LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
May 05/09
Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus
Christ according to Saint John 10,1-10. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does
not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and
a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The
gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own
sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks
ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But
they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do
not recognize the voice of strangers." Although Jesus used this figure of
speech, they did not realize what he was trying to tell them. So Jesus said
again, "Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came
(before me) are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am
the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out
and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came
so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
Free Opinions, Releases, letters &
Special Reports
As the US Retreats, Iran Fills the Void-By
AMIR TAHERI/The Wall Street Journal 04/05/09
It's
time for detailed agendas for reforming Lebanon's judiciary-The
Daily Star. 04/05/09
The Mellow Doctrine-New York Times
04/05/09
Obama is no Chamberlain-Ha'aretz
04/05/09
The Man who may be Israel's next ambassador to the
United States-American Thinker
04/05/09
The meaning of Egypt's anger-Boston
Globe 04/05/09
Agustín Velloso - Hezbollah
fundamentalism overtakes Christian ...Palestine Think Tank -
Manama,Bahrain,Bahrain
04/05/09
Why
is the burden of US-Iran engagement only on Washington?
By
Michael Rubin. 04/05/09
The Hizbullah paradox-By:
By GARY C. GAMBILL /Jerusalem Post 04/05/09
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for May
04/09
Official: Syria Will Extradite
Suspect in Army Ambush after Investigation-Naharnet
Head
of EU Delegation Concerned Over Absence of Constitutional Council-Naharnet
Geagea: Don't Call for Judicial Reform while Ignoring Past Abuses-Naharnet
U.N.
to Discuss Israeli Plans to Quit Ghajar-Naharnet
Jumblat Renews Call for
End of Political Sectarianism-Naharnet
Hizbullah’s constant refusal of the
tribunal-Future
News
March 8’s coup starts with the
Judiciary-Future
News
Hizbullah involves Israel in the
electoral battle-Future
News
Egypt abstains from receiving
Berry-Future
News
March 14 victory-Future
News
Egypt: No Mediation with Hizbullah,
Good Ties with Lebanon/Naharnet
Efforts to Contain Crisis over
Generals' Release-Naharnet
Gemayel
Hospitalized/Naharnet
Israel-Linked Spy Cell Leads to Arrest of 2 in Bourj Barajneh, 3 in Habboush-Naharnet
Security Council Likely to Discuss Release of 4 Generals-Naharnet
Asaad: Attacks on Lebanese Option Prove Elections Are Not Transparent-Naharnet
Ahmad Al Asaad: Attacks on Lebanese Option Prove Elections Are Not Transparent-Naharnet
Assad Eager to Know Who
Committed Hariri Crime-Naharnet
Berri-Aoun Disagreement over Jezzine has Likely Come to an End-Naharnet
Qassem: March 14 Forces Involved in Generals' Arrest-Naharnet
March 14-Independnets
Baabda Electoral List Announced-Naharnet
3 More Israeli Spies
Arrested in Lebanon-Naharnet
UN troops to deploy in Lebanon border village if
IDF withdraws-Ha'aretz
Oren: Israel won't allow nuclear Iran-Jerusalem
Post
Failed Peace Efforts-New York Times
Report: Syria tightening control on media, Internet-Ynetnews
Netherlands: Police crack down on Curacao drugs ring with ties to ...iloubnan.info
Iranian presidential candidate would work with US-The
Associated Press
Higher Judicial Council to stress
objectivity of judiciary-Daily
Star
Siniora ready to work with all
groups-Daily
Star
Damascus may extradite man wanted
in army ambush - report-Daily
Star
General released in Hariri case
plans comeback.
(AFP)
US report brands Hizbullah most
capable terror group-Daily
Star
Berri raps Israel as 'extremist
entity-Daily
Star
Hariri accuses Syria of plotting
return in Lebanon-Daily
Star
Authorities arrest three more
suspected spies for Israel-Daily
Star
Nasrallah voices doubts over Hariri
tribunal-Daily
Star
Gunmen rob businessman, snatch 140,000 euros-Daily
Star
Media commits 153 violations law on
elections-Daily
Star
Syria may offer information on
missing Lebanese-Daily
Star
Tribunal fuels doubt by freeing
generals-Daily
Star
Political dynasties set for strong
show in elections-(AFP)
Dorman confident of AUB's future as
he takes over university presidency-By
Nicholas Kimbrell-Daily
Star
Journalists under attack on World Press Freedom Day.Daily
Star
Nearly 20,000 infected with HIV in
Iran-(AFP)
Israeli air strikes kill 2
Palestinians in Gaza tunnels-Daily
Star
Coptic Assembly of America/EGYPT:
KILLING ITS CITIZENS’ RIGHTS ALONG WITH THE PIGS
visit
www.copticassembly.org.
On Wednesday, April 29th, 2009, the Egyptian government began slaughtering all
the country’s pigs, reportedly without compensation to the pig owners,
putatively in order to prevent the spread of swine flu. To date, there has not
been even 1 case of swine flu in Egypt, and it has also been shown that pigs do
not transmit the “swine flu.”
It is mostly poor, Christian farmers who live in the slums outside Cairo that
own these pigs; and this is their only form of income. Destroying these
families’ livelihood without proper compensation is a clear example of
discrimination and a violation of human rights because it directly threatens the
existence of an already impoverished population. The United Nations and multiple
medical and veterinary groups worldwide have shown how and why this decision was
rash and unnecessary. The swine flu is transmitted between humans, not animals,
and pork meat is safe to eat. Sadly, Egypt has chosen to ignore this evidence
and continue to carry out the pig cull; and the government has now admitted they
had ulterior motives. On Friday, May 1st Egyptian Health Minister Spokesman
Abdelrahman Shahine specifically told the AFP “authorities took advantage of the
sitution to resolve the question of disorderly pig rearing in Egypt.”
We are extremely dismayed and concerned with the Egyptian government’s decision
to kill all the pigs in Egypt, and to blatantly carry out this decision despite
such overwhelming evidence that it is pointless, and the crippling effect this
decision is having on Egypt’s impoverished, largely Christian population that
rears these pigs.
We call on the Egyptian government to immediately stop the unnecessary slaughter
of the only source of income many of Egypt’s poorest depend on daily, and to
properly compensate the families whose pigs have already been killed not only
for the meat but also for future losses attributed to the fact that the pigs can
no longer breed.
