The post below was the first of today's updates. I think from now on I will only post on the front page today's posts, and archive the rest.
The following Deir Spiegel article is a must-read. I read it last week in Deir Spiegel and and couldn't believe it. The article outlines new tactics that Israel is working on to neutralize 'the enemy.' It makes all the Terminator movies look as cute as unicorns.The Israeli army is hoping to use 'bionic hornets' as weapons:
www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,449171,00.html
Deir Spiegel is a German daily that is also translated into English. The paper has interesting reporting on the situation in Lebanon. I wanted to include their perspective of the situation because it's a German one and I find it's fresh and interesting.
I thought these were interesting Spiegel articles that outlines what's happening in Lebanon:
www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,450352,00.html
From last week, right after the Gemayel assassination:
www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,448261,00.html
Comparing Iraq and Lebanon's sectarian rifts:
www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,450868,00.html
The Washington Post printed an interesting article today featuring the Mouqtadar Sadr led Mahdi army. The militia has learnt from Hezbollah and is also stepping in to fill the void and provide state services and philanthropy to it's people, garnering more support with time. Check it out:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/26/AR2006112601242.html?nav=hcmodule
Interesting editorial by Haaretz. At first it seems like the same-old opinion piece, cynical about a Palestinian-Israeli peace-agreement, but then get's interesting in the last 2-3 paragraphs:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/792884.html
Also, please check out the links to the right. I've added a Wikipedia link to explain the structure of the Lebanese government (which includes links to all the major parties). However, some of the Arabic words are used to refer to the parties, as opposed to this blog's english references to the parties. Tayyar al Mustaqbal is the Future Movement (headed by Hariri, a Sunni party). Aoun leads the Tayyar Al-Watani Al-Horr (Free Patriotic Movement, a Maronite Christian party). The Druze party led by Jumblatt is called Hizb al-Taqadummi al-Ishtiraki (Progressive Socialist Party. The Druze --also spelt Druise--is a religion unique to Lebanon). Then there's the Hizb al-Kataeb (Kataeb or Phalangist party, also Maronite). Harakat Amal (or just Amal) is lead by Nabih Berri (Shi'ite). Hezbollah lead by Hassan Nasrallah (Shi'ite). The Lebanese Forces (also Christian, headed by Geagea). Those are the main parties. Click on the links included in the Wikipedia link listed to the right, to read about each party.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Surprise, we're bringing down the government!
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora decided to hold cabinet talks on Saturday despite his promise to wait for the five resigned Shi'ite cabinet ministers (CM) and one Christian CM to rejoin the cabinet. The international tribunal was approved in the cabinet and will go through in the UN.
In response Hezbollah and Amal announced that they will protest in a peaceful way and may even request Shi'ite government officials and unions to strike until a national unity government is agreed upon. Also, the parties threatened to call on their 57 MPs to resign. The parliament has 128 MPs and this resignation would topple the government by triggering by-elections. They also failed to set a date for the street protests, but said it wil happen by surprise.
http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/newsdesk.nsf/Lebanon/385CCADEB3CCB4F9C225723300214A24?OpenDocument
The Speaker of the Parliament, Nabih Berri from the Amal party, announced that he renders void the cabinet's approval of the international tribunal as any cabinet meetings that take place without all sect being represented are unconstitutional. In cabinet meetings all sect must be present for the meeting to be legal. As all Shi'ite ministers have resigned, the sect is not represented.
http://dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=77187
Also, the Maronite patriarch, Sfeir, (who represents the largest Christian sect, Maronites) held a meeting with top Christian leaders. He lamented the ploitical rifts among the Chrisitan population. Aoun, a Hezbollah ally who is also calling for a national unity government, represents most Christians but is also at odds with the Lebanese Forces party (lead by Geagea) and the Kataeb (also known as the Phalange, who was lead by Pierre Gemayel who was assassinated last Tuesday). Geagea and Gemayel oppose Hezbollah and are allied to the March 14 coaltion of parties (which also includes the Future Movement lead by Hariri).
http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/newsdesk.nsf/Lebanon/C4367FB67FD3969CC2257233002ED686?OpenDocument
Also, the UN Human Rights Commission just released a report claiming that during this past summer's war, Israel bombed Lebanese infrastructure for 'destruction's sake.' The report claims that Israel used the assertion that infrastructure could be used by Hezbollah as somewhat of a scapegoat to indiscrimnately bomb Lebanon. The report denies that Hezbollah used civilians as human shields BUT does allege that Hezbollah did use UNIFIL (UN Interim Forces in Lebanon) and Observer Group Lebanon posts as shields to launch attacks into Israel.
The report can be found here: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/
Naharnet's article on the report:
http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/newsdesk.nsf/Lebanon/4D6137065110D8BBC225723300399FA3?OpenDocument
Reuter's article (Nov. 20) about the UN commission's observation's of Israel's conduct in Lebanon:
http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=L21788660
PALESTINE/ISRAEL:
Israeli PM Ehud Olmert claims he's ready for a prisoner exchange to recover corporal Gilad Shalit seized in June by Palestinian militants, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The exchange is part of a move towards peace agreements on both sides. A cease-fire is encompassed in the agreement.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/793168.html
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-11-27T142647Z_01_L23458912_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST.xml&src=112706_0953_TOPSTORY_israel_ready_for_swap
The cease-fire that was agreed upon by Palestinian militants and Israel has been violated in Gaza. Hamas' military wing and Islamist Jihad both claimed responsibilty for missiles launched into the bordering Israeli town of Sderot. The missiles inflict no damage. Both factions claimed that Israel had not withdrawn all its forces from Gaza though the IDF claims otherwise. Israel killed a palestinian militant today and a 55-year-old woman.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-truce27nov27,0,698255.story?track=tottext
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6187282.stm
REGIONAL:
Trying to bring in it's neighbours to help quell the violence in Iraq, Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani, visits Iran.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6188348.stm
Yesterday King Abdullah of Jordan claimed that the Middle East is facing three prospective civil wars: one in Lebanon, one in Iraq and one in the Palestinian territories.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6186624.stm
The king makes these comments ahead of Pres. Bush's visit in Amman where he will meet with the king and Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister of Iraq. King Abdullah also claims that the situation in Palestine is the pivotal point in the Middle East and remains the heart of the conflict in Iraq and Lebanon. However, many believe that Lebanon's conflict is due to an unfair balance of power between the sects.
AFGHANISTAN
Washington Post has an interesting article on NATO's post-reconstruction and stability efforts in Afghanistan. Afgani Fazel Mahmad says something interesting (on the second page) about how the Taleban is split into two: the local Taleban and al-Qaeda trained. The latter apparently has norespect for locals and attacks them regularly.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/26/AR2006112600960_2.html
In response Hezbollah and Amal announced that they will protest in a peaceful way and may even request Shi'ite government officials and unions to strike until a national unity government is agreed upon. Also, the parties threatened to call on their 57 MPs to resign. The parliament has 128 MPs and this resignation would topple the government by triggering by-elections. They also failed to set a date for the street protests, but said it wil happen by surprise.
http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/newsdesk.nsf/Lebanon/385CCADEB3CCB4F9C225723300214A24?OpenDocument
The Speaker of the Parliament, Nabih Berri from the Amal party, announced that he renders void the cabinet's approval of the international tribunal as any cabinet meetings that take place without all sect being represented are unconstitutional. In cabinet meetings all sect must be present for the meeting to be legal. As all Shi'ite ministers have resigned, the sect is not represented.
http://dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=77187
Also, the Maronite patriarch, Sfeir, (who represents the largest Christian sect, Maronites) held a meeting with top Christian leaders. He lamented the ploitical rifts among the Chrisitan population. Aoun, a Hezbollah ally who is also calling for a national unity government, represents most Christians but is also at odds with the Lebanese Forces party (lead by Geagea) and the Kataeb (also known as the Phalange, who was lead by Pierre Gemayel who was assassinated last Tuesday). Geagea and Gemayel oppose Hezbollah and are allied to the March 14 coaltion of parties (which also includes the Future Movement lead by Hariri).
http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/newsdesk.nsf/Lebanon/C4367FB67FD3969CC2257233002ED686?OpenDocument
Also, the UN Human Rights Commission just released a report claiming that during this past summer's war, Israel bombed Lebanese infrastructure for 'destruction's sake.' The report claims that Israel used the assertion that infrastructure could be used by Hezbollah as somewhat of a scapegoat to indiscrimnately bomb Lebanon. The report denies that Hezbollah used civilians as human shields BUT does allege that Hezbollah did use UNIFIL (UN Interim Forces in Lebanon) and Observer Group Lebanon posts as shields to launch attacks into Israel.
