From Beirut to the Beltway

The glory of disunity

While it's not rare to witness disunity among Arab states-- indeed seeking "Arab unity" is often an exercise in absurdity-- it is refreshing to see this disunity playing out at this level. After Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco will reportedly send low ranking officials to attend the "Arab solidarity" summit in Damascus alongside the lonely (and very angry) thug.   

London-based pan-Arab newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat on Wednesday quoted Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa as saying that “countries that do not attend the summit will regret it,” without elaborating.

Like some of you out there, I have never been a fan of Arab gatherings. The Arab League, as an organization, would do its members a greater service if it were turned into an organ for economic cooperation, as opposed to fake political unity that consistently fails the test of history and reality. One almost feels sorry for Amr Moussa, stuck defending notions that never existed. The Arab initiative was doomed to failure for many reasons, one being the Damascus regime's intransigence. However, it also failed because it came from the Arab League, a vessel for inaction and looking backwards, that the Syrian regime used to justify its support for terrorism, in the name of common causes and the so called "Arab solidarity".   

Allow me to gloat as I witness the increased isolation of Bashar and his pals. Many of us thought they would never see the day when a Lebanese government would boycott an Arab summit on principle. While many other principles still need to be defended at home, mainly the one called rule of law, there is hope that the international tribunal will breathe some of that back into the country. Next month, the tribunal that will hopefully try the killers of the Lebanese potential will start.  It is too early to say "at last", but this tribunal, as the boycott did, can, at least psychologically, empower both those who fought for Lebanon, and those who almost gave up.

Persepolis banned in Lebanon

After the Da Vinci Code in 2006, Persepolis became the latest movie to be banned by the interior ministry's renegade censorship department. Ironically, while the first one was banned on grounds it offends Catholic sensitivities, Persepolis, which portrays life in Iran before and after the "revolution", was banned because it offends Hizbullah's sponsor.

While I have no doubt in my mind that the Directorate of General Security, which controls the country's human and cultural imports and exports, would have also banned a movie critical of life in Saudi Arabia, it is particularly disturbing to see its head, Hizbullah sympathizer Wafiq Jizzini, banning a film because Nasrallah and Ahmadinejd didn't approve of it. 

Here are excerpts from the AFP story that confirmed the ban:

The Oscar-nominated film "Persepolis", which has annoyed authorities in Iran for its critical portrayal of the Islamic revolution, has been banned in Lebanon, an official said on Wednesday. The official, from the interior ministry's general security department, would not say why the French animated film would not be shown in Lebanon, even though it has been screened in Iran.

But another official said the film had displeased the head of security services, who he claimed is close to the militant Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran. "It is clear that ... General Wafiq Jizzini is close to Hezbollah and he doesn't want to allow such a movie, which he believes gives an image of Iran as being worse off than it was before the shah," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Jizzini could not be reached for comment.

Bassam Eid, production manager at Circuit Empire, the company that was to distribute the film, blasted the banning as ridiculous and unwarranted. "The decision is even more ridiculous when you consider that you can buy for two dollars pirated copies of the film in Hezbollah's stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut," Eid told AFP.

"I purchased two copies of the film from the suburbs and from the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camp and handed one over to Culture Minister Tareq Mitri," he added.

The film, which shows its young heroine's brushes with the authorities in the early days of the Islamic revolution in the 1980s, was screened in Iran last month but is not expected to be shown at mainstream cinemas. A success in the United States and France, "Persepolis" has been condemned by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government as Islamophobic and anti-Iranian...

Maria Chakhtoura, culture editor at Lebanon's French language daily L'Orient-Le Jour, said she feared the banning of might be a sign of worse to come. "Does this mean that Lebanon has become a small suburb of Tehran," she asked in a commentary piece Wednesday.