National
American Coptic Assembly
washingtonDC
http://www.nationalamericancopticassembly.webs.com/
http://nacopticas1.blogspot.com/
The jihad on Egypt's Christians Is it Cull or targeting
Christians for poverty?
Egypt presses ahead with pig cull. It is not the pigs which the government of
Egypt are aiming to but the poor Christians. The government since the long time
is aiming to destroy any business which the Christians are doing. What a stupid
decision. Non of the countries around the world is doing what this Islamic
government of Egypt is doing. We became a laughable country around the world all
because of Islam. What a shame Egyptian animal rights activist Amina Abaza
deplored the slaughter of pigs and said ”the decision to cull them was probably
taken only because they belong to the Copts.”Egyptian riot police clashed on
Sunday with stone-throwing pig farmers who were trying to prevent their animals
from being taken away for slaughter as part of a mass nationwide cull that has
split the country and raised charges or religious persecution. Between 300 and
400 residents of the hilly Moqattam slum district of Cairo, where mostly Coptic
Christian scrap merchants raise pigs, hurled stones and bottles at police even
as other pig farmers called on Pope Shenouda III to intervene against the
“injustice.”
Anti-riot police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the
demonstrators, most of them youth. Witnesses said the protesters ransacked a
police post and an officer fired warning shots in the air.Seven policemen were
slightly injured, a security official said, while at least eight demonstrators
were hurt, according to an AFP correspondent and a medic.
“They want to steal our livelihood,” protested Adel Izhak, a resident of the
Moqattam neighborhood of Manshiyet Nasr, home to about 35,000 scrap and
recycling merchants known as the “zabaleen” who raise some 60,000 pigs. Pig
farmers and rubbish collectors assembled at the neighborhood’s church, where a
priest tried to convince them to surrender the pigs.
Netherlands: Police crack down on Curacao drugs ring with ties to Hezbollah
AFP - April 29, 2009, 11h30 - updated
THE HAGUE - Police from seven countries arrested 17 people in Curacao Tuesday
suspected of involvement in an international drug ring with links to Lebanon's
Hezbollah militant group, Dutch authorities said. The group is suspected of
having traded in some 2,000 kilogrammes of cocaine per year, the Dutch
prosecution service said in a statement. "The group shipped containers with
cocaine from Curacao to the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Jordan," it said.
"From Venezuela, containers with drugs went to West Africa and then to the
Netherlands, Lebanon and Spain. Carriers smuggled the cocaine as airline
passengers from Curacao and Aruba into the Netherlands."The proceeds were
allegedly invested in several countries, said the statement. "The organisation
had international contacts with other criminal networks that financially
supported Hezbollah in the Middle East. Large sums of drug money flooded into
Lebanon, from where orders were placed for weapons that were to have been
delivered from South America."The suspects were from Curacao, the largest of the
Dutch Antilles islands, as well as from Venezuela, Colombia, Lebanon and Cuba,
said the statement. The arrests were the result of a joint operation between the
police and justice authorities of Curacao, the Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia,
Venezuela and the United States.
The Hizbullah paradox
By GARY C. GAMBILL
Jerusalem Post/
05/05/09
Since the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon in 2005, the American foreign
policy establishment has been preoccupied with securing the disarmament of the
militant Lebanese Shi'ite Hizbullah movement. Unfortunately, experts who cater
to the above have yet to advance a plausible strategy for achieving this goal.
While no one advocates forcible disarmament of Hizbullah, many have long
maintained that intensified foreign and domestic coercive pressure on the group
will encourage its demilitarization. In fact, Israel's 2006 military campaign
against Hizbullah and an abortive attempt by Lebanon's governing coalition to
shut down its telecommunications network last spring (both encouraged by
Washington) only strengthened Shi'ite support for the movement. So long as it
enjoys the firm solidarity of the country's largest sectarian group, aid to
Lebanese security forces (while advisable on other grounds) cannot produce a
counterforce politically capable of challenging Hizbullah.
Others have argued that removing Hizbullah's declared pretexts for "resistance"
will facilitate public pressure for its disarmament. However, while past
concessions by Israel (e.g. withdrawing from south Lebanon in 2000, releasing
all remaining Lebanese prisoners last summer) chipped away at Hizbullah's pool
of grievances, they also served to sanctify and legitimize its militia. There is
little reason to believe that a unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the disputed
Shebaa Farms enclave will persuade Lebanese Shi'ites to accept (let alone press
for) Hizbullah's disarmament.
The conventional wisdom that Syria or Iran can be induced to solve the Hizbullah
problem by fiat is also problematic. Coercing or persuading Damascus to cut off
Hizbullah's arms supplies may gradually weaken the strategic threat posed by its
arsenal, but it won't appreciably degrade the group's capacity to fend off the
state and rival militias. Iran has a much more intimate relationship with
Hizbullah, but its deeply unpopular clerical regime may not be politically
capable of getting tough with the Shi'ite world's most admired public figure
even if it were strategically disposed to do so (which it clearly isn't).
A fourth hypothetical path to disarmament centers on domestic reform to
alleviate the Lebanese Shi'ite community's longstanding political and economic
subordination, thereby reducing its perceived need for the protection and
leverage of a militia. Then-Senator Barack Obama alluded to this catalyst at the
height of the Lebanon's political crisis last spring, calling for "electoral
reform, an end to the current corrupt patronage system, and ... a fair
distribution of services, opportunities and employment." However, this kind of
change will be difficult to effect and take years to complete. In the meantime,
a credible reform process will bolster Hizbullah's stature as guardian of
Shi'ite communal interests.
THIS IS NOT to say there isn't a viable path to Hizbullah's disarmament. While
Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah may be as zealously anti-Zionist as
the Palestinian leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, his Lebanese constituents
have no significant territorial dispute against Israel and lack the kind of
existential antipathy felt by many Palestinians. Shi'ite Islam is more accepting
of sectarian heterogeneity than Sunni Islam and less oriented around the ideal
of Arab-Islamic unity - traits that bode well for eventual acceptance of a
Jewish state in Palestine. The overwhelming majority of Lebanese Shi'ites
support Hizbullah's refusal to disarm because they consider its militia vital to
their security and political clout - instrumental considerations that can, in
principle, be changed without a major diplomatic breakthrough in the Mideast
peace process. However, the first step in finding a way forward is recognizing
that "disarm Hizbullah quick" schemes aren't likely to work (and could make
things considerably worse). Those who passionately insist otherwise are selling
something (usually a broader policy agenda).
