Berri's tricks expire

Now that Assad has come out in support of Berri's dialogue, everyone in Lebanon should fake amnesia, play stupid and let the man who shut down parliament and his butcher-friend tell them that their problems have nothing to do with the Assad regime! Not only is the speaker overstepping his boundaries as legislative authority (which he doesn't even practice) by visiting heads of states, he is acting as an ambassador for the Assad regime, trying to mend that country's relations with other Arab countries at the expense of Lebanon.

Good thing Berri's "tricks" are no longer working. PM Siniora, who is also on an Arab tour, albeit to ratchet up pressure against Syria (as opposed to covering up for its crimes), said the place for dialogue was in parliament, shut down by Berri for over 17 months.  He noted that it was Berri and his friends who shut down the last round of dialogue, which ended, if you recall, when Hizbullah refused to discuss its weapons, and started the July 2006 war.

And while Siniora is gaining support for holding a mini summit to discuss the Lebanese crisis, concluding a visit to Saudi Arabia today, Berri's still waiting for Saudi Arabia to accept his request to visit the Kingdom.  Berri hopes to visit Egypt and Saudi Arabia at least, Assad's main antagonists in his plot to take over Lebanon. One hopes Berri never gets an invitation, and that the Saudis and Egyptians do what the French just did, when they announced that Berri is "not invited to France" over his refusal to open parliament.

Comments

[danny]

AK,

As I said in the previous post, Berri had to go to Syria to "renew" his Visa...Properly said: Berri shut up!! No one is listening to his crap. Imagine the gall one has where he visits his master and praises the butcher...The other shoe seems to have dropped in the Pan Arab confortation...Persian press is accusing Prince Bandar in being complicit in Muggsy's assasination...see: وكالة فارس الايرانية: مصادر أمنية مطلعة كشفت ان السعودية متورطة بصورة مباشرة في عملية اغتيال عماد مغنية وأن عميلاً للاستخبارات السعودية قام اشترى بواسطة سيدة سورية سيارتين استخدمتهما الاستخبارات الاسرائيلية لاغتيال مغنية

This beggar should be treated as such. I do not see any benefit is kissing up to him. The "offered" explanation of splitting the Shia vote does not bear fruit anymore!

I can't wait till IT is operational. It seems the summer will be a hot one.

[danny]

AK,

As I said in the previous post, Berri had to go to Syria to "renew" his Visa...Properly said: Berri shut up!! No one is listening to his crap. Imagine the gall one has where he visits his master and praises the butcher...The other shoe seems to have dropped in the Pan Arab confortation...Persian press is accusing Prince Bandar in being complicit in Muggsy's assasination...see: وكالة فارس الايرانية: مصادر أمنية مطلعة كشفت ان السعودية متورطة بصورة مباشرة في عملية اغتيال عماد مغنية وأن عميلاً للاستخبارات السعودية قام اشترى بواسطة سيدة سورية سيارتين استخدمتهما الاستخبارات الاسرائيلية لاغتيال مغنية

This beggar should be treated as such. I do not see any benefit is kissing up to him. The "offered" explanation of splitting the Shia vote does not bear fruit anymore!

I can't wait till IT is operational. It seems the summer will be a hot one.

[JoseyWales]

We ridicule Berri and the other morons daily. I for one can't take it anymore.

The idiots at the Daily Star recently ran an editorial blogged by Kenner on "how obtuse our politicians".

It's the DS and the people of Leb that are obtuse.

As as long as there is no pressure (or barely) from the press and the elites and the people and the constitutional scholars on the likes of Berri to do their job, nothing will happen and we will deserve every bit of it.

Pressure means you destroy the crap out of his "credibility" with daily editorials and articles and calls by professional orgs and demos that should not stop until he changes or until his wife/kids start thinking he is the clown that he is.

[Bad Vilbel]

+1 JW, as usual.

I have nothing more to add.

[Andre]

The french have decided that they will no longer be deceived by Berri's antics. Even though Kouchner has a friendship with the speaker, he blasted him for being irresponsible and self serving in his attempts at national dialogue by reminding him that there is a parliament in Lebanon for these types of deliberations. One hopes that the saudis and egyptians will also follow suit and call Berri's bluff once and for all! I would love to see his face when he has to return back to Ain el Tineh with his tail between his legs.

[Jay]

Are M14 leaders so lame and bankrupt to just take a backseat and let the so-called opposition call the shots? How about a simple yet effective pre-condition on Mr. X, I mean Mr. Berri, that no dialogue unless they remove their shameful and illegal tent-city. That ought to test the sincerity of Mr. Berri for once (as if we don't know it already!)

