I can’t believe the blackmail the Lebanese people are facing because of their own elections ; the Lebanese elections and what is happening in it show you how poor Lebanon is a pawn in an international game of power.
By all accounts Hezbollah and his allies have better opportunity to win this election and form the cabinet still this does not make Israeli nor its allies in the west happy at all and thus by all measures they are trying to make Hezbollah and allies fail.
Starting with the Egyptian regime and its so-called Hezbollah cell which did not affect the Lebanese elections from near or far.
Followed by the Der Spiegel's report where it accuses Hezbollah of assassinating Hariri !! It is not the first time the party is accused by this terrible accusation which no one of its opponent dared to say it.
Of course Hezbollah has denied the allegations and even if his political opponents denied it like Jambult who accused Israel of trying to push Lebanon in to a civil war again. Nasrallah accused Israel of the same thing.
To be honest I do not believe this report because of two facts : Timing and Hezbollah does not kill its Lebanese political opponents, if this is the issue why did not they get rid from their other political opponents like Gaegae and Al-Hariri JR ?!!
The timing of the report is interesting enough ; from one side you have the Lebanese election and from another side you have Mossad spy rings falling down as old leaves in autumn !!
Nobody is speaking seriously about those Mossad spy rings operating in Lebanon for decades and the fact that these rings includes members of Lebanese security forces and Lebanese political parties make me re-think about many incidents that took place in Lebanon above them the assassinations.
I will not say that the Lebanese people should elect this party or that because it is their issue and they are free people but I will be honest and say that I do not want those who were setting with Condi laughing while their fellow Lebanese were killed in the south to win. I swear if they should respect I would have taken this stand.
Still again I respect the choice of the Lebanese people whether they choose this team or that , it is rather choice according to the earliest principles of democracy.
But I can’t keep myself from asking what will happen if Hezbollah and Co. win the elections !!?? I do not think that there will a blockade on Lebanon like in case of Hamas and Gaza ; this may be why there are so many extreme attempts to make Hezbollah and co. fails.
I believe the Lebanese people should choose their best representative not based on his or her regional alliance but rather based on what he or she can really offer to Lebanon and its people.
Although i do believe that Lebanon has the right to choose its leaders, a Lebanese government headed by Hezbollah would be a problem especially now.
ReplyDeleteRight now, the region has a great chance - with obama in charge - in getting golan back, creating a Palestinian state beside the israeli one.
A Hezbollah Gov. may or may not complicate things cause of its direct relation to Iran, as Iran can use it as a bargaining card in the ongoing conflict between Iran & the region.
Omar Suleiman made it clear to Hamas & Fatah that there is an agreement between them by next july whether they like it or not, citing that they can not negotiate with israel unless there is one unite gov. in Palestine.
@Heso, but what if they win ??
ReplyDeleteI do not put too much hope on Obama with the existence of Bibi's cabinet , we are forgetting that those in Israel now are the so-called Peace camp but rather the hawks camp
America want Democracy while she is refusing terrorism, that's why they warn the Lebanese and that's why they punished the Palestinians for picking Hamas, for some reason Americans think democracy will bring angels in the middle east!!!!!!!!!, some times democracy bring bastards like what happened with Hitler.
ReplyDeletethe best solution is to ban democracy till most of the Muslim people stop being terrorist.
@Zeinobia
ReplyDeleteIf they win, then that will strengthen iran's presence & influence in the region, which has different agenda than that of arabs.
So far obama stood his ground about the 2 state solution, whether he is gonna to actualize that solution or not is still unknown, but as of now, obama is a chance that may not come again.
Bastawisi is at least half right. America truly wants Democracy everywhere. However America didn't punish the Palestinians...Hamas did! They are the bastards and so is Hezbollah. Both would use democratic elections to get power but democracy is non-existent when they rule. I believe you Zeinobia are an intelligent and caring person but for reasons I do not understand you continue to nurse this ridicu;ous notion that Hezbollah and Hamas are the good guys who will bring peace and prosperity to the Middle East. All they do is prolong the misery of the Palistinians and the Lebanese.
ReplyDeleteJust got back from Lebanon which is an extremely beatiful scenic country. People just want to live. They r tired of war. It's unfortunate that most of the parties have their own agendas which do not include the health and well being of the Lebanese people.
ReplyDeleteSorry but having seen the Shiite people perform acts of worship in Damascus at the Sayyidna Hussein mosque there, I do not think that a minority muslim sect should rule any Arab country. I saw the damage done by the 2006 war. You've never lived through a war. Egypt signed on the dotted line so that it wouldn't have to live with this kind of bloodshed.
Party of God (not necessary Allah though cuz they worship Ahul al Bayt)is just a tool of Iran and it own agenda in the region. Israelis are looking 4 an excuse to test some new weapons they want to sell on the international market. Also, lots of money in Lebanon. Khaleeji money. Expat Leb money. A lot of money period.
A hezbollah win would mean WAR in Lebanon. 3 million people that are mainly villagers for lebanon is the land of a 1000 villages plus the Pali refugees that never left are tired of war. Live through war and then come and say who should win.