Fortunately, there is no compelling reason for the Obama administration to roll
the dice. The deployment of UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon after the 2006 war
effectively sealed off Hizbullah's access to the battlefield, while the enormous
destruction Israel rained upon Lebanon has rendered unprovoked cross-border
attacks politically unthinkable. So long as Hizbullah is actively engaged in the
political sphere (and periodically reminded of the apocalypse to follow any
armed provocations against Israel), this nearly three-year state of
non-belligerency could prove to be remarkably durable.
**The writer is the editor of Mideast Monitor and publishes widely on Lebanese
and Syrian politics, terrorism, and democratization in the Middle East.
Ahmad Al Asaad: Attacks on Lebanese Option Prove Elections
Are Not Transparent
Naharnet/Lebanese Option head Ahmed al-Asaad said Monday that attacks against
his supporters prove that the polls are not transparent, especially in regions
where Hizbullah has a strong presence. "We blame Hizbullah first. It has become
a new occupation force that prevents people from expressing their views," Asaad
said in a press conference about continuous attacks on his supporters and his
convoy. "The attacks prove that talk about transparent elections is nonsense,
particularly in areas where Hizbullah has a presence," he said.
He accused Hizbullah of seeking to run in the June 7 elections "based on the
Iranian and Syrian models."Asaad said Lebanese officials should also shoulder
responsibility for not putting an end to the attacks.An Nahar newspaper said
Monday that unknown assailants torched a vehicle belonging to Ali Mahdi, a
member of the Lebanese Option, in the southern town of al-Qosseibeh. Beirut, 04
May 09, 12:03
Berri-Aoun Disagreement over Jezzine has Likely Come to an
End
Naharnet/The minority's Jezzine district list has faced the obstacle of the
speakership's future, sources told An Nahar newspaper as MP Salim Salhab said
Monday that the problem will be solved within 48 hours. Sources told An Nahar
that the disagreement between Speaker Nabih Berri and Free Patriotic Movement
leader Gen. Michel Aoun was solved after a proposed formula was approved by both
parties Sunday night. However, sources later denied the two sides reached
agreement. Other sources also said that the stumbling block was the future of
the speaker's post. Salhab told Voice of Lebanon radio, however, that the
problem will be solved within 48 hours. He stressed that all opposition lists
were formed based on agreement so will the Jezzine ticket. Al-Liwaa newspaper
said in its Monday edition that the opposition's Jezzine list awaits consensus
between Berri and Aoun as the speaker considers MP Samir Azar a red line. Ad-Diyar
daily, in its turn, said the FPM leader accepted the formula proposed by Berri
and that Hizbullah secretary general's political assistant Hajj Hussein Khalil
kept contact with Berri, Aoun, Minister Jebran Bassil and MP Ali Hassan Khalil
on Sunday. The newspaper said Aoun entrusted Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah with solving the Jezzine problem, and stressed he would accept any
proposal made by the party's secretary general. Sources told Ad-Diyar that
solving the Jezzine crisis would definitely lead to a solution to the second
Shiite seat in the district of Baabda. Beirut, 04 May 09, 09:32
Egypt: No Mediation with Hizbullah, Good Ties with Lebanon
Naharnet/Egypt has reiterated accusations that Iran and Hizbullah were trying to
destabilize Arab national security. However, it stressed that ties remain intact
with Lebanon.
"There is no problem whatsoever between Egypt and the Lebanese state," Egyptian
presidential spokesman Suleiman Awwad said. He described Egyptian-Lebanese
relations as "brotherly" and "cordial." Awwad hit back at remarks made by
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, saying Egypt "does not pay to
those who try to become a state within the state," a reference to Hizbullah.
Meanwhile, Egypt denied Cairo was involved in any mediation with Hizbullah over
the arrest of the so-called Hizbullah cell. Pan-Arab daily Al Hayat quoted an
Egyptian official as saying that the case of the Hizbullah cell is in the hands
of the public prosecution "and there is no room for political
intervention."Beirut, 04 May 09, 10:17
Assad Eager to Know Who Committed Hariri Crime
Naharnet/Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he was keen to hear the decision
of the U.N.-backed special tribunal investigating the 2005 murder of Lebanese
ex-Premier Rafik Hariri.
Investigators have found evidence that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence
officials were linked to the killing, but Damascus has denied involvement and
Assad told the French 3 television he hoped the tribunal would clear up the
matter. "Knowing who committed this crime will be very helpful to Syria," he
said, admitting that many parties suspect Syria's involvement. "Because when we
have this very clear we'll be very happy and very relieved." The Hague-based
tribunal, the world's first anti-terrorist court, was set up to try those
responsible for the massive seafront car bombing in Beirut that killed Hariri
and 22 others in February 2005. No date has yet been set for the tribunal's
first trial, but prosecutors are gathering evidence and preparing indictments.
It is not yet clear whether they will be able to tie the attack to senior Syrian
leaders Assad also urged the United States to reach out to Hamas and Hizbullah
as part of the search for Middle East peace. Speaking to France 3, Assad
welcomed what he said was a new willingness in Washington to listen to Syria's
views since President Barack Obama took office, and said Damascus was ready to
help broker contacts with the groups. The United States regards both Hizbullah
and the Palestinian group Hamas as terrorist movements, and does not recognize
them, a stance which Assad said was counterproductive if Washington wanted to
seek regional peace.
"I think the problem was with the previous administration," Assad said,
criticizing former U.S. president George Bush and welcoming Obama's decision to
send envoys to open a tentative dialogue with Syria. "I think if you want to
solve the problem you can't go about saying: 'This is good and this is bad, this
is evil and this is democratic, this is human rights and this is not politics',"
he said. "Politics is when you deal with reality. When you deal with influential
parties to influence the position in a positive or a negative way," he said,
calling on the United States to talk to both Iran and the militant groups.
