ايلي حبيقة افتدى لبنان واللبنانيين

ايلي حبيقة افتدى لبنان واللبنانيين

إن الإنسان المؤمن بربه وبكتبه المقدسة وبتعاليمه وبموت وقيامة السيد المسيح لا يموت، بل يرقد على رجاء القيامة بانتظار يوم الحساب الأخير، والرب الذي وهب الإنسان نعمة الحياة هو وحده يقرر متى يستردها وليس أي مخلوق أخر.

اليوم ونحن نصلي في الذكرى التاسعة لروح الشهيد النائب والوزير الراحل ايلي حبيقة نردد بايمان وخشوع ووقار ما قاله النبي أيوب رغم كل المصائب التي حلت عليه فيما كان الشيطان يحاول جاهداً إيقاعه في التجربة دون أن يتمكن من أن يحقق هدفه اللعين هذا كون إيمان أيوب بربه كان قوياً وراسخاً: "عرياناً خرجت من بطن أمي، وعرياناً أعود إلى هناك، الرب أعطى والرب أخذ تبارك اسم الرب". (ايوب01/21).

يقول السيد المسيح: "أَنَا هُوَ الْقِيَامَةُ وَالْحَيَاةُ. مَنْ آمَنَ بِي، وَإِنْ مَاتَ فَسَيَحْيَا" (يوحنا 25/11). إن تعلقنا بلبناننا الحبيب حتى الشهادة يعزينا ويقوي إيماننا ويرسخ الرجاء في نفوسنا ويساعدنا على تقبل غياب الشهداء الأبرار برضوخ كامل لمشيئة أبينا السماوي فهم لا يموتون بل يبقون أحياء في وجداننا وضمائرنا وقلوبنا وعقولنا وفي كل عمل نقوم به يهدف لخدمة ومساعدة الآخرين الذين هم بحاجة إلينا.

يقول الشاعر: "ما استحق أن يعيش، من عاش لنفسه فقط". لذلك فالشخص المؤمن يجد لذته في أن يحيا لأجل غيره، عملاًً بقول الرب، "تحب قريبك كنفسك" (متى39/22). ولهذا يحب كل الناس من أعماق قلبه وتكون محبته للآخرين محبة عملية حسبما قال الرسول يوحنا: "يا أبنائي، لا تكن محبتنا بالكلام أو باللسان بل بالعمل والحق". (1يو18:3).

هذه المحبة العظيمة، والله هو محبة، تتميز بالعطاء والبذل والتفاني سواء من الناحية الجسدية، أو الناحية الروحية. لذلك فإن الشخص المؤمن والمعطاء والصادق هو بطبيعته إنسان نقي وتقي وشفاف وصادق ومحب يخاف الله الذي خلقه على صورته ومثاله.

هذا الإنسان يجهد بفرح كبير ليكون خادماً يخدم غيره في كل المجالات، لا لأنه مطالب بهذا، وإنما لأن الخدمة جزء من طبيعته ونفسيته وثقافته، ومكون أساسي من مكونات كيانه الإيماني. في خدمة الآخرين يشعر بالحب ويتغذى روحياً من تقديم الخدمات أكثر مما يغذي غيره بها. وإذا كانت الخدمة هي من عمل الملائكة (عبرانيين14:1)، فكم بالأولى البشر. وقد أعطانا السيد المسيح المثال الأبلغ في هذا الشأن إذ قال: "ومن أراد أن يكون الأول فيكم، فليكن لكم عبدا، وهكذا ابن الإنسان جاء لا ليخدمه الناس، بل ليخدمهم ويفدي بحياته كثيراً منهم". (متى 20/27 و28)

جاء في إنجيل القديس يوحنا (15/13): "ما من حب أعظم من هذا: أن يضحي الإنسان بنفسه في سبيل أحبائه". وقال الشهيد النائب والوزير الراحل ايلي حبيقة: "إن الوطن الذي لا يفتديه شبابه بأرواحهم لا يستمر ويزول. إن خدمة الآخرين وبذل الذات من أجلهم هي أعمال مقدسة والمسيح الإله قبل الصلب والعذاب والإهانات وقدم نفسه على الصليب فداء للإنسان ليعتقه من نير وعبودية الخطيئة ويحرره.

إن الشهيد لا يطلب شيئاً لنفسه من مقتنيات هذه الدنيا الفانية، وإنما يسعي لنيل بركات الله ليستحق بجدارة أفعاله وإيمانه العودة إلى منزل أبيه السماوي، والمسيح قال لنا: "ماذا ينفع الإنسان لو ربح العالم كله وخسر نفسه". (متى 16/26).

الشهيد هو قربان طاهر يقدم نفسه طواعية على مذبح الله بمحبة واندفاع وفرح من أجل أحبائه تماماً كما هو حال كل شهيد من شهداء لبنان الأبرار. عرفاناً بجميلهم نقول أنه وبفضل استشهادهم بقينا، وسوف نبقى بإذن الله طالما بقي الشباب اللبناني مؤمنا بلبنان وبرسالته وعلى استعداد تام ودائم للشهادة.

الشهيد النائب والوزير الراحل ايلي حبيقة لم يمت لأنه باق في كل جهد وعمل يقوم بهما أي لبناني من أجل الحفاظ على سيادة واستقلال وحرية وطنه الحبيب، ولصون كرامة وعزة اللبنانيين، كما أن عائلة حبيقة هي نبع معطاء لا ينضب في دفق الإيمان والوطنية والشهادة للحق والشهداء من أجل لبنان الرسالة والقداسة والقديسين.

نصلي من أجل أن يسكن الله روح الشهيد النائب والوزير الراحل ايلي حبيقة فسيح جناته إلى جوار البررة والقديسين وأن يلهم عائلته ومحبيه الصبر والسلوان



HK4EVER

رفاق الوزير الراحل شهيدنا البطل الرئيس ايلي حبيقة
-http://www.eliashobeika.com/-

Lebanon Resistance

Elie HOBEIKA; http://univercia.blogspot.com/

Elie HOBEIKA; http://univercia.blogspot.com/
It's so easy to forgive, so very hard to forget.....RIP

Heroic Leader HK a Heroes' Hero

Heroic Leader HK a Heroes' Hero
It's so easy to forgive, so very hard to forget.....RIP

DISTINGUISHING HEROES, LEADERS, TYRANTS AND VILLAINS

Who’s that Hero?

http://univercia.blogspot.com/

DISTINGUISHING HEROES, LEADERS, TYRANTS AND VILLAINS

Saying that Gandhi is a hero (a good leader) because he is good and Hitler a villain (a bad leader) because he is bad is to apply labels without identifying what is signified underneath those labels.

