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 Lebanese Strike a Blow at U.S.-Backed GovernmentPosted on Aug 10, 2007By Robert Fisk Originally posted in The Independent. They’ve done it again. The Arabs have, once more, followed democracy and voted for the wrong man. Just as the Palestinians voted for Hamas when they were supposed to vote for the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas, so the Christian Maronites of Lebanon appear to have voted for a man opposed to the majority government of Fouad Siniora in Beirut. Camille Khoury—with a strong vote from the Armenian Tashnak party—won by 418 votes the seat that belonged to Pierre Gemayel, murdered last November by gunmen supposedly working for the Syrian security services. While the Maronite vote had increased against Gemayel’s showing in 2005 elections, the result was a stunning blow to the American-backed government—how devastating that phrase “American-backed” has now become in the Middle East—in Lebanon and allowed Hizbollah’s ally, ex-General Michel Aoun, to claim that “they cannot beat me”. Mr Aoun is a candidate in presidential elections later this year. True, the voting figures showed huge support for Pierre Gemayel’s father Amin—himself an ex-president—who was standing for the parliamentary seat of his murdered son. Although he was a weak and fractious leader—Amin paid a state visit to Damascus to re-cement “fraternal” ties after the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon—he proved himself a brave man in the aftermath of his son’s murder, calling upon Lebanese to support the government rather than submit once more to the domination of Syria. Khoury’s score in the Metn hills above Beirut—and a 418 conquest out of 79,000 votes is hardly a crushing political victory—yet again emphasises the divisions among the Christians of Lebanon who have traditionally fought each other—rather than their more obvious enemies—throughout Lebanese history. The Crusaders fought each other in Tyre when Saladin was at the gates of the city; in 1990, Mr Aoun’s own Lebanese army fought the Christian Phalangist militia while still trying to defend themselves from the Syrians. They lost both battles. Amin’s father Pierre—grandfather of the MP murdered last November—founded the Phalange in 1936 after being inspired by the Nazi Berlin Olympics. “I thought Lebanon needed some of this order,” he admitted to me shortly before his death; the original Phalange dressed in brown shirts and gave the Hitler salute. But they had turned themselves into a neo-respectable right-wing party by 1982 when they were enthusiastically supported by the invading Israeli army which hoped that Amin’s brother Bashir would be elected president. Alas, Bashir turned out to be less pro-Israeli than the then-defence minister, Ariel Sharon, hoped, and was himself murdered in a bomb attack shortly before his inauguration. Old Pierre of Olympics fame is long dead—he did not even know his own age when I last spoke to him—and Amin’s brother and son were both assassinated. For the government, there was one electoral light yesterday [Aug. 6]: the victory of Mohamed Itani in Beirut, a Sunni Muslim who scored 85 per cent of the vote for the seat of Walid Eido who was himself blown up by a bomb in June. One begins to wonder, in Lebanon, whether the election results are more surprising than the means by which MPs are liquidated.
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By Charles Barton, August 14, 2007 at 11:15 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
#94743 by cyrena
Let us consider what Fisk’s topic is. He writes, “the Christian Maronites of Lebanon appear to have voted for a man opposed to the majority government of Fouad Siniora in Beirut.” A reasonable inference from Fisk’s story would appear that the Lebanese Christians who voted had voted for an opponant of the Siniora government. No mention is made of another vote, so the reader might also assume that there was only contested vote.
Was the omission of the second vote a matter of brevity, or was there something else at stake for Mr. Fisk. Suppose Fisk had included an account of the second election in which the pro-government candidate had taken 80% of the vote. This would have weakened Fisk’s case that the election had a blow against the Siniora government. The election does seem to have been more ofd a blow to the Gemayel clan, than to the Siniora government.
Thus it would appear that giving us more information would have weakened the case that Fisk was trying to make with the information he did give us. Thus Fisk appears to have withheld information in order to control readers perception of the story.