The lack of actions from M14, except for the few sound bites, makes one wonder that 1) they don't have a 'green-light' from their external backers to act or 2) they're just a loosely and ill-defined alliance with no clear objective or program to move the country forward.

Rather than waste this valuable time waiting for an illusionary compromise with the foreign-inspired and controlled opposition, M14 should be setting the foundation for a true secular political party. The country is in dire need for an effective political, economic, social, and national agenda to move the country forward. M14 could start by forming various committees and holding town meetings to give people voice and get them involved in helping reform this troubled nation and its defunct institutions. This will go a long way in rejuvenating the M14 camp and help it regain the credibility of not only M14 supporters but certainly some of the opposition supporters as well.

[Andre]

Excellent point Jay. The majority's role needs to be more active in helping establish the foundation for the future aimed at helping Lebanon get out of its serious economic and political woes and lead the way in showing that they do have a program and do represent the future of the country. The red flags should be waving big time, when you have massive unemployment and people are migrating in droves. M14 must give the people hope and in doing so work for the good of the nation and the majority of the people that they claim to represent.

[Bad Vilbel]

I thought this was a pretty good read on Aoun and the FPM (not really relevant to this thread, I know).

http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=37731

Nothing most of us didn't know already. But it's interesting to see the FPM unraveling so quickly. And amazing to me how enough Lebanese people can still follow Aoun despite the glaring contradictions and hypocrisy he's shown.

Then again, the Lebanese people were never very good at holding their leaders accountable or judging them on their track record and actions. Instead, we're very good at sloganeering and preferring style over substance.

[JoseyWales]

Here's the "good" moron who sort of broke away from FPM:

From Naharnet: He [Michel Murr] warned that blocking presidential elections for more than six months "could become a precedent for future practices by any faction that might oppose the election of a head of state.

Yes you stupid corrupt sub-idiot, but blocking for 4 months is OK and sets no precedent.

[Bad Vilbel]

Moronism aside...I'm kind of wondering what exactly Murr is up to. This can't be a coincidence. And I certainly don't buy his "I'm independent and I do what my people of Metn want." bullshit. So what's he REALLY up to? Trying to save his skin and political future by switching sides? Something more nefarious?

[danny]

BV,

I am of the same opinion. Something's up...Does Syria see the collapse of FPM??????

Again; I think we should all take the summer off!!!!! See you guys when the IT is established...Do you all get the concerted BS re: Siddiq? More to follow!

[Jeha]

Didn't Bod Dylan sing about this?

How many roads must Berri walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, 'n' how many times must he go to Damascus
Before the thought's forever banned?

...

[Min Canada]

From The STRATFOR Strategic Forecasting
Geopolitical Intelligence Report
April 8, 2008

