Following are excerpts
from an interview with Hizbullah MP Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Walid Sakariya,
which aired on ANB TV on August 7, 2011.
Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Walid Sakariya:
Iran is the country most hostile to Israel, but Iraq serves as a buffer
between Iran and the Palestine front – from the days of Saddam Hussein
and until the US military presence in Iraq. Iran supports the forces
of confrontation: Hamas, Hizbullah, and Syria.
If, following the US
withdrawal, Iraq becomes a bridge linking Iran to Syria, the Iranian
forces could cross Iraq and arrive in Syria, in order to participate
in a direct war on the Golan front.
In that case, Israel
would not be fighting Hizbullah alone. It would be fighting Hizbullah,
Syria, Iraq, and Iran. This is the so-called "Shiite Crescent"
that they fear. Since Iran dominates this [axis], the Arab countries
refer to it as the "Shiite Crescent."
If Hizbullah has 5,000
missiles and can destroy some targets in Israel, the equation will completely
change when Syria and Iran join the war. You will have the strategic
superiority and a force large enough to pulverize Israel, even if this
war costs you hundreds of thousands of martyrs – not just 1,000 or
2,000. You will enter this war with a population mass exceeding 100
million.
[...]
If Syria, as a confrontation
country, fails, America and the Zionist enterprise will be victorious.
Interviewer: Syria
is that important...
Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Walid Sakariya:
Of course. But if Syria is victorious as a confrontation country, Israel
will come to an end. There are military balances. Hizbullah can defeat
Israel, but it cannot abolish it. If Syria enters a war with Israel,
it may be able to regain the Golan, but it will not be able to liberate
Haifa and Tel Aviv.
However, Hizbullah, Syria,
Iraq, and Iran will constitute a force that is militarily superior to
Israel and will destroy it. They will wage a war and might even suffer
hundreds of thousands of martyrs – because Israel might use the nuclear
weapon in order to survive – but nevertheless, this war will put an
end to Israel.
[...]
