Chest-beating and flag-bearing groups of Hezbollah members marched to the meeting from the Martyrs' complex near Beirut International Airport, followed by black-clad men, women and children shouting, "Death to America, death to Israel!"
Nasrallah called on Arab governments that allowed the stationing of US troops on their territory, "or even those that are ostensibly neutral," to prepare to face the consequences of a war opposed by the majority of Arabs.
"America has made no secret of its desire to change the structure of the entire area, and these regimes will not be spared," he said. "They must use the remaining days to reconcile with their peoples in order to stand united against the onslaught."
While Lebanese Shiites sympathize with the Shiite majority in Iraq, which is known to oppose President Saddam Hussein, they are also wary of the US and its goals in the region. The Hezbollah leader said the role of Syrian President Beshar Assad "could not go unnoticed." He told Assad "you are not alone (in standing up to the United States). Every honest Arab is with you, including the Lebanese anti-Israeli resistance forces, which are still fighting the enemy." Nasrallah also called for a Muslim alliance aimed at standing up to the United States.
A senior Shiite cleric on Thursday denounced both the Iraqi president and the United States. In his sermon, Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah said:
"When we reject war on Iraq, it doesn't mean that we in the Arab and Islamic world defend the regime of Saddam Hussein, who is the worst beast in human history, who killed his people, killed his comrades, fought Iran and occupied Kuwait." Fadlallah heaped criticism on the United States, which has amassed more than 200,000 soldiers in the Gulf in preparation to invade Iraq: "America wants to display its military power in the world so that in the future no other power will rise to challenge it," he said. "America is seeking to create a tragedy for humanity and to spread chaos in the world, especially in this region."
Amal's Vice-President, Nabatieh Ayoub Humayed, also slammed the US over the Iraqi standoff, but accused the Arabs of turning their backs on their national responsibilities. Egypt, once a leading Arab nation, "has weighed itself down by the Camp David Accord," signed with Israel under US sponsorship in 1979. He said that Cairo was being "blackmailed by the World Bank and the United States, which is determined to impose its hegemony on all Arab states, especially the oil-rich ones." He accused Arab leaders who collaborate with the US and Israel of being "dark faces that serve the US administration, establish ties with Israel and turn their back on the Arab League. "Humayed also accused Washington of reopening the issue of the Syria Accountability Act to get back at Damascus for siding with Iraq. The US legislation calls on Syria to end its support for "terrorism" and its "occupation" of Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the Vice-President of the Shiite Supreme Council, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, called yesterday on Iraq and Syria to unite "because both their rulers are members of the Arab Baath Party."