"This is part of an effort to eat away at people's liberties in order to plunge the country into darkness, to isolate it and to impose on it a culture it rejects." (AFP)

Unfortunately, and given the precedents Lebanon has in banning films and books, it will be hard to stop Hizbullah from arguing "why not this", and from having their way once again. We have let them set conditions for the election of a president and occupy the heart of the city. We have allowed them to import weapons and start wars. This Jizzini guy is infamous for disobeying his superiors, preferring instead to answer to Hizbullah. Banning a movie might seem like a minor offense compared to the above. Unfortunately, we all know that it isn't. I know that the heart of every culture-loving Lebanese breaks with every ban, especially one reportedly initiated by an entity that's rocking our faults and turning them into permanent divisions.

However, how do you fight this cultural and political invasion with such a faulty defense system in place? It seems, more than ever, that to win this battle for Lebanon, there should be a serious evaluation of what Lebanese values are.

If open society, cultural diversity and freedom of speech are at stake here, then this ban should serve as a reminder that Lebanese culture has been under attack for a long time now. Hizbullah is the latest offender, spreading a culture of death, laying siege to democratic institutions, and turning a cosmopolitan city into a sewage of expired values.

Update. Jizzini "changed his mind".

Lebanese authorities on Thursday went back on their decision to ban the prize-winning animated film "Persepolis," following an outcry and accusations that the censorship was aimed at pleasing Iran and Shia clerics.

"We have given the green light for the film 'Persepolis’ to be seen in cinemas across Lebanon," one official from the censorship bureau said on condition of anonymity without elaborating.

On Wednesday, General Wafik Jizzini, head of General Security at the Interior Ministry, which handles censorship, said he had decided to ban the film after Shia officials expressed concern that its content was offensive to Muslims and to Iran.

"The office that handles censorship matters informed me in their report that the film attacks Islam and the Iranian regime, and this could spark tension with Iran," Jizzini said.

"I can go back on my decision, I respect freedom of expression," he said. "But given the current political crisis in Lebanon, this is not the time to add fuel to the fire."

General Jizzini could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday on why he had changed his mind.

 

The boycott

The Saudis weren't kidding. As soon as Berri postponed the session to elect a president, and after the failure of the Egyptian efforts, Saudi Arabia announced that its representation at the Damascus summit will consist of its ambassador to the Arab League. Not even the Saudi foreign minister will be present to pass the torch to a humiliated Syrian president.

While Amr Moussa is still dreaming of Lebanese participation, the cabinet today is expected to announce that it will boycott the summit, which will be the right move and the right message to send. The only place to discuss the election should be in parliament, not Damascus. Syria's buddies have already warned that a boycott will push Damascus to "further complicate matters". And fundamentalist Fathi Yakan, whose own pro-Syrian organ saw hundreds defect and accuse him of being a Syrian tool, held Arab states responsible for "what will befell the regional Arab situation if the security situation in Lebanon explodes".

Berri's 17th postponement, an illegal move by the man who stole the keys to parliament, was coupled with another illegal proposal—holding a dialogue outside the state's institutions. Berri delivered his "ideas" during an interview with anti-government station New TV before the Saudi announcement. One hopes that March 14 does not cave in this time, having discovered time and time again that Berri's dialogue sessions are but time-buying measures and maneuvers to take pressure off the Assad regime, and spread false hopes.   

Something else happened yesterday. A sweaty Nasrallah delivered a speech during which he played down the possibility of another war with Israel. Although he vowed to exact revenge on those who killed Mughnieh, and eventually destroy Israel, he said he would continue to negotiate with his enemy for the sake of the detainees. So much for open war.

All must not be well with Nasrallah and his buddies. Underneath his words of defiance was an acknowledgment that the "opposition" is falling apart, or that it really was never more than a front for an increasingly insecure Iranian party, and a Syrian tool. At some point, Nasrallah must have realized that he cannot survive Arab pressure and overplayed Syrian tactics, which consist of playing different people against the government, even if the approaches contradict and lead to implosion. Nasrallah's call for a unified platform is an indication that all is not well in the pro-Syrian camp, which saw itself being pushed into Bashar's limbo land. That the Arab states aren't even bothering with going through the opposition anymore further marginalizes them, making them appear like the puppets they have always been.

