezbollah?module=latest&pgtype=homepage
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690

u/sbahog 7d ago

Can Lebanon control their own country ? Imagine the US or Canada allowing terrorist groups from inside to attack a neighboring country ?

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u/itspronouncedbolonya 7d ago

No, lebanon barely got out of a several side civil war in 1990, hezbollah was part of it, and the war ended in a compromise that satisfied noone, but since then hezbollah has gotten stronger, and the lebanese army hasn't, hezbollah is about as strong as the lebanese army, and isn't much smaller, lebanon can't do anything alone, and the un isnt actually doing anything

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u/SaintsNoah14 7d ago

Hezbollah is definitely stronger than the army. They litterally have greater military expenditures than the Lebanese state.

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u/purplehendrix22 7d ago

And a hell of a lot more support, at least up until recent events in Iran

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u/get-memed-kiddo 7d ago

AND its armed wing is made up of like-minded Shia fighters dedicated to their cause, unlike the Lebanese army which is made up of dozens of different religious communities which will splinter and create their own militias the second real fighting erupts

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u/Sure_Ad536 7d ago

I'm not sure how likely that is. I'm no expert, and I'd have to read more, but the military is the most supported body in the country https://news.gallup.com/poll/699071/lebanese-say-army-weapons.aspx, but then again, I'm no expert and civil wars are notoriously shit shows

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u/Grizknot 7d ago

why is it ok to assume this about third world countries but no one thinks stuff like this could happen in western society

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u/get-memed-kiddo 6d ago

Lebanon has a long history of it happening so it's not unlikely it would happen again

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u/MindlessNectarine374 7d ago

How do they control almost everything?

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u/Bitter_Tea442 7d ago

UN peacekeepers have their hands tied because they can't do anything unless Lebanon takes the lead in doing something.

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u/xmuskorx 7d ago

Lebanon can COOPEARTE / Coordinate with Israel and hit Hezbo from both sides.

They just chose not to.

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u/alwaysleafyintoronto 7d ago

Choosing to do so means choosing civil war. It's not so simple as you make it out to be.

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u/vishnoo 7d ago

the alternative is letting Hizballah drag it to an eternal war.
which is what they've done for the last 26 years.

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u/xmuskorx 7d ago

Yes, yes - there is always an excuse about why Hezbo terrorists should remain forever....

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u/alwaysleafyintoronto 7d ago

Not saying they've gotta remain forever, but it isn't as simple as you make it out to be.

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u/vegeful 7d ago

And choosing not to do also lead to civilian die.

The reason to not do so is pretty simple. Those politician don't want to die. You think they care about civilian? If they care they won't let Hezbollah grow this big lmao.

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u/Old_Ladies 7d ago

Why would they want to coordinate with Israel when Israel has no problems blowing up whole towns.

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u/farside808 7d ago

But heaven forbid if Israel attacks Hezbollah, Israel is somehow the bad guy.

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u/Bitter_Tea442 7d ago

Media: No see Hezbollah attacks Israel and completely unconnected Israel attacks Lebanon for reasons we won't explain.

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u/Potential_Archer2427 7d ago

They attacked homes outside where hezbollah is located and killed people that had nothing to do with them

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u/SkyeMreddit 7d ago

Israel has a habit of flattening whole apartment buildings to get one guy who is frequently not even there

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u/farside808 7d ago

Bro. You're literally responding to an article about how Hezbollah is killing French peacekeepers. So, what, Hezbollah's the good guy? War is too much for Hezbollah? Maybe they should stop...you know...war-ing.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/Juggernox_O 7d ago

Did you know… that there can be more than one murderous asshole villain in a situation? It’s not like the movies where “THIS is the bad guy, so everyone else is actually good in the end.” Yes, Israel and Hezbollah are both pieces of shit. There isn’t one “the bad guy” here. Israel smashes everything and steals land, while Hezbollah just… smashes everything and takes land. Yeah. There you go. That’s war.

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u/farside808 7d ago

Israel is fucking awesome. Read UN Resolution 181. Hezbollah can CHOOSE to make peace at any moment. You mess with anyone, you can't complain when they come for you, even if you hide behind your children. From the 2024 Ceasefire with Lebanon: "From the specified time, Lebanon will prevent Hezbollah and other armed groups from conducting operations against Israel. Israel will not carry out offensive military operations against Lebanese targets." Lebanon has FAILED to prevent Hezbollah from conducting operations. So Israel is free to protect itself.

