Hezbollah leader didn’t expect war

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah came close to admitting Sunday that his group had made a mistake when it kidnapped two Israeli soldiers on July 12 and set off 34 days of intense fighting.

“We did not think, even 1 percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude,” Nasrallah told Lebanon’s New TV network. “You ask me, if I had known on July 11 … that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not, for humanitarian, moral, social, security, military and political reasons. Neither I, Hezbollah, prisoners in Israeli jails nor the families of the prisoners would accept it.”

Nasrallah also said he did not foresee renewed hostilities anytime soon, citing rebuilding efforts being undertaken by Israelis displaced by Hezbollah rocket attacks during the monthlong conflict.

“Someone who acts like that doesn’t seem to be going to war,” he said. “We are not heading to a second round.”

The nearly two-hour-long interview was a surprising expression of contrition from Nasrallah, who had defiantly declared Hezbollah victorious when a cease-fire ended the fighting two weeks ago.

Analysts said his remarks may be an effort by the 46-year-old leader to defuse ongoing anger inside Lebanon over the scale of the destruction wreaked by the fighting and an indication that Nasrallah is trying to mend political fences ahead of a visit to Beirut today by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

“Hezbollah has received so much blame for having provoked this Israeli onslaught,” said Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, a leading Lebanese expert on Hezbollah. “The less negative impact would be to say, ‘Of course, we wouldn’t have done it if we had known.’ “