DISTINGUISHING HEROES, LEADERS, TYRANTS AND VILLAINS...

I’ve been studying for an MBA (Masters of Business Administration) for the last two years, and something incredible related to heroes and leaders struck me in my first year. There we were, a group of articulate, intelligent and experienced MBA students (supposedly!), having a vigorous classroom discussion with our lecturer about leadership, but when it came to trying to distinguish between the sort of leadership embodied by Hitler as opposed to Gandhi we were unable to come up with a robust distinction to separate the two. Everything we proposed could be applied equally as validly to Hitler as to Gandhi: commitment, communication, vision, courage, the desire to make a difference and so on. About the best we could do was to say that one of them was bad and the other good, in a moral sense.

Hence their goals, bad in one case and good in the other, were innately the reason for the difference in the quality of their leadership, or their right to be considered a hero. The dissatisfying thing about that approach to what separates desirable from undesirable leaders, and by extension makes one a hero and the other a villain, is the circularity and relativism of using notions of morality to define the realm of leadership.

This debate should be familiar to nearly everyone. The Hitler of USA.... vs. Gandhi thing comes up time and again, yet how much progress do we make towards articulating why one is ‘bad’ and the other ‘good’? Circularity arises if reference is made to good and bad as distinguishers because we start from the assumption that a hero is good and a villain bad, so all we are doing is reinforcing that first assumption, not actually explaining what it is about the two approaches to leadership that make one of them ‘bad’ and the other ‘good’. It is like saying that you must stop at a red traffic light because it is red, and you are allowed to proceed through a green traffic light because it is green. In fact, the reason why you must stop at a red traffic light is not because it is red, but because it relates to right of way: others are relying on you to stop since that is the rules of the traffic light game; if you do not stop, you may cause an accident by breaching those rules. That is the real reason why you must stop at a red traffic light, not because (somewhat arbitrarily) red ended up being the signifier of that particular rule about who has right of way. In the same way, saying that Gandhi is a hero (a good leader) because he is good and Hitler OF USA, .....a villain (a bad leader) because he is bad is to apply labels without identifying what is signified underneath those labels. So how do we get beyond this circularity problem?

First we also need to clarify the issue of relativism.....CIA2.

The relativism problem is summed up by the expression, ‘One person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter’. I do not truly believe that this statement is in itself a valid assertion on which to base a consideration of moral action, but philosophically it is a perfectly valid assertion about the names we assign to phenomena in the world. A person who happens to lead a group of terrorists, or fascists, could well be a leader, and may be considered a hero. In like manner, a group of freedom fighters, or civil rights activists, could be led by a leader/hero, because the moral frames of reference for each group, and for outside observers, will determine who is considered a terrorist and who a freedom fighter. However, this does not help us get beyond those very frames of reference.

What further distinctions could be made about leader/heroes to create space between the goodies and the baddies, given that the frame of reference may change?

Had I been a black South African in the 1970s or 1980s, my frame of reference could have been vastly different from that of a white South African, or even a white female British prime minister. Can we ever get beyond frames of reference and break out of the circularity problem?

Two considerations may help us define the desirable leadership of a hero from the undesirable leadership of a tyrant. The first is whether the leader offers an inclusive vision or an exclusive one.

The second is from what level of being the person is operating: the level of self, or the level of the universal.

Two considerations may help us define the desirable leadership of a hero from the undesirable leadership of a tyrant. The first is whether the leader offers an inclusive vision or an exclusive one. The second is from what level of being the person is operating: the level of self, or the level of the universal.

Let’s take each consideration in turn. Firstly: vision.

People consistently rate vision as a hallmark of a leader. Leaders have vision.

Leaders successfully share that vision with others. Leaders inspire others to transform that vision into reality. They do so using vastly different styles of leadership. All of this is pretty uncontroversial, but the varying styles of leadership tend to confuse us. We find it easier to perceive the differences, than the similarities, between leaders whose styles are as different as Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln and Jesus Christ.

The leader as hero is a figure facing great odds. Heroism is born in the crucible of hardship, but the thing which sustains the hero leader is a vision which is inclusive. The putative lone hero of romance literature can keep his white horse, his shining armour and the devotion of his maiden. Heroes who would lead others must offer a vision which is not restricted to classes, groups or cliques. Unlike the wartime trio of Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini, who cultivated favorites and deliberately set one group against another to strengthen their grip on power and to rally the worst in people’s fears and insecurities, Gandhi had a vision which was open to all and which sought to unite, not divide, peoples.

Could we certainly not say the same thing of Jesus Christ, of Christ’s vision as open to all?

Secondly, there is the level at which a leader operates as a human. Knowledge of this can be accessed using a number of tools, many of them based in psychology and social theory. One useful emerging field of study in the world of management is drawn from the work of R. Barrett, who distinguishes a number of levels of individual consciousness and then applies them to corporations1. Cowan & Todorovic relate levels of thought, both individual and corporate, to different colours for ease of association.2 What both of them set out is the distinction between living life at the level of self, where one’s goals, aspirations and concerns are shaped by a primary concern for the ego and ‘making it’ in the world of survival, and living life at a higher level, of concern for family, community, organisations, the world, and even the universe/cosmos.

Leaders who truly are heroes, and not villains, have an inclusive vision and operate at a universal level. They have transcended living at the level of the individual self, and instead seek to make a contribution to the quality of life of all peoples, and indeed to transform the quality of life itself. Many argue that Hitler did have a grand vision that went beyond himself and involved the transformation of the world, or at least certainly of Europe, but although the sphere of operations Hitler conceived was larger than himself, his leadership activities were at heart all about Hitler the man. They were about his grasp for power, his desire to dominate, and his tyrannical choice to live out a life based on the gratification, enlargement and fulfillment of his self using an exclusive approach, not the transformation of the quality of life for all peoples inclusively.

