LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 27/09
Bible Reading of the
day.
Matthews 6/27 till 34: “Which of you, by being anxious, can add one
moment to his lifespan? Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin, yet I
tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow
is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith?
“Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’
or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these
things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek
first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given
to you as well. Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be
anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient
Free Opinions, Releases, letters &
Special Reports
Interview from Reuters
with former
president Amin Gemayel 26/02/09
Aoun...God help us!!/Future News
26/02/09
On not
debating Christopher Hitchens-By
Michael Young 26/02/09
How long
will the world keep paying for Israeli and Palestinian folly?
The
Daily Star 26/02/09
Listen
to Lee Hamilton, a lesser-known voice on Iran-By
David Ignatius 26/02/09
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for February
26/09
Paris, Riyadh Support Tribunal
Regardless of Damascus Reconciliation-Naharnet
Lebanese Generals Submit Request for Release-Naharnet
Kuwait's FM Relays Message from Emir to Suleiman-Naharnet
Berri: Lebanon Is
Sentenced to Consensus-Naharnet
U.S.: Lebanon's Rights
Record Poor as a Result of Violence, Unlawful Killings-Naharnet
Lebanon Uncovers Romanian
Network Stealing Credit Card Data-Naharnet
Phalange, LF Delegations Meet to Discuss Elections-Naharnet
Clinton says too soon to say if thaw in Syria
ties-Reuters
Bishop
el-Rahi: offenders of the Patriarch should be excommunicated/Future News
NLP responds to minister Aoun: We
did not commit to Syria as MP Aoun did/Future News
Ban: Courtroom Will be Ready for Use at Beginning of 2010/Naharnet
Najjar to the Tribunal:
Lebanon Awaits Justice from You-Naharnet
Geagea: The
situation in Lebanon is explosive/Future News
U.S.: Lebanon's Rights
Record Poor as a Result of Violence, Unlawful Killings-Naharnet
Haaretz: Iran Getting More Involved in Hizbullah
Operations to Fill the Gap-Naharnet
MP Franjieh: March 8 Forces Passing Through Difficult
Times-Naharnet
Skaff: Majority Strives to
Win Polls to Naturalize Palestinians-Naharnet
One Wounded in Clash between Rival Factions in Shekka-Naharnet
Jezzini Denies Convicted
Men Entered Lebanon Without Being Arrested-Naharnet
Gemayel: Party That Wins Metn
Poll Wins Parliamentary Majority-Naharnet
Solana: Lebanese Authorities Must Find Those Responsible for Firing Rockets-Naharnet
Solana Says EU Will Deal
with Any Winner in Elections-Naharnet
Majdal Anjar Residents
Block Road to Protest Charges against Hardliners-Naharnet
Possible first fruits of a new
era-Jerusalem
Post
Qoleilat Trial Postponed for Last
Time-Naharnet
Fatah and Hamas: Heading for a Showdown in Lebanon-TIME
Senior US diplomat to meet Syrian ambassador-Xinhua
Vote-buying may decide outcome of June polls-Daily
Star
Solana:
EU will deal with any victors in Lebanese elections/Daily
Star
Lebanese
authorities free three suspects in Hariri killing-Daily
Star
UAE bans
split-hoof animal imports from Lebanon-Daily
Star
France,
Italy ready to send observers for polls-Daily
Star
MPs mull
scrapping councils for planning ministry-Daily
Star
Maronite
church threatens critics with excommunication-Daily
Star
FBI
keeping 'eyes wide open' for possible Hizbullah attack-Daily
Star
Two
Kenyas two dreams: Which do we want?
By Inter
Press Service
Lebanon's budget deficit in January jumps 27.3 percent year on year-Daily
Star
Leading
Future activist in Bekaa killed in love rivalry-Daily
Star
'No
lipstick in a war zone': Journalist shares insights at AUB-Daily
Star
Aoun...God help us!!
Future News
Date: February 26th, 2009 Source:
We all admit that the political life in Lebanon would have been extremely boring
in the absence of MP Michel Aoun and his political paradoxes.
This man doesn’t leave an occasion to turn around on his earlier stances, at a
speed higher than the speed of sound. His presence became a must for
entertaining and inspiring the caricaturists, as without him the political life
would remain monotonous.
He is the only Lebanese to meet with Pat Robertson, the evangelical priest and
most prominent defender of the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish State,
still, Aoun is asking us to follow his lead behind Mahmud Ahmedinejad to
eradicate Israel.
