LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
February 25/08
Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to
Saint John 4,5-42.
So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob
had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there. Jesus, tired from his
journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon. A woman of Samaria
came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." His disciples had gone
into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, "How can you, a Jew,
ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" (For Jews use nothing in common with
Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God and
who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would
have given you living water." (The woman) said to him, "Sir, you do not even
have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from
it himself with his children and his flocks?"
Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty
again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I
shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The
woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or
have to keep coming here to draw water." Jesus said to her, "Go call your
husband and come back." The woman answered and said to him, "I do not have a
husband." Jesus answered her, "You are right in saying, 'I do not have a
husband.' For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your
husband. What you have said is true." The woman said to him, "Sir, I can see
that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people
say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem."Jesus said to her, "Believe me,
woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this
mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we
worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is
coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit
and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is
Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth."
The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the
Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything." Jesus said to her, "I am
he, the one who is speaking with you."
At that moment his disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking with
a woman, but still no one said, "What are you looking for?" or "Why are you
talking with her?"The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said
to the people, Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he
possibly be the Messiah? They went out of the town and came to him. Meanwhile,
the disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat." But he said to them, "I have food to eat
of which you do not know." So the disciples said to one another, "Could someone
have brought him something to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the
will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, 'In four
months the harvest will be here'? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe
for the harvest. The reaper is already receiving his payment and gathering crops
for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. For here
the saying is verified that 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap
what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the
fruits of their work." Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in
him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me everything I
have done."When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them;
and he stayed there two days. Many more began to believe in him because of his
word, and they said to the woman, "We no longer believe because of your word;
for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of
the world."
Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Imad Mughniyeh:
Earthly and Heavenly Perspectives. By: Mshari Al-Zaydi.
Asharq Al-Awsat. 24/02/08
Road to Syria runs through Washington- Jerusalem Post
24/02/08
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for February 24/08
6 Wounded in Clashes
between Lebanese Forces, SSNP-Naharnet
Moussa in Fresh Effort to Try to Solve Lebanon Presidential
Crisis-Naharnet
Henry Helou Criticizes Nasrallah's 'Grave' Rejection of the
International Tribunal-Naharnet
Safadi Takes Part in
Arab Gas Pipeline Meeting in Damascus-Naharnet
Mubarak: Arab Proposal
to End Lebanon Crisis is Only Initiative-Naharnet
26 Years Later, Lebanese Woman Still
Battle for Truth on Missing Son-Naharnet
Arab Mobilization
Against Syria, Allies-Naharnet
Lebanon on Total Chaos Track-Naharnet
Olmert to Discuss Iran
on Rare Japan Visit-Naharnet
Ahmadinejad : U.N. Resolutions Pointless-Naharnet
Six Powers to Meet Monday on Iran Nuclear
Program-Naharnet
Tourist-less Lebanon?Kuwait Times
Saudis pull out 18b riyals in investment from Lebanon-GulfNews
Siniora warns Israel: Lebanon is one united front if attacked-Ya
Libnan
Hezbollah Leader Vows to Avenge Death of Top Commander-Voice of
America
Premier Saniora Telephones Egyptian President-Naharnet
Mubarak Discusses Lebanon with Saudi King Abdullah-Naharnet
Mughniyeh founded Mehdi Army, God's Revenge-Naharnet
Mubarak to visit Saudi in run-up to Arab summit-AFP
From Lebanon with Hate-Dissident
Voice - Santa Rosa,CA,USA
US : UN resolution to end Lebanon crises remains an option open-Ya
Libnan
Syria, Egypt agree to begin gas transfer from March-Trading
Markets (press release)
Turkey Says as Many as 79 PKK Rebels Killed in Iraq-Bloomberg
Helou critical of Hezbollah's rejection of the Hariri Tribunal-Ya
Libnan
Mughniyeh's martyrdom, a path for final triumph: Hezbollah
...ISNA, Iran
LEBANON: Frightening festival of gunfire-Los Angeles Times
Siniora warns Israel: Lebanon
is one united front if attacked
Sunday, 24 February, 2008
http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2008/02/siniora_warns_i.php
Beirut- Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said that the presence of the President of
the Republic of Lebanon at the Arab summit is necessary. He asked : "How could
the Arab summit be held with Lebanon’s seat empty?
