Al Akhbar Lebanon This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. draftgore2008.org

   draftgore2008.org/en/aggregato - [Cached]

   Last Visited: 3/14/2007

   A Lebanese American in Lebanon: Dear Josh, I often read your blog with interest.
   ...
   It is an argument often used by the Maronite church (most notably in Patriarch Sfeir's complaint that Christian MPs are being elected by non-Christians), The solution to Lebanon's problems is not in making the system even more confessional (by making members of a religious community) chose only MPs from their religion , but rather in a slow and steady deconstruction of the system.
   ...
   The issue for me (and I suppose for Michael Young perhaps, and many others who have a mostly positive view of the Lebanon as a political model for the Near and Middle East), is that will obtaining justice for the Shiite population, have the end result of potentially destroying Lebanon's demographic and political pluralism (the real meaning of Young's statement about emigrating). . One of the remarkable aspects of Beirut for example is that it is probably the most pluralistic city in the entire Near East, remarkably so.
   ...
   Lebanon presents the best example of political liberties in the Middle East and the best prospect for showing the region a way out of its authoritarian quagmire.
   ...
   Lebanon is truly crappy these days… and one of the crappiest things about Iraq has to be the - who in the hell exactly was it? LBC/al-Hurra staff-types… or whoever, who thought that if Maronite-Shiite-Sunni has worked so well in Lebanon, Kurd-Shiite-Sunni would be perfect for Iraq?
   
   Landis replies: Marlin Dick's article, originally written for the Fresno Bee, is a must read. He said all the things I did, only less confrontationally and with considerable depth.
   ...
   Of course Asad wanted to trade Syria's help in Iraq for America's acceptance of the status quo in Lebanon, which Bush refused to countenance.
   ...
   Lebanon was getting restless. He was new to the office. His people were already expecting a softer and more western approach. Instead, he took the exact opposite road. In my opinion, the best achievement he can claim for his strategy is that he is still in power. If that is indeed the standard, then fine. But, is this really the standard that he should be judged by? Vision and bold leadership is what it takes. Would his father have done this? Would he have gone so far against the Americans? Would he have misunderstood the way America changed after Sept. 11th? Hafez did not have to prove his manhood.
   ...
   But compare Lebanon to just about every other Arab government and tell me who are slaves.
   ...
   Estimates of Lebanon's population are all over the place. The CIA throughout much of the 1990s claimed that Muslims accounted for 70% of Lebanon's population. In 2004, it lowered the statistic on its webpage to 59.7%, where it remains today. I inquired about the reasons for this change from members of the Lebanon and Syria desk at the agency in 2004, but none could give me an answer. Such estimates have great political significance and are contested. All the more reason for Lebanon to carry out a new census.
   ...
   The prospect of a thaw with Syria has caused howls of protest from Lebanon's obstructionists who continue to believe that America's plan for changing the Middle East is working.
   ...
   The biggest assets of the obstructionists is US Ambassador Feltman, who has been working assiduously to keep a deal from being struck in Lebanon. He refuses to allow the Syrians satisfaction on their demand that the establishment of the International tribunal be delayed until after a Lebanon deal is clinched. His fear is that if the Lebanese opposition gets a 19+11 cabinet sharing formula before the Lebanese government signs over permission for an international tribunal, it will never get established. To avoid such a prospect, the US is willing to sacrifice Lebanon's future and any prospects of economic growth for the country. Stagnation and paralysis will be continue to be the order of the day in Lebanon.
   ...
   Everyone was happy, even giddy about the prospect of a typically muddled but non-violent solution to the impasse in Lebanon.
   ...
   In 2006, Young advocated keeping the incompetent Lahoud as president of Lebanon rather than giving Michel Aoun a chance at elections. (Aoun was the most popular candidate in Lebanon at the time.) This obstructionism led directly to the summer war between Lebanon and Israel.
   ...
   In 2006, Young advocated keeping the incompetent Lahoud as president of Lebanon rather than giving Michel Aoun a chance at elections. (Aoun was the most popular candidate in Lebanon at the time.) This obstructionism led directly to the summer war between Lebanon and Israel.
   ...
   With no prospects of a non-violent adjustment to Lebanon's lopsided power-sharing formula, Hizbullah and its opposition allies fell back on the old formula of "resistance" and demonstrations.
   ...
   Instead, the inconclusive war led to paralysis in Lebanon as Hizbullah and the Siniora government stand face to face, each unwilling to bow to the demands of the other. Rather that admit that he has misjudged the opposition or the ability of American and Israeli power to reshape the hearts and minds of Middle Easterners, Young continues to insist that Syria and Hizbullah will buckle if only the US will inflict a bit more pain on them.
   