Report thisBy Charles Barton, August 14, 2007 at 4:27 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
#94743 by cyrena
Re: “Am I imposing my subjective, private standard in judging Mr. Fisk?”
cyrena, You failed to explain why you thought my judement, which you acknowledged sharing, was subjective. As a college student in the early 1960’s, I took several elective journalism classes. I did learn then about professional and ethical standards for journalists. Perhaps you are unaware that there are such standards:
http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
http://www.uta.fi/ethicnet/uk.html
http://www.uta.fi/ethicnet/uk2.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journalism_ethics_and_sta ndards
Such standards ought to be used in judging the work of journalis. I am not being subjective in judging Mr. Fisk by the standards of his profession.
I do believe that Mr. Fisk makes sweeping moral judgments against Israel on very unprofessional basis. He was upset when he visited the Yad Vashem Museum and saw the words of a Palestinian leader Amin al Husseini written there. Al Hussaini, who happened to be be the Palestinian leader un 1947-48 had been a major Nazi collaborator. Even Fisk acknowledges:
“I met his only surviving wartime Palestinian comrade before he died and it is perfectly true that the intemperate, devious Had al-Husseini made some vile anti-Jewish wartime speeches in German, in one of which he advised the Nazis to close Jewish refugee exit routes to Palestine and deport Jews eastwards (why east, I wonder ?) and helped to raise a Muslim SS unit in Bosnia. I have copies of his speeches and his photograph hangs in the Yad Vashem Museum. But the downtrodden, crushed, occupied, slaughtered Palestinians of our time - of Sabra and Chatila, of Jenin and Beit Yanoun - were not even alive in the Second World War.
Fisk always writes as if the killings at Sabra and Chatila were conducted by Israelis. They were not. The murderers were Lebanese. True the Israelis allowed them into the camps, but not to murder Palestinians. At worst the Israelis were naive about Lebanese Christians. There is a great deal of difference between giving a bad and uninformed order, and complicity in the massacre. Fisk holds Israelis collectively guilty for the crimes committed by some Lebanese Christians.
Jenin was of course a battle. The Jenin camp was the launching point for 28 suicide attacks on Israel. The Israeli Army entered the Jenin camp to put a stop to the suicide bombings. 71% of the 53 Palestinian dead were armed Palestinian fighters. Civilian casualties occurred because the Palestinians booby trapped houses, involved children in the battle, and chose as their battlefield an area occupied by civilians. I have elsewhere discussed Fisk’s fanciful account of the battle, an account which Fisk falsly described Israeli troups running out of control killing hundreds of Palestinians.
Beit Yanoun is by now an extremely obscure reference. I will pass over it for the sake of brevity.
My animosity against Mr. Fisk is simple. Why does he connect the Yad Vashem Museum with alleged Israeli crimes against Palestinians? Because the Mufti Amin al Husseini, a Palestinian leader, has a presence there. But Amin al Husseini did play a role in the Holocaust. He did intervene with the Nazis in order to facilitate the deaths of thousands of Jewish children, and during their meeting, Hitler agreed to put the Mufti in charge of exterminating the Jews of North Africa and the Middle East. Does the Mufti belong in the Yad Vashem Museum? Undoubtedly. Is Mr. Fisk a dishonest bigot? Yes he is! Does he geed hate for Israel at Truthdig? Yes he does.
Report thisBy cyrena, August 13, 2007 at 9:30 pm #
Charles Barton writes
...."Am I imposing my subjective, private standard in judging Mr. Fisk?"…
Yes, it would seem that you are, but I don’t have a problem with that, since I expect the same from journalists, and I know that the US mainstream is more guilty of blowing this than any other journalists that I’ve seen or read.
The good ones however are generally consistently good, but it also depends, from story to story, depending on what they are covering.
I was particularly curious about what seems like a real an overwhelming antagonism toward this particular journalist, by a handful of people that post here, (definitely in the minority) and it appears that they are equally antagonistic toward ANYTHING that he writes. Like if he says the sun was shining in Beirut today, they get all up in arms because he didn’t say that there was fog all along the bank of the Dead Sea as well, and he never mentioned that, so what’s he trying to hide, and why’s is he lying.
And, that might be very important to some people, but it really wouldn’t make a whole lot of difference to me, because I’m not there, and don’t really care if it’s sunny in Beirut, and foggy near the sea.
And, in journalistic pieces for the Independent or any other that he writes for, I already know that there is a limited amount of page space for it, so I don’t expect footnotes.
