Lebanese Hypocrisy

Recently watched an old interview of Bachir Gemayel back when he was president and he spoke about alliances and issues with other countries which was really just a strange telling of how the Lebanese government has been acting today and how Lebanese are now more strongly divided in views on their country's future.

Check out the video.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=lvCiEI4g0xk

Talk about straddling the fence. This guy talked about a united [sic] Christian front but wasnt even open to dialog with its opposition. (Even if you cant negotiate with barbarians[sic] doesnt mean it's right to forego diplomacy).

The sad thing is Christians in Lebanon seem to be just as f-ed as the extremist Muslim supporters of Hezbollah because they are just as prejudiced. Listen to Gemayel and tell me that's not how some Christian Lebanese feel these days. The Christians want the Muslims out but they've been outnumbered and overshadowed since ohh... the 1970's? and they dont speak out or do enough to make a difference. They just want to be left alone in the mountains. Even Aoun has become a strange bedfellow with the Muslim constituency because of his odd alliance with Hezbollah. Muslims want unity but they want it in a militant way. And what about prejudice among Arabs in general? Let's put more salt on that wound. It's no secret that male chauvinism and bigotry still exists here. This cant be the Paris of the Middle East. No wonder prosperity wouldnt last. Too many divisions and despise of diversity eventually killed the fire.

It doesnt really seem to matter anymore that a small minority truly want peace and prosperity for Lebanon. All this tells me is that prejudice is always going to be at the heart of it and the more Lebanese try to weed each other out (and the people who try to help them), the smaller their voice gets.

So recently another anti Syrian politician was assassinated. People are restless and scared about the recent violent incident. Locals are once again fearing they have to leave their country. Let's see where shall they go... the U.S., Canada, anywhere else but where they should really be.. their own country. How ironic is it that they speak vehemently against the violence one minute and then say they're leaving the next. I especially love the part when the U.S. gets blamed again by those who've left Lebanon and are currently living in parts of America that have embraced diversity better than their own Christian neighborhood. I'm not hating. Really I'm not. Just tired of the same cyclical hypocrisy.

Can't wait to see what happens in the upcoming elections.

Go Home and Support Your People

The same lament I read about from Lebanese these days. This guy has the heart but sadly not the balls to put his money where his mouth his. The blame game on Syria is getting old.

Read the comments posted on this. People are constantly expressing sympathy for Lebanon but keep asking why they don't do anything about it [aside from complain].

One said something that echoed my sentiments...

hal_thresher wrote:
Mr. Abdul-Hussain,I am not sure why you think you should present this case to the American people. Do you want America to act like Syria and get involved in Lebanon's local politics. I think you need to return home and figure out what you can do to keep your country free of foreign interference.
6/14/2007 9:27:49 AM
---------------------

Here's what I think:

1. I hope the U.S. doesnt waste their time supporting another investigation into this by releasing press, condemning Syria on how unjust this act was. At this point, it's got to be more than Syria; it's an equally corrupt Lebanese government.
2. If many Lebanese outside of Lebanon comment on this with disdain and start condemning other countries again , they should first realize that talk will get them nowhere and they should fly back home and turn the situation around themselves by living home and straightening out their own constituency's weaknesses, instead of complaining and soaking up benefits that they originally sought after the civil war in 1975. Enough of the hypocrisy.
3. As for Mr. Abdul-Hussain, yes you will prevail. When you start to accept the reality that your people equally deserve the blame for leading Lebanon into a downward spiral. There are just as many Lebanese who are prejudiced and hypocritical about the situation there. People who don't give a rat's ass about the Palestinian refugees; people who appreciate little of what U.N. workers within Unifil have been doing to help; people who are apathetic about peace and just want to retreat to the mountains; and people who just want to complain while they live abroad and do NOTHING but talk.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/13/AR2007061301982.html

