Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Michael Totten proposes an interesting referendum - a non-aggression pact between Israel and Lebanon
Public opinion on the idea of a peace treaty with Israel is mixed. Some want a peace treaty now. Some even want an alliance with Israel, although they tend to keep quiet about that and are far more likely to share that opinion off-the-record with me than they are with their fellow Lebanese. Others don't want a peace treaty until outstanding issues--the supposed occupation of the Shebaa Farms, and the hundreds of thousands of unwanted and dangerous Palestinian refugees--are resolved. Even some otherwise sensible Lebanese I know wallow in conspiracy theories and believe Israelis want to conquer South Lebanon and steal water from the Litani River. Hezbollah's hard-core supporters don't ever want a peace treaty with Israel. But a non-aggression pact? An agreement that we'll leave you alone if you leave us alone? Put that on a ballot in a popular referendum and it would pass overwhelmingly.
Of course, the Lebanese government wouldn't be strong enough to enforce it. Lebanon is tiny, weak, and under the gun from Syria, Iran, and their joint Hezbollah proxy. Too many Lebanese willingly submit to Syrian and Iranian vassalage, and they have by far the most well-armed private army in the country. Not even a non-aggression pact, let alone a peace treaty, is workable now.
Someday, though, all this will change...
Another "I was there" wrtting reminding us with the boring british CSI(COLONIA SERVICE intelegia) in the begining of the 20 century...
when every british touirist in a british colony becomes a think tank on his own and a profesional on all affiars from religous to economical.
so how would this games help solve the problems of the region that israel is central to.
and are shiaa diffrent than lebaneese.....? what is wrong in this world.....I am sure goerge bush and his admiinistration had these type of people around him.
the problem is that there is a country goofing around with the protection of america and is not serious about bieng a decent country......until then there is no peace because thats the natural end of lying and decisive deplomacy.
anyways good to read people thoughts and prespectives but the facts are something out of the calculation.
Dealing with arab countries as peices is a big drawback when negotiating with Israel.
israel is in deep problems about lands and refugees and killing of thousands and that is under the eyes of the whole world...
Israel destroyed lebanon....2 years ago........so i really doubt that they are the least anti-israel. this thing keeps building up generation by genaration in lebanon.
Israel destroyed Lebanon?
How many millions of Lebanese are dead?
Are there any buildings left standing?
Are there any functioning airports?
Is the President of Lebanon dead?
arabiantaqiyya, please tell us why islamofascists are doing everything possible to trigger the utter destruction of Mecca, the Kabba, Medina and Qom?
Israel destroyed lebanon....2 years ago........so i really doubt that they are the least anti-israel. this thing keeps building up generation by genaration in lebanon.
How much time have you spent in Lebanon? I was there in August, and Lebanon was not in any way "destroyed."
Michael Totten lived there, and he returns to Lebanon as often as he can. He writes mostly about small countries that are being bullied by, well, the local bullies. Israel and Lebanon are being bullied by Saudi Arabia and Iran. Georgia was (and is) being bullied by Russia. The Kosovars are being bullied by the Serbs (and Russia)
Of course, bully nations won't take the blame, and they relentlessly criticize the messenger, but we expect them to do that. Then they sing an old familiar song, blaming America and Israel for their own misdeeds.
Russia even tried to blame their invasion of Georgia on Israel. Can't say they lack chutzpah.
Return to the high number of casualities (more than 1000 lebanease )
using of a type of bomb that is not allowed.(using cluster bombs)
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/07/24/isrlpa13798.htm
beruit airport distruction
http://www.janes.com/news/transport/business/jar/jar071019_1_n.shtml
list can be very long.
I know thats not a big deal.... on your standards.
and mecca and kaaba or any other place is rocks....so please be respective to religous sensitivites.....and remember we are not the people that get their tempels destroyed ...and as said the house has someone to defend it... be reminded of it.
"How much time have you spent in Lebanon? I was there in August, and Lebanon was not in any way "destroyed."
Michael Totten lived there, and he returns to Lebanon as often as he can. He writes mostly about small countries that are being bullied by, well, the local bullies. Israel and Lebanon are being bullied by Saudi Arabia and Iran. Georgia was (and is) being bullied by Russia. The Kosovars are being bullied by the Serbs (and Russia)
Of course, bully nations won't take the blame, and they relentlessly criticize the messenger, but we expect them to do that. Then they sing an old familiar song, blaming America and Israel for their own misdeeds.
