Original link: http://middleeastobserver.net/nasrallah-suggests-lebanese-politicians-aiding-militants-in-syria-behind-nitrate-shipment-to-beirut-port/
Hezbollah’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah comments on the political exploitation and investigation findings of the Port of Beirut Disaster that took place one year ago in Lebanon’s capital.Source: Spot Shot (YouTube)Date: August 8, 2021
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Transcript:
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s Secretary General:
And after a year has passed, they (i.e. Lebanese groups leading the anti-Hezbollah campaign in relation to the Beirut Port explosion) found no evidence, proof, or investigation that could lead to this conclusion. They got lost, they were lost for a while; what can they say (in this regard)? They were waiting for the investigations, and they know that the official investigation by the Lebanese Army, the investigation by (Lebanon’s) Information Branch, the French investigation and the FBI investigation, and all the sides that took part and contributed to this investigation, reached a clear conclusion, which is now openly available and documented as well: there were no missiles, no weapons, and no munitions in Warehouse 12, nor anywhere in the entire Port (of Beirut). Nothing. And there was no (military or sabotage) action (from an external state/party). I’m not rushing (to conclusions), the (official Lebanese investigators) are obliged to announce the findings (of their investigation), but they don’t wish to announce (the results), and I’ll get back to this point.
In this case, what could they possibly do, having nothing (in hand) that can lead to (the accusation) of the Resistance and Hezbollah? They came up with a new story regarding the (Ammonium) nitrate. Who brought the nitrate (to Lebanon)? Great! The (Lebanese) judiciary should reveal who brought the nitrate, the ship that brought the nitrate. There are reports that say that (the ship’s intended) destination wasn’t Beirut, but it had an accident and resorted to the Port of Beirut. Its destination wasn’t Beirut to begin with.
So, who brought in the nitrate? Who stored them? Who kept them in (the warehouse)? Who prevented the transportation of these materials and (prevented) their sale? The same story all over again: ‘the one who brought the nitrate is Hezbollah, and Hezbollah is the one who knows about it because they brought it (into Lebanon), Hezbollah stored it in Warehouse 12 and kept it there, and the one who prevented the transportation (of the nitrate) is Hezbollah as well’.
Okay, what evidence do you have dear? What’s the evidence for this vile and atrocious accusation (against Hezbollah)? None, there is nothing. However, they have television stations, newspapers, media outlets, and an electronic army, and they can say whatever they want, and they’re (indeed) trying to frame a (particular) scenario.
Now, I want to answer (this campaign of accusations) in way that is somehow sarcastic. Poor Hezbollah, how saddening! They don’t have tons of weapons, munitions, missiles, and explosives that are manufactured in the best military factories in the world, which meet the (required) standards, poor (Hezbollah), they have nothing. They must bring nitrate and smuggle them into Lebanon, nitrate that is used for agricultural purposes and can also be used for manufacturing explosives, how poor (Hezbollah) is, it has no other choice. Poor Hezbollah, they’ve got no warehouses to transport nitrate to, they’ve got warehouses that can accommodate tens of thousands of missiles, but they do not have warehouses where they can put about 2,000 tons of this nitrate for example, so they had to leave them in the warehouse in the Port (of Beirut). Poor Hezbollah, for six or seven years, they haven’t been able to secure places to transport the nitrate to. Poor Hezbollah, they haven’t got any transportation (means) or trucks, they need to rent trucks, taxis, chauffeurs, or drivers to transport (these materials) directly to the south of Lebanon. Poor Hezbollah…
Could there be anything more ridiculous than this? Anything sillier? Anything more horrible? I’ll leave the judgement to you. If someone wishes to make an accusation, they need to make it a bit logical and make some sense. This is all absurd talk. Yet, it is intended; they know it is ridiculous and absurd, but they follow the method of telling lies upon lies as there are people who are ready to believe them, and this is a part of the battle, part of the open war.
They then developed their claim, they said: no, Hezbollah is not in need, those (stockpiles of nitrate) were brought by Hezbollah and placed in the Port so that they can move them to Syria. (I’ll use the) the same (sarcastic) approach. The poor Syrian regime, it doesn’t have ports, it doesn’t have a port in Latakia, nor in Tartus, it doesn’t have any, so, it is forced to bring them into Beirut, and burden Hezbollah with the process of transportation from Beirut to Syria. Poor Syrian regime, it has got no allies that could provide it, through aircrafts and ships, with weapons, munitions, explosives, and so on…Come on! Could someone sane believe such a thing?
