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Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Wednesday that he refused to have any direct contact with Israel, and that Lebanon would be the last Arab country to ever sign a peace deal with it.
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Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Wednesday that he refused to have any direct contact with Israel, and that Lebanon would be the last Arab country to ever sign a peace deal with it.
Alas, no virgins for poor Mohammed. But it had been a couple of days since the last deadly "misuse of weapons" incident so I suppose that Mohammed's number was just up.A Child Killed and His Brother Wounded When They Foozled with a Rocket in Beit Hanoun
On Monday noon, 28 August 2006, a child was killed and his brother was wounded as they foozled with a locally made rocket near their house in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun. In another incident, unknown gunmen fired at an officer of the Palestinian National Security Forces in Beit Lahia, but no casualties were reported.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 13:15 on Monday, 28 August 2006, a heavy explosion occurred in a room near a house belonging to Khaled Mohammed al-Za’anin in al-Qaraman Street in Beit Hanoun. As a result, the owner’s son, 17-year-old Mohammed, was instantly killed, and his other son, 14-year-old Bilal, was injured by shrapnel throughout the body. The explosion occurred when the two brothers were foozling with a locally made rocket apparently stored in the room by Palestinian resistance activists.
foo·zle (fū'zəl)
tr.v., -zled, -zling, -zles.To manage clumsily; bungle.
n.The act of bungling, especially a poor stroke in golf.
[Perhaps from German dialectal fuseln, to work poorly or slowly.]
foozler foo'zler n.
Veteran US civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, third right, and his son Jonathan, right, speak to an unidentified local Lebanese woman as they stand on the rubble of her apartment building in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, which was destroyed during an attack by Israeli forces in the 34-day Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2006. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Today, Israel is said to be a key ally in the war on terror and in our efforts to combat rogue states like Syria and Iran. But there are several big problems with this line of argument.
First, it has the causal logic backwards. We don't back Israel because we have a common threat from terrorism; rather, we have a common threat from terrorism because we have been so closely tied to Israel. That's not -- again, let me be very clear here: That's not the only reason. I am not saying that our unconditional support for Israel is the only source of anti-American terrorism, but it is a very important one. This was clearly stated in the 9/11 commission report.
As we mentioned in chapter 2, Usama Bin Ladin and other Islamist terrorist leaders draw on a long tradition of extreme intolerance within one stream of Islam (a minority tradition), from at least Ibn Taimiyyah, through the founders of Wahhabism, through the Muslim Brotherhood, to Sayyid Qutb. That stream is motivated by religion and does not distinguish politics from religion, thus distorting both. It is further fed by grievances stressed by Bin Ladin and widely felt throughout the Muslim world—against the U.S. military presence in the Middle East, policies perceived as anti-Arab and anti-Muslim, and support of Israel. Bin Ladin and Islamist terrorists mean exactly what they say: to them America is the font of all evil, the “head of the snake,” and it must be converted or destroyed.What is clear from here is that Bin Laden's blaming US support for Israel was tertiary at best.
It is not a position with which Americans can bargain or negotiate.With it there is no common ground—not even respect for life—on which to begin a dialogue. It can only be destroyed or utterly isolated.
Saudis are angry too. Many educated Saudis who were sympathetic toAgain, the US/Israeli seems to be far from the major or even a major factor in Saudi resentment for the US, contrary to Walt's pronouncement.
America now perceive the United States as an unfriendly state. One Saudi
reformer noted to us that the demonization of Saudi Arabia in the U.S. media
gives ammunition to radicals, who accuse reformers of being U.S. lackeys.Tens
of thousands of Saudis who once regularly traveled to (and often had homes
in) the United States now go elsewhere.17
Among Saudis, the United States is seen as aligned with Israel in its conflict
with the Palestinians,with whom Saudis ardently sympathize.Although Saudi
Arabia’s cooperation against terrorism improved to some extent after the September
11 attacks, significant problems remained. Many in the Kingdom initially
reacted with disbelief and denial. In the following months, as the truth
became clear, some leading Saudis quietly acknowledged the problem but still
did not see their own regime as threatened, and thus often did not respond
promptly to U.S. requests for help. Though Saddam Hussein was widely
detested, many Saudis are sympathetic to the anti-U.S. insurgents in Iraq,
although majorities also condemn jihadist attacks in the Kingdom.18
American foreign policy is part of the message. America’s policy choices have consequences. Right or wrong, it is simply a fact that American policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and American actions in Iraq are dominant staples of popular commentary across the Arab and Muslim world.That does not mean U.S. choices have been wrong. It means those choices must be integrated with America’s message of opportunity to the Arab and Muslim world. Neither Israel nor the new Iraq will be safer if worldwide Islamist terrorism grows stronger.In the context of the Report, this is almost a footnote. Nowhere does the report imply that this is a "very important source" of anti-American terrorism. Even for what it does say, Walt is misinterpreting it - the report is not saying that it is American policy towards Israel that is the problem, but the fact that Arab opinion is fixated on that policy and not on the many times the US helps out the Muslim world. This section is talking about the US getting a message of freedom and hope to the entire Muslim world and how that message gets lost in the Muslim world's Jew-hating media glare.