A MYSTERY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

By George Friedman

The Arab-Israeli region of the Middle East is filled with rumors of war. That is about as unusual as the rising of the sun, so normally it would not be worth mentioning. But like the proverbial broken clock that is right twice a day, such rumors occasionally will be true. In this case, we don’t know that they are true, and certainly it’s not the rumors that are driving us. But other things — minor and readily explicable individually — have drawn our attention to the possibility that something is happening.
The first thing that drew our attention was a minor, routine matter. Back in February, the United States started purchasing oil for its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The SPR is a reserve of crude oil stored in underground salt domes. Back in February, it stood at 96.2 percent of capacity, which is pretty full as far as we are concerned. But the U.S. Department of Energy decided to increase its capacity. This move came in spite of record-high oil prices and the fact that the purchase would not help matters. It also came despite potential political fallout, since during times like these there is generally pressure to release reserves. Part of the step could have been the bureaucracy cranking away, and part of it could have been the feeling that the step didn’t make much difference. But part of it could have been based on real fears of a disruption in oil supplies. By itself, the move meant nothing. But it did cause us to become thoughtful.
Also in February, someone assassinated Imad Mughniyah, a leader of Hezbollah, in a car bomb explosion in Syria. It was assumed the Israelis had killed him, although there were some suspicions the Syrians might have had him killed for their own arcane reasons. In any case, Hezbollah publicly claimed the Israelis killed Mughniyah, and therefore it was expected the militant Shiite group would take revenge. In the past, Hezbollah responded not by attacking Israel but by attacking Jewish targets elsewhere, as in the Buenos Aires attacks of 1992 and 1994.
In March, the United States decided to dispatch the USS Cole, then under Sixth Fleet command, to Lebanese coastal waters. Washington later replaced it with two escorts from the Nassau (LHA-4) Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG), reportedly maintaining a minor naval presence in the area. (Most of the ESG, on a regularly scheduled deployment, is no more than a few days sail from the coast, as it remains in the Mediterranean Sea.) The reason given for the American naval presence was to serve as a warning to the Syrians not to involve themselves in Lebanese affairs. The exact mission of the naval presence off the Levantine coast — and the exact deterrent function it served — was not clear, but there they were. The Sixth Fleet has gone out of its way to park and maintain U.S. warships off the Lebanese coast.
Hezbollah leaders being killed by the Israelis and the presence of American ships off the shores of Mediterranean countries are not news in and of themselves. These things happen. The killing of Mughniyah is notable only to point out that as much as Israel might have wanted him dead, the Israelis knew this fight would escalate. But anyone would have known this. So all we know is that whoever killed Mughniyah wanted to trigger a conflict. The U.S. naval presence off the Levantine coast is notable in that Washington, rather busy with matters elsewhere, found the bandwidth to get involved here as well.
With the situation becoming tense, the Israelis announced in March that they would carry out an exercise in April called Turning Point 2. Once again, an Israeli military exercise is hardly interesting news. But the Syrians apparently got quite interested. After the announcement, the Syrians deployed three divisions — two armored, one mechanized — to the Lebanese-Syrian border in the Bekaa Valley, the western part of which is Hezbollah’s stronghold. The Syrians didn’t appear to be aggressive. Rather, they deployed these forces in a defensive posture, in a way walling off their part of the valley.
The Syrians are well aware that in the event of a conventional war with Israel, they would experience a short but exciting life, as they say. They thus are hardly going to attack Israel. The deployment therefore seemed intended to keep the Israelis on the Lebanese side of the border — on the apparent assumption the Israelis were going into the Bekaa Valley. Despite Israeli and Syrian denials of the Syrian troop buildup along the border, Stratfor sources maintain that the buildup in fact happened. Normally, Israel would be jumping at the chance to trumpet Syrian aggression in response to these troop movements, but, instead, the Israelis downplayed the buildup.
When the Israelis kicked off Turning Point 2, which we regard as a pretty interesting name, it turned out to be the largest exercise in Israeli history. It involved the entire country, and was designed to test civil defenses and the ability of the national command authority to continue to function in the event of an attack with unconventional weapons — chemical and nuclear, we would assume. This was a costly exercise. It also involved calling up reserves, some of them for the exercise, and, by some reports, others for deployment to the north against Syria. Israel does not call up reserves casually. Reserve call-ups are expensive and disrupt the civilian economy. These appear small, but in the environment of Turning Point 2, it would not be difficult to mobilize larger forces without being noticed.
The Syrians already were deeply concerned by the Israeli exercise. Eventually, the Lebanese government got worried, too, and started to evacuate some civilians from the South. Hezbollah, which still hadn’t retaliated for the Mughniyah assassination, also claimed the Israelis were about to attack it, and reportedly went on alert and mobilized its forces. The Americans, who normally issue warnings and cautions to everyone, said nothing to try to calm the situation. They just sat offshore on their ships.
It is noteworthy that Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak canceled a scheduled visit to Germany this week. The cancellation came immediately after the reports of the Syrian military redeployment were released. Obviously, Barak needed to be in Israel for Turning Point 2, but then he had known about the exercise for at least a month. Why cancel at the last minute? While we are discussing diplomacy, we note that U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney visited Oman — a country with close relations with Iran — and then was followed by U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. By itself not interesting, but why the high-level interest in Oman at this point?
Now let’s swing back to September 2007, when the Israelis bombed something in Syria near the Turkish border. As we discussed at the time, for some reason the Israelis refused to say what they had attacked. It made no sense for them not to trumpet what they carefully leaked — namely, that they had attacked a nuclear facility. Proving that Syria had a secret nuclear program would have been a public relations coup for Israel. Nevertheless, no public charges were leveled. And the Syrians remained awfully calm about the bombing.
Rumors now are swirling that the Israelis are about to reveal publicly that they in fact bombed a nuclear reactor provided to Syria by North Korea. But this news isn’t all that big. Also rumored is that the Israelis will claim Iranian complicity in building the reactor. And one Israeli TV station reported April 8 that Israel really had discovered Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction, which it said had been smuggled to Syria.
Now why the Bush administration wouldn’t have trumpeted news of the Syrian reactor worldwide in September 2007 is beyond us, but there obviously were some reasons — assuming the TV report is true, which we have no way of establishing. In fact, we have no idea why the Israelis are choosing this moment to rehash the bombing of this site. But whatever their reason, it certainly raises a critical question. If the Syrians are developing a nuclear capability, what are the Israelis planning to do about it?
No one of these things, by itself, is of very great interest. And taken together they do not provide the means for a clear forecast. Nevertheless, a series of rather ordinary events, taken together, can constitute something significant. Tensions in the Middle East are moving well beyond the normal point, and given everything that is happening, events are moving to a point where someone is likely to take military action. Whether Hezbollah will carry out a retaliatory strike or Israel a pre-emptive strike in Lebanon, or whether the Israelis’ real target is Iran, tensions systematically have been ratcheted up to the point where we, in our simple way, are beginning to wonder whether something has to give.
All together, these events are fairly extraordinary. Ignoring all rhetoric — and the Israelis have gone out of their way to say that they are not looking for a fight — it would seem that each side, but particularly the Americans and Israelis, have gone out of their way to signal that they are expecting conflict. The Syrians have also signaled that they expect conflict, and Hezbollah always claims there is about to be conflict.
What is missing is this: who will fight whom, and why, and why now. The simple explanation is that Israel wants a second round with Hezbollah. But while that might be true, it doesn’t explain everything else that has happened. Most important, it doesn’t explain the simultaneous revelations about the bombing of Syria. It also doesn’t explain the U.S. naval deployment. Is the United States about to get involved in a war with Hezbollah, a war that the Israelis should handle themselves? Are the Israelis going to topple Syrian President Bashar al Assad — and then wind up with a Sunni government, or worse, an Israeli occupation of Syria? None of that makes a lot of sense.
In truth, all of this may dissolve into nothing much. In intelligence analysis, however, sometimes a set of not-fully-coherent facts must be reported, and that is what we are doing now. There is no clear pattern; there is no obvious direction this is taking. Nevertheless, when we string together events from February until now, we see a persistently escalating pattern of behavior. In fact, what we can say most clearly is that there is escalation, without being able to say what is the clear direction of the escalation or the purpose.
We would like to wrap this up with a crystal clear explanation and forecast. But we can’t. The motives of the various actors are opaque; and taken separately, the individual events all have quite innocent explanations. We are not prepared to say war is imminent, nor even what sort of war there would be. We are simply prepared to say that the course of events since February — and really since the September 2007 attack on Syria — have been startling, and they appear to be reaching some sort of hard-to-understand crescendo.
The bombing of Syria symbolizes our confusion. Why would Syria want a nuclear reactor and why put it on the border of Turkey, a country the Syrians aren’t particularly friendly with? If the Syrians had a nuclear reactor, why would the Israelis be coy about it? Why would the Americans? Having said nothing for months apart from careful leaks, why are the Israelis going to speak publicly now? And if what they are going to say is simply that the North Koreans provided the equipment, what’s the big deal? That was leaked months ago.
The events of September 2007 make no sense and have never made any sense. The events we have seen since February make no sense either. That is noteworthy, and we bring it to your attention. We are not saying that the events are meaningless. We are saying that we do not know their meaning. But we can’t help but regard them as ominous.