Still, I DO understand exactly what you mean. I get the same aggravation anytime I read anything that Noah Feldman writes, because of course in journalistic form, such as any newspaper, they aren’t required to provide sources for their work. I’m not used to that, because when I writefor publishing, or ANY academic source, I absolutely MUST use accurate sources, and in the best of times, these sources should be individually confirmed and verified.
So, everytime Noah Feldman publishes one of his lengthy missives in the NYT or anywhere else, I get pissed, because of course he’s only presenting his “opinion” but he presents it as fact, and there’s never a single solitary resource to back it up. And, people who don’t know any better, are gonna believe him.
So yeah, I do understand that perfectly. It’s pretty much the same with the lies that have been perpetrated on behalf of the “war of terror” in order to keep Americans fearful and ignorant.
EVEN with that though, (as well as with Feldman and others that I get annoyed with) there is still usually something to be gained from reading it, if only to try and comprehend the reasons behind the blatant lies.
I don’t have that same advantage with Fisk, because I wouldn’t otherwise know, most of what he is reporting from the Middle East. HERE, I know what’s going on. But THERE, I don’t.
Report thisBy John F. Butterfield, August 13, 2007 at 2:43 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Bush will conive to change the results of any election he doesn’t like. Just as he did here when Al Gore and John Kerry were elected president.
Report thisBy Charles Barton, August 13, 2007 at 5:05 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
#94441 by cyrena on 8/13 at 1:49 am
Charles,
“There are things that Fisk has failed to report, that you think would be more important. And, you make the very important point that more illuminating accounts are not hard to find.”
My point is that it is rational to disregard the work of a reporter whose work fails to meet minimal professional standards of journalism. I do think it is important to report facts accurately and place them in context. I do think that it is important for reporters to tell the story, not just those parts of the story that fit the reporter’s view of the world. I do think that it is important for reporters to accurately answers questions like who, what, where, when, why and how in telling the story. This I see as being both the craft and the responsibility of journalists. Am I imposing my subjective, private standard in judging Mr. Fisk?
Report thisBy Douglas Chalmers, August 13, 2007 at 4:02 am #
#94442 by cyrena on 8/13 at 2:00 am: “...I got ‘em, and THEN some. I turned them all into PDF docs, and they are just beeeuutiful!!:
Ha ha! Just don’t forget what I said about “Kurdistan” - it DOESN’T exist - since about 1923!!!
*Quote Wiki: “As a traditional ethnographic region, Kurdistan is generally held to include the contiguous regions in northern and northeastern Mesopotamia with large Kurdish populations. From a political standpoint, Iraqi Kurdistan is the only region which has gained official recognition internationally as a federal entity...”
Search terms: ‘Kurdistan” or ‘Turkey’. Also, ‘world war 1’ or the ‘Ottoman empire’ and especially ‘Saladin’. He was the leader of the Moslen forces opposing the “Christian” crusades in the 1170’s.
Beware, though, cyrena, there is about as much biased and bigoted drivel on the net about the “holy” crusades as there is about the Bush administartion and the GOP. Its nearly all distortions and lies - heavily influenced by the European viewpoint.
*Quote Wiki: “...While I (Beha ad-Din) was standing thus Saladin turned to me and said: “I think that when God grants me victory over the rest of Palestine I shall divide my territories, make a will stating my wishes, then set sail on this sea for their far-off lands and pursue the Franks there, so as to free the earth of anyone who does not believe in God, or die in the attempt.” ......Soon, Saladin had taken back almost every Crusader city. He recaptured Jerusalem on October 2, 1187, after 88 years of Crusader rule...”
Report thisBy cyrena, August 13, 2007 at 2:00 am #
#94410 by Douglas Chalmers on 8/12 at 10:43 pm
(617 comments total)
#94244 by cyrena on 8/12 at 9:45 am: ...Anyway, thanks for all of this good info on the oil. Im wondering if there might be any kind of charts that give an idea of where all of these pipelines actually are....
It was on the same page, cyrnea..
==============================
Doug
I got ‘em, and THEN some. I turned them all into PDF docs, and they are just beeeuutiful!! Thanks.
