From Beirut to the Beltway

Trapped

Bush had a very busy day today. Topping his agenda was the financial crisis that is threatening to plunge the US into a recession, turning us into something worse than the socialist disaster that the GOP used as scarecrow when they deregulated everything from the economy to the way wars are planned.

With Bush and some members of The House effectively surrendering the economy to a struggling presidential campaign, we, who hail from the land of the cedars, were told the US and Lebanon have a lot in common. This claim came courtesy of Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, last seen deregulating the free flow of weapons from Syria to Lebanon. 

In remarks at the outset of the Oval Office meeting with President Michel Suleiman, Bush said he has watched carefully the public statements that Suleiman has made since taking office in May.

"Your statements impressed me and we're most impressed by the national dialogue that you're holding in an attempt to seek reconciliation," Bush said. "The United States is proud to stand by your side. Our mission is your mission: a country that is strong and capable, a country where people can make a peace."

Sitting beside Bush in the Oval Office, Suleiman said his country shares many U.S. values, including the promotion of liberty and the fight against terrorism. And he thanked Bush for his administration's support of the Lebanese government, particularly efforts to bolster the Lebanese army.

"There are so many things in common between the American people and the Lebanese people. We are here also to reaffirm our rights to have a prosperous Lebanon, a democratic Lebanon," Suleiman said. "Mr. President, we are also here to affirm the need to liberate all Lebanese territories and also to make it clear that the future of Palestinian refugees is in their homeland, not in Lebanon." (AP)

Bush obviously spoke too soon. I don't think he cares about Lebanon's "need" to liberate a farm that no one can tell for sure where it belongs.  What is the point of coming all the way to the White House and, instead of asking for assistance in things that matter, you "affirm the need" to fight an endless war on behalf of Lebanese cattle? How is this a reflection of commonality between Lebanese and Americans? The way I see it, Lebanese politicians have proven that they want to keep Lebanese prisoners of a cause, that's become unfit even for livestock.

But then, today John McCain took us all prisoners of his campaign. This isn't to say that the actions of American and Lebanese politicians are comparable. For at least in America, politics are rooted in something a lot deeper and meaningful than pasture. But today, many Lebanese, Americans, and Lebanese Americans, felt trapped.

Reconciliation without apology

After Hizbullah and the PSP, the Future movement is set to reconcile with God’s warriors. The fairy tale continues. One of god’s former warriors, now a reformed March 14er, has apologized. Samir Geagea, whom some of us grew to respect over the past two years, despite his war crimes record, said he was sorry for terrorizing the population during the civil war.

Hizbullah, mind you, has not apologized. With March 14 busy electioneering under the banner of reconciliation, the Iranian-backed militia is not showing any signs that it will reconcile with the state, or recognize it for that matter. And why should they, when the president of the very country they claim to defend is in denial about their arms.

According to As-Safir, and during a meeting with Condoleezza Rice, President Michel Suleiman denied reports of weapons smuggling to Hizbullah across the Syrian border, calling them Israeli exaggerations, and adding this gem: “if the Israelis have evidence and satellite imagery to prove their claims, then let them hand them over to you.”

You would think a man who spent his life in the military would know better than to presume American ignorance of what’s happening on the border, or that they even need to use Israeli satellites to see what the Party of God is doing. And you would think he’d ask for the evidence for himself and not for Rice’s viewing pleasure.

With thousands of Syrian troops digging trenches along the northern border, and Hizbullah getting ready for another round with Israel, Lebanese had better hope their elected leaders know what they’re doing when they’re bedding one another out of wedlock. This isn’t reconciliation. It’s temporary marriage at best. Just ask the experts at Hizbullah.

And apology accepted, Samir. I would take that over fake reconciliation any time.

Free lessons in rule of law

Lessons in how to impose the rule of law sometimes come from the unlikeliest of places.

Marada Movement leader Suleiman Franjieh on Wednesday gave an ultimatum to the Lebanese government on the Bsarma shooting attack in north Lebanon. "I give the government a 15-day to one-month ultimatum to reveal the truth behind the shooting incident in Bsarma," Franjieh told a news conference.

