Blogging the democratic revolution
Taef Accord and WMD — The Bekaa Valley? Quite a bit has happened since Thursday. The international pressure, for one, has certainly stepped up. President Bush is even talking about it during his social security runs in New Jersey! But now even Saudi Arabia is getting in on the game. Syrian troops have been fortifying their positions east of Beirut as pressure mounts on Damascus to pull out of Lebanon without delay. Syrian troops were digging in at Hammana, part of the mountain range 26km (16 miles) east of Beirut, and at three other positions along the ridge yesterday. “They’re…
Iraq, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon – each in its own way has taken steps lately, some large, some small, toward joining the free world. But now Libya? Today’s Al-Hayat reports that Libya’s ruler, Mu’amar Qadafi, seems to have charted a new path in some ways, and reframed old predilictions on other issues. Coming off Libya’s renunciation of nuclear weapons and semi-normalization with the U.S. and Britain, this is potentially encouraging. The article, Qadafi Declares Reforms and Ends Hostility Between ‘African Libya’ and Israel, made the following points: The main point which was new was that normalization with Israel seems…
While most of the sources I use for the daily Lebanon sources are indeed local sources (Lebanon Wire, Daily Star, Naharnet), they are more favorable to the events going on specifically because they are local. But what is the rest of the Arab world saying? How do they view this? In this post, we’ll peruse some news articles an editorials from leading news sites in the region such as Al-Jazeera and Arab News. Let the Lebanese sort out their own problems by Dr. Mohammed T. Al-Rasheed at Arab News: As the world watches, Lebanon throbs. To be a politician, one…
First the revolution; now the aftermath. Well, for Syria that is. Just about everyone and their mother is taking shots at what soon will be the next regime to surrender in the war of ideas. NEWS: The Lebanese opposition is keeping up the front, and have put forward a list of several basic demands that must be met to continue the activities of government: After a joint meeting at the mountain home of opposition leader Walid Jumblatt, they called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to announce a troop pullout from the country and for the resignation of security officials there.…
Winds of Change has a huge roundup of news concerning Iran. That and Wednesday’s briefing from Regime Change Iran complement each other nicely.
Now this is news! Except that you have to wade through paragraph upon paragraph of details about bombings and missing people to see it. The writers at the AP really need to stay on focus before. Like I was taught in elementary school, “Opening, support, closing.” You’ll see from the article that their’s is more like “Opening, several paragraphs unrelated to the headline whatsoever, small snippet of relevant information.” I’ll put three dots for every paragraph skipped to get there: BAGHDAD, Iraq – More than 2,000 people demonstrated Tuesday at the site of a car bombing south of Baghdad that…
And here begins the first of the daily Lebanon roundups. It’s hard to keep track of everything on the internet, so I’ll try to round it all up for you guys right here quick and easy. NEWS: Some protestors vow to stay in the streets until they get a good government: A few diehard activists remained in tents overnight and about 400 protesters joined them midmorning, but Lebanese soldiers had been withdrawn from the area where the day before 25,000 flag-waving demonstrators demanded and got Prime Minister Omar Karami’s resignation. “We will be here every day until the last Syrian…
Back from the school. Now here’s what I’ve got from Instapundit. I’m trying to get as much insight and information in here as possible so here we go. So far there is Ed Morrissey, Sissy Willis, and Jim Geraghty who are all talking about it. Keep watching Tony as well. Michael Ubaldi has just informed me that he’s merged all his Lebanon commentary into one useful category. Check that out. The Belgravia Dispatch has an email from Beirut, check that out. Oxblog notes that the New York Times has embraced the Bush Doctrine as so many of us did before…
At Bloggledygook I have a post on Walid Jumblatt, sometime raving conspiracy theorist, sometime pragmatic politician, sometime pan-Arab nationalist. This person will likely be a prominent figure in coming events in Lebanon. Jumblatt has acted at times as one of Syria’s most vocal critics but seemed to come back into the fold when the US invaded Iraq. The big break came when he opposed the extension of Pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud’s term. Now that he was deemed to be less than friendly, Jumblatt believes he was fingered for assassination. The killing of Hariri confirmed his suspicions. It would be a…
The AP and Fox News are reporting that Lebanese Prime Minister Omar Karami has announced his government’s resignation in parliament. No link yet. This came before the debate on a no-confidence vote was to begin. Stay tuned. UPDATE: Boston Herald: Karami made the announcement during a parliamentary debate called to discuss Hariri’s Feb. 14 assassination in a bomb blast that killed 16 others. The announcement prompted cheers from more than 25,000 flag-waving demonstrators protesting against the government and its Syrian backers outside. The resignation was the most dramatic moment yet in the series of protests and political maneuvers that have…
I will be updating this post throughout the day as events unfold. Don’t forget to check out the photos and videos of world-wide protests for this cause. Here are more pictures. BLOGS TO CHECK OUT: Caveman in Beirut, Across the Bay, and Syria Comment. The colors are red and white, in accordance with the nation’s flag — minus the green — and I have seen in a few places the term Cedar Revolution. According to Lebanonwire, 10,000 people have poured into Martyr’s Square between late Sunday night and 5:00 this morning, despite a ban on protests: BEIRUT, Feb 28 (AFP)…
I just caught wind of this on the news. The Israeli government will shortly announce a transcript of orders delivered by the Syrian government to the terrorist group that carried out the attack in Tel Aviv. I haven’t been able to find an article on the net as of yet, but will post one as soon as I do. My prediction: If anything, Monday is the day of the Lebanese revolution. If Israel attacks and destabilizes Syria for any amount of time during this, they will lose control of the situation there and Lebanon will go free. Who knows what…
