Lebanon is dying, its sovereignty now symbolic. It is the name on the mailbox, but Syria and Iran run the house, via Hizballah. More on this story. "Lebanon denies report it knows location of Hariri killers," from the Jerusalem Post, August 20:
Lebanese state prosecutor Saeed Mirza on Saturday denied reports made by one of the Hezbollah members indicted for the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri that the government in Beirut knows his location but is unable to arrest him, Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star reported.
"The Lebanese authorities know where I live, and if they wanted to arrest me they would have done it a long time ago. Simply, they cannot," said one of the of the accused assassins of the former Lebanese prime minister.
One of the Hezbollah members accused accused of killing Hariri gave an exclusive interview to Time Magazine on Thursday in which he blamed Israel for the assassination, which took place in Beirut on February 15, 2005. He said that he would never turn himself in, nor would Hezbollah ever let him or his comrades go to trial.
In the interview, the militant, who refused to allow his name to be published despite proving his identity to the Time Magazine reporter, accused the Mossad of assassinating Hariri and forging evidence against him and his organization. He also said that the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) had no teeth and that even though the Lebanese government knew where he lived and worked they would not be able to arrest him because Hezbollah would not let them.
The STL released a detailed indictment on August 17 in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Four suspects, Mustafa Amine Badreddine, a senior Hezbollah figure and brother-in-law of slain Hezbollah commander Imad Moughniyeh, Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra were named and their methods of operation were detailed in the report....
The tribunal now also says three other assassinations may be connected.
Once the "Paris" of the MidEast, and now........
History unfolds in slow motion, but not that slow. Like any involved project, this one has taking decades instead of years, but now is in the penultimate phase marked by a characteristically quickened pace. The terms and conditions are now being implemented, and the product in Lebanon is taking its final shape. This is being done like the closing phase in any megadeal.
Lebanon is in the closing phase now, the curtain is being drawn shut on freedom. That is to say, the final obliteration of Judeo-Christian culture, which also goes by the name of freedom, is being removed from Lebanon, hopefully hopefully forever from the Moslem Activist's point of view.
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Do they still call that college in Beirut American University after all that's happened there the last 30 years?
"UNSC fails to condemn "terrorist" attacks on Israel because of Lebanon''s objection"
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2186029&Language=en
Ugh. muslim against muslim violence AND they STILL blame Israel?..
Perhaps Israel should just takeover and annex both Gaza and the Golan Heights. That may be the only way for Israel to purge both Gaza and Golan Heights of murderous and fanatical Muslim terrorists.
That may be the only way for Israel to purge both Gaza and Golan Heights of murderous and fanatical Muslim terrorists.
Stone, are you proposing that the Heights and Strip, once taken over, should be purged of all Moslems via a forced out-migration?
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I axe that question cuz that's what I'd propose. A lotta people are thinking along those lines, and it ain't Israel-specific. Forcible segregation along the lines of the involved nation states seems to be the only solution.
We could even pay them handsomely to leave, the only condition being that they not come back. Even with all the fat pay-as-you-go checks issued, we could still win out financially by not having them here, there or anywhere in the civilized world.
Let 'em go back to Dar al-Harb where they can enjoy the fruits of Islam. Now that I think about it, Rev. Louis Farrakhan would have to take along his bodyguard group called the Fruits of Islam who always accompany him on stage with him. Man, those bodyguards and their get ups, that's gay.
Tanstaafl wrote:
Once the "Paris" of the MidEast, and now........
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So true. Before the 1970s "civil war"—really, "Palestinians" coming in and attacking Christians—Beirut was indeed known as "the Paris of the Levant".
Tragically, when I first heard that term as a child, I thought it was a grim joke—all I had known of Beirut was it as a bombed out war zone and nest of snipers.
But Lebanon has indeed been the most civilized country in the Middle East after Israel. I had had some slight hopes that it might have regained that position following the "Cedar Revolution", but all those hopes have fizzled out.