Hezbollah's staged mini-demonstration in the southern suburb of Beirut has been exposed by unauthorized media footage. During a visit to the Hezbollah former "security square," destroyed during the war with Israel, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was greeted by a prepared crowd of Hezbollah militants. Accompanied by Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Seniora, Dr. Annan was escorted by Lebanese Army security, apparently very friendly with Hezbollah Department of Security. The Lebanese Army officers and Hezbollah were seen smiling at each other and coordinating the staged demonstration. A camera linked to an international media agency was broadcasting live from behind the Hezbollah's security lines. It captured the details of the "show." A group of women and girls, in traditional Muslim dresses and scarves were gathered by Hezbollah bearded security some 15 minutes before the motorcade arrives. The gathering was at about 30 feet away from where Annan's car was supposed to stop. This indicates that the motorcade security and the Hezbollah operatives knew ahead of time where the spot would be and had the women standing and waiting. Posters of Hassan Nasrallah were then distributed to the women. The camera showed a group of bearded men standing few meters behind the first line of women as a "second brigade." Then the camera showed the group of women tightening their positioning while few men with hats and "talkies" positioned themselves behind the women and started shouting orders: "Clap when Annan gets out of the car," they screamed to the women. The latter complied with "passion," raising the posters of Nasrallah. "Boo when Seniora appears," the Hezbollah's operators shouted. A huge boo was produced, not only by the women, but also by the men standing behind them.
As the UN delegation approached the group walking, the women screamed the name of Nasrallah and behind them couple men screamed "down, down, USA" (especially when the international media appeared). As soon as the officials walked farther, and as in a choreographed play, the women dispersed themselves opening the path for the militiamen looking males to rush behind the delegation walking through the ruins. Responding to orders barked form inside the group, the mens' "demo" got loud and slogans were shouted with greater energy and menace. Interestingly, and since the camera was filming live from behind and feeding it to satellite around the world, observers were able to "see" the whole operation to its most detailed developments. The last security men of the UN delegation facing the following crowd were smiling at the security cadres of Hezbollah and keeping the exact distance needed for the shouting to be heard and for the international cameras to film the delegation surrounded by angry people, hoping the sympathizing translators and editors would make the right comments on BBC, CNN, and of course on al Jazeera, and by the next morning, the right articles will be printed in the New York Times, the Guardian and Le Monde. The show got even more detailed, as the camera was feeding the footage live and raw, when a Hezbollah militiaman screamed at a media cameraman who had climbed onto rubbles to have a bigger view of the crowd and the whole picture. The Hezbollah operatives, along with a security man from the Lebanese Army rushed to remove the cameraman from where he was, which was logical, as he could have filmed the staging machine and more importantly the "size" of the demonstration. Back to the demonstration: the Lebanese state-security elements were telling the Hezbollah fellows, "tameem, azeem," (very good, excellent). The "commissaries" behind the lines of the males were changing the slogans from "Long live Nasrallah" to "Down with the US." In a few minutes, the delegation headed back to the cars, Kofi Annan apparently impressed with the "people's voice." When the convoy left, the men and women of Hezbollah's demonstration vanished leaving regular bystanders to themselves. Interestingly as well, whenever the camera showed a journalist, especially with cameras, a Hizbollah militiaman was just few feet away.
It is perfectly normal to get a pitcher of hot water, walk a few blocks with it and spoons and a table and a tray and a baby carriage and glasses, and enjoy some tea while feeding the baby in the most photogenic rubble in Lebanon.Sidiqin, LEBANON: Displaced Lebanese women drink tea 26 August 2006 amid the rubble of their homes destroyed by Israeli strikes in the southern Lebanese town of Sidiqin. AFP PHOTO/PATRICK BAZ (Photo credit should read PATRICK BAZ/AFP/Getty Images)
"I hope that this never scares a single journalist away from coming to Gaza to cover the story because the Palestinian people are very beautiful and kindhearted," said Steve Centanni, a 60-year-old American reporter who was released along with cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand. "The world needs to know more about them."It is interesting that kidnapped journalists always seem to have the nicest things to say about their captors and Palestinian Arabs in general, but when push comes to shove, they always seem to feel safer with the "Zionist entity."
...
