From Beirut to the Beltway

Hizbullah security threatened

The Hizbullah-controlled General Security department has reportedly "arrested" an airport inspector spying -- get this -- on Hizbullah!

Because Hizbullah security is the top priority of this autonomous department, which controls Lebanon's borders, as well as the airport, it successfully busted someone spying on an illegal militia, while many of its other employees freely deliver information to Hizbullah and Syrian intelligence.

The daily said that Director General of the General Security Brig. Gen. Wafiq Jizzini has conveyed "the critical information" to Interior Minister Hassan Sabeh who instructed his men to "put an end to these acts that disturb security." As Safir said that security experts monitoring the inspector found out that he was trying to recruit airport staffers and other civilians to work for European intelligence services. It said the network appeared to have set one goal – Hizbullah – with a mission to "monitor Hizbullah centers and institutions as well as military positions." It said maps, pictures and videotapes of Hizbullah offices in Beirut and the southern suburbs as well as in south and east Lebanon were seized during a raid on the inspector's house. (Naharnet)

As-Safir, which most of the time sympathizes with Hizbullah, has already accused the Mossad -- posing as a European spy agency-- of being behind this spy network.

God forbid should anyone in this wretched security apparatus monitor an illegal militia as it receives weapons from a foreign country, and prepares for war with another. And did I mention illegally occupy the country's capital and hijack its economy?

Meanwhile, teleporting in a refugee camp near you,  31 liquid explosives for use in "terrorist acts".

Hersh-ey facts

Tony does a great job deconstructing Seymour Hersh's ridiculous piece in the New Yorker, which the world media is eating up like hot candy. Worse than a press that doesn’t ask the right questions is a press that makes up its own facts. "Investigative reporter" Hersh combines both talents in his latest article, "The redirection".

There is a lot of hogwash in the beginning of the article, which talks of a "new policy" that is "benefiting our enemies in the war". The article presumes that the enemy is "radical Sunni groups". Any policy that could lead to a confrontation with, say, Iran, is described as hurting our war against the original enemy, which apparently does not include Iran or Syria. Why would Hersh feel obliged to actually examine current facts, as opposed to ones from 2003, with a mentality from the 1970s? I guess he's having trouble finding good researchers, and is instead making heavy use of secondary sources, including perhaps Syrian regime propaganda tool, Cham Press, which, and thanks to Hersh's article, now feels more authentic than the latest issue of the New Yorker. Hersh, who rose to fame for his coverage of the Vietnam war, is only satisfied if the US army is seen massacring innocent people, and incurring heavy losses without much of a retaliation strategy. He's happier with an army that bleeds, as long as his hatred towards the Bush administration is served. To quote Garry Wills in the New York Review of Books, "in his mad zeal to destroy Camelot . . . Hersh has with precision and method disassembled and obliterated his own career and reputation."

Tony has addressed most of the points I wanted to address, including the preposterous accusations that the Lebanese government is arming al-Qaeda affiliates in Lebanon with the aim to attack "largely" Shia Hizbullah. Hersh's sources consist of washed up former intelligence officials, "government consultants" and think tank dwellers with statements beginning with "it seems".

Or guys like this one:

A senior member of the House Appropriations Committee told me that he had heard about the new strategy, but felt that he and his colleagues had not been adequately briefed. “We haven’t got any of this,” he said. “We ask for anything going on, and they say there’s nothing. And when we ask specific questions they say, ‘We’re going to get back to you.’ It’s so frustrating.”

Oh yeah, it's "so frustrating" to not know much about anything, isn't it… After a series of recycled political analysis that reminds us of the Arab states' fear of the Shias (what a revelation that is), Hersh resorts to the Council on Foreign Relations for some more guess work.

“It seems there has been a debate inside the government over what’s the biggest danger—Iran or Sunni radicals,” Vali Nasr, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, who has written widely on Shiites, Iran, and Iraq, told me.

All that evidence, Hersh says, proves that the alleged US strategy of clandestine activities against Syria and Iran is "bolstering ... Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda".