More and more, Lebanon is Syria's b*tch, and is rotting from the inside out by the fast metastasizing influence of Hizb'allah...
the lebanon should be a warning to everyone in europe who refuse to believe what happens to a country that allows islam to become the dominant religion. A once free country and her people, strangled, burtalised and destroyed.
Just leaves Israel. This is not going to end well,unless the west grows a back bone.
We should be very careful about the US taking steps to enforce the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). Undoubtedly, the Hezbollah and the Syrians were behind the assassination. The problem is, once we give the credence of international law to extra-national bodies commissioned by the UN, it won't be too long before they indict the leaders of Israel for war crimes.
Undoubtedly , if it were not for the US veto and influence, there would have been indictments for Sharon for war crimes during the 1980's invasion and occupation of Lebanon. The fact is, war involves ugly actions. Eventually, such indictments, if effective, would mean that civilized societies would no longer be able to defend themselves, as the savage entities such as Hamas or Hezbollah would have very low expectations to begin with, and a lot of political cover.
Again, without giving moral sanction to the Syrian and Iranian assassins, we should think twice before agreeing to enforce the legal judgments of UN-sanctioned commissions.
Ever since the Hariri assassination I was under the impression that Syria has stopped interfering in the internal affairs of Lebanon.
That, after all, was what the “Cedar Revolution” was all about, no, which led to Syria withdrawing it’s troops from Lebanon in 2005?
It should be remembered that Syria’s troops were deployed with the approval of President Carter who was anxious to work with the approval of the Arab League. Another reason, some would argue, to despise Carter , and perhaps with good reason.
Also, after the Civil War, it was agreed that all the militias would be disarmed except Hezbollah. But why, I often ask?
The way in which the Civil War was ended has no been subject to sufficient scrutiny unlike the Dayton, Ohio Accords which agreed the terms of the end of the Bosnia conflict.
As for the Hariri assassination I was under the impression that the finger of suspicion was at first pointing towards Syria and then Hezbollah. Now it seems both may have been involved.
Can anyone shed any light on these issues?
Animosiy towards israel would continue to flourish, as long as moslems are told to follow sunnah...for which the role model is prophet smuhamed, who was against jews, as well as quran which speaks ill of jews...
"are you proposing that the Heights and Strip, once taken over, should be purged of all Moslems via a forced out-migration?"
No. I don't believe that all Muslims are terrorists. I am only referring to Muslims that are terrorists. Of course, it will take planning, analysis, and ingenuity on the part of Israel to be able to distinguish between Muslim terrorists and Muslims that are not terrorists.
I tend to think that most Muslims are not terrorists, but they are victims and prisoners of Islam and of Muslims who are die-hard terrorists.
Odyessus wrote:
Ever since the Hariri assassination I was under the impression that Syria has stopped interfering in the internal affairs of Lebanon.
That, after all, was what the “Cedar Revolution” was all about, no, which led to Syria withdrawing it’s troops from Lebanon in 2005?
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I'm not an expert, Odyessus—but I understand the ugly gist of the situation all too well.
Syria is not interfering in Lebanon's affairs *as overtly* as before the Cedar Revolution, and are mainly operating through their proxy Hizb'allah.
Hizb'allah, however, has more of a stranglehold on Lebanon than ever. Hizb'allah is posing as merely a political faction in Lebanon, but their links to Syria are as strong as ever. They do, though, enjoy strong support from many Lebanese Muslims, who see them as a hammer against Israel, against Lebanese Christians, and against any more democratically-minded "moderate" Muslims there.
The brief promise of the Cedar Revolution has almost entirely fizzled.
More:
Also, after the Civil War, it was agreed that all the militias would be disarmed except Hezbollah. But why, I often ask?
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It was a way to look as though Lebanon was returning to genuine peace, while allowing Hizb'allah to consolidate its power without credible rivals.
