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Reporting from Lebanon
- Thread starter Samerron
- Start date
Samerron
New Member
I don’t know what to say. Can’t watch the news any more.
Alas, I lost my trust in this world.
I guess you’re all watching the news and checking the latest inhuman development on the Middle Eastern front. I don’t know how much you’re getting from the media that is offered, hoping it’s not single-sided and dominant (a monopoly in mass media). Well, for us here in the Middle East we have the local news channel, around 5 international Lebanese channels, Al-Jazeera, CNN and BBC news, in addition to other which are minor.
I guess the internet is a good place to read and understand all the views without being bombarded with continuous biased news.
I hope the mature forum is almost done, any news regarding it?
Alas, I lost my trust in this world.
I guess you’re all watching the news and checking the latest inhuman development on the Middle Eastern front. I don’t know how much you’re getting from the media that is offered, hoping it’s not single-sided and dominant (a monopoly in mass media). Well, for us here in the Middle East we have the local news channel, around 5 international Lebanese channels, Al-Jazeera, CNN and BBC news, in addition to other which are minor.
I guess the internet is a good place to read and understand all the views without being bombarded with continuous biased news.
I hope the mature forum is almost done, any news regarding it?
StillILearn
New Member
Don't lose your trust in the entire world, Samerron.
People of peace everywhere are crying out for an immediate cease fire.
We need you to continue to remind us that real humans with hearts and minds just like ours are having their lives ripped apart by this sensless violence.
You are making a huge difference by reaching out to those of us who may have become complacent because our own loved ones are currently safe in their own beds at night.
This may be the greatest thing you can do for our small planet right now, Samerron -- to continue to remind us of the horror that you are experiencing first hand.
Please don't lose all trust and hope. The world needs you.
Love,
Still
People of peace everywhere are crying out for an immediate cease fire.
We need you to continue to remind us that real humans with hearts and minds just like ours are having their lives ripped apart by this sensless violence.
You are making a huge difference by reaching out to those of us who may have become complacent because our own loved ones are currently safe in their own beds at night.
This may be the greatest thing you can do for our small planet right now, Samerron -- to continue to remind us of the horror that you are experiencing first hand.
Please don't lose all trust and hope. The world needs you.
Love,
Still
StillILearn
New Member
Samerron
New Member
No more lies ...
Thank you Still for your considerate reply. Trust is an attribute that doesn’t exist in my dictionary anymore mainly with respect to the world politics.
The war is approaching 20 days and politicians haven’t reached a decisive conclusion, or maybe they don’t want. The Israeli prime minister said we are not in hurry to cease-fire. I can see the direct honesty in his words! They are interested in war! After all, they have one of the best war-machine in the world.
What I still have is hope, hope in us to resist, tolerate, defend, rise, shout, survive, revive and recover. Hope that is built and dependent by ourselves and no one else. Politicians play there games and we are the victim. The situation has reached a stage which is hard for a normal being to tolerate. Just now I saw a guy in Lebanon from the Red Cross was heading to a site that has been struck and on his way to help the injured and remove the dead bodies, another air-strike has blown next to ambulance knocking him down. When he opened his eyes again, his legs were gone.
To tell you the truth, what is more deadly than the Israeli attacks is the silence of the Arab countries and leaders. A massacre in Qana occurred 2 days ago, and not even one representative condemned the attack! Plus the Lebanese representative in the UN tried through the Security Council, but nothing positive came out from that meeting. You see now why I lost my trust.
Ambulances, milk factories, power stations, television crews and stations, U.N. observers and civilian infrastructure have been deliberately targeted and destroyed using advanced technology with great precision (smart bombs).
Where’s the rest of the world? Where is humanity? What I hear is more ships from the US government loaded with more weapons reaching Israel that has no purpose except more destruction and more death. Did any of the political representatives raise his bloody finger and asked why? What are you planning to do with Lebanon? Another Iraq ??
After all there are a lot of people, governments, organizations and countries who are helping. I would like to thank them all and it’s greatly appreciated by the Lebanese people and government, I just hope those supplements reach the isolated and needed civilians. Several trucks loaded with medicine and food where damaged by the IDF (Israeli Defense Force). A French ship loaded with basic elements of survival wasn’t allowed to approach the Lebanese coast, again by the IDF. It returned to France with what it had left with...