Oh? So, according to Hersh, by (allegedly) waging clandestine operations against Syria and Iran, known to support and facilitate al-Qaeda operations in Iraq and Lebanon, the US is bolstering al-Qaeda?

Al-Qaeda must be in happy place now. The US government, Iran and Syria are all supporting it.

Hersh must think himself super smart and the administration stupid, for he thinks, and since "most of the insurgent violence directed at the American military has come from Sunni forces, and not from Shiites" (in a parachuting manner, mind you, Islamists are being dropped by the Sunni god from the sky), the administration is busy correcting an "unintended—strategic consequence of the Iraq war is the empowerment of Iran". So this administration is so dumb, that it's willing to bolster Sunni extremists to get back at Iran, which, to Hersh, has done nothing wrong in Iraq, not to mention Lebanon.

I urge you to read Tony's post on the Lebanon part of the article, where we learn about "Bashir Assad", a man against whom the UN found "no direct evidence" of involvement in the Hariri murder. According to Hersh, the situation is so desperate, the UN will launch "another investigation". This "other investigation" is what people familiar with the rule of law know as the Hariri tribunal. Of course, absent from this "investigative reporting" is Syria's violent opposition to the tribunal, which is also not mentioned as one of the prime reasons Hizbullah has hijacked downtown Beirut. In fact, Hizbullah, in Hersh's eyes, is only acting to counter a US plot to pit Sunnis against Shias, and for purely nationalistic purposes.

In the part about Nasrallah, Syria and Iran's role are minimized to the comfortable level allowing Hersh to prove his conspiracy theory. Enter Robert Baer.

Robert Baer, a former longtime C.I.A. agent in Lebanon, has been a severe critic of Hezbollah and has warned of its links to Iranian-sponsored terrorism. But now, he told me, “we’ve got Sunni Arabs preparing for cataclysmic conflict, and we will need somebody to protect the Christians in Lebanon. It used to be the French and the United States who would do it, and now it’s going to be Nasrallah and the Shiites.

“The most important story in the Middle East is the growth of Nasrallah from a street guy to a leader—from a terrorist to a statesman,” Baer added. “The dog that didn’t bark this summer”—during the war with Israel—“is Shiite terrorism.”

Nasrallah is a growth alright, but a Lebanese statesman protecting Christians? I think Baer has spent too much time in Hollywood. It gets better—the following suggests Hizbullah is independent from Syria and Iran:

Most members of the intelligence and diplomatic communities acknowledge Hezbollah’s ongoing ties to Iran. But there is disagreement about the extent to which Nasrallah would put aside Hezbollah’s interests in favor of Iran’s. A former C.I.A. officer who also served in Lebanon called Nasrallah “a Lebanese phenomenon,” adding, “Yes, he’s aided by Iran and Syria, but Hezbollah’s gone beyond that.”

Can't you all see how Hizbullah's gone beyond Syria and Iran to serve Lebanese national interests?

Baer, Hersh and their friends have one thing in common: they all have abandoned reality for fiction. And we all know that fiction sells better. In the words of Hersh's proclaimed nemesis, George W. Bush, "Seymour Hersh is a liar".

Update. Sandmonkey got hershed.

A wake up call

After bashing abortion, "unnatural births", adoption, family planning, women's rights and homosexuality, Maronite Patriarch Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir turned to the economic woes of downtown businesses and the alleged arms race in Lebanon.

Of course, no media except the National News Agency, which carried his Sunday sermon in its entirety, will highlight his rejection of basic human rights. Many will agree with his demand that Hizbullah end its occupation (my term) or at least move its tents elsewhere. And many will rightly see this sermon as a frightening confirmation that "all Lebanese parties" are arming.

However, Sfeir's sermon was as radical as any Islamic sermon I've read or heard, minus the violent and deafening delivery. Yet all seek his wisdom and leadership, and pay attention to him when he vetoes the removal of Lahoud from office (something he regretted when, a year later, he asked him to resign).