His ultimatum came a few hours after two people were killed and three wounded in clashes between the Lebanese Forces and Marada Movement in the town of Bsarma in the northern province of Koura. Lebanese Forces (LF) supporter Pierre Ishaq and Youssef Franjieh, head of Marada's Bsarma office, were killed in the fight. Three other people were wounded.(Naharnet)

Another lesson comes from another self-made legal expert, Michel Aoun, formerly army commander, currently a fruit:

Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun on Wednesday proposed a defense strategy based on merging the "various militias and the resistance."

Aoun made the proposal in remarks broadcast by Orange TV, mouthpiece of his FPM.

The resistance should "not be restricted to Hizbullah, let them expand it to include all the Lebanese" factions, Aoun said. "Guerrilla warfare is necessary to defend Lebanon," he added. (Naharnet)

With the president himself engaging in anti-constitutional activities under the title “national dialogue”, it’s hard to blame the above clowns for giving free interpretations of the law.

But thank God for Hizbullah, which helped re-align the dialogue’s agenda and set matters straight.

Hizbullah on Wednesday accused the United States, Europe and Israel of trying to list a topic on the agenda of the Conference on National Dialogue.  Hizbullah's international relations official Nawaf Moussawi made the charge in an address to a Palestinian delegation from the Beirut refugee camps of Sabra and Chatilla.

"The Lebanese People would not allow the Americans, the European governments and Israel to impose their own agenda on the national dialogue," Moussawi said. "Such an agenda has one item which is disarming the resistance and Hizbullah," he added.

Moussawi pledged: "This item would not be on the dialogue agenda. The National Dialogue Conference would tackle how to build a strong capable state that, along with its people and army, would confront Israeli aggressions."

OK, so will the dialogue propose bills allowing militias to give ultimatums to the state, and creating a favorable environment for militias to merge into mega militias?

A message to the Europeans and the Americans, please butt out of this one. Don't you have better things to do? Like a dictator to appease, and a president to elect?

The US edition

Announcing From Beirut to the Beltway: US Edition.

The new blog will focus more on the US, especially the election season, so not to derail the message of this blog.

Message to the Druze of Lebanon

There's been an explosion in Lebanon, as you know by now. A mysterious force killed Talal Arslan's right hand man, Saleh Aridi, presumably as punishment for the Druze leader's reconciliation with the other Druze leader, Walid Jumblatt. There were reports that the two had planned a joint electoral ticket next year, which would have finished off Syrian lapdog Wiam Wahab for good.

Wahab never hid his discontent, feeling that the Jumblatt-Arslan rapprochement came at his expense. Earlier this month saw verbal war between Arslan and Wahab, and reports said many of Wahab's followers deserted him to join the Arslan party. Wahab at some point said about Arslan, "If he claims that he's the boy's mother in the Druze sect, then I'm his father".  Wahab accused Arslan of submitting his accreditation to Jumblatt.

The slain Aridi is said to be the architect of the reconciliation between Jumblatt and Arslan.

Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar told the Voice of Lebanon radio station on Thursday morning that the assassination aimed at “trapping new allies,” a reference to the reconciliation efforts between Jumblatt and Arslan, in which Aridi was a major player, since the May violence in the Chouf. He added that the killing was a blow to the efforts to calm Mount Lebanon.

For his part, Jumblatt told An-Nahar that some were “harmed” by his relation with Arslan, who made his way back to Lebanon after the incident.

As-Safir reported that the assassination came along with an organized campaign of rumors spread in Aley and the Chouf regarding mutual mobilization pitting the opposition, particularly Hezbollah, against the PSP.

Aridi, the paper continued, was Arlsan’s right-hand man and one of the most prominent figures of reconciliation between the latter and Jumblatt. “In so doing, he had benefited from his former position as a PSP member, and he is known for his close relations with several Syrian leaders,” As-Safir read.  (Now Lebanon)

Note that this taking place amid disagreement in the ranks of the opposition, which the Jumblatt-Arslan alliance caused, as did the reaction by some Aounists to Assad's latest speech advising the army to move to the north to combat "extremism".

