Middle East Archives
Paraipan on Lebanon
Filed under: Middle East
Publius Pundit contributor Manuela Paraipan has a piece running over at the Foreign Policy Association on the recent events involving Hizballah forces in Lebanon. She writes:
Is this the beginning of the end for Hizballah? It may very well be so if the army splits and the clashes go beyond Beirut. While Hizballah threatens the government, a group of Lebanese lobbyists are in the United States asking the UN to put Lebanon under Chapter VII. If and when that happens, Hizballah will be buried, but it may take Lebanon with it too.
Check out the rest over at FPA. Required reading for those concerned about the tinderbox in the Middle East.
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redditThe Hamas Terrorists Love Barack Obama
Filed under: Middle East ~ US Elections
Sing along, won't you? "If Nescobama can please the whole wide world of psychopathic Hamas terrorists, he can sure please you Mr. & Mrs. America!"
By the way, Billary still has a clear path to the nomination, it's explained quite well here.
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditSolidarity
Filed under: Middle East
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditThe Missiles of February
Filed under: Middle East ~ Russia
WorldNetDaily reports:
Syria, aided by Russia and Iran, in recent months has been furiously acquiring rockets and missiles, including projectiles capable of hitting the entire state of Israel, according to Jordanian and Israeli security officials speaking to WND. According to Israeli and Jordanian officials, Syria recently quietly struck a deal with Russia that allows Moscow to station submarines and warboats off Syrian ports. In exchange, Russia is supplying Syria with weaponry at lower costs, with some of the missiles and rockets being financed by Iran. "The Iranians opened an extended credit line with Russia for Syria with the purpose of arming Syria," said one Jordanian security official. "Russia's involvement and strategic positioning is almost like a return to its Cold War stance," the official said. Both the Israeli and Jordanian officials told WND large quantities of Syrian rockets and missiles are being stockpiled at Latakia, Syria's main port on the Mediterranean Sea, as well as at Syria's Tartus port, another major port area south of Latakia and north of Damascus. Syria's new acquisitions include Russia's S-300 surface-to-air missile defense shield, which is similar to the U.S.-funded, Israeli engineered Arrow antimissile system currently deployed in Israel. The S-300 system is being run not by Syria but by Russian naval technicians who work from Syria's ports, security officials said.
With neo-Soviet Russia, naturally it's a new cold war. When are Western leaders going to wake up and realize they are being attacked?
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditThe People We Support in the Middle East -- It's Fantastic
Filed under: Middle East
Saudi Arabia's religious police stopped schoolgirls from leaving a blazing building because they were not wearing correct Islamic dress, according to Saudi newspapers.
In a rare criticism of the kingdom's powerful "mutaween" police, the Saudi media has accused them of hindering attempts to save 15 girls who died in the fire on Monday.
About 800 pupils were inside the school in the holy city of Mecca when the tragedy occurred.
According to the al-Eqtisadiah daily, firemen confronted police after they tried to keep the girls inside because they were not wearing the headscarves and abayas (black robes) required by the kingdom's strict interpretation of Islam.
One witness said he saw three policemen "beating young girls to prevent them from leaving the school because they were not wearing the abaya".
The Saudi Gazette quoted witnesses as saying that the police - known as the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice - had stopped men who tried to help the girls and warned "it is a sinful to approach them".
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditMcCain, America: Surging
Filed under: Middle East
It's hard to imagine how the news could have been any better for him. Senator McCain must be walking on air.
First, a victory in New Hampshire. Then, a second in South Carolina. And finally, a front-page report in USA Today revealing that his surge is working and 75% of Baghdad's neighborhoods (356 of 474) are now secure (can we say the same of Detroit's, or Camden's?). Michael Weiss has a great blogger roundup discussing the thrilling report over at Slate. He quotes one blogger as follows: "Democrat friends, come over to the winning side now. Come on, guys. We're beating the tar out of al-Qaeda. Iraqis who, 13 months ago lived with little hope now are welcoming their neighbors home, regardless of their sectarian affiliation. The Iraqi parliament, emboldened by our wilingness to stay and do the hard work on their behalf has passed the first of what is likely to be several reconciliation laws."
Meanwhile, African-Americans are turning on Bill Clinton as their new standard-bearer goes after him big-time. Who would McCain prefer to run against, the lightweight Obama (who admits he inhales deeply and plays footsie with those who play footsie with Farrakhan) or the decimated, despised Hillary? Hard choice. Either way, he's all smiles.