But then, with much of the political class now aspiring for a joint decree by Shia and Sunni fundamentalists in Iran and Saudi Arabia, there is little surprise that a Christian fanatic would be afforded such a prominent role. Too bad the only secular-sounding movement in Lebanon, Aoun's FPM, has forced itself into church-pandering to survive its leader's folly.

Hizbullah terrorism drives Lebanese away

According to al-Mustaqbal, 6000 Engineers, 400 dentists, 144 surgeons and 5 top medical professors have left Lebanon over the past 3 months.

An-Nahar today reported that the number of downtown businesses that closed down has reached 81, including 41 restaurants and cafes. A delegation from these businesses visited Michel Aoun yesterday, begging him to relocate his opposition somewhere less damaging. 

Meawnhile, Hizbullah's al-Manar is concerned that Iran and Saudi Arabia have spent "50 working hours" trying to reach a compromise and lambasted March 14 for placing obstacles. I guess Lebanese people are expected to feel sorry for wasted Iranian working hours to please their own Hizbullah and the Assad regime, and ignore Lebanese loss of income resulting from Hizbullah's occupation of the country.

And if that isn't enough, Hizbullah is threatening "civil disobedience". Let's see—the heavily-armed militia already has control of the south, parts of the Bekaa and some of the security institutions in the country, including the General Security and customs-- not to mention their own security apparatus that's policing part of downtown Beirut. "Civil disobedience" effectively means secession from the state they have been actively destroying since July.

This is Hizbullahland for you: poverty, destruction and permanent state of war. For those who had seen the south prior to July, go now and see how its self-proclaimed protector turned it into a waste zone. Do not be fooled by their "terrorist" reconstruction arm.  The US did what the Lebanese government should have done a long time ago, before the militia started building psychological and physical separation walls in the country.

And speaking of terrorism, has anyone wondered why, and since Hizbullah's occupation of downtown Beirut, no explosives were "found" or detonated anywhere near the city center. Lebanese army presence did not prevent this one from happening. Oh, I forget. Terrorism has yellow and orange flags in dowtown Beirut. No explosives needed.

For a few holy weapons

Israel today confirmed what Nasrallah had claimed before: that Hizbullah is stronger today than before the 34-day war in the summer. With some Israeli officials predicting a renewal of hostilities, many Lebanese believe the Jewish state will soon come to settle its score with the party that claimed divine victory over its mighty army.

And Hizbullah is getting ready.

The party has been tirelessly trying to remove some of the obstacles between them and the border: UNIFIL 2 and the Lebanese army. Syria is their supply route, and I think Hizbullah's opposition to the tribunal is at least partially motivated by the need to protect their only road to Iran's arsenal.

The Lebanese army today is overstretched and exhausted, not to mention ill-equipped to face the Israelis. So it's not much of an obstacle for Hizbullah. UNIFIL 2, Hizbullah decided after grudgingly agreeing to UNSC 1701, can only be removed through what they call a "national unity government".

March 14 is rightly pre-occupied with the Hariri tribunal. But there needs to be another priority—one that the July war should have proven its utmost importance: Hizbullah's weapons. Despite the one or two confiscation incidents, there have been no serious attempts to treat this issue. By occupying downtown Beirut, and stirring sectarian tensions, Hizbullah has successfully hid its weapons inside the cloak of sectarian strife.

Hizbullah has created so many fronts for Siniora's government and the March 14 cabinet, that it's easy to forget that the best protection against another divine devastation is an offense against Hizbullah's weapons. If March 14 in the past treaded carefully on this issue for fear of igniting a war, Hizbullah has made it even more difficult for them now. To their supporters, Hizbullah's weapons have increased in importance and taken on an undeclared domestic role, especially after the bloody confrontations in January with what Hizbullah's media machine called "the government militias".

Hizbullah is stalling. Time seems to be on their side. If they believe that the Israeli blow is in the making, then all they need to do is devise strategy to delay and obstruct until war delivers them jihad. Nasrallah's refusal to return to national dialogue is because he does not want to discuss his weapons again, and not, as Nasrallah claimed, because he doesn't want to be seen as the opposition's driving force. The party has no problem plunging the country into chaos until war time.