This "opposition" found itself unable to agree on an agenda for the planned national dialogue next week, let alone form joint lists in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

This latest assassination may be a product of this disagreement, as well as a message to Arslan and other tired Syrian satellites not to stray from the path during the national dialogue, or during the elections.

McCain to campaign in Lebanon; Lebanese Americans unite

That's Lebanon, Ohio. You didn't think Lebanon was THAT important to the Republican candidate, did you?

Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, will appear together for a campaign rally Tuesday outside the Golden Lamb restaurant in Lebanon, his campaign announced today.

Despair not, fellow Lebanese Americans, spread out everywhere on this land. A coalition has been formed in our name to allow us to express our support for the Palin-McCain McCain-Palin ticket.

Here's an excerpt from the McCain website.

Welcome to Lebanese-Americans for McCain. Our coalition is the central gathering point for members of the Lebanese-American community to join forces and collectively endorse John McCain for president. As an organized and united force we can support John McCain by organizing our community and getting out the vote for the 2008 election.

    We are proud to endorse John McCain,a man whose character, judgment, leadership, and experience is precisely what all Americans need in their next president. His foreign policy experience is unparalleled, and most importantly he understands the issues facing the Arab world.

    As Lebanese-Americans it is imperative that we get involved.

    Please help us build support for McCain for president!  

I couldn't help but note the contradiction between "Lebanese" and "organized". "United force" also seemed to be out of place.

I also couldn't help but notice how McCain's Lebanese American group did not mention Lebanon at all on their page. Instead, they only mention the Arab World, which includes Djibouti and Mauritania. What's the point of calling yourself a "Lebanese American Coalition" if your mission statement does not even mention the country that supplied your identifying label? What the hell has happened to Lebanon in the past three years, and why isn't it part of what will get us to "organize" and form a "united force"?

Contrast the above with McCain's Jewish Advisory Coalition. These people have nothing to hide.

For nearly three decades John McCain has enjoyed a strong love, friendship and appreciation for Israel and her citizens. His affection for and understanding of the myriad of complex issues confronting the Israeli people runs deep, as does our nation's long alliance with the State of Israel.

During his most recent trip he visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial and vowed that he would never allow Jewish people to suffer another Shoa.

He recognizes Israel's right as a sovereign to defend herself against those who seek to harm and destroy her. John McCain will hold terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah and Hamas, who seek to maximize civilian death and destruction inside Israel, accountable.

John McCain recognizes the threat that a nuclear Iran poses not only to Israel, but to the stability of the region and to the international community. On his watch, Iran will not be allowed to put its anti-Israel, anti-Western rhetoric into action.

For nearly 30 years John McCain has been proud to call the people of Israel, Chaverim! Friends!

I wonder if one should blame the "Lebanese American Coalition" for forgetting to include Lebanon in its statement, or just blame it on the lack of love McCain has for the country of cedars, which can never produce anything that can even come close to the above love affair with Israel.

With McCain's Lebanese ashamed of their own country, one might as well consider Obama's "community of Arab Americans". Here, they actually list the issues, whether your agree with them or not.

    We are a community of Arab Americans who are working nationwide to elect Senator Barack Obama the next President of our nation. We believe in Senator Obama's message of hope, action and change. We believe that Senator Obama has the judgment to lead and the courage to renew America's promise.

    Senator Obama is committed to the issues that our community cares deeply about: civil rights, profiling, a just peace to the Arab-Israeli conflict, a wise withdrawal from Iraq, closing Guantanamo, immigration reform and promoting human and civil rights in the Arab World.

Nasrallah lucks out again

Nasrallah's forgiveness will not be required:

The Military Tribunal acquitted 12 suspects accused of plotting to assassinate Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah nearly two years ago, the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported Friday.

It said the tribunal's decision came after it didn't find enough evidence of the alleged involvement of the suspects in the murder plot. However, the court sentenced some of the defendants to prison for forming armed gangs, selling weapons to Lebanese citizens and trading in arms.