"Hamas has influence and you cannot ignore them. You can't achieve peace while
Hamas is outside this peace or against the peace," he said, adding that the same
was true of Hizbullah. Assad called for "direct or indirect" talks between
Washington and Hamas, and added: "When they want to have help with these
parties, any contact direct or indirect with Syria, and maybe direct, we are
ready to help." Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said
she had sent two diplomats to Syria, but Washington remains cautious in its
dealings with a government that has close ties to Iran and to hardline armed
groups.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 03 May 09, 23:19
Gemayel Hospitalized
Naharnet/Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel was admitted to Hotel Dieu hospital
on Monday after falling ill. Voice of Lebanon radio said the former president is
only suffering from exhaustion and is in stable condition. Deputy Salim
Sayegh denied that Gemayel had a heart attack. He told OTV that the Phalange
leader was undergoing tests in hospital.
The phalange party's website said Gemayel was undergoing routine medical tests
and will play his "national role" as soon as possible. Beirut, 04 May 09, 12:42
Israel-Linked Spy Cell Leads to Arrest of 2 in Bourj
Barajneh, 3 in Habboush
Naharnet/Security forces have arrested more people on suspicion of spying for
the Israeli Mossad secret service. The daily As Safir on Monday said a Lebanese
intelligence force last week raided the house of a security member identified
only as H.S. in the southern suburb neighborhood of Bourj Barajneh. The suspect
confessed to collecting data on the activities of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah and close aides "for many years." He also confessed to recruiting his
wife, who was arrested as well. The detained security member said his task
included a "lot of traveling to nearby countries to hand over data." Three
suspects were also arrested overnight in the southern village of Habboush "and
initial indication shows that they were spying for Israel," a security official
said. Local media on Monday identified the suspects as Elizabeth H., a hostess,
Ali A. and Hussein K. Witnesses said the three were in the same car when they
were busted in Habboush near Nabatiyeh. Pan-Arab daily Al Hayat quoted security
officials as confirming that the three work for Mossad, adding that they are
still kept in Hizbullah custody and that they will be handed over to the
Lebanese security service once primitive interrogation was over. Two Lebanese
men and a Palestinian were arrested on April 25 also on suspicion of spying for
Israel and were linked by the authorities to a retired general security officer
arrested for spying earlier that month. Former Brig. Gen. Adib al-Alam was
arrested along with his wife Hayat Saloumi and nephew Joseph Al-Alam and charged
in April with espionage -- a charge that carries the death sentence. The three
are accused of informing Israel about Lebanese and Syrian military and civilian
sites "with the aim of facilitating Israeli attacks," a judicial official said
last month. Another suspect, Marwan Fakih, was arrested in south Lebanon in
February. Beirut, 04 May 09, 11:54
Efforts to Contain Crisis over Generals' Release
Naharnet/Efforts are underway to help defuse tension that resulted in a sharp
political split over the release of Lebanon's top four generals and opposition
threats of stepped up campaigns to force the resignation of two Lebanese judges.
The difficult task come as the Higher Judicial Council (HJC) readies to meet on
Tuesday to contain a wave of condemnation triggered by the release of the four
generals held without charge for nearly four years over the Feb. 2005 murder of
former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The daily An Nahar on Monday said contacts
will continue in a bid to restore commitment to Thursday's cabinet decision to
leave the generals' issue to the HJC. It said efforts will focus on convincing
"some" factions within the Hizbullah-led opposition to call off plans to stage a
sit-in outside the justice ministry on Tuesday to force the resignation of
Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza and the examining magistrate into the Hariri
case, Judge Saqr Saqr. Hizbullah has called for ensuring accountability of the
judiciary over the "arbitrary" detention of the four generals who were held
without charge as suspects in the Hariri case since August 2005. They are former
head of the presidential guard, Mustafa Hamdan, security services director Jamil
Sayyed, security chief Ali Hajj, and military intelligence chief Raymond Azar.
They were released April 2. An Nahar said apparently not all opposition groups
showed enthusiasm for escalation for fear of deepening the political rift.
Meanwhile, As Safir newspaper quoted March 8 sources as saying the "opposition
battle" is not one with the judicial institution, but with Mirza and Saqr.
"If the HJC proved that they did not violate their (the judges) duties, the
opposition is willing to apologize," one source told As Safir.
HJC President Judge Ghaleb Ghanem said Tuesday's meeting is not a "routine" one.
"It's not like any other meeting. We would discuss the current issue and take
the necessary stances," Ghanem said in remarks published Monday by As Safir.
Judge Mirza said he would not take part in the HJC meeting because he had
already planned to travel abroad to continue medical treatment. "Each person has
the right to demand what he wants, and I have the right to take the appropriate
position which relieves my conscience," Mirza told As Safir.
Magistrate Saqr, for his part, justified the detention of the four generals,
saying he acted in accordance with the requirements of the law. Beirut, 04 May
09, 08:37
As the U.S. Retreats, Iran Fills the Void Article
By AMIR TAHERI
The Wall Street Journal
May/09
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124139838660282045.html
Convinced that the Obama administration is preparing to retreat from the Middle
East, Iran's Khomeinist regime is intensifying its goal of regional domination.
It has targeted six close allies of the U.S.: Egypt, Lebanon, Bahrain, Morocco,
Kuwait and Jordan, all of which are experiencing economic and/or political
crises.
Iranian strategists believe that Egypt is heading for a major crisis once
President Hosni Mubarak, 81, departs from the political scene. He has failed to
impose his eldest son Gamal as successor, while the military-security
establishment, which traditionally chooses the president, is divided. Iran's
official Islamic News Agency has been conducting a campaign on that theme for
months. This has triggered a counter-campaign against Iran by the Egyptian
media.
Last month, Egypt announced it had crushed a major Iranian plot and arrested 68
people. According to Egyptian media, four are members of the Islamic
Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Tehran's principal vehicle for exporting its
revolution.
Seven were Palestinians linked to the radical Islamist movement Hamas; one was a
Lebanese identified as "a political agent from Hezbollah" by the Egyptian
Interior Ministry. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah,
claimed these men were shipping arms to Hamas in Gaza.
The arrests reportedly took place last December, during a crackdown against
groups trying to convert Egyptians to Shiism. The Egyptian Interior Ministry
claims this proselytizing has been going on for years. Thirty years ago,
Egyptian Shiites numbered a few hundred. Various estimates put the number now at
close to a million, but they are said to practice taqiyah (dissimulation), to
hide their new faith.