"My biggest concern really is that as a result of what happened to us, foreign journalists will be discouraged from coming to tell the story and that would be a great tragedy for the people of Palestine," Wiig said. "You guys need us on the streets, and you need people to be aware of the story."
...
The two journalists headed to Israel and were spending the night at the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem.
3. Emphasises the importance of the extension of the control of the government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory in accordance with the provisions of resolution 1559 (2004) and resolution 1680 (2006), and of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, for it to exercise its full sovereignty, so that there will be no weapons without the consent of the government of Lebanon and no authority other than that of the government of Lebanon;Meaning that if Lebanon wants Hezbollah to continue to have weapons in the south, they can.
8. Calls for Israel and Lebanon to support a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution based on the following principles and elements:Here it sounds like Lebanon may not allow Hezbollah to have weapons, nor to import weapons but again there are caveats that make it sound like the government may allow Hezbollah to purchase weapons if it wants to. Given the support that the Lebanese government showed Hezbollah during the war, it looks like Hezbollah will indeed become an autonomous unit of the Lebanese army, with a big wink from the government, and do whatever the hell it wants.
* Full respect for the Blue Line by both parties;
* security arrangements to prevent the resumption of hostilities, including the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL as authorised in paragraph 11, deployed in this area;
* Full implementation of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, and of resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006), that require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that, pursuant to the Lebanese cabinet decision of July 27, 2006, there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese state;
* No foreign forces in Lebanon without the consent of its government;
* No sales or supply of arms and related materiel to Lebanon except as authorized by its government;
11. Decides, in order to supplement and enhance the force in numbers, equipment, mandate and scope of operations, to authorize an increase in the force strength of Unifil to a maximum of 15,000 troops, and that the force shall, in addition to carrying out its mandate under resolutions 425 and 426 (1978):Now, keeping in mind the idea of a Hezbollah that is an official part of the Lebanese army just as it is an official part of the Lebanese government, what can one make of this:
* a. Monitor the cessation of hostilities;
* b. Accompany and support the Lebanese armed forces as they deploy throughout the South, including along the Blue Line, as Israel withdraws its armed forces from Lebanon as provided in paragraph 2;
* c. Coordinate its activities related to paragraph 11 (b) with the government of Lebanon and the government of Israel;
* d. Extend its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons;
* e. Assist the Lebanese armed forces in taking steps towards the establishment of the area as referred to in paragraph 8;
* f. Assist the government of Lebanon, at its request, to implement paragraph 14;12. Acting in support of a request from the government of Lebanon to deploy an international force to assist it to exercise its authority throughout the territory, authorizes Unifil to take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces and as it deems within its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilised for hostile activities of any kind, to resist attempts by forceful means to prevent it from discharging its duties under the mandate of the Security Council, and to protect United Nations personnel, facilities, installations and equipment, ensure the security and freedom of movement of United Nations personnel, humanitarian workers, and, without prejudice to the responsibility of the government of Lebanon, to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence;
13. Requests the secretary general urgently to put in place measures to ensure Unifil is able to carry out the functions envisaged in this resolution, urges member states to consider making appropriate contributions to Unifil and to respond positively to requests for assistance from the Force, and expresses its strong appreciation to those who have contributed to Unifil in the past;
14. Calls upon the government of Lebanon to secure its borders and other entry points to prevent the entry in Lebanon without its consent of arms or related materiel and requests Unifil as authorised in paragraph 11 to assist the government of Lebanon at its request;
Annan said that the U.N. force would be able to deploy along the Lebanese-Syrian border to help prevent weapons shipments to Hezbollah, but only if the Lebanese government asked for such help. Lebanon, to date, as neither asked for this nor ruled it out — but Syrian President Bashar Assad has strongly objected.And this:
"It is generally accepted that the disarmament of Hezbollah cannot be done by force," Annan told reporters. "The troops are not going there to disarm Hezbollah, let's be clear on that."
Lebanon is against the deployment of United Nations peacekeeping forces along its border with Syria, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi has told AFP.Putting it all together, assuming that Hezbollah will indeed become a part of the Lebanese army, we have three effective armies in Lebanon all ostensibly doing the same job - to defend "Lebanon" against Israel.
"Only the Lebanese army is in charge of controlling the borders with Syria and it is out of the question to deploy the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)," he said Friday.
"These are ideas put forward by Israel and the United States, but Lebanon does not take orders from anyone, neither the United States, nor Israel, nor Syria, nor
Iran," he said.
