[Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah Leader:] We are here today to celebrate a victory, a divine, historical and strategic victory.
[Hala Gorani, Cnn International Anchor:] Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah leads a massive rally in Beirut and makes a rare public appearance.
[Jim Clancy, Cnn International Anchor:] Still friends in the war on terror at least that is what the leaders of the United States and Pakistan put forward to the press after a very public disagreement.
[Gorani:] The devil made him do it, or was it paranoia? A look at what may be behind Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez's Gringo-bashing speech at the United Nations.
[Clancy:] And going for the green in Ireland. The United States bids to reclaim the Ryder Cup from Europe. Hello, everyone. And welcome to our broadcast from all around the globe. I'm Jim Clancy.
[Gorani:] I'm Hala Gorani. From Beirut to Washington, from Caracas to a very wet and windy Dublin, wherever you're watching, this is
[Your World Today. Clancy:] We begin in Lebanon, where there has been a massive rally and in the words of Hezbollah's leader, a death-defying feat. He appeared for the first time since the war and sent signals in the first volley in a in a fight for the country's political future.
[Gorani:] Well, Hezbollah's top leader called for a new government and says it still has more than 20,000 rockets in its arsenal after the war against Israel. Hassan Nasrallah also said no army in the world can disarm Hezbollah. Our Beirut bureau chief, Brent Sadler, joins us now on the line for more on this rally in the streets of Beirut. Were you surprised to see him make a public appearance, Brent?
[Brent Sadler, Cnn Beirut Bureau Chief:] No, there was widespread expectation that Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader, would break cover after more than two months in hiding. He disappeared from public view, aside from a string of prerecorded interviews, the day of the kidnapping of those two Israeli soldiers and the outbreak of the war. He was given a rapturous welcome from hundreds of thousands of supporters amid the ruins of his stronghold south of the capital of Beirut. So, in effect, the stage was set for Nasrallah to declare what Hezbollah calls a divine victory over Israel in the July-August war. In fact, Nasrallah spoke for much longer than many of us expected, given that there were concerns, deep concerns about his security as a result of Israeli officials saying repeatedly since the war that he's a possible target for assassination. And Nasrallah said at the start early on in his speech that, really, divine help was, indeed, he claims, part of the resistance's victory. Let's listen to what he said.
[Nasrallah:] We turned their elite forces into frightened mice scurrying. At the time when the international and the Arab world how could these few thousand resistance fighters, how could that resistance fight and defeat that army if it wasn't by the support of god, the almighty?
[Sadler:] Nasrallah also claims that Hezbollah has more than 20,000 rockets. This claim, after Hezbollah fired more than 4,000 Katyusha rockets into Israel during the 34 days of conflict. And he told the large crowd, a mass crowd of supporters, that, "Hezbollah is stronger than it was before the start of the war," much, much stronger, and its organizational capabilities, he claimed, are still very much intact, despite that Israeli offensive which destroyed many parts of the southern suburbs where Nasrallah was speaking from.
[Gorani:] Brent, very quickly, what do you make of those statements, 20,000 rockets, no disarmament of Hezbollah? Is it rhetoric or is it a more intangible threat?
[Sadler:] It's not been Nasrallah's style to say things that he has not at some stage in the future been able to back up. Difficult, obviously, to ascertain what arsenal Hezbollah has left. But certainly, it's thought by many observers to be considerable. Nasrallah has also said that there are still Hezbollah fighters close to the Israeli border, despite the continuing deployment of international troops, although their weapons are now very much invisible. As far as the politics of Lebanon are concerned and this is really what's going to be interesting in the weeks and months ahead is that Nasrallah wants to see a different kind of government. He wants to see a unity government that would tilt much more towards Syria and Iran, that axis, and further away from the current government's policies, which are very much backed by the United States Hala.
[Gorani:] It will be an interesting tug-of-war. Thanks very much. Our Beirut bureau chief, Brent Sadler, in Beirut Jim.
[Clancy:] Important to note, Hezbollah's popularity and that of Hassan Nasrallah has really been skyrocketing in the weeks following the cease-fire with Israel. So how does Hezbollah fit into Lebanon's political future? Well, let's see about that. Hisham Melhem, noted journalist, the Washington bureau chief for Lebanon's "An-Nahar" newspaper, joins us now. We heard a lot coming from Hassan Nasrallah today. But I think, first of all, you heard from him, in person. Were you surprise that he took the risks? Israel, you know, was saying there was a possibility they could go after him.
