Monthly Archives: April 2008

by

What Kind Of Mufti Is Jouzou?

The Mufti of Mount Lebanon is a foul-mouthed demagogue who needs to be demoted as soon as possible.

This must be one of the saddest, most irresponsible spectacles I’ve witnessed in Lebanese politics lately: The Mufti of Mount-Lebanon emerges from a meeting with the Sunni leader of the largest parliamentary block, to denounce “Shiaa intervention in Sunni neighborhoods” , threatening to respond “in kind” to their armed presence.

To a certain degree, I understand why someone like Mr. Hariri could use someone like Mr. Jouzou to do his dirty work for him and to make a point that Lebanese Sunnis are no pushovers. But… A Mufti?

The cheer crassness of Mr. Jouzou’s remarks and the fact that he calls a spade a spade (as opposed to Sayyed Nassrallah’s more subtle “Hezbollah’s people” in reference to Shiaas) can come back to haunt Mr. Hariri in the future. Mr. Jouzou’s words can set a precedent for even more trashy and irresponsible public discourse which will makes the Sunni-Shiaa divide a self-fulfilling drama and the rule of law a more elusive dream.

Moreover, Mr. Jouzou is causing a serious image problem for Lebanese Sunnis. He is a Mufti after all, someone who’s supposed to be have gravitas and respect among his followers. His hate-spewing and crudity are rolling back the advancements Hariri the father worked hard on to improve his community’s reputation.

What Mr. Hariri needs is a March 14 version of Wiam Wahhab, not a fire-breathing “Mufti.”

by

Yet Another Premature Round Of Dialogue

The conditions are not yet ripe for another round of 7iwar.


More talking, less results.

After a 2-month vacation, majority leader Mr. Saad Hariri looked fresh and bouncy holding talks with the various political a religious figures. Mr. Hariri even had the energy to extend Mr. Berri a deal on behalf of March 14:

“We support a qada-based parliamentary election law and we support the formation of a national unity government as well as any other proposed settlements, but we cannot achieve all that without a president.”

To the untrained ear, these sound like concessions to the oppositions’ main demands. But a qada-based election is not the same as the electoral law of 1960 that the opposition is demanding, and the “national unity government” had a catch: It was “as proposed in the Arab initiative”, i.e. without the blocking third, arguably the most important opposition demand and the reason this entire stand-off began. Not to mention the pre-condition of electing Mr. Suleiman, which — if it happens — removes all bargaining power from the opposition.

Of course, Hezbollah was not impressed. Al-Akhbar, their mouthpiece, did today what it does best: Thrust Mr. Aoun to the forefront.
In their main story today, Al-akhbar highlighted Mr. Aoun’s view that the dialogue Mr. Hariri and Mr. Berri are cooking up is just another attempt to resurrect the quadripartite alliance (an electoral alliance of the 4 Moslem parties at the expense of Christians that resulted in a backlash that propped Mr. Aoun).

That’s not all. The plan, Mr. Aoun said, was part of an elaborate Saudi-funded scheme to undermine his popularity by buying off people in Christian areas, and turning ex-allies like Michel el Murr against him.

Hezbollah in turn said that they will not take part of any deal that will undermine their “imporant allies,” in reference to Mr Aoun. In other words, hold the champaign, May 13 is just another date.

by

Assad: We Talk Peace When Bush Leaves White House

The Syrian president confirms receiving the offer of “Golan for peace”, but says he can only think of it after the American President leaves office.

Syria responded the way it knows best: Buying time.

In an interview with the Qatari newspaper Al-Watan, Assad said the United States is the only country that can sponsor direct Syrian-Israel negotiations. But he said the Bush administration, which leaves office in January, “does not have the vision or will for the peace process.”

That will be a delicate dance that Syria will want to postpone as much as possible: Iran is keeping an eye, and it’s not happy.

by

Will Syria Take Israel's Latest Offer?

Can Syria wiggle its way out of what seems like a tight stick-and-carrot trap?


