Hizbullah, the four generals and Siddiq

Hizbullah has (again) issued a statement calling for the release of four former pro-Syrian generals held in detention over their role in the 2005 Hariri assassination. The militia's call to release Assad's former agents coincides with similar calls by pro-Syrian parties and Michel Aoun.

The Hizbullah statement is predictably ridiculous:

اعتبر حزب الله اللبناني اليوم اعتقال الضباط الاربعة الموقوفين في قضية اغتيال رئيس الوزراء الاسبق رفيق الحريري "سياسي وثأري وليس له علاقة بالاصول القانونية". ورأى حزب الله في بيان وزع ان "الخلفية التي تتحدث بها الاكثرية النيابية قبل اعتقال الضباط الاربعة وبعده هي اتهام سياسي ولغة ثأرية وتصفية حسابات سياسية" داعيا اياها الى "تقديم الادلة الاتهامية الى الرأي العام اللبناني والتي على اساسها يستمر اعتقال الضباط ويوجه القضاء عندها اتهاما واضحا يبرر اعتقالهم".

Translation: Hizbullah considers the arrest "political and vengeful and illegal" and a "settling of scores" by March 14.

Is Hizbullah's occupation of downtown Beirut cultural, charitable and legal? Is their possession of tens of thousands of rockets an act sanctioned by law? Does the Lebanese constitution call for the building of a state within a state? Is their act of dragging the country into a war their version of turning the other cheek?

I wonder if Hizbullah would approve of March 14 kidnapping Syrian soldiers, blowing them up to pieces and parading their remains on TV, with Saad Hariri in the background vowing open war and waving his finger at the world.

Anyway, on Wednesday, Hizbullah 's parliamentary bloc issued a statement that went like this:

The bloc, in a statement, said it tackled the "French declaration about the disappearance of Mohammed Zuheir Siddiq … and whether it is linked to extending the arbitrary detention of the four officers."  The bloc also "raised several questions about seriousness of the international commitment to reveal the truth in the Hariri assassination," the statement added. (Naharnet)

The Assad regime, and it seems Hizbullah, have always been obsessed with Siddiq, ever since his name was revealed as a witness. This obsession resurfaced after news of his disappearance from his France home and re-appearance in Europe awaiting the formation of the tribunal (this according to al-Seyassah). During the 2006 war, Lahoud found time to write a letter requesting the extradition of Siddiq to Lebanon, which the French judiciary rejected it on grounds Lebanon allowed death penalties.

Why care about Siddiq? The former Syrian intelligence fixer in Lebanon claimed he has the proof that the four general and the Assad regime assassinated Hariri, and has said so publicly. After the controversy over his credibility erupted (and much of that controversy was fanned by the Assad regime) the Lebanese authorities issued a warrant for his arrest.

The UN investigation has moved on since the Siddiq controversy, gathering tens of statements from different witnesses and suspects, and confirming the indisputable link between the Hariri assassination, the Assad regime and the four generals. In other words, and as a reading of any of the UN reports would reveal, Siddiq's testimony is not essential. It is only the Assad regime that wants you to believe that the entire case hinges on this one testimony. And even though they have discredited it, they continue to panic every time this scarecrow witness issues a statement or pulls a stunt in what seems to be his battle against the regime.

It is useful to place the regime's hysterical reaction to Siddiq's disappearance in the context of the regime's behaviour at home. Siddiq, as do others, also names many top Syrian officials, including Assef Shawkat, who became the head of military intelligence 30 minutes after the Hariri assassination, and is one of the prime suspects in the murder, according to Detlev Mehlis. He is also Bashar's brother in law. The "criminal network" that new UN commissioner Daniel Bellmare mentioned in his first report most likely include Shawkat, so tracking any visible links to that person would be a regime priority.

Shawkat, we recently learned from Syrian VP Abdel Halim Khaddam, has been placed under house arrest in Damascus. Khaddam predicted that Shawkat would meet a fate similar to Ghazi Kenaan, who "committed suicide" in 2005, right around the time Siddiq testified to the commission, then headed by Mehlis. Siddiq's former boss, Bahjat Suleiman, was also removed from his post in the same year.

So what inspires Hizbullah to be part of the Assad regime obsession with all this? They probably miss their former facilitators. Or they could be afraid that if those generals ever make it to The Hague, beans will be spilled and the myth of purity they like to propagate will be forever shattered.

Comments

[danny]

Herein I repeat my statement;"...Status Quo will be the order of the day when it comes to the current political quagmire that Lebanon is in. Once IT is FUNCTIONAL AND THE FOUR GENERALS moved out there will be a change of the situation"....

