WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- It is clear that Hezbollah chief Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah is emerging as something of a cult hero in Lebanon and the Arab world, particularly after appearing victorious in the 34-day war with Israel. He is by far the most believed leader in the Arab world today because he typically does what he says. But strange as it may seem, Nasrallah is also more credible to Israelis than their own prime minister.
A poll conducted by Dr. Udi Lebel, a political psychology lecturer, of the Ben Gurion Institute at Beer Sheva University, found that in many cases the Israeli public was forced to rely on the reports of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah rather than on what Israeli spokespeople had to say.
Lebel is quoted by Ynet News.com, the English language Web site of the influential Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, as saying that "a good media leader relies on three points -- gripping the audience, being watchable, and giving the feeling of certainty."
Lebel conducted a poll on the "management of Israeli public relations during the second Lebanon war." A report published on Ynet News.com reveals that "Israeli PR was so lacking" that the "public perceived the enemy leader against whom we fought as having those characteristics, and waited impatiently for his speeches."
Besides contradicting Israeli spokespeople more than once, including the minister of defense, Nasrallah "was the first to announce the deaths of Israeli soldiers and the sad circumstances which led to them."
If Nasrallah was credible in Israel, he has become revered in the Palestinian territories for resisting Israel's onslaught against him and his movement. In the Gaza Strip, as in the nearby West Bank, Hezbollah's secretary-general is enjoying greater popularity amongst Palestinians than Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
"Hassan Nasrallah is soaring among the Palestinians," Dr. Nabeel Al-Koukaly, director of the Opinion Polls Institute in the West Bank town of Beit Sahour
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An informal poll conducted by Al-Koukaly showed that 80 percent of Palestinians trusted Nasrallah, according to Gulf News.
Pictures of Nasrallah, along with the Shiite movement's yellow flag, are popping up in various parts of the Arab world
www.uggstiefeloutlet.org, from the Palestinian territories to the Syrian capital, Damascus, where Nasrallah's portrait is sharing space with that of Bashar Assad -- a rarity in Syria.
Not since Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew King Farouk in 1952 and later led a pan-Arab nationalist movement opposed to capitalism, Western colonialism and what he regarded as American imperialism, has a leader in the Arab world enjoyed such popularity.
A number of guests
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www.uggschuhebillig.com, who were attending a dinner party at the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington Saturday night in celebration of Saudi's national day, made reference to Nasrallah being the "new Nasser."
The reason for this quite simple: the Arab world is in dire need of a new leader they can look up to.
"Egypt traditionally played the role of leader in the Arab world, but it has turned introvert under President Hosni Mubarak
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The remaining traditional Arab powerhouse, Iraq, caught in a spider's web of sectarian politics, a low intensity, but nevertheless quite deadly ethnic cleansing campaign and quite possibly moving toward full-scale civil war, is hardly able to restore order in its own house
ugg größen, let alone begin to worry about re-entering the complicated game of power politics in the Middle East. That left the playing field wide open for the charismatic Hezbollah chief, Hassan Nasrallah.
"Nasser was an idea but Nasrallah is an ideology
aanbieding ugg," Hiam Nawas, a senior analyst with the Garten-Rothkopf Group, told United Press International.
"An idea can die out or it can fade away. But an ideology will fight for its own existence to prevail and to continue to exist," said Nawas.
Both Nasser and Nasrallah represented a sense of hope and empowerment. Washington saw red flags in Nasser's so-called socialist leanings and rejected his approaches for economic assistance. The administration of the day blindly turned him away, sending him straight into the arms -- and the orbit -- of the Soviet system. For the decades that followed, Egypt remained under the influence of the Soviet Union. It was not until Nasser's successor, Anwar Sadat, and three wars later that the U.S. government began opening up to Sadat and Egypt.
Although the United States considers Hezbollah to be a terrorist organization, it would behoove Washington not to commit the same blunders that passed for U.S. foreign policy where Egypt was concerned. Ignore Hezbollah's "military wing" and engage its political entity in dialogue. With time, when the military wing ceases to exist
ugg boots germany, the United States
ugg boots günstig, having had an open channel of communication with the party's politicians, will find itself in a far better position to win an important ally in the on-going war on terrorism, distance Hezbollah from Iran and Syria and help overall in the political reconstruction of Lebanon.
One engages in talking peace with one's enemies, not one's friends, as former Secretary of State Madeline Albright was recently quoted as saying on a news channel.
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