If you doubt that, just ask an Arab , a gypsy, a communist, an atheist, or any one of many other groups of persecuted people what they think about it.

1 Barrett, R. 1998, ‘Seven levels of organizational consciousness’, in Liberating the Corporate Soul: Building a Visionary Organization. Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston, pp. 55-72.

2 Cowan, C. & Todorovic, N. 2000, ‘Spiral dynamics: the layers of human values in strategy’, Strategy & Leadership, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 4-11.

Biblical Heroism vs. Worldly Heroism

Worldly heroism is all about what you do. These heroes are the ones who manage to conquer nations, or who rescue people or who overcome some personal battle.

In contrast, I think biblical heroism is a character trait of trust in God. The biblical heroes I identify with the most are probably Peter and David. David: because he made lots of mistakes but said he was sorry, earnestly, and also because he was very honest with God. Peter: because he starts out very differently to who he becomes, and he matures slowly. You can really follow his journey of maturing, especially throughout Acts. Another hero I really love is Gideon because he lets God be his hero.

I think that is what the essence of Christian heroism has to be: relying on God for everything and also giving everything back to God, including all the glory. Hence a Christian hero might go totally unnoticed because they have made their ‘ambition to lead a quiet life’, as Paul said. Heroes are those whose impacts on us are so great that they become personal motivators for what we aspire to be or do.

CHRISTIAN HEROES: JUST A LOT OF DEAD GOOD-PEOPLE?

Heroes are those whose impacts on us are so great that they become personal motivators for what we aspire to be or do. They are figures of faith as well as fact. People and societies seem to need such people to function properly and meet the continual challenges that life throws up at us, and because life is many-faceted, many different types of heroes exist side by side. There are family, military, humanitarian and sporting heroes, just to mention a few. Some heroes, such as ‘HK’ Elie HOBEIKA, are universally admired by all people"in the know". Others, such as Shane Warne or Karl Marx, are very controversial. In fact, heroes can just as readily divide as inspire.

Heroes can wax and wane with the times. Adolph Hitler, once an inspiration to tens of millions is now almost universally reviled. Mao Tse Tung, now revealed to have a spotty past, is being seriously re-evaluated by the Chinese, and his heroic status will almost certainly diminish. Other heroes, like Ozymandeus, simply fade away. Some heroes are blown up figures or simply inventions. Samir Geagea is a criminal buffoon , an impotent thug and a violent killer, Horst Wessel, the NAZI hero, was a drunken thug, grotesquely transformed. Ern O’Malley never existed. Indeed, such figures are obvious examples of the need for heroes to be supported by the media of the times.... A hero whom nobody knows about is a hero known only to God. There are great dangers attributing heroic status to people whilst they are still alive. Only royal figures can safely have entities named after them in their lifetimes. Princes Margaret Hospital will not be renamed despite her revealed weaknesses. However, how embarrassing for a community to have a prominent place named after a public figure now residing in gaol! All this applies to our personal heroes. The aunt, priest, coach or teacher we idolise is, as we, a sinner, and at any time likely to burst the balloon.

Our community in Christ, our Church, has addressed our need for reputable heroes in this way:

1. Its heroes, called saints, must be dead.

2. Their being designated as saints is at the end of a long and carefully defined process of fact and faith.

3. The Church has its ‘royal family’ of Jesus, Mary, Peter, Paul and the other disciples and apostles.

4. The (more or less) contemporary documentation on this ‘family’, primarily the Holy Bible, although incomplete and sometimes contradictory, is itself, by faith, given a type of heroic status.

5. Others, not (yet) accorded sainthood, are accorded role model status, again after careful processing, and variously called ‘blessed’, ‘venerable’, ‘doctor’, etc. They are not mentioned in the Bible and their lives include evidence that may possibly be open to less favorable interpretation.

6. Our Christian heroes, most especially Jesus, are brought before us by regular ritual, especially sacraments and preaching. Schools, church buildings, and so on are named after them. Does this systematic ‘playing safe’ approach take away from the wonderful experience of adoring Elvis, Bradman, or Bonhoeffer? Or, especially, Jesus?! Of course, with faith comes risk, to us and to our heroes. Unfortunately this risk in the heroism stakes is very high. A blink, and Oscar Wilde, Jimmy Swaggart, the priestly pederast and company are gone. With them can go very many shattered faiths and lives. Perhaps the Church is right to have its gallery of dead and processed heroes. For those of us in the Faith this shadowy ‘company of the dead’ is not that at all. They are alive, woven around us in a wonderful fellowship to which our faith in Jesus, the Son of God, has admitted us.

GTR

THE LEBANESE CIVIL WAR AND THE TRIPARTITE ACCORD.