Standing Up to Killers
Syria Must Answer for Its Murders in Lebanon
By Hussain Abdul-Hussain
Thursday, June 14, 2007; A27

A bomb in Beirut yesterday killed Walid Eido, a member of the Lebanese parliament, and his son, Khaled, one of the smartest, sweetest and most delightful friends I have ever had.
I should wait for the results of an investigation into the explosion to learn who killed Khaled and his dad. But I will not wait. I am tired of the murders in Lebanon. I accuse the Syrian regime, headed by President Bashar al-Assad, of killing Khaled. As a friend of the family, I want to press charges against Assad and his Syrian and Lebanese associates. Enough is enough with the Syrian regime and its Lebanese puppets.
Walid Eido was a member of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority. Before his untimely death, the majority bloc comprised 69 of the legislature's 128 members. Now, the majority's margin has been narrowed to five, and there is no reason to believe that Syria will not go after these people and kill them, one after another, until it forces the government to collapse.
For the past few months Eido had been the target of a demonizing campaign by Syria's foremost ally, Hezbollah. Similar Hezbollah campaigns against other anti-Syrian lawmakers preceded their assassinations.
Hezbollah has been a supportive partner to Syria, often thanking the Assad regime for what it has "offered" my country. In truth, Hezbollah has sold out Lebanon's national interests to the regional autocrats of Syria and Iran.
Hezbollah might not have started the streak of assassinations of anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians that began with the killing of former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri in February 2005, but the militant group has certainly been complicit with the criminal Syrian regime.
Since Hariri's murder, we in Lebanon have seen the best of our politicians and journalists murdered, one after another.
Before Khaled's death, I had already lost one of my most inspirational friends, journalist Samir Kassir. He was murdered by a car bomb on June 2, 2005.
Gebran Tueni, who had been my boss at the Arabic daily An Nahar, was killed that December, also by a car bomb.
With each murder, we Lebanese have swallowed our anger and fought hard for an international tribunal, which the U.N. Security Council approved last month. We hoped the tribunal would deter the Syrian regime and its Lebanese puppets from further killings. Yet a murderer is a murderer, with or without a tribunal, and the killings don't stop.
As I write these words, I understand that I am risking my personal safety. Speaking out could jeopardize my security during visits home.
But I owe it to Samir, Gebran and now Khaled to write this. I want to tell the Syrian regime and its Lebanese cronies that the Lebanese are willing to fight for their freedom despite the heavy cost.
And while I'm at it, I have some words for our Syrian brethren living under the tyranny of the Damascus regime: Stand up for your rights and say no to dictatorship. Tyrants might kill some Lebanese politicians and throw other Syrian human rights activists in jail, but they cannot kill all of the Lebanese or imprison all Syrians.
We shall prevail. We shall prevail for Kamal Jumblatt, Rene Moawad, Rafiq Hariri, Samir Kassir, George Hawi, Gebran Tueni, Pierre Gemayel and all other Lebanese killed at the hands of the Assad regime. We shall stand up for the Syrian freedom lovers Anwar and Akram al-Bunni, Aref Dalila, Riad Seif, Mamoun Homsi and Kamal Labwani, among others, no matter how ruthless and ugly the Syrian dictatorship can get.
There will come a day when Lebanon is free and Syria democratic.
The writer, a media analyst, is a former reporter for the Daily Star of Lebanon.

Money well spent.NOT

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070525/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_violence

This is absolutely money well spent. (Am I being sarcastic?) For forty million dollars we get to help a country that barely has a stance on what to do about its government. Who might possibly turn on us while part of its constituency covertly aligns with Iran and Hezbollah. Who as most people dont want to realize is a country that is at the brink of yet another civil war. Should we really help? I hope enough people are saved from this. And I hope that for once, the U.S. doesnt get reamed for getting involved after arms are shipped. We have enough problems to deal with and we can't save the world. Sometimes you just have to let others fight and squeeze out all the rage they have inside and hope you don't get wiped out while helping in the process.

