Problems passing in which direction?

In an article posted on Reuters, an Egyptian analyst makes a very curious claim, listen to this:

غير أن رشوان قال ان اندلاع العنف في لبنان قد يشير الى أن المتشددين يواجهون صعوبة في الذهاب الى العراق عبر سوريا التي تتعرض لضغوط أمريكية لوقف ما تصفه واشنطن بتدفق المقاتلين الاجانب على العراق

(translation: The terrorists are facing trouble going into Iraq through Syria, because Syria is tightening the security on its boarders because of American pressure.)

This raises 2 Questions:

1- Is Syria really blocking the entrance of these terrorists into Iraq?
2- Where did these terrorists come from?

The answer for the first question is "No". Syria is an expert of doing the thing and opposite at the same time. In Lebanon as we say: "To kill the victim, and march in his funeral".

So let us once more raise the question of how these terrorists are coming into Lebanon. Are they taking commercial flights and entering Lebanon with fake passports? This is something that is highly far fetched. If you have gone to Lebanon through and airplane, you would know the security measures taken at the only international airport in the country. It is a highly far fetched event. In contradiction to the news published on AFP, that Iraq is exporting terrorists to the Neighboring countries.

Which is easiest then for all these Saudi terrorists coming into Lebanon: The answer is "Syria".

Look again at the map of the middle east my friends.

Fateh Al Islam & the Camps

Let us dot the i's and cross the t's first. The Palestinian camps have had autonomous security handled by Palestinian forces under the command of the current Palestinian government. The Lebanese Armed forces have respected that autonomous condition since the end of the war, and the preservation of the Palestinian arms inside the camps has always been covered under the pretext of withholding the camp's security.

The beginning of this conflict started with a bank robbery. These terrorists robbed a bank, and retreated into the camp's surrounding area. When the Lebanese security forces followed them and tried to capture them, they did not know to which side or party they belonged. They were only doing their duty in perusing criminals. These terrorists opened fire, and as it is apparent now, it was not an individual incident, this bank robbery, it was meditated on the highest level of this terrorist organization. The fact that this group has become so powerful and has even bullied the Palestinian security forces, raises questions about the validity and effectiveness of the Palestinian arms inside these camps.

So what is the purpose of the Palestinian arms in the camp of Nahr el Bared, or any of the other camps in Lebanon. They have not fired one shot towards Israel for decades. So what is the validity of an autonomous security outside the boundaries of Lebanese Security forces, if they are not willing, and I am no saying here capable, because they are capable for sure, if they are unwilling to control terrorist groups that threaten the security of the Lebanese citizens?

The bigger question becomes: "What should happen to the situation of the arms in the Palestinian camps?"

And the prize for best director goes to:

You know what I think, I think that the Syrians changed their terrorist film director. The previous one used to be a little better.

The Twilight Zone!

What is happening these days seems out of this world:

1- Hizbullah is quoting an American Journalist
2- Fundamentalist Sunnis are calling death to the Sunni government
3- Jumblat is accusing Al Jazeera, and Qatar of conspiracy.
4- No mention whatsoever on the Syrian news of the events in Lebanon
5- Berri tells Koshner that he supports the formation of the International tribunal.

What the hell is going on?

A changing USA and the Middle East

The problem with the Democrats in the USA, (which I tend to lean to, more than the republicans), is that they consider the current mess in Iraq, the work of Bush, and they don't want to be a part of that mess, and therefore, they want to get the hell out of there. Tell that to the Iraqi people. If the Americans get out of Iraq today, tomorrow there will be a civil war in Iraq, and thousands, if not millions, will die. The United States wants to interfere in the world affairs, but they do not want to take full responsibility. The democrats should take responsibility for decisions made by republicans and vice versa. Internal politics should be separate from foreign policy.

On the other hand, they think diplomacy works in this region, and it does, and that talking to someone wouldn't hurt. Apparently, they are missing one small detail. It probably won't hurt, let's say, on the short run. Or, it won't hurt, them directly. As it seems, it does hurt other people with whom their foreign policy is involved.

Pelosi in a headscarf in Syria

Pelosi, and her visit to Syria, gave the Syrians the impression that the Americans are in deep trouble, and because they are, they have come to us for assistance. Today, we are paying the price for the energy shot that Syria received from Pelosi.

Maybe the new democrats are beginning to learn how the game is played in foreign affairs. Let's hope it doesn't take them much to catch up.

Fateh al Islam Protecting the Muslims

Fateh Al Islam announced that they are protecting the Muslims in Lebanon.

