History repeats itself, I said within myself as I was watching the news bulletin: same footage, same suffering and almost same attacker for the same reason. Buildings collapse and people die, cry and flee homes. Children are hurt, mothers weep and parents sob. Maybe no one in the world feel what is happening in Lebanon like Iraqis.
Footage of a destroyed beautiful country like Lebanon reminded me with the same footage I saw in Baghdad but in reality, not on TV. Footage of warplanes bombing and destroying one of the most beautiful cities like Beirut also reminded me with the warplanes that destroyed my lovely Baghdad twice, in 1991 and 2003.
Media broadcasted how Lebanese families are fleeing their homes fearing the aggressive strikes reach them. My God! We went through exactly the same thing in 1991 and 2003 when we had to flee our houses fearing the aggression reach us, Iraqi civilians, which actually did. Many families were left homeless, hopeless and sleepless.
I strongly remember how Baghdad looked after the 1991 aggression. It was scary and gloomy and very sad to see. Nothing was left but rubbles of destroyed infrastructure. Bridges, operators, towers, government buildings, and water and oil projects were all destroyed leaving civilians with no chance to live. Even medicine was banned. Wow! History really repeats itself. Lebanon which survived a long fierce civil war has to suffer again and go through the same destruction which the same attacker took part in creating.
Yesterday, one of the Washington Post articles described how a Lebanese physician was working in his hospital while the voice of Majida al-Roumi soared high. Roumi, one of the most famous and respected Arab singers, was singing "O Beirut, the Lady of the World." "Rise from under the rubble, like a flower of almond in April." I've heard this song several times before the aggression against wounded Beirut took place. When I hear her singing the word "Beirut", I feel she sings for Beirut and Baghdad, the two wounded cities which were ones of the greatest Arab cities. The song reminds me with almost similar song I always listen to, "Baghdad" by a famous Iraqi singer. "Shame on the era of civilization! O what a shame!" he sings. "Does terrifying the people become a medal of honor and pride? Does the killing of the innocents become a slogan of glory and victory?" the singer continues.
I take a bow with full respect to the Lebanese people, brothers and sisters of the Iraqi people. Both will win in the end, not necessarily by weapons but by will, the will of revival despite the hateful aggressions and successive wars. The will of Iraqis that rebuilt their country after the 1991 aggression is the same will which Lebanese people will adopt in rebuilding their country and is the same will Iraqis will restore to revive their country and the smile of its people.
Viva Lebanon… Viva Iraq… Down with any killer of any innocent…
baghdadtreasure@gmail.com
Footage of a destroyed beautiful country like Lebanon reminded me with the same footage I saw in Baghdad but in reality, not on TV. Footage of warplanes bombing and destroying one of the most beautiful cities like Beirut also reminded me with the warplanes that destroyed my lovely Baghdad twice, in 1991 and 2003.
Media broadcasted how Lebanese families are fleeing their homes fearing the aggressive strikes reach them. My God! We went through exactly the same thing in 1991 and 2003 when we had to flee our houses fearing the aggression reach us, Iraqi civilians, which actually did. Many families were left homeless, hopeless and sleepless.
I strongly remember how Baghdad looked after the 1991 aggression. It was scary and gloomy and very sad to see. Nothing was left but rubbles of destroyed infrastructure. Bridges, operators, towers, government buildings, and water and oil projects were all destroyed leaving civilians with no chance to live. Even medicine was banned. Wow! History really repeats itself. Lebanon which survived a long fierce civil war has to suffer again and go through the same destruction which the same attacker took part in creating.
Yesterday, one of the Washington Post articles described how a Lebanese physician was working in his hospital while the voice of Majida al-Roumi soared high. Roumi, one of the most famous and respected Arab singers, was singing "O Beirut, the Lady of the World." "Rise from under the rubble, like a flower of almond in April." I've heard this song several times before the aggression against wounded Beirut took place. When I hear her singing the word "Beirut", I feel she sings for Beirut and Baghdad, the two wounded cities which were ones of the greatest Arab cities. The song reminds me with almost similar song I always listen to, "Baghdad" by a famous Iraqi singer. "Shame on the era of civilization! O what a shame!" he sings. "Does terrifying the people become a medal of honor and pride? Does the killing of the innocents become a slogan of glory and victory?" the singer continues.
I take a bow with full respect to the Lebanese people, brothers and sisters of the Iraqi people. Both will win in the end, not necessarily by weapons but by will, the will of revival despite the hateful aggressions and successive wars. The will of Iraqis that rebuilt their country after the 1991 aggression is the same will which Lebanese people will adopt in rebuilding their country and is the same will Iraqis will restore to revive their country and the smile of its people.
Viva Lebanon… Viva Iraq… Down with any killer of any innocent…
baghdadtreasure@gmail.com
Down with the terrorists!
ReplyDeleteBy the 1991 agression you mean Iraq's invasion and subsequent pillaging of Kuwait, right?
ReplyDeleteThought so.
Great post, BT.
ReplyDeleteHere in Mexico a large Lebanese community lives in peace as well as the Jew community. How can we stop this madness.
ReplyDeleteBT, keep well and safe...
Both the Iraqis and the Lebanese have the problem of dealing with militias which are beyond the control of the elected government. It is one of those militias which has dragged the Lebanon into a war with Israel. There will be no peace until both governments have full control in their own territories, and terrorists of all kinds are suppressed.___The main reason for the Israeli attack on Hizbollah is that they are fed up with the constant rain of rockets and missiles that lands on their towns and villages - not to mention the suicide bombings from which Iraqis also suffer.____The Israeli aim is clearly not to kill civilians (otherwise there would be thousands dead by now) but to completely disable Hizbollah and prevent Syria from sending in any support. Nobody likes the war, but how else are they to defend themselves?
ReplyDeletetreasure,
ReplyDeleteWhen the new war broke in Lebanon, I couldn't help but think along the lines of your post. As one blogger's dad said, "They keep destroying Beirut, and the Lebanese people keep rebuilding it." He reminded me of Iraq. War after war, destruction was followed by rebuilding the destroyed cities.
SÃO PAULO (Reuters) - An eight years old boy is the fifth brazilian citizen to die in Lebanon due to israeli attacks against Hizbollah.
ReplyDelete(...)
The brazilian government, which lamented the deaths, again criticized the israeli offensive.
"Brazil reaffirm it's position in condemning the disproportional militar retaliation by Israel Government which is causing the loss of innocent lives and inflicting heavy damage to the libanese infra-structure, with long term consequences to the civilian population", said an official note from Foreign Relations Ministry.
Past week, four brazilians of the same family -- two children and their parents -- were killed in Srifa, victims of the israeli military actions.
(...)
(By Eduardo Lima)
BT, check these out:
ReplyDeletehttp://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2006/07/17/photo-of-the-day-israeli-kids-sends-gifts-of-love-to-arab-kids/
7ayak oo may barid 3ala gulby.
ReplyDeleteI am so sick of hearing all the world "justification" and "condemnation" and various methods of "rationalisation" it tears me appart that the same was being said when we were being collectively punished.
