The Beirut Spring has two practical ideas for the Lebanese politicians who are afraid of being the next target.
Idea #1: Get a Secret Santa.
Yesterday, Mr. Jumblat said that Mr. Murr was targeted because he knew too much. Jumblat’s idea resonated well in today’s dailies and throughout the Blogosphere. The killers, his theory goes, were afraid that Murr had something to say that could help find Hariri’s killers.
So the question is: If you do know something about who killed Hariri, how do you fend off an assassination attempt? Here’s my plan:
First step: prepare a signed document with everything that you have to say, clearly written with all the relevant details.
Next, leave that document sealed with someone you trust; someone who preferably lives abroad and who has access to the Lebanese and Arab media.
Next, make a public announcement in the newspapers or on T.V. that you have done this and that you have told your secret trustee (stress that he lives abroad) to make the documents public if anything happens to you.
If Jumblat’s theory is true, you should be safe.
Idea #2: Buy the killers off
Most of the Lebanese suspect that the Syrians are behind the attacks on Lebanese soil. In other words, this is a war between an intelligence-and-terror based governing system, and one that has a free-ish society with a market-based capitalist and democratic system.
So why don’t we use our core strength -our capacity to generate wealth- against our starving neighbor’s assassins? After all, most of the targets are very rich and more than willing to spend to stay alive.
Just announce (as individuals or as a government) that you are willing to pay ten million dollar to everyone who defects from an assassination operation, if he hands in the plans and the explosive material. That, coupled with a witness protection system and a credible promise of amnesty can starve off the killers from executioners.
Parallel to these short-term solutions, reforming the Lebanese intelligence system should be very high on the next government’s agenda. This time, I don’t think Lahhoud will refuse.
These are my ideas. If you have other ones, please feel free to share.
Hello, my name is Mustapha and I've been blogging about Lebanese society, business and politics since February 2005.
for 10 million, i’ll take option two Alex.
Off Topic
Cher Mustapha,
Permettez au lecteur fidèle que je suis de vous féliciter pour vos bloggommentaires.
Excusez-moi à l’avance d’utiliser votre blog pour rabattre le caquet à Fred (ainsi qu’à Ramzi, Karim et leurs semblables):
Fred,
A moins d’avoir le QI d’une huître je ne vois pas comment vous pouvez nier que, dans le contexte du terrorisme nihiliste en Occident, il s’agit de “Muslims” et pas d’”Arabs”.
A moins que vous ne confondiez arabes et musulmans pour le plus grand plaisir de l’argumentaire des abrutis phénicianistes, et au grand damn des non moins abrutis arabistes.
Un exemple, tenez, au hasard: Les terroristes de Londres seraient Pakis.
Deal with that!…
Mais bon, tout cela ne me regarde pas trop.
Je vous laisse à vos démons.
Hi Mustapha,
How about going directly public on TV with all you know. Then they have no reason to kill you (other than revenge of course). Just kidding.
BTW, thanks for linking my blog on your page, appreciate it.
i find it bad taste to make fun on such matters when the blood isn’t yet dry
Kareem,
Just took a look at your blog. You’re the expert on bad taste.
don’t make it personal. i just am surprised about the way we lebanese handle these bombings. i’m disgusted and my stomach turns at our apathy. you don’t take these bombs to be usual everyday events. you need to be disgusted and revolted each time you see someone’s stomach bulging out on national television. stop being desensitized this is human life we’re talking about. my blog may be of bad taste, but it is certainly not apathetic and insensitive towards living people and dead ones, i mean how about the families of the teacher who died in the elias el murr incident? how funny would this be to them? sorry for coming out strong but it’s all about free speech and LESS armchair politics.
Ok kareem,
My previous comment was a cheap shot (I thought was funny. Your blog’s interesting, though not exactly my cup of tea).
You are absolutely right, nothing funny about deaths/bombings. RIP for the dead and God help the rest of us.
There is serious point however, in asking all these threatened “leaders” to go public with all they know (and then disappear for while), in order to save themselves and the country from further attacks.