He added : “ I think this is not acceptable of the Arabs nor will the Lebanese
accept such as scenario "
Lebanon has been without a president since November 23 , 2007 and the ruling
majority has accused Syria of blocking the vote for a new president . The Arab
summit in Damascus is for the heads of Arab states.
Siniora emphasized his support for the Arab initiative and considers it the only
serious initiative under consideration , and “we must all strive our best to
implement it." he said
Siniora, in an interview with the German Deutsche Velle Channel at the end of
his talks in the German capital Berlin with Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign
Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier said: "It should be perfectly clear that we
consider Israel an enemy, and any act of aggression by Israel will be confronted
with a unified Lebanese front that will defend Lebanon against Israel “Siniora warned : “Israel should know that any adventure against Lebanon will not
be a picnic at all, because whatever the differences between the Lebanese , once
we are attacked we become one body. "
He added: "Israel must draw lessons from the past experiences of the wars
against Lebanon … it consistently failed to achieve its goals . Lebanon may be
too small a country , but too big to be undermined or swallowed "
Siniora expressed his belief that the time has come for Israel to realize that a
just and comprehensive peace in the region is the only solution and should
therefore withdraw from all the areas they occupied and agree to a just solution
for the Palestinian problem.
in an another interview with al Arabiyeh , the prime minister pointed out that
“Lebanese society is diverse by nature and we do have different opinions but
this should not prevent us from sitting down and talking to one another "Siniora also pointed out : "We did not get Syria out of Lebanon replace it with
the French or the Americans". This was in reference to the attacks by Hezbollah
leader Hassan Nasrallah accusing the majority of siding with the west
Siniora also stressed that the "sectarian conflict is the worst thing that could
happen to Lebanon. " This was in reference to the talks about a civil war
involving the Muslim Sunnites and Muslim Shiites "Siniora believes that adhering to the Taef accord is the answer to the Lebanon
crises . This was in reference to the demand by Hezbollah to have one third
share in the government . According to the Taef accord the government should be
equally divided by the Christians ( all sects ) and Muslims ( all sects )
Mubarak: Arab Proposal to End Lebanon Crisis
is Only Initiative
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in an interview published Sunday that an
Arab plan to end Lebanon's political crisis was the "only initiative following
the failure of several initiatives."He said Saudi-Egyptian relations constitute
the pillar of the joint Arab work.
"The Arab League constitutes an umbrella for the joint Arab work, and there is
no way for the Arabs but to enhance their solidarity for confronting the
challenges and crises," Mubarak told al Riyadh newspaper.He also hoped that
Palestinians and Israelis would reach a peace agreement this year and expressed
sorrow over the deteriorating situation in Palestine and the dispute pitting the
mainstream Fatah group and Hamas, saying the conflict "will have an adverse
impact on the Palestinian cause."Mubarak's remarks came on the eve of a visit to
Saudi Arabia on Sunday for talks with King Abdullah on an Arab summit to be held
in Damascus next month. Oil powerhouse Saudi Arabia, which hosted the annual
summit in 2007, has not yet received a formal invitation from Syria to attend
the March 29-30 forum amid tension between the two countries over Lebanon's
presidential crisis. Mubarak, who received his invitation from Damascus earlier
this month, will also discuss with King Abdullah the crisis in Lebanon, which
has been without a president since November amid feuding between parliamentarian
majority and an opposition supported by Syria and Iran.
"There is a crisis in ties with the Syrian government, with Lebanon the main
reason," a Saudi official told AFP, asking not to be named.