But in its campaign for regional hegemony, Tehran expects Lebanon as its first
prize. Iran is spending massive amounts of cash on June's general election. It
supports a coalition led by Hezbollah, and including the Christian ex-general
Michel Aoun. Lebanon, now in the column of pro-U.S. countries, would shift to
the pro-Iran column.
In Bahrain, Tehran hopes to see its allies sweep to power through mass
demonstrations and terrorist operations. Bahrain's ruling clan has arrested
scores of pro-Iran militants but appears more vulnerable than ever. King Hamad
bin Isa al-Khalifa has contacted Arab heads of states to appeal for "urgent
support in the face of naked threats," according to the Bahraini media.
The threats became sensationally public in March. In a speech at Masshad, Iran's
principal "holy city," Ali Akbar Nateq-Nuri, a senior aide to Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, described Bahrain as "part of Iran." Morocco used the
ensuing uproar as an excuse to severe diplomatic relations with Tehran. The
rupture came after months of tension during which Moroccan security dismantled a
network of pro-Iran militants allegedly plotting violent operations.
Iran-controlled groups have also been uncovered in Kuwait and Jordan. According
to Kuwaiti media, more than 1,000 alleged Iranian agents were arrested and
shipped back home last winter. According to the Tehran media, Kuwait is believed
vulnerable because of chronic parliamentary disputes that have led to
governmental paralysis.
As for Jordan, Iranian strategists believe the kingdom, where Palestinians are
two-thirds of the population, is a colonial creation and should disappear from
the map -- opening the way for a single state covering the whole of Palestine.
Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have both
described the division of Palestine as "a crime and a tragedy."
Arab states are especially concerned because Tehran has succeeded in
transcending sectarian and ideological divides to create a coalition that
includes Sunni movements such as Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, sections of the
Muslim Brotherhood, and even Marxist-Leninist and other leftist outfits that
share Iran's anti-Americanism.
Information published by Egyptian and other Arab intelligence services, and
reported in the Egyptian and other Arab media, reveal a sophisticated Iranian
strategy operating at various levels. The outer circle consists of a number of
commercial companies, banks and businesses active in various fields and
employing thousands of locals in each targeted country. In Egypt, for example,
police have uncovered more than 30 such Iranian "front" companies, according to
the pan-Arab daily newspaper Asharq Alawsat. In Syria and Lebanon, the numbers
reportedly run into hundreds.
In the next circle, Iranian-financed charities offer a range of social and
medical services and scholarships that governments often fail to provide.
Another circle consists of "cultural" centers often called Ahl e Beit (People of
the House) supervised by the offices of the supreme leader. These centers offer
language classes in Persian, English and Arabic, Islamic theology, Koranic
commentaries, and traditional philosophy -- alongside courses in information
technology, media studies, photography and filmmaking.
Wherever possible, the fourth circle is represented by branches of Hezbollah
operating openly. Where that's not possible, clandestine organizations do the
job, either alone or in conjunction with Sunni radical groups.
The Khomeinist public diplomacy network includes a half-dozen satellite
television and radio networks in several languages, more than 100 newspapers and
magazines, a dozen publishing houses, and thousands of Web sites and blogs
controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The network controls
thousands of mosques throughout the region where preachers from Iran, or trained
by Iranians, disseminate the Khomeinist revolutionary message.
Tehran has also created a vast network of non-Shiite fellow travelers within the
region's political and cultural elites. These politicians and intellectuals may
be hostile to Khomeinism on ideological grounds -- but they regard it as a
powerful ally in a common struggle against the American "Great Satan."
Khomeinist propaganda is trying to portray Iran as a rising "superpower" in the
making while the United States is presented as the "sunset" power. The message
is simple: The Americans are going, and we are coming.
Tehran plays a patient game. Wherever possible, it is determined to pursue its
goals through open political means, including elections. With pro-American and
other democratic groups disheartened by the perceived weakness of the Obama
administration, Tehran hopes its allies will win all the elections planned for
this year in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.
"There is this perception that the new U.S. administration is not interested in
the democratization strategy," a senior Lebanese political leader told me. That
perception only grows as President Obama calls for an "exit strategy" from
Afghanistan and Iraq. Power abhors a vacuum, which the Islamic Republic of Iran
is only too happy to fill.
**Amir Taheri's new book, "The Persian Night: Iran Under the Khomeinist
Revolution," is published by Encounter Books.
It's time for detailed agendas for reforming
Lebanon's judiciary
By The Daily Star
Monday, May 04, 2009
Editorial
The political and media storm that has been blowing in Lebanon ever since the
release of four high-ranking officers in the Hariri case looks set to generate
more turbulence in the coming days. The Higher Judicial Council will convene
this week to discuss the attacks against the judiciary and, by implication,
particular judges, as calls for people to resign emanate from the parliamentary
minority.
The minority, or "opposition," is talking about correcting the abuses of a
politicized judiciary, but as this newspaper has pointed out frequently, and
recently, this isn't a new issue.
Furthermore, many of our politicians say they want reform, although they're
roughly the same ones who've been in power since the end of the war, when the
deterioration in our judiciary has proceeded apace.
Irrespective of the motives of politicians in championing judicial reform, the
process needs to travel far in order to have an impact. Politicians shouldn't
dominate the discourse or the movement, if any, for change. The country's
non-governmental organizations and civil society must take part; if their
agendas aren't set already, they should be. These groups should coordinate
efforts to ensure that this issue is handled correctly, and thoroughly.
The media also has a role to play, through monitoring the process and
encouraging a competent effort by politicians.
Such a reform will be problematic and complicated. Reviving our comatose
judiciary won't take place with the mere flip of a switch. It will be the
beginning of a process, one that involves changing our mentality and behavior,
which takes time.
But we've seen our two principle political factions - majority and minority -
crumble when they approach the task, if at all. Since we're now in the middle of
a parliamentary election campaign, their calls for reform are being amplified.
This is the ideal time to hear about their practical plans for reform. If they
merely complain about political intervention, they're not taking things beyond
the grievances of any person in the street.
We know about the political pressures and inefficiency. We know the judiciary
should be reformed; the question is how. It's time to set out detailed agendas,
and not call for revenge or criticize the other party. Tell us how the reform
process can work, if it can.