   Rather than come to grips with the real flaws of Lebanon's democracy, Michael Young, like many other Lebanese, believes that the use of force by foreign powers can preserve the skewed status quo in Lebanon. Rather than come to grips with the real flaws of Lebanon's democracy, Michael Young, like many other Lebanese, believes that the use of force by foreign powers can preserve the skewed status quo in Lebanon.
   ...
   The Lebanese obstructionists' solution is to import violence into Lebanon and the region.
   ...
   In Lebanon they are accorded the same political weight. Although Shiites are estimated to make up some 40% of the population, the Taif Accords, Lebanon's constitutional arrangement, permit the Shiites only 22% of the seats in parliament.
   
   The defenders of Taif will scoff at this analogy between Lebanese Shiites and American slaves. They will say, "But we don't treat Shiites as slaves. They can vote and they are allocated the third most powerful political office in the land: the President of the Parliament. All true, I admit, but this doesn't obscure the simple fact that Shiites are accorded only half the political worth of other human beings in Lebanon.
   ...
   The innocuous sounding term "consociationalism" cannot hid the fact that Lebanon is a religious state, in which Sunnis and Christians are privileged, politically and economically.
   
   Undoing the mutual fear and resentment which divide the opposition from the governing coalition will not be easy, but obstructing the kind of deal that the Saudis and Egyptians are trying to broker is not the answer. It only invites more violence.
   
   Michael Young once said to me that if Taif were rewritten and Christians were allocated less than their present 50% share of Parliamentary seats, he might be forced to leave Lebanon. That is a sad comment on the state of Lebanon's consociational system and the prospects for a political deal in the immediate future.
   ...
   But as you can see the general was the IRGC liaison here in Lebanon prior to the 2000 withdrawal and, as a principle of the armaments industry going forward, would have detailed knowledge of Hezbollah capabilities even after he left Lebanon:
   ...
   It is therefore in a position, more than any other state, to offer religious and economic backing to peace settlements between Israel and the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon.
   ...
   Instead of talking to Syria and Lebanon on a peace agreement, the government is preparing the public for another war in the North.
   ...
   A number of pro-government journalists and politicians in Lebanon have spent the last several days trying to insist that the government does not need to cut a deal with Syria or the Lebanese opposition.
   ...
   He is not considering a deal with Damascus and Tehran that would sacrifice the international tribunal and Lebanon. He may not be considering plans to topple the regimes in Damascus and Tehran, either. But he will never hesitate to do so if Syria and Lebanon press on with their efforts to destabilize Lebanon.
   ...
   Another sector to call for an end to the clogging up of downtown Beirut and the subsequent disruption to the economy is Lebanon's beleaguered tourism industry.
   ...
   The way Syria opened the door for Iran into Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestine is not a simple matter, it changes the map of the Middle East and it leaves the door wide open to a major war , with sectarian, security, regional, and international aspects.
   ...
   Syria did withdraw from Lebanon, but that was not enough.
   ...
   An Israeli summer war against Hizbollah or Syria, an American attack on Iran, or a Sunni Shia confrontations in Iraq or Lebanon.

