‘Trump has facts’: Hezbollah leader supports Republican’s accusation that Obama ‘founded’ Islamic State
Hezbollah, listed as a terrorist group by the US and Israel, has backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his fight against IS
The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group cited Donald Trump in accusing the US and President Barack Obama of creating Islamic State (IS), becoming the latest American adversary to quote or praise the Republican nominee.
Echoing Trump, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also accused Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton of helping create the militant Sunni group, a rival to the Shiite Hezbollah. Both are considered terrorist organisations by the US, and Nasrallah’s remarks revived a claim that Trump initially trumpeted and then downplayed as being sarcastic.
This American candidate, who speaks in the name of the American Republican Party, has facts
“This American candidate, who speaks in the name of the American Republican Party, has facts” that can support this assertion, Nasrallah said in a speech on Saturday, according to a transcript published by Al Manar TV.
The Hezbollah comments expanded the roster of rogue foreign leaders or groups making comments complimentary or supportive of Trump. In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin termed the Republican “the absolute leader of the presidential race”. An official mouthpiece of North Korea’s government lauded Trump in June as “a wise politician”.
Trump called Obama and Clinton, who served as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, “co-founders” of IS during a campaign rally on August 10. He has since played down the comments as having been meant as sarcasm, echoing his response to the outcry over earlier remarks in which he exhorted Russia to hack Clinton’s emails. A White House spokesman declined to comment on the most recent comments.
Republican vice-presidential candidate Mike Pence, in an interview taped on August 12 and broadcast on Sunday on Fox News, said Trump hadn’t been joking.
“He was being very serious, and he was making a point that needs to be made, that there is no question that the failed policies of President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in the wider Middle East, created a vacuum within Iraq in which ISIS was able to arise,” Pence said.
Hezbollah, listed as a terrorist group by the US and Israel, has backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his fight against IS and US-supported rebel groups.
“Who can imagine that the US can’t know who is behind sending money and arms to the terrorists in Syria and Iraq?” Nasrallah said.
Beyond quoting Trump, he offered no proof to back up his claim.
Nasrallah’s remarks come after US ally Saudi Arabia, along with Gulf Cooperation Council countries, labelled Hezbollah a terrorist organisation in March, blacklisting companies and individuals with ties to the group.