Both sides, along with civil society, talk a lot about the need for Lebanon's
sovereignty and independence, and have their own detailed versions of how to
secure them. For a sovereign and independent Lebanese judiciary, we should see
the same kind of efforts
The Mellow Doctrine
By ROGER COHEN
global.nytimes.com/opinion
Published: May 3, 2009
WASHINGTON — Amazing what happens when you cast aside the testosterone.
I know bristling Dick Cheney believes America’s enemies now perceive “a weak
president,” as do sundry Republican senators, but the truth is that foes of the
United States have been disarmed by Barack Obama’s no-drama diplomacy.
Call it the mellow doctrine. Neither idealistic nor classic Realpolitik, it
involves finding strength through unconventional means: acknowledgment of the
limits of American power; frankness about U.S. failings; careful listening; fear
reduction; adroit deployment of the wide appeal of brand Barack Hussein Obama;
and jujitsu engagement.
Already the mellow doctrine has brought some remarkable shifts, even if more
time is needed to see its results.
The Castro brothers in Cuba are squabbling over the meaning of Obama’s
overtures. Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez has gone gooey-eyed over the “Yanqui”
president. Turkey relented on a major NATO dispute, persuaded of the importance
of Obama’s conciliatory message to Muslims.
From Damascus to Tehran, new debate rages over possible rapprochement with
Washington. In Israel, I understand Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is about
to drag his Likud party kicking and screaming to acceptance of the idea of a
two-state solution because he knows the cost of an early confrontation with
Obama.
Not bad for 105 days.
The fact is the United States spent most of the eight years before last January
making things easy for its enemies. It was in the ammunition-supply business.
Nothing comforted U.S. foes as much as Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo, axis-of-evil
moral certitude and the schoolyard politics of punishment.
All you had to do, from Moscow to Caracas, was point a finger toward the White
House and domestic woes paled. All you had to do, in the recruitment schools of
Waziristan and Ramadi, was show video footage of Americans humiliating Muslims.
Even among allies, nobody much wanted to help the former administration.
I like this definition from Obama of the impact of the mellow doctrine on
countries with divergent interests from the United States:
“What it does mean, though, is, at the margins, they are more likely to want to
cooperate than not cooperate. It means that where there is resistance to a
particular set of policies that we’re pursuing, that resistance may turn out
just to be based on old preconceptions or ideological dogmas that, when they’re
cleared away, it turns out that we can actually solve a problem.”
I met last month with Abdullah Gul, the Turkish president, after he’d seen Obama
in Strasbourg. When I asked him if the perception under former President Bush
had been that the United States was at war with Islam, Gul said: “Unfortunately,
yes, that was the perception.”
By contrast, Gul told me, with Obama, “His views and ours seem almost the same:
We have to value dialogue and follow engagement.”
When Gul and Obama confronted each other at the NATO summit over the nomination
of Denmark’s Anders Rasmussen as the alliance’s secretary general, the odds of
an accord seemed remote given Turkey’s objections to Rasmussen’s free-speech
defense of the Mohammed cartoons. Arab states had called on Ankara to resist.
But agreement was reached after Obama guaranteed Gul that Rasmussen, a former
Danish prime minister, would “act very carefully and have an intense dialogue
with the Islamic world.” Gul smiled: “We wanted Obama to be successful on his
first trip to Europe. Failure would have overshadowed things.”
There you have it: cooperation at the margins.
Deprived of an easy enemy, several countries are trying to calibrate how to
become America’s friend, or at least normalize relations. They are uneasy about
being left in the cold.
On a recent visit to Damascus, Martin Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel,
was intrigued to find Walid Muallem, the Syrian foreign minister, asking him
with concern whether there was “some sort of understanding” between the United
States and Iran.
There isn’t yet, but Syria, like many Arab states, is already worried about
losing out to any American-Iranian détente.
Conversely, Iran worries that it might lose its Syrian ally (and conduit to
Hezbollah and Hamas) as a result of Obama’s Middle East peace effort. The fact
is Syria’s interests in Iraq after a U.S. withdrawal will diverge from Iran’s:
Syria’s priority is an Iraq in the Arab sphere.
Such strategic concerns, along with economic difficulties, explain the intense
Iranian debate about the United States, and how to respond to Obama’s overtures,
in the run-up to June presidential election.
In Cuba, meanwhile, Fidel Castro is talking about “definite failure” for Obama
and lambasting him for preserving a “blockade” (it’s in fact an outmoded partial
trade embargo), while his brother Raúl says Cuba’s ready and eager to discuss
everything.
A Kansan-Kenyan cat is loose among the waddling Cuban pigeons.
The likes of aging Fidel will try to resist the mellow doctrine. But it will
succeed if America’s foes understand that normal relations with Washington do
not imply the loss of distinctive cultures and politics or the imposition of
U.S. values, but rather the “mutual respect” which Obama has promised Iran.
On Iran, Barack Obama is no Chamberlain
By Zvi Bar'el
Haaretz 03.05.09
In the factory churning out threatening scenarios, the economic slump has had no
effect. But there's still a wide variety, something for everyone. Swine flu,
North Korean ballistic missiles, collapsing banks, Hezbollah getting stronger,
and of course, the mother of all threats, the Iranian nuclear program combined
with an American president who has already been compared to Neville Chamberlain
because of his conciliatory approach. This triangle, nukes-Iran-Obama, incites
hypochondriacs to new heights. They are certain the whole world is about to
kneel before tremendous evil.
And what about the neighboring countries that also have nuclear capabilities:
India and Pakistan, Russia and China? Does Iran not appreciate the meaning of
the nuclear balance of terror? And what happened to the nuclear deterrent that
foreigners attribute to Israel? If it fails to deter Iran, what is its reason
for being?
The oracles explain that Iran is a mad country. It will be ready to sacrifice
hundreds of thousands of its citizens to destroy Israel. Look at what they did
to their children during the Iran-Iraq War. Iran is also a Shi'ite country, and
after all, everyone knows that the Shi'ites have a built-in desire for suicide,
even though "mad" Iran has conducted normal diplomatic relations with most
countries. Its regime is built on method and order. The Iranian opposition, even
if it is limited, can still voice its views in parliament and the media more
freely than, for example, the opposition in Saudi Arabia. This is a country that
has nurtured a generation of scientists who, despite international sanctions,
have developed advanced technologies, not only nuclear, and its pupils do better
than Israel's in international competitions.