Report thisBy cyrena, August 13, 2007 at 1:49 am #
#94358 by Charles Barton on 8/12 at 6:31 pm
...."Fisk again fsils to report important information, does not identify who all the important actors are, and what motivates their actions. Other, more illuminating accounts are not hard to find."…
==============================
Charles,
I get your point. There are things that Fisk has failed to report, that you think would be more important. And, you make the very important point that more illuminating accounts are not hard to find. And, that would be the beauty of it all, I suggest. Fisk isn’t the only view out there. I generally DO check out other sources, specifically if it’s something that I have a personal or academic interest in researching. The more sources, the better.
Report thisBy cyrena, August 13, 2007 at 1:18 am #
#94410 by Douglas Chalmers on 8/12 at 10:43 pm
OK, I don’t know how I missed it. I’ll go back now. I did find a smaller map in the Robert Vitalis book...America’s Kingdom, but it doesn’t show any of the locations of the pipelines.
I’ll go back to the link.
Thanks.
Report thisBy Douglas Chalmers, August 12, 2007 at 10:43 pm #
#94244 by cyrena on 8/12 at 9:45 am: “...Anyway, thanks for all of this good info on the oil. I’m wondering if there might be any kind of charts that give an idea of where all of these pipelines actually are....”
It was on the same page, cyrnea....
Report thisBy Charles Barton, August 12, 2007 at 6:31 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
cyrena, Lets see. Fisk does not tell us that there were two seats up for grams in the election, and one of them went to a pro-government candidate who received 80% of the votes. Other accounts of the Metn election argue that the election whas about leadership of the Lebanese Christian community, and has little to do with relationships with the West. Pierre Khoury is a political outsider who does not come from the Labanese ruling elite. The Lebanese Christian Community is divided about how to deal with Hezbollah’s power and appears to be hedging their bets. The Sunnis and the Druzes stand to loose a great deal if Hezbollah gains power, and therefore will support the Lebanese government. Khourys victory was far to narrow to indicate that the Lebanese Christian community has shifted support to Hezbollah and Syria. Fisk again fsils to report important information, does not identify who all the important actors are, and what motivates their actions. Other, more illuminating accounts are not hard to find.
Report thisBy cyrena, August 12, 2007 at 9:45 am #
#94193 by Douglas Chalmers on 8/12 at 5:10 am
Douglas, you are just a WEALTH of information! Hot dang!! I knew about the water. That has been an issue since the beginning I think. (I had occassion to trace some “water rights” cases from the area, that go back a ways. Absentee landowners and others seem to maintain these individual contracts to water rights, even if their thousands of miles away. Imagine paying your water bill like you pay your mortgage, but you never end up owning the source of the water, though I don’t know if they can actually “foreclose” on a water source if one refuses to pay. Then again, I wouldn’t put anything past the Israelis. They manage to control the fishing as well. Big fights over that too.
Anyway, thanks for all of this good info on the oil. I’m wondering if there might be any kind of charts that give an idea of where all of these pipelines actually are. I have airway and jet route charts, but they don’t give me any clue to whats going on under the ground or the sea. So, I’ll cruise around and see what I can find. That global research site is very cool. I’ve utilized it before.
I like Turkey too. Istanbul is very exotic.
Just never knew all of this stuff was going on behind the scenes with the oil.
Thanks again.
Report thisBy ardee, August 12, 2007 at 7:33 am #
“Its coming to an end though. Cant happen soon enough. “
Cyrena,
I assume you refer to the ending of our eight year nightmare that is the Bush administration. I would propose to you that the ‘new boss, same as the old boss’ applies here. Bush, or any President for that matter, perhaps since Harry Truman, is a figurehead only and the real power lies with the money.
We have, here in America, a great faith in the power of the vote which seems to be accompanied by another misconception in that we think ourselves smart enough to elect great leaders. We have done no such thing for a very long time now. When James Earl Carter attempted a great undertaking, namely the ending of our reliance on foreign oil, he was quickly made to go away. Likewise when JFK decided to end our involvement in Viet Nam, thus ending a huge revenue stream for our military industrial complex he was fired (upon).
I would suggest that, until and unless we find a way to demythologize our political process, and the way decisions and laws are derived, we will continue to misplace our faith in people and not processes.
Report thisBy ardee, August 12, 2007 at 7:22 am #
#94003 by Non Credo on 8/11 at 11:05 am
The Israelis openly brag about their power over the US government - until you call them on it.