Another great post. When will the world leaders learn that the solution to our problems is not this kind of violence. Hizbollah fires their pathetiv ineffictive rockets at Israel and they destroy a country. I don't understand how a country that pulled off the Entebee raid can't make a more restrained tactival response to Hizbollah's attacks.
ReplyDeleteDown with the terrorists!
ReplyDeleteYes, down with the terrorists who kill innocent people without punishing the actual enemy. This is cowardice! And yes, down with the terrorists who rape innocent women just because they can't win their war and you know what I mean!!
By the 1991 aggression you mean Iraq's invasion and subsequent pillaging of Kuwait, right?
No, wrong! I was clear enough about the US-led war in 1991 which destroyed the infrastructure of a developed country and left the main enemy-Saddam- playing around unhurt until time comes to oust him. That's what I meant!
Fatima, Fay, and TAI,
Thank you so much. As Arabs, we should support our brothers and sisters in Lebanon in this hard time they are going through. As we stood strong and brave against our enemies in Iraq, we should also help the Lebanese do the same against their enemy which is actually our enemy as well. If we can't do that physically, we should do it by words. Viva Lebanon… Viva Iraq…
Don Cox,
I think you are half right in this. The only difference I see is that the militias in Iraq are killing Iraqis only, while the militias in Lebanon are defending their land. They are the ones who liberated southern Lebanon from the Israeli occupation.
The main reason for the Israeli attack on Hizbollah is that they are fed up with the constant rain of rockets and missiles that lands on their towns and villages
But don't forget the decades of occupation to their lands when hundreds of Lebanese were kidnapped by Israelis and are still in prisons. Hezbollah has the right to get back its people.
The Israeli aim is clearly not to kill civilians
What??????!!!! So far, more than 100 Lebanese civilians were killed. Are these countless?! Haven't you seen the footage and photos of women and children under rubble? Haven't you seen them bleeding in hospitals? Are these fighters. Maybe the Lebanese kid decided to carry a missile instead of his toy and drive a tank instead his baby walker!!!!
Fay,
Yes, Beirut will be built again. It will restore its glory as it did before. It went through horrible times but was able to revive its glory. Iraq will be the same one day when all enemies are defeated.
Anton,
An eight years old boy is the fifth brazilian citizen to die in Lebanon due to israeli attacks against Hizbollah
Please, don't say that! Don Cox will be mad at you. He believes there are no civilians targeted in his friends' attacks on Lebanon.
The BIG US media seems to reluctantly agree that Lebanon is within the US-Israel sphere of influence. SO this means Israel will pound for a while, establish some kind of goals: buffer zone, etc.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking of Heretical Jew's comment. I don't believe the Israel army response is disorganized. I think Israel planned on disrupting the civilian population, perhaps to make more difficult for Hizbollah operations? Floods of refugees this way and that, destroyed social services, etc. All this turmoil was planned, I think. Partially because Hizbollah is effectively sewn into the civilian fabric. I would guess that Israel doesn't believe it will destroy Hizbollah, but probably it beleives it can make a social and physical bufffer that would be much more costly for Hizbollah to penetrate.
The missiles are the treasure to be hunted. Perhaps the social chaos in Lebanon makes it easier for Israeli agents to search for missile evidence. maybe? Really, I don't have any expertise in this..Simply can't believe the Israel attach is unplanned or sloppily carried out. Perhaps they want to goad Hizbollah into revealing themselves..and a chaotic situation will balance the playing field so that Israel can identify their locations more easily. Sort of like the US strategy in urban Iraq to "invite" attacks to identify the attackers and try to get them on the run leaving the scene. Very debatable on the effectiveness of this strategy, I think.
Treasure,
ReplyDeleteYou guys love your terrorists, so I think we should wash our hands of the middle east project. It is never going to be fruitful when even the smartest people (like yourself) hold opinions like yours.
My favorite "final" solution is now:
* Relocate Israel to Texas. Israel has 3% of the land aera of Texas. Only 7 million people. We got 15 million illegal immigrants here already. Won't even notice 7 million out of our now-approaching 300 million population.
* The US should halt middle east oil imports immediately. Only import oil from those countries who agree not to purchase oil from middle east or venezuela. I don't care the short-term economic consequences to us. We will adapt to other fuels, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
Stopping the purchase of oil by the USA will drive world oil prices down to $0.10 per barrel. That should make it more expensive to pump out of the ground than to sell. Which means bankruptcy for everyone that hates us. And, these countries would have to figure out a more difficult way to earn money--one that requires more cooperation among the people. Oil is a perfect industry for dictators and terrorists.
Isn't there a better way to disagree other than with guns and bombs? This doesn't work. After thousands of years of violence, it doesn't work? Look at the photos. It doesn't work. Let's find a new way. Let's get the women to the table.
ReplyDelete6000 rockets launched into Israel after they left southern Lebanon 6 years ago mean nothing.
ReplyDeleteA half dozen soldiers killed and 2 kidnapped inside Israel and taken to Lebanon mean nothing.
It amazing how no Arab is every guilty of harming anyone else, and is never responsible for any violence.
Dear BT,
ReplyDeleteYour comments are even better than your post!!
But I understand this, sometimes comments by readers inspire answers.
For example, I had one moron on my blog ask me why I was bothering writing about Lebanon when my blog is called Truth About Iraqis.
So, I said Listen, for those of you who still think the Middle East is south of Mexico, what happens in one Arab country affects the other. We are Arabs and although our dictators and false god monarchies may hate one another, we rally around each other during times like these.
But I love what you said:
As Arabs, we should support our brothers and sisters in Lebanon in this hard time they are going through. As we stood strong and brave against our enemies in Iraq, we should also help the Lebanese do the same against their enemy which is actually our enemy as well. If we can't do that physically, we should do it by words. Viva Lebanon… Viva Iraq…
Wallah, beautiful, beautiful words.
Furthermore, every Iraqi I have spoken too, even my cousins who recently buried their kin and those who are clamoring to get out of Iraq - all are deeply grieved by what is happening in Lebanon.
It is as if its happening to us again.
I think Israel's aims will seriously backfire as they did in Lebanon before.
The Hezbollah militia (who I personally do not like and do not consider friendly) have killed six Israeli soldiers today and destroyed one tank.
An Israeli F-16 fighter has gone down - but this is yet unconfirmed.
In the Arab world, support for Hezbollah will only increase. The Lebanese government will look weaker. And Olmert will continue to look inexperienced.
Today, Israel struck Ashrafiyeh, an almost entirely Christian section of Beirut. Why? What Hezbollah outpost could possibly be in the midst of Churches and the Christian populace?
Or are their Christian Hezbollah now? All Lebanese are suffering from this, so question: is it really Hezbollah only which is targeted?
Terrible situation not likely to end any time soon. And Israeli civilians are also dying ...
And the world is silent ...
TAI
ReplyDeletere: photo of israeli children plese read http://www.sandmonkeyblog.com/
kids were in
bomb shelters for days. city is a ghost town.
only poor people stayed
a new army unit arrived, kids were bored, went out with
parents to look
there were TWELVE photographers there
and they egged the kids on
the kids are low class, not educated, have never met a
Lebanese, just want to live their lives, don't understand why Lebanon
attacked their home, etc.
the photographers told them "hey, your cousins in america
will see you!"
mostly foreign photographers
so the kids, who were bored and restless and had been cooped
up in bomb shelters for 5 days, took the felt markers and drew messages to
nasrallah
"An eight years old boy is the fifth brazilian citizen to die in Lebanon"
ReplyDeleteHezbollah killed two Arabs boys,3 & 9,in Israel today. Of course,they were targeting old Jewish women,but any innocent victims will do.