Lost my trust I did. The only faith left is in the civilized force in each of us as beings...in the driving force, energy, strength and determination to stand up and live, live as humans and live a descent and respectful life for us and for our kids. If not in my generation, then in the next, if not then the other and other until we have a respectful life in this unfair world. This and only this is what I believe in. There will be no more lies on us...
Thank you Still for your considerate reply. Trust is an attribute that doesn’t exist in my dictionary anymore mainly with respect to the world politics.
The war is approaching 20 days and politicians haven’t reached a decisive conclusion, or maybe they don’t want. The Israeli prime minister said we are not in hurry to cease-fire. I can see the direct honesty in his words! They are interested in war! After all, they have one of the best war-machine in the world.
What I still have is hope, hope in us to resist, tolerate, defend, rise, shout, survive, revive and recover. Hope that is built and dependent by ourselves and no one else. Politicians play there games and we are the victim. The situation has reached a stage which is hard for a normal being to tolerate. Just now I saw a guy in Lebanon from the Red Cross was heading to a site that has been struck and on his way to help the injured and remove the dead bodies, another air-strike has blown next to ambulance knocking him down. When he opened his eyes again, his legs were gone.
To tell you the truth, what is more deadly than the Israeli attacks is the silence of the Arab countries and leaders. A massacre in Qana occurred 2 days ago, and not even one representative condemned the attack! Plus the Lebanese representative in the UN tried through the Security Council, but nothing positive came out from that meeting. You see now why I lost my trust.
Ambulances, milk factories, power stations, television crews and stations, U.N. observers and civilian infrastructure have been deliberately targeted and destroyed using advanced technology with great precision (smart bombs).
Where’s the rest of the world? Where is humanity? What I hear is more ships from the US government loaded with more weapons reaching Israel that has no purpose except more destruction and more death. Did any of the political representatives raise his bloody finger and asked why? What are you planning to do with Lebanon? Another Iraq ??
After all there are a lot of people, governments, organizations and countries who are helping. I would like to thank them all and it’s greatly appreciated by the Lebanese people and government, I just hope those supplements reach the isolated and needed civilians. Several trucks loaded with medicine and food where damaged by the IDF (Israeli Defense Force). A French ship loaded with basic elements of survival wasn’t allowed to approach the Lebanese coast, again by the IDF. It returned to France with what it had left with...
Lost my trust I did. The only faith left is in the civilized force in each of us as beings...in the driving force, energy, strength and determination to stand up and live, live as humans and live a descent and respectful life for us and for our kids. If not in my generation, then in the next, if not then the other and other until we have a respectful life in this unfair world. This and only this is what I believe in. There will be no more lies on us...
StillILearn
New Member
The unseen tragedy of war -- the part that can't be shown in statistics -- is that for every human being who loses life or limb, thousands more like Samerron lose their faith and trust in humanity.
Samerron is twenty one years old.
Please don't stop telling us what you are experiencing, Samerron. Don't go silent on us. We are listening.
Love, Still
Samerron is twenty one years old.
Please don't stop telling us what you are experiencing, Samerron. Don't go silent on us. We are listening.
Love, Still
Samerron
New Member
"We strongly believe... that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy."
hotzone.yahoo.com
Kevin Sites
hotzone.yahoo.com
Kevin Sites
Sorry to hear that you are losing your trust, Samerron!
But please keep your faith!
We are many people who wants ceasefire here and now!
You are not alone and we are still listening to you!
Keep talking, you may very well reach more people than you think by your story!
Flower
But please keep your faith!
We are many people who wants ceasefire here and now!
You are not alone and we are still listening to you!
Keep talking, you may very well reach more people than you think by your story!
Flower
Samerron
New Member
History Will Judge Us All On Our Actions
July 31,2006 Michel Aoun- Wall Street Journal
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
RABIEH, Lebanon -- While aircraft, sea-craft, and artillery pound our beloved Lebanon, we Lebanese are left, as usual, to watch helplessly and pay a heavy price for a war foisted upon us due to circumstances beyond our control.