In the name of Arab solidarity

The ruling thugs of Damascus are touting the Arab summit as the summit of "Arab solidarity", where every crisis could be resolved, as long as Arabs made love on Persian rugs and ignored Syria's and Iran's roles in instigating conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza. The Assad regime is so desperate to raise the level of representation at the summit, its pamphleteers in Lebanon have begun talking about a possible breakthrough, or "new ideas" to emerge after the summit courtesy of Nabih Berri, the man whom the Syrians entrusted with locking the gates of Lebanese Parliament.

The Assad regime reportedly got busy courting the Egyptians, showering them with offers to "improve bilateral relations", possibly in hopes Mubarak would attend or at least drop his reservations over Syria's annoying obstruction of the Lebanese presidential election.

Sadly for Bashar, the Egyptians saw through his generosity (and possibly blackmail. Think Hamas and Gaza). Al-Hayat on Friday quoted Egyptian sources as saying the Assad strategy to spread false hopes about resolving the Lebanese crisis aims to increase the level of Arab representation at the summit. The sources continued, "The Arab foreign ministers discussed the Lebanese issue three times and there's an Arab initiative that Syria and its allies in Lebanon did not respond to… What can the summit offer that the ministers couldn’t?"

Reportedly, Egypt had been unsuccessfully trying to get a Lebanese president elected before the summit, in hopes to save Arab face and make it a success for all. These efforts failed because it became apparent (once again) that Assad is only interested in a high-profile event to break his Arab isolation and take pictures with pro-US Arab states.

The regime was not happy with the Egyptians leaking this information to al-Hayat. On Saturday, it hit back with a counter-leak,  refusing to be held responsible for the failure to reach a resolution to the Lebanese crisis, and accusing March 14 of obstructing the Arab initiative.

الى ذلك، طرحت أوساط سورية «تساؤلات كبيرة» تتعلق بمدى توافر الرغبة الجدية لدى الاكثرية اللبنانية في حل الازمة وبكونها تريد فقط انتخاب رئيس وبقاء حكومة فؤاد السنيورة، وقالت: «التساؤلات في شأن موقف الغالبية ينطلق من فهم الموقف الاميركي الذي يريد بقاء حكومة السنيورة»، مشيرة الى ان ذلك «يفسر» الكلام عن توسيع هذه الحكومة في الوقت الراهن «توطئة لاستمرارها». واعتبرت الأوساط السورية هذا الاتجاه «يتنافى نصاً وروحاً مع المبادرة العربية التي تتكلم في نقطتها الثانية عن حكومة وحدة وطنية».

وكررت المصادر السورية الرفيعة ان القمة «تخص العرب جميعاً، وهناك مشاكل تواجه الامة العربية، ومشكلة لبنان واحدة من هذه المشاكل لكنها
ليست الوحيدة. ويفترض في القمة ان تعالج جميع المشاكل الموجودة». واضافت انه «منطق غير سليم ان يطلب حل المشاكل كشرط لحضور القمة. سورية دعت جميع الدول العربية، وهي ترحب بقدوم الجميع وتؤكد انها تريد القمة للتضامن كما يجب ان تكون».

وقالت المصادر الرسمية، رداً على سؤال عن الاحتمالات في حال عدم انتخاب رئيس للبنان في الجلسة المقبلة للبرلمان اللبناني يوم الثلثاء المقبل: «إن الشيء الطبيعي جداً، ان تكون قمة دمشق المكان الطبيعي للبحث عن حل لهذه الازمة»، مضيفة ان كل دولة عربية «تختار من يمثلها وفق لرؤيتها للأمور. ولا صحة للقول ان دمشق تشيع جواً من التفاؤل لرفع مستوى التمثيل. وليست هناك اتصالات سورية - مصرية حالياً لحل الازمة اللبنانية». واعتبرت ان «اشتراط حل الازمة لعقد القمة او رفع التمثيل، نوع من الابتزاز». لكن أشارت الى تصريحات وزير الخارجية السعودي الأمير سعود الفيصل في الجزائر قبل أيام، والتي قال فيها انه يأمل بالبحث عن حل لأزمة لبنان في قمة دمشق.