Btw,Saddam didn't pillage and rape Kuwait all by his lonesome in the "1991 aggression".
Well Jeff,
ReplyDeleteYou call them terrorists, but we don't. I dare you tell me that there is an Arab considers Hezbollah a terrorist group.They are the ones who liberated southern Lebanon from the Israeli occupation.
"so I think we should wash our hands of the middle east project."
That'd be great! Just leave us alone solve our problems by ourselves. It's better to quit playing the role of "Hallal al-Mashakil" [solvers of the problems] as we say in Iraq.
"Relocate Israel to Texas."
That'd be great as well. After that I'll happily draw the map of the full liberated Arab homeland. I will send you a copy, don't worry.
"A half dozen soldiers killed and 2 kidnapped inside Israel and taken to Lebanon mean nothing."
Well, war is war. Enemy is enemy. Hezbollah does not consider the soldiers civilians. That's why they are enemies. But when Israeli troops killed Lebanese civilians then, all Israel became their enemy.
TAI,
"…who I personally do not like and do not consider friendly"
Neither do I. I know that Hezbollah was the cause of the Israeli aggression on Lebanon. But I believe that the Israelis are so coward to the extent they don't fight their actual enemy. Instead, they kill innocents and destroy the infrastructure of a newly rebuilt country.
"Hezbollah killed two Arabs boys,3 & 9,in Israel today. Of course,they were targeting old Jewish women,but any innocent victims will do."
Lol… that's true and Israel killed 300 Lebanese civilians so far!
If the people starting these wars, were the ones that had to fight in them. There would be no more war. It's not the soldiers, it's the governments.
ReplyDeleteWest Virginia (US) Hillbilly
Treasure,
ReplyDeleteYou will eventually realize the following:
* Hezbollah is not your friend.
* Hamas is not your friend.
* Israel is not your enemy.
Y'all stop jokin bout movin them folks to Texas. Tain't funny.
ReplyDeleteJeff
ReplyDeleteThe removal of the source of all the problems in the Middle East wow please run for office and relocate Israel.
Full background on the deplorable pictures of Israeli children writing on bombs here. ___ It is not quite as it seems.
ReplyDelete"Don Cox will be mad at you. He believes there are no civilians targeted in his friends' attacks on Lebanon."___I don't think the Israelis are deliberately targetting civilians who are not Hezbollah fighters, but I do think they have killed hundreds anyway. I don't like it. ____I don't think it is as bad as deliberately making a car bomb that is specifically intended to kill civilians, or aiming rockets at towns and villages at random.___Why can't the surrounding states just leave Israel alone, instead of constantly poking and prodding until they get an over-reaction? Don't the Lebanese Shias have enough to do building up their economy?
ReplyDeleteAnyone with half a brain knows that there would now be hundreds of thousands of dead Lebanese if Israel were actually targetting the Lebanese civilians. Let's face facts. They have one of the world's strongest militaries.
ReplyDeleteThe vast majority of Lebanese who have been killed were either direct members of Hezballah or were living next to the buildings where Hezballah hides their weapons. There is no benefit to Israel by killing innocent Lebanese, and they know this. It is simply not in their own best interests. In fact, Israel has even been dropping leaflets warning civillians where they need to evacuate. Why would they do that if their intention was to kill civilians?
Hezballah, on the other hand, is killing as many innocent Israelis as they can with their rockets aimed at civilian cities. I don't remember seeing Hezballah warning innocent Israelis what areas they should vacate before they launch a barage of rockets at an Israeli city? Their whole INTENT is to kill as many civililans as possible.
This is the difference between Hazballah and Israel. The difference between right and wrong, in my opinion.
Get a freaking clue, why don't ya?
And the idea that an Iraqi would lament the "aggression" of 1991 is laughable as well. In case you forgot, Iraq was the aggressor in 1991. Just ask the people of Kuwait.
How about we all try to stay grounded in reality here?
So that the Alive Iraq and the Lebanon we must say to death to the Zionists and imperialism Yankee system who is the one who are destroying the Middle East By the destruction of the State of Israel! The Palestine fight lives!
ReplyDeleteBT-
ReplyDeleteLet's put the shoe on the other foot. This would be that situation: Let's say the Israelis operate out of and hide their weapons in civilian neighborhoods. The Israelis fire wild unguided missiles into Lebanon, which land anywhere and sometimes kill innocent civilians. What should be Hizbollah's reaction?
How can Hizbollah protect their innocent civilians, unless they destroy the Israeli arsenal? How can they destroy the Israeli arsenal without killing innocent Israelis, when the weapons are located in civilian neighborhoods? If you have the answer to that, the world would like to know.
That's why the world is not condemning Israel. Hizbollah is the coward, hiding behind women and children, as they shoot wild missiles that kill other women and children. That's not what warriors do. That's what terrorists do.
In general, those who support Hamas and Hizbollah have hearts so full of pride, intolerance, and hatred of the Jews that they can't even begin to think rationally, and I'm not a Jew. Hatred blinds those it infects until they can't see straight.
"truth about Iraqis writes": "We are Arabs and although our dictators and false god monarchies may hate one another, we rally around each other during times like these."
ReplyDeleteSo, support Hezbollah because they're Arabs?
"In the Arab world, support for Hezbollah will only increase."
Then it's going to be a long couple of decades in the Arab world...because Hezbollah unquestionably deliberately targets civilians.
I think it is funny how so many people are recomending that the Jews in Israel move to Texas or some other state in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteLet's be realistic....it is not going to happen. Jews have lived in Israel/Palestine/Judea etc since before the times of Jesus......and you think they would just up and move to a different land? Let's keep the discussion to pratical ideas.
I assume that Don Cox is watching only Fox news. Israel is bombing Lebanese VILLAGES, road and bridges and hospitals.
ReplyDeleteIsrael is a criminal state, financed by a criminal state.
To all Arabs reading this - please know that our leaders are not representing us. In the UK, the Archbishop of Canterbury is leading where Tony Blair has signally failed to do. I AM SO ASHAMED OF TONY BLAIR - COWARD, MORALLY BANKRUPT, CRUEL, CORRUPT, TOADYING ...
Treasure I fear you have now been placed on a list of -essential daily reading and responding to blogs- by a group of "Israel" defenders. Your comments section will now be bloated, there is a network of people whose job it is to trawl the papers / news reports / TV documentaries and now blogs for anyone who cares to have an opinion on "Israel" that may be perceived as critical, they then pass on the message to writers whose job it is to write in to the said papers / TV programmes etc and make sure that the world is kept informed of the rights of said state to "defend" itself, and remind people of the great suffering of Jews through the ages, and the intrinsically peace loving nature of these democratic -in fact very much like you westerners-people, unlike the Arabs with their unreasonable attitudes, their rather archaic ideas and practices, and their blood thirsty approach to solving their problems. These tactics are becoming less effective as we become more vocal.
