Fath El Islam & Pierre El Gemayel

The Kuwaiti NewspaperAl Siyasa, a less than credible source of information, but which once in a while publishes a couple of articles that turned out to be true, published an article that arrested members of the the terrorist group "Fateh Al Islam", are the ones who plotted to kill the late PM Pierre El Gemayel.

موقوفو "فتح الإسلام" يعترفون بتورطهم باغتيال بيار الجميل

»السياسة« ¯ خاص: كشفت مصادر لبنانية رفيعة ل¯"السياسة" النقاب عن أن التحقيقات التي تجريها الأجهزة الأمنية والقضائية مع عدد من الموقوفين الذين ينتمون إلى عصابة "فتح الإسلام" قد أحرزت تقدماً هاماً, سيساهم في إمكانية مساعدة التحقيق في إماطة اللثام عن جريمة اغتيال الوزير والنائب السابق بيار الجميل, حيث أشارت هذه المصادر إلى حصول اعترافات من بعض الموقوفين تتعلق بتورطهم بشكل أو بآخر بجريمة اغتيال الجميل, على اعتبار أنهم كانوا صلة الوصل بين الجهات التي حرضت على الجريمة وبين الذين نفذوها. وقالت المصادر أن هناك عدداً من اللبنانيين (من وادي خالد) مقربين من المدعو أحمد مرعي أدلوا باعترافات قد تنير التحقيق في كشف ملابسات اغتيال الجميل, لافتة إلى أن هذه المعلومات هي أولية وسوف يطلع عليها مجلس الوزراء في جلسته المقبلة, سيما وأن جانبا من التحقيقات أظهر وفق اعترافات هؤلاء أن هذه العصابة المرتبطة ب¯"فتح الإسلام" لها علاقة ما باغتيال الجميل. وتؤكد المصادر أن التحقيقات مستمرة وتتقدم وستصل إلى نتيجة, معتبرة أن الذي يقوم بهذه الأعمال الأمنية وبهذا الحجم الكبير والواسع, ليس لديه خيط واحد, بل إن لديه خيوطاً عدة, و"فتح الإسلام" هي خيط رئيسي لكنها ليست كل الخيوط, وبالتأكيد هناك خيوط أخرى, بعدما ثبت تورط هذه العصابة مع المخابرات السورية. وتكشف المصادر أن الذين يقفون وراء هذه العمليات الإجرامية لن يقفوا عند هذا الحد وسوف يستمرون في مخططهم الإرهابي إذا لم يتم ردعهم من قبل المجتمع العربي والمجتمع الدولي وبالوحدة الداخلية.

On Our Minds.

So what does the Lebanese Diaspora in the tristate Area have on their mind other than

Hummus

Kisses

Games

and Dance?

Honor, Sacrifice, Fidelity!

Salute the Army

From beirutspring.com

Hunting for Hizbullah

A Really Disturbing Documentary:

Hizbullah and the State within a State

It seems that the members of Hizbullah have taken things into their own hand, and in a time they make such claims as being a "Resistance" and not a "Militia", their actions speak louder than their allegations. Earlier today, 3 members of the LSF (Lebanese Security Forces) arrested 2 persons engaged in a fight. On their way to the Police Department, they were stopped by members of Hizbullah, disarmed, the 2 arressted individuals were released, and the ISF members held in custody for hours before being released and threatened not to come back to that area.

Later today, the ISF has contacted Hizbullah in an attempt to bring those involved in the incident, all of them, to interrogation. Below is the news abstract from the National News Agency:

صدر عن المديرية العامة لقوى الأمن الداخلي - شعبة العلاقات العامة البلاغ التالي: "حوالى الأولى والنصف من تاريخه، وفي محلة أوتوستراد هادي نصرالله مقابل مطعم "حرقوص تشيكن"، ونتيجة خلاف شخصي بين أشخاص مدنيين مجهولي الهوية، حضرت دورية من مفرزة طوارىء الضاحية مؤلفة من ثلاثة عناصر وأوقفت اثنين من المتشاجرين.

ولدى اقتيادهم على متن الآلية العسكرية إلى مركز الفصيلة، تجمهر عشرات المدنيين بينهم عناصر أمنية تابعة ل"حزب الله"، وعمدوا إلى اعتراض الآلية ومنعها من التقدم، وإجبار رئيس الدورية بعد جدال على ترك الموقوفين وتسليم سلاح العناصر واللحاق بهم إلى مقر الأمانة العامة للحزب سابقا في محلة بئر العبد.