Considering that this crisis could have been avoided, and considering that there is -- and has been -- a solution almost begging to be made, one cannot but conclude that all of this death, destruction and human agony will, in retrospect, be adjudged as having been in vain.
No matter how much longer this fight goes on, the truth of the matter is that political negotiations will be the endgame. The solution that will present itself a week, a month or a year from now will be, in essence, the same solution as the one available today, and which, tragically, was available before a single shot was fired or a single child killed. Given this reality, a more concerted effort is required sooner rather than later to stop the death and destruction on both sides of the border.
From the outset, this dispute has been viewed through the differing prisms of differing worldviews. As one who led my people during a time when they defended themselves against aggression, I recognize, personally, that other countries have the right to defend themselves, just as Lebanon does; this is an inalienable right possessed by all countries and peoples.
For some, analysis as to this conflict's sources and resolutions begins and ends with the right to self-defense; for others, Israel's claimed self-defensive actions are perceived as barbaric and offensive acts aimed at destroying a country and liquidating a people. Likewise, some view Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers as fair military game to pressure Israel to return Lebanese prisoners; yet others perceive it as a terrorist act aimed at undermining Israel's sovereignty and security.
These divergences, and the world's failure to adopt different paradigms by which Middle East problems can be fairly analyzed and solved, have produced, and will continue to produce, a vicious cycle of continuing conflict. If the approach remains the same in the current conflict, I anticipate that the result will be the same. This, therefore, is a mandate to change the basis upon which problems are judged and measured from the present dead-end cycle to one which is based on universal, unarguable principles and which has at least a fighting chance to produce a lasting positive result.
My own personal belief is that all human life is equal and priceless -- I look upon Israeli life as the same as Lebanese life. This belief stems not from my Catholic religion, but rather, from basic human values which have their historic home in Lebanon. It is no coincidence that a leading figure in the drafting and adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was Charles Malek, a Lebanese citizen.
I ask, will other Arab countries and leaders have the courage to acknowledge that Israeli life is equal to Arab life? Will Israel have the courage as well to acknowledge that Lebanese life is equal to Israeli life, and that all life is priceless? I believe that most Israeli and Arab citizens would answer in the affirmative. Can we get their governments and their leaders to do the same?
Acknowledgement of equality between the value of the Lebanese and the Israeli people can be a starting point and a catalyst. The universal, unarguable concept of the equality of peoples and of human life should be the basis upon which we measure and judge events, and should provide the common human prism through which the current conflict, and old seemingly everlasting conflicts, are viewed and resolved. This is the only way to peace, prosperity and security, which is, after all, what all human beings desire, regardless of their origin.
The ideological, political and religious differences between the party that I lead, the Free Patriotic Movement, and Hezbollah, could have been addressed either through confrontation, or through internal dialogue. Recognizing the value of human life, the obvious choice was the second option. We sat down with Hezbollah to discuss our differences.
After many months of extensive negotiations, we came up with an understanding that included 10 key items which laid down a roadmap to resolve 10 of the most contentious points of disagreement. For example, Hezbollah agreed for the first time that Lebanese who collaborated with Israel during Israel's occupation of south Lebanon should return peacefully to Lebanon without fear of retribution. We also agreed to work together to achieve a civil society to replace the present confessional system which distributes power on the basis of religious affiliation. Additionally, Hezbollah, which is accused of being staunchly pro-Syrian, agreed for the first time that the border between Lebanon and Syria should be finally delineated, and that diplomatic relations between the two countries should be established.
We also agreed that Palestinian refugees in Lebanon should be disarmed, that security and political decision-making should be centralized with the Lebanese government, and that all Lebanese political groups should disengage themselves from regional conflicts and influences.
Last but not least, our extensive negotiations with Hezbollah resulted in an articulation of the three main roadblocks regarding resolution of the Hezbollah arms issue: First, the return of Lebanese prisoners in Israeli prisons. Second, the return of the Shebaa farms, a tiny piece of Lebanese territory still occupied by Israel. And third, the formulation of a comprehensive strategy to provide for Lebanon's defense, centered upon a strong national army and central state decision-making authority in which all political groups are assured a fair opportunity to participate.