ReplyDeleteI live in the West and am pleased to say that the general understanding of the situation in the UK at least has changed dramatically in the last thirty years, when I first came to the UK the other name for Palestinian was Guerrilla, now people have a concept of a displaced people who have been ill treated and had to do whatever it took to bring their case to the forefront, the PLO was for a long time seen as a terrorist organisation but because they did not just -go away- the world ultimately had to listen, and eventually they became the moderate politicians that the west could talk to, is this the end of the story? Well no the Palestinians still do not have a state, and at least in our Arab eyes "Israel" is still occupying parts of Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt and so the struggle continues, the name maybe Hizbullah or Hammas, the rhetoric may be Islamic but the struggle is basically the same, and removing or weakening either of these two organisations will not remove the “problem” the people with an issue that the world will not resolve will simply fight another day another way under another name.
Unless the powers that be realise this and try to treat both parties as equal in rights and responsibilities the region will not get better, and if we are not equal and one has to "beat" the other than of course we Arabs by far the majority in the region feel we should “beat” the minority many of whom have arrived to the area from outside not so long ago.
The reason we Arabs living in the area sometimes dream that the state of "Israel" may be relocated is simply because we feel that we are never going to be able to get anywhere when the strength (even if only imagined) of our countries, be it military, economic, or intellectual is seen as a threat to the -US and UK's allies in the region- to the extent that it justifies the repeated destruction of our countries, our infrastructure, and the killing of hundreds if not thousands of our people –who by the way are just as human as you westerners- making our countries such unsafe places to live in that there is no place for investments and those who can (through brains or money) leave.
Luciano Cannon,
ReplyDeleteI serve only my Arab master. He tells me that the Zionist wishes me to serve as his slave. I know that what he says is true because he is my master. I will fight to the death the death of my children in order to protect my honor and to be enslaved by only fellow Arabs. Maybe someday I will be no man's slave. My master promises me that he will set us free once the caliphate is built. So for now, I must serve my master and prevent the zionist from enslaving me. Praise be the protectors of Islam. Allah is lucky to have such powerful men protecting him.
Wow...just wow! From denying that Iraq was responsible for the war in 1991 to refusing to accept that Hezbollah is a terrorist group. Wow.
ReplyDeleteFrom somebody who seems relatively aware of the world around them, I would expect you to be able to see beyond the "we are all arabs so we are all in this together against Israel" mentality. Israel was willing to live in peace with Lebanon. They pulled out 6 years ago. The elections in Iraq combined with fierce pressure from the US set in motion the conditions that allowed the elections in Lebanon that got the Syrians out. The Lebanese respond by electing Hezbollah to represent them in their government???? That would be like the people in Fallujah electing Al Qaeda to represent them in Iraq's government.
So the terrorist group that was ELECTED by people in south Lebanon to represent them launches an attack across the border into Israel and kidnaps two Israeli soldiers. Why? What did Israel do to Hezbollah or Lebanon to provoke such an action?
How can you separate the actions of Hezbollah from the people who support them? When Hezbollah sets up their offices in a building surrounded by residential neighborhoods and fills the basement with weapons that are used to attack Israel, how are the Israelis supposed to respond? Hezbollah knows full well that they are endangering the people around them by doing it, yet they do it anyways.
When Hezbollah fires an unguided rocket aimed at an Israeli city, you apparently see it as a heroic act of resistance even though their intent is clearly to kill or maim as many civilians as possible. Yet when Israel fires a laser guided weapon into a Hezbollah building or targets a bridge used by Hezbollah to bring in more weapons and supplies from Syria, and in the process civilians are injured or killed, you see the Israelis as brutally slaughtering civilians. That kind of double standard is what nobody outside of the arab world can understand. It smacks of blind racism against jews, because there is no other conceivable way I can understand for you to claim Hezbollah is doing the right thing by targeting civilians and Israel is doing the wrong thing if their attacks kill civilians.
Please explain the difference to me, because you have me very confused. I once thought that you were quite intelligent and open-minded when I read your blog, yet here you appear to be praising arabs who target jewish civilians as liberators and heros, while at the same time, calling jews who inadvertantly kill arab civilians barbarians. That 9th century mentality is why the middle east will never rise above where it is today. Even the Saudis and Egyptians recognize that Hezbollah provoked this fight.
All Hezbollah has to do to stop the bombs from falling is to release the two Israeli soldiers and stop firing missiles at Israel. Yet they won't. They have it within their power to make sure that not a single additional Lebanese civilian is placed at risk by an Israeli bomb. Yet they refuse. Why? Hezbollah created this fight, and they can end it. But they don't.
You tell me what rational reason there is for Hezbollah to be attacking Israel on behalf of the Lebanese people? Tell me why that reason is so important that it justifies continuing to fire rockets at civilians and imprisoning two Israeli soldiers even if it means placing more Lebanese civilians at risk? If you can't answer those questions, then it is obvious that the only reason to choose Hezbollah over Israel in this fight is because Hezbollah is an arab group and Israel is full of jews. That my friend is racism...and you are one of the last people I would have expected to see it from based on your previous writings.
Mojoski, you are right.... 9 out of 10 half-brains agree with you.
ReplyDeleteIndigo,
ReplyDelete"Israel is bombing Lebanese VILLAGES, road and bridges and hospitals."
Israel is bombing villages where there are weapons stockpiled that are killing Israeli citizens. Israel is bombing roads and bridges to prevent Hizbollah from being resupplied with more missiles, with which to kill their citizens. Israel would not intentionally bomb a hospital unless it was being used to store weapons. After all, Israel is dropping flyers telling the citizens they're going to bomb an area in advance, so the citizens can evacuate to safety.
Hizbollah is not dropping flyers in advance to warn the Israeli citizens where their wily nily projectiles are going to land. Think about it. If wild missiles were falling around you, wouldn't you want your government to eliminate the source of those missiles to protect you and your family? At that point, politics and whose right and whose wrong doesn't take top priority. Your main concern would be to stay alive and for the lives of your loved ones. Once that was secured, you could start being concerned for everyone else on both sides.
If Hizbollah would simply do what they were obligated to do, according to UN resolution 1559, Israel would not be trying to protect it's citizens by eliminating the missiles in southern Lebanon, because there wouldn't be any missiles there.
Oi, Mark Bahner. You American? English? Canadian? Australian? Which is it?
ReplyDeleteI ask because I assume English is your mother tongue, right?
So, in your insightful analysis of what I said, did you come across any suggestion to support Hezbollah? I hate their guts, actually. I don't support Islamist movements.
No?
Maybe you missed this (I know reading levels have dropped somewhat, but this is getting ridiculous!):
"The Hezbollah militia (who I personally do not like and do not consider friendly) ..."
Maybe you also missed the point I was trying to make. By going into Lebanon and killing Lebanese civilians, Israel is losing the moderates who would have at one point been ready to convince their peoples of the necessity to make peace with Israel.
I support the Lebanese people. Those without medicines because the country is under a siege.
Those without clean water. Those who cannot drive at all anywhere in the country because those families who tried to get out were massacred.