"Damascus has not joined in efforts, including the Arab initiative, to elect a
consensus president" in its smaller neighbor to the west, a Saudi official told
AFP on condition of anonymity. The Arab League plan calls for the election of
army chief General Michel Suleiman as consensus president, the formation of a
national unity government in which no single party has veto power, and a new
electoral law. Despite agreement on Suleiman, feuding Lebanese politicians have
failed to agree on power-sharing in a future government. Arab analysts and
recent media reports have suggested that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab
countries may boycott the Damascus summit or send low-level
delegates.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 24 Feb 08, 14:57
Moussa in Fresh Effort to Try to Solve Lebanon
Presidential Crisis
Naharnet/Arab League chief Amr Moussa is expected to arrive in Beirut on Sunday
in a fresh effort to try to solve the prolonged presidential crisis in Lebanon.
Arab diplomatic sources, however, said Moussa's visit could only last a few
hours if a meeting between the rival political factions was not fruitful.
Moussa told the daily Asharq al-Awsat he "will pick up talks with the Lebanese
sides where we left off," pointing to the difficulties in finding a settlement
to the Lebanon crisis. Meanwhile, sources with the pro-government majority March
14 alliance said MP Saad Hariri was likely not to participate in the quartet
talks to take place later Sunday. The sources said Hariri, in Saudi Arabia since
the past few days, was already committed to meetings in Riyadh. They said
the majority will be represented at the Moussa-sponsored meeting by former
President Amin Gemayel. The state-run National News Agency, however, said in a
short report that Hariri returned to Beirut on Sunday. Moussa was expected to
return to Beirut on Friday, but postponed his trip after efforts by his
assistant Hisham Youssef failed to reach a settlement to the presidential
crisis. Beirut, 24 Feb 08, 08:56
6 Wounded in Clashes between Lebanese Forces, SSNP
Naharnet/Six people were wounded in overnight clashes between Samir Geagea's
Lebanese Forces and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party in north Lebanon,
security sources said Sunday. They said the clash with sticks in the town of
Deddeh in the northern Koura province soon degenerated into exchanges of gunfire
that left six people wounded. Lebanese army troops and policemen stepped in and
contained the fight. Lebanese Forces sources said the clash broke out when
members of the SSNP attacked an LF office in Deddeh, damaging a sign. Beirut, 24
Feb 08, 11:01
26 Years Later, Lebanese Woman Still Battle for
Truth on Missing Son
Mariam Saidi spends her days creating clay busts of her beloved son who vanished
without a trace 26 years ago, aged only 16, in the midst of the savage civil war
which tore through Lebanon. Sitting in her little apartment on the outskirts of
Beirut, the mother of five clutches a faded photograph of Maher Kassir and
recalls how he disappeared after becoming embroiled in the sectarian violence
which blighted the country.
Maher is only one of an estimated 17,000 people who vanished during the brutal
1975-1990 conflict which claimed the lives of more than 150,000 at the hands of
Lebanese militias or the Syrian and Israeli armies. For this 59-year-old Shiite,
the civil war has still not truly ended and all she can do now is sit in her
home in the popular Sfeir district and pray that one day she will discover what
happened to her boy.
Maher had joined the fight against Israeli forces which entered Lebanon and on
June 17, 1982, he was barricaded in a science university building alongside
other communist party fighters. The building, also in the Sfeir district, was
attacked by Israeli troops, backed by Lebanese Christian militants and her son
was captured, Saidi said. "They were arrested and transported to a jail
controlled by Lebanese forces. Since then, I have heard nothing," said the
seamstress who has suffered crippling depression since the 2006 conflict between
Israel and Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which has left her unable
to work.
She proudly showed one of the last photos taken of her son, in which he poses
with a Kalashnikov rifle.
"The Lebanese government is not interested in discovering his fate because many
of the people implicated in these disappearances, both government and opposition
people, now have senior jobs," she said, adding her son may have been
transferred to an Israeli prison.
She has tirelessly fought to discover the true fate of her son, and the
thousands of other missing, and is now the deputy head of a group lobbying for
an inquiry into their fate. "The Lebanese government is not ready, either
politically or technically," to launch a serious inquiry into the disappearances
due to the current political deadlock which has gripped the country for several
months, said Wadih al-Asmar, secretary general of the Lebanese Centre for Human
Rights (LCHR).
Lebanon has been hit by the most serious crisis since the civil war after former
president Emile Lahoud stepped down on November 23 and feuding political
factions have been unable to agree on the election of a successor.