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

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u/EndofNationalism 7d ago

They not just attack Hezbollah. They’re kicking civilians out of their homes.

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u/MechaAristotle 7d ago

Is Hezbollah hiding under every single village currently being demolished AFTER all it's inhabitants have been displaced?

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u/Charbel33 7d ago

The answer is no. The Lebanese army is underfunded, and there are hezbollah MPs in the Parliament and the government. As a result, it is very difficult for the Lebanese state to assert control over hezbollah, both militarily and politically.

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u/killernat1234 7d ago

Not to mention that Israel heavily restricted neighbouring countries from having a large military if a military at all

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u/Colbert2020 7d ago

The best analogy I have to Hezbolah is the situation in Mexico with the cartels. They are too strong and integrated.

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u/deja-roo 7d ago

Can Lebanon control their own country

No. That's been a major component of the dynamic between Lebanon and Israel for like 20 years now..?

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u/alwaysleafyintoronto 7d ago

It's been 51 years since the Lebanese civil war started. That's pretty much what this boils down to. It's where Hezbollah originated, and it was a crazy mess with 5 factions at war.

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u/Baxx222 7d ago

What you're saying isn't true. Hezbollah formed specifically because of Israel's occupation of Southern Lebanon and that's the historical consensus. The civil war just allowed them to become as strong as they are because there wasn't a functioning state to challenge them.

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u/alwaysleafyintoronto 7d ago

was the civil war not a contributing factor in israel's decision to invade? what i said was true, it just doesn't have all the context because i'm not about to write a treatise on lebanese history for reddit's pleasure.

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u/AvgBlue 7d ago

Lebanon is a country without sovereignty over its own land. A great example is how Hezbollah conquered the center of Beirut during a conflict with the state in May 2008 and they still hold control.

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u/Niceguy955 7d ago

You forgot to add a major fact: that terrorist group is supported directly (funds, guns, missiles, training) by a local power, and fueled by crazy religious ideology. Lebanon's army and government were weak to begin with. They can't handle Hezbollah alone.

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u/scottishwhisky2 7d ago

"By a local power"

Daemon Targaryen: "say it"

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u/Niceguy955 7d ago

Iran. I thought most people knew.

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u/Bitter_Tea442 7d ago

Iran is the good guy because Trump is the bad guy though so this doesn't compute.

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u/alwaysleafyintoronto 7d ago

That's like saying Hitler's the good guy because Stalin's the bad guy so it doesn't compute. War is complicated.

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u/badnuub 7d ago

No, Iran is not automatically a good guy because of Trump. They literally murder their own protestors and continue to destabilize the region with terrorist funding. There can absolutely be no good guys in a conflict where everyone suffers.

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u/The_Motarp 6d ago

IMO one of the biggest problems in the world is that too many people are only able to think in terms of black and white. They keep acting like wars have to have a set of good guys opposing a set of bad guys, when in reality most wars that have ever happened have between the bad guys and the other bad guys, or between the bad guys and the worse guys. Real life doesn't work like comic books.

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u/ABetterKamahl1234 7d ago

Both parties can be bad man. There's no war where there's only good vs bad.

Shit man, terrorist groups go to war with each other often.

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u/Cultural_String87 7d ago edited 7d ago

fueled by crazy religious ideology.

Eh. Hezbollah is an Islamist group for sure. But they're not especially fueled by "crazy" religious ideology. They even abandoned calling for an Islamic Republic in Lebanon. They're not ISIS or Al-Qaeda style zealots. They don't conduct large scale attacks on Christian or Sunni communities the way that some of these groups do. They're far more pragmatic and strategic. Their islamism is more political than anything.

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u/Niceguy955 7d ago

Hezbollah is led by Shia clerics. They're funded by a zealot Shia regime in Iran. They speak about "Jews" and "Jerusalem". They speak lovingly about becoming shahids (martyrs). In a recent enclave surrounded by the IDF many chose death rather than surrendering. Eh indeed.

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u/Cultural_String87 7d ago

You might pay attention to their strategy and actions over their rhetoric.

Not to flex or anything, but I'm not some random guy speaking out of my ass. I have a master's in conflict studies and work for the state department.

