Top Hezbollah Commander Claims They Are Stronger And That 'keeps the option of war awake'

The worst thing about these new quotes from the Hezbollah commander nearest the Israeli border is the fact that it is true. Let's look at what this raghead had to say over at the Haaretz article:

Sheikh Nabil Kaouk, who commands Hezbollah's forces on Lebanon's border with Israel, was quoted as saying "the resistance is now stronger than before and this keeps the option of war awake."
"If we were weak, Israel would not hesitate to start another war," Kaouk added. "We are stronger than before and when Hezbollah is strong, our strength stops Israel from starting a new war."

I don't think we need to worry about Irael starting a war with Hezbollah anytime soon but we certainly could see Hezbollah starting one. With the advances that Hezbollah has made in the new Lebanese government and the fact that Hezbollah now has veto power in that government, there really is nothing to stop them from arming to the hilt and beginning war preparations with Israel.

If I was a betting man (which I'm not) I would say that there are several planning sessions going on at Hezbollah right now to capture more Israeli soldiers. Israel sits there with Olmert resigning, with dozens clamoring around trying to vie for a new formation of a government and in the meantime, Israel is not prepared for an assault right now. Olmert is seemingly more pissed off at his rivals in the Israeli government than he is with jihadists to the North. I get the distinct feeling that something is going to happen to shake up the lul that has been going on for several months now.

Top Hezbollah commander: We're stronger, ready for war

A senior Hezbollah commander told the U.K. Telegraph on Friday that the Lebanon-based militia is now stronger than before, and that though it does not seek war with Israel, it is prepared for a military confrontation. Sheikh Nabil Kaouk, who commands Hezbollah's forces on Lebanon's border with Israel, was quoted as saying "the resistance is now stronger than before and this keeps the option of war awake." "If we were weak, Israel would not hesitate to start another war," Kaouk added. "We are stronger than before and when Hezbollah is strong, our strength stops Israel from starting a new war."

Kaouk also said that Hezbollah is proud of its relationship with Syria and Iran, but declined to comment on whether the two countries supply Hezbollah's arms. Meanwhile, Lebanese political factions reached a compromise on Hezbollah's arsenal, the country's information minister said Friday, releasing a vaguely worded draft statement that implies the militant group can keep its weapons. The position paper must now be approved by Parliament, whose vote will decide whether to accept a unity government that includes Hezbollah. The new cabinet was formed after Hezbollah gunmen routed armed supporters of the previous pro-Western administration earlier this year. Hezbollah's arms have long been a point of dispute, with many legislators in the Western-backed majority in Parliament attempting to disarm the group. Hezbollah rejects the demand, and it will hold veto power in the new government. The draft statement announced by Information Minister Tarek Mitri is deliberately vague, saying only that the committee agreed on the right of Lebanon's people, the army and the resistance to liberate all its territories. Resistance is Lebanon's jargon for Hezbollah, which is admired by many in Lebanon for its stand against Israel. All territories alludes to Lebanon's territorial claim on the Shaba Farms area that Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War. After Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war, an order was issued stipulating the dissolution of all militias. Hezbollah fighters, however, were allowed to keep their weapons because they were considered a resistance group fighting Israeli troops that occupied part of southern Lebanon until 2000. Many officials in the pro-Western bloc had argued that statement should not include the word resistance and that it should make liberating the occupied lands solely the national army's responsibility. But Hezbollah and its allies strongly opposed those demands. Lebanon has been rife with tensions as the pro-Western Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has struggled to form the national unity government in which Hezbollah will have veto power in all government decisions. The Hezbollah-led opposition won the concession in May as part of an Arab-brokered deal to end months of political stalemate that had escalated into violence and raised fears Lebanon's sectarian factions could plunge into a new civil war.