HOLD THE PRESSES: Did the Beirut Summit of 2002 not address Israel and declare that if it were to move to the 1967 borders, ALL Arab states would sign peace treaties with some poised to resume diplomatic relations?
OH!!!!!!! And what was the response?
Sharon said NO!
Kind of meaningful that the very city which proposed peace to Israel in 2002 is today getting destroyed.
Nice.
Second, by killing and maiming hundreds of Lebanese women and children, Israel is leaving little choice but for Arabs to rally behind ALL Lebanese - including Hezbo.
I watched a former Lebanese government advisor - Ms. Roula Talj, I think her name. She said that even those who had opposed Hezbo prior to July 12 were now neutral.
Nice.
Furthermore, the refusal of the west and the so-called civilized countries to acknowledge that the Lebanese are being cut down and that their infrastructure is being systematically destroyed in what can only be classified as collective punishment is leading to resentment.
Hearts and minds. Not today, thank you. Why don't you try selling that crap in Haditha or to Abeer's uncle. You know Abeer, right?
Thought so.
Anonymous who speaks like he lives in Lebanon and has seen Hezbo weapons: You say:
"Let's say the Israelis operate out of and hide their weapons in civilian neighborhoods."
Really? Show me. Maybe like Saddam's WMD? That line you are regurgitating is old. No one but you dolts buy it.
It is used to justify the wholesale massacre of entire villages of civilians in southern Lebanon and in Beirut.
And again, as if we are stupid and buy your idiotic argument:
"can they destroy the Israeli arsenal without killing innocent Israelis, when the weapons are located in civilian neighborhoods?"
Maybe you missed when Nic Robertson went on a tour of Haret Hreik. Do you know where Haret Hreik is? Can you even pronounce it?
What a riot!
Robertson said clearly on CNN he and his team saw no evidence of weapons in the utterly devstated suburb. And, he qualified his observation by saying he had been in other war zones and could tell whether weapons were there or not.
Now, you will say they moved the weapons out of there. Kind of like all of Saddam's WMD in Syria or in Bashar Assad's left pocket.
Except, the IDF has bombed the hell out of Haret Hreik and has not stopped. Don't you think their air force AND their spy satellites would pick that up? Aha ...
Israel struck Ashrafiyeh. Do you even know where Ashrafiyeh is? Hmm?
Well, I will suspend putting you back in your place till you do a bit of homework and find out who the hell lives in Ashrafiyeh.
You also say "That's why the world is not condemning Israel." Get your head out of your rear end.
Define the world for me. Maybe you missed Zapatero condemn the Israeli atrocities in Lebanon. Right? Which is why a rightwing campaign was launched against him.
Does Malaysia count as the world? Or India? How about Pakistan, Libya (your new sweethearts), Yemen? How about Putin's remarks? No? What about newly liberated Iraq?
You went to war to liberate the oppressed Shia in Iraq, right? Well they are liberated and voicing their support for Hezbollah.
So, you support them, or only when what they say coincides with your neocon drivel? Hmmm ... selective freedom of expression?
The world is not Nashville or London or Brisbane. Git? How wonderfully imperialistic and racist of you.
Mojoski, where do you get your info from? You say everyone knows hundreds of thousands would be killed if the IDF was targeting civilians? Really? Did you ask the IDF? Have they personally told you this? Please, and this goes for everyone else here, don't quote neocon crap, born-again Texas Christian sniffing cocaine crap (que, Bushco?) who think stem cell research is a sin but can idly sit by as women and children are blown up on both sides.
BOTH SIDES, git!
Yeah, some monotheism that is.
Furthermore, you say "They have one of the world's strongest militaries."
Which is why they withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000, right?
Which is why Hezbollah, a militia has managed to knock out two helicopters, a tank and kill 18 Israeli soldiers with no firepower even equalling 1/100th of Israel's?
Mojoski says "The vast majority of Lebanese who have been killed were either direct members of Hezballah or were living next to the buildings where Hezballah hides their weapons."
Yes, and you know this because you lived in those neighbourhoods and you dug the bodies of children cut into little pieces out of the rubble. You were there, right? You personally lived next to all those who lived next to ... Read what I wrote above.
No YOU get a clue. Do you people know that every Israeli city, village and Kibbutz is equipped with air raid sirens giving people about 70 seconds or so to reach the shelters but that predominantly Israeli-Arab towns DO NOT?
Did you know that every time Israeli-Arabs ask for the warning systems, they are told there is no money for it?
Democracy? Right?
MESSAGE TO WEST VIRGINIA: You are absolutely right in what you said. Hear, hear.
Most of the racists who come here have never been to the Mideast, not even on a paltry vacation, they don't speak Arabic, they don't watch our news, they don't live our lives and they believe they have the imperial right to dictate to us how we should think and feel.
Indigo, God bless you for speaking with your conscience.
Heretical Jew. Yeah, screw moving Jews to anywhere else, I agree with you. They have a right to that land. Just as the Arabs, Christian, and Druze do.
Besides, did not God ordain that the land belonged to the descendants of Abraham. For those who are mathematically deprived, that means ALL mankind.
That's why the old rhetoric of push the jews into the sea was always abhorrent to me. It no longer rings true. No one follows that crap anymore.
We just want to live in peace and make babies which will not be killed in feuds we have with one another.
Baghdad Trasure,
ReplyDeleteJazaka Allahu Khairan.
I want to also add this from communique writen 70 years ago:
"The Führer felt obliged to strike back only after Polish troops had crossed the German border at several places. The German fight is a defensive fight. We fight because we were forced to fight by the insults and demands against us, because of the brutal suppression of ethnic Germans in Poland, and because of the open announcements that they would do everything in their power to strangle National Socialist Germany through military or economic means." -- Die Wehrmacht (1939, Nr. 19, p. 2,
IT heheh ... nice on how the Nazis said the same thing as we are hearing today for the justification of bombing Lebanon "back 20 years".
ReplyDeleteExcellent. I was not aware of that.
But THIS I am aware of.
The Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement announced on Wednesday that its guerrillas have captured two Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon. "Implementing our promise to free Arab prisoners in Israeli jails, our strugglers have captured two Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon," a statement by Hezbollah said.
"The two soldiers have already been moved to a safe place," it added. The Lebanese police said that the two soldiers were captured as they "infiltrated" into the town of Aitaa al-Chaab inside the Lebanese border. [Hindustan Times 7/12/06]
Followed by:
The Lebanese Hezbollah movement announced Wednesday the arrest of two Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon. Lebanese police said that the two soldiers were arrested as they entered the town of Aitaa al-Chaab inside the Lebanese border. Israeli aircraft were active in the air over southern Lebanon, police said, with jets bombing roads leading to the market town of Nabatiyeh, 60 kilometers south of Beirut. [Bahrain News Agency 7/12/06]
followed by:
TRANSLATION: According to the Lebanese police force, the two soldiers were captured in Lebanese territory, in the area of Aïta Al-Chaab close to the border, whereas Israeli television indicated that they had been captured in Israeli territory. [fr.news.yahoo 7/12/06]
followed by:
A nice map to show the area in question: http://uruknet.info/uruknet-images/carte-finul.gif
followed by:
It all started on July 12 when Israel troops were ambushed on Lebanon's side of the border with Israel. Hezbollah, which commands the Lebanese south, immediately seized on their crossing. They arrested two Israeli soldiers, killed eight Israelis and wounded over 20 in attacks inside Israeli territory. [Asia Times 7/15/06]
followed by the illustrious FORBES MAGAZINE ONLINE:
Associated Press
Hezbollah Captures 2 Israeli Soldiers
By JOSEPH PANOSSIAN , 07.12.2006, 05:41 AM
The militant group Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers during clashes Wednesday across the border in southern Lebanon, prompting a swift reaction from Israel, which sent ground forces into its neighbor to look for them.