2. 2. www.draftgore2008.org

   www.draftgore2008.org/en/aggre - [Cached]

   Last Visited: 3/14/2007

   A Lebanese American in Lebanon: Dear Josh, I often read your blog with interest.
   ...
   It is an argument often used by the Maronite church (most notably in Patriarch Sfeir's complaint that Christian MPs are being elected by non-Christians), The solution to Lebanon's problems is not in making the system even more confessional (by making members of a religious community) chose only MPs from their religion , but rather in a slow and steady deconstruction of the system.
   ...
   The issue for me (and I suppose for Michael Young perhaps, and many others who have a mostly positive view of the Lebanon as a political model for the Near and Middle East), is that will obtaining justice for the Shiite population, have the end result of potentially destroying Lebanon's demographic and political pluralism (the real meaning of Young's statement about emigrating). . One of the remarkable aspects of Beirut for example is that it is probably the most pluralistic city in the entire Near East, remarkably so.
   ...
   Lebanon presents the best example of political liberties in the Middle East and the best prospect for showing the region a way out of its authoritarian quagmire.
   ...
   Lebanon is truly crappy these days… and one of the crappiest things about Iraq has to be the - who in the hell exactly was it? LBC/al-Hurra staff-types… or whoever, who thought that if Maronite-Shiite-Sunni has worked so well in Lebanon, Kurd-Shiite-Sunni would be perfect for Iraq?
   
   Landis replies: Marlin Dick's article, originally written for the Fresno Bee, is a must read. He said all the things I did, only less confrontationally and with considerable depth.
   ...
   Of course Asad wanted to trade Syria's help in Iraq for America's acceptance of the status quo in Lebanon, which Bush refused to countenance.
   ...
   Lebanon was getting restless. He was new to the office. His people were already expecting a softer and more western approach. Instead, he took the exact opposite road. In my opinion, the best achievement he can claim for his strategy is that he is still in power. If that is indeed the standard, then fine. But, is this really the standard that he should be judged by? Vision and bold leadership is what it takes. Would his father have done this? Would he have gone so far against the Americans? Would he have misunderstood the way America changed after Sept. 11th? Hafez did not have to prove his manhood.
   ...
   But compare Lebanon to just about every other Arab government and tell me who are slaves.
   ...
   Estimates of Lebanon's population are all over the place. The CIA throughout much of the 1990s claimed that Muslims accounted for 70% of Lebanon's population. In 2004, it lowered the statistic on its webpage to 59.7%, where it remains today. I inquired about the reasons for this change from members of the Lebanon and Syria desk at the agency in 2004, but none could give me an answer. Such estimates have great political significance and are contested. All the more reason for Lebanon to carry out a new census.
   ...
   The prospect of a thaw with Syria has caused howls of protest from Lebanon's obstructionists who continue to believe that America's plan for changing the Middle East is working.
   ...
   The biggest assets of the obstructionists is US Ambassador Feltman, who has been working assiduously to keep a deal from being struck in Lebanon. He refuses to allow the Syrians satisfaction on their demand that the establishment of the International tribunal be delayed until after a Lebanon deal is clinched. His fear is that if the Lebanese opposition gets a 19+11 cabinet sharing formula before the Lebanese government signs over permission for an international tribunal, it will never get established. To avoid such a prospect, the US is willing to sacrifice Lebanon's future and any prospects of economic growth for the country. Stagnation and paralysis will be continue to be the order of the day in Lebanon.
   ...
   Everyone was happy, even giddy about the prospect of a typically muddled but non-violent solution to the impasse in Lebanon.
   ...
   In 2006, Young advocated keeping the incompetent Lahoud as president of Lebanon rather than giving Michel Aoun a chance at elections. (Aoun was the most popular candidate in Lebanon at the time.) This obstructionism led directly to the summer war between Lebanon and Israel.
   ...
   In 2006, Young advocated keeping the incompetent Lahoud as president of Lebanon rather than giving Michel Aoun a chance at elections. (Aoun was the most popular candidate in Lebanon at the time.) This obstructionism led directly to the summer war between Lebanon and Israel.
   ...
   With no prospects of a non-violent adjustment to Lebanon's lopsided power-sharing formula, Hizbullah and its opposition allies fell back on the old formula of "resistance" and demonstrations.
   ...
   Instead, the inconclusive war led to paralysis in Lebanon as Hizbullah and the Siniora government stand face to face, each unwilling to bow to the demands of the other. Rather that admit that he has misjudged the opposition or the ability of American and Israeli power to reshape the hearts and minds of Middle Easterners, Young continues to insist that Syria and Hizbullah will buckle if only the US will inflict a bit more pain on them.
   
