First-hand information gathered by recent Amnesty International research missions to Lebanon and Israel points to an Israeli policy of deliberate destruction of Lebanese civilian infrastructure during the recent conflict.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Thursday, August 24, 2006
That's what they Believe
I was trying to explain to supposedly well exposed and well knowledgeble people form the US the Lebanon perspective of the situation from under fire. At first, I thought they were not well aware of the conflict. Instead, I realized that by complaining, I was attacking well rooted beliefs. An American might not know the name of his president, but he knows Israel. After a while, one realizes that this struggle is not merely between Right and Wrong. Someone (Zionists) are incredibly capable of camouflge.
I'm not sure how many American share the views of this particular American, but I have reason to doubt there are plenty of ignorance, and those ignorant "folks" have no reason to doubt or to question their beliefs.
This is a summary of the beliefs based on real quotes:
Jewish Settlement in Palestine: 20th Century
“The Jews,” as they are called, did not take Palestine away from the Palestinians. In the first instance, they originally “stole” it from the Turks (sic), who also governed Egypt and Syria and a few other countries for several centuries.
Israel's right of existence: Nobody Existed before 1948
Many of the nations in the ME today are actually younger than Israel. … The English—God help us all—“invented” Iraq after WWI, by bulldozing together not merely Sunni and Shiite territory, but also Armenian, Kurd…
Middle East is not Arabic
The Middle East is not Arabic, though that may be the predominant culture, contested now and in the past 30 years by Iran.
Acceptance of Injustice: Reason to Pursue
[The conflict has to be put in] the context of the past 50 years in the ME as a whole and the violent bloodshed and genocide which have taken place there. Peoples of the ME accept (apparently) without blinking these terrible casualty figures and mindless wars. Allah wills it. Blessed be….
Selective Amnesia! Just make sure one forgets all the massacres, and the rest will be just right?
Others are just as bad: Hence, you cannot complain (Widespread injustice, Complete impunity)
Instead of looking only at Israel, look at the all of the elements in this tragedy, the daily rockets which have been raining down on Northern Israel for years, the brutality of Syrian politics within Lebanon, the antiquarian Iranian agenda behind the Hezbollah organization with all the tools of modernity.
I would hope that Israel is judged by a higher standard…. Is Israel uniquely and profoundly evil?
You've been Quiet before-Why Complain Now
[The accusation againt Israel] conceals (perhaps not accidentally) the enormous human violence and suffering which have taken place in the ME in modern times—WWI down to the present. British colonialism? OK. French colonialism? OK. But “the Jews” re-creating a nation for themselves on an ancient territory which had been theirs “only” until the Roman destruction of their country in the first century AD?
That is a cosmic atrocity against which all else just pales in comparison…?? [I think especially now of the mass contempt for human life, showed on both sides in the terrible war between Iraq and Iran in the ‘80s. What was the toll? Probably somewhere just under a million, but numbers vary by as much as half a million. Anyway…God (Allah) wills it.
I wonder if the native Americans who were infected with pest and hunted down like deer choose to reestablish their tribal dominance 100 years from now, how would the Americans feel? Or the Arabs to reclaim Spain as their land, or the Lebanese attack Tunis as they own Carthage {some still have the deeds}.. What kind of twisted logic is that?
Israel is now a better country than it were
I look at the political role of Israel in the Mediterranean world from the perspective of left-wing Israel (from its founding to 1980) and right-wing Israel (from 1980 to the present). Right wing Israel now includes the absolutely pernicious influence and funding of fundamentalist Christian America. …. There is a real difference between Golda Meier and Menachim Begin, as there was also between Moshe Dayan and Ari Sharon.
Others are as bad
Israel is neither on the side of the angels, nor of the demons. It is, like all other countries in the world, merely a political-economic-cultural entity, not the worst by any means and clearly not the best either (and both Switzerland and Sweden are far worse historically than either’s currently angelic reputation might lead one to believe).
Israel: The Harbinger of Modernity
This is a war against the complex symbolism of the state of Israel. Should the state of Israel be wiped off the face of the earth nothing in the very modern / very ancient Levant will have fundamentally changed. Islamic fundamentalism, not a religion, but a political ideology, will continue to rage because it is in a genocidal conflict with "the culture" of modernity itself.