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditManuela Paraipan: Austrian Opens Fire on Islam
Filed under: Middle East
Susanne Winter, campaigning for the Graz (Austria) city council said it is time that Islam was "thrown back . . . behind the Mediterranean," and alleged that Muhammad wrote the Koran in "epileptic fits."
Ouch. What was the reaction? Outrage! What did you expect?! Now read this.
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditShowdown at the Saudi Soda Fountain: Cast your vote!
Filed under: Middle East
President Bush is in Saudi Arabia pleading with the oligarchy there to increase oil supplies and thereby reduce prices, which have caused an inflationary spike in the U.S. economy (the worst in nearly two decades). This imperils not only U.S. but world economic security. Bush's words alone have already caused a drop in the oil market. He's offered arms sales as a carrot. But the Oil Minister has responded cagily: "We will raise production when the market justifies it." If they refuse, should we simply seize their oil fields? Whatever you may think of the morality of military action, it would be child's play to do it. Saudi Arabia isn't Iraq, it's a largely fictional, sparsely populated country that has alienated itself from the Arab world by, ironically, supposedly befriending the United States, who it now seems more and more to be stabbing in the back. Annexing it would have the additional attractions of liberating its repressed women, cutting of funds to international terrorism and shoring up Iraq's southern flank. Perhaps its something both liberals and conservatives can agree on? If inflation spirals out of control in the U.S. that will drag down the entire world economy.
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditManuela Paraipan's Postcards from the Front Lines in the MidEast
Filed under: Middle East
Return of the Dark-Eyed Maidens (The Tequila Girls)
Screw political correctness.This is insane. Killing people just to get laid? What kind of a religion is that anyway?!
There is some good news, though. Not all Muslims have been struck blind, deaf and dumb. Read what Hasan Mahmud has to say about Sharia.
Wishful Thinking
President Ahmadinejad explained the philosophy behind the Hajj (pilgrimage): "If we would delete the ultimate objective of establishing a global system from the Hajj rituals, the remainder would be deeds devoid of a soul."
Most figured out by now what the goal is, but its good to keep it in mind.
"Iran is a prosperous country which bridges Asia to Europe and can be a good friend for the ASEAN member states."
"Ahmadinejad told a summit of Gulf heads of state of December 4 that Tehran wants to create an economic bloc and joint security pact with them to promote peace and prosperity in the region. In a televised speech during which he referred to the region as Persian, not Arabian, he warned the Gulf leaders that any security problem in one state would affect all countries. GCC members Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar share Western concerns about Iran's nuclear program and some have maritime border disputes with Iran."
Ahmadinejad: Iran needs 50,000 centrifuges to supply fuel for one year to a power plant. He said that Iran continued industrial production of nuclear fuel in spite of ill-wishers' will and that Iran does not fear UN sanctions.
Stratfor has more on the subject.
"Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei appointed an IRGC committee to restructure Hezbollah's military and intelligence wings. The committee includes top names on the US most wanted terrorists list." Hezbollah said such reports are not true and that Sheikh Nasrallah is still in charge. Between Nasrallah and Naim Qassem, the former is preferable.
"Iran tested a newly-developed ballistic missile on the day of the Annapolis conference. The Ashoura missile has a range of 2,000 kilometers and is capable of reaching Israel, US army bases in the Middle East and eastern European cities. It uses solid fuel instead of liquid fuel, giving it a significantly faster launch sequence which is harder to detect."
Ayatollah Khamenei: "The Iranian nation has named this year as the year of Islamic solidarity. The peerless epic of Hizbollah created in the 33-day war, the prudent resistance of the Iraqi Nation which led to the formation of a parliament and a government not favored by the occupiers, the astonishing patience and perseverance of the legal government of Palestine and its self-sacrificing people and many other signs of the revival of Islam in Muslim countries are all accused of being linked to Iranism or Shi'ism in order to impede the unanimous support of the Muslim world. The future belongs to the Muslim Ummah and each and every one of us may contribute to the nearness of that future proportionate to the amount of responsibility or capability we have."
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditSaudi Arabia - A Paragon of Humanity
Filed under: Middle East
Manuela Paraipan brings us up to date on the Saudi quagmire:
Although our reader Josh Fogel asked Kim to write about the Saudis, I hope he won't mind if I bring everyone up to date on the the House of Al Saud instead. Here's a rundown on recent events in the Kingdom:
Arab News informs us that King Abdullah has pardoned the 19-years old girl who was gang raped 14 times in the town of Qatif almost two years ago.