The Lebanese war and its very complex and many dimensions. The Lebanese war is very complex and has many dimensions so is not considered, as some have claimed, to be a 'civil war' as many non Lebanese nationals were very heavily involved, indeed armies of neighboring countries took part in much of the fighting. It is unfortunate that there is reference to 'Christians' and 'Muslims' in the following account as this may cause those unfamiliar with the events to think that the war was one of religion. This would be unfair and simplistic as religion was just used as a convenient umbrella to stereotype and group the many factions and thus divide them between two opposing sides. There were many 'Muslims' on the 'Christian side' and vice versa. The opposing sides were not fighting each other simply because of their religion but as a result of major differences of opinion on matters such as who should run the country and how the country should be run. It was a war about ideology, identity, nationality, insanity, and stupidity. The dimensions of the war comprised of a Lebanese-Palestinian war, a Lebanese-Lebanese, a Palestinian-Syrian, a Palestinian-Israeli, a Lebanese-Syrian, a Syrian-Israeli, and a Lebanese-Israeli war. Add to these dimensions Libyans, Iraqis, Americans and Russians, and the resulting chaotic soup of well over seventy groups fighting in Lebanon would confuse the most ordered of minds. The War of 1958 After the National Front coalition of Kamal Jumblatt and Saeb Salam received major setbacks in the parliamentary elections of 1958 the coalition and its Druze and Sunni supporters decided to take to the streets and turned to violence through open rebellion against the government. With the aid of some Arab powers, these left wing forces which were inspired and encouraged by the February 1958 unification of Egypt and Syria, agitated to make Lebanon a member of the new United Arab Republic. The pro western government of Lebanon was disliked by the Syrians who plotted to destabilize the country and so encouraged and greatly assisted the rebels through mainly covert operations. Syrian covert action became so obvious and widespread that the Lebanese government lodged a complaint with the UN Security Council in June 1958. ("Speech of Dr Malik before the UN Security Council," 6 June 1958, S/823, 823rd Meeting, Security Council Official Records, 1958, p. 4) Press reports and government documents alike confirm a massive covert Syrian intervention that included supplying arms to the opposition, training paramilitary forces and using Syrian soldiers to carry out terrorist attacks. Further confirmation came from a seemingly unusual source, the Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party (SSNP). The SSNP believed that the leftist rebels wanted to liquidate them as part of a communist inspired plot because the SSNP opposed the plans of President Nasser of Egypt for union with Syria. In a press conference on May 19, 1958 Assad El Ashkar, the head of the Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party stated: "As for the actual intervention of the United Arab Republic, our comrades at Idbil could clearly hear dialects of Syrians and Egyptians when they fought with the attackers face to face. The Syrian Army sent to Irsal (a Lebanese village on the borders near Nabi Osman) several mortars. Major Hassan Hiddaa of the Syrian Army entered the Lebanese town of Irsal in an armored car and stayed there for a couple of hours, where he inspected the forces of rebellion. The source of arms of all rebels in the Baalbek-Hirmel district is the Sarraj Deuxieme Bureau. Abdo Hakim, another Syrian officer at Homs is in charge of supplying the rebels with arms and ammunitions. He himself lead some of the caravans which carried arms to Al-Kassr (another Lebanese village in the Hirmel District)." In a memorandum to Mr. Dag Hammarskjold, Secretary General of the United Nations Organization the SSNP said: "The arming of the rebel tribes in the Hirmel district started on the 27th of March 1958, in the Syrian village of “al Hamam” on the Syrian frontier bordering the Hirmel district in Northern Beqa'a.....The Syrian Lieutenant Abdu Hakeem was personally in charge of arming the rebel tribes. He himself used to distribute arms and lead convoys into the Lebanese territory......The attack on Halba, Accar, was launched from Al-Kasser in Hirmil. Abdu Hakeem harangued the rebels, then before the attack was started many Syrian conscripts took part in the attack.....Another main centre of rebels and infiltration is Orsal (a Lebanese frontier village). It is the headquarters of the Syrian Major Hasssan Hiddah, In charge of the Orsal-Baalbeck area. Recent information point out that ex-Colonel Ali Hayyari, expelled from the Jordanian Army in 1957, is in charge with Major Hiddah, of military rebel operations in Bikaah. On June 1st, 1958, Major Hiddah held in Orsal, a general meeting for all Syrian conscripts participating in the rebellion. The meeting took place near the house of the Mukhtar Hujjeiry......Syrian arms were distributed to the village of Rassem Al Haddath, Shath, Younin, Makheh, Brital, Hour Takla, Al Ein, Al Labweh, Dar el Wassia.On May 31st, Tawfic Halo Haidar, received from Major Hiddah, through the Nabec - Orsal road, 300 machine guns and on June 8th, 1958, the rebel tribesmen, Tahan Dandash, Salih Nasser-el Deen, Khudur Saadoun, went to Damascus and came back with 900 guns. The number of guns smuggled through the Bikaah borders up till that date, reached approximately 3500 guns including machine guns, Bazooka guns and other varieties. Big sums of money were also paid by the Syrian authorities to rebel tribes." The memorandum continues: "Deir El Ashayir (a Lebanese village on the Syrian frontier) is the main centre for arming and training of the rebels. Syrian officers are in charge of their military training. Major Tawfic Janial of the Syrian Deuxieme Bureau is in charge of arming the rebels of the Rashaya district. Naassan Zakkar, officer in the Syrian Deuxieme Bureau is in charge of the military operations. All the above-mentioned officers work under the direct command of Captain Burhan Adham who is in charge of the Syrian Deuxieme Bureau. Syrian army squadrons are camping in Mankaa al Tufaah on the Syrian border where rebels are being trained. Route of infiltration in this area starts at Mankaa alTufah and continues through Deir el Ashayer, Khirbit Rouha (now a meeting centre of infiltration and rebels), Ba'lool, Lala, Ain Zebdi and then to the rebel Shouf district; Jumblat forces mainly come from Houran (in the Syrian region)." Although the war took a toll of some 2,000 to 4,000 lives, it was regarded by many as a comic opera, especially when 5,000 United States Marines were landed on the beaches near Beirut and waded ashore among sunbathers and swimmers. The Marines' role, in a situation described by the Department of Defence as "like war but not war" was to support the legal Lebanese government against any foreign invasion, specifically against Syria. The Marines were summoned because General Shihab, commander of the Lebanese Army, believing that units of the small Lebanese army would mutiny and disintegrate if ordered into action, had disobeyed President Chamoun's orders to send in the army against leftist rebels. Although the crisis passed quickly, it was a sign of things that were soon to come. The 1975 - 1990 War The Prelude to the 1975 War and the Cairo Agreement Fouad Shihab became president after Camille Chamoun and although he built up the Lebanese intelligence service, called the Deuxième Bureau, the army was almost ignored and remained powerless, small, and was becoming weaker and weaker as time went on. The army's inactivity continued under Shihab's successor, Charles Helou, who became president in 1964. Helou and his army commander refused to