The report can be found here: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/
Naharnet's article on the report:
http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/newsdesk.nsf/Lebanon/4D6137065110D8BBC225723300399FA3?OpenDocument
Reuter's article (Nov. 20) about the UN commission's observation's of Israel's conduct in Lebanon:
http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=L21788660
PALESTINE/ISRAEL:
Israeli PM Ehud Olmert claims he's ready for a prisoner exchange to recover corporal Gilad Shalit seized in June by Palestinian militants, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The exchange is part of a move towards peace agreements on both sides. A cease-fire is encompassed in the agreement.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/793168.html
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-11-27T142647Z_01_L23458912_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST.xml&src=112706_0953_TOPSTORY_israel_ready_for_swap
The cease-fire that was agreed upon by Palestinian militants and Israel has been violated in Gaza. Hamas' military wing and Islamist Jihad both claimed responsibilty for missiles launched into the bordering Israeli town of Sderot. The missiles inflict no damage. Both factions claimed that Israel had not withdrawn all its forces from Gaza though the IDF claims otherwise. Israel killed a palestinian militant today and a 55-year-old woman.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-truce27nov27,0,698255.story?track=tottext
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6187282.stm
REGIONAL:
Trying to bring in it's neighbours to help quell the violence in Iraq, Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani, visits Iran.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6188348.stm
Yesterday King Abdullah of Jordan claimed that the Middle East is facing three prospective civil wars: one in Lebanon, one in Iraq and one in the Palestinian territories.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6186624.stm
The king makes these comments ahead of Pres. Bush's visit in Amman where he will meet with the king and Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister of Iraq. King Abdullah also claims that the situation in Palestine is the pivotal point in the Middle East and remains the heart of the conflict in Iraq and Lebanon. However, many believe that Lebanon's conflict is due to an unfair balance of power between the sects.
AFGHANISTAN
Washington Post has an interesting article on NATO's post-reconstruction and stability efforts in Afghanistan. Afgani Fazel Mahmad says something interesting (on the second page) about how the Taleban is split into two: the local Taleban and al-Qaeda trained. The latter apparently has norespect for locals and attacks them regularly.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/26/AR2006112600960_2.html
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Conditions not right for civil war-Kamal Salibi
So my family went to pay their respects to The Gemayel's again. They went together, my Dad' brother and his wife, his sister and her son, and his other sister. Kamal Salibi also joined them. Salibi is a prominent Lebanese historian who wrote numerous books analyzing the civil war as well as other middle easter issues. Salibi said that the conditions here are night ripe for a civil war. In the lead up to the 1975-90 civil war, Christians wanted an independent Lebanon (among other things, but as a central tenet), Muslims wanted to do away with a Lebanese state and join a grater Arabia. On top of this, the Russians were arming the Palestinians as well as the Lebanese Communist Party and Ba'athist parties both which had a strong Shi'ite following, the Sunnis were using the Palestinians as their army and the Christians recieved their arms from the west and eventually Israel.
But now, the only sect with arms is Hezbollah, so how can there be a civil war?
Now all sects believe in an independent Lebanon, so there is no fight over that notion. But is Hezbollah a little too close to Iran to really look out for Lebanon's best interests?What do you think?
Also, updates for today. Prime minister Siniora decided not to hold a cabinet meeting today, which would have been unconstitutional since all the Shi'ite MPs resigned and the sect is not represented. He decided to appeal for the resigned MPs to rejoin cabinet:
From Naharnet.com
http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&08B60D66F597A178C2257231002C8360
And, Berri and Nasrallah just announced their support of the International tribunal to try those that are suspected in the Feb. 14, 2005 assassination of fromer PM Rafik Hariri. The related artcle's link isn't copying so I can't paste it here. Just click on the above link and look at the box to the right of the article, which lists other available articles. Click on the one "Nasrallah, Berri Support Tribunal, Renew Threats of Protests."
But now, the only sect with arms is Hezbollah, so how can there be a civil war?
Now all sects believe in an independent Lebanon, so there is no fight over that notion. But is Hezbollah a little too close to Iran to really look out for Lebanon's best interests?What do you think?
Also, updates for today. Prime minister Siniora decided not to hold a cabinet meeting today, which would have been unconstitutional since all the Shi'ite MPs resigned and the sect is not represented. He decided to appeal for the resigned MPs to rejoin cabinet:
From Naharnet.com
http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&08B60D66F597A178C2257231002C8360
And, Berri and Nasrallah just announced their support of the International tribunal to try those that are suspected in the Feb. 14, 2005 assassination of fromer PM Rafik Hariri. The related artcle's link isn't copying so I can't paste it here. Just click on the above link and look at the box to the right of the article, which lists other available articles. Click on the one "Nasrallah, Berri Support Tribunal, Renew Threats of Protests."
Big day in the Middle Beast
Hezbollah is now considering the ME to be the MB--Middle Beast.
BAHRAIN:
Another interesting development is the elections in Bahrain which reflects what's happening in Lebanon right now--Shi'ites demanding more power in a government that treats them as a minority when they are a majority. Bahrani Shi'ites comprise 60% of the population. The al-Khalifi monarchy is Sunni and the king appoints the upper-house of parliament, which has all the legislative control. Today elections are being held for the lower house, which is more symbolic than productive. The upper house is full of Sunni legislators and due to the demography, the lower house if filled with Shi'ites. Salah al-Bandar, a government advisor, wrote a report in September detailing the government's plans to taper with electronic voting, naturalize Sunni immigrants, pay Shi'ites to convert to Sunni-Islam and the government dished out $2.5 million dollars to implement its plans, in a country where rampant, especially among Shi'ites as Sunnis are favoured for government jobs and many businesses are Sunni-run.
Article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/24/AR2006112401292.html?nav=hcmodule
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/25/world/middleeast/25bahrain.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin
IRAQ:
With over 200 killings by Sunni militias of Shi'ites in Sadr city, reatliatory strikes were bound to happen. Moutqtada Sadr, who controls the Mahdi army and is a prominent politician in P.M. Nouri Maliki's government, is warning Maliki not to meet Bush next week in talks to take place in Amman. Also, Sadr is threatening to pull out of the Iraqi government, which would cirpple a weak government. Bush is pressuring Maliki to crack down on Shi'ite militias, but if Maliki does so, the government will crack. Not only does Sadr have one of the biggest militas, but the Finance Minister, Bayan Jabr does too. Jabr--who up until May 2006 was interior minister and then was appointed as minister of finance--often employed Shi'ites in the force and uses them as death squads. This is why all these reports are surfacing of the Iraqi police force killing innocent Sunnis, who at first trusted the state employees, but have learnt to do otherwise. Harper's Magazine, in a report that detailed Jabr's role, even calls him the 'Minister of Civil War,' (article below).
Update on current violence and Sadr's demands:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/24/AR2006112401317.html?referrer=email
Information from a Harper articel back in July about Shi'ite death squads and Jabr's bllod-stained, corrupt hands that were strengthened through Paul Bremer, the leader of the Coalition Authority Provisional Government.
http://www.harpers.org/the-minister-of-civil-war-399309.html
I find that newspapers, especially American, have been honest to their readers. Iraq is in a civil war, and many generals, reporters and analysts believe so as well. The Harper's article above proves that the internal conflict is a civil war, especially when the Washington Post reports:
"In a major shift, much of the recent violence has come from militias linked to parties in Iraq's government and from death squads with ties to government agencies. The trend is important because a common benchmark in the slide from strife to civil war is the government falling apart and factions within it fighting each other.
cowardice journalism."--http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/24/AR2006112400203.html?nav=hcmoduletmv
Yet Jabr's involvement with the death squads has gone way back. So why can't we call it like it is and say there's a civil war in Iraq? And like Lebanon in its 1975-90 civil war, there are regional powers fighting proxy wars on Iraqi land.
SAUDI/AMERICA:
American Vice President Dick Cheney visits Saudi Arabia today. He hopes to convince the monarchy to play a bigger role in quelling Iraqi violence through their ties to the Sunni population. This shows a significant change in U.S. foreign policy--instead of America forming alliances with European powers to fix the situation in the Middle East, it now is seeking the advice of the corrupt dictactorial Arab regimes it supports.