You have great sympathy for the Shiite cause. Rethink it if you are sunni and please go visit their shrines in Damascus and Iraq and then come and speak about this. They are not the same as other muslims. The basic concept of tawhid is being neglected.
Last Anonymous; the most sane comment I read on the issue. People in Egypt and the ME will notice the Hizbollah assets will rise when US and Egypt is pushing for "Peace" and solution with Israel and Palistineans!!. Iran may even test when of those stupid nuclear weapons. Then Hamas assests will rise and collision(s) with Hizbollah will happen. Israel is a happy fan since peace in the ME is not to their benefits. Egypt miseries will rise until they wake up and realize how religion has been used and abused to keep Egypt(the strongest in the Arabic ME) in deep sleep. People in the ME should learn to keep faith in God, don't use religion as political tool and care about eachother, don't let Evil draw your Map to life.
ReplyDeleteZeinobia,
ReplyDeleteMay I know why are you still publishing Bastawisi's posts after he's been exposed?
America wants democracy where it is in the best interests of America to have democracy. I assure you that is not "everywhere".
ReplyDeleteOhio and the previous anon. have made some good points but I cannot understand how Peace in the Middle East would not benefit everyone,except of course Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. Blind hate of Israel leads to bad conclusions. President Sadat made a good decision and Egypt gained from it. His assassination by extremists was a tragedy.
ReplyDeleteUsing a religion to gain and/or hold power has been a fault since the beginning of time. Even in Egypt there is less and less tolerance towards the Copts and they were in Egypt well before Islam. I fervently wish that we had a world of "brotherly love." A concept still practiced by the Quakers and it is to be admired.
I say these things(OK call them rants) as an old man who spent many years in various countries since 1951 hoping to see an improved standard of living around the world. Many advances have been made in health matters since that time and some countries that have embraced capitalism and constitutional governments with free elections have greatly improved the living standards of their citizens but there is still a long way to go. When I see the despicable antics of leaders in Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, Syria, Al Queda, Hezbollah (Godchild of Iran)and Hamas I despair. Life could be so much better for all those suffering under the control or from terrorist actions of such despots if they were removed.
Salaam!
Miscrible; your comments make alot of sence for audience who value sanity, a rare commodity in the ME these days. I kept referring to Zeinobia examples of successful examples of countries to emulate, and she kept responding that "we do try to learn" and I don't believe countries in the ME know the word "learning" these days. Examples I quoted Sweden,Norway, and Japan. In those countries religion is individual's treasure,politicians get no glory for who they are, but what they succeed in achieving for their peoples,you can regularly see them on the subways. Crime rates at their lowest levels. Levels of education are quite high. Particularly in Japan you can't distinguish rich from poor from their language,their demeanors,or their attitude.Those what I clled benchmark to look for.
ReplyDeleteNate Stickney gives us assurances that America does not want democracy everywhere. Please elucidate us on the country or countries where America does not want a democracy.
ReplyDeleteWith my all respect to everybody , why no one is answering my question instead of saying how horrible it will be to have a Hezbollah cabinet in Lebanon !!?? What is going to happen and this can happen !!?? shall you use the same technique in Gaza "as if it is working" !!??
ReplyDelete@ Misrcribe I will answer the question on behalf of Nate and I will you the first country is Egypt and you know that America supported the coup of 1952 which technically killed our democratic ;)
My Dear Zeinobia- I was surprised to hear from you instead of Nate. There were rumors of U.S. involvement in the coup of 1952(there are always rumors!!) but no evidence of the U.S. playing a role in any manner overt or covert.Do you have a reliable source? There is no question that the U.S. saw the coup as an opportunity and sent Hank Byroade as Ambassador to work with the Free Officers. He as do I loved Egypt and the Egyptians and in later years we enjoyed discussions about our times there.
ReplyDeleteI will say that U.S. policy for many years was aimed towards stabilty of governments rather than democracy. President Bush and Condi Rice moved our policy towards democracy but as they learned in Palestine free democratic elections don't always yield democratic governments. I thought Nate would use this sad example to challenge me. Interestingly Teddy Roosevelt in his March 1909 speech mentioned elections and constitutions and the fact that the citizens can be misled.
I just remembered that I have warned you in the past about the oftimes unexpected results of revolutions, be they by force or the ballot box.
The more things change the more they remain the same.
Salaam!
Sorry--haven't had a chance to hop back here in a while.
ReplyDeleteCase #1 - The US support of Iraq in the Iraq/Iran war. We later invade the country in the name of "democracy". Or the fact that we have not intervened in other countries where atrocities have been committed, or other countries where there are dictators (see: North Korea). Right now, it's not necessarily in the best US interest to have democracy there. Also read up on Haiti and the US in the 1990s--specifically Noam Chomsky's thoughts. Smart guy, Chomsky.
Clearly Nate did not answer the specific question I posed.Praising Chomsky is a sad testimony regarding a college education in America today. Because of Nate and millions like him who voted for Obama I fear America's best days are past.
ReplyDeleteAlas!