I am curious Non, where do you get the information regarding Israeli braggadocia regarding their supposed sway over our foreign policies? I have been to Israel on several occassions, and, while I have not spoken to everyone certainly, nor have I spoken to officials of their government, I have found a far differing version of local conversation than you would have us believe.
The coffee shops in those cities I have visited are certainly abuzz with political discourse, remarkably so in fact. But the gist thereof, among the youth that inhabits those places, is about a drastic change in the policies of Israel towards their neighbors, especially the Palestinians.
While I readily admit that this is no representative sample I would think that a startling revelation such as you posit should be accompanied by some substantiation.
Report thisBy cyrena, August 12, 2007 at 5:21 am #
#93951 by ardee on 8/11 at 8:03 am
It is beyond ironic that the Bush administration, which has done so much to destroy our own democratic institutions, prattles about founding democracies abroad. These folks do not believe in government thus are uniquely unqualified to build such anywhere, especially at home.
=====================
You said it Ardee. It IS way beyond ironic, and it’s also the very thing that has brought this gang down. The arrogant hubris of assuming that other populations of people, (including our own) are incapable of running their own affairs.
That’s why he’s lost this war, and why he’s destroyed so much at the same time.
It’s coming to an end though. Can’t happen soon enough.
Report thisBy Douglas Chalmers, August 12, 2007 at 5:10 am #
#94171 by cyrena on 8/12 at 12:25 am: “...Rather, it’s about what’s resting BENEATH those “bars of Beirut”, and THAT’S what’s got the American and other transnational privateers all upset about....”
Its not “under” so much as up the coast in Turkey but there is an extension to Israel planned. Also there is a water pipeline to come. The other was just about the local oil depot which was bombed by Israel......
Quote: “...Is there a relationship between the bombing of Lebanon and the inauguration of the World’s largest strategic pipeline, which will channel more than a million barrels of oil a day to Western markets?
Virtually unnoticed, the inauguration of the Ceyhan-Tblisi-Baku (BTC) oil pipeline, which links the Caspian sea to the Eastern Mediterranean, took place on the 13th of July, at the very outset of the Israeli sponsored bombings of Lebanon.....
Israel has a stake in the Azeri oil fields, from which it imports some twenty percent of its oil. The opening of the pipeline will substantially enhance Israeli oil imports from the Caspian sea basin.
But there is another dimension which directly relates to the war on Lebanon. Whereas Russia has been weakened, Israel is slated to play a major strategic role in “protecting” the Eastern Mediterranean transport and pipeline corridors out of Ceyhan........
The bombing of Lebanon is part of a carefully planned and coordinated military road map. The extension of the war into Syria and Iran has already been contemplated by US and Israeli military planners .......In the context of the war on Lebanon, it seeks Israeli territorial control over the East Mediterranean coastline.....
In this context, the BTC pipeline dominated by British Petroleum, has dramatically changed the geopolitics of the Eastern Mediterranean, which is now linked , through an energy corridor, to the Caspian sea basin..... Israel is now part of the Anglo-American military axis, which serves the interests of the Western oil giants in the Middle East and Central Asia.....
...what is rarely acknowledged is that part of the oil from the Caspian sea would be directly channeled towards Israel. In this regard, an underwater Israeli-Turkish pipeline project has been envisaged which would link Ceyhan to the Israeli port of Ashkelon and from there through Israel’s main pipeline system, to the Red Sea......
The objective of Israel is not only to acquire Caspian sea oil for its own consumption needs but also to play a key role in re-exporting Caspian sea oil back to the Asian markets through the Red Sea port of Eilat. The strategic implications of this re-routing of Caspian sea oil are farreaching.......
Water for Israel - Also involved in this project is a pipeline to bring water to Israel, pumping water from upstream resources of the Tigris and Euphrates river system in Anatolia. This has been a long-run strategic objective of Israel to the detriment of Syria and Iraq. Israel’s agenda with regard to water is supported by the military cooperation agreement between Tel Aviv and Ankara....” http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArt icle&code=CHO20060726&articleId=2824
By the way, note the “MAP OF THE NEW MIDDLE EAST” at the foot of the page. The “Free Kurdistan” does not even really exist and is actually only the Northern part of Iraq. The Kurds are still a stateless people existing in a semi-limbo between Turkey and Iran and largely in Iraq. So much for what goes on in the minds of the planners in the Pentagon! Also see http://www.bakuceyhan.org.uk/more_info/bp_pipeline.htm
Report thisBy cyrena, August 12, 2007 at 12:25 am #
#93943 by Charles Barton on 8/11 at 7:31 am
· will Mr. Fisk refer to an Iranian backed government? I think not! But he will be distinctly unhappy if Hezbollah shuts down Beirut bars.
