The Democrats and mainstream media aren’t the only ones who constantly invoke Vietnam: Hezbollah says U.S. plan will fail.

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said in TV interview aired Tuesday that the U.S. has failed in Iraq and animosity in the Arab world against Washington should not be blamed on Islamic extremism. …

“Afghanistan is a failure … In Iraq, there is clear failure on the security, military and political levels … Who shoulders responsibility? It’s the American administration and the occupation forces in control of the situation,” Nasrallah said in a taped interview on Hezbollah’s television station Al-Manar.

He said America’s plans in the Middle East face “failure, frustration and a state of collapse,” and predicted the U.S. would be forced to leave the region.

The U.S. has “no future” in the region, Nasrallah said. “They will leave the Mideast, Arab and Islamic worlds just as they left Vietnam, and I advise those who are counting on them to draw conclusion from the Vietnam experience.”

He forgot to say “quagmire.”

UPDATE at 10/31/06 2:49:23 pm:

Nasrallah is not worried in the least about UNIFIL: Nasrallah: UNIFIL cannot, will not disarm Hezbollah.

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised interview aired Tuesday on Al-Manar TV that the United Nations Forces in Lebanon would not be able to disarm the guerilla group.

“The assembly of UNIFIL forces does not hint to anything that should inspire fear. This is not an ensemble with a goal of disarming us, nor would they be able to do so,” he said, in his first appearance since speaking at “victory” rally in south Beirut last month.

Nasrallah said the countries that had sent forces to Lebanon had established contact with the Hezbollah before deciding to deploy their troops. “We told them that we have no problem with them coming to help the [Lebanese] army,” he said.

Hizbollah rebuilds its military force under nose of UN.

Hizbollah has stepped up the rebuilding of its military infrastructure in southern Lebanon despite the deployment in recent weeks of thousands of Lebanese troops and international peacekeepers to limit the Islamic militant group’s activities.

Standing firm against international pressure to disarm, the Shia group is rearming and rebuilding tunnels and trenches destroyed by the Israeli army during this summer’s 34-day war.

Locals in Bint Jbeil, a town which saw fierce fighting, told yesterday how Hizbollah was using the major reconstruction efforts to rebuild their security infrastructure.

“They are working extremely fast,” said one, who did not want to be named. “Militants in Shia strongholds have interconnected tunnels and bunkers under their houses. These are being rebuilt under cover of the reconstruction work.”

He said cables and telecommunications equipment had been installed and the number of trucks delivering aid and supplies made it easy to disguise weapons smuggling.

“They have a security network of hundreds of motorcycles, linked up by walkie-talkies. Wherever outsiders move in the south they are followed. You don’t see guns, but Hizbollah knows exactly where you are.” On the crater-lined streets of Bint Jbeil, there was evidence of substantial reconstruction and young men on motorcycles, but it was impossible to discern whether any were Hizbollah fighters.

Another resident said: “Hizbollah is everywhere. But after the war the fighters put away their guns and uniforms and went back to being school teachers, engineers, farmers and business people.”