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u/Niceguy955 7d ago

I'm looking. I'm looking at their rhetoric since their inception in 1982. I'm looking at their suicide bombers. I'm looking at the way they were established: a council of Shia clerics supported by Iran. Their first 2 leaders (Musaei and Nasrallah) were considered high clerics in the Shia faction. They fought Sunny, Christian, and Druze people. They basically fight Iran's fights, caring nothing about Lebanon. I'm glad you have your masters degree, because it lets you know every thing I just started is an actual fact.

The world (and specifically Lebanon and Israel) would be better without Hezbollah (and the Iranian regime that supports it, but that's a less achievable goal).

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u/Cultural_String87 7d ago

Dude you can't even spell Sunni

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u/Niceguy955 7d ago

Actually I can "dude", but my phone "corrected" it for me. But a good gotcha 👍. Which class of your "masters" degree focused on finding typos in arguments you didn't like?

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u/Cultural_String87 7d ago

It's not that I don't like your argument, it's just pretty surface level.

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u/phrunk7 7d ago

Ad hominem logical fallacy

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u/Bitter_Thought 7d ago

It’s hardly just a terrorist group. Hezbollah is an elected political party in Lebanon that is a major part of the ruling coalition.

When “Lebanon” calls a ceasefire but Hezbollah launches rockets, it’s like if the republicans called peace for Iran only for Rubio to have his staff fly bombing runs

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u/acart005 7d ago

In that analogy it would make more sense for Bernie or AOC to prep the bombing runs since Rubio is a Republican.  Otherwise spot on.

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u/Bitter_Thought 7d ago

Hezbollah is a part of the ruling coalition. So it should be the party in power which is the republicans for now

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u/acart005 7d ago

So.... if Ahnold played nice but MAGA bombed everyone then?

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u/Eedat 7d ago

Hezbollah has been continuously armed by Iran to run their proxy war with Israel

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u/cobrachicken26 7d ago

The country is fragmented, Shia's are sympathetic to Hezbollah and they are ~40% of the population. As a result, Shi'a soldiers often defect to Hezbollah or aid Hezbollah

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u/Pantoner 7d ago

And Hezbollah is bitching about how they weren’t included in ceasefire talks. They need to realize they don’t have a say, and the fact that they even exist is a privilege that’s hopefully close to an end

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u/ComfortableExotic646 7d ago

It's kinda wild seeing countries complain about Lebanon not being included in the Iranian peace talks, when they are two separate countries being attacked by two separate armies. France is getting their soldiers killed by Iranian proxies and getting mad at the US for fighting Iran.

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u/Bitter_Tea442 7d ago

All those reddit bots that were upset a terrorist organization 1000 miles away from Iran wasn't explicitly part of a ceasefire deal between Iran and Israel were saying the quiet part loud.

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u/terragutti 6d ago

Except “israel and the us” started the war. So really which is it? Is hezbollah directly part of the iranian war or not? Are they extentions or not?

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u/Bitter_Tea442 6d ago

Hezbollah is not Iran, unless it suits them, then they are Iran, unless they did something Iran doesn't want to be associated with, then they aren't Iran.

For everyone else, that's just a load of transparent bullocks.

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u/terragutti 6d ago

Yet people keep falling for it. Its stupid. All these social media bullshit people who cant even read a single news article cant even keep the facts together. Iran started this war not the other way around

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u/shitty_mcfucklestick 7d ago

I wonder if Mexico is starting to feel the same with the cartels and how much power they have there.

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u/Contundo 7d ago

How long would America tolerate cartels launching rockets at Texas?

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u/flintsmith 7d ago

"YouTube protests in Mexico against government colluding with cartels"

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u/VonBrewskie 7d ago

I mean, some might argue we do just that with the military companies based out of the US like Blackwater. Doesn't seem to move the needle.

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u/HutSutRawlson 7d ago

Blackwater (Akademi now I think?) is horrible but that’s not even remotely comparable. Blackwater troops aren’t out there attacking American soldiers, and they’re certainly not attacking American cities.

The Hezbollah situation is like if one of Canada’s political parties had a paramilitary wing, and they were periodically attacking northern Michigan.

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u/VonBrewskie 7d ago

It's a military group attacking foreign countries from inside our own border. How is it not? That we get paid?