==================
I noticed some other reactions to this.
I would first say...it’s not gonna happen, (about the closing of the bars in Beirut)by Hezbollah or the Iranians, since that’s NOT what this conflict is the least bit about.
Rather, it’s about what’s resting BENEATH those “bars of Beirut”, and THAT’S what’s got the American and other transnational privateers all upset about.
So, we should just see it for what it is, which is the global location for the terminus of all the Arab controlled oil lines to and from the Mediterranean.
SamSnedegan provided us with that very important jewel of information, (at least it was new to me) and that puts far more into perspective, any thoughts on any possible “hot bed of conspiracy” in Beirut.
Meantime, since Mr. Fisk happens to actually BE there, and in communication with the people one would EXPECT to know what is going on, I’m perfectly OK with his dispatches. The best way to know any of what’s going on in any of these places, is to talk to the people -there-.
Thanks Mr. Fisk. Please keep writing. Have a drink for me. (whatever it is they drink over there.)
Report thisBy hazmaq, August 11, 2007 at 8:08 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
No one should blame them. They’ve had a weak leader and needed to dump him. Period.
It may have gone better for the US, pre-Bush, but now everyone hates us.
And nationalism will over rule everything.
The Governor of the remote tribal region on the Pakistan/Afghanistan border just did an interview on CURRENT, where he said Bush’s failure to achieve the 3 original US objectives after 9-ll, 1. Kill Osama, 2. Destroy AlQaeda, and 3. Route the Taliban, have failed so miserably after 5 years it’s backfired into a nationalists movement.
A worldwide nationalists movement.
Report thisBy Douglas Chalmers, August 11, 2007 at 5:22 pm #
#93943 by Charles Barton on 8/11 at 7:31 am: “...will Mr. Fisk refer to an Iranian backed government? I think not! But he will be distinctly unhappy if Hezbollah shuts down Beirut bars. .....I could wish for a more informative report from Mr. Fisk, one which would tell us about what is going on in that hot bed of conspiracy, Beirut. Instead Mr. Fisk relates gossip from the Beirut bar where he drinks....”
Yes, Fisk sems to have lost it a while back when he started criticizing Saab Erekat in the Palestinian Fatah party. He is one of the most clued-up guys..... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saeb_Erekat
Why shouldn’t Hezb’ullah be antisemetic, though? What do you think really goes on over there?
Also, like Fatah and Hamas, Hezb’ullah have international links to the traditional Islamic finance network. How is that different or worse than the Israelis before them?
In fact it still is the Zionist businessmen in countries like the USA and Australia and Britain who support the building of Jewish “settlements” with $$billions of contributions. In causing the eviction of Arab Palestinians at gunpoint (and bulldozer blade!) and assisting the land-grab which is still creating the false state of Israel, are they not actually war criminals themselves?
Report thisBy P. T., August 11, 2007 at 11:27 am #
The U.S. knows how to punish Arabs who vote the wrong way: try to starve them.
Report thisBy cyrena, August 11, 2007 at 9:45 am #
#93974 by SamSnedegar on 8/11 at 9:08 am
(41 comments total)
Lebanon has a significant strategic importance to the Bushitter gang of oil thugs: it comprises the terminus of all the arab pipelines to the Med (of which there are several). Of course they want a puppet government there---just like the one they have in Washington, and just like the one they have in Tel Aviv.
=====================
Thanks SamSnedegar,
I didn’t know this...about the site for all of these pipelines for the MED, being in Lebanon. THAT....explains a WHOLE LOT!!!
Definitely explains all the “help” from the gangsters for Israel’s attack last summer, not to mention the 3 or 4 times that Israel has attacked them before.
So, now we know. And, that is a very crucial piece of information, by which to judge past and future events.