From Reuters:
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2006-11-25T125639Z_01_N24372732_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-MIDEAST-USA.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsHome-C3-politicsNews-2
BAHRAIN:
Another interesting development is the elections in Bahrain which reflects what's happening in Lebanon right now--Shi'ites demanding more power in a government that treats them as a minority when they are a majority. Bahrani Shi'ites comprise 60% of the population. The al-Khalifi monarchy is Sunni and the king appoints the upper-house of parliament, which has all the legislative control. Today elections are being held for the lower house, which is more symbolic than productive. The upper house is full of Sunni legislators and due to the demography, the lower house if filled with Shi'ites. Salah al-Bandar, a government advisor, wrote a report in September detailing the government's plans to taper with electronic voting, naturalize Sunni immigrants, pay Shi'ites to convert to Sunni-Islam and the government dished out $2.5 million dollars to implement its plans, in a country where rampant, especially among Shi'ites as Sunnis are favoured for government jobs and many businesses are Sunni-run.
Article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/24/AR2006112401292.html?nav=hcmodule
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/25/world/middleeast/25bahrain.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin
IRAQ:
With over 200 killings by Sunni militias of Shi'ites in Sadr city, reatliatory strikes were bound to happen. Moutqtada Sadr, who controls the Mahdi army and is a prominent politician in P.M. Nouri Maliki's government, is warning Maliki not to meet Bush next week in talks to take place in Amman. Also, Sadr is threatening to pull out of the Iraqi government, which would cirpple a weak government. Bush is pressuring Maliki to crack down on Shi'ite militias, but if Maliki does so, the government will crack. Not only does Sadr have one of the biggest militas, but the Finance Minister, Bayan Jabr does too. Jabr--who up until May 2006 was interior minister and then was appointed as minister of finance--often employed Shi'ites in the force and uses them as death squads. This is why all these reports are surfacing of the Iraqi police force killing innocent Sunnis, who at first trusted the state employees, but have learnt to do otherwise. Harper's Magazine, in a report that detailed Jabr's role, even calls him the 'Minister of Civil War,' (article below).
Update on current violence and Sadr's demands:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/24/AR2006112401317.html?referrer=email
Information from a Harper articel back in July about Shi'ite death squads and Jabr's bllod-stained, corrupt hands that were strengthened through Paul Bremer, the leader of the Coalition Authority Provisional Government.
http://www.harpers.org/the-minister-of-civil-war-399309.html
I find that newspapers, especially American, have been honest to their readers. Iraq is in a civil war, and many generals, reporters and analysts believe so as well. The Harper's article above proves that the internal conflict is a civil war, especially when the Washington Post reports:
"In a major shift, much of the recent violence has come from militias linked to parties in Iraq's government and from death squads with ties to government agencies. The trend is important because a common benchmark in the slide from strife to civil war is the government falling apart and factions within it fighting each other.
cowardice journalism."--http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/24/AR2006112400203.html?nav=hcmoduletmv
Yet Jabr's involvement with the death squads has gone way back. So why can't we call it like it is and say there's a civil war in Iraq? And like Lebanon in its 1975-90 civil war, there are regional powers fighting proxy wars on Iraqi land.
SAUDI/AMERICA:
American Vice President Dick Cheney visits Saudi Arabia today. He hopes to convince the monarchy to play a bigger role in quelling Iraqi violence through their ties to the Sunni population. This shows a significant change in U.S. foreign policy--instead of America forming alliances with European powers to fix the situation in the Middle East, it now is seeking the advice of the corrupt dictactorial Arab regimes it supports.
From Reuters:
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2006-11-25T125639Z_01_N24372732_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-MIDEAST-USA.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsHome-C3-politicsNews-2
Silencers mailed to the U.S. embassy before Gemayel's death
So, with my ear on the ground (well, with Hicham's help), I recovered an interesting tid-bit of information.
A couple of weeks ago, gun silencers were intercepted in the Lebanese airport. They were headed to the American embassy.
Around the same time, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, intalks with Rice, announced that a Lebanese minister would be assassinated. And then, Pierre Gemayel dies with a silencer.
This was reported by Al-Akhbar. It's in Arabic, but you can get someone to translate?
http://al-akhbar.com/ar/node/9994
http://al-akhbar.com/ar/node/10000
I like to keep my options open. Of course no one did it, but there are so many interesting coincidences that are surrounding this death.
Also, who knows? During Clinton's era, Clinton ordered the CIA declassified information from the past forty years, much of it revelaing Regan's support of bloody regimes through U.S.-backed coups of democratic governments. And we found that the CIA has taken out Salvador Allende, the democratically elected leader of Chile, replaced him with Pinochet, took out democratically elected Pres. Arbenz to install a ruthless regime that served American banana companies interests, were involved with Nicaragua's sadinistas, and the Iran-contra scandal? Oh how the U.S. still reveres the Regan years though. And they still hail him as one of the best U.S. presidents ever, yet he was involed with all the above scandals except the one in Guatemala (which happened in 1953). U.S.-caused, hush-hush bloodshed, scandals and assassinations have happened in the past, so why not now, in Lebanon?
Links to U.S. scandals mentioned above. Remember that these sources stem from information that the CIA declassified. If they were untrue, they'd be taken off the net for libel or never would have been published as a book:
Installing Pinochet:
From George Washinton Univ. :
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20000919/
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB8/nsaebb8.htm
Guatemala: http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Guatemala_KH.html
http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/34.1/streeter.html
A couple of weeks ago, gun silencers were intercepted in the Lebanese airport. They were headed to the American embassy.
Around the same time, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, intalks with Rice, announced that a Lebanese minister would be assassinated. And then, Pierre Gemayel dies with a silencer.
This was reported by Al-Akhbar. It's in Arabic, but you can get someone to translate?
http://al-akhbar.com/ar/node/9994
http://al-akhbar.com/ar/node/10000
I like to keep my options open. Of course no one did it, but there are so many interesting coincidences that are surrounding this death.
Also, who knows? During Clinton's era, Clinton ordered the CIA declassified information from the past forty years, much of it revelaing Regan's support of bloody regimes through U.S.-backed coups of democratic governments. And we found that the CIA has taken out Salvador Allende, the democratically elected leader of Chile, replaced him with Pinochet, took out democratically elected Pres. Arbenz to install a ruthless regime that served American banana companies interests, were involved with Nicaragua's sadinistas, and the Iran-contra scandal? Oh how the U.S. still reveres the Regan years though. And they still hail him as one of the best U.S. presidents ever, yet he was involed with all the above scandals except the one in Guatemala (which happened in 1953). U.S.-caused, hush-hush bloodshed, scandals and assassinations have happened in the past, so why not now, in Lebanon?
Links to U.S. scandals mentioned above. Remember that these sources stem from information that the CIA declassified. If they were untrue, they'd be taken off the net for libel or never would have been published as a book:
Installing Pinochet:
From George Washinton Univ. :
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20000919/
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB8/nsaebb8.htm
Guatemala: http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Guatemala_KH.html
http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/34.1/streeter.html
Interesting devlopments
Interior Minister Hassan Sabaa, who resigned nine months ago, has decided to resume his position. This is a definite boost for Siniora's cabinet, which is down to 17 ministers from 24. Sabaa decided that due to the volatile political situation he's resume his duties. Only one more minister needs to resign or be assassinated for the government to fall. With Sabaa's inclusion inthe cabinet, now two more ministers need to be knocked-off. Sabaa resigned after bloody riots that took place concerning the Dutch cartoon that mocked the prophet Mohammed.
Odd thins is that this country is in an extremely precariou political situation and we've had no Interior Minister for the past 9-months, after the many assassinations that took place? That's extremely odd.
The article:
http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&A3F1CADD0E35E0DDC22572300029C59B
In other news, clashes are breaking out between the supporters of Hezbollah and Hariri (Future movement).
http://dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=77131
The streets are politically charged and really anything can spark another war. Not everyone in Lebanon has the benefits of education so they can't see that actions such as bashing a politican or sect is really not the most ideal action at this precarious moment. Especially when Hezbollah and Aoun announced that they will start protesting maybe as early as the begining of this week. They are protesting for a national unity government:
http://dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=77158
This is laughable:
http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&A3F1CADD0E35E0DDC22572300029C59B
I mean c'mon! Businesses closing for two days because they're protesting the assassinations, a push for the international tribunal (to nail hariri's assassins) and civil protests that are deteriorating the economy? Sound counter-productive.
Odd thins is that this country is in an extremely precariou political situation and we've had no Interior Minister for the past 9-months, after the many assassinations that took place? That's extremely odd.