Hizbullah has been called stupid before, for failing to understand the Lebanese formula. But perhaps they're not so stupid after all. Their weapons are now protected by the ghosts of sectarian warfare. March 14 had better re-open this issue and make it a top priority before Israel comes knocking on the door again.

Update. Speaking of stalling, buying time is the official new Iranian-Syrian strategy over the next few months, according to Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai AL Aam. The paper says that immediately after returning from Tehran, Bashar Assad "asked" Emile Lahoud to use article 59 in the constitution which allows him to adjourn parliament for up to a month.  Parliament's first session this year is scheduled to start in March.  Saad Hariri in an interview with Al-Arabiya a few days ago hinted that if parliament fails to approve the Hariri tribunal during that time, the UNSC may resort to a chapter 7 resolution setting up the court.

Thus spoke (again) Nasrallah

To commemorate the martyrdom of the Islamic resistance's "Sayed martyr" Abbas al-Mousawi and its "Sheikh martyr" Ragheb Harb, Hizbullah held a "celebration" in the southern suburb of occupied Beirut.
After being told that "we live in a country that forgets its great martyrs" and where "agents turn into national symbols", Nasrallah tried to give his "Islamic resistance" a "Lebanese national dimension" by claiming a link to Moussa As Sadr, who, we are told, planted the seeds of this resistance in the 1960s. With this, Nasrallah desperately tries to respond to his critics who constantly argue that Sadr would not have sold the country to Iran. He also tries to justify his actions by comparing them to Sadr's mobilization of the Shias against government neglect.

And then we learn that the "resistance" acquired the right to own and transport weapons from religions, divine laws, and the history of humanity and human societies. For that, the weapons that the army confiscated are "usurped" even if taken to the south. Matters like weapon smuggling and waging wars fall under the sole and divine jurisdiction of Hizbullah.

When an Israeli newspaper claimed French reconnaissance planes were flying over Lebanese territories, violating Hizbullah's wishes, Nasrallah's people called "some of the countries" directly and settled what turned out to be a lie. 

This is all part of plot to create tension between Hizbullah and UNIFIL. The conspirators include those predicting attacks on UNIFIL. They want to create tension between UNIFIL and Hizbullah like they are trying to create tension between the Lebanese army and Hizbullah (god forbid should there be "tension" between an illegal militia and a legitimate army).

See, Hizbullah has given "guarantees". They will not harm UNIFIL. In other words, UNIFIL is protected by Hizbullah, which is so influential, Nasrallah says, that whenever Nasrallah's people have remarks on its performance, they call the concerned states directly and "so far the states have been responsive … because sometimes some of the UNIFIL soldiers have been recruited by Israel and the concerned country does not bear responsibility for the action of this soldier or that officer, and when we turn their attention to the matter, it gets resolved".

It is sobering for those who believe the myth that the Lebanese state has extended its authority over Hizbullah land to listen to Nasrallah speak as the lord of a mini state with its own foreign affairs department that UNIFIL countries apparently contact directly and depend on for their security. I will be waiting for UNIFIL to deny such an intimate relationship with Hizbullah.

Turning to the affairs of Hizbullah's northern border, i.e. the annexed part of downtown Beirut, Nasrallah accused "some" in March 14 (February 14 to him) of working against a resolution to the standoff between his "party" and the government, which he considers illegitimate because it dares question his authority. After blaming the US ambassador for wrecking the "positive atmosphere" of the last couple of weeks, he rejected multilateral dialogue, but welcomed bilateral talks between any one in the "other" camp and anyone in the "opposition" except Hizbullah. Why? Because Nasrallah says he wants to prove that Hizbullah is not the entire opposition. He said bilateral talks could create an opening or bring views together.

How do you get away with accusing others of desiring conflict when you don't even want to be part of the resolution? You pretend you're god-sent and convince your followers you're also the embodiment of every martyr in history, beginning with Abel and ending with the martyrs Nasrallah was allegedly commemorating yesterday. Or you tell them they're invincible and omnipresent—mini-gods who are "capable of being present in all squares at the same time, and available for Jihad in any domain." And for those unimpressed with humanity's salvation history, you point them in the direction of Palestine.