This structure, if joined together with international guarantees which forbid the nationalization of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and which protect Lebanon from Israeli incursions, and if tied on the internal level to a new, fair and uniform electoral law, is the best hope for peacefully resolving the Hezbollah weapons issue.
This is the essence of the comprehensive solution we seek. Because it embodies a shift from a policy based on military force to one founded upon human values and reconciling the rights of parties, it would stand the test of time. If rights are respected, and if parties are treated with the deference that they implicitly deserve as human beings, then the long-term result will be not only physical disarmament, but also a disarmament of minds on both sides.
Our party presented this solution internally to all Lebanese political groups, the Lebanese government, and the international community -- including the U.S. administration -- repeatedly, for an entire year before this crisis began.
Rather than help us to resolve the weapons issue peacefully and avoid the current agony our country is now enduring, the international community and Lebanese government flatly ignored the proposed solution. Many of Lebanon's main political players cast us aside as "pro-Syrian" "allies" of Hezbollah. No matter. These are the same individuals who -- only a year before -- branded me a "Zionist agent" and brought treason charges against me when I dared to testify before a Congressional subcommittee that Syria should end its occupation of my country.
You see, after Lebanon was liberated from Syrian occupation, the international community (apparently enamored by the quixotic images of the Cedar Revolution) demanded that the Lebanese elections take place immediately and "on time"; it brushed off our grave concerns about the electoral law in force, which had been carefully crafted by Syria and imposed upon Lebanon in the year 2000 to ensure re-election of Syria's favorite legislators.
This flawed electoral law -- initially imposed upon us by Syria and then reimposed upon us by the international community -- has had disastrous results. It brought to power a Lebanese government with absolute two-thirds majority powers, but which was elected by only one-third of the populace. With a legislative and executive majority on one side, and a popular majority on the other side, the result was absolute gridlock. Currently in Lebanon, there is no confluence of popular will with government will, and therefore the government cannot deal effectively with this or any other problem.
History will judge us all on our actions, and especially on the unnecessary death and destruction that we leave behind. The destruction currently being wrought upon Lebanon is in no way measured or proportional -- ambulances, milk factories, power stations, television crews and stations, U.N. observers and civilian infrastructure have been destroyed.
Let us proceed from the standpoint that all human life is equal, and that if there is a chance to save lives and to achieve the same ultimate result as may be achieved without the senseless killings, then let us by all means take that chance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Aoun, the former prime minister of Lebanon and commander of its armed forces, is currently a deputy in the Lebanese parliament.
July 31,2006 Michel Aoun- Wall Street Journal
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
RABIEH, Lebanon -- While aircraft, sea-craft, and artillery pound our beloved Lebanon, we Lebanese are left, as usual, to watch helplessly and pay a heavy price for a war foisted upon us due to circumstances beyond our control.
Considering that this crisis could have been avoided, and considering that there is -- and has been -- a solution almost begging to be made, one cannot but conclude that all of this death, destruction and human agony will, in retrospect, be adjudged as having been in vain.
No matter how much longer this fight goes on, the truth of the matter is that political negotiations will be the endgame. The solution that will present itself a week, a month or a year from now will be, in essence, the same solution as the one available today, and which, tragically, was available before a single shot was fired or a single child killed. Given this reality, a more concerted effort is required sooner rather than later to stop the death and destruction on both sides of the border.
From the outset, this dispute has been viewed through the differing prisms of differing worldviews. As one who led my people during a time when they defended themselves against aggression, I recognize, personally, that other countries have the right to defend themselves, just as Lebanon does; this is an inalienable right possessed by all countries and peoples.
For some, analysis as to this conflict's sources and resolutions begins and ends with the right to self-defense; for others, Israel's claimed self-defensive actions are perceived as barbaric and offensive acts aimed at destroying a country and liquidating a people. Likewise, some view Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers as fair military game to pressure Israel to return Lebanese prisoners; yet others perceive it as a terrorist act aimed at undermining Israel's sovereignty and security.