The Qatif General Court judges sentenced the rape victim to 90 lashes for being in a car with a man who was not a relative at the time of the rape. The judges were upset when the story got out in the international media. Being divinely inspired (how else?) they arrived at the conclusion that 90 lashes is not enough so they raised it to 200. From 10 months in prison the rapists got from 2 to 9 years. Not enough if you ask me! Along the way the girl's family, husband and lawyer were threatened and harassed. The Saudis clearly did not want to hit the headlines with true stories from the wonderland Kingdom so no wonder they were mad as hell.
"The pardon (explained Justice Minister, Abdullah bin Muhammed) did not mean the king doubted the country's judges, but instead acted in the interests of the people .The king always looks into alleviating the suffering of the citizens when he becomes sure that these verdicts will leave psychological effects on the convicted people, though he is convinced and sure that the verdicts were fair," the Minister added.
For more on Saudi Arabia and its track of (dis)respecting human rights, please check CDHR.
What else have the Saudis have been up to lately?
In November King Abdullah bin Abd Al-Aziz, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, met with Pope Benedict at his request. Then he invited Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to attend the Hajj ceremony in Mecca as a "special guest." He did not do it out of love for Ahmadinejad, that's for sure.
The Mid East Daily News reported in early November that "Prime Minister Gordon Brown reached a meeting of the minds with visiting Saudi monarch King Abdullah on issues that included the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. President George W. Bush's plans for a Mideast peace summit. More controversial issues that British voters wanted raised, such as human rights and questionable trade deals were not raised during the meetings.The Serious Fraud Office was investigating reports of bribery and other crimes relative to a multi-billion deal between Saudi Arabia and British defense giant BAE Systems, when the Saudis demanded that the investigation be closed or the deal would not go forward. Many Brits were dismayed that the government opted for the economic rather than the ethical option."
It's hard to fault the logic of the sale, announced last week, of $20 billion in U.S. arms to Saudi Arabia, with trinkets going to the smaller Gulf states. The wisdom of the deal is another matter.
For more on Saudis spreading terror to both East and West, please check out Dr. Nisan Mordechai's study, JihadWatch.org, and a piece by an Egyptian journalist on the connection between Wahhabism and terrorism.
There lot to be said about Saudi involvement in Lebanon, but here is an interview that highlights the most important cross roads of Lebanon's history, Saudi Arabia's plans for Lebanon and the US-Saudi relationship at the time.
Recently, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) introduced the H.Con.Res. 194 expressing the sense of Congress regarding the failure of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Authority to properly implement education reforms aimed at reducing the cultural roots of terrorism. Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) introduced the H.Con.Res. 262, pointing out the failure of the Kingdom to revise its textbooks and to remove the intolerant and violent references towards non Sunnis and non Muslims all together.
The immediate and extremely visible consequences of Bush holding hands with King Abdullah: Thanks to the US dependency on Saudi oil, Wahhabi have billions to keep the "freedom fighters" and themselves fat and full of hate towards the "imperialist" US and the "Zionist" Israel.
The conclusion is that Wahhabis hate pretty much all the rest of the world with a zeal worthy of Hitler. Let's hope that sooner rather than later they will reap what they have sown.
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditHouse of Putin, House of Saud
Filed under: Middle East ~ Russia
In certain quarters (blubber blob Michael Moore's, for instance), efforts by U.S. President Bush to cultivate close relations with Saudi Arabia are vilified as corrupt and evil. Yet, Bush was doing nothing more than continuing one of the most stable tenets of U.S. foreign policy since World War II, strategic alliance with the Saudis, and the picture above clearly shows why. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, fresh from a new round of neo-Soviet West bashing, hosted Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz in Moscow last week and is lobbying for a major arms sale to the Kingdom. Putin is obviously seeking to split Saudi Arabia, a major source of crude oil for the U.S. and, as such, a major bulwark against Russian blackmail, away from the American orbit. If we allow him to do so, we will have only ourselves to blame when oil costs $1,000 a barrel.