[Discriminating]

So what was the value of all that Stratfor drivel? Are these the often quoted "sources" that you inundate us with?

[Min Canada]

These are not my sources of course. I don't know anyone at Stratfor. Nothing in this article is news to any of us except for the Oil reserve issue. The rest we all know and they have missed a lot that we are aware of as well.

Remember these guys are not journalists. They cannot jump to conclusions to sell their reports. What they point to is significant only in that it repeats a theme that we have discussed here: There is a major event brewing and we need to tune out the daily back and forth of our insignificant politicians and focus on the powers that are dictating the chess moves. Where these lead, no one really knows, but war is a significant possibility and major expenditures have been done towards that end. No one spends that kind of money without expecting to use it. Birri and talk all he wants. In the end he is a little pawn, nothing more.

BTW, I never inundated you with anything. My posts have been limited and focused and not rants and drivel.

[Min Canada]

These are not my sources of course. I don't know anyone at Stratfor. Nothing in this article is news to any of us except for the Oil reserve issue. The rest we all know and they have missed a lot that we are aware of as well.

Remember these guys are not journalists. They cannot jump to conclusions to sell their reports. What they point to is significant only in that it repeats a theme that we have discussed here: There is a major event brewing and we need to tune out the daily back and forth of our insignificant politicians and focus on the powers that are dictating the chess moves. Where these lead, no one really knows, but war is a significant possibility and major expenditures have been done towards that end. No one spends that kind of money without expecting to use it. Birri and talk all he wants. In the end he is a little pawn, nothing more.

BTW, I never inundated you with anything. My posts have been limited and focused and not rants and drivel.

[gal anonym]

Min Canada

These guys from Stratfor may not be journalists, however Mr. Friedman is a journalist.
Your posts have not been rants unfortunately they usually contributed nothing new to the discussion.
As for your sources....... your sources in Canadian State Government are as mythical as are the states in Canada.

[Min Canada]

Gal,

It seems you have already formed your opinion, so there is no point in arguing with you. Be well.