These divergences, and the world's failure to adopt different paradigms by which Middle East problems can be fairly analyzed and solved, have produced, and will continue to produce, a vicious cycle of continuing conflict. If the approach remains the same in the current conflict, I anticipate that the result will be the same. This, therefore, is a mandate to change the basis upon which problems are judged and measured from the present dead-end cycle to one which is based on universal, unarguable principles and which has at least a fighting chance to produce a lasting positive result.
My own personal belief is that all human life is equal and priceless -- I look upon Israeli life as the same as Lebanese life. This belief stems not from my Catholic religion, but rather, from basic human values which have their historic home in Lebanon. It is no coincidence that a leading figure in the drafting and adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was Charles Malek, a Lebanese citizen.
I ask, will other Arab countries and leaders have the courage to acknowledge that Israeli life is equal to Arab life? Will Israel have the courage as well to acknowledge that Lebanese life is equal to Israeli life, and that all life is priceless? I believe that most Israeli and Arab citizens would answer in the affirmative. Can we get their governments and their leaders to do the same?
Acknowledgement of equality between the value of the Lebanese and the Israeli people can be a starting point and a catalyst. The universal, unarguable concept of the equality of peoples and of human life should be the basis upon which we measure and judge events, and should provide the common human prism through which the current conflict, and old seemingly everlasting conflicts, are viewed and resolved. This is the only way to peace, prosperity and security, which is, after all, what all human beings desire, regardless of their origin.
The ideological, political and religious differences between the party that I lead, the Free Patriotic Movement, and Hezbollah, could have been addressed either through confrontation, or through internal dialogue. Recognizing the value of human life, the obvious choice was the second option. We sat down with Hezbollah to discuss our differences.
After many months of extensive negotiations, we came up with an understanding that included 10 key items which laid down a roadmap to resolve 10 of the most contentious points of disagreement. For example, Hezbollah agreed for the first time that Lebanese who collaborated with Israel during Israel's occupation of south Lebanon should return peacefully to Lebanon without fear of retribution. We also agreed to work together to achieve a civil society to replace the present confessional system which distributes power on the basis of religious affiliation. Additionally, Hezbollah, which is accused of being staunchly pro-Syrian, agreed for the first time that the border between Lebanon and Syria should be finally delineated, and that diplomatic relations between the two countries should be established.
We also agreed that Palestinian refugees in Lebanon should be disarmed, that security and political decision-making should be centralized with the Lebanese government, and that all Lebanese political groups should disengage themselves from regional conflicts and influences.
Last but not least, our extensive negotiations with Hezbollah resulted in an articulation of the three main roadblocks regarding resolution of the Hezbollah arms issue: First, the return of Lebanese prisoners in Israeli prisons. Second, the return of the Shebaa farms, a tiny piece of Lebanese territory still occupied by Israel. And third, the formulation of a comprehensive strategy to provide for Lebanon's defense, centered upon a strong national army and central state decision-making authority in which all political groups are assured a fair opportunity to participate.
This structure, if joined together with international guarantees which forbid the nationalization of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and which protect Lebanon from Israeli incursions, and if tied on the internal level to a new, fair and uniform electoral law, is the best hope for peacefully resolving the Hezbollah weapons issue.
This is the essence of the comprehensive solution we seek. Because it embodies a shift from a policy based on military force to one founded upon human values and reconciling the rights of parties, it would stand the test of time. If rights are respected, and if parties are treated with the deference that they implicitly deserve as human beings, then the long-term result will be not only physical disarmament, but also a disarmament of minds on both sides.
Our party presented this solution internally to all Lebanese political groups, the Lebanese government, and the international community -- including the U.S. administration -- repeatedly, for an entire year before this crisis began.
Rather than help us to resolve the weapons issue peacefully and avoid the current agony our country is now enduring, the international community and Lebanese government flatly ignored the proposed solution. Many of Lebanon's main political players cast us aside as "pro-Syrian" "allies" of Hezbollah. No matter. These are the same individuals who -- only a year before -- branded me a "Zionist agent" and brought treason charges against me when I dared to testify before a Congressional subcommittee that Syria should end its occupation of my country.