Nasrallah is a monster, and unfortunately, Lebanon and this region are fertile grounds for monsters like him. Not only did he, in one speech, conflate Lebanon with Palestine, southern Lebanon with the occupied territories, Beirut with Jerusalem, and Israel with March 14—he also got away with it. And he will always get away with it, as long as there is a system that allows him to be the lion and the persecuted at the same time.

Solution? Evolution needs to be inflicted on this region that bred people like him and the ones who worship him.

Don't ask me how. I don't know.

Shadow over freedom square

Two years later, the speeches are essentially the same, but the city is not.

Something didn't feel right today. Hundreds of thousands of well-meaning Lebanese took to the street to remember Hariri, and protest against Hizbullah and Syria.

But the city they converged on was physically divided, with Hizbullah in effective occupation of its heart. "It reminds me of Berlin," said one protestor from Sidon. Indeed. You could not forget, despite the verbal challenges mounted by the speakers, that on the other side of the barbwire, there is an illegal force wreaking havoc in the country. Their presence, one could argue, was designed to cancel out whatever effect this mass rally was supposed to produce.

The picture the world saw today was not of March 14 proving its popularity. The "I Love Life" Lebanon they tried to promote was overshadowed by the Hizbullah's men, who overlooked the scene, and stood in front of the Lebanese army, casting a long shadow over what was once renamed freedom square.

Hundreds of armed soldiers controlled access to Martyr's Square, where the pro-government 'March 14' alliance of Sunni, Druze and Christian groups gathered their supporters. At least half a dozen tanks occupied the main highway running east to west across Beirut and rows of razor wire were used to secure the central government buildings and to divide the two opposing groups.

Access to the Hezbollah-led opposition area in Riad al-Solh Square was tightly controlled by the Lebanese army, with only a few journalists allowed through. Hezbollah appeared to have moved the majority of its supporters away from the area for the day, leaving behind a few hundred young Shia men who lined the bridge overlooking downtown Beirut.

A Hezbollah security official who spoke to IRIN at the scene said the men were not allowed to speak to the press.

Terror hits Lebanon on the eve of the Hariri assassination anniversary

The Lebanese red cross is still counting casualties from two explosions that hit two buses transporting morning commuters in Ain Alaq, near Bekfaya in Mount Lebanon.

Early reports put the number of killed at 12, but the Red Cross could only confirm three so far, with many wounded. LBC said rescue workers have not yet been able to identify and move all body parts to hospitals.

The explosions come a day before the second anniversary of the Hariri assassination. March 14 is planning a massive rally to commemorate the February 14 2005 killing of the former PM and at least 20 others.

Lebanon's civil war officially started with a bus massacre—gunmen attacked a bus on April 13 1975 carrying Palestinians in the Christian neighborhood of Ain El Remmeneh. The February 13 2007 attacks, which targeted Christians -- the terrorists' favored targets since the Hariri assassination --  were probably designed to ignite another civil war on the eve of the commemorations.

According to Naharnet, Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh is claiming that the targeted buses were rented to carry participants in tomorrow's rally.

Update. The official death toll is three, with 20 injured. A 35 year old mother of two is among those killed. Here's a video from the site of the explosions courtesy of LBC.

Update 2. March 14 issued a statement accusing the Syrian regime of orchestrating the bus bombings and of attempting to turn Lebanon into another Iraq. The statement called for imposing sanctions on the regime and sending international troops to monitor the border with Syria.

A march of broken hearts

This Wednesday, two years will have passed since an explosion ripped through Beirut's heart, killing the architect of post war Lebanon, and rendering the personal lives of sectarian leaders difficult, albeit their political choices a lot easier.

This post will not regurgitate past opinions about what is at stake for the country.

Put aside our political struggle for a moment. Forget, for the purpose of what I will ask next, that Lebanon is a political pie up for grabs by regional and international powers.

