Geagea Says Hizbullah, IS Two Sides of Same Coin
Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea has said that Hizbullah and the extremist Islamic State group are enemies but have closely related features of one idea.
“Hizbullah is the IS's enemy and they are fighting each other,” Geagea told UAE's Alroeya newspaper in an interview published on Monday.
“But dogmatically, it (Hizbullah) and the IS are the two sides of a single political currency which is political Islam. The presence of one of them nurtures the other,” he said.
Hizbullah has sent its fighters to Syria to help the troops of President Bashar Assad.
“Hizbullah's presence in Syria pushed many (sides) to adopt terrorism, which we totally reject,” Geagea said.
He said the crimes committed by regime troops and the IS are the same. “Except that the crimes of Assad are much bigger than those committed by the IS.”
Syria's uprising began in March 2011 when Assad's troops began clamping down on anti-regime demonstrations. It then erupted into a civil war with rebels seeking to topple him.
“Terrorism would be eradicated when the dictatorship in Syria is eliminated and replaced by a democratic system,” the LF chief told his interviewer.
As for Iraq, the different factions should agree on political solutions to help the country face the threat of terrorists, he said.
Asked whether he thought that the Christians in the Arab world were under threat.
Geagea said: “I believe that moderate Christians and Muslims are being targeted.”
But he called for giving special care to some Christian minorities for being unable to confront major events.
Turning to the terrorist threat facing Lebanon, Geagea said: “The logic of the state will eventually win.”
“The state lies on the path of history while extremism goes in the other direction,” he added.
Geagea expressed confidence in the Lebanese army and its unity, saying it is “capable to easily wipe it (terrorism) off.”
G.K.
H.K.
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