In response to a question on the alternatives if the Lebanese parliament failed to elect a president on Tuesday, the Syrian source told al-Hayat, "it's very natural that the Damascus summit would then become the natural place to look for a solution to this crisis."

So there you go. All that Bashar wants is the upper hand. Discussion of the Lebanese file can only take place in Damascus, during a summit attended by all Arab leaders, after which "new ideas" will be sent around to buy another round.

It gets even more pathetic.

The Syrian source rejected tying the level of the representation at the summit or even holding it to a resolution of the Lebanese crisis, describing it as "blackmail".  Lebanon is not the only issue facing the "Arab nation", he argued. In other words, the Assad regime will respond to "blackmail" with blackmail.

It remains to be seen how the Egyptians, and most importantly, the Saudis, will respond. As for the people directly concerned with all that, I will spare you what the opposition is saying, since they only parrot the Assad regime. March 14 is reportedly preparing post summit plans consisting of a restored/expanded cabinet and re-activation of parliament. This is already hitting obstacles at home, with the Maronite patriarch opposing replacing the resigned and killed ministers, opting instead to lament and compare Lebanon to Palestine. The patriarch also vetoes the election of a president through a simple majority vote, March 14's other alternative. There is also pressure being placed on the Siniora cabinet to send representation to the Damascus summit, by Amr Moussa and incredulously, Amin Gemayel. It is not clear where Hariri stands on this issue. His silence could be an indication that the Saudis have yet to make up their minds, although it is difficult to imagine him agreeing to being represented in a summit presided over by his father's killers. We know where Jumblatt and Geagea stand: Bashar needs to stay in his cave, with no resurrection possible.

Changing Pi

Refreshing words from Walid Jumblatt. Unlike Siniora, who wants to wait until after the March 25th session, Jumblatt and his bloc will vote against attending the Damascus summit:

أكد رئيس اللقاء الديمقراطي النائب وليد جنبلاط ان وزراءه في الحكومة سيصوتون ضد المشاركة في قمة دمشق، واتهم النظام السوري بأنه يقف وراء الاغتيالات في لبنان والحروب الاستباقية. وقال: "الصمود يعني رفض الذهاب الى قمة دمشق وهو رفع الاجور وتخصيص الكهرباء وهو المحكمة والجيش ". واكد ان "حتى لو حضر القادة العرب القمة يجب على لبنان ان لا يحضر" و سيكون موقف وزراء اللقاء الديمقراطي واضحًا بعدم الذهاب الى دمشق.

ووصف جنبلاط في حديث إلى قناة "أخبار المستقبل" المشاركة في القمة بـ"الغباء والخيانة لكل مبادئ ثورة الأرز"، مشيرا الى انه "من غير المنطقي أن تذهب الضحية لمصافحة الرئيس السوري بشار الأسد لأن في ذلك خيانة لكل أدبياتنا السياسية والأخلاقية منذ 14 آذار 2005"، وكشف عن نيته الطلب من وزيري "اللقاء الديمقراطي" في الحكومة التصويت ضد مشاركة لبنان في القمة.

Jumblatt described participation in the summit as "utter idiocy" and "treason", noting that it's "illogical" for the "victim to shake hands with the Syrian president because this betrays all our moral and political ideals since March 14th, 2005".

And that's how it should be. Damascus should not be rewarded with a visit by a Lebanese official before it recognizes the country's sovereignty and independence. I would add that the March 14 movement should make it clear that it will not vote for Suleiman if he intends on making Syria the first country he visits after his election (that's if he is elected).