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditLooking Down the Precipice
Filed under: Middle East
Recent events indicate that Lebanon is teetering on the brink of collapse (the president has abdicated to a military junta). Publius Pundit contributor Manuela Paraipan has a new piece about this critical Middle East state running on the World Security Network (where she is an editor) entitled "Looking Down the Precipice." It begins like this:
During the time I spent in Lebanon I had the chance to talk - off and on the record - with individuals from various walks of life and with people who act as mediators between the March 8 bloc (Hizbollah, Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Amal, Marada, Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party and allies) and March 14 bloc (Future Movement, Progressive Socialist Party, Lebanese Forces, Kataeb Party and allies). No one can play a completely neutral role in Lebanon, but some do manage to keep away from the inter- and intra-quarrels and thus become trustworthy actors. Each community, group and individual has its own agenda, objectives and ties within and outside the Arab world. The Lebanese problems ceased to be only theirs decades ago when that time political class, lacking any sense of preservation and wisdom, allowed the Palestinians to enter the country. A few years later, Syria was given the green light to take over the country. Since then the snowball rolled and Lebanon's problems have become regional and international.
Click through to read the extended analysis of this vital Middle East topic.
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditRead All About It: Making Progress in Iraq
Filed under: Middle East
Nearly three weeks ago, we reported the dramatic news on the effectiveness of the "surge" of additional troops deployed by President Bush in Iraq in reducing casualties and preserving order. Now, the nation's so-called "paper of record" has finally gotten around to the story, with a front-page article yesterday on the drop in casualties and one today on individual people's lives returning to normal. Watch them squirm as they try to rationalize and minimize the data! If these were the opposite figures, showing significant increases in casualties and insecurity, you can bet there would be an editorial in today's paper bashing Bush. Can we then expect one praising him? Not a chance. Four editorials today, none about the good news from Iraq. Yesterday four as well, none on Iraq, one bashing Bush on 9/11-related "torture."
The dodo paper just doesn't get it. So it will go the way of.
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditGeorge Bush: Snakebit or Simply Stupid?
Filed under: Middle East
No sooner do we get the chance to praise George Bush for his handling of the Russian assault on Georgia than truly shocking news of an epic outrage in his administration is burning up the newswires. It seems, as Newsweek magazine reports, that
a former FBI agent who pleaded guilty Tuesday to fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship and then improperly accessing sensitive computer information about Hizbollah was working until about a year ago as a CIA spy assigned to Middle East operations, Newsweek has learned. The stunning case of Nada Nadim Prouty, a 37-year-old Lebanese native who is related to a suspected Hizbollah money launderer, appears to raise a nightmarish question for U.S. intelligence agencies: Could one of the world's most notorious terrorist groups have infiltrated the U.S. government? "I'm beginning to think it's possible that Hizbollah put a mole in our government," said Richard Clarke, the former White House counter-terrorism chief under Presidents Clinton and, until 2002, Bush. "It's mind-blowing."
Michelle Malkin has a field day calling Bush on the carpet for his failure to oppose illegal immigration.
One can only heave a sigh and ask: "What in the world is wrong with this man?"
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditPutin and Bin Laden Sitting in a Tree?
Filed under: Middle East ~ Russia
Jonathan Evans, head of the British MI5 domestic security agency, reports that Moscow has the same number of spies in Britain today as it did during the height of the Cold War, and indicates that this forces him to divert "significant amounts of equipment, money and staff" toward combating Russian spying and away from efforts to keep Britons safe from Islamic terror (his office has identified 2,000 radical Muslims in Britain who pose a security threat).
In other words, Vladimir Putin is assisting OBL and his ilk in their effort to murder innocent British civilians by diverting essential resources.
And yet, Russia remains a member of the G-8 organization. In what galaxy does that make any kind of sense?
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditParaipan on Jumblatt
Filed under: Middle East
I am a fan of Walid Jumblatt (pictured). Really. He is the mirror image of most of the Lebanese politicians. You have here few excerpts of his speech at WINEP.
We are in the three weeks coming to face the moment of truth. Either we will be able to elect a president that will fulfill the aspirations of the Lebanese for a free, independent, sovereign Lebanon in conformity with March 14, the Cedar Revolution, a president that will respect international resolutions, abide by them and cooperate fully with the tribunal, or Lebanon will succumb to Syrian tyranny and Iranian hegemony.
Speaking of Syrians: "They left behind them a brigade or division of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards occupying well, half of Lebanon, paralyzing the economy and at any time facilitating the task themselves or for the Syrian services to kill us. That's it." Guess who's he talking about? Right. The Party of God. It is not a state in a state, it is HizbAllah's parallel state, top down period.