   Rather than come to grips with the real flaws of Lebanon's democracy, Michael Young, like many other Lebanese, believes that the use of force by foreign powers can preserve the skewed status quo in Lebanon. Rather than come to grips with the real flaws of Lebanon's democracy, Michael Young, like many other Lebanese, believes that the use of force by foreign powers can preserve the skewed status quo in Lebanon.
   ...
   The Lebanese obstructionists' solution is to import violence into Lebanon and the region.
   ...
   In Lebanon they are accorded the same political weight. Although Shiites are estimated to make up some 40% of the population, the Taif Accords, Lebanon's constitutional arrangement, permit the Shiites only 22% of the seats in parliament.
   
   The defenders of Taif will scoff at this analogy between Lebanese Shiites and American slaves. They will say, "But we don't treat Shiites as slaves. They can vote and they are allocated the third most powerful political office in the land: the President of the Parliament. All true, I admit, but this doesn't obscure the simple fact that Shiites are accorded only half the political worth of other human beings in Lebanon.
   ...
   The innocuous sounding term "consociationalism" cannot hid the fact that Lebanon is a religious state, in which Sunnis and Christians are privileged, politically and economically.
   
   Undoing the mutual fear and resentment which divide the opposition from the governing coalition will not be easy, but obstructing the kind of deal that the Saudis and Egyptians are trying to broker is not the answer. It only invites more violence.
   
   Michael Young once said to me that if Taif were rewritten and Christians were allocated less than their present 50% share of Parliamentary seats, he might be forced to leave Lebanon. That is a sad comment on the state of Lebanon's consociational system and the prospects for a political deal in the immediate future.
   ...
   But as you can see the general was the IRGC liaison here in Lebanon prior to the 2000 withdrawal and, as a principle of the armaments industry going forward, would have detailed knowledge of Hezbollah capabilities even after he left Lebanon:
   ...
   It is therefore in a position, more than any other state, to offer religious and economic backing to peace settlements between Israel and the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon.
   ...
   Instead of talking to Syria and Lebanon on a peace agreement, the government is preparing the public for another war in the North.
   ...
   A number of pro-government journalists and politicians in Lebanon have spent the last several days trying to insist that the government does not need to cut a deal with Syria or the Lebanese opposition.
   ...
   He is not considering a deal with Damascus and Tehran that would sacrifice the international tribunal and Lebanon. He may not be considering plans to topple the regimes in Damascus and Tehran, either. But he will never hesitate to do so if Syria and Lebanon press on with their efforts to destabilize Lebanon.
   ...
   Another sector to call for an end to the clogging up of downtown Beirut and the subsequent disruption to the economy is Lebanon's beleaguered tourism industry.
   ...
   The way Syria opened the door for Iran into Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestine is not a simple matter, it changes the map of the Middle East and it leaves the door wide open to a major war , with sectarian, security, regional, and international aspects.
   ...
   Syria did withdraw from Lebanon, but that was not enough.
   ...
   An Israeli summer war against Hizbollah or Syria, an American attack on Iran, or a Sunni Shia confrontations in Iraq or Lebanon.