بوصولهم الى الباحة الخارجية كون المبنى مهدم، أخذوا أسماءهم ثم حذروهم من العودة الى تلك المحلة بعدما أعادوا إليهم السلاح بعد مضي فترة من الوقت.

أجريت إثر ذلك، الإتصالات الفورية مع الجهات المعنية في "حزب الله"، بغية تسليم الأشخاص الذين قاموا بهذا العمل الى الفصيلة المعنية في قوى الأمن للتحقيق معهم بإشراف النيابة العامة العسكرية التي أشارت بذلك، ثم مخابرتها على ضوء النتيجة".

The names of these perpetrators must be made public, and they must receive the just punishment for their actions.

NBN Journalist!!!

A video has been circulating on the internet about a journalist at NBN TV Station that belongs to MP Nabih Berri, the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament. This lady and her colleagues were discussing the recent event of the assassination of PM Walid Eido. This is the discussion that took Place:

المذيعة: "مرحبا حاج، عوض بسلامتك. ليش هلقد تعوقوا لقتلوه؟"
الحاج:(مواصلا ضحكه): نحن مش شميتة... ما في شماتة"
المذيعة: "ما شماتة، بس هلكونا. بعد فيه أحمد فتفت، أنا عم عدن"
الحاج: "بعد بدنا أربعة - خمسة".

Anchor: "Hello Haj. Condoleances. Why did it take them so long to kill him?"
Hajj (still laughing): "We are not gloater, no gloating "
Anchor: "Not gloating. But they have taken a toll. There is still Ahmad Fatfat (to kill). I am counting them"
Haj: "We still need (to kill) 4 or 5"

It has been reported that the the Prime Minister Fouad Seniora called the Speaker Berri and that Berri fired the Anchor woman. Her identity and the identity of the Haj are still unknown.

---UPDATE---

The Anchor has bee identified as "Sawsan Darweesh". Al Arabiya posted an article on this incident.

Supporting the Army in Tripoli

See more Photos at Failasoof's blog.

Racist!!!

On the blog of the electronic Intifada, there was an interview with a Palestinian Doctor regarding the events that happened and are happening in Naher el Bared.

I have to say first that my condolences goes to the Palestinian innocent civilians that are being lost in this battle. It definitely is not an easy thing to lose a friend, an uncle or a father. All Lebanese know this fact very well, because we have all experienced loss.

Even though I disagree with the direction of the interview, I only want to comment on the last question and answer of this interview:

Do you think that the Lebanese government is responsible?

I think the Lebanese government is racist towards the Palestinians; there was not a single school [that] opened to host the refugees.

I will not even answer the claim that no school was opened to the refugees. I will leave it to other people to show that this claim is false.

I only want to comment on the claim that the "Lebanese government is racist towards the Palestinians". For the past 4 weeks, the Lebanese army has been fighting a vicious battle against terrorism, by the confession of the interviewee. The orders for the army to be extra careful to minimize the number of civilian casualties among the Palestinian refugees in the camp, is taking its toll on the Lebanese army. About 60+ soldiers have sacrificed their lives so far to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians in the camps. The Lebanese are paying in Blood to save Palestinian Blood.

The Army of a nation should only sacrifice for the people of its nation. By sacrificing their blood for the Palestinians, the Lebanese Army has equated the Palestinian Lives with those of its own. I do not believe there is a greater sacrifice or a greater message.

If anyone is a Racist, it is the interviewee of the electronic intifada. The Palestinians are yet to show support to the Lebanese Army the same as we have done in Tripoli. Anything less than that is a sign of ungratefulness.

Syria and Al Qaida

This past week, one very important event took place that might reshape the political relationship between the United States and Syria.

The story goes like this:

On May the 20th, the Lebanese security forces arressted an individual in Ashrafieh, in a hotel, after they have been watching him for a while. This man's name is Ahmad Merhi. The information that he has been divulging are helping to reconstruct the workings of the Nahr el bared terrorist organization.

To make a long story short, this man turned out to be the vital link between the terrorists and the Syrian intelligence headed by Asef Shawkat, the Syrian's president's brother in law. Both teams have managed to smuggle an explosive expert by the name of Abu Ahmad el Iraqi as well as other Al Qaida fighters into Lebanon to operate under the name of Fateh al Islam.

This might seem to the Lebanese as old news, but to the United States, this should be an extremely important piece of information, since it establishes a link between the Syrian intelligence and Al Qaida.