Well, anyway, whatever has been said from one year till this very moment, especially the past few days, is not based on any logic or sense, and it doesn’t have any aim other than distortion, accusation, extortion, insulting, and misleading (people from) the truth. We could’ve done the same, from the first day, while people were still searching for the (bodies of the) martyrs, I could’ve went up on TV and said: The ones who killed your children and led to this (massive) explosion in the country are the ones who support the armed groups in Syria. The ones who need nitrate to manufacture explosives are neither Hezbollah nor the Syrian (government) forces. Rather, the ones who need the nitrate to manufacture explosives are the militants on the outskirts of Arsal, Qalamoun, and Al-Qusayr, and the armed groups in Syria. Certain Lebanese groups supporting (the armed militant groups in Syria) are the ones who brought the nitrate (into Lebanon), and they are known by name, and (these personalities) are present within (various levels of the Lebanese) state and security apparatus.
We could have accused them (from that very day). You have a voice and we have ours, you have (your) television (stations) and we have (ours), you have (your) social media networks and we have ours, you have your outlets and we have ours; and the people of the country would have fought each other with each side accusing the other. However, we didn’t adopt this approach, and even today, I’m only mentioning it as an evidence, you know why? Because we are a people of logic and proof, and because we have honor. Because we have honor. Because we know what if feels like to (have) martyrs, we know what it feels like to be wounded, we know how it feels for people to have their homes demolished, we know how it feels like when people have their livelihoods destroyed, we’ve been aware of this matter for many years.
However, you who are sitting behind television screens, running seminars, you and some politicians, who live with golden spoons in your mouths, how could you possibly understand these emotions? We refused to (engage in trying to) manipulate people’s emotions, the emotions of the families of the martyrs and the wounded, and the people affected (by the port explosion), or to exploit anything whatsoever – no matter how small it be – in such a serious event of this magnitude that affected everyone. This is because we are concerned about the country, the peace of the country, and harmony within the country, we didn’t exploit anything for our political interests, nor have we attacked (others) through the media; even when we were accused, insulted, and (our reputation was) distorted, we didn’t defend ourselves with (counter)attacks; we rather defended ourselves by clarifying (the situation) and by resorting to (the matter to the course of) investigations. We (reasoned with public opinion and) said that there are (findings from the) investigations which are not being made public, (and we questioned) why they are not being made public. This is the difference between you and us.
Nasrallah makes a compelling argument for pointing blame for the Beirut port explosion at the likely culprits who function as proxies for the US, Israel, France, Saudi Arabia, et al who have waged wars of terror in Syria, Palestine, Lebanon’s valleys and heights, and Iraq.
He also, deftly, paints Hezbollah in colors of loyal, patient, honorable players and stakeholders who are ready to assist Lebanon to rebuild and move forward when the hegemonists get out of the way and leave Lebanon alone.
Logic meets rhetoric in very convincing fashion. He is a master of public advocacy.
Meanwhile, Lebanon is being destroyed and no one in the present geopolitical and domestic mix can do anything to reverse it.
However, I think Moscow will make a move soon. Putin is a master of timing and he must be assessing the conditions for Russia to make a salvation move to end the calamity that is ongoing in Lebanon.
I think this headline is misleading… he is not accusing but rather saying they *could have* accused if they wanted. But they’re too noble to resort to such accusations, they prefer to let the investigations and evidence speak for itself. That seems to be what he is saying.
Exatamente. Eu também entendi assim e achei o título inadequado. Carece de um pequeno ajuste.
Google translation,MOD:
Exactly. I understood it that way too and found the title inappropriate. Needs a little adjustment.
The saker
If you have any since of irony you will notice the dates of the explosion in West and the day when the fertilizer was unloaded in Beruit. They had there warning and didn’t heed it.
https://www.csb.gov/west-fertilizer-explosion-and-fire-/
Ammonium Perchlorate
Ammonium perchlorate (AP) is a white, crystalline, solid or powder inorganic compound with the formula NH4ClO4. It is the salt of perchloric acid and ammonia. The powerful oxidizer is used in the manufacture of rocket propellants; explosives and pyrotechnics; as an etching and engraving agent; and in analytical chemistry.
