12/12/2006
Israeli jets buzz Beirut
Just noting that the Israeli Air Force just buzzed Beirut. Nothing unusual... It's a shame that the French haven't fired at them yet.......
12/09/2006
The Battle for Beirut
First of all, I would like to begin this post by apologizing for not posting earlier. Honestly, the times have been so hectic that I got caught up in my work (trying to get to work) and neglected this site. It's very important to me for many reasons, serving as my memories, my portal to friends and family, and a chance to bridge the gap between the Lebanese world and an audience in the West. I by no means am considering myself a bridge, rather I am trying to explain what is going on as a witness to events here. I shall cut of my philosophical monologue to start discussing the situation.
So.... what has been going on in Beirut? Well, for one, we have reached a stalemate between the two polarized groups in the country (summarized by Anti-Syrian and Pro-Syrian, which honestly is a terrible crime to put it that way) or if you want to get Lebanese, you can say the March 8th group (Hizballah, General Aoun, and friends) vs. the March 14th group (Hariri, the Lebanese forces and old man Junblatt). As of today, there has been a fiery exchange between the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Fouad Siniora and the Secretary General of Hizballah, al Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah. One thing these guys both have in common: they are both in hiding... who are they hiding from you ask? from different people of course, Siniora is fearing an assassination attempt by some group within Lebanon (which will be accused of coming from Damascus) and Nasrallah is fearing an assassination attempt by our funloving neighbor in the south, led by Mr. Olmert. As daring as the Israelis are, I don't believe they are in the position to carry out such an operation, but it might be just the PR stunt they need in order to regain notoriety as the military badboys of the Middle East.
Ok, so this is not my usual style of writing.... let me just take a minute to explain to you that this situation has affected me to the point that i want to go nuts. Every day I pass these protesters and I have to walk from an area far away from my office in order to get to work. There are no stores open, so lunch isn't very pleasant, and quite frankly, the atmosphere is tense with a feeling of uncertainty for tomorrow. I'm sure you get this all the time wherever you live, especially in the states right? So where was I?
Yes, Nasrallah and Saniora are duking it out, but the problem is, that the Lebanese will continue to suffer... Ok, yes, there are people that are excluded from the government that shouldn't be, and yes, the residents of Southern Lebanon may have a few reasons to get upset, but my gut feeling is that this move by the Hizballah isn't for purely Lebanese reasons. I don't know how much more I want to say, because I feel everyday as if my opinion is shifting, as if it is only reflecting Lebanese society. To clear up any doubts in your mind, the opposition (as the March 8th, Pro-Syrian, Hizballah and friends, whatever you want to call them) does extend beyond Muslims. A good part of the protesters are in fact Christians who follow the ex-General Aoun and his Free Patriotic Movement (www.tayyar.org). In addition to this group, the Lebanese Communist Party is also involved in this push to depose the current regime.
Call it an attempted coup
Call it an end to foreign interference
Call it Iranian checkers
All I know is that I will be much happier when it is over
The streets have become so tense that several clashes have broken out, one in particular leaving a young man dead. Although both sides have called for restraint, it is only a matter of time before patience runs out.
There are predictions that the opposition will start using "Phase B" this week which has been rumoured to include civil disobedience to stop places such as the airport, the ports, anywhere to paralyze the government. I will keep you posted on the latest developments.
Hope for the best, expect the worst...
Ciao
So.... what has been going on in Beirut? Well, for one, we have reached a stalemate between the two polarized groups in the country (summarized by Anti-Syrian and Pro-Syrian, which honestly is a terrible crime to put it that way) or if you want to get Lebanese, you can say the March 8th group (Hizballah, General Aoun, and friends) vs. the March 14th group (Hariri, the Lebanese forces and old man Junblatt). As of today, there has been a fiery exchange between the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Fouad Siniora and the Secretary General of Hizballah, al Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah. One thing these guys both have in common: they are both in hiding... who are they hiding from you ask? from different people of course, Siniora is fearing an assassination attempt by some group within Lebanon (which will be accused of coming from Damascus) and Nasrallah is fearing an assassination attempt by our funloving neighbor in the south, led by Mr. Olmert. As daring as the Israelis are, I don't believe they are in the position to carry out such an operation, but it might be just the PR stunt they need in order to regain notoriety as the military badboys of the Middle East.
Ok, so this is not my usual style of writing.... let me just take a minute to explain to you that this situation has affected me to the point that i want to go nuts. Every day I pass these protesters and I have to walk from an area far away from my office in order to get to work. There are no stores open, so lunch isn't very pleasant, and quite frankly, the atmosphere is tense with a feeling of uncertainty for tomorrow. I'm sure you get this all the time wherever you live, especially in the states right? So where was I?
Yes, Nasrallah and Saniora are duking it out, but the problem is, that the Lebanese will continue to suffer... Ok, yes, there are people that are excluded from the government that shouldn't be, and yes, the residents of Southern Lebanon may have a few reasons to get upset, but my gut feeling is that this move by the Hizballah isn't for purely Lebanese reasons. I don't know how much more I want to say, because I feel everyday as if my opinion is shifting, as if it is only reflecting Lebanese society. To clear up any doubts in your mind, the opposition (as the March 8th, Pro-Syrian, Hizballah and friends, whatever you want to call them) does extend beyond Muslims. A good part of the protesters are in fact Christians who follow the ex-General Aoun and his Free Patriotic Movement (www.tayyar.org). In addition to this group, the Lebanese Communist Party is also involved in this push to depose the current regime.
Call it an attempted coup
Call it an end to foreign interference
Call it Iranian checkers
All I know is that I will be much happier when it is over
The streets have become so tense that several clashes have broken out, one in particular leaving a young man dead. Although both sides have called for restraint, it is only a matter of time before patience runs out.
There are predictions that the opposition will start using "Phase B" this week which has been rumoured to include civil disobedience to stop places such as the airport, the ports, anywhere to paralyze the government. I will keep you posted on the latest developments.
Hope for the best, expect the worst...
Ciao
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)