Russia even tried to blame their invasion of Georgia on Israel. Can't say they lack chutzpah. "
ok its a good read....but again I enter his blog and read but many aspects are wrong.
going to lebanon is not enough....!
to sum everything up.........Israel gave legitamcy to hizboullah and made it the number 1 player in the lebanease government.
thats basics of any discussion.
the problem began with israel war,
these things are hard to understand because their materialistc facts that cant be changed.
and please leave saudia alone, it gave more than 1 billion to lebanon until now after the war ( not creating militias like iran) ......and yet there will reparations on israel to pay for lebanon as was announced couple of months ago through the UN.
..and please leave saudia alone, it gave more than 1 billion to lebanon until now after the war ( not creating militias like iran)
The Saudis didn't have to create their al Qaeda militia, because it was already a fully-functional and mobile Saudi army. Al Qaeda was ready to go into the Palestinian camps in Tripoli and cause all kinds of trouble. Like the coordinated bus bombings, targeting civilians.
Sure, the Saudis offer blood money, as is their tradition, but the blood money system doesn't do anything to stop the perps from killing more people.
I agree that Israel's tactics during the last war weren't well considered (I still don't understand why they didn't wage war on Syria instead), but Iran's Hezbollah needs to take most of the blame.
..and why do you keep mentioning mecca? Most Muslims believe that the Saudis shouldn't have any authority over that holy city at all. Most Muslims are extremely angry about the temples and the holy sites the Saudis have destroyed in Mecca. Mecca should never be bombed. It should simply be taken away from the Saudi "usurpers to the throne"
(that colorful phrase comes from just one of many resentful Muslims, not me)
So, have you ever visited Lebanon?
If the US or India or Israel suffer a nuke attack, Mecca most certainly will be vaporized in retaliation.
M.A.D. - Mecca Assured Destruction.
Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo said it before, to the consternation of CAIR.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7ceyrBw50Y
If the US or India or Israel suffer a nuke attack, Mecca most certainly will be vaporized in retaliation.
Some of our best allies are Muslims (something I learned from reading MJT's articles) The conservative Muslim Kurds in Northern Iraq, for instance. Turkey, one of the most economically viable Muslim nations around (due to their still-secular form of government)is also an ally. Mecca has no strategic value. Bombing it would help the much-hated Saudi regime gain sympathy in the Muslim world, and it would do nothing to stop the flow of money and weapons to terrorist militias.
If a nation is going to wage war or punish war crimes, it's important to figure out who actually committed the war crime before taking action. If it was an Islamist-sponsored attack, simultaneously bombing political and military centers in Syria, Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia after a nuke attack in India or the US would be a sensible strategy.
An effort to take control of Mecca and Medina away from the Saudi 'parasite usurpers to the throne' would get a lot of support from the Muslim world.
Mary, I disagree.
Presenting the fact that a WMD attack on the US, India or Israel would trigger the destruction of Mecca might some islamofasicsts think of the consequences of their actions.
Will sane Muslim heads confront and control those fellow Muslims, like the islamofascist regime of iran, who dream of a WMD attack on Israel and who have stated they are willing to accept the deaths of 200 million Muslims to destroy Israel?
I hope so, for everyones sake.
Again, India and Pakistan almost had a nuclear war over land, Kashmir. Thankfully there wasn't one.
Similarly the US and the former Soviet Union survived the Cold War with the threat of Mutual Assured Destruction.
Presenting the fact that a WMD attack on the US, India or Israel would trigger the destruction of Mecca might some islamofasicsts think of the consequences of their actions.
No it wouldn't. The most powerful Islamofascists in Iran and in Saudi Arabia would welcome the destruction of Mecca, since this would radicalize the Muslim population.
The Saudis hear nothing but complaints from Muslims about how they mishandle the haj and destroy monuments and holy grave sites. The destruction of Mecca would bring Muslim-wide support for their brand of extremism and it would give them a chance to rebuild Mecca the way they want it to be.
Iran has no respect for the holiness of Mecca. They tried to launch a terrorist attack in the midst of the haj in 1986, and they started a riot during the haj in 1987 that killed 400 + people.
MAD worked because the leaders of the Soviet union cared (to some degree) about the population and the land. The leaders of Iran and Saudi Arabia only care about the oil underneath the land. They can take or leave their deserts and their unproductive populations.