At this crucial juncture of this Nation’s history, the Council of Lebanese American Organizations (CLAO) salutes our valiant Troops and Leadership, embodied ultimately by our Commander in Chief,
President George W. Bush. Our Nation, young by many standards, continues to dare itself in the face of adversity, choosing Right over Wrong, Principle over Convenience and above all continues to travel the path of integrity where there is never a wrong time to do the right thing.
It is with great pride that we express our admiration for the United States campaign against the totalitarian regimes that have long exploited and oppressed the population of the Middle East.
We pray for a quick and decisive victory for our Forces and for their success in a genuine effort to minimize collateral damage and to ease the suffering of the civilians caught in the crossfire.
We pray for the Almighty to guide and inspire our leadership with the wisdom and resolve to achieve the ultimate campaign objective of establishing democratic regimes, restore human rights and ultimately empower the people to shed their shackles and free themselves from obsession with archaic standards of interpreting history and religion in justification for unconscionable acts of violence against humanity.
We pledge our support for our Government and Military for their unwavering stand in affecting permanent and positive change by impressing on the remaining totalitarian regimes of the region, most notably the Syrian Regime, that the day of reckoning has come for all forms of oppression and hegemony that it exercises on its own People as well as neighboring Syrian-occupied Lebanon. Syria has labored incessantly to fashion a puppet Lebanese regime in its own totalitarian image ever since it succeeded in toppling the legal and legitimate government of Prime Minister Gen Michel Aoun in Oct 1990.
It is high time for Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights to prevail in a Middle East marred by conflict and hatred. UN Resolution 1441 ushers an new era of freedom for the People of IRAQ and equally significant for democracy in the region would be the restoration of true Lebanese democracy by affecting the withdrawal of Syrian Forces, their Secret Service operatives and their armed proxies as called for by UN Resolution 520.
In conclusion, there are no better words to describe the true character of our great Nation than those of the Late President John F. Kennedy:
“Let every Nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of freedom” President John F. Kennedy 1961.