You see, after Lebanon was liberated from Syrian occupation, the international community (apparently enamored by the quixotic images of the Cedar Revolution) demanded that the Lebanese elections take place immediately and "on time"; it brushed off our grave concerns about the electoral law in force, which had been carefully crafted by Syria and imposed upon Lebanon in the year 2000 to ensure re-election of Syria's favorite legislators.
This flawed electoral law -- initially imposed upon us by Syria and then reimposed upon us by the international community -- has had disastrous results. It brought to power a Lebanese government with absolute two-thirds majority powers, but which was elected by only one-third of the populace. With a legislative and executive majority on one side, and a popular majority on the other side, the result was absolute gridlock. Currently in Lebanon, there is no confluence of popular will with government will, and therefore the government cannot deal effectively with this or any other problem.
History will judge us all on our actions, and especially on the unnecessary death and destruction that we leave behind. The destruction currently being wrought upon Lebanon is in no way measured or proportional -- ambulances, milk factories, power stations, television crews and stations, U.N. observers and civilian infrastructure have been destroyed.
Let us proceed from the standpoint that all human life is equal, and that if there is a chance to save lives and to achieve the same ultimate result as may be achieved without the senseless killings, then let us by all means take that chance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Aoun, the former prime minister of Lebanon and commander of its armed forces, is currently a deputy in the Lebanese parliament.
StillILearn
New Member
We need to be shouting this from the rooftops.
Samerron
New Member
LEBANON: Hear Our Voices – “The worst three nights of my life”
August 02, 2006 - IRIN News
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What was supposed to be a short visit to her parents’ house in south Lebanon soon turned into a nightmare for Maysoon Arbid.Just hours after arriving, the conflict began and she found herself trapped and fearing for her life.
“I left Beirut with my two small nephews, aged six and four, to join my parents in my village Ainata, near Bint Jbeil. Half an hour after we passed the Qasmiye bridge towards our home, it was bombed. Fighting had just started.
“I spent the worst three nights of my life in Ainata.
“The first night was a nightmare as the bombs echoed in our isolated house on top of the hill. The next day, we moved to another house closer to the centre, as we felt safer with people around us. We kept visiting each other’s houses to draw comfort from each other. The children never stopped crying.
“The bombing on the second night was even worse. We hid under the staircase all night and could not go to the bathroom.
“We wanted to leave but the story on the television of the people who were encouraged to leave the village of Marwahin and were then killed on the road haunted us. And there was no fuel. More and more people from neighbouring villages were seeking refuge in our houses as their homes were destroyed.
“On the third night, the bombing was so close and intense that my uncle decided to take a risk and leave early the next morning with my two nephews and I. We were told we were crazy, that the road was too dangerous. We siphoned petrol from a friend’s car. The journey was frightening. We were all alone. All we saw were destroyed roads, destroyed houses, destroyed cars and Lebanese army vehicles carrying aid. It took us six hours to reach Beirut in what is normally a two-hour journey.
“The next day we learned that our neighbours’ house in Ainata was flattened during that fateful third night. It was the Darwiche family - father, mother and two children. They were all killed.”
August 02, 2006 - IRIN News
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What was supposed to be a short visit to her parents’ house in south Lebanon soon turned into a nightmare for Maysoon Arbid.Just hours after arriving, the conflict began and she found herself trapped and fearing for her life.
“I left Beirut with my two small nephews, aged six and four, to join my parents in my village Ainata, near Bint Jbeil. Half an hour after we passed the Qasmiye bridge towards our home, it was bombed. Fighting had just started.
“I spent the worst three nights of my life in Ainata.
“The first night was a nightmare as the bombs echoed in our isolated house on top of the hill. The next day, we moved to another house closer to the centre, as we felt safer with people around us. We kept visiting each other’s houses to draw comfort from each other. The children never stopped crying.
“The bombing on the second night was even worse. We hid under the staircase all night and could not go to the bathroom.
“We wanted to leave but the story on the television of the people who were encouraged to leave the village of Marwahin and were then killed on the road haunted us. And there was no fuel. More and more people from neighbouring villages were seeking refuge in our houses as their homes were destroyed.