Hmmmm .....
Ok! Today is my birthday. So I am not going to bother myself and be upset. However, I still feel so sad for what is happening against my brothers and sisters in Lebanon. I know that they will get victory against their enemy sooner or later.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I would love to say that I am not surprised of the reaction of most of the western posters here. I do know that Israel is the best friend of America or to be specific, the spoiled baby of America as we say in Iraq. Of course, the friend is always forgiven whether he committed a mistake or guilt or not! But what is surprised me here is that the British people are more aware and understanding to what is happening in Lebanon. Thank you guys :)
It’s only the Americans who did not understand that I don't support Hezbollah more than I support the Lebanese people as they are attacked the same way we were attacked in two successive deadly and destructive wars.
"Why can't the surrounding states just leave Israel alone, instead of constantly poking and prodding until they get an over-reaction?"
Excuse me?! Why doesn't Israel leave the Arabs alone? Arabs have suffered enough to endure all what Israel is doing. You don't live in the Arab homeland, so you don't know what Israel is doing actually. Just get out of your propaganda website you read and live in reality.
"Let's put the shoe on the other foot."
Even though! It’s not ethical to destroy the whole country's infrastructure because of the mistake of one party. There is a government they should have talked to and there is the UN and the Security Council that should deal with this. It's not a playstation game in which the strongest wins while the weak loses. It's a country, it's a matter of lives of civilians…
"So, support Hezbollah because they're Arabs?"
Mark, I think TAI said he doesn't support Hezbollah. He supports the people of Lebanon, the Arabs whom we are all proud of.
"I assume that Don Cox is watching only Fox news."
Indigo, it's not only him, trust me! You can tell from the comments!
Magda, you are absolutely right in what you said. Moreover, I was once called a terrorist by one of morons who knows himself very well just because I criticized the mistakes, the prison abuses and then occupation of the US forces in Iraq. So let them say whatever they want.
"From denying that Iraq was responsible for the war in 1991 to refusing to accept that Hezbollah is a terrorist group."
First of all, I did not say that Iraq was not responsible for the 1991 invasion of Kuwait. In fact, it wasn't the Iraqi people who did that. It was Saddam and his henchmen who did it. I was talking about the US led war against my beloved country and the thousands who died in their terrorist attacks against the infrastructure and human beings. Did you forget the embargo or what you call "sanctions"! We never did and will never do! Keep that in your mind. We suffered a lot…
…"we are all arabs so we are all in this together against Israel" mentality
Call it whatever you call it. I proudly say I am an Iraqi Arab and I support my fellow Arabs. In Iraq, there is a saying "If you deny your origin, you are a bastard"
"The Lebanese respond by electing Hezbollah to represent them in their government???? That would be like the people in Fallujah electing Al Qaeda to represent them in Iraq's government."
That's how you think, not like how Lebanese and Iraqis think!
"Why? What did Israel do to Hezbollah or Lebanon to provoke such an action?"
Go back to history Habibi! Go back to Sabra and Shateela and the other crimes.
"Even the Saudis and Egyptians recognize that Hezbollah provoked this fight."
This is the official attitude, buddy! Go to the streets and see the demonstrations of millions of Arabs. Did Fox or the other propaganda media show this? Of course, not! Add to this the huge demonstration that happened in Amman, Jordan against the Israeli attack.
"Tell me why that reason is so important that it justifies continuing to fire rockets at civilians and imprisoning two Israeli soldiers even if it means placing more Lebanese civilians at risk?"
To release the Lebanese detainees!
Iraqi testimonies, Thanks a lot. You are doing a great job on your blog. I wish I could have known your blog earlier.
Anyway, time to leave to celebrate my birthday with my lovely family who are also so sad for what is happening in our lovely Arab Lebanon and Palestine. Peace be upon you both. Viva Lebanon… Viva Iraq…
The lebanese people wanted to disarm hezzbollah and remove these aganets of Iran but they were afraid to do so because it might trigger a civil war. Such a civil war would have a far higher price than Israel's eradication of hezzbollah. Not disarming hezzbollah will ultimately lead to war between Israel and Lebanon. The responsibility for failure to act falls broadly upon lebanese shoulders. Irregardless of any offial peace treaties between the two states Hezzbollah will continue to fire rockets into Israel for as long as they exist. So this war is, was, and will be inevitable. Without a civil war to disarm hezzbollah Lebanon is trapped in a cycle of war.
ReplyDeleteWell, the war has arrived. If the lebanese people are smart then they will realize that the cost of Israel's attacks is less than the cost of civil war but delivers the same result. If they squander their opportunity to disarm hezzbollah and eject the agents of Iran/Syria then there will be another war in a few more years.
You can cry and bemoan the loss of life. It is a terrible tragedy for all affected. But it is a greater tragedy to condemn your children to repeat the mistakes of their parents. Especially when there is a clear opportunity to break the cycle of future wars. I hope the lebanese people realize this and take control of their future when this is over. Your cries to arms and unity are misguided and harmful to the children of your arab brothers.
First off, let me be among the many who will wish you a happy birthday, BT.
ReplyDelete"That would be like the people in Fallujah electing Al Qaeda to represent them in Iraq's government."
-or, like the people of Israel electing Menachem Begin or Ariel Sharon to... repre... oh. Wait a minute...
"Tell me why that reason is so important that it justifies continuing to fire rockets at civilians and imprisoning two Israeli soldiers even if it means placing more Lebanese civilians at risk?"
ReplyDelete"To release the Lebanese detainees!"
1) Why are the detainess in jail? Are they criminals or innocents? It seems to be a key question that no one is asking. if they are true innocents then Hezzbollah is somewhat justified. Although, kidnapping people to use as bartering capital is a crime against all society in and of itself. It drags the entire species backwards in time and should be deplored by all "civilized" peoples at all times under all circumstances.
2) It has always struck me as odd that hezzbollah considers the lives of two jews to be equal to that of a thousand lebanese. I wonder why they have such low regard for lebanese lives? If I was a kidnapping thug then I would kidnap 1,000 to exchange for 1,000. I would not assume the value of a single jew to be equal to that of 500 lebanese. I guess I just have that fatal flaw of assumming that 1 person equals one life regardless of race.
Who wants a cease fire?
ReplyDeleteClick for link.
Happy Birthday BT!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for all the chaos in the Mideast. I really just don't know what to say. History is repeating itself and we almost never learn....
BT,
ReplyDeleteI have told this to two other bloggers in Iraq.
And I say it to you now.
The name of your blog is very appropriate ... because you are one of the treasures of Baghdad.