[Hisham Melhem, Washington Bureau Chief, "an-nahar":] No, I was not surprised. In fact, Hezbollah has been tantalizing their supporters from the beginning of the week when they declared that they will organize this divine victory rally. Hezbollah has cultivated its own persona, its almost mythical persona. And he relishes these moments when he addresses his troops, his groups and his supporters and his troops. So, no, I was not surprised. And I think that he realized the Israelis are not going to attack in the broad daylight and kill so many civilians. So it's I was not surprised. The message also was not surprising. It's a message of defiance. There were so many messages to the Israelis, to the Americans, and to not only its own constituency, but to the Lebanese government.
[Clancy:] Well, on that point, and perhaps he's talking about he still has 20,000 missiles. Who knows? Nobody knows how many he had to start with. He also says that, you know, declaring victory, he's done that already. But his call for this government to really be pushed aside in favor of what some have called a national unity government, there, perhaps, are the words that really have struck a chord with a lot of Lebanese, and struck a chord of concern.
[Melhem:] This is a broadside against the government, the same government that essentially saved them and negotiated the cease-fire. He is very unhappy because this the Siniora government is interpreting Resolution 1701 in a way that is not suiting the Hezbollah strategy. They want a more viable, robust military force on the borders. They want to the Western support to patrol Lebanese, the territorial waters, to be at the airport, to make it difficult for Hezbollah to rearm via Syria from Iran. So he's trying to change the topic, trying to change the subject in Lebanon, instead of focusing on the responsibility of what happened, on the reconstruction. He's challenging the government to form a national unity government which would bring Hezbollah and increase its power within the government and bring some of its allies like General...
[Clancy:] Pro-Syrian allies?
[Melhem:] Yes, pro-Syrian allies. General
[Clancy:] All right. But, OK, if this government is in trouble, and it's seen as a pro-Western government, really, can the U.S. do anything to help them? I mean, we heard there as Nasrallah just, you know, lashed out at the U.S. and Israel as if they were in they were in league in this attack on Lebanon.
[Melhem:] You're absolutely right. He said this is an American war, not only an Israeli war. And he said we undermined the strategy that seeks to rebuild a new Middle East order, in reference to President Bush's policies in the region. Look, the United States hurt itself badly when it provided Israel for the diplomatic political cover for its attack on Lebanon. So the American credibility now in Lebanon is suffering a lot. And, in fact, Nasrallah is stepping into that role, Lebanese and the Israelis, for what they are for the destruction they brought on Lebanon, and this anger against the United States. But one should not misconstrue this anger and rage to be support for Hezbollah. He is trying essentially now to undermine this Lebanese government. But I don't think the Siniora government is going to be undermined easy. And I think the international community should help the Lebanese government to stand up to Hezbollah, help it in terms of reconstruction, help it in terms of strengthening the Lebanese army. Look, he is boxed in in the South. He may have 20,000 missiles. I doubt that. But if you look at the missiles that he fired, 4,000 missiles fired against Israel he ended up killing 42 Israeli civilians, one third of them were Palestinian Arabs. So he knows that. But I think he's trying to challenge the government knowing that the Arab world, knowing that the Europeans are reluctant somehow to challenge Hezbollah. But I think he deepened the rift within the Lebanese society. He talks about national national unity government...
[Clancy:] All right.
[Melhem:] But, in essence or a strong Lebanese state but in essence he's still undermining the very structure of the Lebanese state.
[Clancy:] All right. Maybe a second battle that is under way after a 30-day war. Who knows how long the battle over political change in Lebanon and political direction. "An-Nahar" newspaper's Washington bureau chief, Hisham Melhem, joining us there. Hisham, great to have you with us, as always.
[Melhem:] Thank you, Jim. Thanks.
[Gorani:] Still ahead, the art of diplo-speak.
[Clancy:] That's right. President Bush and President Musharraf held a White House news conference today. Why did the two leaders avoid the elephant in the room and sidestep such a controversial issue?
[Gorani:] Also ahead, he's no stranger to controversy.
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