Religious Iran did not do away with scientific learning or festivals with pagan
origins. That's because the Iranian regime knows its clientele and understands
its limits. There's no madness here. As for the willingness of the Shi'ites to
commit suicide, it's worthwhile to analyze how many Sunnis have killed
themselves in suicide bombings in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Palestine. The
results would surprise adherents to the schools of thought on suicidal Shi'ites.
But logic and panic do not go hand in hand. Iran's nuclear program was not
considered a threat when leaders thought to be "reasonable" were in power, like
Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami. The nuclear panic clock began only when
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected president in 2005. In 10 years or maybe two, the
experts predicted, not really knowing what was going on, Iran would be able to
make nuclear weapons. Iran stepped up to the challenge, beat that timetable and
made it irrelevant. But a closer examination suggests that Iran's nuclear
program is not the threat, but Ahmadinejad. After all, to top it all off, he
denies the Holocaust. Holocaust, Chamberlain, Hitler, nuclear annihilation,
Obama, Ahmadinejad. Can there be anything better for stoking panic?
So what to do? Bomb a country with nuclear technology just in case one day it
might have nuclear weapons? Why not start with the ones who already have them,
like North Korea or Pakistan, which, after all, has also been marked the most
dangerous country in the world? Impose more sanctions? After all, Iran has been
under sanctions of one form or another since the revolution, and maybe the
sanctions have only fed her desire to acquire a nuclear deterrent.
Perhaps the solution is to try something still untried: dialogue, lifting the
sanctions and authorizing American businessmen to do in Iran what their Russian,
Chinese, German and French colleagues have been doing for years: To see Iran as
a partner in conflicts where it has influence, like in Sudan, Syria, Iraq,
Afghanistan, as well as with Hamas and Hezbollah. Not by coercion, but by
recognizing that Iran has accumulated political power in the region over the
years. Perhaps, had George W. Bush adopted such a policy, the Iranian threat
would look different. Had Bill Clinton taken another step beyond permission to
export nuts and carpets to the United States, maybe Tehran would now have an
American nuclear reactor for producing electricity.
Barack Obama is no Chamberlain. He does not carry an umbrella - he carries a big
stick, even though he might speak softly to Iran. Of course, we can always
continue enjoying the panic. But Obama's approach is better.
The Man who may be Israel's next ambassador to the United States
By Dan Gordon/American Thinker
May 03, 2009
Dr. Michael Oren is being touted as Israel's next ambassador to the U.S. He's
taking a number of hits in the press. Some people have said he's too
conservative, others that he's too liberal. He is undeniably one of the world's
foremost historians on the Middle East. That is, admittedly, his day job, not
mine. I'm a writer.
I have a play called "Irena's Vow" running on Broadway. So what qualifies me to
comment in any way on the man who may be Israel's next ambassador to the United
States? Doctor Oren, in addition to his other achievements, is also a major in
the same reserve unit in the IDF in which I serve as a captain. I can tell you a
bit about the man. I have served in two wars with him.
One night in the 2006 Hezbollah /Israel War Michael and I were serving as public
affairs officers. We were up at the Lebanese border late at night when another
officer came up and approached us and four or five others.
What most people don't realize is that for the first few weeks of that war
Israel actually had fewer troops on the ground than Hezbollah. They quite
literally outnumbered Israeli forces on the ground until the last few days of
the war. A battle had been raging and Israel had taken casualties. They were
looking for volunteers to go into Lebanon as a covering party and hook up with
several ambulances that were evacuating wounded. They couldn't land a chopper
because it was right in the heart of Hezbollah strongholds and they would have
been shot out of the sky by anti air craft missiles.
Without saying a word Michael was the first to pick up his gear and volunteer.
We were a half dozen middle aged reserve officers. We didn't have an armored
vehicle, so we actually went into Lebanon in my Avis rent a car. After looking
for the ambulance for what seemed like hours we realized there was a screw up in
co-ordinates and we were sitting ducks in a rent a car in Lebanon.
We headed back into Israel and waited at the border crossing for word on where
the ambulances were. After a while the same officer found us and acknowledged
that there had been a screw up in co-ordinates. Now there was another problem.
There was an ambulance with four dead Israeli soldiers that needed a covering
party to go in for their evacuation. Again it was too dangerous for helicopters
to land. Again they were asking for volunteers. Again Michael was the first to
pick up his gear and volunteer.
My son had been killed at the age of twenty two in a horrific car accident.
Michael's son had been wounded in action in a fire fight with terrorists. To all
of us middle aged men these fallen boys could have been our sons. We went back
into Lebanon in the rent a car.
We hooked up with the ambulance in a wadi or deep ravine. Flairs were going off
above us, which meant that Hezb'allah knew we were there and were hunting for
us. We served as the covering force while the fallen were evacuated. Later
Michael's daughter, who was serving as a social worker in the Golani Brigade,
called Michael on his cell phone. Her unit had taken a lot of wounded; most of
them were her friends.
Michael turned to me and said, "My daughter needs a hug. Can I borrow your car?"
The two of us drove down from the Lebanese border to Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
Michael spent a half hour with his daughter; gave her a much needed hug and then
the two of us drove back near dawn to rejoin our unit.
That is the kind of man Israel's ambassador designate to the U.S. is. He
wouldn't hesitate to endanger his life not only to recover wounded, but to
recover the fallen, and though exhausted himself, drove round trip, four hours
to give his daughter a hug when she most needed her father's love.
There are other people who can amply describe Doctor Oren's experience in
diplomacy. He has served a number of Prime Ministers and is a fellow at the
Shalem Center in Jerusalem, which contains such luminaries as Nathan Shiransky
and Lieutenant General (Res.) Moshe Ya'Alon.
I, on the other, hand can tell you about the man. Both Israel and the U.S. would
be lucky to have Doctor Michael Oren serving in Washington.