I bet you didn't see this coming: "No, I'm not going to be a diplomat. If you could send some car bombs to Damascus, why not?" (he said it as a joke, but maybe 'the eye for eye' solution might work its magic on Assad's hubris)
He pointed our clearly what the problem is (well one of many) "And again I say, as long as these borders (with Syria) are open, you won't be able to speak on equal terms with Hizballah." What did we do about it? Nothing! 0 points for us, 1 for Assad of Syria & Khamenei of Iran. Good news? The game is not over.
-- by Manuela Paraipan
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditIs the Tide Finally Turning for the U.S. in Iraq?
Filed under: Middle East
There is stunningly good news to report coming out of Iraq. U.S. casualty figures for October were at their lowest level since March of 2006, and the casualty figures have declined very significantly from the third-worst month since the invasion in March of this year (126 casualties) to a figure last month that is nearly a quarter that amount (39). The figures for civilian casualties are also dramatically down. The BBC reports: "different sources do have different casualty figures for October but they all agree that the number of Iraqis killed by violence was again at a much lower level, as it had been in September."
The U.S. has taken 3,845 casualties since March 2003, averaging 69 casualties per month over that period, so the current level is far below the average -- in fact, almost half that rate. While tragic, this figure pales into insignificance compared to other similar U.S. incursions such as Vietnam (over 38,000) and Korea (over 30,000). And it can be easily argued that the Iraqi army was a far more powerful enemy that what was possessed by Vietnam or Korea. Certainly, it was much more technologically advanced.
Is the surge working? Should it be continued? What do you think about this data? We'd like to know.
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditThat Woman Behind the Armenian Curtain
Filed under: Middle East
The Democrats have been drowning in bad news lately. A staunchly conservative Republican (and a racial minority to boot!) was overwhelmingly elected governor of Louisiana on the first ballot over the weekend. The New York Times (and Daily Kos) are moaning about their need to "double-check that the Democrats actually won control of Congress last year" after brutal defeats on national security and health care reform votes at the hands of George Bush, and moaning too as Speaker Pelosi is forced to back away from a crazy colleague spewing anti-Bush hatred under the withering fire of the conservative blogosphere. And the Democrats themselves are raising serious questions about whether their runaway presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton is electable.
And now, writing on National Review, Charles Krauthammer asks whether Pelosi has intentionally raised the Armenia issue to drive Turkish support away from the Bush administration on Iraq -- essentially, an act of treachery against her own country. He writes: "Turkey is already massing troops near the Iraq border, threatening a campaign against Kurdish rebels that could destabilize the one stable front in Iraq. The same House of Representatives that has been complaining loudly about the lack of armored vehicles for our troops is blithely jeopardizing relations with the country through which 95 percent of the new heavily armored vehicles are now transiting on the way to saving American lives in Iraq."
Let's not forget that today's Armenia is one of the few countries in the world to have closely allied itself with the Kremlin dictatorship of Vladimir Putin, thereby indirectly giving aid and comfort to such American foes as Venezuela, Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah. It begins to seem that the Democratic Party, drunk with its newfound power, is taking leave of its senses without even completing a single election cycle.
So, are the "Democrats" trying to accomplish by illicit means what they have been denied by democratic means? Does their own incompetence force them to adopt the tactics of subterfuge?
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditThe Spider's Web: Hizbollah Up Close and Personal
Filed under: Middle East
Our Manuela Paraipan, reporting from Beirut, has article on the website of the World Security Network entitled The Spider's Web: A Display of Hizbollah's War. Here's an excerpt:
I could not leave Beirut without having visited the Spider's Web exhibition at the museum opened by Hizbollah in Dahieh, the Hizbollah-controlled suburb of southern Beirut that commemorates its war efforts against the Israelis. This museum is there to give confidence to the Shias. As with any piece of propaganda, it is half true and half lie. It is true that Hizbollah did well as a guerrilla force and I am not discussing the legitimacy or the rightness of its acts but merely its capabilities on the ground, and it took Israel by surprise. On the other hand, Hizbollah cannot defeat Israel. Israel restrained itself this time. It did not want to solve the problem of Hizbollah for Lebanon, a country that considers Israel to be its enemy. They wanted to see Hizbollah pushed from the border and to a certain extent they succeeded in doing this.
Click the jump to view a gallery of photographs taken by Manuela inside the museum which could not be published WSN due to space considerations. If you have questions about the photographs (or the article), feel free to drop a comment and ask. Manuela will be stopping by when she has the chance to answer any you may have.