I used to be upset since 2003 about what has befallen our nation, our people.
But with people like you, I know that there is a future for Iraq, even though it appears to be a desperate situation now.
You speak with a ferocious spirit, which cannot be denied and which your detractors cannot face.
I am proud to call you my brother. I am proud you are an Iraqi and an Arab.
And I am proud of your blog.
Iraqi Testimonies
ReplyDeleteInteresting quote. Am I to assume that you feel this a full and direct correlation between the "justification" of the Germans in WWII and the Israelis here in lebanon. If you you must consider that the encursions by the Polish into Germany and the burning of the Reichstadt were all set up by Hitler in order to create an excuse to start a war.
It may be a plausible theory that Israel has perpatrated a similar act, but proof is needed.
Treasure
ReplyDeleteIt’s only the Americans who did not understand that I don't support Hezbollah more than I support the Lebanese people as they are attacked the same way we were attacked in two successive deadly and destructive wars.
Hey I'm American...I know you do not support Hizbollah.
Happy belated Birthday
I wish you a very happy birthday, BT!
ReplyDeleteThere's something I've noticed for quite awhile. You've become very bitter and resentful in some ways since your trip to the US. What the heck happened to you in America?
Happy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteI would like to know how you celebrated. HNK posted the presents she received for her 17th birthday, so I hope you do the same ;-)
When you get as old as I am, you slowly begin to understand that birthdays are not just an opportunity to have everyone one serve you (well, a few little pecks of love don't hurt ;-) but more importantly
it is a marking of the passed time, so this gives you another chance to spend more of the future opportunities to give to someone else.
But like I said, it took me a loooooong time to appreciate what I have just said in two sentences.
Again Happy Birthday!
Thanks a lot to all my friends and readers who wished me a happy birthday.
ReplyDeleteWhy are the detainess in jail?
Because they were fighting to liberate the occupied part of their country.
Hey I'm American...I know you do not support Hizbollah.
Oh! sorry my friend! I should have written that MOST Americans, instead of ALL…
I really appreciate you understand me in this.
You've become very bitter and resentful in some ways since your trip to the US. What the heck happened to you in America?
Oh on the contrary! American people-the ones I met- are great and very hospitable and lovely. I spent one of my best times in the US, met with dozens of people and families who were so nice and cool. If you go back to my diary, you'll see how happy I was there.
I don't think I am getting any bitter. This is what I am since the beginning. This is how I felt from the beginning. I never write something if I don't feel it comes directly from the bottom of my heart. I am frank. That's why I was called a "terrorist" and some other funny terms.
TAI,
You are a great man. Iraq is proud of you.
Because they were fighting to liberate the occupied part of their country."
ReplyDeleteDo you know that or do you assume it?
I think that you are assumming it to be true without really knowing.
Assumptions are dangerous things. You and your people are now sufferring because American planners made some wrong assumptions about the Iraqi ability to unify and create a populist government. We assumed that when Iraqi leaders talked about protecting the best interests of Iraq that they were talking about all of Iraq. By the time we realized that they defined the their sect/tribe/political/economic group as being "the true Iraq" some terrible mistakes had been made. Even to this day most Iraqis fail to distinguish between what is best for their group versus what is best for the nation. But at least now, we realize that this secular/tribal bigotry permeates your society and are better equipped to identify and help those who hold the nation above the tribe. There just aren't enough of them in power. Alawi was such a man. Jafari was not. The pain you now experience is backlash from Jafari and his failure to put Iraq the nation above the interests of his sect. It took a year for his government to dig the hole. Hopefully it will take no more than a year for Maliki to fill it back in. That is - assumming - if Maliki is sincere in his desire to do so.
I guess we both hope that it is a true assumption.
Ok, Ok, everyone take a deep breath! Name-calling and sarcasm do not, do not accomplish anything except sounding like heated passages from Syriana! One of the things I love about this blog, excepting the requisite trolls that lurk about in any blog that attempts a meaningful dialogue, is that it is so rational and no matter how disparate the views, they, 90% of the time, are argued in such a compelling fashion that one sees the merit of many different viewpoints. But this particular entry has inspired the worst of nearly every viewpoint voiced. Ugliness, name-calling, racism, hasty generalization, stereotyping, black & white thinking, and the list goes on. This disrespects your subjects, be they the Lebanese, the Israelis, the Iraqis, the Americans, etc. This type of sniping is exactly what most of us here, I sincerely hope, want to avoid. We don't want to adopt the rhetoric of the oppressors, the occupiers, the Imperialists, the dicatators, ad nauseam. We like to think of ourselves as the rational people in this completely irrational world as of present.
ReplyDeleteThis, of course, doesn't mean you cannot be passionate and outraged and angry. I'm all of the above, but try to voice it in a way that draws not repels. My grandmother used to say that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. This doesn't mean sugarcoat the truth--Truthteller has posted some unnerving pictures and links that absolutely show the peril of not showing/ignoring the full impact of bombing in civilian areas--no matter who does it.
Oh, the humanity!
Sorry, it's the rhetoric teacher coming out in me.
Happy belated birthday BT!
Can someone explain to me what started the violence between Sunni and Shia? Was it a historical event?....a betrual?,,,,something petty??
ReplyDeleteEmail me. You can find my email on my profile.
Thanks
I can't believe people still believe the lies from Israel and Britain and the U.S. about "targeting hizballah" and that their aim is "clearly not to kill civilians" and so on... how many deaths will it take before people finally say enough is enough? 10 wasn't enough, neither was 50, 100, 200, or 300... maybe when it gets to be thousands people in America won't be able to turn a blind eye anymore.
ReplyDeletePeople condemn Lebanon for not controlling Hezbollah, and usually it's people from Britain or the U.S.: could Britain control the IRA? can the U.S. control the Bloodz or the Crips (gangs), or the mafia?
So again, the cycle of violence continues... violence hasn't worked for the past 50 years, why on earth do they think it will work now?
Insane people do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result...
Great point, Misneach. Much of my brother-in-law's family is/was IRA, and they remained, for the most part, out of jail and involved in the movement (I don't ask too many questions about their activities--don't want to know). Point is that the English, after 500 years of quarreling and battling with the Irish, whether Southern or Northern, was unable to contain the IRA movement. The Brits' heavy-handed anti-terrorist actions infuriated the civilian population, who often felt the IRA was thuggish, but saw them as being more sympathetic thugs than the British. I was in London during one of the worst IRA bombing campaigns in the 1980s and saw how this very small band of determined men and women brought the city to a near stand still. Northern Ireland may have not wanted the IRA, but they were a fact of life. And if you turned on them, you were dead. Witness the execution of one of the main founders of the 1970's revival IRA movement last month when someone in the organization caught wind, from an article in an American magazine, that he was a traitor for years--working for the British. So you shut up and look away, or risk your life. My brother-in-law has told me he spent most of his childhood in Belfast in a state of sheer terror, never knowing if the door was going to be kicked in by the Brits, or if an IRA guy would show up and demand sanctuary (you didn't dare say no).