He was the one to describe the arms of Hezbollah as “Arms of Sedition” then he
proposed arming all the Lebanese to protect the arms of the “Khomeinist”
organization.
He pledged all the Lebanese personalities living in the United States to help
him testify in front of the Foreign Affairs committee at the Congress, and then
asked the Christians to become anti-American and cheer against the “Great
Satan”.
He used to pray days and nights to reactivate the “truce agreement” with Israel,
and now he refuses the return of “Chebaa farms” through political means that
will keep the conflict with Israel alive, but want to liberate them militarily.
When the resolution 1559 came out, he was fond of it and acclaimed it like
nobody did, then turned against it and put the responsibility of it on the
Lebanese.
The most important post in the constitutional institutions is the chair of the
Presidency, and the republic itself is not important unless it serves his needs
and ego.
The most astonishing attitude of his was questioning the way the Lebanese Army
helicopter flew over “Sojod Hill” in Iklim El Tiffah, without demanding an
explanation for killing an officer of the army on the soil of his country.
He said he wishes to be a soldier in the army of Hafez el Assad, and then
declared his famous “war of liberating” Lebanon from the Syrian occupation,
after being disappointed from Damascus not endorsing his candidacy to the
Presidential elections.
He satirized Damascus and Tehran so harshly in the past and here we see him
turning into a hostage of the Iranian-Syrian axis today.
There is no need most likely to open any debate with the General who proved to
be looser in politics as in the army. His credibility is lost and therefore it
is not even worth considering him. What is worth is praying to God to help us
support him and his presence that became a must to add some comics to the
political life in Lebanon.
Interview with Former President
Amin Gemayel
Reuters/26 Feb 2009
Source: Reuters
* Gemayel fears election could be torpedoed
* Sees security concerns hindering campaigning
* Christian vote seen vital
* Closer Iran ties if Hezbollah-led bloc win
By Tom Perry
BEIRUT, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Security fears are obstructing campaigning by
Lebanon's anti-Syrian coalition for a parliamentary election that could easily
be derailed by instability, former president Amin Gemayel said on Thursday.
Gemayel, one of the main Christian leaders in the "March 14" alliance, said he
feared a fragile security situation could be exploited to sabotage the June 7
vote. The election is expected to be a tight race between Gemayel's anti-Syrian
majority bloc and a pro-Damascus alliance led by the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
"We are determined that the elections happen as scheduled. But I am not certain
of that because I fear that any faction which is damaged by the elections will
torpedo them," Gemayel said in an interview.
"The country is in a very precarious situation and therefore it is possible for
a player that is set on torpedoing the elections to succeed in that, even if by
spilling the blood of innocents."
Gemayel did not say whose interest would be served by a postponement of the
election.
The March 14 alliance, which enjoys the support of the United States and Saudi
Arabia, is billing the election as of historic importance to a country split
over fundamental issues, including its approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict and
foreign alliances.
Syria's opponents in Lebanon won their majority in 2005 elections following the
assassination of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri. The vote marked the end
of an era of Syrian control of Lebanon.
The outcome of this year's election for the 128-seat parliament is expected to
be determined by just a handful of seats. Parliament is divided according to a
sectarian power-sharing system and competition is most heated in the deeply
divided Christian community.
SON, NEPHEW TO RUN
"The Christian areas will determine the result of the elections," said Gemayel,
whose Phalange Party is looking to win seats from Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic
Movement in Christian areas including the Metn district, north of Beirut.
Aoun, head of the biggest Christian bloc in parliament, struck an alliance with
Hezbollah in 2006 that underlined divisions among Lebanon's once dominant
Christians.
Underlining tensions in Christian areas, two explosive devices were found
recently outside Phalange offices.
"It is clear that pressures have been applied on a certain group of Lebanese
since 2005. Nothing changed," said Gemayel, whose son was a victim of an
assassination campaign targeting anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians.
Pierre Gemayel was a government minister when he was shot dead in November 2006.
Sami Gemayel, Amin's remaining son, and Nadim Gemayel, his nephew, aim to
continue the family's political dynasty by running in the June vote.
Gemayel said security concerns were handicapping campaigning. "We are
continuously receiving signals indicating that there are direct threats against
some candidates," he said.
"Of course this affects the electoral campaign," he said, adding that the
Phalange still expected to win the seats it was contesting. The party's
electoral strength has been boosted by an alliance with Christian heavyweight
Michel al-Murr.