List of the Army Soldiers slaughtered by Fateh al Islam:

Roy Abu Ghazaleh
Mahmoud Mohamad Bakeesh
Elie Maurice Maalouf
Riad Qassem Abdallah
Nazih Ali Nader
Mazen Fawzat al Aawar
Abed al Salam Saleh
Khaled Abdel Jaleel Teleeji
Sergeant Shadi Mahmoud Rostum
Mohamad Khaleefeh al Khodor
Maher Hasan al Halak
Jihad Khaled al Shomtieh
Mohamad Mahmoud al Nizam
Firas Mohamad Soffan
Roy Asaad al Boustani
Ahmad Moustafa al Masri
Farouq Ezeddine al Moukhlalati
Bilal Azwan al Hajj Ahmad
Mehdi Mohamad Deeb al Masbooh
Mohamad Ahmad Ali
Mohamad Malek Ramadan
Mo'men Aamer al Hosni
Yehia Mustapha al Musulmani
Bassem Aziz Ahmad
Mohamad Saheel al Hussein
Mohamad Mustapha al Sheika
Saad Mohamad Qassem
Ahmad Mahmoud al Hamad


العريف الشهيد المجند فراس صوفان (22/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد المجند محمد الخضر (22/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد المجند جهاد الشمطية (22/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد المجند ماهر الحلاق (22/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد المجند محمد نظام (22/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد المجند عشير البري (22/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد المجند زياد حبلص (22/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد المجند يوسف محمد (22/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد المجند ناصر ناصر (22/5/2007)
الرقيب الشهيد نزيه نادر (22/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد روي البستاني (22/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد المجند أحمد الحمد (21/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد المجند محمد رمضان (21/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد المجند محمد احمد علي (21/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد باسم أحمد (21/5/2007)
الرقيب الشهيد مازن الأعور (21/5/2007)
الملازم الشهيد روي ابو غزالة (21/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد المجند بلال الحاج أحمد (21/5/2007)
الرقيب الشهيد عبد السلام صالح (21/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد المجند يحي المسلماني (21/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد المجند فاروق المخللاتي (21/5/2007)
المعاون الشهيد ايلي معلوف (21/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد المجند مؤمن الحصني (21/5/2007)
المعاون الشهيد محمود باكيش (21/5/2007)
الرقيب الشهيد خالد تليجي (21/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد المجند أحمد المصري (21/5/2007)
المعاون الشهيد رياض قاسم عبد الله (21/5/2007)
العريف الشهيد مهدي المذبوح (21/5/2007)

So, where are they coming From

Let's take a guess where all these terrorists are coming from:

1- The Mediterranean Sea.
2- Israel
3- Syria

If you can guess the right answer, you will win with us your freedom.

Between Aoun and Geagea

Aoun and Geagea seem to the outsider as bitter rivals. They have fought during the late 80's, beginning of 90's.

The majority of the Christians in Lebanon have been raising the flag of "Lebanon First" since the war broke off in the 70's. Today, it seems that when the rest of the parties have read the obituary on "Arabism", such as Jumblat and Hariri, they seem to be raising the flag that the Christians have held for so long. Aoun is furious with these two, and distrusts them. His argument is: They did it once, they can do it again. Geagea says, forgive and forget. As long as they are on Lebanon's side now, we can move ahead and rebuild the country. His argument is: We want to eat grapes, and not kill the keeper of the vineyard.

The two are not so different from each other, but both of them have the "Savior" complex. They want to be seen as the savior of Lebanon, and go down in history.

Reactions of Various Political Groups

These are some of the reactions of the various political groups in Lebanon regarding the clashes between the Lebanese Army and "Fateh Al Islam"

Saniora: Supports the Army
Hariri: Supports the Army, calls group as "terrorist"
Geagea: Supports the Army, to finish off "Fateh Al Islam"
Jumblat: Supports the Army, afraid of bigger problems
Qabbani: Condemns the attack, supports the government
Sfeir: Fears for Lebanon, sorry for violent events
Aoun: Supports the Army, asks the government to resign
Hizbullah: Supports the Army, condemns the attacks
Berri: Condemns the attack
Franjieh: Blames March 14

Where do I begin?

It's all the Syrians fault. That is where I would begin. 15 years of "avoided" occupation plus 15 years of "authorized" occupation, and you expect it all to disappear in a matter of 2 years? Get serious. Syria has managed to plant various groups and factions that operate directly and indirectly under her authority. Only time will tell the extent of this infiltration.

The camp of Nahr el Bared (Reuters)

The recent events between "Fateh Al Islam" and the Lebanese army shows the extent that these groups are being mobilized by Syrian orders. Why now? A wild guess on my side:

"The International Tribunal"

Remember Bashar's threat that he will "Burn Lebanon" if the tribunal is passed. This is the "First Rain" as it seems, a couple of days after the tribunal was put in the hands of the United Nations.

As we say in Lebanon "Allah Yostor".