Basically, there's nothing new in these attcks! Imagine that village idiot Aoun advocating the release of Seyyed who was the main torturers of his "followers" through the past 15 years!!!

Let them bark!!!!

[tg]

If the evidence, which oddly enough hasn't been released, is so great, why haven't they put these men on trial yet?

[Bad Vilbel]

That is a good question, tg. The legitimate govt. needs to stop acting like just another "faction" (i.e. Hizbollah) with no regard for the law or the constitution. It's one thing for the thugs of the opposition to completely disregard the state and its laws, but SOMEBODY should at least be setting the example.

Disclose the evidence - and while we're at it, all the other evidence they claim to have after every assassination and or riot. Name names. Hold the perps accountable. Drag their asses to jail (the hizb fuckwads who kidnapped ISF officers 2 days ago, for example). Stop making exceptions left and right.
And while we're on the subject of setting the example and abiding by the laws of the land: Get your asses down to parliament and elect a president by 50+1 and stop complaining about foreign interference. This goes for both sides by the way. I love listening to Nabih Berri lecturing us about foreign interference (his quotes to Welch were priceless!). You know what, Nabih, if you want to take the presidential issue out of "foreign hands", why don't you just go down to parliament and cast your vote? I mean, there isn't much Mr. Welch or anyone else can do if you go cast your vote, is there? The only reason we have foreign interference is that you and your henchmen took the discussion outside the state's insitutions (parliament) and made it an issue for everyone and their sister (including foreigners) to weigh in on. So quit your bitching!

[Discriminating]

AK, I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that we should stop expecting rational thinking from irrational multitudes. As you can see the status quo is just as big of a problem as allowing HA and its allies to take power. And Danny the IT is the sorriest excuse in the world for a government not to act and exercise its constitutional authority to govern. So no one can prove who was the real brain behind the Hariri assassination. Would that be the first important political leader whose death goes unpunished? Is the state to be judged solely by whether it has solved a crime or should it be able to pursue policies that promote the general welfare of its residents while it is attempting to solve a heinous crime?

[Discriminating]

BV,
Of course Nabih Berri "should quit bitching" but more importantly the Lebanese MP's , if they exist, should find a way to impeach the guy , strip him from his parliamentary seat and make him inelligible to ever seek elected office again. If the so called MP's cannot find the time and the courage to do that then the people should. If no one does anything besides singing the praise of what must be the worst speaker of any house in the history of the globe then we know who to blame don't we?

[Bad Vilbel]

No argument from me, Discriminating. We all know who is really to blame here, it ain't "foreign interference"...

[Jeha]

Why would anyone who deny due process to the multitudes be expecting any due process for himself?

[JoseyWales]

Forget it guys,

In the land of the imbeciles the morons are kings.

We can't even do the simplest of simple things to pressure all these officials.

How about the press asking and running just a roster of the names of those "present" and "absent", everytime Ass-Berri calls parliament for election?
(Like Berri and Murr, where are YOUR guys?)

How about asking "where is Assef?" in the press to pressure Hezbo and Assad to come up with an answer? (and to scare Syria's allies that Ghazi and Mughnieh and Hariri and Assef all disappeared).

Danny, the IT is a sorry excuse and ain't happening in our lifetuime.

And BV, "Stop making exceptions left and right", that train left the station eons ago.

[VOR]

I am tired of all these stooges that run our country. I am tired of all the crap that keeps coming out of their mouths day in and day out. I am convinced that for anything good to happen, the people must rise up and hold these idiots accountable. In a true democracy, the people have the power. We need another "cedar revolution" and this time we need to throw the bums out and bring some new blood that will focus on rebuilding the country and its institutions. I know that most of you will say "easier said than done" but darn it we must clean house! I know deep down inside, all of you understand that and are frustrated as I am too.

[danny]

JW,

We agree to disagree!!! IT IS the ONLY REASON for March 14!!! As for it not happening in our lifetime; I hope you have a long life!!!
I reassert; nothing changes till IT is operational. The syrian lap dogs can continue in their chorus of barking in the meantime...

[Ghassan Karam]

I do not wish to revive the lengthy and heated debate about the Arabic language but when I watch some video clips the proceedings of the recently concluded Arab Summit in Damascus you I was struck by the fact that ear phones were being used? Is that related to the difficulty of understanding the various spoken forms of the Arabic language?

[JoseyWales]

Gus,

The earphones have nothing to do with the Arabic language. They are there to transmit relaxing meditation music or old-time Um Kalthum tarab, your choice.