[Min Canada]

Notwithstanding Gal's ill-informed opinion, I would like to point out that George Friedman should not be confused with Michael Friedman who is a journalist. For more information about George Friedman see url below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Friedman

As to the State of Canada, it is self evident and more so a state than Gal's obscured borrowed land.

My sources are in the US State department as I clearly indicated and I do not need to answer to "gal" for my friends.

[Mark]

This one is a beauty. Apparently, Aoun want Gen. Sleiman to head a transitional cabinet. Aoun must have forgotten what happened the last time the acting Army General headed a transitional cabinet.

[gal anonym]

min Canada

Yes, I have formed an opinion.
Your posts have been focused, that's true. They are all saying that
- Bush visited ME to prepare a war against HA, Syria and Iran.
- THE PLAN is to have HA start the war so it turns into a defensive war for the US and Israel
- the war is coming, pretty soon
- the real purpose of the war is a distruction of the Nuclear Facilities in Iran.
Nothing more nothing less.

btw
George Friedman is from Stratfor, my bad, but Michael Friedman is not a journalist.
States of Canada do not exist, State of Canada does.
My obscured borrowed land is not so much different from your obscured borrowed land, min Canada, just ask Inuits.

[danny]

Hi guys,

We had this discussion before regarding the demolition of the Synogogue in Beirut...It seems PSP is taking Solidaire to task! See the link.

http://www.lebanese-forces.com/details.asp?newsid=8289

[Abilama]

Unfortunately we live among the crazies!

UK jihadist doctor: “It’s about time that we give up our lives and our families for the sake of Islam to please Allah"
Would such attacks really please Allah? Western Muslim spokesmen would say no. But what are they doing to convince people like Kafeel Ahmed that their view of Islam is wrong? Nothing, of course -- and the question itself is "Islamophobic," now, isn't it?

"Muslim doctor plotted terror attacks in London and Glasgow," by Adam Fresco for the Times (thanks to all who sent this in):

A Muslim doctor who died after a failed terror attack on Glasgow airport had plotted a campaign of “spectacular” terrorist car bomb attacks designed to devastate Britain, a court heard today.
Kafeel Ahmed, 28, had targeted city nightclubs with explosives made at his home in Glasgow before turning his attention to the airport on its busiest day of the year.

Two car bombs left near nightclubs in the West End of London at the end of June last year had failed to explode when activated by mobile phone.

The next day, knowing the police were closing in, Ahmed launched the airport suicide mission and drove another car bomb into Glasgow Airport.

Driving a Jeep Cherokee he aimed for the entrance doors but crashed into the pillars to the right of them, the Old Bailey heard.

Jonathan Laidlaw, for the prosecution, said: “He then, having found himself from his perspective out of position, reversed the Jeep and made the first of a number of attempts to drive the vehicle through the airport door, repeatedly hitting pillars and the door frame.

“Despite his efforts, the vehicle became trapped. Those who witnessed him described a set and determined face as he stared forward.

“At that point, the vehicle was then 20ft from passengers queuing within the terminal building.

“His passenger lowered his window and threw a petrol bomb across the bonnet in the direction of the taxi rank and then threw a second of these devices in the opposite direction.

“At the same time the driver, the defendant’s brother, began to pour and splash fuel from a can on to the area outside the car window and appeared to throw a petrol bomb.

“He got out of the vehicle and was engulfed in flames that swept around the Jeep and terminal building. He appeared to try and prevent others from getting to him or the vehicle. He kicked out but eventually, he being on fire, he was extinguished, subdued, handcuffed and arrested.”

Full details of the terror plot emerged for the first time today after Kafeel’s brother Dr Sabeel Ahmed, 26, an NHS doctor, admitted failing to disclose information to police after the attacks.

He had received an e-mail about them from his brother but failed to go to police after hearing about the incident in Glasgow.

He was sentenced to 18 months in jail but will be released from custody and voluntarily deported back to India almost immediately because of time in jail he has already served, the court was told.

The e-mail, written two days before the failed Glasgow bomb attack, directed him to online documents containing his will and instructions on how to frustrate and mislead investigators.

Part of it read: “This is a project I was working on for some time now. Everything else was a lie and I hope you can forgive me for being such a good liar. It was necessary, just so that you know.

“Everything since last week was executed by me and my team. This is confidential on behalf of our Emir.”

He added: “It’s about time that we give up our lives and our families for the sake of Islam to please Allah.”...

[Min Canada]

Gal,

Michael Friedman IS a journalist. Before becoming anything else he wrote for the NY times from Lebanon and Israel.

As to the Inuits, Canada, unlike the USA does give autonomy to its First Nations. The Inuits specifically run Nunavut and have self Gov. and are part of our national make up. Are the natives of your land treated the same way? Do they have right of ownership? Do you recognize their 1948 rights and their lands and property?