“On the third night, the bombing was so close and intense that my uncle decided to take a risk and leave early the next morning with my two nephews and I. We were told we were crazy, that the road was too dangerous. We siphoned petrol from a friend’s car. The journey was frightening. We were all alone. All we saw were destroyed roads, destroyed houses, destroyed cars and Lebanese army vehicles carrying aid. It took us six hours to reach Beirut in what is normally a two-hour journey.
“The next day we learned that our neighbours’ house in Ainata was flattened during that fateful third night. It was the Darwiche family - father, mother and two children. They were all killed.”
Samerron
New Member
Middle East crisis: Key maps
In the first map you can see Beirut and on the top left is the American University of Beirut. It is the university I was attending...
In the first map you can see Beirut and on the top left is the American University of Beirut. It is the university I was attending...
Shade
New Member
I've read through this thread with interest, Samerron, and am glad you're OK - physically at least. Keep on reporting.
I'm interested to read your perspective on things as a Lebanese citizen. It may interest you to know Hizbollah is seen generally in the western world as a terrorist organisation, rather than a resistance militia. However it's also true to say that increasingly in the western world Israel is now seen as the aggressor here, irrespective of the origins of the present conflict, simply because of the sheer scale of its assaults on Lebanon by land and air. Current figures suggest that around 1,000 Lebanese (mostly civilians) and around 120 Israelis (mostly soldiers) have now been killed.
The point earlier that Lebanon and Hizbollah are not one and the same is well made, and Israel's bold incursions into someone else's country without asking are interesting to say the least: imagine if Britain had dropped bombs on Ireland when the IRA was carrying out its terrorism campaign here in the 1970s - 1990s. Having said that, as I understand it, Hizbollah does have some seats in government, doesn't it?
Tony Blair in the UK is under pressure from his party and the media and the country in general for toadying to the US as usual and refusing to call for an immediate ceasefire. One Labour MP resigned in protest yesterday.
I'm interested to read your perspective on things as a Lebanese citizen. It may interest you to know Hizbollah is seen generally in the western world as a terrorist organisation, rather than a resistance militia. However it's also true to say that increasingly in the western world Israel is now seen as the aggressor here, irrespective of the origins of the present conflict, simply because of the sheer scale of its assaults on Lebanon by land and air. Current figures suggest that around 1,000 Lebanese (mostly civilians) and around 120 Israelis (mostly soldiers) have now been killed.
The point earlier that Lebanon and Hizbollah are not one and the same is well made, and Israel's bold incursions into someone else's country without asking are interesting to say the least: imagine if Britain had dropped bombs on Ireland when the IRA was carrying out its terrorism campaign here in the 1970s - 1990s. Having said that, as I understand it, Hizbollah does have some seats in government, doesn't it?
Tony Blair in the UK is under pressure from his party and the media and the country in general for toadying to the US as usual and refusing to call for an immediate ceasefire. One Labour MP resigned in protest yesterday.
Shade
New Member
muggle said:
Well that's a matter of opinion. Having lived through the IRA's paramilitary campaign, I can see parallels. Hizbollah is a terrorist/'resistance militia' organisation which does not recognise Israel's right to occupy the land it does, adjacent to Lebanons's border. The IRA is a terrorist/'resistance militia' organisation which does not recognise the UK's right to occupy the land it does, adjacent to Ireland's border. Hizbollah, like the IRA, has representatives in government. Indeed the IRA's campaign was in theory supportive of the Irish government's policy at the time, which itself called for the reclaiming of the six counties of Northern Ireland and the (re)unification of Ireland (Articles 2 and 3 of the Irish Constitution: now dropped as part of the peace negotiations).
So I wouldn't say it's completely different.
You mention Iran. Here's what the BBC news site has to say about their interest in this.
(Interestingly, the IRA was also backed by Middle East 'rogue states', principally Libya.)
SFG75
Well-Known Member
Looks as if this thing might be on it's way to a positive end result. Israeli P.M. Olmert has accepted a cease-fire proposal.
At least it's a start. I still think it could've been reached a week ago or so, but that's a whole other story.
At least it's a start. I still think it could've been reached a week ago or so, but that's a whole other story.