Lebanon does not really want Syria to "open its archives because that would
reveal the true level of collaboration" between Beirut and Damascus, which was
the dominant power in Lebanon for 29 years, until 2005. A commission was
launched after the war but has not released any meaningful results with even the
number of mass graves remaining a mystery, according to the LCHR. It is this
inaction from the commission which has inspired NGOs and human rights groups to
lobby for an international inquiry into the fate of the disappeared. These calls
have gone unheeded, sparking protests from the families of the missing,
including a three-year sit-in outside the UN headquarters in Beirut by the
mothers of vanished people. Nadim Houry, from New York-based Human Rights Watch,
said that after the savage sectarian violence which shattered the country during
the war, the Lebanese people wanted simply to turn a page and leave the violence
behind. It was a "survival instinct," he said, adding the country was still not
ready to confront its demons.
He said it was crucial that progress is made to resolve the issue, particularly
while the spectre of a new civil war looms large, and people remain divided into
pro-Western and pro-Iranian and pro-Syrian factions. Despite the political
tensions which threaten to plunge Lebanon into a new war, Saidi is still
positive that things will improve, and she clings desperately to the hope she
will one day learn the truth about her son.(AFP) Beirut, 24 Feb 08, 12:02
Saudis pull out 18b riyals in investment from Lebanon
By Mariam Al Hakeem, Correspondent
Published: February 24, 2008, 01:13
Riyadh: Businessmen have revealed that Saudi investments worth more than 18
billion Saudi riyals have been withdrawn from Lebanon.
At the same time, the number of Lebanese been recruited to work in the kingdom
has also come down, they said in a statement.
"During the past couple of years, Saudi investments worth more than 18 billion
riyals have been withdrawn from Lebanon," said Abdul Mohsen Al Hokair, head of
the Saudi side at the Saudi-Lebanese Business Council.
He attributed this to what he called "the fallback in the confidence of the
future of the Lebanese economy" following the escalation of the political crisis
and lack of security. He noted that the deteriorating situation in Lebanon has
caused frustration among investors.
Realty projects
Sa'ad Al Rusayes, member of the board of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (RCCI), said that the demand for Lebanon's real estate by Saudis is
very low, adding that despite this there is no offers for selling these real
estate projects owned by Saudis.
"Saudis are not selling their real estate projects in Lebanon as they are
waiting in hope the situation will improve," he said.
Some reports estimate the real estate projects owned by Saudis in Lebanon
amounted to 5.7 billion Saudi riyals. They noted that during the past two years,
the demand for Lebanese luxury housing units by Saudis has declined.
Meanwhile, the number of Lebanese hired by Saudi agencies to work in the kingdom
is going down as well, according to some reports. They noted that Saudis could
not travel to Lebanon to recruit manpower owing to security concerns.
Observers are expecting the number of Saudis travelling to Lebanon to come down
sharply due to the security situation in Lebanon.
'Road to Syria runs through Washington'
By HILARY LEILA KRIEGER, WASHINGTON
Jerusalem Post 24/02/08
As Americans contemplate their political future, a former top Israeli official
came to the nation's capital this week to have his say, too. Former Foreign
Ministry director-general Alon Liel likes what he's hearing from some of the
presidential candidates about a willingness to talk to Syria, with whom he
argued Israel could be engaged in peace talks if it weren't for the objections
of the Bush administration.
Liel, who over the last few years has conducted unofficial talks with
Syrian-American businessman Ibrahim Suleiman, hopes that in the last 10 months
of George W. Bush's presidency - and the presidential campaign - he can
influence people to back his approach.
"I'm sure the bottleneck is here in this city," Liel declared during a speech to
the Washington-based Middle East Institute Thursday, referring to Bush
administration policy to isolate rather than engage Syria. If its objections to
Israeli-Syrian talks were to be dropped, he posited that Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert would seize the opportunity to speak to Israel's long-time foes. "I think
he [Olmert] will jump at it."
Liel himself said he spent some two years, until the Second Lebanon War, meeting
with Suleiman under the auspices of first the Turks and then the Swiss. While
Suleiman was in touch with officials in Damascus about their meetings, the
Foreign Ministry knew of the meetings but would not participate, Liel said,
though both countries have denied the assertion.