Let’s see NH4CLO3 NH4NO3. So the question is simple. Can you have the exchange of CL with N under several tons of pressure. Oh, don’t forget the see water. H2O and NACL.
Marcus, we were told by the Zionist-controlled MSM that precisely 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer somehow blasted a crater 43-meter (141 feet) deep into concrete and solid rock. Google it if you don’t believe me. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists it would take a B61-11 bunker-buster bomb dialed up to around 200 kilotons to do that.
I’m guessing that the actual truth of the Beirut explosion will someday come out, just like the actual truth of 9/11 eventually did. That false-flag attack was blamed on the Arabs and it was the pretext for all the wars of this century. In actuality, Israel attacked us on that day and got away with it. Every US president since 9/11, including Trump and Biden, has had to dance around that horrible truth.
This might help you understand just how powerful a ship full of ammonium nitrate is.
https://timeline.com/texas-city-explosion-grandcamp-6c08615fc898
History is full of these tragedies. The very act of storing it in a highly populated area is irresponsible.
This might help explain, yes ammonium nitrate can do the kind of damaged done to the ground below the warehouse.
https://www.dynonobel.com/practical-innovations/popular-products/ammonium-nitrate#:~:text=Low%20density%20Ammonium%20Nitrate%20explosive,enhance%20flowability%20and%20handling%20characteristics.
Too bad we’re not talking about a ship full of ammonium nitrate. We are talking about a warehouse with precisely 2,750 tons of fertilizer that was not mixed with the fuel oil it would need to be turned into an explosive. In any case, it would require a 200 kiloton (200,000 tons of TNT) nuclear bunker-buster bomb to blast a hole 141 feet deep into solid bedrock. Maybe checking out the Union of Concerned Scientists website would help you to understand.
At 9:02 a.m. (14:02 UTC), the Ryder truck, containing over 4,800 pounds (2,200 kg)[69] of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, nitromethane, and diesel fuel mixture, detonated in front of the north side of the nine-story Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.[45] 168 people were killed and hundreds more injured. One third of the building was destroyed by the explosion,[70] which created a 30-foot-wide (9.1 m), 8-foot-deep (2.4 m) crater on NW 5th Street next to the building.[71] The blast destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a 4-block radius, and shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings.[4][5] The broken glass alone accounted for 5 percent of the death total and 69 percent of the injuries outside the Murrah Federal Building.[5] The blast destroyed or burned 86 cars around the site.[4][72] The destruction of the buildings left several hundred people homeless and shut down a number of offices in downtown Oklahoma City.[73] The explosion was estimated to have caused at least $652 million worth of damage.
There was a 1000 times more ammonium nitrate in the Beruit warehouse than Oklahoma City. The hole in the concrete at Oklahoma city was 8 ft deep. So actually your hole in Beruit was a little shallow.
Historically, whenever a trainload, boatload or even a ‘fertilizer plant’ explodes, one of two things happened.
1. Someone is lying about an explosives factory or
2. Someone used a nuclear weapon and is lying about it
The video below puts all other explanations to rest forever with simple scientific tests that can be duplicated for pennies by qualified people taking proper precautions. Please don’t try this yourself, Marcus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rwotkepTmQ
Marcus is right about the explosive power of Ammonium Nitrate mixed with combustible material. The “harmless” NH4NO3 in that demo video was pure so it did not explode. Only small quantities were heated, in the open air and on a metal plate which is well known for conducting away heat; the other small quantity was heated on a brick which likewise absorbs heat. This is like setting a match to a spoonful of gunpowder on the ground: it just fizzles away.
Tommy claims that the nitrate in Beirut harbour did not explode because it was not premixed. How does he know that? I believe that shady Russian-Jewish businessman who dumped his ship in Beirut harbour by calling emergency at sea, and left it there (by calling “bankruptcy) and those sleazy Lebaneazy politicians who overrode the Harbour Authority’s order to have it removed were all not part of a Zionazi plot to destabilize Lebanon from the inside. Those thousands of tons of nitrate were either premixed on arrival in that shady Russian-Jewish ship, or else it was mixed later by shady Lebanese characters while in storage. Look at all those explosions now inside Iran; and look at that explosion in New York on 9 11 2001: all inside jobs with Mossad fingerprints. “By deception shall we wage war”.