ReplyDeleteAnd the American gang analogy is great too. I lived in a major city in American midwest during the crack cocaine epidemic and consequent battling for turf between the Vice Lords and Crips. There was a man shot to death and then dumped in my back alley driveway, another shot in front of me and my daughter when we were at a gas station. The violence was epidemic and the only thing that brought it to a tolerable level was decreasing trends in crack usage--not law enforcement. In fact the police would not even patrol our neighborhood unless they were in groups. When I complained to them about the constant drug activity and shootings, the police told me to move. Nice. So I sold my house for a loss and did so after a stray bullet hit our porch.
Gangs ruled the north east end of my former city and probably still do. And the war on drugs and crime was a joke. . .on the civilian population who actually thought the government could do something. And this is the world's "Super Power" who couldn't, and still can't in many areas, control street gangs. So yes, I understand the position of the Lebanese government up close and personal.
Hezbollah may have better weapons than the Crips, et al (and that's just a maybe), but the IRA had even better weapons than Hezbollah, and they were supplied mostly from sympathizers in the US. So, should we hold the city of Boston accountable for some of its citizens that decided to supply heavy artillery to a terrorist organization? Should we hold the US accountable?
Again, Misneach, excellent analogies, and two, weirdly enough, I have intimate knowledge of.
The Muslim/Nazi Connection - The Roots of Today's War in Lebanon
ReplyDeleteAfter World War I, the Great Powers of Europe jockeyed for influence in the Middle East's oil fields and trade routes, with France and Britain holding mandates throughout most of the region. In the 1930s, the fascist regimes that arose in Italy and Germany sought greater stakes in the area, and began courting Arab leaders to revolt against their British and French custodians. Among their many willing accomplices was Jerusalem Mufti Haj Amin el-Husseini, who fled Palestine after agitating against the British during the Arab Revolt of 1936-39. He found refuge in Iraq – another of Her Majesty's mandates – where he again topped the British most wanted list after helping pull the strings behind the Iraqi coup of 1941. The revolt in Baghdad was orchestrated by Hitler as part of a strategy to squeeze the region between the pincers of Rommel's troops in North Africa, German forces in the Caucuses and pro-Nazi forces in Iraq. However, in June 1941 British troops put down the rebellion and the Mufti escaped via Tehran to Italy and eventually to Berlin.
Once in Berlin, the Mufti received an enthusiastic reception by the "Islamische Zentralinstitut" and the whole Islamic community of Germany, which welcomed him as the "Führer of the Arabic world." In an introductory speech, he called the Jews the "most fierce enemies of the Muslims" and an "ever corruptive element" in the world. Husseini soon became an honored guest of the Nazi leadership and met on several occasions with Hitler. He personally lobbied the Führer against the plan to let Jews leave Hungary, fearing they would immigrate to Palestine. He also strongly intervened when Adolf Eichman tried to cut a deal with the British government to exchange German POWs for 5000 Jewish children who also could have fled to Palestine. The Mufti's protests with the SS were successful, as the children were sent to death camps in Poland instead. One German officer noted in his journals that the Mufti would liked to have seen the Jews "preferably all killed." On a visit to Auschwitz, he reportedly admonished the guards running the gas chambers to work more diligently. Throughout the war, he appeared regularly on German radio broadcasts to the Middle East, preaching his pro-Nazi, anti-Semitic message to the Arab masses back home.
To show gratitude towards his hosts, in 1943 the Mufti travelled several times to Bosnia, where on orders of the SS he recruited the notorious "Hanjar troopers," a special Bosnian Waffen SS company which slaugh-tered 90% of Bosnia's Jews and burned countless Serbian churches and villages. These Bosnian Muslim recruits rapidly found favor with SS chief Heinrich Himmler, who established a special Mullah Military school in Dresden.
The only condition the Mufti set for his help was that after Hitler won the war, the entire Jewish population in Palestine should be liquidated. After the war, Husseini fled to Switzerland and from there escaped via France to Cairo, were he was warmly received. The Mufti used funds received earlier from the Hilter regime to finance the Nazi-inspired Arab Liberation Army that terrorized Jews in Palestine.
The Arab Embrace of Nazism: Husseini represents the prevalent pro-Nazi posture among the Arab/Muslim world before, during and even after the Holocaust. The Nazi-Arab connection existed even when Adolf Hitler first seized power in Germany in 1933. News of the Nazi takeover was welcomed by the Arab masses with great enthusiasm, as the first congratulatory telegrams Hitler received upon being appointed Chancellor came from the German Consul in Jerusalem, followed by those from several Arab capitals. Soon afterwards, parties that imitated the National Socialists were founded in many Arab lands, like the "Hisb-el-qaumi-el-suri" (PPS) or Social Nationalist Party in Syria. Its leader, Anton Sa'ada, styled himself the Führer of the Syrian nation, and Hitler became known as "Abu Ali" (In Egypt his name was "Muhammed Haidar"). The banner of the PPS displayed the swastika on a black-white background. Later, a Lebanese branch of the PPS – which still receives its orders from Damascus – was involved in the assassination of Lebanese President Pierre Gemayel.
The most influential party that emulated the Nazis was "Young Egypt," which was founded in October 1933. They had storm troopers, torch processions, and literal translations of Nazi slogans – like "One folk, One party, One leader." Nazi anti-Semitism was replicated, with calls to boycott Jewish businesses and physical attacks on Jews. Britain had a bitter experience with this pro-German mood in Egypt, when the official Egyptian government failed to declare war on the Wehrmacht as German troops were about to conquer Alexandria.
After the war, a member of Young Egypt named Gamal Abdul Nasser was among the officers who led the July 1952 revolution in Egypt. Their first act – following in Hitler's footsteps – was to outlaw all other parties. Nasser's Egypt became a safe haven for Nazi war criminals, among them the SS General in charge of the murder of Ukrainian Jewry; he became Nasser's bodyguard and close comrade. Alois Brunner, another senior Nazi war criminal, found shelter in Damascus, where he served for many years as senior adviser to the Syrian general staff and still resides today.
Sami al-Joundi, one of the founders of the ruling Syrian Ba'ath Party, recalls: "We were racists. We admired the Nazis. We were immersed in reading Nazi literature and books... We were the first who thought of a translation of Mein Kampf. Anyone who lived in Damascus at that time was witness to the Arab inclination toward Nazism."
These leanings never completely ceased. Hitler's Mein Kampf currently ranks sixth on the best-seller list among Palestinian Arabs. Luis Al-Haj, translator of the Arabic edition, writes glowingly in the preface about how Hitler's "ideology" and his "theories of nationalism, dictatorship and race… are advancing especially within our Arabic States." When Palestinian police first greeted Arafat in the self-rule areas, they offered the infamous Nazi salute - the right arm raised straight and upward.
The PLO and notably Arafat himself do not make a secret of their source of inspiration. The Grand Mufti el-Husseini is venerated as a hero by the PLO. It should be noted, that the PLO's top figure in east Jerusalem today, Faisal Husseini, is the grandson to the Führer's Mufti. Arafat also considers the Grand Mufti a respected educator and leader, and in 1985 declared it an honor to follow in his footsteps. Little wonder. In 1951, a close relative of the Mufti named Rahman Abdul Rauf el-Qudwa el-Husseini matriculated to the University of Cairo. The student decided to conceal his true identity and enlisted as "Yasser Arafat."