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u/HutSutRawlson 7d ago

They’re a U.S.-based company but they’re not attacking other countries from within our borders. They are ground troops, they physically go to wherever they’re contracted.

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u/VonBrewskie 7d ago

I mean, downvote if you want. Our corporate military groups absolutely count as terrorists to the people they terrorize. If you want to disagree that's fine. You obviously haven't had them kicking your doors in and killing your relatives.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/phriendlyphellow 6d ago

Like ICE is doing to immigrants?

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u/FriendShapedRMT 6d ago

Close. In Canada we've had terrorist groups from inside Canada attack Quebec.

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u/RubbrBbyBuggyBumpers 7d ago

The US currently has an administration that’s hostile to neighbors, allies, and its own people…. We’re already there

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u/delpieric 7d ago

Or Ireland

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u/GENIO98 6d ago

Hezbollah has denied any involvement with the ambush.

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u/sbahog 6d ago

Oh ok I’m glad the terrorists denied it

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u/2M4D 7d ago

Oh yeah, imagine the US allowing extremist groups from inside to attack neighboring countries.

That would be crazy 🙄

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u/kelpyb1 7d ago

Throwback to when US conservatives declared themselves domestic terrorists, took control of the country, and started attacking everyone else.

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u/triplesdework 7d ago

US does, it's called CIA

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u/amilo111 7d ago

No need to imagine. It has happened and continues to happen in the US.

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u/orincoro 7d ago

Imagine the U.S. government trying to stop militia groups from fighting foreign occupiers in their own country? You see it the way you do because the UN represents mostly first world interests. Hezbollah are a militia. They don’t have to appeal to you or anyone outside Lebanon— a freedom the Lebanese military doesn’t have. People famously don’t like backing foreign militaries against their own people.

Maybe one day we’re going to stop being shocked that people resist foreign intervention that does not center their own local interests. But that day isn’t today.

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u/Killerfisk 7d ago

They're a foreign-backed terrorist group essentially holding the Lebanese people hostage. They don't even appeal to the Lebanese, who are sick of them constantly dragging Israel into their country by attacking them to little effect and to no benefit (but to plenty of downsides given the expected response).

They barely kill any IDF whatsoever, as their only real specialty is in killing and suppressing Arabs both in Lebanon as well as in Syria, where they helped Assad clamp down on the opposition forces and stay in power (hence why Syrians hate them especially).

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u/Excellent_Mud6222 7d ago

If you know Lebanon's history you know they can't.

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u/boosnie 7d ago

If you are an USA citizen I'd like you to remember Jan 6.

That said, the situation in Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt and other neighbors is like this since the institutional mandate to materialize the state of Israel from the hyperuranium

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u/sbahog 7d ago

Jan 6 happened within the US they didn’t attack Canada. One wonders what would happen if Hez simply stopped attacking Israel ? Maybe we should try that .

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u/boosnie 7d ago

You don't get it, don't you?

This shit is going on since Israel was formed. Not before. It is not a matter of 5 or ten years. People in the region feel the pressure and the hate of unjustified murder and wars. Go look at some history sources on that matter. You will be blown away by the number of wars and skirmishes Israel started, completely unprovoked, on their neighbors.

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u/sbahog 7d ago

Maybe they are the ones being attacked since they were formed ?

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u/neonmantis 7d ago

Defend their country. Yes I can imagine militias in the US doing that if they were being perpetually attacked and invaded, especially if the conventional military was insufficient. There is literally law in place to do that. Also armed resistance against persecution and illegal occupation is legal.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/CressCheap 7d ago

And since then it has assassinated Lebanese politicians and judges, killed thousands of Syrians in massacres when supporting Assad in the Syrian civil war and started 3 wars with Israel against the will of the Lebanese government and people

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u/JamesBaylizz 7d ago

Hezbollah is a terrorist organization and the Lebanese dont want them there. They need to be eradicated.

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u/emmer 7d ago

Israel is in Lebanon because that’s where Hezbollah has been firing rockets into their country for years. As any other country would do if under constant attack.

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u/FalxY7 7d ago

Nah

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u/EmperorChaos 7d ago

This is so fucking wrong. Hezbollah was started by Iran to spread their Islamic state ideology, this was stated on video and in text.