The article:
http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&A3F1CADD0E35E0DDC22572300029C59B
In other news, clashes are breaking out between the supporters of Hezbollah and Hariri (Future movement).
http://dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=77131
The streets are politically charged and really anything can spark another war. Not everyone in Lebanon has the benefits of education so they can't see that actions such as bashing a politican or sect is really not the most ideal action at this precarious moment. Especially when Hezbollah and Aoun announced that they will start protesting maybe as early as the begining of this week. They are protesting for a national unity government:
http://dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=77158
This is laughable:
http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&A3F1CADD0E35E0DDC22572300029C59B
I mean c'mon! Businesses closing for two days because they're protesting the assassinations, a push for the international tribunal (to nail hariri's assassins) and civil protests that are deteriorating the economy? Sound counter-productive.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Always looking at the past and expecting Allah to fix the present
One thing I've noted about Lebanon, both when I lived here in my adolescence and now with my move back is that Lebanese always lament the 'what Lebanon used to be like.' Bygone are the days in the early 70s before the war, where the country was beautiful, everything functioned and sectarianism was absent. Well, maybe sectarianism is stronger today but people seemed to still identify with the differences in their mindset as unique to their sect. Then, there was a strong middle class and stronger secular parties, like the Lebanese Communist Party, which served as a conduit for secular-minded people. However, according to foreigners who visited Lebanon in this 'golden-age' the country looked the same and functioned quite similarly. If we keep lamenting the past, how shall we move forward?
Another thing is that many, not all, Lebanese sum up the country's problems with this catch-all phrase: "this country is cursed." Tayeb, tell me, how are we to fix the country if it's cursed? This is throwing in the towel, saying the problems are not in your hands. It's a really cheap way out of trying to seek change on an individual level.
We need to stop looking back, leave Allah at home, and find a way, through a consensus, to fix this country.
Which brings me to another point: the Shi'ites. Honestly, the way that this country has dealt with the Shi'ites is shameful. Since Lebanon fully claimed it's independence in 1943, we built up the country's infrastructure and institutions, but forgot about the South--where most of the Shi'ites come from. Shi'ites are traditionally poor farmers, who at the time of independence, were a minority. Lacking much clout, the government brushed them aside, leaving the south without proper plumbing, electricity, schools, hospitals...And yet we wonder why these people are bitter? We wonder why they support Hezbollah in overwhelming numbers---the party who built infrastructure for them and gave them proper services? The Lebanese Communist Party (LCP) was the main provider of services to these and other sects' poor, unacknowledged areas. But with the civil war of 1975-1990, sectarianism rose and the LCP's membership fell.
To this day things have not gotten better with regards to including Shi'ites into this country and government. I've been to the bekaa valley and the south, two Shi'ite stroongholds. Many of the Shi'ite towns that have been littered with cluster bombs have not been cleaned up. Roads and houses that were destroyed have mostly been repaired by Hezbollah. Many villagers told me they hadn't even see a Lebanese official visit since the fighting ended on August 14. You may say: "why should these Hezbollah supporters
My friend Ahmed, a Sunni, made a good point: "The Sunnis, Druze and Christians leave this country, they go aborad for education and jobs. The Shi'ites are the only ones that stay." So in a way, these are Lebanon's most dutiful citizens, but they are forming a state within a state which contrasts this notion. If we made attempts to include them in the government without shunning their ways and politics, they'd have less of an incentive to form this micro-state. They'd have to play by the rules of the game.
And now, the unity talks:
Well, all things considered, the Shi'ites are the biggest sect in Lebanon at the moment. I don't think people would say otherwise. Fine, the Sunnis, Druze and Christians combined form a larger bloc but it's an alliance of conveinience. And a weak one a that: anti-syrian bloc. As far as party ideologies go, there's apparent differences.
To keep ignoring Shi'ite demands they way we have and catering to more influential sects' needs only serves to further Shi'ites feelings that they are disenfranchised and need to look out for their own. Unfortunately, the way this constiution is formed, is several parties are competing in elections in one area, whichever party recieves 51% of the vote, when's the sates for that area. So this forces people who want to sit in parliament to run with the bigger parties, and in the south and Bekaa, this is Hezbollah.
I don't want a religious state. But we need to break down confessionalism, cater to everyone's needs, not just the rich, and establish a working constitution so we can get this country going. Sometimes things need to get a little worse before they can get better.
Another thing is that many, not all, Lebanese sum up the country's problems with this catch-all phrase: "this country is cursed." Tayeb, tell me, how are we to fix the country if it's cursed? This is throwing in the towel, saying the problems are not in your hands. It's a really cheap way out of trying to seek change on an individual level.
We need to stop looking back, leave Allah at home, and find a way, through a consensus, to fix this country.
Which brings me to another point: the Shi'ites. Honestly, the way that this country has dealt with the Shi'ites is shameful. Since Lebanon fully claimed it's independence in 1943, we built up the country's infrastructure and institutions, but forgot about the South--where most of the Shi'ites come from. Shi'ites are traditionally poor farmers, who at the time of independence, were a minority. Lacking much clout, the government brushed them aside, leaving the south without proper plumbing, electricity, schools, hospitals...And yet we wonder why these people are bitter? We wonder why they support Hezbollah in overwhelming numbers---the party who built infrastructure for them and gave them proper services? The Lebanese Communist Party (LCP) was the main provider of services to these and other sects' poor, unacknowledged areas. But with the civil war of 1975-1990, sectarianism rose and the LCP's membership fell.
To this day things have not gotten better with regards to including Shi'ites into this country and government. I've been to the bekaa valley and the south, two Shi'ite stroongholds. Many of the Shi'ite towns that have been littered with cluster bombs have not been cleaned up. Roads and houses that were destroyed have mostly been repaired by Hezbollah. Many villagers told me they hadn't even see a Lebanese official visit since the fighting ended on August 14. You may say: "why should these Hezbollah supporters
My friend Ahmed, a Sunni, made a good point: "The Sunnis, Druze and Christians leave this country, they go aborad for education and jobs. The Shi'ites are the only ones that stay." So in a way, these are Lebanon's most dutiful citizens, but they are forming a state within a state which contrasts this notion. If we made attempts to include them in the government without shunning their ways and politics, they'd have less of an incentive to form this micro-state. They'd have to play by the rules of the game.
And now, the unity talks:
Well, all things considered, the Shi'ites are the biggest sect in Lebanon at the moment. I don't think people would say otherwise. Fine, the Sunnis, Druze and Christians combined form a larger bloc but it's an alliance of conveinience. And a weak one a that: anti-syrian bloc. As far as party ideologies go, there's apparent differences.
To keep ignoring Shi'ite demands they way we have and catering to more influential sects' needs only serves to further Shi'ites feelings that they are disenfranchised and need to look out for their own. Unfortunately, the way this constiution is formed, is several parties are competing in elections in one area, whichever party recieves 51% of the vote, when's the sates for that area. So this forces people who want to sit in parliament to run with the bigger parties, and in the south and Bekaa, this is Hezbollah.
I don't want a religious state. But we need to break down confessionalism, cater to everyone's needs, not just the rich, and establish a working constitution so we can get this country going. Sometimes things need to get a little worse before they can get better.
Today's protest and funeral for Pierre Gemayel
First off, I'd like to announce that I added a new segment to the Conspiracy post, below. I've added another reason why Aoun and Hezbollah may have done it.
Today was the funeral for Gemayel (Wednesday was the mourning). Afterwards there was a big protest at Martyr's square. There were maybe 10-20,000 people there, tops (and that's generous). 'Official' statistics said hundreds of thousands attended. I've been to many a protest, and I'd say that's an extremely stretched number. Other people in attendance felt similary.
First, let me get this out of the way: I attended the protest because I want to know how people feel about the political situation here. Second, I was there to protest the death of an innocent, regardless of political allegiance.
I went down to the protest with three other women, all middle-aged. Two from England and one from France. One, who shall be named something snazzy like Jamila, is a supporter of March 14. This is fine by my standards because I don't support anyone.
Anywho, Jamila and I got to talking. I figured that because she's from England, she'd be more open-minded and willing to talk to me as someone who likes to play the devil's advocate. I asked her her thoughts on why she supports March 14 and who she thought carried out the assasination. Then I asked her about our constitution and the national unity government.**explained below***
What should we do with it? She says that the constitution should not change and that there should be no national unity government. So I ask her why? Doesn't she think the constitution is terribly flawed and outdated? No, she replies. I then sked about the national unity government--should one ber formed, in her opinion? No, she says. Hezbollah wants to take over and start an Islamic regime. They cause a lot of trouble--for instance this past summer's war with Israel. So I said "don't you think that maybe it'd be better to talk to Hezbollah and stop avoiding them (which is what our current government, which is comprised of the March 14 party, has done). Doesn't avoiding the Shi'ites only serve to further the sectarian rift and create more of a state-within-a-state, like Hezbollah has? Then, she went beserk. Turns out that living in England, a place with a stable civil society where people deliberate, not fight, over politics, hasn't served her well. She's a lot like the many Lebanese here--you aren't supporting us 100%, then you're an enemy. There's nothing to discuss (much like my last post).