Another top Hamas activist told the Post that his movement's investigations have shown that the two journalists were initially kidnapped by members of one of the PA's security forces. "The kidnappers, who wanted to put pressure on the Palestinian leadership to pay them their salaries, later handed the two over to Fatah gunmen," he said. "They are now being held in one of the refugee camps near Gaza City."Sounds like the solution is to pay these poor disgruntled policemen a salary, so they can magically transform from criminals into respected upholders of the peace again!PA security sources said they did not rule out the possibility that Fatah gunmen were holding the two journalists. "There are many rumors in the Gaza Strip and we are checking them," the sources said. "In the past, we've had several cases where Fatah-affiliated gunmen and disgruntled security officers kidnapped foreigners."
...For Hezbollah, the ruins of this once-bustling neighborhood have become a tourist attraction--and an invaluable propaganda tool.Hezbollah began offering tours of Haret Hreik during the war, assembling every morning at eleven o'clock. I went on the first of these excursions on July 20, along with the bulk of the international press corps--about 100 correspondents, from well-known TV anchors to grubby freelancers. Longtime Hezbollah spokesman Hussein Naboulsi showed up with his entourage and delivered a running patter of outrage. "On a daily basis, they come here and turn buildings into rubble, as you see," he shouted, in his frantic, high-pitched voice. "This is where we live! If the Israelis dare to confront us face to face, let them do it on the border, not come with jet fighters from high above in the sky, and just hit civilian targets!" He strode off into the wreckage, still shouting, and we scrambled to keep up.
Every once in a while, as we marched through the rubble, a man (never a woman) would pop out of a destroyed building to shout with carefully rehearsed rage. All of these appearances were orchestrated by Hezbollah for our benefit.
This was during the war. The media saw everything described here but purposefully ignored the theatrical aspects and dutifully photographed and quoted the actors as if they were real victims. With a few exceptions, no one in the media mentioned the staging, and even today they downplay it - because they perceive that they are reporting the Greater Truth, fake but accurate, and the consumers of the media back home are too unsophisticated to understand that the reporters are allowed to tilt the news towards their own preconceived ends.
On Tuesday noon, 22 August 2006, a woman was killed in the central Gaza Strip allegedly to protect family honor.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 13:00 on Tuesday, 22 August 2006, Faiza ‘Eid Abu Sawawin, 35, from al-Hasaina area in the west of Nusairat refugee camp, was brought dead to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. She was hit by several live bullets throughout the body. According to sources of the Attorney-General office in the central Gaza Strip, the victim’s brother, who is a member of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service and lives in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, shot her dead allegedly to protect his family honor.
Arabs Can’t Be Anti-SemitesAs anyone with a passing familiarity with English knows, saying that a group of terrorists are "Islamic fascists" does not mean that all Muslims are fascists. calling the phrase "inaccurate and incorrect" is nonsensical, unless the author is saying that the terrorists themselves have no desire to subjugate the world to Islam.
Khaled Almaeena, almaeena@arabnews.com
Last week I wrote about the phone call from an Italian friend who asked me whether Islam and Muslims were characterized by fascist tendencies or beliefs. His query came as a result of US President George W. Bush’s unfortunate and ill-considered use of the phrase “Islamic fascists.”
Inaccurate and incorrect as the phrase is, it was not born from the brain of Bush — or even from the brains of his speechwriters. It was first used soon after Sept. 11, 2001, by Christopher Hitchens, a former diehard Marxist who is now a mainstay of the American neocons.
As a neocon, Hitchens enjoys great privileges and is a member in good standing of the media group which regularly attacks Muslims and Islam. His popularity is great in both neocon and Zionist circles. Included among those he is close to are Daniel Pipes, Richard Perle, David Horowitz — all closely associated with the American administration and its destructive and internationally unpopular policies over the last few years.By sheer coincidence, I'm sure, Almaeena only mentions "neocons" who happen to be Jewish.
The word “fascist” seems to have been used because the Bush administration and its sycophants (the neocons, evangelists, extreme right-wingers and the Zionist lobby) have this false and preposterous idea that Islam wants to take over the world. They are convinced that Muslims want to conquer the entire world by force and convert everyone to Islam by the sword!
Have they drawn this conclusion based on what they know of the terrorists’ beliefs and practices or on the beliefs and practices of the 99.99 percent of Muslims who are not terrorists? And while, as always, our Arab media focuses on trivialities, their media is slowly and insidiously planting negative ideas about Arabs and their alleged anti-Semitism.
It is a pity that this editor could not trouble himself to look up the meaning of "anti-semite" in the same Oxford English Dictionary:
How, I wonder, can Arabs be anti-Semitic? They are in fact themselves Semites; the word derives from one of the sons of Noah — in English Shem — who was the ancestor of both Jews and Arabs. The Oxford English Dictionary defines “Semite” as “people who speak a Semitic language, including in particular the Jews and Arabs.” In other words, it would be highly unusual for Arabs to be anti-Semites though they might well be anti-Zionists. But that is not the same thing.
anti-'Semite,