Liel said Thursday that they had worked out a framework for an agreement,
including an Israeli handover of the Golan Heights that would be spread out over
up to 15 years and the creation of a park on some of the plateau where Israelis
could enter visa-free. In addition, he said the Syrians wanted Israeli
businesses to continue to operate there. But, he claimed, Syria wanted US
involvement before proceeding with the talks, and Israel could not deliver that
because of American opposition.
Israel has denied such a barrier exists. During a press conference alongside
Bush in Washington in November, Olmert said merely that he "share[d] the same
opinion" with Bush that, "We are not against negotiations with Syria. We would
love to be able to have negotiations with Syria, but that must be based on a
certain reasonable, responsible policy, which is not preformed by Syria for the
time being."
Liel said that whatever signals the Bush administration was sending to Israel on
Syria, its refusal to be a party to negotiations in any case halted the process,
since ultimately what Syria wanted was to talk to the US.
A State Department official said on Friday that, "In addition to an
Israeli-Palestinian settlement and a two-state solution, there does need to be a
broader regional settlement with all of Israel's neighbors, including Syria. But
discussions with Syria are no substitute for what we consider to be the most
important focus - furthering the cause of peace and furthering the development
of a two-state solution with Israel and the Palestinians."
He added that, "The Syrian regime continues to engage in certain activities that
are counterproductive to regional peace. We have repeatedly voiced concern over
these activities, and Syria knows what it must do to improve relations with its
neighbors and the international community."
In his conversations with US congressmen and former officials, Liel said many
have reacted positively and would also like to see a broader policy change under
the next president. Democratic presidential candidates Illinois Sen. Barack
Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton are on record saying they favor
engagement with Syria, a sentiment they touched on at their debate Thursday
night.
Speaking in the context of Iraq, Clinton said, "We need to start diplomatic
efforts immediately, getting the Iranians, the Syrians and others to the table.
It's in their interest, it's in our interest." Obama made a similar, wider point
about Iran, though in the past he has expressed the same views about Syria.
Liel said that while he didn't expect to have an impact on current US policy, it
was important now to reach out to Bush's successors, both Democrats and
Republicans. "We have a feeling that it's easier to catch these people now than
after they're elected," he said.
He also said the window of opportunity might be shutting as Syria continued to
hear negative responses from the Israelis and the Americans.
But David Schenker, director of the Arab Politics Program at the Washington
Institute for Near East Studies, said there was good reason for US caution when
it comes to engaging with the Syrians. "I don't think this administration wants
anything to do with Syria, and rightly so. Everything Syria has done in the last
eight years suggests that Syrians are not interested in seriously pursuing a
peace negotiation."
He pointed to examples including Syria's harboring of terrorists such as
Hizbullah No. 2 Imad Mughniyeh, assassinated this month in Damascus, the
country's support for anti-American attacks in Iraq and its growing ties with
Iran. He noted that the importance of those ties to Syria represented a strong
disincentive for President Bashar Assad to switch to an Israeli-American
alliance. Schenker added that there was a cost to the willingness to engage,
pointing out that Syria received leverage just from the appearance of talks with
Israel. Right now, three years after the Syrians were suspected of being behind
the death of Lebanese leader Rafik Hariri, Syria was looking to evade an
international tribunal on the assassination and saw talks with Israel as a way
to do that.
"It's a tool to alleviate pressures on the regime," he said, casting doubt on
the sincerity of Syria's negotiating a peace deal with Israel.
Liel acknowledged that he could not be "100 percent" certain that Syria was
indeed sincere, but said that his years in contact with Suleiman, and now as the
chairman of the Israel-Syria Peace Society NGO, had convinced him they were
sincere and that, at the very least, Israel should explore the option.
"It's the first time in the history of the country [Israel] that we have an
enemy country saying it wants to talk, on record and in every diplomatic
channel, and we say no," said Liel. "It's not our national policy… this is an
American policy we were dragged into." Schenker, though, warned that even a new
administration - and new approach to Syria - wouldn't necessarily change much.