Right there, in the middle of the Kataeb protestors that are waiving their Kataeb flags while we stand on pictures they burnt of Aoun and Nasrallah, she starts accusing me of being a Nasrallah supporter, very loudly. She's asking me if I want an Islamic state.
"Well, no, I am Christian, and not even religious."
"You want Nasrallah to make an Islamic state!"
I asked her to stop putting words in my mouth, I'd never said that. She stormed off after making another ad hominem attack.
This is what I fear for the country. You are not allowed to question why people believe what they believe if you are not concurring with their opinion. How are we to move forward if we cannot talk?
Anyway, the rest of the protest went a little oddly. I found that it was really divided. The Hariri supporters (Future movement) were in this area, chanting their slogans while the Geagea (Lebanese Forces) supporters retorted with theirs, also in a separate area. And the Kataeb were a bit more spread, but also with their crosses and flags.
Oh yes, good old confessionalism.
The speakers were pretty inciteful, saying things like "If [Syria] wants war, we'll give them war," Geagea said. Maybe not the best thing to belt out to several thousand people if you claim that you're trying to keep the country stable (since they are also pointing a finger to Hezbollah and Aoun by accusing Syria).
Also, in one predominately-Shi'ite town that used to be a Sunni stronghold, leftover Sunni residents tried to hang a picture of Saad Hariri, their leader, by a Nasrallah poster the Shi'ites put up. There were no clashes, but some serious tensions that were forcefully quelled when the army came in. So yes, sectarianism seems to be on the rise, rise rise.
***{I'll put this into context: our constitution is about 60 years old and was influenced by the then colonial power, France. It stipulates that each sect recieves national power according to their numbers. So, at the time of independence, Maronite-Christians were the majority, so they recieved the Presidency. Sunnis came next with the prime ministerialship. Third was Shi'ites who recieved the speaker of the house position. And it goes down accordingly (there are 18 different sects in Lebanon, a country that fits five times into America's smallest state, R.I.). So, 60 years later, our confessional constitution remains intact based on the same consensus we had in the 1930s (no one wants to do a new head count for fear of losing power or wriling up conflict) . Obviously the demagrophics have changed--Christians are a minority and it seems that Shi'ites are probably at 40% of the population whereas before they were the minority (they pop out a lot of babies). So there is discussion now about giving the Shi'ites a more proportionate percentage in the parliament, which would lead to national unity talks and perhaps the changing of our constitution (which is terribly flawed anyway, to every sects' disadvantage.}
Today was the funeral for Gemayel (Wednesday was the mourning). Afterwards there was a big protest at Martyr's square. There were maybe 10-20,000 people there, tops (and that's generous). 'Official' statistics said hundreds of thousands attended. I've been to many a protest, and I'd say that's an extremely stretched number. Other people in attendance felt similary.
First, let me get this out of the way: I attended the protest because I want to know how people feel about the political situation here. Second, I was there to protest the death of an innocent, regardless of political allegiance.
I went down to the protest with three other women, all middle-aged. Two from England and one from France. One, who shall be named something snazzy like Jamila, is a supporter of March 14. This is fine by my standards because I don't support anyone.
Anywho, Jamila and I got to talking. I figured that because she's from England, she'd be more open-minded and willing to talk to me as someone who likes to play the devil's advocate. I asked her her thoughts on why she supports March 14 and who she thought carried out the assasination. Then I asked her about our constitution and the national unity government.**explained below***
What should we do with it? She says that the constitution should not change and that there should be no national unity government. So I ask her why? Doesn't she think the constitution is terribly flawed and outdated? No, she replies. I then sked about the national unity government--should one ber formed, in her opinion? No, she says. Hezbollah wants to take over and start an Islamic regime. They cause a lot of trouble--for instance this past summer's war with Israel. So I said "don't you think that maybe it'd be better to talk to Hezbollah and stop avoiding them (which is what our current government, which is comprised of the March 14 party, has done). Doesn't avoiding the Shi'ites only serve to further the sectarian rift and create more of a state-within-a-state, like Hezbollah has? Then, she went beserk. Turns out that living in England, a place with a stable civil society where people deliberate, not fight, over politics, hasn't served her well. She's a lot like the many Lebanese here--you aren't supporting us 100%, then you're an enemy. There's nothing to discuss (much like my last post).
Right there, in the middle of the Kataeb protestors that are waiving their Kataeb flags while we stand on pictures they burnt of Aoun and Nasrallah, she starts accusing me of being a Nasrallah supporter, very loudly. She's asking me if I want an Islamic state.
"Well, no, I am Christian, and not even religious."
"You want Nasrallah to make an Islamic state!"
I asked her to stop putting words in my mouth, I'd never said that. She stormed off after making another ad hominem attack.
This is what I fear for the country. You are not allowed to question why people believe what they believe if you are not concurring with their opinion. How are we to move forward if we cannot talk?
Anyway, the rest of the protest went a little oddly. I found that it was really divided. The Hariri supporters (Future movement) were in this area, chanting their slogans while the Geagea (Lebanese Forces) supporters retorted with theirs, also in a separate area. And the Kataeb were a bit more spread, but also with their crosses and flags.
Oh yes, good old confessionalism.
The speakers were pretty inciteful, saying things like "If [Syria] wants war, we'll give them war," Geagea said. Maybe not the best thing to belt out to several thousand people if you claim that you're trying to keep the country stable (since they are also pointing a finger to Hezbollah and Aoun by accusing Syria).
Also, in one predominately-Shi'ite town that used to be a Sunni stronghold, leftover Sunni residents tried to hang a picture of Saad Hariri, their leader, by a Nasrallah poster the Shi'ites put up. There were no clashes, but some serious tensions that were forcefully quelled when the army came in. So yes, sectarianism seems to be on the rise, rise rise.
***{I'll put this into context: our constitution is about 60 years old and was influenced by the then colonial power, France. It stipulates that each sect recieves national power according to their numbers. So, at the time of independence, Maronite-Christians were the majority, so they recieved the Presidency. Sunnis came next with the prime ministerialship. Third was Shi'ites who recieved the speaker of the house position. And it goes down accordingly (there are 18 different sects in Lebanon, a country that fits five times into America's smallest state, R.I.). So, 60 years later, our confessional constitution remains intact based on the same consensus we had in the 1930s (no one wants to do a new head count for fear of losing power or wriling up conflict) . Obviously the demagrophics have changed--Christians are a minority and it seems that Shi'ites are probably at 40% of the population whereas before they were the minority (they pop out a lot of babies). So there is discussion now about giving the Shi'ites a more proportionate percentage in the parliament, which would lead to national unity talks and perhaps the changing of our constitution (which is terribly flawed anyway, to every sects' disadvantage.}
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Attending Pierre Gemayel's funeral
The Gemayels and my family go way back. My grandfather and Pierre senior (founder of the Kataeb) were good friends, and I've met Amin many a time. My dad remembers going to play with Amin when he was a kid. Today I went to visit the Gemayels for the first time.
Up we went to the village of Bikfaya, the home of the Gemayels. As soon as we drove past the town centre, Ketaeb flags were everywhere, as were pictures of Pierre. We parked our car and walked to the house. We passed the Kataeb headquarters, where a woman singing melancholily pierced through the speakers. Young Kataeb-supporting prebuscent teens and adolescents stood looking down on us from the balcony, tears welling up in their eyes. We passed by kataeb supporters, one group of many walking to the house.
Many atendees were genuinely sad by the loss. Not only was he their community leader, but this country has been ravaged by too much war. It clouds your brain, all these funerals of rising stars that are lost before they shine.
But many of the young-ones' faces expressed every form of saddness, but it looked like a disattached sorrow.
It hit me: how can these kids be so sad? Have they ever picked up a paper? Many are too young. Knowing how things go in Lebanon--that everyone follows the same political family for decades only because their great grandfathers were once good friends or they were invited to a dinner long ago--I knew that more than anything these children had been told to revere the Gemayels. The Gemayels were a good family and that was enough, no need for discussion. These children only see the Gemayel's as a step below God, the way their families indoctrinated them from such a young age. More than anything, these kids were expressing their sadness because it was socially outlaw to do otherwise, to question "why should I politically support the Gmayels?"