Many saw Syria's invitation as offensive in form. They are right. But the Assad regime is the one suffering the most humiliation here. By sending a low ranking official to deliver the invitation to a resigned minister, they proved to be the cowards we all thought they were. If the Syrian regime had self-respect, and is truly the bastion of dignity it claims to be, it will have had men with courage to face the prime minister of Lebanon. The man that Bashar called slave of a slave, and his "half-men" friends, see more sunlight than the dictator and his fundamentalist hole-dweller buddy—despite being targets of Assad's terrorist network. It must hurt to see your enemies grow in stature, while you sink into self-inflicted humiliation.

Much to Bashar's dismay, March 14 persevered and did not disintegrate along confessional lines, as he had hoped. Rival Sunni and Druze groups failed and will fail to attract people away from the likes of Hariri and Jumblatt. Michel Aoun saw his stature shrink locally and internationally after jumping ship and betting on the Hizbullah-Assad horse. Not even the Islamist splinter group run by pro-Syrian Fathi Yakan could survive. Last week saw hundreds of its cadres defect and bash the leadership for being a Syrian tool.

As a former man of science, Bashar should have known that 3.14 is an impossible combination to beat. In 2005, it was the birth of a popular anti-Syrian movement. Even Aoun chose the date to launch his ill-fated and badly calculated liberation war against Syria in 1989. Those who appreciate science will add that 3.14 is the birthday of Albert Einstein, and the approximate value of Pi, one of the most important mathematical constants.

So allow me to go on a limb and declare fake the orgasm the Damascus regime is predicting it will have after the Damascus summit. We all know how it works in this region. People come and leave so fast, hardly anything is remembered or celebrated.

We all remember how Bashar thought he could get away with killing Rafik Hariri. Here's another bad calculation in the making: waiting for Barack Obama's election. It never ceases to amaze me how dictators plan the lives of their citizens (and those of other countries) around the outcomes of democratic processes outside their borders. So what if the man who wants to chat with Assad actually does that if he is elected? US national security is more important than the welfare of the Assad regime, and last I checked, Obama will not be presiding over a certain tribunal being planned in the Hague.

If only we could fast forward to see how Bashar will fall on his head.

State of panic

Yesterday I watched a report on Future TV in which residents of southern Lebanon were interviewed vowing to stay put, war or not. The report contradicted reports of intending Shia migration to "safer" areas in the north, especially Sunni, Christian and Druze areas. Foreign media had also reported an increase in the number of passport and visa applications. This state of panic that the Future TV report tried to hide, had reached Nabih Berri and Hizbullah leaders, who reportedly instructed their media not to cover statements predicting an outbreak of war in the near future.

Al-Quds Al-Arabi said that Shia leaders in Lebanon, especially Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, have been trying to assure residents of the South that a war similar to the one in July 2006 will not take place. The daily said that these Lebanese leaders have demanded their media outlets not to over cover statements predicting the outbreak of a war in the coming months, and the fact that Hezbollah has taken intensive security measures to protect its leaders.

According to the paper, this has come about due to the recent large-scale movement of southerners to Beirut and North Lebanon for fear of vulnerability in the event of another war. “A number of Shia families have left the South and headed to Christian areas in Kesrouan, Jbeil and the Metn, and to Sunni and Druze areas in Mount Lebanon, looking for places to rent,” the daily said.

“Families with foreign passports have been making contacts with their respective embassies and the Lebanese General Security to obtain visas to be able to leave Lebanon,” the paper reported. (Now Lebanon)

It all started when Nasrallah declared an open war on Israel. The deployment of the US war ships off the coast of Lebanon, and the Hizbullah-linked Jerusalem attack fueled rumors that a war similar to the July 2006 war was being planned.

Below are excerpts from a Now Lebanon report:

Although politicians are downplaying fears of a renewed war, the As-Safir newspaper, which is close to the opposition, summed up the general feeling in a commentary Tuesday.

"The Lebanese are worried about the situation and are acting as if war was imminent as they set up emergency plans: getting their passports ready, seeking visas, renting apartments far from what they believe will be the battle front and changing their whole way of life," the newspaper said.