Israel, lives in the world of modernity. Its enemies do not. They only use all the tools of modernity, to bring down the World Trade Center building in NY, …. by brilliant, ingenious people who believe that the only hope for the world is a return to sixth century AD darkness.
Israel is not fighting Lebanon
Israel is not fighting Lebanon, though that Lebanon is the one that is dying under Israel's air strikes and rockets. Israel is fighting Syria. Israel is fighting Hizbollah. And the only way this can happen is by Israel killing real Lebanese, against whom there is no strategic or political issue, only the deeply personal one of living or dying.
I'm not sure how many American share the views of this particular American, but I have reason to doubt there are plenty of ignorance, and those ignorant "folks" have no reason to doubt or to question their beliefs.
This is a summary of the beliefs based on real quotes:
Jewish Settlement in Palestine: 20th Century
“The Jews,” as they are called, did not take Palestine away from the Palestinians. In the first instance, they originally “stole” it from the Turks (sic), who also governed Egypt and Syria and a few other countries for several centuries.
Israel's right of existence: Nobody Existed before 1948
Many of the nations in the ME today are actually younger than Israel. … The English—God help us all—“invented” Iraq after WWI, by bulldozing together not merely Sunni and Shiite territory, but also Armenian, Kurd…
Middle East is not Arabic
The Middle East is not Arabic, though that may be the predominant culture, contested now and in the past 30 years by Iran.
Acceptance of Injustice: Reason to Pursue
[The conflict has to be put in] the context of the past 50 years in the ME as a whole and the violent bloodshed and genocide which have taken place there. Peoples of the ME accept (apparently) without blinking these terrible casualty figures and mindless wars. Allah wills it. Blessed be….
Selective Amnesia! Just make sure one forgets all the massacres, and the rest will be just right?
Others are just as bad: Hence, you cannot complain (Widespread injustice, Complete impunity)
Instead of looking only at Israel, look at the all of the elements in this tragedy, the daily rockets which have been raining down on Northern Israel for years, the brutality of Syrian politics within Lebanon, the antiquarian Iranian agenda behind the Hezbollah organization with all the tools of modernity.
I would hope that Israel is judged by a higher standard…. Is Israel uniquely and profoundly evil?
You've been Quiet before-Why Complain Now
[The accusation againt Israel] conceals (perhaps not accidentally) the enormous human violence and suffering which have taken place in the ME in modern times—WWI down to the present. British colonialism? OK. French colonialism? OK. But “the Jews” re-creating a nation for themselves on an ancient territory which had been theirs “only” until the Roman destruction of their country in the first century AD?
That is a cosmic atrocity against which all else just pales in comparison…?? [I think especially now of the mass contempt for human life, showed on both sides in the terrible war between Iraq and Iran in the ‘80s. What was the toll? Probably somewhere just under a million, but numbers vary by as much as half a million. Anyway…God (Allah) wills it.
I wonder if the native Americans who were infected with pest and hunted down like deer choose to reestablish their tribal dominance 100 years from now, how would the Americans feel? Or the Arabs to reclaim Spain as their land, or the Lebanese attack Tunis as they own Carthage {some still have the deeds}.. What kind of twisted logic is that?
Israel is now a better country than it were
I look at the political role of Israel in the Mediterranean world from the perspective of left-wing Israel (from its founding to 1980) and right-wing Israel (from 1980 to the present). Right wing Israel now includes the absolutely pernicious influence and funding of fundamentalist Christian America. …. There is a real difference between Golda Meier and Menachim Begin, as there was also between Moshe Dayan and Ari Sharon.
Others are as bad
Israel is neither on the side of the angels, nor of the demons. It is, like all other countries in the world, merely a political-economic-cultural entity, not the worst by any means and clearly not the best either (and both Switzerland and Sweden are far worse historically than either’s currently angelic reputation might lead one to believe).
Israel: The Harbinger of Modernity
This is a war against the complex symbolism of the state of Israel. Should the state of Israel be wiped off the face of the earth nothing in the very modern / very ancient Levant will have fundamentally changed. Islamic fundamentalism, not a religion, but a political ideology, will continue to rage because it is in a genocidal conflict with "the culture" of modernity itself.
