A "Spiritual Guide" to Hezbollah Dies

Gives a whole knew meaning to "spiritual", don't it.

"During Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war, he was linked to Iranian-backed Shiite militants who kidnapped Americans and other Westerners, and bombed the U.S. Embassy and Marine base in Lebanon, killing more than 260 Americans."

If it's true.

"He has lived in Lebanon since the 1960s and became a spiritual leader of Hezbollah after it was founded in 1982 in response to an Israeli invasion.

In recent years, however, Fadlallah had become distanced from Hezbollah's Iran-influenced leadership.

"He stood with great courage and clarity supporting the resistance against the Zionist enemy and was a prominent advocate of Islamic unity fighting division and strife," Hezbollah said in a statement.

His views on various topics, including the role of women, are laid out on his website and are considered liberal for a Shiite cleric. But he never swayed from his criticism of Israel.

In a letter penned to President Barack Obama last year, Fadlallah said: "The size of support and cover-up provided by your country for the Zionist entity has become known. This entity was established on the land whose people were uprooted by the power of iron and fire. The subsequent American policies have contributed to the loss of the Palestinian cause, despite the ratification of many Security Council resolutions.""

Ya, it's true.