Posted on 03/16/2009 7:50:03 AM PDT by Ooh-Ah
Beirut, Lebanon — Flush with a huge injection of fresh cash from its Iranian backers, and with its weapons stockpiles replenished many times over since the 2006 war, Hezbollah seems poised to win — or buy — the upcoming parliamentary elections in Lebanon this June, many Lebanese fear.
Western diplomats share those concerns.
“Iran and a number of other countries are helping to bankroll their friends’ campaigns and, in some cases, are engaged in outright vote buying. We’re watching things carefully, with a particularly close eye on Hezbollah and Iran,” one senior diplomat tells Newsmax.
Sources in Lebanon say that Iran in recent months has smuggled in large amounts of cash to Hezbollah — upwards of $1 billion — in order to buy the election.
“They are bringing in cash from Africa, especially from Nigeria,” a knowledgeable Lebanese source says. “They are using Hezbollah-owned aircraft, and bringing it in to a Hezbollah-controlled airport, Beirut.”
Iran also is smuggling in large quantities of U.S. dollars through Syria and Dubai, and changing the money into euros to disguise its origin, other sources say.
“Hezbollah money is coming from trafficking in Africa in diamonds, oil, and gold,” according to a prominent businessman.
Another way the Iranians have been filling Hezbollah’s coffers has been through the cover of commercial deals, several sources told Newsmax in Beirut recently.
“Iran ships consumer goods with no declared Customs value into the Port of Beirut, which is controlled by Hezbollah,” one source says. “These goods are then distributed to Hezbollah street vendors and shop owners, who use the proceeds of the sales to finance Hezbollah-related operations.”
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
So what else is new? Reminds me of the way voters in America believe all the liberal lies that are told to them for their votes. People are so stupid and will believe any damn thing that the mind reels and boggles.
Why shouldn’t they buy those votes? They bought our election too.
With immense voter fraud deceit cajolery bribery and stupidity.
Excellent point; the many thousands of untraced and untraceable campaign contributions that the media was simply not interested in investigating.
This could be where Hussein is talking to “moderate” terrorists and will give them his playbook.
zer0 probably told Axlerod ACORN Thugs Inc. to tell them how to successfully buy an election.
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