Their own vested interests

After 3 days of violent exchange between Fatah Islam and the Lebanese army, now Hezbollah is backing the army. Very interesting.

Yes Fatah Islam is Sunni. So let's not forget that Hezbollah is predominantly Shia and was involved in conflicts with the Lebanese government for tensions between the opposing sect. They've also been suspected to be backed by Iran who are predominantly Shia.
Yes, yes, we are BACK to talking about sectarian agendas. But should this come as a surprise in the complex Arab world? This has been going on for centuries and people still are trying to hope for the best that it will get any better.

What's likely to turn out is that Hezbollah will back the army just like they did in last summer's conflict with Israel. They get in good graces and win the Lebanese people's confidence that they are just as credible as any other political party among the already fractious groups within their government. Then after they help, and other groups make nice for a while, internal agendas will resurface once again. Sooner than Lebanon can breathe a sigh of relief, they will quickly realize they've compromised their people to a majority Shia agenda. Now I don't know how Sunnis and Christians will take it but let's just wait and see.

The start of the fighting came from oppressed and depressed Palestinians living in desolate conditions in refugee camps in Tripoli. When someone takes to heart that they are not only poor and hungry but belong to a specific sect (Sunni for this matter) , then all of a sudden it becomes a religious issue. This is where the propaganda starts to proliferate. The Lebanese on the other hand just plain want non-Lebanese out of their country. They feel like this with Syria manipulating their government and economy, now with Palestine for camping out and seeking refuge for Israeli oppression. The problem is they don't have the manpower or the political stability to gain autonomy from other countries. Seems like some people just can't decide on who to trust; especially themselves.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070522/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_violence_hezbollah

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=15&entry_id=16826

New Clashes in Lebanon

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1623480-2,00.html

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/21/lebanon.violence/index.html

If the militia takes control of the situation, Lebanon as a whole will further weaken. The press doesnt cover enough of the fact that the Lebanese are just fed up with internal clashes and outside influences. I think they are pissed that for years there have been thousands of Palestinian refugees camped in their territory, Syria constantly manipulating their economic and political freedom and basically other countries who have their their own agendas slowly sucking the life out of Lebanon. This is prime breeding ground for prejudice and bigotry. The complications that have been woven into the very fragile threads of Lebanon's culture may likely cause them their demise. Ironically, they can't seem to face the reality that they themselves have bred these divisions. 20 years after the the civil war, they still refuse to recognize that their people now represent a different religious and ethnic constituency. Sadly not enough has been done to foster diversity in this country that once called itself the Paris of the Middle East.

What for democracy?