Ah HA!! Thanks for the tip.
Report thisBy SamSnedegar, August 11, 2007 at 9:08 am #
Lebanon has a significant strategic importance to the Bushitter gang of oil thugs: it comprises the terminus of all the arab pipelines to the Med (of which there are several). Of course they want a puppet government there---just like the one they have in Washington, and just like the one they have in Tel Aviv.
Report thisBy GW=MCHammered, August 11, 2007 at 9:07 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
As our corporate government marketers sell dimokracy around the world, there’s a fortune to be made in dimokracy insurance. I’m selling franchises and a bridge in Minnesota if anyone’s interested.
Report thisBy Leefeller, August 11, 2007 at 8:19 am #
American Backed, is to say puppet government.
Very amusing, Bush going around the world evangelizing democracy when he does not know the first meaning of the word, his distructions of the Constitution and peoples rights case in point. .
American Backed means big business backed, the people be damned. American backed offers a stick in the eye to the world. Thanks to Bush the war president.
Today American backed is stigmatized with the dread of The Third Reich backed of the 1930s, Bush is looking for his Mossolini’s developing his axis of what he feels is his greatness.
Report thisBy ardee, August 11, 2007 at 8:03 am #
I heard this quote about founding democracy in Iraq but it applies here as well. I cannot attribute it, sadly:
“Iraq is just three people away from democratic success. Unfortunately the three are George Washington, James Madison and John Marshall.”
Rather than this ridiculous attempt at installing a democratic form of government in these nations we should deal with that which we find, and lead by example. As a nation prospers and its citizenry climb from dire poverty to middle class prosperity they will seek more say in their government.
It is beyond ironic that the Bush administration, which has done so much to destroy our own democratic institutions, prattles about founding democracies abroad. These folks do not believe in government thus are uniquely unqualified to build such anywhere, especially at home.
Report thisBy Charles Barton, August 11, 2007 at 7:31 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
The characterization of the current government of Lebanon as the “American backed government” is strange, and denotes Mt. Fisk’s extreme anti-American prejudices. The last government of Lebanon was made up of Syrian stooges. Does Fisk want the Syrians back in charge of Lebanon? Camille Khoury was the pro-Syrian candidate. Perhaps Mr. Fink thinks that Syrian medling in Lebanon is a good thing?
Hezbollas is heavily backed by the Iranians. If Hezballah gains to control of the Lebanese Government - a distinct possibility - will Mr. Fisk refer to an Iranian backed government? I think not! But he will be distinctly unhappy if Hezbollah shuts down Beirut bars.
Mr. Fisk is correct when he refers to the fascist roots of the Phalangist movement, but he ignores the use of international crime to finance Hezballah, and the antisemetic statements by Hezbollah leaders, not to mention Hezbollah’s terroristic attacks on Jewish communities outside the Middle East.
I could wish for a more informative report from Mr. Fisk, one which would tell us about what is going on in that hot bed of conspiracy, Beirut. Instead Mr. Fisk relates gossip from the Beirut bar where he drinks.
Report thisBy vajara, August 11, 2007 at 6:44 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
No one has made a greter mistake in the world than the American people who voted twice for Bush and Cheney. We have no credibility as a nation and everyone knows we have a lieing administration and wimpy congress.
Report thisBy Douglas Chalmers, August 10, 2007 at 5:43 pm #
Quote: “… the result was a stunning blow to the American-backed government — how devastating that phrase “American-backed” has now become in the Middle East...”
The only really “American-backed government” in the M.East is Israel. Any wanna-be’s can become like Panama under former Noriega was or the host of banana republics dominated by the CIA. They are not that stupid!
Report thisBy cyrena, August 10, 2007 at 5:15 pm #
...."the result was a stunning blow to the American-backed governmenthow devastating that phrase American-backed has now become in the Middle Eastin Lebanon and allowed Hizbollahs ally, ex-General Michel Aoun to claim that they cannot beat me. Mr Aoun is a candidate in presidential elections later this year."…
Yep, I think it’s the “American-backed” that did in the wimps.
Thing is, Michel Aoun may know that he can’t be beat in a fair election, but his assassination will be guaranteed if he does. We see all the other ones Israel took out.
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