Put aside politics and tell me. On Wednesday, when the Sunni, the Druze, the Christian and the Shia walk hand in hand demonstrating political unity against the Shia, the Christian, the Sunni and some Druze and regional agents—when this political showdown and commemoration of massacres materialize in hordes of flag-waving people, will there be change?

Will we have taken a step towards true freedom? And I am not referring to the freedom from ideological and political occupiers.

Will those demonstrating hold their individualism above their loyalties to the parents' sects? Will the flag they feel is patriotically theirs more than others'-- will it christen them free individuals?

Some who did not grow up in Lebanon, or who forgot what choices our society demands of us, may not appreciate the timing of this post-- what with what is at stake, and the degeneration of the country into a developing war zone. Even this blogger had picked sides, and wasn't ashamed of pitting the struggle against regional foes that have to be defeated before the battle is won.

But my fellow compatriots who will wave the flag that supposedly adorn our hearts-- are they agents of change or mere soldiers in a transient battle against an easy enemy?

Now that we've marched against that enemy on more than one occasion, will we be able to march for our freedom?

At the end of the day, will the political alliance driving the hordes lead to social freedom?

When the night falls and emotions subside, will Christians and Muslims travel back on the same road, or will each take a different but familiar road?

Will the flag-bearers from each side of the cement wall see in one another not just a political ally, but a human being with whom a social contract can be made?

Our leaders are great in forging and breaking alliances, and our religious dictators are masters at chanting national unity.

But will there be freedom to choose one's own path in life?

Will they "love life" as they say they do? Or is that just another smart but redundant slogan in a country that embraces religious discrimination?

Will the Sunni love life and move to Kesrouane? Will the Maronites love life and feel comfortable owning a house in Basta? Will the Shia marry the Sunni, and the Sunni marry the Druze?

If not, then what the hell is the point? Tomorrow, there will be another enemy, and another battle, and our hearts will break again.

Hizbullah wants its weapons back, Lebanese army commander wants to resign -- updated

A truck transporting weapons to Hizbullah was accidentally confiscated by customs agents who thought it was smuggling fuel from Syria.  Hizbullah has now  issued a statement asking for "their weapons" to be returned.

"The Lebanese authorities should return the truck and the munitions to the resistance," it said. Hizbullah justified its demand for the truck to be returned by what it called a "ministerial declaration" by Premier Fouad Saniora recognizing the right to resist Israeli occupation in Lebanon. Defense Minister Elias Murr earlier announced that the army and the customs intercepted the truck in Hazmieh on its way from the eastern Bekaa Valley.

Stay tuned for more ridiculous news from Lebanon.

Update. Defense Minister Elias Murr rejected Hizbullah's demand to return the seized weapons. "I wish Hizbullah had given these weapons as a gift to the Lebanese army which successfully warded off the Israeli attack on Lebanese territory yesterday," he told LBC.

Murr said the weapons will return to the Lebanese army, which is deployed in southern Lebanon and in charge of defending the border "against the Israeli enemy".

According to Murr, the seized weapons included "Soviet-made" rockets similar to those used by Hizbullah against Israel during the war this past summer.

Surprisingly, Murr said the truck did not originate in Syria, but in Lebanon. He said Lebanese customs had been tracking it for a week, until it was intercepted in Beirut's eastern suburb. Murr did not explain why Lebanese customs were inolved in the surveillance if, as he said, the truck did not come from the border. He did declare, however, that no weapons have crossed into Lebanon from Syria since the army took charge of the border. 

Update 2.  An-Nahar says the truck was headed for the southern suburb of Beirut. The driver, Mohammad Ali Zein, a member of Hizbullah, received the shipment in Chtaura in the Bekaa valley. The weapons included Hawn rockets and other weapons used in street combat.

Question: Is this a fluke incident or is the Lebanese government FINALLY hitting back by going after Hizbullah's weapons?

Update 3. In the interview with LBC, Murr said that army commander Michel Suleiman has asked for a 3-month leave. According to Murr, Suleiman wanted to resign following the recent events but his resignation was not accepted.