Anyway, you cannot compare Canada, a peaceful nation with high international moral standards, with your Gestapo state. You ARE on borrowed land and will have to give it back someday. Moses was right to ask you to exterminate the Canaanite back then when you first borrowed the land. Now it is too late. Thanks to you, it is no longer ok to follow your prophet's demand and exterminate the Palestinians.

[JoseyWales]

Guys,

The journalist and author is Tom (Thomas) Friedman.

George is at Stratfor, Milton was a great economist, and Michael I dunno.

As to Berri when is HE going to expire?

[VOR]

In reference to Thomas Friedman, he is a superb reporter and columnist, and has published several good books over the years on many topics of interest. Among them is his much acclaimed "From Beirut to Jerusalem" which was a best seller when it was first published back in the early 1990's. Friedman understands the Middle East having lived there, and his insights are usually well documented. He is critical of Israel's illegal building of settlements in the West Bank and has been critical of US policy in general in the region. I've always sought his columns when it concerns the M.E and he is most of the time right on! His columns and articles are a great read.

[Min Canada]

LOL Josey, I stand corrected it is Tom whom I was thinking of.
As to Berri... We can all hope that God will take his army and its leaders back to his barracks.

[Discriminating]

The STRATFOR argument about the SPR is a classic case of half truths. The SPR is 96% full based on its current capacity of 727 million barrels but only 70% full based on its intended capacity as of 1975 to store 1 Billion barrels. The US has embarked on a policy to reach the stated 1 billion barrels as of 2005. As for the "suspicious" purchases of oil again STRATFOR does not tell the whole story. The US has been using a policy of accepting payment in kind from the operators in the Gulf of Mexico for a few years. Based on the above can we put this dog to rest?

[boo]

heard that shawkat has been declared missing, anyone seen any reliable sources?

[Bad Vilbel]

Gotta love how inconsistent the opposition's bizarre rantings always are, and you gotta wonder how on earth there are still people stupid enough to believe these people and their glaring contradictions:

MP Nabil Nicola today claims that (Naharnet): The Hariri assassination, according to Nicola, was "a prelude to something else. Hariri was against the naturalization of Palestinians and his assassination was a prelude to naturalizing them."

Haven't they been repeating for months now that Saad Hariri and his father are working FOR naturalizing the Palestinians?

Also today, we have Wahab claiming the Saudis killed Hariri. It's like these guys say the first thing that comes to mind, without giving it any thought.

So, according to these buffoons, Saudi Arabia, which is allied with the Zionists and Americans, assassinated their own man in Lebanon, because he was against naturalizing the Palestinians, which is what the opposition accuses Hariri's son and closest companions (Siniora) of wanting to do today. Right?

And don't even get me started on this whole taboo bogeyman they wave around everytime ("Naturalizing the Palestinians"). No one wants to naturalize the Palestinians. Yet this 20-year old scary monster is trotted out of its closet everytime for the sake of scare tactics. Besides, what's so freaking bad about naturalizing the Palestinians? If we're looking for a secular state, down the line, it shouldn't really matter anymore if the Sunni population grows or doesn't. These same asshats that bitch about naturalizing the Palestinians don't seem to have any problem lining up for French, Canadian and American citizenship, last I checked.

[Abilama]

L’enquête sur l’assassinat de Imad Maghnieh menace Bachar Al-Assad et Hassan Nasrallah
Assad se retrouve avec une bombe à retardement entre les mains
Dans une correspondance depuis New York, la revue "Al Moharrer" explique les raisons qui ont retardé, à maintes fois, la publication des résultats de l’enquête syrienne relative à l’assassinat de Imad Maghnieh à Damas. Le régime syrien, qui voulait exploiter ce crime contre Israël, le Liban et certains pays arabes, se retrouve piégé par ses propres manipulations.
« Al Moharrer » cite en effet un diplomate libanais en poste aux Nations Unies, selon lequel l’ambassadeur syrien à l’ONU, Bachar Al-Jaafari, a prévenu sa direction à Damas que l’Organisation internationale attend avec impatience les résultats de l’enquête sur l’assassinat de Maghnieh, afin de diligenter une enquête internationale indépendante. Car, selon l’ONU, les informations sensibles que comprendra l’enquête syrienne, même si elles sont inventées de toutes pièces pour les exploiter contre des pays tiers, entrent dans le cadre de l’enquête sur l’assassinat de Rafic Hariri, et peuvent intéresser la Commission d’enquête internationale qui a déjà soupçonné une implication de Maghnieh dans l’assassinat de l’ancien Premier ministre.
Une fois Damas prévenu des intentions de l’ONU, le régime syrien a informé l’Iran et le Hezbollah du piège dans lequel il est tombé. Toute révélation syrienne se retournera contre le régime et contre ses alliés, car Maghnieh était recherché depuis ses prises d’otages au Liban, avec Hassan Nasrallah, à partir de 1983, et depuis les attentats qu’il avait planifiés contre les Américains et les Français à Beyrouth, mais également contre l’émir et les intérêts du Koweït et contre l’Arabie saoudite. Maghnieh était également impliqué dans la mise en place de milices chiites irakiennes liées à l’Iran (Moqtada Sadr) et avait des liens avérés avec Al-Qaïda et Oussama Ben Laden. Pour toutes ces raisons, l’ONU est prête à rebondir et à s’emparer du dossier dès que la Syrie l’aura ouvert.
L’arroseur syrien se retrouve ainsi arrosé. Car, Bachar Al-Assad pensait pouvoir lier l’assassinat de Hariri à celui de Maghnieh, voire attribuer le premier au second pour échapper lui-même à la justice. Or, à juste titre, le Tribunal international, qui se réunira prochainement, cherchera à établir ce lien, et enquêtera sur la mort de Maghnieh. Ce qui revient à dire que Bachar Al-Assad et Hassan Nasrallah pourraient être auditionnés.