Here's what it comes down to. In a year, America will be electing a new president. This president will bear the biggest burden of responsibility in easing the country out of this huge mess in the Middle East. More soldiers will die, more people will die and oil prices will fluctuate like a mother. Americans will get blamed more. And for what. It's sad that our country is in this mess that's been going on for centuries. And it's substantially more tragic to see the reality that a majority in the Middle East still just can't hold their peace. Do the Iraqi majority really want democracy? Seems like for a time, Saddam Hussein had sectarian violence fractionally under control. But he was a dictator and did get his hands bloodied by killing many innocents while in the process of quelling unrest. Now that he's gone and the U.S. military has gotten involved, we might as well have painted bullseyes on our soldiers' foreheads. Look at Lebanon. After 20 years, they're at it again. Last summer's war is proof that there are more people living there who have no strength in upholding economic or social progress, undecided and at the brink of another civil war. Two years after Hariri's murder, their government is deadlocked into moving towards a tribunal that was supposed to prosecute those involved in his untimely demise. Let's see what it's government and divided people will do next to set the country back another twenty years when elections come around. As for Palestine, Hamas and Fatah just broke their truce again. So far eighteen Palestinian people died after three days of fighting and Israel was also taunted into this clash by causing an airstrike since it took place along their border. People here are so disillusioned that it's futile to hope that this eye for an eye strategy is clearly doing excessive damage. This is not a holy war. This is about power and the use of religion to proliferate propaganda over nothing more than a struggle to shift power to other selfish politicians. Sad it is that Bush and Cheney arethe worst people to carry out diplomatic missions on our behalf but one thing's for sure. These men don't have a mind sick as that of Ahmadinejad who will twist things around to benefit his agenda. Yes, his agenda. What makes me so ill that the Muslim community is blind to his politics. Doesnt anyone see his predominantly Shiite agenda? He is Shiite, people. Who doesnt see Iran's involvement in smuggling arms to Iraqi insurgents and to Hezbollah(who are predominantly Shiite) in Lebanon? Iraq's future will literally disintegrate if it fails to make a decision on its alliances. They dont have to love Americans; they just have to understand that we are not out to get them the way Iran has plans to manipulate and conquer them. I dont see Iran proactively helping to quell the violence in Iraq. Did they deploy troops trying to quell the sectarian divide? NO. This concludes my latest entry. No disrespect to Shiites on my last comment. But anyone like Ahmadinejad who has a lofty agenda and is Shiite is highly likely to take advantage of his religious status to gain votes. In the end, if Shiites continue to follow him blindly, they'll realize he is no longer the man for the masses like he originally claimed.

They are at it again

Hezbollah builds a Western base
Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17874369/

This is just another example of sickness corrupting the minds of frustrated Lebanese. This has Iran's involvement all over it. But I wouldnt stop to limit just them or Shia Muslims. The ambiguity of Lebanon's societal makeup increasingly covers the tracks of where these generally prejudiced bastards come from. You'll see them from those who immigrated back in the 80s to escape civil war and who still harbor the bitterness of leaving their motherland. No one told them to leave and yet they blame others instead of facing their conscience and defending their own country. Where's the nationalism in that?

Happy Anniversary Lebanon

Thirty two years marks a glaring reminder that the Lebanese are still as blind about the nature of their conflicts as ever.
They'll blame the Americans for their involvement, which is not insignificant, but come on. They can only blame themselves for their infidelity towards their own country by not recognizing that their own government is receiving aid from other countries (like Iran and Syria) who have their own agendas.

America is no saint country but it wasnt the one who started sectarian conflicts in Lebanon.

Tensions have in fact not only produced a divided government but a divided people. What makes me sick are those who are living in the U.S. and bash the American government while they continue to complain and collect paychecks without making a difference. (I apologize to any Lebanese who read this but you know who these people are and if you dont share this view, then please respect that this is a mere observation. There are other hypocrites out there who dont want change. ) Looming in the background too are archaic Arab traditions that continue to demean women in society and extremists who misinterpret the Koran. People who misshape perceptions of the West and consider America as a temporary haven until they can return to their land carrying their wealth and breeding yet more prejudice over a country that had nothing to do with their centuries old battle over sectarian issues.