Why didn't the democratic—or even semi-democratic—elements in Lebanon protest more? For the same reason that there will be no justice in the Hariri assassination—Hizb'allah is too powerful, and disagreeing with them too strenuously can be, ahem, bad for your health.
More:
The way in which the Civil War was ended has no been subject to sufficient scrutiny unlike the Dayton, Ohio Accords which agreed the terms of the end of the Bosnia conflict.
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Really—most interested parties are either largely clueless, as in the case of the ever-hopeful West, or else *wanted* to encourage Hizb'allah, as in the case of all Lebanon's "neighbors" save Israel.
Even for those who don't want to encourage Syria or Iran per se, Hizb'allah is seen as a powerful arm of the Jihad, and so enjoys wide support in Dar-al-Islam.
More:
As for the Hariri assassination I was under the impression that the finger of suspicion was at first pointing towards Syria and then Hezbollah. Now it seems both may have been involved.
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No surprises here, Odyessus. Hizb'allah is largely a tool of Syria, and behind Syria, Iran. I doubt that many of Hizb'allah's actions proceed without the express approval of Syria, so here the two may be regarded as essentially one and the same.
Gravenimage, Thank you for your thoughtful reply.
My only remaining question is to ask where you got the information to substantiate the claim that Hezbollah are a proxy of Syria. I thought they were proxies of Iran, both being Shia unlike the Allawites in Syria.
I would also be interested to know whether either Syria or Iran contributes ether men or equipment to Hezbollah. Or are they simply made up of foreign-financed Lebanese-Palestinians?
Odyessus wrote:
My only remaining question is to ask where you got the information to substantiate the claim that Hezbollah are a proxy of Syria. I thought they were proxies of Iran, both being Shia unlike the Allawites in Syria.
I would also be interested to know whether either Syria or Iran contributes ether men or equipment to Hezbollah. Or are they simply made up of foreign-financed Lebanese-Palestinians?
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Odyessus, here is some background:
"Syria steps up flow of weapons to Hizballah, which 'doesn't know where to put it all'"
That is, at least until it can put them to use against Israel. Hizballah, now a stronger armed force in Lebanon than the Lebanese Army, is the only group from the Lebanese civil war that failed to disarm. This activity yet again renders U.N. Resolution 1559, a 2004 document demanding the disarmament of all Lebanese militia groups including Hizballah, not worth the paper it was printed on until it is fully enforced.
The reward for Beirut's longstanding inaction toward the parallel, parasitic pseudo-state growing within it is that Lebanon has become a hostage state in a Syrian-Iranian proxy jihad via Hizballah, and the hostage quite often seems to have Stockholm Syndrome...
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/07/syria-steps-up-flow-of-weapons-to-hizballah-which-doesnt-know-where-to-put-it-all.html
And it's hardly just Jihad Watch—do a short internet search and you will find much more information about Hizb'allah's links with both Syria and Iran.
You're right—the Alawites *are not* Shia. My guess is that they are such a tiny minority—always worried about the aggressive Sunni majority—that allying with Shi'ites made a certain amount of sense. Iran, of course, was only too happy to have a proxy in the region.
The Shi'ites of Iran have been jockeying for power in the region for some time, and hugely fund Hizb'allah and Hamas, as well as backing Syria. They would like to be considered the model for Jihad with the 1979 "Islamic revolution", and often are. But their being hated, "heretical" Shi'ites will always be an obstacle for them.
As for Syria, Hixb'allah, and Hamas, they—while largely*non-Shi'ite, are only too happy for funding from a wealthy Muslim state.
What they all have in common, of course, is a hatred of freedom, of the West, and—*always*—of Israel.
And the US CONTINUES to provide hundreds of millions of our tax dollars in financial and MILITARY aid to Lebanon, now absolutely openly ruled by Hezbollah, a serial mass-murderer of Americans. How imbecilic is this ? ! !
Ruslan Tokhchukov, EnragedSince1999.