Hezbollah said it conducted its largest military maneuvers in its history and now Aoun threatens to raid the Serail and other government institutions. All this sounds like hot air to me.
On the march…
Honestly, I am itching to test Aoun and Hezbollah on their increasingly bellicose threats. I’ve said this before: On December 1st (where the opposition’s biggest demonstration took place), the opposition took their best shot and it was a one-off. For various reasons, they can no longer muster the momentum to mobilize half that amount of people.
The “largest Hezbollah maneuver in its history” turned out to be a big lie that only took place on Al-Akhbar‘s pages. How pathetic is that? The same UNIFL that Al-Akhbar claimed “was shocked” by Hezbollah’s drills denied seeing anything.
Does Aoun really believe that his followers are going to take arms and occupy public buildings just because he didn’t become the “consensus president” ? Are Hezbollah really ready for a Gaza scenario where they can wreak havoc and then later pretend that they want to talk with their Lebanese “brothers”, after belatedly discovering that Hezbollah-land banks will be cut off from the international financial system- Lebanon’s bloodline- and that Hezbollah’s would-be government will be much easier to isolate internationally?
Let’s just play the democratic game. Spare us all the hollow scare mongering that does nothing but fuel the Lebanese arms market. It’s good to talk, and it’s better to agree. But at the end, a president must emerge, and the constitution tells us how.
Hello, my name is Mustapha and I've been blogging about Lebanese society, business and politics since February 2005.
I absolutely concur!
I’ve been telling people for a while, I think March 14 should call March 8′s bluff.
I have been saying all along…It is a bluff! Call it. The alternative is WORSE!!
I have been saying all along…It is a bluff! Call it. The alternative is WORSE!!
finally!, finally!, finally! hammer…nail…WHAM! on the head! well done! Now lets try and get this message accross to he who cries and hides under the bed…ie our esteemed and elongated PM and the other cowards and lead heads in government.
ayesh lubnan
At last someone got it. Let them call the bluff.
shunkleash, who is hiding in a basement somewhere under residential buildings behind civilians? Yes, it is Hassouna and his Hizb-Iran leaders!
This issue about if a simple majority can elect a president should be referred to the constitutional council and their word should be law. We do not need our political buffoons on both sides determining the law.
The process of appointing lawyers to the constitutional council is what this fight should be about.
Everyone should start to respect the system of laws. And that includes the opposition and March 14. And the citizens of Lebanon should also expect this of their leaders.
I am not sure of this. But if Seniora can send names of judges to appoint and if Lahoud does not sign, then they are appointed automatically in 30 days?
The interested can ask Ambassador Feltman questions over at the DOS blog dipnote.
Fact:
The Israeli – Lebanese border was never ever (repeat. Ever Never) quieter than it is in the last 17 months.
If HZB’s “maneuvers” contribute to that, it’s fine with me.
.
They were maneuvering all right, but in front of screens playing their “special farce”. That’s why 30,000 soldiers in the south, Lebanese and UN couldn’t see anything.
Always surprising this hassouna! Very original too.
Ramzi, the real buffoons are the people blocking the parliament from performing its obligations toward the people (Mar. 8 and Nabih Berri) who actually believe it is a democratic right to prevent the ministers from assembling: read the constitution.
It is imperative for the parliament and its speaker to convene a meeting when at least half of the ministers are present. It is no use to lie to people about unconstitutionality in that case. The only reason that has not taken place so far is because of the threat of chaos and mayhem from someone who was carrying weapons for a different purpose.
Note 1: For those who don’t know or simply forgot, the parliament has not convened a single meeting for the past year, even during normal sessions
Note 2: It is not correct to create a precedent by justifying the dissolution of a government because of the collusion of the ministers of a single sect
Note 3: It is not correct to create a precedent by electing a president with a quorum of less than 2/3. However, once that has been fulfilled, a president can be elected through a slight majority
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article8989.shtml
Mr Mustapha, though I applaud your informative blog, but honestly, its turning into an anti-Hezbollah parade…..I much more enjoy your humourous social articles wich i find superb.
Anyway, to the point, i have to state that your anti-Hezbollah hatred is astounding: is it a combination of jealousy and (possibly anti-shia sentiment?) and/or unacceptance that an arab resistance group has claimed near total arab admiration? (while Mr Saad Hariri fled the war last year like a girl, and as is well know, with fellow March 14′s colloborated with the israelis.)