Only the dumb-fucks in the Arab press believe, analyze and write that anything happens, or that anything is said at these useless, but expensive, get-togethers.

[danny]

Ghassan,

Yes and no. It was different dialects and there were a couple of them that were speaking in French...

[Abilama]

Negotiating wit Evil!

On Carter kissing with Bachar Assad and Khaled Mechaal.

Even obnoxious Presidents have traditionally stayed quiet after their term was up. Carter has instead become even more maniacal, a disgrace as President, he has become an even bigger disgrace as an ex-President.

The late Democratic senator from New York, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, summed it all up in a great quote when he said of Carter in 1980, “Unable to distinguish between our friends and our enemies, he has essentially adopted our enemies’ view of the world.”
If we could take it before he returns, maybe he could live in riches in Saudi Arabia.

O yes Carter brokerd such a fantastic peace when he gave Iran to the Ayatollah’s.Had asked the Shah of Iran to leave the country. Nothing but peace in the middle east ever since.

Iraq did not attack Iran, Iraq did not attack Kuwiat,Hamas is begging for peace,Iran is not building nukes or killing Iraqi and U.S. soilders or suppurting insurgents. Saddam Hussein was only building on Carters peace neogations.
ya right!

Carter is so desparate for a “legacy” that he will do anything. He cares nothing about the US only about his legacy.
Jimmy , you idiot, can’t you see that your legacy is being further tarnished by your idiotic attempts to negotiate with terrorists.

[Abilama]

Some snippets:
-Former Lebanese ambassador and intelligence chief Johnny Abdo announced the upcoming release of "very serious information on Hezbollah incursions on the heart of Lebanese institutions," which he said he expected in two weeks' time.

-Son of slain PM vows to keep imprisoned the four Generals.
-Syria protects the Hariri murderers and so does it's stooge Sayyed Nasrallah!

[Abilama]

More on Jimmy Carter and his dismal legacy.

If Iran bosses Lebanon through the HA it is the sole fault of Carter:
In truth, the groundwork for this miasma was laid during the term of former Democratic President Jimmy Carter. It was all brought about in the name of change and hope; familiar themes being heard today from Democratic front-runners. It was Jimmy Carter who created a firestorm that destabilized our greatest firewall in the Muslim world, the Shah of Iran, in favor of a religious fanatic, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Carter viewed Khomeini more as a religious holy man in a grassroots revolution than the founding father of modern terrorism. His advisors concurred: Ambassador to the UN Andrew Young said, “Khomeini will eventually be hailed as a saint.”

Ambassador to Iran William Sullivan said, “Khomeini is a Gandhi-like figure.”

Carter adviser James Bill proclaimed that Khomeini was not a mad mujahid, but a man of “impeccable integrity and honesty.”

As a result, the Carter administration stood by while Iran descended into the chaos of a fanatical Islamic revolution and was stunned when American embassy employees were taken hostage and held for 444 days.

Ninety days following Khomeini’s declaration of the first day of the “Government of God” on April 1, 1979, President Jimmy Carter inked a top-secret document launching America on the path that in 2001 would lead to the deaths of 2,974 innocent American civilians.

It was generally thought that U.S. aid to the Afghanistan Mujahedeen was initiated in 1980 under the Republican administration of Ronald Reagan. It was, however, the directive signed by Carter that favored supporting insurgent propaganda and other psychological operations in Afghanistan; establishing radio contact with the Afghan people through a third country; providing appropriate support either in funds or non-military supplies. Carter approved another infusion of $30 million in 1980; and in 1981 the amount was raised to $50 million.

Carter’s ill-advised execution of human rights guidelines and his decision to unseat the Shah ultimately caused the loss of more than 600,000 lives during the Iran/Iraq War. Why?

With the departure of the Shah, Saddam Hussein saw his opportunity to boldly march into Iran and seize power in that country. Carter’s decision to abandon Iran to the Khomeini-implemented rule by the mullahs and ayatollahs was eventually responsible for Iraq’s attack on Kuwait and Desert Storm; it spawned the Soviet incursion into Afghanistan, the rise of the Taliban, HAMAS, and al-Qaeda.

[Ghassan Karam]

This would make for a wonderful SNL sketch. An Arab Summit where Arab leaders don't have anything in common, besides pretense of course, not even a common tongue. And the charade goes on.

[VOR]

Carter's legacy is the fact that he brokered the very first and historic peace accord between a major arab country and Israel. Needless to say that nothing was ever the same since then, but through all the wars and conflicts that erupted as a result, still, Carter opened the way for a comprehensive peace with Israel's other neighbors, albeit it is till a messy and painful process fraught with dangers. Give the man his dues, but I think it's time for him to return to his Georgia roots and retire in peace.

[Jeha]

Carter's brokered "peace" did little but store further trouble for the future.

As a result of Camp David;

1- Egypt's dictatorship was strengthened by American dollars. Now, the fundamentalists are the only alternative...

2- Israelis became ever more convinced that all that was needed for peace with the rest of the Arab world was for them to find an appropriate "lid" to place on the cauldron.

Such attempts for peace at low cost caused much more blood, drip per drip, than the large scale wars Camp David supposedly averted.

They tried with Arafat, but he could not deliver. Now they are trying with Abbas... And they would love to try with Bashar.

[Samir]

BHeirut Wadi Jamil synagogue is in danger of being torn down. Now, al-Jazeera reports that it's not just the synagogue that's under threat of being torn down - it's the entire Jewish neighborhood of Beirut. It's called 'development.'

A country with NO heritage.

See the Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS26pIeoCZo

[Abilama]

Immad Moughniye was killed in a " work accident", preparing a booby trapped car full of explosives to be used against a Lebanese target 98 like the previous ones originating in Damscus)

Read it all:
Assassinat du chef du Hezbollah, Imad Maghnieh : la Syrie a classé l’affaire

http://mediarabe.info/spip.php?article1379

Le quotidien koweïtien « Awan » croit savoir, dans son édition du dimanche 20 avril, que la Syrie a classé l’affaire de l’assassinat du chef militaire du Hezbollah, Imad Moughnieh, tué dans une explosion à Damas, le 12 février dernier. Il serait mort dans l’explosion accidentelle d’une voiture qu’il préparait pour terroriser le Liban.

[Abilama]

HA Bush is a terroist and they are peaceful angels who have renounced violence!

One week after US President George W. Bush condemned Hizbullah for its use of terrorism against civilians, the guerilla group lashed back on Sunday, calling the president a "terrorist leader" and welcoming his criticism.
"Every resistance movement in the world should be proud to take criticism from world terrorist leaders, like [US President George W. Bush] and his cadre," a statement issued by the organization read. "Bush's comments are proof that the Lebanese resistance movement is on the right track."
"The whole world knows that the United States poses the gravest threat to peace and world security," the statement added.
In a speech marking the 25th anniversary of the 1983 attack on the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, Bush blasted the Lebanese guerilla group for its use of terrorism against civilians, and urged the international community to follow suit.

Since the Beirut attack, we and citizens of many countries have suffered more attacks at the hands of Hizbullah and other terrorists, backed by the regimes in Teheran and Damascus, which use terror and violence against innocent civilians.

[Abilama]

HA's Madison Avenue

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Utilities/printer_preview.asp?idArticle=14989&R=13A2022826

[Abilama]

Some more cartoons to wreck Moslem nerves:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_WMYICk25k&eurl=http://israelmatzav.blogspot.com/

[Abilama]

Some more cartoons to wreck Moslem nerves:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_WMYICk25k&eurl=http://israelmatzav.blogspot.com/

[Abilama]

Politicla Candor which may apply to Lebanon too!
Prince Hassan bin Talal, younger brother of the late King Hussein of Jordan and uncle to the current King Abdallah II, has long spoken his mind. He continued and extended this tradition today in an interview with Stephen Sackur on the BBC program HardTalk when he stated that Arab regimes friendly to Washington (e.g., those in Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia) are lying when they claim that Tehran is working through Hamas. These Arab governments, he argued, are pushing this story to advance their own interests. Sackur pressed him on this point and Hassan replied (at 12:10 into the interview):

we come from a Byzantine civilization, from centuries of dissimulation. I mean, we [Middle Easterners] are professional liars.

Comment: This is the sort of cynical, self-critical talk that Middle Eastern political types constantly engage in among themselves but usually take care not to express in public. That Hassan allowed himself to say such a thing on the BBC suggests he is fed up with the hypocrisy.

Well ...!!!
He may be eccentric, egomaniac, a dangerous ideologue and a human rights violator -
but he SURE HAD THE GUTS to tell his fellow Arab brethren the truth - which is:
the Arabs are each other's worst enemies.
Were these same words uttered by anyone else - say an American, European or any Occidental diplomat for that matter - they would be beheaded by now.
Take a listen - but more importantly - watch the faces and expressions of the listeners.

http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1731.htm