Victory for the Hezbollah-led alliance in the election would mean even closer
ties to Iran and its Islamist government, Gemayel said. "It is regrettable that
some Lebanese, such as General Aoun and others, have not understood this," he
said.
Hezbollah's powerful arsenal is one of the issues at the heart of political
divisions in Lebanon. Describing Hezbollah as the "maestro" of the minority
alliance, Gemayel said: "There is no opposition. There is only Hezbollah."
Were Hezbollah and its allies to clinch a majority in parliament, Gemayel said
he feared he and his allies would be mere spectators in a national unity
government proposed by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
The rival alliances currently share seats in a national unity cabinet, which
Gemayel described as a "bitter experience".
"If this matter is proposed to us, we must be convinced of its benefit. Until
now, I am not convinced," Gemayel said.
(Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
One Wounded in Clash between Rival Factions in Shekka
Naharnet/News reports said one person was wounded in an overnight clash between
the rival Marada and Lebanese Forces (LF) groups.
The state-run National News Agency said an argument in the coastal town of
Shekka in the north developed into a fight and exchange of gunfire.
It said police and army troops stepped in and dispersed the crowd. The daily An
Nahar, however, said a fistfight broke out when Marada gunmen tried to carry out
a provocative raid on an LF position in Shekka. It said Marada gunmen also set
up a checkpoint on the Shekka seaside road, stopping motorists and searching
cars. Pedestrians were also frisked, according to An Nahar. It said heavy
gunfire could be heard around 11:00 pm Wednesday before security forces
intervened and returned the situation to normal. Beirut, 26 Feb 09, 07:35
Ban: Courtroom Will be Ready for Use at Beginning of 2010
Naharnet/U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said the courtroom at The Hague, where suspects
in the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri would be tried, will be
ready for use by the beginning of 2010. Ban stressed, however, in his third
report on procedures regarding implementation of U.N. Security Council
Resolution 1757, that security measures around the international tribunal's
courtroom building would be completed early next month. Excerpts from his report
were published Thursday by some Lebanese newspapers. The full Ban report is set
to be released Feb. 28. Ban emphasized he would "only" announce names of judges
presiding over the Hariri trial when all necessary security measures to protect
them had been completed. He said that adoption of such measures is the key point
to the success of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Beirut, 26 Feb 09, 09:02
Najjar to the Tribunal: Lebanon Awaits Justice from You
Naharnet/Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar said Thursday that the Lebanese
judiciary will comply with every measure taken by the international tribunal
adding Lebanon is awaiting justice from the court. "The Lebanese judicial
authority agreed to hand over all documents in the Hariri murder case and
detainees to the tribunal," Najjar unveiled in a press conference. "We do not
want any party to interfere with judicial decisions" of the court that will try
ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's suspected assassins, he said. "Lebanon awaits justice
from you," he said in a letter addressed to the tribunal which will start
operating on Sunday. "Our future depends on the battle you wage in the face of
crime and the lack of consciousness that threatens regional and international
peace," Najjar said. He said the transfer of the suspects and files depend on a
decision made by the pre-trial judge and based upon the request of the
prosecutor general. "All Lebanon with all its sects and parties receives with
trust the news of the beginning of the court's work as decided by the U.N.
Secretary-General and Security Council," Najjar said during the press
conference. He said there was no political reason behind Wednesday's release of
three suspects who were held in connection with Hariri's Feb. 2005 murder. The
continued arrest of four former security generals is a "judicial matter,"
according to Najjar. Beirut, 26 Feb 09, 12:29
MP Franjieh: March 8 Forces Passing Through Difficult Times
Naharnet/MP Samir Franjieh said that March 8 Forces are passing through a
difficult time due to on-going regional changes, particularly following the Gaza
war and the Saudi-Syrian rapprochement coupled with Syrian openness to the U.S.
Franjieh added that March 8 Forces are attempting to find a way to re-position
itself.