I wonder what the democrats in the United States will say when they find out this information. Will they still be willing to conduct "talks" with the Syrians to fight terrorism in the region?

You can read about this subject more here, here, here and here.

Support our troops Ribbon

The USA and Syria on Lebanon

At this point, any attempts for talks or negotiations with the Syrian government on the part of the USA will cause a catastrophic consequence for Lebanon. For the third week in a row, the Lebanese Army has been fighting a vicious battle in the camp of the Naher al Bared against Fateh Al Islam, a terrorist group that has been established by the Syrian intelligence in Lebanon. The USA has not yet held Syria accountable for these events so far. They have been treating this incident as a separate issue altogether, somehow, as if it is an isolated event.

This failure on the behalf of the United States government, could become a catalyst for further outbursts of terrorist activities in Lebanon. How could that be, you might ask? Syria has been denying any involvement with the group of Fateh Al Islam, even though, the majority of its high ranking members are turning out to be Syrians. These Syrian terrorists are fighting a battle in Lebanon, after passing the Syrian/Lebanese boarder. Syria's history in fighting Islamist groups inside Syria is well documented. Therefore, to assume that a Syrian Islamic fundamentalist making his way from Syria, to fight a religious battle in Lebanon, is a far fetched possibility.

Syria has been performing under the guise of Islamic fundamentalism for decades. It suppresses these groups inside of Syria, and funds them in Iraq and in Lebanon. These groups are prime pawns that are brainwashed to die for a religious cause, and Syria has perfected the method for their use, through years of experience. The Leader of Fateh al Islam, Shaker Al Absi, is wanted in Jordan, escaped to Syria, where he was arrested for terrorism, detained for three years, to finally appear in Lebanon and establish Fateh al Islam. Quite a trip he made. And to think that you can be released from prison in Syria within three years for terrorism, seems quite a stretch for human rights, even in democratic terms, not to mention that if you are truly arrested in Syria for terrorism, no one will know about you, or even that you existed.

The US, by ignoring all these facts, will only cause problems for itself on three fronts. Iraq, Lebanon and US soil. It has been long established in the US, that to take the battle to the terrorists and fight them outside US soil, is a good plan. To fight these terrorists in Lebanon and Iraq, is better than to have them make their way to the USA. The misery and trouble of the Iraqi and the Lebanese people is of little consequence compared to that of the American public. On first glance, this all looks nice and dandy. But, wasn't this the same tactic that gave rise to Bin Laden, amongst many others. Isn't this the same tactic that is costing American lives in Iraq? Or maybe the life on an American soldier, who is paid to serve and protect, is of a lesser value in Iraq, than it is worth on American soil?

The United Stated must stop beating around the bush when it comes to its foreign policy, and start calling things by their names. This is the essence of freedom, and of democracy. This is the flag that the Lebanese people are burdened to carry in a region infested with theocracies, autocracies and dictatorships, all of which want to have a say in Lebanese affairs. If the US government does not come to the realization that democracies in the east are very sensitive to regional politics, then it will loose its war in Iraq, no doubt, and all the US soldiers that gave their lives there will amount to nothing.

The required stance towards Syria has to be firm. There should be no negotiations or concession on freedom, independence and sovereignty of Lebanon. There should be no negotiations or talks with Syria, to get the Syrian government to do what is right. If they are not doing what is right, what makes you think that if you talk to them, they will. You will have to negotiate on truth and democracy, and when you do so, you have lost both. At this point, talking to Syria about the possibility of talking, is, for the Syrians, a US concession. They will view this as a sign of weakness, and will intensify their operations in Lebanon. Today in Naher Al bared, tomorrow in Ain el Helweh and other camps.

Are We Winning?

As of today, the battle between the Lebanese army and the terrorists of Fateh Al Islam in the camp of Naher al Bared in the North has taken its toll. The Lebanese Army has been fighting this battle on 3 fronts, the first is a media war and the second is a military campaign, and the third is an intelligence campaign.

On the first front, the Lebanese army and government seem to have the upper hand, especially that the foe does not have any access to any media outlet, and any group that feels any sympathy to the terrorists will not risk making any statement especially since the whole of Lebanon has voiced unity behind the army operations. The only ones who came close are a group by the name of "Jund al Sham" in the camp of "Ain el Helweh" near Saida, and even had some skirmishes with the Lebanese Army, before they were withdrawn and silenced by the Palestinian factions inside the camp. At this point, no other Palestinian camp can risk what is going on in Naher el Bared, since the Army's swift retaliation to the minor attacks by Jund al Sham was quick and precise, and sent a very clear message: "Don't even think of messing with us at this point".

