Smouldering Lebanon
Lebanon: With death of 100s with a heart rendering number of children is paying the price of being the only dominant Christian country in the Muslim middle east till the 70s. A highly progessive and dynamic country till the early 70s a vortex of unfortuante events dragged Lebanon down.In the late 70s Palestinians refugees moved in and the balance of population shifted in favour of Muslims..For the next 15 years proxy wars of religion, local dominance, non-state actors and other regional ambitions coincided to make Lebanon an economically sick and dying state. In the late 80s the population was overwhelmingly Muslim and the Christians had no choice but to live with a constitution with clear preference for a Muslim head of state. Still the Lebanse people decided to soldier on and things changed dramatically with Gulf Arabs moved in to own a piece of modernity and freedom. Tourism and real estate flourished in the 90s and media houses moved in to cash on the relative freedom and better creativity of the legacy of Christian Lebanon. Lebanon with the death of Rafik Harriri had probably shaken off its last baggage Syria out of the equation..and modern times were ahead?? or was it an illusion??
Hezbollah : Army of God: What are they doing there?? The authoritarian regimes of Iran and Syria while impotent on the military might of Israel wont mind pricking Israel from a distance with plausible deniability....But with Hezb members in the Foud Sinoria Govt. was it easy for Lebanon to turn the other way when Israel border was breached and soldiers captured?? With the pressure on Iran and Syria at an all time high and the US sitting in the middle with a huge army....the idea was perfect..the execution went horribly wrong..Sharon in Coma and Olmert seeking credibility moved with such overwhelming military might that every one was taken off guard..including the 1000s of vacationing tourists who forgot that this was volatile middle east...What was Hezbollah and their paymasters thinking?? Lebanon can only be guilty of going slow on Hezbollah after having got rid of Syria so soon....but is bearing the brunt of Hezbollah's folly...Offcourse Hezbollah with their bluster in the Arabic media would love everyone to believe that they are a single living entity to take on Israeli might ...and despondent middle east looking for Heros will probably lap it up....Hezbollah is a pawn in the "great game" between giants and wannabe powers..
Iran and Syria: Two countries with a heads up on quality of education and manpower have found authorianism and Mullah Cronyism to drag two great people down. Iran has everything going for it..Huge oil and gas wealth with better educated and cohesive society with least fissuers..but trust the regime to first errect the dysfuctional Boniyaads..group of core companies which work only on paper..and later force loads of progessive people to either welcoming Europe (France) or Dubai...the less said about the Syrian regime the better...Eager to play big brother with no stomach for a fight..the regime looks more pitiable than ever....
The Gulf Regimes: Oh Yeah!! the Hezbollah would love to paint them as stooges...but in the current atmosphere of brinkmanship..the Gulf states..and Saudi Arabia specially appears stable and sensible....probably more serene than mercurial Mubarak and Erdogan...
The real loosers: The Lebanese and Palestinian people
A word on Israel: Though with my logic above they should appear in their right to defend themselves..They make me sick in the stomach...A couple of soldiers were captured and booths attacked....it wasn't so difficult..probably the Lebanese with US support would have done a better job on Hezbollah..Instead Hezbollah is already a brave organization in various mideastern quarters looking for real Heroes..and the Death of So many innocent men, women and Children...no way connected to this conflict other than making their home in a conflict zone..which was peaceful for years...Israelis have charred a country beyond recognition...With the killings increasing by the day..right to defend my a$$....
At a time when tourism was really necessary for Lebanon..and was certainly bringing the economy back...My heart felt condolences to the Lebanese people..and Thumbs down to all the insensitive international actors..US, Israel,Hezbollah, Iran and Syria..and an impotent and divided international community...This was a test Year for Lebanese democracy..and who in his right mind would have disturbed the peace???
You have many valid points. The political discourse on Lebanon is both long and complex as your own input makes very clear. You are quite enlightened to the tangled web of Lebanese politics and regional influences.
Even though the Syrians were compelled to withdraw from Lebanon last year They left behind many sympathizers. After the Israelis withdrew from Lebanon in 2000 the Lebanese Army was prevented from deploying throughout the south up to the international border because Hizbollah and those behind it forbade it. Syria syphoned off billions of dollars from Lebanon throughout the years.
While Prime Minister Sanioura is essentially a good guy his hands are tied as were those of his assassinated predecessor Hariri.
The president of the republic is the chief executive. The Ta'ef Accord that put an end to the 15 year long civil war curtailed some of his powers in favor of the cabinet of ministers, not the prime minister.
In the Lebanese hierarchy and protocol the president is number 1, parliament speaker 2 and prime minister 3.
To tell you the truth it depresses me to write about Lebanon; so many freedoms, a beautiful country, cosmopolitan society, educated people but always the little guy at school whose lunch and pocket money are taken from him by the bullies.
We're not blameless though. We have much to answer for.
eM
Thanks for the comments and informative input..and correcting me...Your comments on the other issues disccussed ?? So who is the head of govt.?? Is it PM or President..I read somewhere that the real boss will be a Muslim..I got confused there...Who is the Chief Executive??/
There is a lesson in your info eM though..that middle east can sit and sort out its issues in a dispassionate and fair way...as was done by different actors in Lebanon...
Appreciate the sentiment. Yesterday's events were absolutely revolting, disgusting...
You have committed several factual errors, however.
Palestinian refugees arrived in 1948 and not in the 70s as you state, they had absolutely no effect on the sectarian make-up of the country as they were and still are excluded from all kinds of government services, statistics and citizen rights.
Lebanon has never had an official census. The population has never been either overwhelmingly Christian or Muslim. It has been a hotly debated issue whether the Christians of Lebanon were ever a majority in the country. Today it is estimated that the population is 60/40 Muslim/Christian.
The head of state, i.e. president, in Lebanon is not as you state a Muslim but remains a Maronite Christian. The speaker of parliament is a Shia Muslim and the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, the army commander a Maronite Christian, the army chief of staff a Druze. All other positions in government are allotted on a sectarian quota basis.
It's a shame that Lebanon and the Lebanese are being treated like a football in this regional power struggle.
I think Hezbollah with its finely tuned propaganda has raised the stake so high..that any stoppage would appear as Hezbollah's victory...
I just wonder what the average person in Lebanon thinks of it....Israelis are selective in areas they are bombarding..
This one isn't going to end till the international community puts pressure on Israel to get out, which they will be wary to do becuase that would be saying that Israel doesn't have the right to defend itself and that the Hezbollah have won. The US will never tell Israel to back out, and Israel won't listen to anybody else. :(
Could not agree more! With the way things are the question is how will it end?
Well put TG. I agree. The Hezbollah are to blame for the current war with Israel. By now everyone in the Middle East, and the world, knows what Israel's reaction is to a breach of their border or a terrorist attack on their country. Massive retaliation. They have never made a secret of this.
Are they being excessive, YES! They are always excessive. War is a horrible, needless thing. They have no more right to go in a kill the Lebanese than the Hamas or the Hezbollah have a right to kill Israelis.
Counting the number of children dead is ridiculous, ANYONE, young, old, solider or civilian is a needless death. Counting children is a propagnada tactic and a way to sell papers.
War is stupid, all wars for any reason.