Hezbollah construction company scoffs at U.S. decision to freeze assets
Jihad al-Bina Director General says company is a non-profit development group, won't be affected by U.S. decision.
By The Associated PressBEIRUT - A Lebanese construction company that the U.S. government said is owned and operated by the militant Hezbollah group scoffed Wednesday at Washington's decision to freeze its assets under U.S. jurisdiction, saying its projects would not be affected by the American measure.
Stuart Levey, the U.S. Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said Tuesday that Hezbollah uses the company, named Jihad al-Bina, for its construction needs and to attract popular support though civilian construction services.
Hezbollah condemned the U.S. decision as a new aggression on Lebanon and Lebanese civilians following last summer's Israel-Hezbollah war.
"The U.S. Administration continues to classify a number of political organizations and resistance movements according to its hostile political program," a Hezbollah statement, faxed to The Associated Press late Wednesday, said.
It claimed the measure against the Jihad al-Bina came because the company is rebuilding areas destroyed by "the brutal Zionist aggression last summer which occurred with a clear political, military and financial American support."
Hezbollah's media chief, Hussein Rahhal, said he did not know if Jihad al-Bina was owned and operated by the militant group. But a senior Hezbollah official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to talk to the press, said the company was operated but not owned by Hezbollah.
Kassem Aleiq, director general of Jihad al-Bina, said the company's development projects, mainly in predominantly Shiite Muslim areas in Lebanon, would not be affected by the U.S. decision. He said Jihad al-Bina is a not-for-profit development and services group.
This matter does not concern us. Our projects and programs to serve our people will continue and will not be affected, Aleiq said.
Our work is within our (Shiite) community, villages and towns all inside Lebanon. Any project we carry out is covered under the country's laws, he added.
Jihad al-Bina, or construction for the sake of the holy struggle, rebuilds homes damaged in Israeli attacks and provides water and garbage collecting services to residents of southern and eastern Lebanon.
The U.S. State Department has placed Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim group supported by Iran and Syria, on its list of international terrorist organizations.
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The World is catching on to the Isreali lobby in the US thanks to the Internet and brave new filmmakers... soon the machine will be dismantled and the truth will be known.
How on earth can you compare bombing a factory to freezing bank accounts? Jihad al-Bina is run by Hezbullah. Hezbullah is a terrorist organization. Terorist organizations arent allowed to fundraise in the US. Its very simple. The rules are clear...but leave it to you terrorists to cry about it when you get caught breaking them.
Of course they won't admit to owning it but the admission they make is enough to justify the freezing of their assets. Then after admitting their own involvement they protest the American government's actions. This from a group reponsible for the largest number of dead Americans before 9/11. The murder of 242 US MArines, the blowing up of the US Embassy - nboth in Beirut. The murder of diplomats and other US government persons. Just as the Iranians never paid their debt for the humiliation of the US diplomatic Corps for 444 days in Teheran, these hezbollah misfits have an even greater debt to pay to the US. That debt will be paid one way or another.
There are many other examples than the Sudan drugs factory.
Remember the pharmacuetical factory in Sudan bombed by 'moderate' Clinton in 1998 stating that it was a chemical bomb-making factory owned by Bin Laden? United Nations report later found this claim completely false and asked the US to compensate fiancially. US didn't give a damn. Now this is a construction company.. a big threat. Of course, for the destroyers like US the word 'construction' is so hostile. US even bombed water tube-wells of common farmers during the Vietnam war stating that they were used by Viet Cong guerillas in those areas for drinking water and thus legitimate targets. And do you rememebr the Dams Story, aimed at flooding the whole 'enemy regions' in Vietnam (for which Jane Fonda protested a lot)? And what about American friend Israel? Well, you all know what its actions are.
Hizbollah is now on america's radars and scopes. Go getum! get them in south america, mossad and cia should sabotage their operations there in the jungles of south america where they do buisness, old skool tactics, cold war years' tactics. They are willing to do anything, we should be able to go even further than them. KILL THEM WHERE THEY LAY!!!! GETUM!!