commit Lebanese troops to the June 1967 war as an armistice agreement had been signed between the two countries in 1949 and the Lebanese Army was far too small and weak to get involved. This enraged many Lebanese Muslims as well as Syria, the mortal enemy of Israel. Immediately after the Arab defeat of 1967 Syria started sending Palestinian guerrillas into Lebanon to attack Israel. As soon as the PLO came to Lebanon, the violence that was to destroy the country began. The PLO set about attacking Israel from South Lebanon and the Israelis started to retaliated against them with the Lebanese becoming caught in the middle. Lebanese civilians in the south bore the brunt of the retaliations. In December 1968, the Lebanese government was humiliated when Israeli commandos landed at Beirut International Airport and destroyed thirteen Middle East Airlines and TMA aircraft with impunity. The Israeli strike was in retaliation for a series of Palestinian hijackings carried out by Palestinian terrorists based in Lebanon. The Lebanese army did not interfere with Israeli attacks and so the army and the Deuxiéme Bureau, and the government were charged with collusion with Israel by the Lebanese left. Kamal Jumblatt led the anti government chorus and demanded that Lebanon supports the guerrillas . A few months later, on 15 April 1969, fighting broke out again between the Lebanese Army and infiltrating guerrillas in the southern village of Deir Mimas. Disturbances were also recorded in several Palestinian camps. Four days later, another clash took place between army troops and armed Palestinians in the villages of ‘Odeiseh and Khiyam, resulting in several casualties. Demonstrations also took place in Beirut and in other major cities. On 22 April 1968 clashes were renewed in the south in which several guerrillas were injured and others detained. Clashes became recurrent as the number of guerrillas operating in Lebanon increased. According to Lebanese security sources, the number of guerrillas based in the south by mid-1969 was approximately 4000. The majority belonged to Sa’iqa and Fateh. Confrontations with government authorities were part of a Fateh strategy to establish a permanent military presence in Lebanon. According to George Hawi the head of the Communist Party, Arafat was uncertain about the precarious state of affairs that prevailed in Jordan in 1969 as well as about the PLO’s ability to take over Jordan, as advocated by some Palestinian leaders. New alternatives had to be explored. One such alternative was to strengthen Fateh’s presence in Lebanon and create ‘new realities on the ground' especially since the situation seemed favorable both inside the camps and in the growing popular support for the PLO within the ranks of the Lebanese left wing parties. The more serious clash, however, took place not in remote areas near the Lebanese—Israeli border but in Sidon and Beirut. No sooner had the country recovered from the Israeli raid than it found itself engulfed, in April 1969, in a crisis over the Palestinian problem in its Arab and Lebanese dimensions as opposed to the more predictable Israeli dimension. The occasion for turmoil was a demonstration called for by several Lebanese Leftist and Arab nationalist parties led by Kamal Jumblatt to protest against ‘the reactionary policies of the Lebanese government towards Fedayin action’ and to call for ‘the opening of southern borders for guerrilla operations against Israel'. On the surface, the demonstration looked like yet another episode of arm twisting between government authorities and pro-Palestinian groups. In reality, however, what happened was a Fateh-instigated confrontation with the Lebanese government. Such a confrontation would provoke a crisis which, in turn, would bring the issue of PLO armed presence into the open. On the 23rd April in Sidon, armed demonstrators coming from Ayn al-Helweh camp stormed the municipality building in the city and clashed with security forces. In Beirut, the clash started in the Barbir area as demonstrators tried to force their way through internal security forces deployed on the scene. According to a Leftist activist who took part in the demonstration, shooting started when a man in his early twenties in sportswear walked towards the front row of the demonstration, about fifteen minutes after it started, and opened fire at the security forces. He then ran away as the security forces started shooting. In the process, two people were killed and many others were injured. While the identity of the agent provocateur was not known, it was clear that the intention was to provoke turmoil. Clearly, the demonstration and the bloody confrontations that followed in Beirut, Sidon, Tripoli and the Beqa were not an accidental show of force. Clashes resulted in 11 people dead, including five Lebanese security forces and more than 80 injured. What made the demonstration qualitatively different was its political significance. It signaled, in the words of Mohsin Ibrahim head of the Organization of Communist Action, ‘the decision to open the battle’ with the Lebanese government. Equally important was that it was viewed by the Left in Lebanon as a revolutionary event of unprecedented importance. For Lebanese Communist Party ideologue Mahdi ‘Amil, the ‘April 23 uprising’ (‘Intifada’) was a political and ideological achievement of ’historic significance’, with it, ‘Lebanon's class struggle began’ and a new political force was born ‘to break the hold of the bourgeoisie-controlled’ political system and ‘to protect the Palestinian Resistance. Reacting to these events, the government imposed a four day nation-wide curfew. Several demonstrators were detained, including pro-Iraq Ba’th Party leader Abdul-Majid al-Rafi’. On 24 April, the Sunni prime minister, Rashid Karame resigned in a show of support for the Palestinians and the search for ways to end the crisis began. It was to continue for the next seven months until a formula of ‘coexistence’ between the Lebanese state and the Palestinian revolution was found. On October 20, 1969 large numbers of Palestinian guerrillas began gathering on the western slopes of Mount Hermon in the Arqub region of Lebanon a few days later on the 29th these Palestinians fired on a Lebanese army patrol which resulted in the deaths of three Lebanese soldiers and the death one guerrilla with two injured. Immediately Voice of Palestine broadcasts from Cairo started to warn the Lebanese not to interfere with Palestinian raids into Israel. Following the clash a meeting was held on 16 November to discuss the matter. The meeting included the Lebanese Army commander Emile Boustany, Cheif of Staff Yusif Shmayet, Intelligence Chief Gaby Lahoud and representatives of Palestinian organizations. Palestinian officials stated that their intention was to attack targets in Israel and that to achieve this they needed to pass through Lebanese territory. To that Boustany replied that Lebanon would not allow such infiltrations. He then stated the Lebanese position on such military activities and stressed the following: (i) Lebanon signed an armistice agreement with Israel in 1949; it was still in effect and Lebanon could not violate it; (ii) Military operations between Israel and the Arab countries are part of military strategy under the United Arab Command. Lebanon cannot allow turmoil on the Lebanese—Israeli border without co-ordination with that military body, and (iii) Attacks carried out by the Fedayin (guerrillas) from Lebanon would lead to violent Israeli retaliations against civilians in Lebanese villages. The army and its Deuxième Bureau was not able to control the flow Palestinian guerrillas infiltrating Lebanon from Syria, an attitude that angered Christians who saw the Palestinian armed presence as a mortal threat to Lebanon. Lebanon was still paralyzed as the President found it impossible