"This explains the harsh statements made by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri,"
Franjieh said. He went on to say: "the fear that the spring elections won't take
place is real because the 'Aounist phenomenon' has failed, and this places March
8 Forces in a very difficult stance."He added that President Michel Suleiman
would succeed in cooling matters between Parliament Speaker Berri and Prime
Minister Fouad Saniora. "The difference today is larger than that of the budget
and the Council of the South," Franjieh said. Beirut, 26 Feb 09, 13:55
U.S.: Lebanon's Rights Record Poor as a Result of Violence,
Unlawful Killings
Naharnet/The U.S. State Department said Wednesday that human rights conditions
deteriorated last year as a result of unlawful killings by "militant groups" and
internal strife along confessional divides. "The government or its agents did
not commit any politically motivated killings; however, militant groups killed
civilians during the year in connection with the May 7-21 conflict and other
internal sectarian clashes," the department said in its annual report to
Congress on human rights around the globe.
"Internal strife along confessional divides and between the government majority
and the opposition continued to plague the country throughout the year, and
militant groups committed violence against political figures and government
institutions," it said.
Despite the deployment of the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers in south
Lebanon, Hizbullah retained significant influence over parts of the country, and
the government made no tangible progress towards disbanding and disarming armed
militias, according to the State Department. The lengthy report pointed out that
"military intelligence personnel made arrests without warrants in cases
involving military personnel and those involving espionage, treason, weapons
possession, and draft evasion." According to Internal Security Forces
statistics, of the 4,686 persons held in prison, 2,780 had not been convicted of
crimes, it said.
On torture, the report said that security forces abused detainees and in some
instances used torture, adding that non-governmental organizations, including
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reported that torture was common.
Similar to last year's report, the department said prisons did not meet minimum
international standards because they were overcrowded, and sanitary conditions,
particularly in the women's prison, were very poor. It also said that the
government suffered from corruption and a lack of transparency and the
Department reported limitations on freedom of movement for unregistered
refugees, and widespread, systematic discrimination against Palestinian
refugees. The report, however, hailed the government's general respect for
freedom of speech and of the press, although journalists continued to feel
intimidation, compounded by the May 2008 clashes between Hizbullah members and
Mustaqbal supporters. On the cabinet's approval to increase the minimum wage,
the Department said: "On September 9, the government approved an increase in the
legal minimum wage from 300,000 pounds ($200) to 500,000 pounds ($330) per
month, the first increase since 1996; however, despite the increase, it was
difficult to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family with
the minimum wage." Beirut, 26 Feb 09, 08:25
Haaretz: Iran Getting More Involved in Hizbullah Operations to Fill the Gap
Naharnet/Iran is increasing its involvement and control of Hizbullah's
operations since military commander Imad Mughniyeh was killed a year ago, the
Israeli daily Haaretz reported Thursday. It quoted senior Israeli defense
officials as saying that Mughniyeh's assassination in a Damascus car bombing in
February last year left a large gap in the party's leadership, adding that
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah "is now stuck dealing with operational
matters he never handled in the past."
"Hizbullah has not yet found someone of similar stature to replace Mughniyeh.
Therefore, the Iranians have taken some responsibility for Hizbullah operations,
using a large number of Iranian Revolutionary Guard and intelligence officers in
Lebanon," the newspaper said. "This means operational cooperation between Iran,
Syria and Hizbullah has increased regarding all potential actions against
Israel. Iranian officers, most of whom prefer to be based in Syria, often visit
Lebanon and tour the Israeli border," the daily added. The Iranians are directly
involved in running Hizbullah operations in southern Lebanon, and hundreds of
the Shiite group's fighters travel to Iran every month for training, according
to Haaretz. About last Saturday's rocket attack from southern Lebanon, Haaretz
said the rocket that struck a western Galilee village was most likely fired by
the extremist Sunni organization Osbat al-Ansar.
The organization considers Hizbullah a major rival, and Saturday's rockets were
fired without the Shiite group's approval, the daily said.
However, it said Hizbullah gave its approval for the firing of rockets on
northern Israel by Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine-General Command during the Jewish state's offensive on the Gaza Strip
last month. Haaretz said Israel sent a severe warning to the Lebanese government
via UNIFIL and foreign diplomats after last Saturday's incident. The Jewish
state reportedly informed the Lebanese government that it expects the army and
the cabinet to take action against Osbat al-Ansar the same way they dealt with
Fatah al-Islam in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp almost two years
ago. Beirut, 26 Feb 09, 09:37
Skaff: Majority Strives to Win Polls to Naturalize
Palestinians
Naharnet/Agriculture Minister Elias Skaff warned on Thursday that the March 14
forces will naturalize Palestinian refugees in Lebanon if they win the upcoming
parliamentary elections. "The current plans of the majority are to guarantee
absolute majority (in parliament) … to naturalize the Palestinians in Lebanon,"
Skaff told activists of his Popular bloc working on the June 7 election
campaign. "The battle in (the eastern city of) Zahle is that of existence
because some are trying to eliminate our existence by pushing some members of
our family to announce their candidacies," he said. He said the March 14 forces
are adopting "political tactics" that aim at weakening "the word of united Zahle."
