Daily Archives: May 10, 2008

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So, What Can We Learn From What Happened?

Pundits are starting to analyze the meaning of what happened in Lebanon.

First, here’s my absolute favorite metaphor of the situation, courtesy of Hot Air:

…The government [was] temporarily brought to its knees to remind it who’s boss. Think of it as a visit from mafia goons to some poor bastard who’s late in repaying his debt to a loan shark — they broke a couple of fingers this time to let him know they can break his neck if he doesn’t play ball.

So, what lessons can the West learn from what happened in Lebanon? Noah Pollak in Contentions suggests an answer:

What does the crisis in Lebanon teach us about Hezbollah? It teaches us the same lesson we learned from Hamas when it took Gaza: Islamic supremacist groups, despite their claims to the contrary, cannot be integrated into states or democratic political systems.

[...] The Hezbollah rampage in Lebanon that we are witnessing should make it obvious to any sentient observer that Hezbollah’s claims to democratic political legitimacy have always been intended only to manipulate the credulous. Participation in politics requires the willingness to persuade your foes, to compromise, to stand down when you don’t get your way. But there is no record of Hamas or Hezbollah ever observing such restrictions: the moment Hezbollah was confronted with political pressure, it responded not within the political sphere, but with warlordism — with an exhibition of violence intended to make clear not just that Hezbollah is the most powerful force in the country, but that challenging it will result in its enemies’ humiliation and dispossession. In the streets of Beirut, with Kalashnikovs and RPGs, Hezbollah is making it abundantly clear that its participation in Lebanese politics ends when Hezbollah is asked to submit to the state’s authority. How many more Middle East “experts” are going to proclaim that the answer to Islamic supremacism is dialogue and political integration?

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A Terrible, Terrible Idea

According to Aljazeera, one of the ideas that will be suggested by the Arab ministers meeting tomorrow is the sending of “Arab deterrence forces” to Lebanon.

The word that scared me most when I was a kid was “???” (deterrence force).

Every time I got out to play soccer in a court next door, I had to pass by one of their outposts. They looked scary with their big guns, dusty outfits and smelly rooms, and I never quite understood why they had such a big picture of Hafez el Assad in black shades (always in black shades) on a big wall.

These were the Syrian forces that got out of Lebanon in 2005. We were told they were part of a larger Arab force that was meant to come over temporarily to implement the Taef agreement and stand as a buffer between the Lebanese warring sides. We all know the rest of the story. The “deterrence” became an occupation that took pleasure in extortion, torture and harassment.

It has to be clear to the Arabs that any such force will be immediately looked at with suspicion and dread. We shouldn’t accept this.

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Detailed Account of Hezbollah Operations On The Ground

An on the ground reporter, Ghaith Abdul Ahad, pens a descriptive article for The Guardian on how the fighting on the ground was taking place. Here’s a sample:

Like a traffic conductor, he organised the stone throwing at Sunnis across the street, raising his arm for a volley to start and then pushing back the teenagers to stop. But Nasrallah’s speech put an end to that. The teenagers disappeared and in their place, about 20 Shia gunmen, Hizbullah gunmen, took up their positions on the street corners. The game had changed.

“Wait,” the commander called, “don’t start shooting before the army withdraws.” As soon as the last of the soldiers separating the groups ran into armoured vehicles the fighting began.

Read the whole thing…

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Army Tries Hand At Solving The Matter

Jade at Blacksmiths Of Lebanon reports on the latest efforts to solve the crisis which seem to be bearing some fruits..Read more..

It remains to be seen if the circle of violence can be abated. There is already blood on both sides and the streets are boiling for revenge and counter revenge. Cooler heads should be louder and more persuasive.

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Support Free Speech In Lebanon

Please spread the word: The real target of Hezbollah’s vicious campaign is free media in Lebanon.


A little something I designed for those who want to spread the word (details below)

Hidden under the coverage of explosions, smoke and gunmen roaming Beirut is the real story: Hezbollah and its backers in Syria and Iran can’t stand any voice that freely express a different point of view.

The guns were dispatched to silence the voice. All over Lebanon, in Beirut, In Tripoli, in Saida, and in Bekaa, Iranian and Syrian allies are targeting the media organizations that are critical of their regimes. This is an orchestrated, pre-planned campaign that includes dismantling hardware, destroying archives and intimidating Journalists.

Regardless of where we stand politically, we have to make it clear to the world that we will not accept tampering with the free exchange of ideas, the main foundation of any democracy.

Please do everything you can to spread the word and be part of this:

Bloggers and Website owners: Please include one of the banners below, depending on your size preference, by right-clicking the banner you want and copying its location. If you don’t know how to do this, send me an email to mustapha at beirutspring dot com and I’ll gladly help

Regular folks and activists:

1- The above vertical banner will make a great facebook profile picture (please also link to this post)

2- You can send an email with the text below to politicians, newspapers and anyone you know who might have access to international media.

Video:
Future TV Anchor Sahar Al Khateeb on the situation:

Future TV Manager Nadim Munla explains the situation:

Photo:
Future TV in Ras Beirut:

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McCain On Hezbollah: More Diplomacy

To put Senator. Obama’s statement in perspective, let’s take a look at the Republican nominee’s point of vue. At the time of posting this, there was still no official press release on the situation.

Calling it a “very serious situation,” presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain said here Friday that the seizure of parts of west Beirut by Iranian and Syrian-backed Hezbollah fighters demands immediate action.

McCain made it plain he was talking about diplomatic, not military initiatives.

The Arizona senator said the fighting that has humiliated and weakened the government of Lebanon threatens to further destabilize the Middle East and embolden Iran while raising the prospect of new attacks on Israel.

McCain said President Bush should seek heavier involvement by the United Nations which has a small peacekeeping force in south Lebanon to pressure Syria and work with other nations with interests in Lebanon.

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Obama On Lebanon

Senator Barack Obama, the likely democratic nominee for the American presidency has issued a statement on the events in Lebanon:

Chicago, IL | May 09, 2008

Hezbollah’s power grab in Beirut has once more plunged that city into violence and chaos. This effort to undermine Lebanon’s elected government needs to stop, and all those who have influence with Hezbollah must press them to stand down immediately. It’s time to engage in diplomatic efforts to help build a new Lebanese consensus that focuses on electoral reform, an end to the current corrupt patronage system, and the development of the economy that provides for a fair distribution of services, opportunities and employment. We must support the implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions that reinforce Lebanon’s sovereignty, especially resolution 1701 banning the provision of arms to Hezbollah, which is violated by Iran and Syria. As we push for this national consensus, we should continue to support the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Siniora, strengthen the Lebanese army, and insist on the disarming of Hezbollah before it drags Lebanon into another unnecessary war. As we do this, it is vital that the United States continues to work with the international community and the private sector to rebuild Lebanon and get its economy back on its feet.

Lebanese bloggers are not impressed. See Abu Kais and Jeha.