to form a new government as the Sunni leadership refused to do so unless Lebanon started a policy of coordination with the PLO. That formula was the Cairo Agreement. The situation forced army commander General Emile Bustani to sign the an agreement in Cairo in November 1969 with Palestinian representatives. The Cairo Agreement granted to the Palestinians the right to keep weapons in their camps and to attack Israel across Lebanon's border and for their part the Palestinians had to respect Lebanese laws and Lebanon's sovereignty. By sanctioning the armed Palestinian presence, however, Lebanon surrendered full sovereignty over military operations conducted within and across its borders and became a party to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Given the prevailing internal and regional considerations, the Cairo Agreement provided relief for all parties who regarded it as a face-saving arrangement and an expedient truce short of better alternatives. For most Christian leaders, the Cairo Agreement was the ‘lesser of two evils’. For Camille Chamoun, what counted were Palestinian intentions and their willingness to abide by the agreement when put to the test. Another Christian response was that of Pierre Gemayel who saw the Cairo Agreement as ‘a middle ground solution’ between two divergent views on the PLO in Lebanon. While acknowledging that military operations would eventually lead to Israeli raids, Gemayel explained that it ‘would still be easier to cope with such raids than with a civil war between the Lebanese’. Raymond Eddé was the only Lebanese leader who had consistently opposed the notion of supporting the Palestinians and, subsequently, the Cairo Agreement. He never missed the opportunity to reiterate his position and to argue that such an arrangement hurt the interests of both Lebanon and the PLO. But Eddé’s views, and his call for the deployment of United Nations troops along the Lebanese—Israeli borders, went unheeded. Another strong reaction to the Cairo Agreement came from Maronite Patriarch Méouchy, who submitted a memorandum to the president in which he voiced concern over the military provisions of the agreement. Those who stood to benefit most from the outcome of the events that marked the stormy year of 1969 were Kamal Jumblatt, Leftist parties and, in a different way, the Sunni political establishment. Indeed, the Cairo Agreement met the demands voiced by the Sunni political and religious leadership. On the eve of the Cairo talks, Sunni Mufti Hassan Khalid convened two meetings attended by Lebanon’s leading political and religious figures and issued a statement calling for the freedom of guerrilla action. An attempt tp convene a meeting by Shiite cleric Musa al-Sadr in support of the guerrillas was not successful as the meeting was boycotted by leading Shiite figures. For his role in forcing through the Cairo Agreement Jumblatt was rewarded with the post of interior minister by Rashid Karame. Jumblatt proceeded by replacing the army presence in the camps with internal security forces who were under his command and was therefore able to assist them in their arms build-up. Nearly three weeks after the signing of the agreement clashes between the guerrillas and the Lebanese Army were renewed this time in the Nabatiyeh camp in the south. The Cairo Agreement was violated from the start and it became irrelevant. The Troubled Years, 1970-1974 Despite Arab support for the PLO and the international attention it was able to generate, the PLO would not have been able to operate as an autonomous movement in the absence of the sanctuary it found in Lebanon. The autonomy it enjoyed in Lebanon could not be found in any other Arab country. In the years following the loss of its Jordan base, the PLO came to view its Lebanon base in strategic terms. As a result, Lebanon was no longer a place where the PLO would be content with limited political and military presence. In the early 1970s, Palestinian organizations displayed little willingness to abide by agreements, which in reality were no more than hasty deals mirroring the balance of power of the late 1960s. Beginning in 1970, Palestinian-Israeli raids in the south intensified, as did the clashes between the Lebanese Army and the guerrillas. One of the early clashes after the Cairo Agreement occurred in March 1970 in the south, resulting in several casualties. Violence began to drive local inhabitants to seek shelter outside their villages, particularly in the suburbs of Beirut. Demonstrations were held in Beirut to protest the policies of the Lebanese government towards Arab causes’ and the Palestinian revolution. The confusing setting of Arab politics was clearly apparent in the slogans the demonstrators raised, comparing President Helou to Nun al-Said, Iraq’s strong man under the Hashernite monarchy, and calling for his overthrow. A serious confrontation involving PLO guerrillas occurred in March 1970. Clashes began in the Maronite town of Kahhaleh and spread immediately to the outskirts of Beirut. While disturbances lasted only three days, they had unprecedented confessional overtones. The incident began on 25 March, following an exchange of gunfire between Palestinians escorting a convoy of cars passing through the Christian town of Kahhaleh (located on the major Beirut-Damascus road) on their way to Damascus to bury a Palestinian commando officer. On their way back, the Palestinian convoy, which was larger and more heavily armed than the previous one, came under heavy fire as it passed through the main road in the town. Gunfire went on for forty-five minutes and resulted in several casualties. Immediately after the incident, attempts at reconciliation began. Jumblatt, in his capacity as minister of the interior, conferred with delegations representing the Palestinians and representatives of the inhabitants of Kahhaleh. Despite these efforts, fighting spread to other areas around Palestinian camps in the areas of Dikwaneh and Harit Hreik. In these two localities, largely populated by Christians of lower and middle class backgrounds the guerrillas had already begun to expand their military presence outside the camps where they would set up roadblocks and harass passers-by. In Dikwaneh, where the Tal-Zatar camp was located, Palestinian guerrillas raided a local office of the Kataeb Party. But more importantly they kidnapped Pierre Gemayel’s younger son, Bashir, who, at the time, was not yet directly involved in party politics. Although Gemayel, along with his two companions, were released the same day from a Fateh office on Hamra street, the symbolic significance of the episode was clear. From that day Bashir Gemayel would get involved in politics. In the summer of 1970 Sulayman Franjieh (also Frangieh) was elected president. Believing that the Deuxième Bureau was staffed with Shihab loyalists, Franjieh purged it and stripped it of its powers. But the Deuxième Bureau had been the only governmental entity capable of monitoring and controlling the Palestinians, and Franjieh's action unintentionally gave the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), commanded by Yasser Arafat, more freedom of action in Lebanon. Franjieh, who came from Zgharta in northern Lebanon, was accused of promoting his own power and catering to the interests of his clansmen instead of confronting Lebanon's growing security problems. Meanwhile, the PLO made a bid to topple Jordan's King Hussein, but it was crushed and evicted from the country after fierce fighting, an event known in the Palestinian lexicon as "Black September." Therefore, the PLO leadership and guerrillas moved their main base of operations from Jordan to Lebanon, where the Cairo Agreement endorsed their presence. The influx of several hundred thousand Palestinians including many tens of thousands of guerrillas upset Lebanon's delicate confessional balance, and polarized the nation into two groups, those who supported and those who opposed the PLO presence. Public order deteriorated with daily acts of violence between Christians and Palestinians. To counter Christian political resistance the PLO set about isolating the Christian community and distorting Christian image and goals. The Christians were branded as isolationists, traitors, rightists, fascists, anti Arab, and Israeli collaborators. The PLO media machine which controlled most of the press activity of Beirut did such a fine job distorting the truth about their Lebanese opponents that to this day the Lebanese Christians are having difficulty in shaking off the isolationist label given to them by the PLO. Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force launched raids against the Palestinian refugee camps in retaliation for PLO terrorist attacks in Western Europe. On April 10, 1973, Israeli commandos infiltrated Beirut in a daring raid and attacked Palestinian command centers in the heart of the capital, killing three prominent PLO leaders: Kamal Nasir, poet and the PLO's official spokesman; Muhammad al-Najjar, head of the Higher Political Committee for Palestinian Affairs in Lebanon, member of the PLO Executive Committee and Fateh Central Committee; and Kamal Udwan, also a member of the Fateh Central Committee. The absence of the Lebanese Army during the Israeli attack angered Lebanese Muslims. Prime Minister Saib Salam claimed that Army commander General Alexander Ghanim--a Maronite--had disobeyed orders by not resisting the Israeli raid, and he threatened to resign unless Ghanim were stripped of his rank. Because Ghanim was allowed to remain as army commander (until he was replaced by Hanna Said in September 1975), Salam did resign and was succeeded by a series of weak prime ministers. Friction between the guerrillas and the security forces increased rapidly thereafter. On April 14 1973 the US-owned oil terminus at Zahrani was bombed, allegedly by the PFLP-GC; on April 27 three men were arrested with explosives at Beirut airport, where a bomb was found the next day; on April 30 several armed DFLP members were arrested as they drove past the US Embassy. In response, two Lebanese soldiers were kidnapped on May 1st which finally forced the Lebanese Army into action against the PLO. The refugee camps were then surrounded and attacked by the army. In response to Palestinian shelling of the airport, the Lebanese Air Force was ordered into action against the Burj al-Barajina camp in Beirut. A state of emergency was declared throughout the country. As the fighting intensified, the PLO appealed to external allies for support. Algeria, Libya, and Syria promptly condemned the Lebanese government's actions. All three, together with Kuwait, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and the Arab League offered to mediate. Egypt and Syria-now planning what would become the October 1973 Arab-Israeli War-were particularly anxious to contain the conflict, and exerted considerable pressure to that end. This included the closure of the Syrian-Lebanese border on May 8, and the movement of Fateh and Sa'iqa forces from Syria to a few kilometers inside Lebanon. Fearing a Syrian invasion, the Lebanese looked for a way to end the fighting. On May 17, after some seventeen hours of negotiation, the two sides announced that they had reached agreement, the "Melkart Protocol". This Melkart Agreement, on the one hand obligated the PLO to respect the "independence, stability, and sovereignty" of Lebanon but on the other hard gave the PLO virtual autonomy, including the right to maintain its own militia forces in certain areas of Lebanon. These provisions of the Melkart Agreement differed greatly from the Cairo Agreement, which preserved the "exercise of full powers in all regions and in all circumstances by Lebanese civilian and military authorities." Lebanese Muslims believed that under the Melkart Agreement Palestinian refugees in Lebanon had been accorded a greater degree of self-determination than some Lebanese citizens. Inspired by this, they organized themselves politically and militarily and encouraged by the Palestinians tried to wrest similar concessions from the central government. In 1974 Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt established the Lebanese National Movement (formerly the Front for Progressive Parties and National Forces), an umbrella group comprising antigovernment forces. A military build-up was underway. Following the 1969 events, Kataeb Party members were involved in occasional military training. The turning point, however, occurred after the 1973 confrontations between the Lebanese army and PLO forces, when Christian-based parties began to acquire heavy weapons and were engaged in organized training. The most organized and disciplined Christian-based party was the Kataeb. With its para-military structure and large following in various parts of the country, the Kataeb Party was, as Frank Stoakes indicated, ‘a valuable auxiliary of the state’ and always ready to come to its defence in times of crisis.’ Other parties began to organize militarily, notably Chamoun’s National Liberal Party and a small elitist group of young professionals called al-Tanzim, headed by physician Dr. Fouad Chemali and Georges Adouan. Lebanese parties, of all persuasions, Christian and Muslim, Left and Right, lagged behind the PLO. Not only did they lack a similar military and security infrastructure, they had limited financial resources. Leftist and Muslim-based parties operated closely with the PLO and received heavy financial and military support from Arab countries, notably Libya, Syria and Iraq. Christian-based parties, for their part, relied mainly on private financial support. They also received military assistance, beginning in 1973, from the Lebanese army, which consisted of training and light weapons. On the eve of the war in 1975 the military balance in the country was largely in favor of the PLO. Of the eight PLO organizations, with a total strength of 22,900 troops, Fateh had the largest number of fighters (7,000) and was the best equipped, followed by Saiqa (4,500). The fighting force of other major organizations was of almost equal size, numbering about 2500 each. The distribution of armed men in seven major camps in October 1975 was as follows: al-Rashidiyeh (7,300), Ayn al-Helweh (4,500), Tal-Za’tar (3,225), Shatila (2,500), Nahr al-Band (1,700), al-Burj al-Shimali (1,625) and Borj al-Barajneh (1,300). Therefore, the largest concentration was in the south and the Beirut area. The Lebanese army was 19,000 strong. Only about half that number was a fighting force. The largest number of militiamen was that of the Kataeb Party (8,000), followed by the Lebanese Communist Party and the Progressive Socialist Party (5,000 each) and by the Syrian Social Nationalist Party and the National Liberal Party (4,000 each). Leftist, nationalist and Muslim-based parties, which were part of the LNM, had a total number of 18,700 militiamen and with the PLO the anti government forces numbered some 41,600 while Christian-based parties had 12,000. The break up of the army made the ratio worse for the Christian based parties as the result was 46,600 left wing troops against 15,000 right wing troops. The Kissinger Plan "My country's history, Mr. President, tells us that it is possible to fashion unity while cherishing diversity, that common action is possible despite the variety of races, interests, and beliefs we see here in this chamber. Progress and peace and justice are attainable. So we say to all peoples and governments: Let us fashion together a new world order." - Henry Kissinger, in address before the General Assembly of the United Nations, October 1975 Many claim that the crisis in Lebanon was brought about by Henry Kissinger. In the 