"Our aim is to unify the citizens of the city and consolidate coexistence," the
minister added. Beirut, 26 Feb 09, 13:58
Jezzini Denies Convicted Men Entered Lebanon Without Being
Arrested
Naharnet/The head of the General Security Department Maj. Gen. Wafiq Jezzini has
denied reports on the arrival of two convicted Lebanese without being arrested.
An Nahar newspaper on Wednesday said two Lebanese men convicted in absentia –
including the brother of Brig. Gen. Mustafa Hamdan who is in police custody
since 2005 on charges of involvement in the assassination of former PM Rafik
Hariri – have arrived in Beirut via Damascus without being arrested. Jezzini
said the news article aimed at "targeting" the General Security Department. He
said the convicted men most likely came into Lebanon via illegal crossings. An
Nahar had said that Hamdan's brother, Majed, and Walid Zaghloul arrived in a
Mercedes-Benz at the Masnaa border crossing on Feb.1. It said the two men
stepped out of the Mercedes and got into a waiting car with tinted windows
without being arrested. They were accompanied by two escort vehicles, according
to An Nahar, to the Bekaa town of Chtaura where cars were swapped for camouflage
cover. Hamdan and Zaghloul are convicted in absentia for possession of arms,
buying military equipment and attempts to undermine state authority. An Nahar
said one of the two men is wanted by INTERPOL. The daily said the men's arrival
had been arranged in advance between Syrian security services and local Lebanese
circles, which facilitated their safe entry. It quoted witnesses as saying that
the motorcade headed to Beirut where Hamdan and Zaghloul got into a hotel amidst
heavy security mounted by party members. Beirut, 26 Feb 09, 09:30
Gemayel: Party That Wins Metn Poll Wins Parliamentary
Majority
Naharnet/Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel said the party that wins the Metn
poll would win the whole election and get the parliamentary majority.
In an interview with the daily Al Akhbar published Thursday, Gemayel uncovered
that an agreement for an equal share in Metn has so far been reached between him
and MP Michel Murr, his ally in elections. Gemayel said his Maronite share would
go to his son, Sami who is in charge with negotiations with Murr, while the
other to former Phalange Party chief Elie Karami, a Catholic. He revealed that
the other seats would be left for his allies in the March 14 coalition.
Gemayel warned that in the event of failure to reach agreement with the Armenian
Tashnag Party, he would be forced to form a new coalition list, adding that this
possibility is under consideration with Murr. He pointed out that his allies in
the constituencies are "the ones who need the Phalange Party more than we need
them." Beirut, 26 Feb 09, 10:09
Solana: Lebanese Authorities Must Find Those Responsible for Firing Rockets
Naharnet/EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana expressed worries over the
Katyusha attacks from southern Lebanon on Israel and said Lebanese authorities
must find those responsible for these assaults. Solana also expressed hope in an
interview with the daily An Nahar published Thursday that the upcoming
parliamentary elections would be "free and fair."He stressed that signing a
partnership between the EU and Syria does not contradict with the presence of
deepening partnership with Lebanon.
Beirut, 26 Feb 09, 11:08
On not debating Christopher Hitchens
By Michael Young
Daily Star staff
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Much attention was paid last week to the run-in the British-American author and
journalist Christopher Hitchens had with followers of the Syrian Social
Nationalist Party in Hamra Street. However, a far more interesting aspect of his
visit was a lecture at the American University of Beirut, which if it told us
something about Hitchens himself, told us a great deal more about the university
and its students.
Hitchens' talk was titled "Who are the Revolutionaries in Today's Middle East?"
In fact, the author focused on historical ironies, among them the irony of
seeing "the old reds" of the Iraqi Kurdish parties being welcomed at Blair House
in Washington by President George W. Bush, after he had helped them overthrow
Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime in Baghdad. Iraq figured prominently in
Hitchens' presentation - the removal of a genocidal leadership that had, for
decades, beleaguered its own people. "Could there have been any greater
degradation for Iraq," he asked, "than of being under the control of a
psychopathic family?"