"It's likely to be just as frustrating," he said. "It'll be difficult to find
much common ground with the Assad regime, regardless of whether the next
administration in Washington is Republican or Democratic
Imad Mughniyeh: Earthly and Heavenly Perspectives
Mshari Al-Zaydi
http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=2&id=11884
24/02/2008
Asharq Al-Awsat
One of the most compelling things about Imad Mughniyeh’s assassination is the
nature of the description and image that various parties use to depict him. For
Hezbollah, Iran, Syria and their supporters in Lebanon, such as followers of
General Aoun, the [Weam] Wahab, [Talal] Arsalan or [Omar] Karami movements,
Mughniyeh is a saintly resistance hero and a symbol of martyrdom and jihad.
However for others, especially in the Gulf region and among some Arabs and
Lebanese, he is a master of plane hijacking, explosions and terrorism. It’s true
that Iran employed Mughniyeh as an instrument to spread terror and panic but he
was also an 'academy' [accomplished mentor] that specialized in generating Shia
movements across various states in the same vein as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the
Mehdi Army in Iraq and the Shia terrorist groups in the Gulf region. In this
regard, we must also refer to his basic role in the Khobar Towers explosions in
Saudi Arabia in 1996.
Hajj Radwan, Mughniyeh’s nomme de guerre, or the Shia fox or the Shia Bin Laden,
are all names that connote conflict not union. This is why it only seems natural
that his assassination would continue this conflict and disunion since he had
dedicated his life and services to serve a vision, project, and course that
constitute a point of contention and conflict in the Arab region, which has been
witnessing a broad and extensive state of transformation in its present and
future.
The Arab region is divided between some parties who seek to transform it into a
land of strife, war, martyrdom and another Karbala, such as illustrated by some
of the slogans raised in the Iranian demonstrations that hailed Lebanon as
'Karbala' following the assassination of Mughniyeh. However, there are also
those who want to head in another direction towards progress, developing the
economy and catching up with the contemporary world. Such a contradiction may be
summarized as: the two cultures [trends] of life and death and it can be used to
describe the conflict between these two visions, such as those of Hezbollah,
Hamas, Iran and Syria on the one hand, and the March 14 Coalition Forces, Egypt
and Saudi Arabia on the other. The latter culture is one that propagates
stability, calm and peace and is against revolutionary trends, suicide
operations and weapons.
This is why Hezbollah, Iran and those that orbit in the same circles should not
expect the world to praise or commemorate Imad Mughniyeh since his life and
efforts – and even his death – reflect the interests of a hostile party, namely
Iran and its supporters. My approach is not one that stems from Sunni-Shia
sectarianism to which I oppose strongly; rather it emerges from a practical
description of reality.
What I am referring to is the audacious manipulation of Khomeini's Iran of all
Shia followers around the world with the intention of attaching them to pure
Iranian interest under holy slogans about al Hussein's blood and the symbolism
of Karbala. Exalted slogans that evoke religious sentiments become provocative
and rebellious and ultimately only serve the interests of the Iranian political
agenda, and moreover do nothing to quell the rebellious groups that are far from
the Iranian territories.
Division among the Arabs has reached unprecedented depths; compliments and
rehashed words about the interests, dreams and objectives of the Arab nation are
useless, as are the tours and statements issued by Amr Moussa [Secretary-General
of the League of Arab States].
So, which Arabs are we referring to? Are they the Arabs of Hezbollah, Iran and
Syria, or the Arabs of Egypt and Saudi Arabia? Is it the procession of Arab
martyrs, bomb devices, the media of martyrdom and the war on America and "death
to the United States"? Or is it about the Arabs for globalization, education and
sustainable development? Are we referring to the Arabs of Dubai or those of the
southern neighborhood [Lebanon]?
We are all suffering a chronic state of division and differences. Regardless of
our position towards his personality or history, when Walid Jumblatt speaks
about the impossibility of coexisting with the culture of Hezbollah, he touches
upon an open wound – notwithstanding the anger that it evokes among Nasrallah's
supporters and the Syrian 'orphans' in Lebanon.