Israel, lives in the world of modernity. Its enemies do not. They only use all the tools of modernity, to bring down the World Trade Center building in NY, …. by brilliant, ingenious people who believe that the only hope for the world is a return to sixth century AD darkness.
Israel is not fighting Lebanon
Israel is not fighting Lebanon, though that Lebanon is the one that is dying under Israel's air strikes and rockets. Israel is fighting Syria. Israel is fighting Hizbollah. And the only way this can happen is by Israel killing real Lebanese, against whom there is no strategic or political issue, only the deeply personal one of living or dying.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
UN-believable
UN: Hostage of US Policy. US Policy: Unethical, Unpardonable, Unfair Unjust.They let the civilians die for 34 days without calling for a ceasefire.
The Lame UN, where VETO is the answer to the complaints of the small
countries, is a hostage of US policy. Where Mr. Annan dares not criticize
the US's favourite protege: Israel. A policy dripped in blood.
The inept UN, the crippled UN, the politicized UN. A secretary general
expresses concern at a war crimes, but dares not call for Justice.
Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, who's next?
Express your feelings towards the UN.
Restez Au Liban - (Poet Unknown)
Restez au Liban ...
Pour les premières amandes vertes que l'on croque, trempées de sel, et qui sonnent le glas de l'hiver,
Pour l'arbuste du balcon que l'on croyait mort et qui refleurit inexplicablement en décembre,
Pour le grincement familier de la balançoire sur laquelle on s'assoupit, enivrés de soleil, dans le chant des cigales,
Pour les klaxons « sauvages » d'un mariage d'été qui nous précipite pourtant tous au balcon pour voir si la mariée est belle,
Pour ces tribus de parents qui attendent&n bsp;à l'aéroport le retour au pays de l'enfant prodigue, et qui arrivent toujours beaucoup trop tôt,
Pour cette vieille mémé qu'on a refusé de mettre à l'asile malgré l'appartement de Beyrouth trop étroit,
et que son fils continue d'embrasser chaque soir,
Pour cette femme voilée qui fait, au mois de mai, le pèlerinage de Harissa,
Pour le jeune policier du carrefour qui fait semblant de rêver quand on traverse un feu orange,
Pour le « Ya hala » claironnant du steward qui nous accueille sur l'avion de Beyrouth,
Pour cet automobiliste souriant en trois pièces cravate qui,
un soir de Nouvel An très pluvieux, vous change votre pneu, sans vous rien demander
Pour ce soleil lumineux de janvier qui nous fait douter que la tempête terrifiante de tout à l'heure ait vraiment eu lieu,
Pour la voix si&n bsp;triste de Feyrouz qui réveille en nous une âme enfouie de villageoise d'opérette,
Pour l'odeur de la « mankouché » du matin qui est bien plus qu'une galette
au thym, comme la traduit bêtement le dictionnaire,
Pour ces cerises de juin si noires qu'elles colorent de violet les langues des enfants, Pour la maison d'en haut qu'on fait plus belle que l'autre, parce que c'est là qu'au soir de notre mort, on accueillera les gens du village,
Pour les soirs de Juin sur la terrasse, pour la vigne de septembre qui finit par nous offrir une grappe, pour les gardénias de mai,
Pour l'odeur mouillée de la terre après la première pluie,
Pour ne pas avoir froid, pour ne pas avoir peur, pour ne pas vivre seul,
pour...Pour tout cela .....
Restez au Liban!
Pour les premières amandes vertes que l'on croque, trempées de sel, et qui sonnent le glas de l'hiver,
Pour l'arbuste du balcon que l'on croyait mort et qui refleurit inexplicablement en décembre,
Pour le grincement familier de la balançoire sur laquelle on s'assoupit, enivrés de soleil, dans le chant des cigales,
Pour les klaxons « sauvages » d'un mariage d'été qui nous précipite pourtant tous au balcon pour voir si la mariée est belle,
Pour ces tribus de parents qui attendent&n bsp;à l'aéroport le retour au pays de l'enfant prodigue, et qui arrivent toujours beaucoup trop tôt,
Pour cette vieille mémé qu'on a refusé de mettre à l'asile malgré l'appartement de Beyrouth trop étroit,
et que son fils continue d'embrasser chaque soir,
Pour cette femme voilée qui fait, au mois de mai, le pèlerinage de Harissa,
Pour le jeune policier du carrefour qui fait semblant de rêver quand on traverse un feu orange,
Pour le « Ya hala » claironnant du steward qui nous accueille sur l'avion de Beyrouth,
Pour cet automobiliste souriant en trois pièces cravate qui,
un soir de Nouvel An très pluvieux, vous change votre pneu, sans vous rien demander
Pour ce soleil lumineux de janvier qui nous fait douter que la tempête terrifiante de tout à l'heure ait vraiment eu lieu,
Pour la voix si&n bsp;triste de Feyrouz qui réveille en nous une âme enfouie de villageoise d'opérette,
Pour l'odeur de la « mankouché » du matin qui est bien plus qu'une galette
au thym, comme la traduit bêtement le dictionnaire,
Pour ces cerises de juin si noires qu'elles colorent de violet les langues des enfants, Pour la maison d'en haut qu'on fait plus belle que l'autre, parce que c'est là qu'au soir de notre mort, on accueillera les gens du village,
Pour les soirs de Juin sur la terrasse, pour la vigne de septembre qui finit par nous offrir une grappe, pour les gardénias de mai,
Pour l'odeur mouillée de la terre après la première pluie,
Pour ne pas avoir froid, pour ne pas avoir peur, pour ne pas vivre seul,
pour...Pour tout cela .....
Restez au Liban!
Friday, August 18, 2006
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Thursday, August 17, 2006
Trust: A Snowball's Chance in Inferno!!
Ok, As I was saying before this outburst, I never liked Hizbullah, don't like Syria or Iran, and reiterate that Lebanon needs to "absorb" Hizbullah's alacrity into an official "underground, Lebanese army controlled, non-sectarian para-military civil resistance."
To elaborate on the plan, If Martians invade; everyone would go to his or her post on the front, near the mother-ship landing site. If Israelis invade, the "recruits" would head to anti-aircraft missile pads around bridges, hospitals, Dairy and Biscuit factories, Civil Defense centres, water dams, and Peach orchards. Those are normally the IDF's favourite targets.
A few unique Lebanese qualities passed on to HA are: intelligence and scheming. One has to admit that HA was fully capable of constructing undercover rocket launch pads, and dug a maze of tunnels under the noses of Israel's watch-towers, not to mention the thousands of over flights, and 3 spy-satellites twinkling high above.
If one uses Google Earth – chances are one can spot a water pump, but somehow the IDF intelligence (or lack of it) missed spotting missile-launchers that are – emmm.. Visible? The more dogmatic and presumptuous comments I read from the Israeli side, the more and more I lean towards the belief that God's Angels where distracting the IDF soldiers. Hallelujah!!!! Not only should one never trust the IDF's sagacity, we have reason to suspect vision and visibility impairment. What else can explain how they managed to hit all the bomb shelters and civilian buildings, but failed to incapacitate rocket launchers. If it weren't God, who was it - the IDF should come with an explanation quick before I fall on my Knees in praise and adoration.
Typically, "Israeli" fellow-bloggers cannot help involving themselves in everyone else's business but their own. I need to be clear here. I'm in no position to contemplate the peace of mind of Israel or any its non-Arab population (including the Egyptian and Jordanian Ambassadors), or how to defend "Israel." I do however have something the "Israelis" can do as part of the Lebanon Defense plan - at the end of this article. I will spend some time to respond to a very interesting comment from Jordan. Other comments were hysterical; some were racist and plain ignorant. Some were properly responded to, or otherwise properly laughed at. With all due respect I have no business defending my "blueprint Defense plan" to Israelis at the moment.