For Hitchens, the eviction of Saddam Hussein was a revolutionary moment, one
that he, as a radical, could hold up with satisfaction to express his approval
of Bush's actions in Iraq. It was often those on the left, he continued,
particularly the communists, who seemed to best appreciate that essential moment
in modern Middle Eastern history, perhaps because they had a sense of history's
contradictions, therefore its ironies. As Hitchens put it, "It seems that only
those who opposed America during the Cold War could understand its liberating
qualities in the post-Cold War period."
Here was a bold challenge to the left, asking what it meant to be of the left,
to be an internationalist in the defense of universal liberal values. Hitchens'
critics have often labeled him a "neoconservative" for his defense of the
American war in Iraq - in that way showing as trivial an understanding of the
man as of neoconservatism as of the broader debate inside the left on how to
uphold universalist principles. The question that the left has had to grapple
with in recent years, even before the Iraq war, is a simple one: If a tyrannical
leader is abusing his own people, is it the duty of the left to confront him in
all ways possible, including force, because that may be the only course open in
defending human rights and human liberty, even if this requires depending on the
United States for its success?
Hitchens is one of the few public intellectuals in the West who has rarely
fallen into self-referential terms when answering that question. When he
justified the Iraq war, as he continues to, he usually did so from the
perspective of the victims, not to score debating points in Washington or New
York. That's why the negative reaction to Hitchens' lecture at the AUB was so
revealing, and so demoralizing. You could distil his argument down to one
sentence: The Arab world is better off without Saddam Hussein, and the US,
alongside the true "Arab revolutionaries", is responsible for this outcome.
Instead of addressing that point, many in the audience resorted to the oldest of
rhetorical subterfuges: When you don't like an argument, change the subject;
which only tended to show how we in the region seem incapable of engaging in
constructive self-doubt about our own affairs.
The dissent against Hitchens could be bunched into two broad categories: You're
talking about Iraq, but we want to talk about the United States and its
hypocrisy and perfidy; or, You're talking about Iraq, Hitchens, but we really
want to talk about Palestine and what Israel is doing to the Palestinians. How
ironic it was, since we're into historical irony, that during the 1990s, when
the Clinton administration was fully engaged in mediating the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict, its critics would impulsively point to Iraq, and
the sanctions regime there, to illustrate America's iniquities. Once again, it
was a case of shifting the goalposts to feed a cretinous form of
anti-Americanism. No less ironic was that Hitchens (few in the audience bothered
to learn) has long defended the Palestinian cause, and co-edited with Edward
Said a book on the Palestinians titled "Blaming the Victims."
It would have been nice to be able to extract worthy nuggets from what was, at
times, an acrimonious session with Hitchens. However, those objecting to his
endorsement of America's regional role, in Iraq but also in Lebanon, left little
to remember, except for a third irony: that their statements were offered in the
confines of the American University of Beirut, a living example of the
complexity of the historical American conversation with the Arab world. In its
own way, the AUB was as much a consequence of America's confidence in the
universalism of its liberal values as was the Iraq war, though we can endlessly
debate how the results greatly differed.
Hitchens' critics failed to catch this incongruity. If you can embrace America's
educational mission as a byproduct of the spread of universal liberal values,
then what makes the forcible removal of a mass murderer from power in the name
of those same values so condemnable? The critics would respond that the US did
not remove Saddam in defense of such values, but only to advance its own
interests; yet that only invites a more pressing question: Why do the Arabs so
often allow themselves to be defined by America's actions? Did America's assumed
insincerity in Iraq prevent the Arabs, particularly Arab liberals, from
welcoming the defeat of the Baath as a historic event in and of itself for the
Arab world, without their having to preoccupy themselves with the instrument of
that removal? In other words, haven't too many Arabs, in getting hung up on the
US, on the messenger, completely missed the message that Iraq is no longer a
dictatorship, and that this can only benefit Arabs in general?
The recent death of David Dodge, a former president of the AUB, came and went
with very little notice from most Lebanese. That was a poignant reminder of how
marginal the university (which happens to be my own much-appreciated alma mater)
has become in Lebanon's intellectual life. The AUB has been through difficult
years, but the worst wounds are frequently self-inflicted. Christopher Hitchens
offered his listeners an opportunity to look differently at the momentous
changes in their region, but all that many of them could do was launch the most
spineless and confining of ripostes, telling him it was really he who had to
look at himself.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR.