What if Bush is wrong. Basso will get a chance to cure his disgraceful chickenhawk status as we will have a draft. The Avaricious Superpower The Next Crusades By URI AVNERY Many years ago, I read a book called "The Quiet American" by Graham Greene. Its central character is a high-minded, naive young American operative in Vietnam. He has no idea about the complexities of that country but is determined to right its wrongs and create order. The results are disastrous. I have the feeling that this is happening now in Lebanon. The Americans are not so high-minded and no so naive. Far from it. But they are quite prepared to go into a foreign country, disregard its complexities, and use force to impose on it order, democracy and freedom. Civil war: Lebanon. Lebanon is a country with a peculiar topography: a small country of high mountain ranges and isolated valleys. As a result, it has attracted throughout the centuries communities of persecuted minorities, who found refuge there. Today there are, side by side and one against the other, four ethno-religious communities: Christians, Sunnis, Shiites and Druse. Within the Christian community, there are several sub-communities, such as Maronites and other ancient sects, mostly hostile to each other. The history of Lebanon abounds in mutual massacres. Such a situation invites, of course, interference by neighbors and foreign powers, each wanting to stir the pot for its own advantage. Syria, Israel, the United States and France, the former colonial master, are all involved. Exactly 50 years ago a secret, heated debate took place among the leaders of Israel. David Ben-Gurion (then Minister of Defense) and Moshe Dayan (the army Chief-of-Staff) had a brilliant idea: to invade Lebanon, impose on it a "Christian major" as dictator and turn it into an Israeli protectorate. Moshe Sharett, the then Prime Minister, attacked this idea fervently. In a lengthy, closely argued letter, which has been preserved for history, he ridiculed the total ignorance of the proponents of this idea in face of the incredibly fragile complexity of the Lebanese social structure. Any adventure, he warned, would end in disaster. At the time, Sharett won. But 27 years later, Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon did exactly what Ben-Gurion and Dayan had proposed. The result was exactly as foreseen by Sharett. Anyone who follows the American and Israeli (there is no difference) media, gets the impression that the present situation in Lebanon is simple: there are two camps, "the supporters of Syria" on the one side, the "opposition" on the other. There is a "Beirut Spring". The opposition is a twin sister of yesterday's Ukrainian opposition, and loyally imitates all its methods: demonstrations opposite the government building, a sea of waving flags, colorful shawls, and, most importantly, beautiful girls in the front row. But between the Ukraine and Lebanon there exists not the slightest similarity. The Ukraine is a "simple" country: the east tends towards Russia, the west towards Europe. With American help, the west won. In Lebanon, all the diverse communities are in action. Each for its own interest, each plotting to outfox the others, perhaps to attack them at a given opportunity. Some of the leaders are connected with Syria, some with Israel, all are trying to use the Americans for their ends. The jolly pictures of young demonstrators, so prominent in the media, have no meaning if one does not know the community which stands behind them. Only thirty years ago these communities started a terrible civil war and all of them massacred each other. The Christian Maronites wanted to take over the country with the help of Israel, but were defeated by a coalition of the Sunnis and Druze (the Shiites played no significant role at that time). The Palestinian refugees, led by the PLO, who formed a kind of fifth "community", joined the battle. When the Christians were in danger of being overrun, they called on the Syrians for help. Six years later, Israel invaded, with the aim of evicting both the Syrians and the Palestinians and imposing a Christian strongman (Basheer Jumail). It took us 18 years to get out of that morass. Our only achievement was to turn the Shiites into a dominant force. When we entered Lebanon, the Shiites received us with showers of rice and candies, hoping that we would throw out the Palestinians, who had been lording it over them. A few months later, when they realized that we did not intend to leave, they started to shoot at us. Sharon is the midwife of Hizbullah. It is difficult to foresee what will happen if the Syrians accede to the American ultimatum and leave Lebanon. There is no indication that the Americans are concerned with the creation of a new fabric of life for the Lebanese communities. They are satisfied with babbling about "freedom" and "democracy", as if a majority vote could create a regime acceptable to all. They do not understand that "Lebanon" is an abstract notion, since for almost all Lebanese, belonging to their own community is vastly more important than loyalty to the state. In such a situation, even an international force will be of no help. The re-ignition of the bloody civil war is a distinct possibility. Civil war: Iraq. If a civil war breaks out in Lebanon, it