Hariri's proposal

Saad Hariri described what is happening as an "act of folly" and a declaration of the "bankruptcy" of the "group that claims to be a resistance movement".

"What are the resistance fighters doing on the streets of Beirut?", Hariri addressed Nasrallah, warning him that the fitna between Sunnis and Shias is upon us. He urged him to end the descent into civil war by lifting the siege of Beirut and withdrawing his fighters.

Hariri denied that the government decisions to dismiss the airport security chief and dismantle Hizbullah's communications network were targeting the weapons of the resistance, or were, as Nasrallah claimed, an attempt to hand the airport to the CIA and FBI.

He reminded him that Hizbullah arrested a French official for holding a camera, so how can he consider the issue of cameras spying on the airport a silly matter?

He said the government decisions are to protect the state, not to go after the resistance.

He said preventing a fitna between Sunnis and Shias is "more important than all weapons".

Hariri proposed the following to end the fighting:

Put the government decisions at the disposal of the Lebanese army
Withdraw all fighters from the streets, and re-open the roads
Elect Michel Suleiman as President
Start dialogue, with Suleiman presiding

Hariri said rejection of this is a an assault on our people and citizens.

As I type these words, a full fledged civil war has erupted in Ras El Nabe'. There are reports of Hizbullah fighters storming buildings and evicting citizens.

Comments

[Bad Vilbel]

Seriously. What is the government/army waiting for?

[T]

It was obvious yesterday that the Army is a bunch of useless freeloaders sucking up the state budget.

Electing Michel Suleiman will be worse than having nobody.

Lebanon is now Gaza 2...

[Doha]

Acccording to Naharnet, the Cabinet's meeting ended and Hariri's proposal is being handed to the Army Command by Interior Minister Murr.

[fitna or not]

BV, I guess they're afraid that if the army splits, well, then, there's nothing left and we're back to the happy 70's.
I *hope* that THIS, as bad as it look, is somewhat "misconducted" "display of force/power" and no one really wants an all out war, at least not now.
But, such things, have the bad habit to escape the bottle as soon as it's out.
Can someone, please, call the doctor and put the whole country on REHAB ?

Ya Rabi.... what those animals are doing ?

[Bad Vilbel]

I don't really get what Hariri's proposal has to do with the Army. The army is there to take orders from government. Not to study proposals.

[Bad Vilbel]

fitna,

And if the army hides in its barracks...there's nothing left too...There's no state, basically. Right? So what's the difference?

[Doha]

Great, how does it make you feel when you start hearing on the news a request for donating blood to Hotel Dieu?

[Bad Vilbel]

It reminds me of my childhood (i grew up in the 70s and 80s).

[Doha]

AK,

For those who don't have the TV to keep up with news, please keep us updated on what's going on. Thanks.

[Bad Vilbel]

Is there some kind of online tv or radio that i can tune to?

[fitna]

BV - I hate to make this sound funny - "less people fighting".
But, on my point of view, this is about "possibilities" much like in a hand of poker.
So far, no one knows - for sure - if it will split or not. If not, HA has a lot more to worry about. If we had news of complete units joining HA, or at least soldiers "materializing" in HA quarters, I think we would be seeing a much more assertive fox hole dweller speech today.

Let's use another situation. Let's say you're with a friend, talking in a corner, just leaving the beach (no place to hide weapons) and an armed thief arrives: you're an easy prey. But next time you're with a heavy coat, and be with a machine gun under it - he would thing again.

But of course, if the army stays locked/hidden/sleeping while the city is being torched, then any chance to stop this would be lost. Then, I would agree with marillionlb: grab your old gun, close your street and shoot on sight.

[bad vilbel]

fitna

It is the army's job to be protecting the people. Your analogy about the thief doesn't stand. You're walking home and you're attacked by a thief, and the local policeman who sees the whole thing is leaving the scene instead of helping you.

My main point here is that if we are indeed, moving to "every man for himself" and other sects/groups are going to take matters into their own hands, then there really is no point havnig had an army at all, or having had a country for that matter.

[Doha]

BV,

There's Voix du Liban. It's a livestream, but gets disconnected a lot due to an overload of people tuning in. I'm just going right now to subscribe to Jump TV which can get you a livestream of Future TV and LBC. My parents just told me that Jumblatt is on Kalam Innass and I want to tune in to Jump TV to hear him speak.

There's one scary word that my father mentioned in his phone call: he said "farz ta'ifi". Welcome to the civil war; that's what's taking place in Ras il Nabi3.

[bad vilbel]

yup. There never was any doubt that any war in Lebanon would be sectarian in nature. That was pretty much a given. It's 1975 all over again (or close to it).

[fitna]

Bv, That's the point: I agree with you. But now (I don't how much more time) the "united army" idea is what is (I hope) is restraining the moderates from taking action - the hot heads are already there.
But as I said, it won't last long. They have to deploy, fast and hard. The time for half-measures is long gone.

[bad vilbel]

I get "not available in your area" for LBC on JumpTV. Boooo! (I'm in the US)

[AK]

Jumblatt is on LBC now. Nothing new.

http://nowlebanon.com/Arabic/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=41609

[Charlie]

What is up with this Army neutral crap! These guys are not getting paid to be neutral, they are getting paid to protect and serve the citizens. At the end of the day the citizens are going to need to find a way to protect themselves, if the army is not going to do it, then it is back to having to organize militias to fill this void, which will also lead to the fragmentation of the army. This is BS, Siniora and Murr need to issue a publicly televised order, so all can see, instructing the army to stop the militants, if Sulieman, refuses, issue and immediate decree to replace him. You can’t have an organized well trained Iranian revolutionary guards militant force going around the streets of Beirut killing and terrorizing everyone while the army hangs out in their barracks sipping coffee and playing cards.

[Bad Vilbel]

Agreed, Charlie.

[fitna]

on naharnet:
"Jumblat called for "coexisting" with the resistance if the present balance of powers does not permit absorbing it in the army"

Is he blinking ?
Or the 1st step towards partition ?

[Doha]

AK, I subscribed to JumpTV and can watch a livestream of LBC.

Jumblatt's words are not inflammatory and he was very composed, which makes Nasrallah's speech desperate in contrast.

Jumblatt turned in the PSP headquarters in Beirut to the control of the Army. He asked his supporters not to go down on the streets, but to protect their homes only if their homes get attacked.

We're waiting on the Army now...

[Bad Vilbel]

Doha. Where are you located? JumpTV won't let me watch LBC.

[Lemon]

One word in Hariri's speech (well, the translation at NOW Lebanon) caught my eye: "Misunderstanding". I fear that Hariri is the weakest link (as usual) and will revert the cabinet decisions within a day.

[hh]

Charlie,
I have it from VERY well-informed sources that the government wanted to declare a state of emergency (that's why Murr went to Suleiman directly after the meeting of ministers) but Sulieman refused to implement it!

[Bad Vilbel]

The govt. should have planned for this BEFORE all this went down. If they couldn't count on Suleiman, they should've shut the fuck up and not provoked Nassrallah. Talk about bad planning.

And Suleiman should be sacked immediately for refusing to obey the government, if this in fact true.

But I'm not holding my breath.

[Lemon]

"The govt. should have planned for this BEFORE all this went down."

Come on now, they only had EIGHTEEN MONTHS to prepare!

[california girl]

sorry to hear what you all are going through AGAIN. needless to say what little news we are getting in the USA (in between the inundation of reporting about the US election and the usual salacious stories related to perverts/celebrities and the economy), only touches on what is going on in lebanon. please keep us posted so we can inform others. what do you all expect will be the outcome?