Source: MediArabe.info

[Abilama]

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An-Nahar : Bulgarie / Le trafic de drogue finance le Hezbollah et le Jihad islamique
mercredi 9 avril 2008 - 12h12

Selon le quotidien libanais « An-Nahar », la Commission parlementaire pour la sécurité, en Bulgarie, a conclu dans un rapport préliminaire qui sera examiné par le Parlement, que le trafic de drogue à travers le territoire bulgare, sert à financer les activités d’organisations terroristes, comme le Hezbollah libanais et le Jihad islamique palestinien. Le rapport souligne que les réseaux criminels bulgares sont liés à ces organisations par l’intermédiaire de ressortissants arabes installés dans le pays.

La Bulgarie avait arrêté, le mois dernier, plusieurs hauts gradés de la police, accusés de fournir aux trafiquants de drogue des informations sensibles qui leur permettent d’échapper aux contrôles et de passer à travers les mailles de la lutte contre le trafic.

[Abilama]

Fin du suspens ?

Mohammed Zouhair Al-Seddik affirme être dans un lieu sécurisé, proche du Tribunal international
jeudi 10 avril 2008 - 00h43, par Chawki Freïha

Après la polémique alimentée par la Syrie et l’opposition libanaise, sur le sort du témoin clé dans l’assassinat de Rafic Hariri, Mohammed Zouhair Al-Seddik, qui s’est évaporé dans son pays d’accueil, la France, l’intéressé a affirmé être en bonne santé, et s’être mis en sécurité dans un lieu proche du Tribunal.

Le quotidien koweïtien « Al Seyassah » affirme, dans son édition du 10 avril, que le témoin syrien, Al-Seddik, a personnellement téléphoné à la rédaction du journal, pour démentir les informations amplifiées par la Syrie et par l’opposition libanaise, concernant sa liquidation. Al-Seddik, dont les premiers témoignages devant la Commission d’enquête internationale sur l’assassinat de Rafic Hariri avaient conduit en prison quatre généraux libanais proches de l’ancien président Emile Lahoud et de la Syrie, affirme « avoir échappé à trois tentatives d’assassinat en France ». Il estime que « les commanditaires cherchaient à le liquider pour perturber l’enquête et l’empêcher de témoigner devant le Tribunal, et pour obtenir la libération des généraux détenus au Liban ».

Au cours de la conversation téléphonique que le quotidien koweïtien affirme avoir eu avec Al-Seddik, le témoin clé a affirmé avoir « quitté la France pour se réfugier dans un lieu sécurisé, proche à la fois de la France et du siège du futur tribunal, pour être le premier à comparaître et à révéler tous les détails sur l’assassinat de Hariri, détails qui confirment l’implication des quatre généraux et d’autres responsables syriens ».

Al-Seddik affirme en outre avoir « demandé à la Commission d’enquête internationale et à la justice libanaise une protection renforcé, après avoir échappé à trois tentatives d’assassinat, en vain ». Il menace de porter plainte contre la Commission pour « mise en danger de témoin ».

Traduction de Chawki Freïha

Lire l'article original : Al Seyassah - Koweït

[Abilama]

Join Hamas, rock around the clock

At his daughter's wedding this week, Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal announced that the 'Palestinian baby-making machine' never stops.
"The Palestinian reproduction machine works 24 hours a day," Hamas' political leader Khaled Mashaal declared this week during his daughter's wedding in Syria.

London-based newspaper al-Hayat reported extensively Sunday on the wedding of Mashaal's daughter, Fatma to Tarek Irshid, a Palestinian residing in Syria. The event, which was schedule to take place in Damascus, was moved to a secret location at the last minute due to security concerns.

