"The truth, always the truth--at all costs"
|
| 2290 03/07/2005 The Majority of Lebanese Want the Syrians to Stay: If Bush Has His Way, It Will Lead to Civil War Sam Hamod, Ph.D. |
| March 7, 2005 Thanks to Mr. Bush’s meddling in Lebanon, and his financial support of the “opposition party” in Beirut, made up mainly of Falangist Maronites and a few dissident Druze, there may be a return to civil sectarian war. What Mr. Bush and the U.S. media is not telling you, nor are the Falangists who are constantly being interviewed on American TV, is that the majority of Lebanese (who are Shi’a) want the Syrians to stay in Lebanon. They know the Syrians helped stop the disastrous civil war that wrecked Lebanon and they do not want a return to that sectarian strife. The Syrian presence helped to mollify those, and to stop those, who wanted this internecine strife to begin again between the Maronites (who would be supported by Israel, again as in 1982), the Muslims (especially the Shi’a who are the majority of Lebanese), the Sunni, the Orthodox, the Catholics and the Druze. The Shi’a, who live primarily in the South, do not want the Syrians to leave because this would open the door to another Israeli invasion or the Israeli support of a Maronite minority that wishes again to take over Lebanon (as the Gemeyal family did in the 1980s). This is complicated because the nominal leader of the Druze, Walid Jumblatt has been playing footsies with the Maronites of late and looking for more American cash for his political party; other Druze resent his new alliances and he is now under threat from even his own people and others. For his safety, and to possibly get a new pay-off, Jumblatt flew off to Saudi Arabia yesterday. Interestingly, because they are under the influence of Washington and Bush, the Saudi government has joined in the chorus asking the Syrians to leave Lebanon. This is complicated because the Saudis also help fund the Syrian economy. This puts Basher Al Assad in a very difficult position; he knows if the gives in to the Americans that the will not stay in power very long, if he does not listen to the Saudis, they may cut off some of his funds (overt and covert). My bet is he will leave his troops in the Bek’aa and keep negotiating with Washington so as to avert an attack, and ask the Saudis to reconsider their overt position. None of know their covert position, but I feel they too are not happy with Bush dictating to Middle Eastern countries while at the same time excusing Israeli brutality in Palestine, a possible attack on Syria or Lebanon and other meddling in Iraq. There is more going on under the curtain than on top; with Bush being the chief meddler in world affairs. Bush is up to his old tricks, making more enemies for America so that the can say, “We are in danger.” It’s true, we are in danger, but who put us there? None other than King George and his neo-cons who would not understand another culture if it hit them in the face; but just think of it, plain Iraqi citizens are hitting us in the face and Bush still doesn’t get it, but our thousands of killed and wounded troops got it and understand this is a losing war in Iraq. It will be a losing war in Lebanon as well, for America and for Israel if they are not careful. To add to this complicated situation, Hezbollah, which is a respected part of the Lebanese government, but is constantly under attack by Bush and his lying friends as being “a terrorist organization”—is now saying that they prefer the Syrians stay in Lebanon for the sake of national stability. In fact, the Hezbollah leaders, under Dr. Nasrullah, are calling for a pro-Syrian rally to counter those who want the Syrians out. Up to now, Hezbollah has remained quiet, surveying the situation. When it became apparent that the Falangists running the demonstrations in Beirut were asking for more American and even Israeli help at the UN and in the Western media, Hezbollah decided it was time that the majority of Lebanese were heard from, the Shi’a. The Muslims are 70% of Lebanon, and the Shi’a the biggest Muslim group. Contrary to what the West says, the Muslims are more united than not; when push comes to shove, they will stand together. We must also remember that the “opposition party” demonstrators had all their signs made in English—obviously playing to the American and Israeli audiences. One must ask how these people can stay home from work for days at a time, take to the streets—who is paying their bills, who is feeding them, who is providing them with toilet facilities—just who is supporting them with all this financial and political infrastructure. I am of the opinion, as are other Middle Eastern observers, that this is not a “spontaneous demonstration” at all, but a well-planned attempted at a putsch against the legitimate Lebanese government—orchestrated in Washington, DC and Tel Aviv. I have heard from some sincere Lebanese professionals, themselves Muslims, that they want the Syrians out of Lebanon. I believe them, but I am not sure that the cost of removing the Syrians is worth what little they will gain in freedom or democracy. True, the Syrian secret service is not a good thing in Lebanon, but imagine if the Falangists took over again with Israeli help, or American torturers of the type that invented Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and other prisons in Uzbekistan. I say this would be much worse than the Syrians being in Lebanon—at least they don’t commit the kinds of atrocities our American government, assisted by Israel, does in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mark my word, if this new Falangist thrust succeeds, you will have civil war in Lebanon, and this will lead to terror for the whole region because Israel’s appetite for Lebanese hashish, water, electricity and rich farmland will be whetted and Israel will come in to devour southern Lebanon and Syria will have to be drawn into a war as well. If the Falangists and their Israeli allies take over in Lebanon, you will have a civil war, with the Falangist/Israeli faction introducing Israeli torture techniques and brutality beyond what the Syrians may have done. Just ask the prisoners in Abu Ghraib and Guantanmo who suffered under the Israeli advising of the Americans in these prisons. We must also remember that Israel is still licking its wounds from the defeat it took at the hands of Hezbollah, as is America when it was kicked out of Lebanon after helping the Falangists in their fight against the Shi’a. Israel and America want their revenge on Hezbollah; but Hezbollah was in the right, and Israel and America were in the wrong by supporting the Falangists (Fascists ala’ Franco of Spain). It would be ironic that an alleged “democratic” America would support a fascist Falangist overthrow of a democratically elected government in Lebanon—but it would not be the first time America did this. We did this in Phillipines, we did it in Grenada and we tried to do it in Venezuela. We have had a very poor “democratic” track record in the 20th and 21st centuries. I am not for sectarian fighting, but it is Bush and Sharon who have joined with the Falangists to start this new round of sectarian problems—not the Shi’a, the Sunni, the Orthodox, the Catholics or most of the Druze. I write this article with hopes that no civil war comes to Lebanon. I too grieve over the death of Rafik Harriri. But, as his top man, Al Nasr, said in Beirut, “The Syrians did not kill Rafik Harriri.” But, the Falangists, Bush and the Israelis have dishonored Harriri’s death by using it to incite civil unrest and to tear down the democratically elected Karami government. If this civil war takes place, and I hope it doesn’t, then the deaths can be laid at the doorsteps of Bush and company, Sharon and company and the Falangists who used the death of Hariri (a Muslim man the Falangists hated) to spring their well-planned “spontaneous demonstrations.” Bush, the U.S. media and the Falangist editors (An Nahar) repeated their agreed upon mantra “we want the Syrians out of Lebanon”; the American public heard only one side of the story, not the voice of the majority population of Lebanon (the Shi’a) who want Syria to stay. I fear, if Syria leaves Lebanon, a civil war will follow. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dr. Sam Hamod is an expert on the Middle East; he has written extensively on Lebanon, the Shi’a of Lebanon and Iraq and on Israel under Sharon for various newspapers, ezines, websites and has appeared on TV and radio to bring out the truth of the region. Before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, he predicted the U.S. would be mired down in Iraq, worse than in Viet Nam; it has all come to pass. His fears of a civil war in Lebanon are real, and supported by other experts such as Robert Fisk (UK) and members of the U.S. State Department (past and present). Dr. Hamod edits, www.todaysalternativenews.com . He may be reached at shamod@cox.net |