**Dan Gordon Captain (Res.) IDF
14 Comments on "The Man who may be Israel's next ambassador to the United
States"
Agustín Velloso - Hezbollah fundamentalism overtakes Christian liberalism on the
left
By Guest Post • May 3rd, 2009 at 13:04 •
Palestin Think Tank
Category: Analysis, Counter-terrorism, No thanks!, Hasbara Deconstruction Site,
Interviews, Israel, Newswire, Religion, Resistance, War, Zionism
Translated by Toni Solo for http://www.rebelion.org/
On the past March 28th, one could read an article in a national daily newspaper
entitled "To the rescue of the Market: the Left". The newspaper considered the
protagonists of the rescue to be the progressive leaders of the West, among them
Joe Biden, Gordon Brown, Michelle Bachelet and José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero.
They met in the Progressive Summit guarded by 3,000 police. This is a really
historic fact for various reasons. For the first time police were sent to guard
Leftists. If anything is as sure as the sun turning out each day, it is that the
army and related groups, like security forces, paramilitaries and guns for hire,
are sent to repress and murder leftwingers.
So it is therefore somewhat strange that the newspaper did not stress that deep
change, worth celebrating at the top of one's voice. Maybe it was regarded as
something minor, in comparison with another radical change in political customs,
that marked the meeting. Leftist leaders are used to addressing their followers
from the prison, from a jungle hideout, from the trenches or even on their way
to martyrdom.
The participants in this summit addressed their supporters from a gala dinner in
the Cerro Castillo palace. From now on, given the sumptuous building, the
vintage of the wine and the exquisite menu, the first to save the world will get
pastries and cake. The newspaper informs its readers of the event's fundamental
factor, "progressivism is living a unique moment in its history with the
Democrat government of Barack Obama in the United States and progressive
presidents in the majority of Latin American countries and some European ones."
For the purposes of the Summit, the daily El País has decided that neither the
attack on the Moncada Barracks in Cuba, nor the battle for Dien Bien Phu in
Indochina, nor the July War in Lebanon are unique events in the history of the
Left. From now on, the key events for the most engaged progressivism will happen
with plenty of fanfare at smart dinners and exclusive clubs. Thanks to this
newspaper, whose position on the Summit turns it into the leading light of the
world Left, we now know that neither Ho Chi Minh, nor Castro nor Lumumba, have
done as much for progressivism as have Biden, the mirror of progressives, Brown,
the scourge of conservatives and Zapatero, the guide to revolutionaries. The
Cerro Castillo palace is now the sacred temple of the global progressive flock.
Where Castro said of the oppressor "if Batista took over by force then by force
we have to defeat him", Biden asserts, "I am a Zionist, one does not need to be
a Jew to be a Zionist."
Where Lumumba said of the powerful, "we ought to eradicate the power and
privilege of the traditional elite, improving the conditions of life is the true
meaning of independence", Zapatero meets with bankers to ask them "for an extra
effort by the banks".
Where Ho Chi Minh said of the imperialist, "our country will have the signal
honour of being a small country which, by means of a heroic struggle, has
defeated two great empires, the French and the United States", Brown announces
in the British parliament that "we have to maintain and reinforce what we have
won, so the United Kingdom will keep a powerful military force in Afghanistan".
The same day, with neither police, publicity nor even a snack, Lebanese
Professor Ali Fayyad was in a senior college in the University City of Madrid to
give a talk about the situation in Palestine. As a veteran member of Hezbollah's
Executive Committee, he presented the ideas of his political background on
imperialism and also on the role of the Left and the relations of the Left with
political Islamism. The talk was recorded by some assistants and also by various
television stations, so one can assume that its content will shortly be made
available to the public.
It will make instructive reading for anyone who still thinks the political
leaders mentioned earlier on bear any relation to the Left – apart from the one
assigned to them by a newspaper which is no more progressive than they are – and
who think too that today's Islamist political leaders - damned as
anti-democratic, extremist fundamentalists – do not represent the ideals of the
Left. For that reason, a sample of some of his comments may be useful to
calibrate the leftism of our leaders compared to that of "the guys with the
beards".
Fayyad mentioned the failure of the United States in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon
- something the "progressive leaders" ignore, being firm allies of both the US
and of Israel, the other major current aggressor. He also noted the new
configuration of forces in the Middle East, concretely, with reference to the
increase in the strength of the Resistance and corresponding decline in the
imperialist camp.
As is natural, he dismissed the European Union's designation as a terrorist
organization of Hamas, the party which became the legitimate government of
Palestine in 2006. That designation is something not even those same European
politicians believe in. They negotiate with Hamas, albeit behind the backs of
the general public.
Fayyad knows very well, although this is something he also dismisses, the poor
image of Islamic forces in the West, which he puts down to their being the
victims of propaganda. This should be obvious to anyone, since it is not the
Western press that legitimates the Arab and Muslim anti-imperialist forces, but
voters in the Middle East and what they do. Various elections have several times
made things clear.
If anyone had any doubts, he insisted that Hezbollah does not want a sectarian
state in Lebanon and that the problem in the area is not religious but
political. At the same time he suggests that the clash of civilizations is a
mistake: "there is no opposition of values and if there were it would be no
reason for war – the cause of the problem is United States' support for Israel,
it is not a religious problem."
He adds, "as an Islamist I am closer to Leftist activists than certain Islamists
who do not fight to the same degree against imperialism." He concedes less
importance to ideology than Westerners who stick the handy label of
"fundamentalism" on the Resistance so as to avoid having to take a genuinely
left-wing position against imperialism, especially in the Middle East.
Fayyad says, "I am interested in whether you fight imperialism, not in whether
you are Islamist or Marxist." In other words, "are you in favour of colonialism
or not? Do you support the area's dictatorships?" To resist, he argues, one has
to have shared values. For that reason, Hezbollah is working towards an
international block that transcends ideologies to "admit all views to this
historic task."
Political Islamism is perfectly clear on its current role. The Western Left
ought to be equally clear given the growing push of imperialism, despite its
failure thanks to the Resistance in the Middle East and other places. This
failure has cost many thousands of lives there and, here, general social and
political deterioration.
"Leftists" make a very sorry spectacle when they are left well behind by
"fundamentalists" in terms of political objectives, of strategy and sacrifice.
The confusion in the progressive ranks is such that being on the Left lacks any
value at all. The words continue to be true of whoever it was that said, "live
as you think, or end up thinking like a progressive."
Translation from Spanish by Toni Solo ( http://www.tortillaconsal.com/ )
Source