Naher El Bared Camp (Ref:Google Maps)

On the other hand, the military battle in Naher el Bared seems to be nearing its end. But the number of casualties seem to indicate otherwise. So far, with today's recent casualty, the army has lost 49 soldiers in this battle, 17 of which were ambushed at the beginning of this fight, and whose death was the fuse that triggered this whole operation. The casualties of Fateh al Islam has been reported to be 38. These numbers show that the level of training of these terrorists ravels that of the training of the Lebanese Army, except, that the Lebanese Army is exercising restraint, because the terrorists are hiding amongst civilians.

On the intelligence front, the Army has had much eye opening information about the members and the plans of this group so far, plans such as "blowing up the tunnel of Shekka", and "establishing an Islamic state in Tripoli". The army gathering specific information such as a certain member receiving a gun as a gift, shows the level of detail that has been found out so far. On top of that, the army has found and diffused booby trapped cars, arrested dormant cells, captured terrorists planting bombs, members that have been establishing links between Fateh Al Islam and Al Qaida in Iraq, and interrogated members of the group receiving very valuable information regarding the extent of their operations, which led to more arrests.

Time of importance in brining this battle to a plausible end.

A Fallacy

Samir Geagea, the leader of the Lebanese Forces made a press conference and put forward and argument regarding the validity of putting together a unity government that gives the opposition a 3rd of the seats, which he calls, veto power. His main argument that has been circulating around the Lebanese blog sphere and political forums is this:

The government would have not been able to take decisive action against the terrorists in Naher el Bared, if the opposition had veto power, since Hasan Nasrallah made it clear in his speech that entering the camps is a "Red Line" for anyone.

This seems like a plausible argument except that he has missed one crucial piece of information. In opposition to Hasan Nasrallah's stance, Michel Aoun, the other big player of the opposition took an opposing stance regarding this matter. He backed up the Lebanese Army, and considered that there are no such things as Red Lines when comes to the security of the country.

Thus, Mr. Geagea's argument could be nullified. The government including the opposition would still have been able to take the decisions it did, with the backing of the FPM, even if this decision was not unanimous. In my opinion, this would have put Hizbullah in a very weird position.

Shortly after (or even before) the UN resolution passed, the Syrian government announced that the passing of this resolution will shake Lebanon's stability.

رغم تحذيرات سوريا بأن هذه المحكمة قد تؤدي لزيادة زعزعة استقرار لبنان

Most Lebanese see that as a threat from the Syrians to manipulate their dormant terrorist cells in Lebanon to undermine the legitimacy of the government. It has been a habit of Syria of sending threat messages in the form of friendly advice. An "Al Capone" style of advice.

But Syria, who criticized Saddam Hussein for allowing the relations with the international community to deteriorate, is not applying a good advice to its own relations with the international community.

The Axis and the tribunal

In 2002, Bush named 3 countries in his State of the Union Address "The Axis of Evil". These countries were Iraq, Iran and North Korea. Shortly after that John Bolton, the undersecretary of state back then added 3 "rouge" states to the list: Libya, Syria and Cuba. These states have been accused of harboring terrorism & developing weapons of mass destruction, and were to be dealt with.


Iraq: Faced sanctions by the USA until it faced military action.
Iran: In limbo with the USA regarding its Nuclear program, and facing economical sanctions.
North Korea: Facing international sanctions, with an acute weakening economy.

The 3 additional states:

Libya: In 2003 Libya payed the families of the victims of the Pan Am flight 3 Billion dollars in compensation, dropped its weapons program, and have rectified its relations with the west since.
Cuba: identified as a State Sponsor of Terror by the United States Department of State in addition to the imposed sanctions.

Which brings us to Syria. So, why is Syria so worried about the latest resolution? You can take a guess. When the Syrians assassinated Hariri, they did not think that this could be used as an excuse by the Americans to rally the international community. Apparently, they were shortsighted.

UNSCR 1757

Passed.
10 Voted Pro
0 Against
5 Abstained: Qatar, Russia, China, Indonesia, South Africa

This brings back to mind Jumblat's attack on Qatar & Al Jazeera, accusing them of collaboration with the terrorists in Naher Al Bared. The question is: Why would Qatar abstain?