The wedding was reportedly attended by many high-ranking Syrian officials, including Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, senior army officers, head of the Palestinian factions residing in Damascus, Islamic Jihad head Ramadan Salah and Arab countries' ambassadors.

According to al-Hayat, the bride's happy father entertained his guests with a "cheerful and amusing" speech. The Hamas leader claimed that the fact that his daughter, the offspring of 1967 refugees, was marrying his brother-in-law Tarek, whose family left Israel in 1948, meant that their children would be able to return to Israel, because "the sacred right of return includes the return of refugees to all the territories occupied in 1948."

Mashaal also expressed his hope that the couple would soon create a "new generation of liberation" that would succeed the old "generation of resistance."

The "Palestinian reproduction machine," Mashaal continued, "works 24 hours a day." To prove his point, he noted that he himself had seven children, while Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh had no fewer than 18 children, "who could form a government all of their own."
Well you certainly don't have to 'work' at 'reproduction' 24/7 to have seven children, but at least now I understand why they have to import so much Viagra into Gaza.

[Abilama]

Journalists are targets in Lebanon

If you're one of those who think that news from Lebanon - or from anyplace else in the Arab world - can be objective and unbiased, this video ought to cause you to rethink that position. While Al-Jazeera goes to lengths to show how they were eventually allowed to film, imagine what would happen if they broadcast something that this 'militia' (Hezbullah?) didn't like.

Let's go to the videotape.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LcvTejQSOI

[Jeha]

AbiLama

"Journalists" in the Arab world usually work for hire, when it is not the government, it is the "private" sector... Al-Jazeera is among the worst; I recall one case when Al-Jazeera "planted" a lady to pose as Lebanese and ask questions of a few politicians they had gathered for the occasion.

[danny]

Abilama,

Please do not get this the wrong way...PLEASE can you make your comments and attach the links...
It has become cumbersome scrolling down your habitual and habhazard cut and pasting...

Thank you for your kind consideration.

[Bad Vilbel]

+1 to what Danny said.

[Marillionlb]

Josey,

The Iztaz will never expire as long as ignorance still reigns within the Lebanese community. The Iztaz is here to stay, M14 hasn't got the courage to kick open the doors of parliement and ELECT a President on 50+1 basis. The people here are getting used to this vaccum, and everywhere you go the same sentence resonate in you ear "I do not care as long as I am left alone". This country has been deserted by even it's own children.

[Marillionlb]

Josey,

The Iztaz will never expire as long as ignorance still reigns within the Lebanese community. The Iztaz is here to stay, M14 hasn't got the courage to kick open the doors of parliement and ELECT a President on 50+1 basis. The people here are getting used to this vaccum, and everywhere you go the same sentence resonate in you ear "I do not care as long as I am left alone". This country has been deserted by even it's own children.

[Solomon2]

"M14 hasn't got the courage to kick open the doors of parliement and ELECT a President on 50+1 basis. "

Am I right, there have been no assassinations of Lebanese politicians since Mugniyah was killed? Is it courage that is lacking, or something else?

[Bad Vilbel]

On a somewhat unrelated note. Anyone read this story?

http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=38412

I quote the relevant piece (relevant to my point here):

"The citizens dining that night tried to seek protection from the security forces present, and the answer was the forces do not have the power to intervene,' the MP added, 'and that the security forces did not want to suffer what their colleagues went through after the events of Black Sunday in Shiyah."

This last bit is EXACTLY why I (and others) complained about singling out the soldiers who fired at the Hizbullah crowd back during those riots in Shiyah. (Fired while being assaulted, I might add).

And don't even get me started on the even more glaring and obvious question of why security forces do not have the power to intervene. Why is the government allowing this crap?

[Marillionlb]

B.V The government is crap, so not expect anything of it. And still they want Michel Suleiman for president. We deserve the Syrian occupation !

[danny]

Here's my 2 cents...

If the future is this; PLEASE BRING BACK THE SYRIANS!!!
Why is no one asking these questions? Why are not the daily newspapers blasting these news on their front pages??? ...instead of some dumb ass quote from the retarded orangehead and blue-berry???

WHY? Because the people are stupid! Because they have perfected the art of whining and accepted the role of the slave...

[Bad Vilbel]

Indeed, danny, that is the only conclusion that makes sense. So now, those of you who jumped me for calling the Lebanese people as a whole "idiots" and "imbeciles" and "deserving of everything they get" see what I'm talking about.

We really do deserve this mess, every little bit of it.

[seo]

If you're one of those who think that news from Lebanon - or from anyplace else in the Arab world - can be objective and unbiased, this video ought to cause you to rethink that position.