Mohammed, 43, is a resident of the southern village of al-Qlayle, which was heavily bombed during the 2006 war. He said he was looking to rent an apartment in Aley, west of Beirut, for the coming months out of fear the crisis will escalate into a full-blown war.

Several residents in the eastern Bekaa region, which has a strong Hezbollah presence, said they were looking for housing in Christian villages in the area, where they believe they would be safer in the event of Israeli air strikes.

"I rented a house in a Christian village near Baalbek for me and my five children in case we have a new war," 70-year old Abu Ali Balluk said.

Baalbek resident Mona, 40, has three children and a husband who works in Saudi Arabia. She is stocking up on food.

"I live alone with the kids and far from the main market," she said, as she held 10 bags of bread outside a bakery. "I am putting food in the freezer and stocking up just in case war erupts."

An official at the passport office in Baalbek said he has seen a 30% surge in the number of passports issued in recent weeks. In Tyre, a security official said his office was receiving up to 400 requests a day for passport renewals, compared to 75 previously.

"Demand has peaked since Nasrallah's speech on February 14 threatening Israel with a new war," said the official, who requested anonymity.

Mohammed Issa, a mechanic who lives with his five children and his parents and sisters near a Hezbollah position in the Bekaa said he has readied passports for the entire family and visas to Turkey.
"We'll head there via Syria," he said.

Mohammed Jaafar, 54, says he is taking no chances.

"My nerves are shattered, especially when I think of what we went through in 2006," he said, standing outside the passport office in Tyre. "Tomorrow, me and my family are boarding a plane to Abidjan (Ivory Coast), and it won't be for tourism.”

"I'll be starting fresh there, working with my son." (Now Lebanon)

If war does break out, I don't expect the Shia to receive the same welcome they found in 2006. You have Nasrallah's occupation of downtown Beirut and the ensuing sectarian tensions to thank for this. The fear of a Shia exodus might have fueled the Future TV report, a telling sign that no one can in Lebanon can afford another "divine victory".

Lebanese Shia fleeing Nasrallah's open war prospect

As a follow up to the post, Nasrallah managed to spook own supporters, AFP has reported that the demands for Lebanese passports among residents of Hizbullah-controlled areas has tripled since Nasrallah's open war declaration. AFP quoted a source in Tyre as saying that entire families are applying for passports, with the number of applications reaching 300-400 daily (up from 50-75 prior to Nasrallah's speech).

Looks like nobody living outside of Nasrallah's hiding hole is interested in another "divine" catastrophe.

US increases pressure on Assad regime

With the international tribunal getting ready to launch later this year, the US has increased pressure on the Assad regime, despite the latter's attempt to use the Palestinian card to ward off Arab League pressure.

The United States has put ships making port calls in Syria on a watch list, an official said Thursday, as Washington ratcheted up the pressure on Damascus over its alleged links with terrorism.

…In February, the US Treasury Department said that it had blacklisted four men accused of funneling militants, weapons and money through Syria to support Al-Qaeda operations in Iraq.
Also last month, the Treasury announced it was freezing the assets of Rami Makhlouf, maternal cousin to Syrian President Bachar al-Assad, and other Syrian and Lebanese figures accused of ties to the Syrian regime in an embargo list for engaging in “public corruption.” Syria said the events served to increase pressure on Syria and Lebanon.

Syria was placed on a so-called "Port Security Advisory List" amid "concerns about the connections between Syria and international terrorist organizations," State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey told reporters. (Now Lebanon)

Jane's published more detailed information on the deployment of a US navy strike group to the eastern Mediterranean:

A US Navy (USN) expeditionary strike group has been deployed to the eastern Mediterranean in the wake of increasing tensions between Lebanon and Syria.