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13 del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditAnnouncements
Filed under: Middle East
Pajamas Media Blogger/Editor Fausta Wertz will be hosting a BlogTalk radio show tonight at 9 pm (EST). On the program, Cinnamon Stillwell discusses the international trend on libel tourism, where reporters are sued for libel in countries other than where they reside. Dr Rachel Ehrenfeld, author of Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed and How to Stop It will discuss her book and the libel lawsuit following its publication.
This topic obviously couldn't be more timely in light of our most recent installment in the articles section, which exposes Russia's support for terrorism and for the rogue state of Iran and its crazed dictator.
Tune in to the show if you can, and feel free to call in and give your thoughts or ask questions after it gets undeway. Click here to access the program.
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditLive from Lebanon v. III: BREAKING NEWS
Filed under: Middle East
The Associated Press reports that a bomb has exploded "in a Christian suburb east of the Lebanese capital Wednesday, killing anti-Syrian lawmaker Antoine Ghanem (pictured) and six other people." Ghanem becomes the eighth prominent anti-Syrian figure assassinated since 2005.
I find it very difficult to believe although I saw the place. I still cannot believe it is true. I was at a meeting in Verdun when the bomb exploded and I heard the news over the radio and headed towards Sin El Fil. It is the first time ever that I saw a place after a bomb exploded and I have yet to get accustomed to the thought. There were lots of people, army and police. Just when I arrived some said that a body was still caught in the remains of a car but I did not see anything. Kataeb (Phalange Christian party) MP Antoine Ghanim lost his life and at least 4 or 5 other persons. There are many speculations on the ground and some were saying that maybe it was Syria. It is yet too soon to know for a fact. After Pierre Gemayel was killed in November in the very same neighborhood now it was Antoine Ghanim turn. Regardless of who did it and why, it is a fact that Christians are a target. Even now after few hours people are still there... it is unbelievable. I am speechless. A friend called to say that he heard of at least 25 persons being injured and taken to the hospitals. I cannot but ask: Who has the major interest to destabilize Lebanon? Who has weakened Lebanon for decades and who is still using it as a card in its regional game? Definitely Syria. Iran is there next to Damascus but even though these two share some common objectives the approach is different. Syria acts in Lebanon through its proxies and the list is long. Weapons enter from Syria to various parties, movements, cells etc. It is not only HizbAllah that gets the weapons. That is known for a fact. If the outside world want to change things in Lebanon cut Syria off.
Click the jump to view Manuela's photographs from the scene of the carnage. Manuela retains the copyright on all these original images, they may not be republished without her express written permission.
Watch video from the scene here. Gateway Pundit has additional details and photos.
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditLive from Lebanon v. II
Filed under: Middle East
Manuela Paraipan writes from Lebanon:
For those interested in a cool brief analysis of what is going on now in Lebanon I whole-heartedly recommend an interview with Sami Nader (pictured, he's a professor at St. Joseph University in Beirut,) published on the World Security Network. He is a charismatic guy with a very sharp mind. As part of Michel Aoun party he was known mainly by those who worked with him in the so called General's inner circle. Now that he is out he has the chance to go bigger on his own.
Here are some key extracts:
How do you see Lebanon's present situation?"The main course for us is to take Lebanon out of the Syrian orbit and this was the case since the inception of Lebanon. It's a continuous struggle with Syria. The Arab Baath regime ideologically considers Lebanon to be part of the historic Syria."
"We have two projects. On the one side you have the government: Lazy, not working well but it represents Lebanon's sovereignty. And then we have the other project: The resistance. They want to fight Israel even if they must do so alone."
What is the core of the present crisis?
Click through to read the whole interview.
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditLive from Lebanon
Filed under: Middle East
As of today, Publius Pundit has its own fearless reporter bringing us firsthand information from the Middle East. Our own Manuela Paraipan reports, live from Lebanon in downtown Beirut:
The more you think you know about Lebanon the less you do. If from outside one tends to see the situation in black and white, from inside there are definitely several grey nuances.
Generally speaking the problems are related to: 1) the old guard -- people who have been in power since the 70s and 80s. They have developed a certain working framework, which was not altered by Rafiq Hariri's assassination, Syrian military withdrawal, UN resolutions etc.