All it takes is tuning into Al-Manar TV, which is affiliated to Hezbollah, to
gauge your feelings and reactions. You will find yourself bombarded by scenes of
martyrs, death, explosions and songs of praise for suicide bombers and other
media tools that are only dedicated to one purpose: to glorify the dead and
persuade the living to seek the same end so that they may share the same fate as
the archetypal martyr: al Hussein. And it goes on and on…
But if you happen to change the channel to any other, even if it were the Disney
Channel you would suddenly feel as if you had just exited a stifling steam room
to an open space with fresh air and scenes of life; a place where death does not
reign.
The culture of Hezbollah that Walid Jumblatt refers to is a death culture – even
if some turbaned members of the party try to convey otherwise. Only a few days
ago, Hezbollah affiliates appeared on Al-Manar saying that the party's martyrs
are the ones responsible for spreading life since the afterlife is eternal!
Notwithstanding their words, the truth is quite different. Based on this
transcendental culture that claims to be founded upon divine vindication and
heavenly purity; this culture that governs Hezbollah is an exception on every
level and is quite different from the rest of the misguided groups that are far
removed from the light of faith and religion.
Among these exceptional characteristics is the lack of any real dependence on
the state and nation since Hezbollah seeks a deeper aim; that is, Islamic unity
under the symbol of the Supreme Guide, bless his holy secret. The party believes
that borders are nothing but mud barriers and that we are all just martyrdom
projects that will only exist until Judgment Day and the advent of the Awaited
Mahdi [the Savior among Shia Muslims].
Indeed, this is the mobilizing culture that drives vital youth to become reduced
to nothing but guns and bombs that heed the direction of Sayyed Nasrallah or
follow the orders of Hajj Radwan. And this is exactly what happens to their
Sunni counterparts who have been recruited as the soldiers of Al-Qaeda and other
Islamic movements that adopt the Salafist Jihadist approaches – they are the
sons of heavens not of this world.
A friend of Imad Mughniyeh's mother told Asharq Al-Awsat (18 February 2008) that
even thought they had succeeded in killing Imad, hundreds who adopt the same
approach would emerge. And although she may have exaggerated the figure, her
prediction rings true. The ceaseless spawning of similar candidates is a defect
and shortcoming and certainly not a reason to praise and rejoice. How could we,
or even Hezbollah and their affiliates, be proud and praise this abundance of
suicide bombers and their mentors?!
The defect, originally, is a defect in culture and mindset. Even if Hezbollah
were to liberate the Shebaa farms and free the prisoners held in Israeli
prisons, it would still not mean that it would shift into becoming a civil party
with a civil ideology and a civil vision. The party will not stop generating
individuals who are obsessed with death and martyrdom since its very structure
is built upon 'resistance', as Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah told the 'understanding'
General Michel Aoun in their second meeting. And yet, the very thing that makes
Nasrallah proud of the nature and essence of his party is precisely what
concerns and alarms us about it.
But this time Hezbollah's leader and the Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary
Guards Corps (IRGC), Mohammad Ali Jaafari have raised the ceiling of their
demands and the party's arms and ideology have now become entangled with Israel.
As such, the aim behind Hezbollah's armament, and therefore its culture and
exceptional nature, is to annihilate Israel!
This is why after the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh; Nasrallah came out to say
that his blood would wipe out Israel. A few days later General Jaafari offered
his condolences and support to Mughniyeh's supporters and said that Hezbollah
would eliminate the Israeli virus “soon” according to Asharq Al-Awsat as
reported by the Iranian Fars News Agency (FNA).
Thus, Hezbollah’s arms and culture will always exist until Israel no longer
exists, which is an impossible objective – just as Hezbollah’s stipulations are
in the Lebanese arena. It is a laborious task not just for the party but for the
entire Lebanese state, let alone Syria, which is a major state and which could
not succeed in eliminating Israel.
“Imad Mughniyeh’s blood means the annihilation of Israel…soon!”
It is true what the great Arab poet Abul Alaa Al-Maari said:
These words are fully loaded with meaning
They mean that we have no brains!