will not be the only one in the region. In Iraq, such a war _ if almost secret - is already in full swing. The only effective military forces in Iraq, apart from the occupation army, are the Kurdish "Peshmerga" ("Those who face death"). The Americans use them whenever they are fighting the Sunnis. They played an important role in the battle of Faluja, a big town that was totally destroyed, its inhabitants killed or driven out. Now the Kurdish forces are waging a war against the Sunnis and Turkmens in the north of the country, in order to take hold of the oil-rich areas and the town of Kirkuk, and also to drive out the Sunni settlers who were implanted there by Saddam Hussein. How can such a war be practically ignored by the media? Simple: everything is swept under the carpet of the "war against terrorism". But this small war is nothing compared to what may happen in Iraq, once the time comes for deciding the future of the country. The Kurds want complete autonomy, or independence by another name. The Sunni would not dream of accepting the rule of the Shiite majority, which they despise, even if came about in the name of "democracy". The outbreak of a full-fledged civil war may only be a question of time. Civil war: Syria. If the Americans succeed, with Israel's discreet help, in breaking the ruling Syrian dictatorship, there is no assurance at all that it will be replaced by "freedom" and "democracy". Syria is almost as splintered as Lebanon. There is a strong Druze community in the south, a rebellious Kurdish community in the north, an Alawite community (to which the Assad family belongs) in the west. The Sunni majority is traditionally divided between Damascus in the south and Aleppo in the north. The people have resigned themselves to the Assad dictatorship out of fear of what may happen if the regime collapses. It is not likely that a full-scale civil war will break out there. But a prolonged situation of total chaos is quite likely. Sharon would be happy, though I am not sure that it would be good for Israel. Religious fervor: Iran. The main American objective is, of course, the overthrow of the Ayatollahs in Iran. (It is a little bit ironic that at the same time the Americans are helping to install the Shiites in power in neighboring Iraq, where they insist on introducing Islamic law.) Iran is a much harder nut to crack. Unlike to Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, this is a homogenous society. Israel is now openly threatening to bomb the Iranian nuclear installations. Every few days we see on our TV screens the digitally blurred faces of pilots boasting of their readiness to do this at a moment's notice. The religious fervor of the Ayatollahs has been flagging lately, as happens with every victorious revolution after some time. But a military attack by the "Big Satan" (the US) or the "Little Satan" (us) may set fire to the whole Shiite crescent: Iran, South Iraq and South Lebanon. And here, too. Israel, too, has recently witnessed a tiny civil war. In the Galilean village Marrar, where a Druze and an Arab Christian community have been living side by side for generations, a bloody incident suddenly erupted. It was a full-fledged pogrom: the Druze fell upon the Christians, attacking, burning and destroying. By a miracle, nobody was killed. The Christians say that the Israeli police (many of whose members are Druze) stood aside. The immediate reason for the outbreak: some doctored nude pictures on the Internet.) It is easy to ignite a civil war, whether out of fanaticism or out of intolerable naivete. George Bush, the (not-so-) Quiet American, runs around the world hawking his patent medicines, "freedom" and "democracy", in total ignorance of hundreds of years of history. Hard to believe, but he draws his inspiration from a book by our own Nathan Sharansky, a very small genius, to say the least. Every human being and every people has a right to freedom. Many of us have shed their blood for this aim. Democracy is an ideal that every people has to realize for itself. But when the banners of "freedom" and "democracy" are hoisted over a crusade by an avaricious and irresponsible super-power, the results can be catastrophic. link
Chucklehead-N-Chief speaks ... See if you can find hypocrity in action here. President Bush Calls on Syria to Pull Its Troops Out of Lebanon By Leta Hong Fincher Washington 09 March 2005 President Bush has pledged to continue promoting democracy in the Middle East and has renewed his call for Syria to pull its troops out of Lebanon. Some analysts, however, warn that the Bush administration should not overestimate its ability to drive change in the region. President Bush demanded that Syria withdraw its troops from Lebanon before parliamentary elections in May. "All Syrian military forces and intelligence personnel must withdraw before the Lebanese elections for those elections to be free and fair," he said. In a speech at the National Defense University in Washington D.C., Mr. Bush called on Syria to end its nearly 30-year occupation of Lebanon or become even more isolated in the world. He said that freedom will prevail in Lebanon and sided with anti-Syrian protesters in recent weeks, who have demanded that Syria remove its 14,000 troops, following the February assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. In what he called a message to the Lebanese people, Mr. Bush said the world is witnessing a great movement of conscience. "Lebanon's future belongs in your hands, and by your courage, Lebanon's future will be in your hands. The American people are on your side. Millions across the earth are on your side. The momentum of freedom is on your side," he said. Mr. Bush said that democratic elections in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories showed that across the Middle East, a critical mass of events is taking the region in a hopeful new direction. He also pointed to what he called small but welcome steps in Egypt and Saudi Arabia to allow multi-party and municipal elections. "Millions have gained their liberty and millions more have gained the hope of liberty that will not be denied. The trumpet of freedom has been sounded, and that trumpet never calls retreat," the president said. But, Mr. Bush's call for greater democracy and freedom came as hundreds of thousands of pro-Syrian demonstrators gathered in Beirut, chanting anti-American slogans. The rally was organized by Hezbollah, a militant Shia Muslim group founded by Iran and backed by Syria. The rally has dwarfed other anti-Syrian protests, prompting some analysts to warn that the United States may be overestimating its ability to bring about change in Lebanon. "One, if it's seen as the West wants Syria out, that would not be helpful to swaying the minds of the Shia and perhaps some others in Lebanon. Second, these calls by the Europeans and Americans are not self-executing and there is not another counterforce on the ground. So as much as the majority of the people want this to happen it's not going to be so simple," he said. Political analysts also argue that Middle East reforms have been announced in the past, only to fizzle out before fundamental change took root.
To summarize - Lebanon: Better to be occupied by a foreign power (Syria). Iraq: Better a dictator than self determination. Occupation by foreign power bad. Syria: Dictatorship good. We shouldn't mess with the dictatorship in Syria because its stable. Iran: Mullahocracy is good. Shouldn't mess with it. Don't think I agree with Mr. Avnery.
you left one out: Killing Arabs: bad if US does it while overthrowing murderous tyrants GLynch: killing Arabs: Go on w/ your bad self Bashar!
Your concern is touching. Frankly I don't know whether to be more insulted by being lumped in with Osama or Glynch since I suspect Glynch is more evil in your book..
They may be anti-American radicals but they are still men. Just goes to show the more we think we're different the more deep down we're all the same.
No that happened long after the whitehouse first tried to hide and blame others for the mission accomplished, and then finally admitted that it was a mistake, meanwhile with increasing amounts of U.S. dying each month the Bush whitehouse had egg on their face, and the whole scheme was such an embarrassment that despite spending all the time and money lining up the aircraft carrier so the lighting was just right, the whitehouse couldn't use any of the pictures in the re-election campaign.
Seems events in Lebanon are still very fluid. And this doesn't seem like its a good sign. ------------------ Lebanon May Reinstate Pro-Syria PM By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer MDEIREJ, Lebanon - Syrian soldiers flashed victory signs and waved automatic rifles as they drove east through Lebanon's mountains Wednesday in the first phase of a pullback, and government lawmakers advised the president to bring back his pro-Damascus prime minister who was forced by opposition protests to resign. Nominating Omar Karami again as prime minister would be sure to enrage the opposition, which is demanding the creation of a government free of Syrian domination. Lebanese President Emile Lahoud consulted with lawmakers Wednesday on the prime minister. Karami was forced to resign Feb. 28 when more than 25,000 opposition supporters rallied in Martyrs' Square, but he has been leading a caretaker government since then. By early afternoon, 52 of the 54 legislators — all government loyalists — who met with Lahoud advised him to reappoint Karami, according to the presidential press office. The two others — including Karami — did not reveal their nomination. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...u=/ap/20050309/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_syria_3
lol, yeah. I grew up in Saudi Arabia, and well. That's not a strange sight to me. They are horrible about starring at women, when they stay at a GF of mine (or a relative), I start starring at them until they look up and realize they are being watched (while they were starring at my lady)
In the latest twist in what's going on in Lebanon the pro-Syrian prime minister who resigned last week in the face of the huge anti-Syrian demonstrators might be back in office in the face of huge pro-Syrian demonstrations. Talk about a politician going with political winds. http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/03/09/lebanon.syria/index.html
And everything seems to be moving really fast right now over there. We'll just have to see how this plays out. But I'm sure Jr won't be too happy about it.