The strike group is led by the Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship USS Nassau and includes the Austin-class amphibious transport dock USS Nashville, the Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Ashland, the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Bulkeley and USS Ross. The six vessels left the United States on 19 and 20 February, the navy said…

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the United States' Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Nassau group would operate in the region "for a while" and that the deployment signals the navy "is engaged" in "a very important part of the world". (Jane's)

Also, Kuwaiti newspaper al-Qabas quoted "political sources" as saying the deployment of the US ships is intended to warn Syria against resuming political assassinations in Lebanon. 

Assad's blood shield

The Assad regime is using Palestinian blood to justify the holding of an Arab summit in Damascus.

“Isn’t the situation in Gaza too dangerous to be ignored by those trying to show a link between the Damascus Summit and the Lebanese presidential elections?” he asked. (Now Lebanon)

Of course many will buy into this, for the region's despots are expert at helping Palestinians be perpetual victims, using them to justify despotism and the general state of ignorance that prevails among the masses. God forbid should anyone dare punish the Assad regime for killing Lebanese and destroying their country-- don't you see what the Israelis are doing in Gaza?

It was really ironic to see school children in Lebanon being bussed to protest against the Gaza killings outside the UN building, in an area occupied by Hizbullah and the Assad regime's allies for over a year. Hizbullah's popularity among Arabs derives from that same misguided pan-Arab sympathy for the Palestinian cause that buoys regime like Assad's, which, unbeknownst to the masses, support Palestinians against each other in the name of defending their livelihood.

But I have digressed. Let us go back to Lebanon, shall we. Here is Mouallem saying it is up to the Lebanese to resolve the crisis:

Mouallem said that it is up to the Lebanese themselves to decide whether or not to postpone the debate over the government until after the summit so that a Lebanese president can be elected and attend in Damascus.

“I hope that the Lebanese reach an agreement over the Arab initiative,” Mouallem added. (Now Lebanon)

Mouallem, of course, is a professional liar. I don’t need to dredge up evidence proving that it really isn't up to the Lebanese. Mouallem's boss himself can do it.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has come up with a new plan to end the prolonged political crisis in Lebanon: formation of a transitional government to oversee early parliamentary elections, a measure seen as torpedoing the Arab League initiative.

The ruling March 14 coalition slammed the proposal, saying it "comes in contradiction with the Arab League initiative."

Arab diplomatic sources said the "plan" was conveyed by Assad to Arab League chief Amr Moussa during a recent meeting in Damascus.

The sources said Assad's proposal calls for electing army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman president on March 11 in return for the immediate formation of a transitional government to oversee early parliamentary elections based on the 1960 election law, a move that has been rejected by the pro-government ruling majority as well as Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir.

They said Assad informed Moussa that the proposal still needed to be discussed with the Hizbullah-led opposition. (Naharnet)

Assad will let Lebanese elect pro-Syrian General Suleiman president in return for more interference in Lebanese affairs. This generosity was lost on March 14 and Patriarch Sfeir, who rightly rejected the "offer".

It's interesting but not surprising that Moussa would allow himself to transmit proposals that violate the sovereignty of an Arab League member state. I wonder if he would have done the same thing in Egypt, where he was once foreign minister before Mubarak gave him the boots. Forget Egypt, would he have done it in Sudan?

Speaking of boots, the much maligned deployment of US war ships off the Lebanese (and Syrian) coast was a welcome change, even if it's not immediately clear whether the Lebanese are able to benefit from this. Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that the move aims "to make very clear that the US is capable and willing of defending its interests and the interests of its allies." Unfortunately, the interests of the US allies in the region do not meet (March 14 and Israel), so defending them both at the same time might be a tricky affair. Regardless, it is good to know that the "Great Satan" is telling Assad and Nasrallah to be careful what they wish for. As Jumblatt put it, if it's war they want, it is war they will get. And it won't be as easy as phoning your favorite assassin.

Pausing to celebrate life

I apologize for not posting anything lately. Last week, we welcomed our second baby into this world. Another one was born free. I am taking some time to catch up on sleep, and to celebrate life with my two sons, as all fathers who were blessed with children should be doing more often.

As always, thank you all for reading this blog.