Will the Golan sway Assad? (Photo credit: AFP)

Very few people would like to be in Bashar Al Assad’s shoes nowadays. The corner the regime has trapped itself in suddenly looks very suffocating. In Lebanon, Syria’s hands are tied. True it has managed to successfully prevent the election of a new President up till now, but that’s about as far as Damascus’ influence can go. The international Tribunalis getting closer by the day, and the ruling March 14 government headed by Mr. Seniora lives on to oversee it.

But Syria’s real problems are outside of Lebanon. Today, CIA officers will be briefing American lawmakers on “proof” that there was a cooperation between North Korea and Syria on a nuclear weapons program. The proof will include video footage of North Koreans working in the very facility Israel had bombed last September. This will be enough to guarantee a media onslaught on Syria and a perfectly neat excuse for a potential future strike by Israel.

Is there a way for Assad out of the potential repercussions? Turkey’s Prime Minister whispered in his ears that there is: The Israelis, he said, are ready to exchange the Golan heights for peace (withholding support from hardline groups). In normal circumstances, the Syrians would have played hard to get, pretended to go along and then backtrack. But these are desperate times in Damascus, and perhaps, just perhaps, things might be different this time.

by

Pssst… Let's Solve Some Problems While We're fighting

The politicians may be fighting in public, but they’re also solving day-to-day problems in secret.


(photo source)

A Thorny matter of health insurance is being discussed by politicians in Beirut. The Future Movement and Hezbollah both present position papers to guide the deliberations. A civilized debate follows, and several hours later, a compromise is reached and decisions get made.

If you think this is some fictitious dream scenario of an idealized, distant future, think again. This is actually happening:

Lebanon’s polarized political camps came to an agreement on at least one issue on Wednesday, as parties and professional associations approved a blueprint for social policies including national health insurance, a pension system, education and employment. While representatives from the leading parties in the March 14 governing coalition and the March 8 opposition reached consensus on a comprehensive social policy for the country, participants agreed that implementing such sweeping initiatives – such as the long-controversial national health insurance – faces many of the same political obstacles that have fed the nearly 18-month-old deadlock between the rivals.

You see, the Lebanese only disagree on matters of Identity, future visions and war and peace. Trivial matters like health insurance, entitlements and labor are all “technical details” that can be managed with civility and discipline. And you still say we can’t get along?

by

See-Through-Lebanon

A new Lebanese blog focuses on transparency, good governance and takes aim at corruption.

According to an email I got from the seethrulebanon team:

Our team follows the major Lebanese newspapers on a daily basis extracting topics that are aligned with the objective of our website. We are in the process of developing a consolidated search-enabled database consisting of reports, official documents and media articles relating to the topic of transparency.

We see our humble efforts as a modest complement to the on-the-grounds work that the Lebanese Transparency Association as well as other Non Governmental Organizations are involved in.

Our initiative is independent and financed personally by the members of the team.

The blog looks very promising. I encourage you to go check it out. I also added their feed to my sidebar.

by

How A Syrian Radio Show Can Save The West

A new American-style radio show hits the airwaves in Damascus. Next thing you know, a Western newspaper rushes in to hail the “cultural bridge” and the “Shift towards the Western Orbit” in Syria


Photo credit: LA Times

Is it a mark of desperation, hope or naivety that the LA Times features the “Good Morning Syria” show and reads way too much into it?

I think it’s great that the Syrian young generation will get to enjoy what we had in Lebanon for the last 25 years. But who said that this has anything to do with improving Syrian attitudes towards America?

What’s worse is that the Times is implying that this was somehow the achievement of the Syrian President (” All sprang up over the last few years with the approval of President Bashar Assad”), the same man who stays in power by boasting that he’s the most anti-American president of all Arabs and who’s popular in Syria precisely because of that.

But who cares? Cue the LA Times:

The rhythms and textures of daily life here are increasingly meshing with those of Western nations. On the streets of Damascus, people breezily draw in American sounds, sights and icons, making them part of their own cultural DNA. [..]

In a land viewed by the Bush administration as an associate member of the so-called axis of evil, 50 Cent floods the airwaves.

Apparently, all it takes to swindle west-coast journalists of venerable newspapers is for a 30-year-old Syrian to say: “We love Rihanna. It’s very cool. Syria is very cool.”