Their discourse changed but the practices remain the same. If two years ago some were praising Syria out of interest, conviction or fear, now the very same people are anti-Assad regime. Of course in politics the double standard is not an odd occurrence. It is the norm.
Then there is the issue of FPM (Free Patriotic Movement) and HizbAllah alliance. Many call it here an "understanding" but really we are not playing semantics now. In general terms what has been established through the MoU:
1) Shiias and Christians stay together -- actually its crucial to see Christians and Muslims together in both camps (14 and 8 of March)
2) HizbAllah got a Christian cover -- this is a double edge sword. On one hand Shiias see Christians as their allies. In July war both condemned Israel. Unity is good. But if HizbAllah uses the Christians as a cover to go on with whatever agenda they may have other than the Lebanese one then it's a big issue.
Here lies the tension: The problem is not that General Aoun wants to be President. Very well. Politics is all about games, tactics and strategies. Today's friends are tomorrow's enemies and vice versa. The whole issue about the HizbAllah/FPM alliance is the fear that HizbAllah has an Iranian agenda. This group happens to be not only religious at core (thus respectable for many) but also military well trained, patient and disciplined. That makes it dangerous.
It is the mix of religion and politics that makes it all very confusing. Some claim HizbAllah moderated since the MoU but on the ground it takes some time for the regular followers to accept it. To a certain extent it is true. Yes, masses can be easily maneuvered -- but here we are talking about moderating mentalities and that takes a lot of time and work. Maybe the leaders would step away from Syria and even Iran (that is if their agenda is 100% Lebanese and that is yet debatable) given the chance. But they cannot afford the masses to see them backing down too fast. That in Muslim mind is a sign of weakness. Next thing you know the radicalism increases. This is a case to be socially and psychologically studied.
But going back to the politics. The presidential elections still raise many questions. There are ongoing meetings with foreign emissaries and among the parties. No decision has been taken up to this point. None that has been made public that is. It can go either well or not. Aside from politics Beirut is still a cool place to be in and generally speaking the Lebanese are friendly people. Think of the Lebanese as the Latino (in terms of being self confident, opinionated and party people) of the Arab world. It is definitely good to be in Lebanon.
If you are in Lebanon and would like to contact Manuela, leave your contact details as a comment on this post and she will likely contact you. Click the jump to view photographs taken by Manuela of the local surroundings.
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditPentagon three-day blitz plan for Iran
Filed under: Middle East
A ranking Swiss official, speaking privately, said, "Anyone with a modicum of experience in the Middle East knows that any bombing of Iran would touch off at the very least regional instability and what could be an unmitigated disaster for Western interests." True. But what other more peaceful alternative is there? The Europeans tried for years and accomplished nothing. Plus Iran is working towards becoming nuclear and taking over the region since 1979 through various channels. Stepping away from the political correctness speech we should look at what Iran is doing in Lebanon through HizbAllah, in Iraq through Al Sadr and Hakim's militias (to name only two of the most important militias), in Palestine through Hamas (it is plain stupid to say that since Iran is Shiia and Palestinians Sunni they cannot possible cooperate; of course they work together as long as they have a common enemy - the enemy of my enemy is my friend aka Zionists, British&American imperialists and the sort of mambo jambo) What is clear is that the war must be fought on all fronts.
"The Pentagon has drawn up plans for massive air strikes against 1,200 targets in Iran, designed to annihilate the Iranians military capability in three days"
del.icio.us | digg | technorati | stumble upon | furl | redditRussia Sought to Provoke Syria Against Israel
Filed under: Middle East ~ Russia
The Daily Star of Israel reports:
A senior Israeli defense official accused Russia on Thursday of stoking tensions between the Jewish state and Syria. "During a certain period, the Russians acted in such a manner that the Syrians thought Israel wanted to engage in a war against their country," Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's political department, told Army Radio. "The Russians then stopped their incitement following explanations that were communicated to them, according to which Syria had no intention of attacking Israel, and Israel did not aim to take the initiative in a war against Syria. This allowed a calming of tensions." Citing anonymous sources, the Maariv tabloid reported that Russian officials had told the Syrian leadership that Israel was preparing for a war.
Kommersant reports that this explains a recent mobilization effort between the two countries:
The Israeli media reported at the beginning of the summer that the Syrian Army was taking exceptional measures that could only be interpreted as urgent preparations for war. Those were purchases of larges lots of weapons, massive military exercises, engineering work to strengthen fortifications in the areas of the Golan Heights bordering on Israel and the placement of short-range missile installations