The night before the above news was leaked, Nasrallah said he forgave them:

In the final moments of the speech, Nasrallah addressed the issue of suspects currently imprisoned for plotting to kill him. “There is a group accused of planning to assassinate me, I forgive them and I will send a written letter to the military court urging that they be released during Ramadan."

A visit to this blog's archives revealed this old post:

The Decapitator was spared an assassination attempt thanks to the watchful eyes of the Lebanese military intelligence, who arrested nine Lebanese and Palestinian would-be assassins after "acting suspiciously" near Hizbullah's headquarters in the southern Beirut district of Haret Horeik... The nine suspects were reportedly planning to blow up the head of God's party on his way to the last day of "national dialogue" on April 28... Thank God the capable men of the Lebanese military intelligence foiled this heinous plot on time and spared Nasrallah a most uncomfortable loin pain. Too bad Rafik Hariri, Samir Kassir, Bassel Fleihan, George Hawi and Gibran Tueni weren't as lucky.

US offered Lebanon helicopters prior to Hizbullah's "accidental" shooting

I wonder if the ongoing investigation with the Hizbullah member who shot at the Lebanese army helicopter will take this into consideration:

During his latest visit to Beirut, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Asia and the Near East David Hale informed Lebanon of his country’s intention to provide the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) with military aid, sources told NOW Lebanon on Thursday.

This aid would include equipping the LAF with fighter helicopters, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Hale submitted a list of US-made helicopters, at the top of which came the AH-1 COBRA fighter helicopter, to the Lebanese Ministry of Defense.

The list outlined the US Defense Department’s aid Lebanon as part of the plan aimed at consolidating the capacities of the Lebanese army to enable the LAF to preserve security, confront challenges and consolidate civil peace in Lebanon.

The sources did not rule out that the shooting of a military helicopter in the southern Lebanese village of Soujoud by Hezbollah gunmen may have been a preemptive message to internal and foreign parties.

According to such a message, any military aid provided to Lebanon should not alter the current field reality, and Hezbollah should not allow the disruption of the current balance of forces, which grants it military supremacy in Lebanon.

While a Hezbollah fighter has been reported as handed over to judicial authorities for the gunning, which killed Captain Samer Hanna, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday defended the shooting as a painful mistake, but nothing more.

Hale’s statement comes after his visit to Lebanon in late August, during which he met with Lebanese leaders, including President Michel Sleiman and Speaker Nabih Berri.

Nasrallah: We made another mistake

Nasrallah said shooting at the helicopter was a mistake, and defended the killer saying he was "not a criminal".

Nasrallah was vehement in denying accusations that the shooting was intentional: “The incident has no political background and it is not a message to the Israelis—that is not how we send messages to them...

We are most cautious in our relations with the army. We have lost martyrs who were killed by the Lebanese Army itself, yet we were cautious to avoid instigating any conflict with the army…Let no one use this helicopter incident to instigate conflict between the army and the Resistance. Nobody gave orders to shoot the helicopter.”  However, Nasrallah said that he himself was “responsible for all that the Resistance says and does.”

He described the actual incident in some detail: “The helicopter was not brought down, it landed and some of our brothers were surprised and one of them shot it. We coordinated with the army to come take the helicopter. We asked who fired and who ordered him to, and our dignified brother who opened fire came forward himself.”

Nasrallah said “our youth are not street boys, they came to the resistance for sacrifice and we do not hand in anybody by force.”  Nasrallah went on to defend the suspected gunman. “I reject all comments that the Hezbollah member is a criminal,” he said.

Nasrallah is so grand, he decided to forgive and forget:

In the final moments of the speech, Nasrallah addressed the issue of suspects currently imprisoned for plotting to kill him. “There is a group accused of planning to assassinate me, I forgive them and I will send a written letter to the military court urging that they be released during Ramadan."

Unfortunately for Nasrallah, it not up to him to decide on what basis to judge a killer, or when to release suspects from jail. His grandiosity would have earned more respect had he left such judgments to the judiciary. And if he were serious about taking responsibility, then he should have handed himself over to the authorities to be tried for breaking the law and giving young men a license to kill at their own discretion.