However, in response to a refreshing comment, I have some News on how trustworthy Israel has been towards Arab nations. -
However, in response to a refreshing comment, I have some News on how trustworthy Israel has been towards Arab nations. -
Q: When was the last time you hear of Israeli jets pounding Egyptian or Saudi or Jordanian bridges?
o Israel-Egypt: Egyptian soldiers were shot with cold blood less than two months ago. Not the first incident, certainly not the last. I can go further, but I have more below!
o Israel-Iraq: In 1981 Israel launched a surprise air strike that destroyed an Iraqi reactor, which Israel feared would be used for plutonium production. Israel has its own nuclear power plant and arsenal. It too plans to drop them sometime soon. Anyway, by flying to Iraq, IDF violated Saudi Air Space- an act of War against two nations. If they used El-Al aircraft, it would have been only a civilian incursion. {hint: they're not smart}
o Israel-Saudi Arabia: Oh Raja! Why do you need a bridge if you don’t have rivers? Notheless, don't be surprised, probably the Israelis are STILL looking for a bridge.
o Israel-Tunis: In April 1988, some four months after the outbreak of the first intifada in the occupied territories, an Israeli death squad broke into the home of Abu Jihad in the Tunisian capital of Tunis and gunned down the Palestinian military and political leader. Abu Jihad, born Khalil Al-Wazir. An act of war.
o Israel-Jordan: in 1988 Jordan's late King Hussein relinquished his claims to the West Bank, which Jordan had lost to Israel in 1967. Does the Bridge over river Jordan qualify? Israelis didn't destroy it, they just seized it. The Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre are of invaluable importance to Christians and Muslims around the world. Jordan gave them up, Palestinians couldn't get them. Bridges? Bridge that gap!! I will not even mention the loss of the Jordanian 60th brigade exterminated by Israelis. Ok that was war, before the Peace treaty.
While Jordan does not need military tanks to fight off Israel, it required water tanks to transport water to the residents of Amman city when a few years ago Israel diverted the water to its side not to Jordan. Should I mention the Israeli dream to build a controversial Mediterranean-Dead Sea Canal which if completed, could devastate Jordan's vastly insufficient groundwater supplies? Drown it's fertile lands in the Ghor-Urdon?
One can live without bridges, dignity, or sense of security. One needs water to fill the swimming pools though.. Ooops, forgot, that goes to the Israel west-bank Settlements, not to the Jordanians or Palestinians!! Water is a strategic weapon. What will Jordan do if ten years from now Israel decides to build the canal? Wave the Araba Peace Treaty in their faces? Threaten to cut diplomatic ties! Perhaps resort to the UN! Done that, been there – 68 times!! Goooooooooooooooooood Luck. Endangering a strategic resource is an act of war.
Do you honestly believe that Israel would NOT endanger any country's interests unless it fears retaliation? Switzerland is always ready for a war. Switzerland! They host the Red Cross and the UNICEF, not the IDF! Never sleep on silk; you won't wake on thorns - brother.
When Israel disarms, removes chemical weapons and nuclear arsenal, perhaps then, only then one can trust that no war-driven bigot would press the wrong button, or that a fanatic who rises in power with crazy plans colludes with the battle-thirsty Generals to loose "forbearance." [Nice word, really!] The only Forbearance I see is what Egypt, Tunis, Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi have excercised at different times - for lack of proper "responses."
When Israel disarms, removes chemical weapons and nuclear arsenal, perhaps then, only then one can trust that no war-driven bigot would press the wrong button, or that a fanatic who rises in power with crazy plans colludes with the battle-thirsty Generals to loose "forbearance." [Nice word, really!] The only Forbearance I see is what Egypt, Tunis, Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi have excercised at different times - for lack of proper "responses."
o Israel-Syria: Just the recent incidents:
§ In 2001, Israel raided a Syrian radar position in the Bekaa valley in Lebanon. An act of war against 2 nations.
§ October 2003: Israelis hit several targets at the Ein Saheb camp northwest of Damascus. An act of war.