Lebanon marks civil war anniversary
By SAM F. GHATTAS, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 32 minutes ago
Lebanon marks the anniversary of its civil war this week, a conflict that began three decades ago under circumstances that, to some, are starkly reminiscent of the political divisions and sectarian violence seen today.
On April 13, 1975, an ambush by Christian gunmen of a busload of Palestinians sparked a civil war that lasted 15 years, killed 150,000 people and caused $25 billion in damage.
Marking this year's anniversary, the rusted bullet-scarred bus was displayed at a former crossing point on the line that separated Beirut's Christian and Muslim sectors during the war.
Ibrahim Eid, a Lebanese civil society coordinator, said the bus was "a symbol of this day" and should "raise awareness after what we've seen in the last year."
Sectarian tensions have been out in the open, and there is incessant talk in the media and by rival politicians of various groups rearming. The situation seemed especially perilous in January when nine people were killed in sectarian violence between government and opposition supporters.
The current instability started in 2005 when former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed by a massive truck bomb in Beirut. Since then, a series of bombs have targeted politicians, journalists and commercial centers.
Tensions have produced a divided government. The opposition, led by the Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah, has camped outside Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's office since Dec. 1 in an effort to force him to step down, and six members of the opposition have resigned from the Cabinet.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, has refused to convene parliament, and both he and President Emile Lahoud no longer recognize the Cabinet as legitimate.
The investigation into Hariri's assassination is yet another issue pulling the government apart. The U.N. Security Council has authorized the creation of a tribunal to try the suspects, but the opposition has refused to endorse it. In response, the government has asked the U.N. Security Council to impose the court, a request New York has said it is studying.
Analysts warn the current political crisis could leave the country with two rival governments who battle each other, as was the case in the last two years of the civil war.
Both the government and opposition are sticking to their positions, drawing strength from ties to foreign powers. The government is banking on support from the U.S. and its allies, while the opposition is backed by Syria and Iran, key opponents of Washington's policy in the Middle East.
However, none of the major political parties advocate going back to a time when kidnappings, car bombs, mortars and assassination were regularly used to subdue the other side. Nor do foreign armies that have intervened in the past — those of Syria, Israel and the U.S. — seem eager to get sucked into another Lebanon quagmire.
While Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned at a rally last week that political solutions were at a dead end, he said he would not resort to violence.
"We don't want civil war ... No one wants to burn down his country over political differences," said the leader of the heavily armed guerrilla force that fought Israel in last summer's war and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S.
On the Christian side, a deputy leader of the Phalange Party, which led the Christian militias during the civil war, discounts a rekindling of the conflict despite the rising tensions.
"No one wants to start a civil war. No one has an interest," said Joseph Abu Khalil in an interview on LBC television Thursday.
In this spirit, the Lebanese group Joy of Giving has asked citizens to assemble in downtown Beirut on Friday to remember the civil war's outbreak in "a day of prayers, forgiveness, unity and a return to dialogue."
However, many analysts predict the violence and instability that has plagued the country for the past two years will continue, even if it falls short of all-out war.
Columnist Zayan warned in the leading An-Nahar daily Thursday that Lebanon faces an uncertain future, where "talk about divisions and the possibilities of civil war has become part of the discussions in the cafes, the morning gatherings and on buses."
Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Iran aiding Lebanon and Sectarian alliances

Came across this article on Time. Yes it's several months old but it's kick-you-in-the-head great to read how hypocrisies that Azadeh writes about dont get published in mainstream news often enough.

So where do Iranians and Lebanese stand? Who knows. There has to be a direction right? Not in the conflict-riddled Middle East. The clear message these days is that sectarian divisions are clearly fueling the fire for more unrest and confusion.

I highlighted my favorite sections..;-)