And this is the problem with Lebanon. It doesn't stop with the Gemayels. In fact, they're one of the newest families on the bloc (with the exception of the Hariris). Jumblatt's family has been in power for a hundred and fifty or more years. Are they really there based on merit?
The Gemayels' are smart people. They know that you should think independently and not blindly follow.
But the way politics works here many tend to blindly follow (and this relates to all sects). Many followers tend to be blind in their support, as most members are members as their grandfathers' supported the party and their fathers. How to be the black sheep?
One political issue we need to address is Hezbollah. Hezbollah has about 40% of the nation's support. To continue to avoid them only serves to force the Shi'ites to make a state within a state. After all, the government from Lebanon's independence until today avoided these poor people from the south, catalyzing Hezbollah's state within a state as they were one of the first forces to provide infrastructure to poor Shi'ites. Though I believe armed militas are scary, I think it's better to negotiate than to sweep the problem under the rug. It will eventually accumulate, tripping you as you try to walk past.
Up we went to the village of Bikfaya, the home of the Gemayels. As soon as we drove past the town centre, Ketaeb flags were everywhere, as were pictures of Pierre. We parked our car and walked to the house. We passed the Kataeb headquarters, where a woman singing melancholily pierced through the speakers. Young Kataeb-supporting prebuscent teens and adolescents stood looking down on us from the balcony, tears welling up in their eyes. We passed by kataeb supporters, one group of many walking to the house.
Many atendees were genuinely sad by the loss. Not only was he their community leader, but this country has been ravaged by too much war. It clouds your brain, all these funerals of rising stars that are lost before they shine.
But many of the young-ones' faces expressed every form of saddness, but it looked like a disattached sorrow.
It hit me: how can these kids be so sad? Have they ever picked up a paper? Many are too young. Knowing how things go in Lebanon--that everyone follows the same political family for decades only because their great grandfathers were once good friends or they were invited to a dinner long ago--I knew that more than anything these children had been told to revere the Gemayels. The Gemayels were a good family and that was enough, no need for discussion. These children only see the Gemayel's as a step below God, the way their families indoctrinated them from such a young age. More than anything, these kids were expressing their sadness because it was socially outlaw to do otherwise, to question "why should I politically support the Gmayels?"
And this is the problem with Lebanon. It doesn't stop with the Gemayels. In fact, they're one of the newest families on the bloc (with the exception of the Hariris). Jumblatt's family has been in power for a hundred and fifty or more years. Are they really there based on merit?
The Gemayels' are smart people. They know that you should think independently and not blindly follow.
But the way politics works here many tend to blindly follow (and this relates to all sects). Many followers tend to be blind in their support, as most members are members as their grandfathers' supported the party and their fathers. How to be the black sheep?
One political issue we need to address is Hezbollah. Hezbollah has about 40% of the nation's support. To continue to avoid them only serves to force the Shi'ites to make a state within a state. After all, the government from Lebanon's independence until today avoided these poor people from the south, catalyzing Hezbollah's state within a state as they were one of the first forces to provide infrastructure to poor Shi'ites. Though I believe armed militas are scary, I think it's better to negotiate than to sweep the problem under the rug. It will eventually accumulate, tripping you as you try to walk past.
And the Gemayel conspiracies set in
As good Lebanese, ever person is now constructing their conspiracy theories around the Pierre Gemayel death. Here are some I've heard:
AMERICA DID IT: The U.S. decided to get rid of Pierre Gemayel to put further pit Lebanon against Syria, forcing Syria into the international spotlight pressuring it to clean up its ways. Benefits: possibly more cooperation in Iraq? This theory, as I heard it, didn't seem to have much of a backbone. (If anyone had a anything to add to this conspiracy, and any others, let me know)
SYRIA DID IT: This is popular with the March 14 forces because it also implies that Hezbollah/Aoun colluded, in the 'guilty by association' sense for the former's support of Syria and the latter's willing to work with Hezbollah. The Kaetaeb has been a traditional Syrian foe and one of the first to unwaveringly call for Syrian withdrawal. Why not get rid of their greatest foe? Also strikes a blow to Christian powers as they were the only faction to demand from the begining of Lebanon's inception to the present-day, that Syria must let Lebanon achieve its full independence (though Syria didn't occupy Lebanon till 1976, they were always meddling in it's business before). See 'Aoun/Hezbollah did it' (below) for another reason why Syria may have done it.
AOUN/HEZBOLLAH DID IT: By assasinating Pierre and attempting to assasinate Michel Pharoun the government would fall. Pharoun is a protestant minister who was also targeted in a failed assasination attempt that day. The government would fall for lack of ministers to legally run it. Due to the 3 hezbollah, 2 Amal and the one Christian minister (a Syrian ally) that resigned, if two more ministers either resigned or are assassinated, the government would not have enough ministers to continue to function (according to the constitution). This would lead to elections and possibly augment Hezbollah and Aoun power in the government.
ISRAEL DID IT: I've heard it said, but I haven't heard why.
MARCH 14 FORCES DID IT: Why eliminate one of their own? This one gets complicated and needs some major explanation. Gemayel was 'the weakest link' and the Kaetaeb is the weakest party of the major three Christian factions (which go, in order of most support: Aoun, Geagea and Gemayels. Aoun for the Free Patriotic Movement, Geagea, the Lebanese Forces and Gemayel's the Kaetaeb party). The incentive to kill Pierre is:
a) Hezbollah was going to go out and demonstrate in the streets on Thursday, to demand a third of parliament's cabinet seats, which would give them veto power. The March 14 forces said, "no, let's have the vote on the international tribunal first, then you'll get your third.' The international tribunal refers to the Hariri killings-- Syria is most suspect in the slaying of the former prime minister. The March 14 feared that if Hezbollah recieved veto power through their seat number boost, they'd veto the tribunal. Hezbollah refused this deal, and their three ministers resigned, then the Amal party, with two seats, followed suit. This left no representation of Shi'ites in cabinet, which makes it constitutionaly illegal to vote on legislation without all sects being represented. As March 14 only voted to approve the international tribunal after the Shi'ite ministers resigned, the decision is legally nixed. Now that Hezbollah cannot protest on Thursday (for respect for the Gemayel family and they'd be accused of inciting sectarian violence) they've affectively been neutralized. Hezbollah's ability to mobilize its population is feared, as they are the biggest party in Lebanon (though due to gerrymandering and not having a national consensus since the 1930's, it makes it seem otherwise). If Hezbollah mobilized on Thursday, the weak government (which is March 14 party) would have had to kowtow to such great pressure. This would be one reason to do away with Pierre, to stop the protests and ensure that Hezbollah doesn't get veto power.
b) Another reason is to push the international tribunal forward. The momentum for the international tribunal was dying. March 14 were the only ones vehmently pushing it. Pierre's death is a reason to start a renewed push to implement the tribunal. March 14 may use it by saying something like, "If we don't push for this tribunal, Hariri's killers will not be held accountable, which gives a greater incentive to slay other politicians. Pierre's death attests to this fact. A tribunal is needed to put an end to these deaths."
c) The Kataeb is a weak party. Aforementioned, it's the weakest of the big 3 christians factions. Pierre was also a weak politician, who was young and not a mover and a shaker. So March 14 decided to assassinate him because he was dispensable. Whomever assumes the reins of the kataeb party will not break with the March 14 party, so effectively, the party isn't losing much due to his death. This assertion is interesting because it does make you ask: why was Pierre, who was really one of the weakest of the March 14, assassinated? If someone, a country or a party, wanted to strike a blow to the March 14 forces, they would have targeted a bigger figure. If you don't agree with the assertion that Pierre was weak, ask yourself: why was he in a flimsy Kia car that had no bullet-proof glass and he only had two body guards? Other March 14 figures like Walid Jumblatt, Saad Hariri and Geagea all have sturdy cars that have bullet-proof glass and have an entourage of body guards. When they move around the city, a security convoy follows them. Why wasn't the same protection awarded to Pierre?
That's all the conspiracy theories I've heard. Want to add one? Write a comment. Either way, don't chew my head off--I'm not supporting any of these, I'm reporting what I've heard.