Take a look at consultative council just advised: DUBAI (AFP) – Academics and members of the appointed consultative council in the United Arab Emirates came out in favor of elections in the Persian Gulf state, arguing that it could not stay out of the regional trend toward elected bodies. When millions of Arabs in Palestine, Iraq and Saudi Arabia have gone to the polls, the UAE cannot continue to lag behind, Professor Abdul Khaleq Abdullah of the UAE University told the English-language daily Khaleej Times. “I strongly support the idea of having elected members” in the Federal National Council, said…
UPDATE: Read this post, and then continue on to my new post following the protests that are under way. In the latest developments from Lebanon, the government fears a showdown: Lebanon was headed for a showdown between the opposition and the security forces as thousands of demonstrators massed late today in Beirut in defiance of a ban on protests by the pro-Syrian government. Shouting “Syria out” and waving the Lebanese flag, the protesters converged on the central Martyr’s Square as hundreds of heavily armed troops aided by police deployed jeeps and trucks to the main crossroads leading to the square.…
CLIFFNOTES: 1) Mubarak’s announcement and actions seek to legitimize his own government, not reform. 2) Opposition has little time to develop a massive grass roots campaign. 3) This does open a window for regime change if actions outside of Mubarak’s control occur. Alright, so I’m a little skeptical. From the Christian Science Monitor: BEIRUT AND CAIRO ???????? When Egyptians head to the polls later this year to elect a president, they will face something they have never seen before on the ballots: options. In a surprise announcement Saturday, Egypt’s long-ruling president, Hosni Mubarak, ordered constitutional changes that would open the…
A revealing interview was published Friday (Feb. 25) in the Islamist daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi with Khaled Mashal, the head of Hamas’ political wing. The article was headlined: “Mashal: Pressures on Syria will have a negative effect on Hamas.” Aside from suggesting that the Syria-Hamas relationship is much closer than Syria claims, Mashal describes the truce with Israel as a purely temporary affair. He also suggests that the Bush administration has been secretly sending conciliatory messages to Hamas, a point which I hope is not true, and if true would seem to violate the Bush Doctrine. I have translated it below,…
That’s the Palestinian people. It remains to be seen if the leadership understands that their people have had enough and are demonstrating a new willingness to talk peace: If this is to be made into something that could resemble a positive step, the PA should offer to work beside the Israeli military instead of against it, even going so far as to wage war against the Palestinian terror forces. It Abbas is to be seen as serious, he needs to begin punishing terror organizations immediately. If he does that, he will find himself in what amounts to a civil war.…
Egypt’s president for life, or at least the last 24 years is now calling for multi-candidate elections. He is requesting a national referendum to open up the September presidential rubber stamp. My take over at Bloggledygook: This is a very shrewd move by Mubarak, who has been snubbed just this last week by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and has seen increased pressure form the US in the wake of the arrest of Ayman Nour. I don’t want to be overly skeptical, but the reaction from the audience seems to me to have been staged and a little too good…
Haaretz is reporting that at least 20 people have been injured in a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv: The suicide bomber apparently blew himself up at around 11:15 PM on a Friday night at the “Stage” club on the corner of Herbert Samuel and Yonah Hanavi streets in the city. Police were closing roads Friday night, and have asked the public to avoid arriving at the area. Security officials are persuing two suspects, after witnesses reported they saw two men fleeing the scene of the explosion. According to the police, the terrorists may have come from the northern West Bank,…
Not anything to get worked up over: BEIRUT, Feb 25 (AFP) – Syria, under intense international pressure to end its tight military and political grip on neighbouring Lebanon, prepared Friday to redeploy its troops toward the border, Lebanese officials said. That news came as Al-Arabiya television said UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had demanded that Damascus pull its troops out of Lebanon by April or face “measures” from the Security Council. But Annan’s spokesman denied the report, issuing a clarification. Damascus’ move comes as the Syrian-backed Beirut government was braced for a parliamentary no-confidence vote, which could bring to a…
Read what it is. I think a lot of people have this dream.
I liked this article, because I think humor sets a good mindset. KHOST, AFGHANISTAN – Mubariz Bidar would give Robin Williams a run for his money. He’s an Afghan comic who has this city – once ruled by severe Taliban – howling at their former oppressors. His spot-on impressions of everyone from a Taliban soldier to an Afghan drug addict would have even Mullah Omar giggling into his turban. At a recent impromptu performance, Mubariz wraps on a long black turban – a favorite Taliban accessory – and twists his face into a scowl. He grabs a Kalashnikov to complete…
Not only are people taking to the streets in huge numbers, but now business, banking, and industrial leaders will be totally shutting down on the Monday vote of confidence in the government. BEIRUT, Feb 23 (AFP) – Leaders of Lebanon’s banking, industrial and commercial sectors said they would shut down next Monday to demand the country’s pro-Syrian government resign and that a “neutral” one replace it. The strike would coincide with an expected vote of confidence in parliament, two weeks after the murder of former premier Rafiq Hariri in a bomb blast for which the opposition has pinned blame on…
I must apologize for not being able to feature especially large segments related to Lebanon due to personal time constraints. I hope to be able to do something big and comprehensive for the Kyrgyzstan elections on Sunday. However, Arthur Chrenkoff has done a great job day by day rounding things up on Lebanon, just like he has done for Afghanistan and Iraq. One thing I will point out especially because it is so amazing. Lebanon has a tent city: BEIRUT – A small tent city has popped up on Martyrs’ Square in Beirut as anti-Syrian protesters call for political changes…