We know that precisely 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer were in that warehouse. There is no evidence that it was “premixed” with diesel fuel. All reports at the time say that the explosion blasted a crater 43-meters (141 feet) deep into concrete and solid rock. That, sir, is the height of a ten-story building.
The Union of Concerned Scientists ran an article about this that has since been pulled. They did the math and it indicated that whatever caused that explosion would have to be the equivalent of a 200-kiloton nuclear device. That is, as I’m sure you know, 200,000 tons of TNT. There is simply no way that 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer could have caused that crater. The “official” version of the Beirut event couldn’t possibly be true, just as the “official” version of 9/11 couldn’t be true as well. It would violate all the Laws of Physics and the laws of common sense. My guess is that the real perps of 9/11 also did the attack on Beirut. That, sir, would be the Israelis.
@Tommy Apeiron: “whatever caused that explosion would have to be the equivalent of 200,000 tons of TNT. There is simply no way that 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer could have caused that crater.”
On the contrary, the following report from Robert Livermore Labs estimates the blast as equivalent to 1,400 tons of TNT, max. So 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate was enough to have caused that crater, because the ground was softened by seawater.
https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1688581
“By Peter Goldstein
Abstract
I use crater dimensions to estimate the yield of the August 4th, 2020 Beirut explosion to be equivalent to approximately 1.4 kilotons of TNT with a lower bound of about 0.7 kilotons. Based on the amount of ammonium nitrate reported to have been stored at the Beirut harbor, I assume an upper bound for the yield of 2.75 kilotons. However, it is highly likely that the [TNT equivalent] yield was less than 2.75 kilotons, since TNT equivalence of ammonium nitrate is typically much less than one hundred percent.
I present evidence which suggests that the relatively large crater radius is due to a reduction of the effective stress [resistance to flow] because of a high level of saturation [by sea water] of the geologic media beneath the explosion.”
Well, you have the Robert Livermore Labs vs. the Union of Concerned Scientists. Like the old Groucho Max line, “Who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?” I’m going with the ones who aren’t being paid to justify the use of nuclear weapons, rather than the ones who are.
Just like Popular Mechanics was charged with supporting the “official” version of 9/11, so too was the Zionist MSM charged with supporting the “It was just a horrible accident” version of the Beirut attack. We know twenty years after the fact that Israel and US neocons did 9/11. Will it take that long for the real perps behind the Beirut attack to be fingered? My bets are on it will never happen as long as Israel doesn’t own up to having nukes in the first place.
Tommy,
I entirely agree. This was obviously a tactical nuclear weapon. The hole it made is simply enormous. At the time, I searched on the internet for formulas to calculate the size of a crater versus the quantity of TNT. I am originally a civil engineer and this is the sort of thing we are familiar with.
Additionally, as you pointed out, the fertilizer would have needed to be mixed in the precise ration with a reducing agent such as diesel fuel.
The idea that the science behind nuclear weapons has not progressed for 60 years is ridiculous. Vast amounts of money has been poured into research to produce the low fallout bomb.
It is a pity that Nasrallah is not calling it out for what it was. He seems to be playing domestic politics.
@Tommy Apeiron and Alfred (Cairns). Your assertions that “this was obviously a tactical nuclear weapon” is not substantiated by reference to actual data. Whereas the paper from Lawrence Livermore (Table 1 and Fig 2) cites several independent studies on crater formation by nuclear as well as by chemical explosions. Either way, whether chemical or mini-nuke, the size of the crater is consistent with a realistic amount of TNT (0.7 to 5.5 kTon, with a preferred mean of 1.4 kTon). No need to invoke a 200 kTon nuke (nor even a 1.4 kTon micro-nuke) when the means to hand were already in place: 2.75 kTon of Ammonium Nitrate brought in under suspicious circumstances by a shady Russian Jewish businessman, removal of which was thwarted by shadowy Lebanese politicians.
https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1688581
I apologize for having gone off-topic in this slightly pedantic way, but one needs to hold on to physical reality and not exaggerate when faced with terrorist atrocities. The real topic of this speech by Rev Nasr’Allah is the absurdity of attempting to blame Hezb’Allah for a devastating enemy attack from abroad combined with treasonable negligence from within Lebanon. Such a dastardly deed is the very opposite of patriotic concern for Lebanon, and Hezb is above all the patriotic party of Lebanon.
NH4ClO4