AMERICA DID IT: The U.S. decided to get rid of Pierre Gemayel to put further pit Lebanon against Syria, forcing Syria into the international spotlight pressuring it to clean up its ways. Benefits: possibly more cooperation in Iraq? This theory, as I heard it, didn't seem to have much of a backbone. (If anyone had a anything to add to this conspiracy, and any others, let me know)
SYRIA DID IT: This is popular with the March 14 forces because it also implies that Hezbollah/Aoun colluded, in the 'guilty by association' sense for the former's support of Syria and the latter's willing to work with Hezbollah. The Kaetaeb has been a traditional Syrian foe and one of the first to unwaveringly call for Syrian withdrawal. Why not get rid of their greatest foe? Also strikes a blow to Christian powers as they were the only faction to demand from the begining of Lebanon's inception to the present-day, that Syria must let Lebanon achieve its full independence (though Syria didn't occupy Lebanon till 1976, they were always meddling in it's business before). See 'Aoun/Hezbollah did it' (below) for another reason why Syria may have done it.
AOUN/HEZBOLLAH DID IT: By assasinating Pierre and attempting to assasinate Michel Pharoun the government would fall. Pharoun is a protestant minister who was also targeted in a failed assasination attempt that day. The government would fall for lack of ministers to legally run it. Due to the 3 hezbollah, 2 Amal and the one Christian minister (a Syrian ally) that resigned, if two more ministers either resigned or are assassinated, the government would not have enough ministers to continue to function (according to the constitution). This would lead to elections and possibly augment Hezbollah and Aoun power in the government.
ISRAEL DID IT: I've heard it said, but I haven't heard why.
MARCH 14 FORCES DID IT: Why eliminate one of their own? This one gets complicated and needs some major explanation. Gemayel was 'the weakest link' and the Kaetaeb is the weakest party of the major three Christian factions (which go, in order of most support: Aoun, Geagea and Gemayels. Aoun for the Free Patriotic Movement, Geagea, the Lebanese Forces and Gemayel's the Kaetaeb party). The incentive to kill Pierre is:
a) Hezbollah was going to go out and demonstrate in the streets on Thursday, to demand a third of parliament's cabinet seats, which would give them veto power. The March 14 forces said, "no, let's have the vote on the international tribunal first, then you'll get your third.' The international tribunal refers to the Hariri killings-- Syria is most suspect in the slaying of the former prime minister. The March 14 feared that if Hezbollah recieved veto power through their seat number boost, they'd veto the tribunal. Hezbollah refused this deal, and their three ministers resigned, then the Amal party, with two seats, followed suit. This left no representation of Shi'ites in cabinet, which makes it constitutionaly illegal to vote on legislation without all sects being represented. As March 14 only voted to approve the international tribunal after the Shi'ite ministers resigned, the decision is legally nixed. Now that Hezbollah cannot protest on Thursday (for respect for the Gemayel family and they'd be accused of inciting sectarian violence) they've affectively been neutralized. Hezbollah's ability to mobilize its population is feared, as they are the biggest party in Lebanon (though due to gerrymandering and not having a national consensus since the 1930's, it makes it seem otherwise). If Hezbollah mobilized on Thursday, the weak government (which is March 14 party) would have had to kowtow to such great pressure. This would be one reason to do away with Pierre, to stop the protests and ensure that Hezbollah doesn't get veto power.
b) Another reason is to push the international tribunal forward. The momentum for the international tribunal was dying. March 14 were the only ones vehmently pushing it. Pierre's death is a reason to start a renewed push to implement the tribunal. March 14 may use it by saying something like, "If we don't push for this tribunal, Hariri's killers will not be held accountable, which gives a greater incentive to slay other politicians. Pierre's death attests to this fact. A tribunal is needed to put an end to these deaths."
c) The Kataeb is a weak party. Aforementioned, it's the weakest of the big 3 christians factions. Pierre was also a weak politician, who was young and not a mover and a shaker. So March 14 decided to assassinate him because he was dispensable. Whomever assumes the reins of the kataeb party will not break with the March 14 party, so effectively, the party isn't losing much due to his death. This assertion is interesting because it does make you ask: why was Pierre, who was really one of the weakest of the March 14, assassinated? If someone, a country or a party, wanted to strike a blow to the March 14 forces, they would have targeted a bigger figure. If you don't agree with the assertion that Pierre was weak, ask yourself: why was he in a flimsy Kia car that had no bullet-proof glass and he only had two body guards? Other March 14 figures like Walid Jumblatt, Saad Hariri and Geagea all have sturdy cars that have bullet-proof glass and have an entourage of body guards. When they move around the city, a security convoy follows them. Why wasn't the same protection awarded to Pierre?
That's all the conspiracy theories I've heard. Want to add one? Write a comment. Either way, don't chew my head off--I'm not supporting any of these, I'm reporting what I've heard.
Pierre Gemayel's death
Today the industry minister, Pierre Gemayel, was gunned-down mid-afternoon in new Jdeideh, a Christian Beirut suburb. Gemayel's death marks the first time that a sitting minister was targeted (mps were targeted in the past). Also, Gemayel's death marks the first time since the Syrian forces withdrew in May 2005, that a Christian politican was targeted. Gebran Tueni, Samir Kassir and May Chedac were the only Christians targeted since independence. All were journalists (though Tueni was also a politician).
The streets were surprisingly calm though there were some boys with Kataeb flags tied around their necks like capes. Amine Gemayel, Pierre's father and President between 1982-88, beeseched the angry throngs of supporters to remain calm and light candles instead of malatovs (well, not literally, but symbolically, yes).
Tomorrow is independence day and Pierre's funeral. The procession will start in Beirut, at the Kataeb headquarters in downtown Beirut. It will end at the Gemayel home town of Bikfaya. Many suspect that protests will take place in Marytrs' Square, located in downtown Beirut.
The situation is still volatile. Tensions mounted last week as three Hezbollah and two Amal ministers resigned their posts, leaving the parliament void of any Shi'ite representation. One Christian minister, a pro-Syrian, pro-Emile Lahoud (Lebanon's pro-Syrian president) also resigned. The Shi'ite ministers' walk out was catalyzed by Hezbollah which demanded a third of all parliamentary seats which would give them veto power. Shi'ites are under-represented in the cabinet fwhich follows a confessional-based structure. The resignations came before the parliament voted on whether to adopt the Rafik Hariri tribunal. As the Shi'ite representatives stormed out, parliament voted onthe draft tribunal resolution and agreed to adopt it. However, Hezbollah ministers claimed the vote illegal as the constitution stipulates that all sect mujst be represented when voting on legistlation occurs.
Hariri was assasinated Feb. 2005. Many accuse Syria of the crime. From his death spawned a multi-religious, anti-Syrian coalition called the March 14 forces or the 'opposition.' Many are critical how much of an opposition they can be as they are pro-America can tend to pander the American design for the region.
Lebanese wait for another day that many don't believe will bring renewed violence. When politics reaches a stalemate in Lebanon, assassination attempts often occur to stir up the pot, which is quickly brought to a simmer. The Civil War (1975-1990) was an exception to that, but since, many successful and attempted assasinations have occured that made people fearful of renewed sectarian strive, with little signs of another full out civil war. One example is the past summer's war between Hezbollah and Israel, which would have been an ideal time for the country to further factionalize.
The streets were surprisingly calm though there were some boys with Kataeb flags tied around their necks like capes. Amine Gemayel, Pierre's father and President between 1982-88, beeseched the angry throngs of supporters to remain calm and light candles instead of malatovs (well, not literally, but symbolically, yes).
Tomorrow is independence day and Pierre's funeral. The procession will start in Beirut, at the Kataeb headquarters in downtown Beirut. It will end at the Gemayel home town of Bikfaya. Many suspect that protests will take place in Marytrs' Square, located in downtown Beirut.
The situation is still volatile. Tensions mounted last week as three Hezbollah and two Amal ministers resigned their posts, leaving the parliament void of any Shi'ite representation. One Christian minister, a pro-Syrian, pro-Emile Lahoud (Lebanon's pro-Syrian president) also resigned. The Shi'ite ministers' walk out was catalyzed by Hezbollah which demanded a third of all parliamentary seats which would give them veto power. Shi'ites are under-represented in the cabinet fwhich follows a confessional-based structure. The resignations came before the parliament voted on whether to adopt the Rafik Hariri tribunal. As the Shi'ite representatives stormed out, parliament voted onthe draft tribunal resolution and agreed to adopt it. However, Hezbollah ministers claimed the vote illegal as the constitution stipulates that all sect mujst be represented when voting on legistlation occurs.
Hariri was assasinated Feb. 2005. Many accuse Syria of the crime. From his death spawned a multi-religious, anti-Syrian coalition called the March 14 forces or the 'opposition.' Many are critical how much of an opposition they can be as they are pro-America can tend to pander the American design for the region.
