Che Gue-Hassan

From the website of the Federation of American Scientists, a very interesting translation of an article from a conservative Iranian publication, in which Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, describes himself and his rise to power. There are unexplainable errors in the piece (after 1982, the National Salvation Front Nasrallah mentions could not have tried to make Bashir Gemayel president of Lebanon, because it bitterly opposed him and his party; Nasrallah could have meant Amin Gemayel, Bashir's brother and successor, though in no way was the front "planning to make [him] president of Lebanon").

Two intriguing tidbits. In one passage Nasrallah mentions how, during his religious studies in Najaf, he went through a five-year study program in just two years, thanks to Abbas Musawi, his teacher and predecessor as Hezbollah secretary general. It could be true, but I suspect the reason Nasrallah mentioned this was to counter an argument that he has little scholarly learning, and therefore does not have proper religious authority. His prestige will also have been helped by Nasrallah's mentioning that he was sent to Najaf with a letter of recommendation for Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Baqer al-Sadr, the revered cleric later murdered by the Baath regime.

A second interesting passage is Nasrallah's description of how he took over from Musawi, who was assassinated in 1992 by Israel. Though Nasrallah was not next in line--Naim Qassem was then Musawi's deputy--he was promoted over Qassem's head. Some argue, plausibly, that the Iranians intervened because they preferred Nasrallah, and that Qassem was displeased. If so, Nasrallah makes the point that Qassem was initially his assistant before Nasrallah went to Qom to pursue his studies, underlining, therefore, that he was entitled to be chosen as secretary general.

(Hat tip, Martin Kramer's blog)