Sarah Palin and McCain's good ol' basket

Watching Sarah Palin last night, I couldn't help but wonder how her family would have been be able to afford health care had she not been governor. A child with Down Syndrome and an unemployed and pregnant 17-year old daughter, would break any middle class family.

For that, it was interesting to me that she has never broached the issue of health care. Instead, she has been using her family to prove points about abortion and conservatism, as seen by the religious right.

It became more apparent after yesterday's convention episode that McCain's choice for running mate was to appeal to the crowd that brought Bush into office. It did not matter what Palin's record was, whether or not she really fought the "big ol' boys" network, big oil companies, earmark spending, etc. All these claims are being disputed. 

Picking the Alaskan governor, to quote Karl Rove, was a "campaign decision", not a "governing decision". 

Proving this point is lack of any real information on Palin on the official McCain website. Apart from a photo, a title claiming "a fresh perspective", and a transcript of the press conference that announced her to the world (which she re-recited last night), there is little information about her or her "record".

McCain hopes the people will supply the narrative. Many will indeed, and she will surely be a polarizing but eloquent figure, proving to be a good Republican answer to Obama when it comes to presentation skills. But unfortunately for McCain, many will rely on the "elitist" and "evil" media as the Republicans like to call it, for more information about her. What I found so far isn't encouraging. Palin comes across as someone who uses her children to draw "conservative" voters, and who has extremely wild and worrying views on science and evolution. Her speech last night was mostly combative, though impressive in style. Ironically, it was her who accused her opponent of being all talk.

So what about health care?

Both Palin and Guiliani, the stars of last night's performance, failed to mention health care or McCain's health care plan. They spoke about terrorism, the need to attach "Islamic" to the term to make it sound more realistic, and McCain's courage eons ago as a soldier. McCain will fight for us, etc. But can he help pay my health care bill? I don't need a socialist solution. But what I don't appreciate is a plan that will make it worse for me.

Affording health care is one of my main concerns. My employer's justification for raising premiums every year, and making HMO plans extremely expensive for families, sounds a lot like McCain's plan to "Restore Control To The Patients Themselves." In fact, both my employer and John McCain use the same language. What this means, simply, is that patients will no longer have access to plans that pay 100% of the bill. Families have to pick plans that pay a certain percentage, and that force you to pay out of pocket until you meet a deductible. Kind of like car insurance plus you still have to fork out 20% or more of the total bill. So, if your wife has a baby, expect not being able to afford the hospital bill. If you get cancer, good luck.

Unlike Obama, who provided tons of details on this issue on his site and during his speech, McCain doesn't seem to think it's worthy of details. Obama might be taking it to the socialist extreme, but there's at least a solid plan to discuss.

I wonder if Palin's pregnant daughter will wed her presumably unemployed boyfriend AFTER giving birth. It makes sense. Let mommy take care of the bills while she's governor/running for VP.  And how will the "families of special needs children" find a friend in Washington (as she proclaimed) if they elect Palin, given what McCain is proposing?

It gets worse with McCain's plan.  His alternative to the "expensive" (wonder why!) employer-based insurance is to pay insurance companies directly through a "tax credit". So your employer is off the hook, your paycheck is the same, and your private health care provider gets richer. So no to big government, but yes to corporations feasting on my hard work and penalizing me for having children, healthy or with special needs?

I wonder if McCain, and Palin, know that doctors and hospitals in this country charge patients more than they end up getting paid by insurance companies? We, the middle class, get no "negotiated rates".

There are other issues, of course. Foreign policy might be one of them, and in the past, I have criticized Obama harshly for uneducated statements on Lebanon. Guiliani made a strong case, but he is not the VP, Palin is. And I don't buy what Cindy McCain said about Alaska's proximity to Russia making Palin experienced in national security. Like Guiliani said, we can't afford "on the job training". This applies to Palin too.

I don't know how many will be willing to forgive McCain for failing to present the people with a real governing team. We are simply being asked to place all our eggs in his good ol' basket, to wish him long life and good health (and health care), and accept Palin as a necessity to get him elected.