Thursday, Aug. 31, 2006
The Backlash Against Iran's Role in Lebanon
By Azadeh Moaveni
This is the first installment of Lipstick Jihad, a regular column by Azadeh Moaveni, TIME's Tehran correspondent and author of Lipstick Jihad: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America and American in Iran.
One very early morning this week, the people in my neighborhood who wanted fresh bread for breakfast congregated outside the local bakery, wondering why the doors were locked and the stone oven cold. Fifteen minutes later, when it became clear there would be no bread that day, people began speculating why a bakery that has been open every weekday for literally decades should mysteriously be shut. The small crowd swiftly concluded the worst: the Iranian government had sent all the country's flour to Lebanon.
By noon, when I was up and contemplating a sandwich, word had spread around the neighborhood. Everyone blamed the dearth of fresh bread on the government's over-generous aid to the Shi`ites of Lebanon, displaced in the recent fighting between Israel and Hizballah. I should point out that my neighborhood is split between religious and secular families, and that the most pious of the bread-deprived were just as quick to shake their heads with resentment. No one said "let them eat cake," but it came pretty close.
Two days later, a gleaming new counter arrived outside the bakery. The baker was remodeling, and as far as he knew, there had been no massive delivery of grain to Lebanese Shi`ites. But as is so often the case in such matters, the truth is almost less relevant than what becomes the prevailing belief. That people so readily accepted that their government would forsake their daily loaf for a distant Islamic cause just speaks to the overwhelming bitterness these days in Tehran. Most people are convinced the government is spending outrageous sums on the Lebanese, and ever since the Iranian government declared a "victory" for the militant group Hizballah, rumors of what the Lebanese are 'getting' have been flying. Free SUVs? Plasma televisions? Nothing seems out of the question. Nightly news broadcasts that Iranians watch on their illegal satellite dishes have shown Hizballah doling out thick stacks of cash, courtesy of Iran. "Did you see the cash? They're giving each family ten thousand dollars!" one of my relatives phoned to tell me.
For the majority of Iranians who are barely scraping by, such news is infuriating. In fact, unpopular government spending on a faraway Arab community brings out a rather ugly Persian chauvinism. One story has Mrs. Nasrallah, the wife of Hizballah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, receiving a gift of Iranian caviar, and thinking it some sort of jam. There is no jam that looks like tiny eggs, I told the friend who repeated the story to me. Her look told me I was being obtuse. The fact is, the more President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his government pander to public sentiment in the Arab world, which is ecstatic over Hizballah's defiant stand against Israel, the more Iranians feel neglected.
The government of former President Mohammad Khatami was much more sensitive to Iranians' feelings, in particular their ripe tendency to fume when state money is spent outside Iran's borders. It underplayed the amount of cash and aid Iran pumped into Afghanistan after the removal of the Taliban. As a result, Iranians had no idea that for once, their government played a noble role in rebuilding a war-ruined neighbor. But it also saved them from resentment. Earlier this week, a front page headline in an Iranian newspaper read: "In Arab countries, they call the president Mahmoud." Iknow the president is popular in the Arab world. My Arab friends grin like Cheshire cats when he appears on Al-Jazeera, fire breathing his revulsion for the U.S. But would they like him to appoint him as honorary head of the Arab League? I hardly think so.
The main reason Iranians dislike the government's Islamic generosity is because in general, they believe their leaders use Islam as a cloak for their own economic greed. When police started confiscating illegal satellite dishes earlier this month — ostensibly satellite is banned for its impure Western content — in about two days the whole city knew exactly why. The story went like this: the son of a prominent regime-connected ayatullah had recently begun importing small, laptop-size satellite dishes. If the government rounded up the ungainly, rooftop dishes, and flooded the market with the discreet little one, everyone would be forced to buy the ayatullah's son's dishes. This connection between regime piety and corrupt wealth dominates how Iranians see the world — the little events that transpire in their daily lives, from bread shortages to satellite raids.


Find this article at:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1515755,00.html

Obvious viewpoints that dont get enough press

-Religious propaganda in the Middle East has long gone out of control.
-Iran and Syria are Hezbollah's puppet masters.
-Syria is involved in Lebanon's political turmoil.
-Lebanon is just as involved and responsible for its own political turmoil.
-Conflicts in Lebanon are largely about ethnic origin, not just land.
-Lebanon is likely to turn into a Shia Muslim majority constituency.
-Iraq is in a state of civil war.
-Lebanon could revert back to civil war if the people dont take responsibility for their own weaknesses in establishing a more cohesive message.
-U.S.'s level of involvement in Iraq could have been executed differently but now that they're in deep, there's no turning back.
-Many people criticizing the U.S. for their involvement in the Middle East, are from the Middle East and comfortably living in the U.S.
-While Iran criticizes the U.S. for its 'Western' culture, lack of religion and political agenda in the Middle East, many of its own people are suffering from secular and gender discrimination and are cloaked in secrecy over their own involvement with countries like Lebanon and Syria.