But don’t worry, there are pleny of people like that here in Palestine as well-its no wonder Israel does not fear (some) arabs.
And I question how the lebanese army or Mr Sinoira can deny what happens in the south and claim such manueveres were ‘on paper’- these are the same people who didnt even know HA installed their own phonelines across half of lebanon (a time-consuming, visible building task if you ask me) until they had actually had been built! And they are the same people who have not once managed to stop a missile coming from syria for hezbollah (of which 4000 landed on israeli targets last year – 15 000 leb soldiers and 13 000 UNIFIL have not had any luck either, as well as thousands of anti-HA spies): after all, dont March 14 say HA weapons come from Syria?
I can understand anyone fearing a large, popular group armed to the teeth, but even you must admit, and which was proved in its war againt israel last year, Hezbollah fought Israel, not their fellow lebanese. And the majority of arabs, islamic world and a great part of the world, like myslef, saw lebanon being defended and made victorious by HA, and no one else – a shame for the leb. gov’t, but a dangerous move as HA got all the credit for them pushing israel back to where they came from, whether you like HA or not…….and most of the world said Kudos to HA.
P.S: I definately believe they were manuevers as Nasrallah says – because this man is the only arab leader after J.A. Nasser who did what he said, and arabs and especially israelis know this.
Salam, and no hard feelings, afyerall, I like you think if Martyr R. Hairiri was still alive no problems in lebanon would exist today – such a shame he is gone.
Omar,
Thanks for reading my blog. The problem with Hezbollah is that you really have to be in Lebanon to understand why they’re objectionable.
Anything from far can look rather poetic.
Ha Ha Ha Mustapha my friend, I was born in lebanon, and have lived in Beirut my full 28 years there, to Palestinian parents who still live there (in Rachidiye)- I have been working/living in Gaza for the past 7 months and visit lebanon every 6 months. I lived 17 years of my life in Lebanon (in rachidiye near Sour – thats I why I am interested.
I respect your opinion and more the Future Movements as opposed to the other March 14 groups (whom I believe are gerrymandering off the power and internation respoect Future movement gets) but I hope you will repsect my opinion in that I consider HA true partrios whose soldiers and people have undergone a ridiculous amount of hardship and sacrifice not just for the south but for a greater lebanon that of which while some severly criticise it, still rely on HA as the only capable, proven and possible line of resistance/defence against israel. And even the very anti-HA Mr Jumblatt acklowledged this.
You only have to visit the south to see how powerful and capable this enormously organisation is: though its wrong, i can fully undertsand why southerneres and even some non-shia rely on HA as a better government that the lebanese gov’t: unfortunatley though, neglect by central governments, and HA proven capabilities means you will see southerners who honeslty dont even bother to listen to the leb. gov’ts policies (or threats) – when i was there last summer, 5 honourable ISF officers in Sour didn’t even bother to stop a few HA-supporting teenagers practicing widly with an AK-47 and actual hand-grenades!!! (even though they wanted to): they explained to me that they were threatended by the teens parents if they tried to even look at them in a bad way, and were sure the kids were playing just to provoke them. How unfourtunate……..
Ah well, we’ll leave this discussion for anther time.
Cheers
To Omar…
Yeah HA is so great and here in Lebanon we’ve been such fools to think otherwise.
The problem with your prespective is you blindly cheer for just anyone that stands up to Israel. Isn’t what all this about? Frankly my friend, Lebanon paid more than its due share of ‘resistance’. We had enough of ‘Aruba’ and want to live in peace and decency. We refuse to submit to some defunct mullah’s ideology preaching hate and war mongering..
Good luck dealing with Hamas while in Gaza, I hear they’re really cracking down on any Christian presence there…
Hey Mustapha and all.
I enjoyed reading this post, though I ask you to answer me plainly. What do you mean by a “consensus President”?
I may even agree with you…
You’ve appropriately quoted them yourself
Omar,
If seniora is an Idiot HA are the butchers…We do not need a “destiny” of resisting! We need to live my friend. Anyone who lives in martyrdom, they are free to move to Golan and liberate it!
Spare us the lack of government stuff..for the past 30 years Syria banned the government from the south while HA with proceeds from sale of heroin and cigarette smugglers’ $$$ along with the mullahs handouts “stoned” the masses!!!
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