Lebanese wait for another day that many don't believe will bring renewed violence. When politics reaches a stalemate in Lebanon, assassination attempts often occur to stir up the pot, which is quickly brought to a simmer. The Civil War (1975-1990) was an exception to that, but since, many successful and attempted assasinations have occured that made people fearful of renewed sectarian strive, with little signs of another full out civil war. One example is the past summer's war between Hezbollah and Israel, which would have been an ideal time for the country to further factionalize.
The e-mail that started the blog
I wrote this mass email to my friends two days ago. Many wrote back, saying I should start a blog. These are bits and pieces of the e-mail, parts spruced up.
I got back three weeks ago and it's been 'go' ever since. I went down to the south the day after I got back, to help a friend shoot a movie. We went to Srifa, a destroyed village. We stood in what seemed to be the rubble of what once was a store. We brought out the camera and began shooitng. A Hezbollah guy drove up on his vespa (only they aren't so nice here but
look like they went throug 'Nam). He thought we were spies, though he didn't say it. But it was obvious because he kept cruising past us, surveilling us. Then we saw a clust bomb. Well, after much debating whether it was a cluster bomb, we decided, 3 against 1, that it was. The UN is constantly driving through the south on its missions. So we waited until some UN troops drove past. We tried to flag them down. They thought we were waiving and waived back. That's all we got. So while I think I prayed to God in the first time in ten years or more, we climbed off the rubble and went back to the car.
I've been working on some articles that have taken me to places completely destroyed or completely filled with oil when the Israelis hit a government fuel-storage tank. About 65,000 tons of oil burnt, evaporating to remain in our atmosphere causing major health hazards. About 20,000 tons spilt into the sea. Three months after the spill, the waves have a nice sheen to them and tar litters the sand and rocky beaches. I travelled the coast with this group called Greenline who are coordinating the clean up.
Last Monday I went with a UN demining team to write a story on cluster bombs. We went to this village called Ayt al Shaab where one of the most intense battles between Hezbollah and Israel occured. there are maybe 10 houses left out of 100. It is really nuts and so heart breaking. I was travelling with a Japanese journalist, an ABC correspondent and Liam, a Montreal photojournalist. The village kids were so excited to see a 'nice' car and foreign faces. They chased after us, while we went to this little girl, Marwa's house. On the way there, One building pretty gutted from shelling had grafitti on it. It was an Israeli flag on the wall, a nice 'fuck you' from Israeli soldiers.
We arrived to Marwa's house. Her family, like many in south lebanon, subsist on their olive grove harvest. She and two friends walked to her grandparents house and her friend stepped on a cluster bomb. He has shrapnel in his lungs and heart. Her cousin has shrapnel in her head and intestine. Marwa was lucky--she got it in her knees and left arm. None of the villagers pick olives anymore and what little money they hoped for is gone. No one, since the three months fighting has stopped-- not the UN or Lebanese Army-- has come to diffuse cluster bombs. Poor people don't know how to lobby very well I guess.
Every Hezbollah stronghold I went, the people gave us the shirts off their backs. Their attitude wasn't Bush's description of 'Islamo-fascism' at all. An Islamo-fascist wouldn't communicate to non-Muslims. Yet these 'Islamo-fascists' didn't care I wasn't covered. They didn't care Liam was Canadian or Lina, the ABC correspondent from England, two country's that turned their backs on these people as they suffered. All they wanted us to see is: what kind of life is this? This is not a life and this is why we are gladly martyred while fighting both the Israel and our own Lebanese government in the hope that one day, in the future, our efforts will be fruitful.
The Lebanese government barely acknowledges the poor south, populated mostly bu Shi'ites that form Hezbollah's base. The government barely built any infrastrcuture or schools and hospitals for the area. Then Hezbollah came in to fill the void.
The reason why Shi'ites feel they must fight Israel is two-fold: about 60,000 land mines Israel left in southern lebanon that continue to maim and kill villagers, and many villagers afraid to use their land for agriculture or grazing flocks because of the mines. So what little means of survivial and income they have is lost. Israel planted the mines during its occupation of Southern Lebanon that ended in May 2000. In 2004 Israeli Superior courts ruled that the Jewish state must return a complete land mine map to Lebanon (so you can't say it was an anti-semtic ruling since it was their own courts). Israel blighted the ruling and never gave back the maps. Which was one of the pretexts that Hezbollah used to launch this past summer's war (that and the issue of three detainees that are held by Israel and that Israel Superior courts ruled should be returned to Lebanon). So Israel is not just violated international laws but also their own national laws.
Well, that's all.
I got back three weeks ago and it's been 'go' ever since. I went down to the south the day after I got back, to help a friend shoot a movie. We went to Srifa, a destroyed village. We stood in what seemed to be the rubble of what once was a store. We brought out the camera and began shooitng. A Hezbollah guy drove up on his vespa (only they aren't so nice here but
look like they went throug 'Nam). He thought we were spies, though he didn't say it. But it was obvious because he kept cruising past us, surveilling us. Then we saw a clust bomb. Well, after much debating whether it was a cluster bomb, we decided, 3 against 1, that it was. The UN is constantly driving through the south on its missions. So we waited until some UN troops drove past. We tried to flag them down. They thought we were waiving and waived back. That's all we got. So while I think I prayed to God in the first time in ten years or more, we climbed off the rubble and went back to the car.
I've been working on some articles that have taken me to places completely destroyed or completely filled with oil when the Israelis hit a government fuel-storage tank. About 65,000 tons of oil burnt, evaporating to remain in our atmosphere causing major health hazards. About 20,000 tons spilt into the sea. Three months after the spill, the waves have a nice sheen to them and tar litters the sand and rocky beaches. I travelled the coast with this group called Greenline who are coordinating the clean up.
Last Monday I went with a UN demining team to write a story on cluster bombs. We went to this village called Ayt al Shaab where one of the most intense battles between Hezbollah and Israel occured. there are maybe 10 houses left out of 100. It is really nuts and so heart breaking. I was travelling with a Japanese journalist, an ABC correspondent and Liam, a Montreal photojournalist. The village kids were so excited to see a 'nice' car and foreign faces. They chased after us, while we went to this little girl, Marwa's house. On the way there, One building pretty gutted from shelling had grafitti on it. It was an Israeli flag on the wall, a nice 'fuck you' from Israeli soldiers.
We arrived to Marwa's house. Her family, like many in south lebanon, subsist on their olive grove harvest. She and two friends walked to her grandparents house and her friend stepped on a cluster bomb. He has shrapnel in his lungs and heart. Her cousin has shrapnel in her head and intestine. Marwa was lucky--she got it in her knees and left arm. None of the villagers pick olives anymore and what little money they hoped for is gone. No one, since the three months fighting has stopped-- not the UN or Lebanese Army-- has come to diffuse cluster bombs. Poor people don't know how to lobby very well I guess.
Every Hezbollah stronghold I went, the people gave us the shirts off their backs. Their attitude wasn't Bush's description of 'Islamo-fascism' at all. An Islamo-fascist wouldn't communicate to non-Muslims. Yet these 'Islamo-fascists' didn't care I wasn't covered. They didn't care Liam was Canadian or Lina, the ABC correspondent from England, two country's that turned their backs on these people as they suffered. All they wanted us to see is: what kind of life is this? This is not a life and this is why we are gladly martyred while fighting both the Israel and our own Lebanese government in the hope that one day, in the future, our efforts will be fruitful.
The Lebanese government barely acknowledges the poor south, populated mostly bu Shi'ites that form Hezbollah's base. The government barely built any infrastrcuture or schools and hospitals for the area. Then Hezbollah came in to fill the void.
The reason why Shi'ites feel they must fight Israel is two-fold: about 60,000 land mines Israel left in southern lebanon that continue to maim and kill villagers, and many villagers afraid to use their land for agriculture or grazing flocks because of the mines. So what little means of survivial and income they have is lost. Israel planted the mines during its occupation of Southern Lebanon that ended in May 2000. In 2004 Israeli Superior courts ruled that the Jewish state must return a complete land mine map to Lebanon (so you can't say it was an anti-semtic ruling since it was their own courts). Israel blighted the ruling and never gave back the maps. Which was one of the pretexts that Hezbollah used to launch this past summer's war (that and the issue of three detainees that are held by Israel and that Israel Superior courts ruled should be returned to Lebanon). So Israel is not just violated international laws but also their own national laws.
Well, that's all.
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