§ Last but not least: June 28, 2006 - Israeli warplanes (not kites) flew over one of Bashar al-Assad's palaces. An act of war. President wasn't in the palace; otherwise he would have declared war.
o Israel-Libya: My favourite. On February 17-18, 1986, two Israeli missile boats, the SAAR 4-class Moledet, disembarked naval commandos to plant "Trojans" transmission devices in Tripoli-Libya. Not only that, the Mossad used the Trojans to transmit false messages to make it appear that a long series of terrorist orders were being transmitted to various Libyan embassies around the world. On April 14, 1986, one hundred and sixty American aircraft dropped over sixty tons of bombs on Libya. The attackers bombed Tripoli international airport, Bab al Azizia barracks, Sidi Bilal naval base, the city of Benghazi, and the Benine airfield outside Benghazi. - An act of war by Israel and the US against Libya.
We know that Israeli people are not monsters, we are only worried about the monsters among them who inhabit in IDF and War Cabinet caves. They create more damage than Bigfoot set free in a Crystal shop! My question is: Can Israelis really control their own government and army? I think you are as victims of the belief as you think we are victims of HA.
The Israeli civilian population opposes war only when they hear sirens for too long, but they never seem to stop war before it starts, or have not heard enough sirens already? They somehow miraculously believe that war brings peace, just like HA believes that Katioushas fly longer and hit harder if they say a certain prayer. Something should be clear, you cannot beat someone into altering conviction; Better still, it's not for lack of trying that Israel has failed down that specific road, time after time. No matter how much you think the cause is "justified," violence only aggravates the situation.
Instead of telling the Lebanese what to do, I would suggest Israelis write letters to Peretz or to Halutz (the cutest among all the bigfeet in IDF), or to its successors if he goes to prison before you get the chance to draft the letter. Tell them that 2 million Israelis spent 34 days in bomb shelters (as opposed to 1 million Lebanese who spent 34 days in the Open ... i.e. Sanayeh Park) because someone "lost his forbearance."
An Arabic saying goes, do not attempt to limb in front of the crippled, it just won't work!!
It depends how you look at "no Americans in Baghdad": for some it's funny – until it's no longer funny (ha ha), for some it's a promise, for others it's an oath, for me – it's a just a matter of time. Arabs and Iraqis are patient; we've been here for 7000 years uninterrupted. No Plans to go anywhere, {certainly not to Table Mountain!} While in Iraq however, the US is welcome to take the blows for the whole Free-world while attempting to restore democracy and uproot terrorism. When they're done, they'll be gone {one way or the other}. Vietnam will look like an afternoon ride by then.
When the Israeli army (backed by the US) invaded Beirut in 1982, someone hung a road sign that says:
Beirut 12 KM,
Beirut 12 KM,
Saigon 3000 KM
Welcome!
With the Defense plan, or with HA if we cannot find someone better, it will read:
Saigon: 3000 KM
Saigon: 3000 KM
Baghdad: 750 KM,
Beirut: 3.5 light years
Invaders Graveyard: 0 KM.
Bye!
Bye!
{You see, the road map was a trap for the invaders to stop, to read, &to turn into dust!!}.
Let us think of peace. Do your part, when you're done, and when Ein Helwe is turned into a golf-park after the Palestinians return to the State of Palestine, and Chebaa farms is a ski resort on the Lebanese tourist map, and water is pumped to Jordan, and the rest of the 7 points plan is applied, and the 68 UN resolutions honoured, and a few hundred more falters Israel has to look into… then perhaps we can begin to build trust. I won't say bring back the dead, remember, God is on our side (refer to earlier paragraph) - HE will take care of that.
Until then, keep the truce, we will draft our plans. Anyone with a brain doesn't need an F-16, really! A pop-corn pot near the border is enough to squeeze half the population of northern Israel into bomb-shelters (except for the Arabs who have NO shelters); A few pops of corn on the boarder are sufficient to bring Haifa, Yafa and Ashdod to a standstill.
You see, we're peaceful. As long as nobody gets hurt! {Except for egos, perhaps}.. How does it feel?!
WARNING>> For profanity and hateful comments, I would gladly receive and properly respond only if you leave your email address. Otherwise, such comments will be deleted.
You see, we're peaceful. As long as nobody gets hurt! {Except for egos, perhaps}.. How does it feel?!
WARNING>> For profanity and hateful comments, I would gladly receive and properly respond only if you leave your email address. Otherwise, such comments will be deleted.
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