50's and 60's Henry Kissinger served in the State Department, the Defense Department, and the CIA as an advisor. By the time war broke out in Lebanon he was Secretary of State. He published widely read papers and books, including "Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy" and "The Necessity For Choice." In all his jobs however he was the front man for the Council on Foreign Relations. His diplomatic victories astounded the world: negotiating the settlement of the Vietnam War, limiting the aftermath of the wars between Israel and the surrounding nations, and restoring diplomatic relations between the United States and China. He was hailed as "The Man of Wonder," and the news media even proposed Henry Kissinger be elected "President of Planet Earth." Henry Kissinger's involvement with the Council on Foreign Relations and the "New World Order" as he puts it has been well documented for many years. However, little is known of his role in the Middle East and how he has influenced the events there to help the New World Order gain control over this area of the world by attempting to execute what has been widely referred to as the "Kissinger Plan". From the beginning with the oil crises of the 1970s, the United States began selling arms, and creating military alliances in the Gulf in and attempted to increase its influence in the region. James Akins, a former U.S. diplomat and ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the first oil crisis in 1973, called it the "Kissinger Plan." In short, the Kissinger Plan outlined how the Gulf oil fields should be taken over in order to solve U.S. domestic economic and political problems. Akins learned of the Kissinger Plan when he read an article about it in a 1975 issue of Harper's magazine. Although he admits that the substance of the article must have come from a deep background briefing, he went on television and pronounced the plan to be the work of "either a madman, a criminal, or an agent of the Soviet Union." He was fired later that year after learning that the background briefing had been conducted by his boss, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The Kissinger Plan was a plan to reshape the the Middle East in a way that suited Kissinger's new world order and was not limited to the Gulf but also involved Lebanon and Israel. The late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin met Kissinger when he was the U.S. secretary of state and Rabin served as the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. from 1968-1972. It was during this time that they built a strong friendship and later Rabin would state that Kissinger was his role model. During the Yom Kippur War, Kissinger refused to supply much-needed arms to Israel unless Golda Meir resigned as prime minister and supported Rabin as the next Labor Party candidate for the post. At that time, Rabin had never even been a Knesset member and was listed far down on Labor's Knesset list. After the war, Meir appointed Rabin as Minister of Labor and supported his candidacy for party chairman, paving his way to become prime minister in 1974. During his first term as premier, Rabin and Kissinger redrew the map of the Middle East, which included Lebanon being absorbed by Syria. It was this plan which reportedly caused Ariel Sharon to resign as Defense Minister under Rabin's government. Many claim that the Lebanese war instigated in order to accomplish this goal by allowing Syria to enter and annex Lebanon. The Palestinians would then settle in Lebanon and the State of Israel would have its problems solved. The surviving Lebanese Christians, small in number, would be resettled in the West, primarily in Canada and France. Whatever the truth behind the Kissinger plan, the Lebanese were not about to stand by and allow the PLO and their Arabs allies to take Lebanon without a fight. The Opening Rounds, 1975 By the mid 1970s PLO conduct in Lebanon had reached incredible lows. Arafat's realm within Lebanon became known as the Fakhani Republic named after the district of Beirut where he had set up his headquarters, in large areas of Lebanon his authority was supreme. In a flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty the PLO set up road blocks, issued passes and travel documents, took over entire buildings, operated extortion rackets, protected criminals fleeing Lebanese justice, stole cars, expelled residents, and opened unlicensed shops, bars, and nightclubs. They even raped and murdered at will. Despite repeated pleas from his old guard and from Lebanese Christian leaders, Arafat did nothing to control the behavior of his Palestinians. In a memorandum submitted to the Lebanese Chamber of Deputies on 7th November 1975 by the Standing Conference of the Superior-Generals of the Monastic Orders of Lebanon, they state: 'The Palestinian resistance interfere in Lebanese politics, in alliance with such groups as it believes can be of advantage to it, and openly try to bring them to power by calling upon them to cause disturbances even such as involve the use of arms, using external pressure on the Lebanese state through certain Arab countries when it seems to be in its interest to extract from the Lebanese authorities such privileges as have not been extracted before. The resistance also believes itself entitled to call openly upon the Lebanese to deny their political system, impeding the normal course of the constitutional and administrative institutions (the army, for example) by openly appealing to one or other of the Arab countries, which then pours in its money to direct the information media (and the press in particular) as it wishes, and, indeed, to mold them and to undermine their national role so as to suppress the expression of any opinion favorable to Lebanon in its own interest, providing a base and a refuge for international terrorism which can only be injurious to Lebanon." A year later, on 14th October 1976 Edward Ghorra, the Lebanese Ambassador to the United Nations described the actions of the Palestinians to the UN General Assembly: "The Palestinians had transformed most, if not all, of the refugee camps into military bastions around our major cities. Moreover, common-law criminals fleeing from Lebanese justice find shelter and protection in the camps. Palestinian elements belonging to various splinter organizations resorted to kidnapping Lebanese and sometimes foreigners, holding them prisoner, questioning them, and even killing them. They committed all sorts of crimes in Lebanon and also escaped Lebanese justice in the protection of the camps. They smuggled goods into Lebanon and openly sold them on our streets. They went so far as to demand protection money from many individuals and owners of buildings and factories situated in the vicinity of the camps." Even strong supporters of the PLO had been moved to comment on the behavior of the Palestinians. In his book, I Speak for Lebanon, written in 1977 shortly before his death, Kamal Jumblat the main ally of the Palestinians in Lebanon wrote: "It has to be said that the Palestinians themselves, by violating Lebanese law, bearing arms as they chose and policing certain important points of access to the capital, actually furthered the plot that had been hatched against them. They carelessly exposed themselves to criticism and even to hatred. High officials and administrators were occasionally stopped and asked for their identity papers by Palestinian patrols. From time to time, Lebanese citizens and foreigners were arrested and imprisoned, on the true or false pretext of having posed a threat to the Palestinian revolution. Such actions were, at first, forgiven, but became increasingly difficult to tolerate. Outsiders making the law in Lebanon, armed demonstrations and ceremonies, military funerals for martyrs of the revolution, it all mounted up and began to alienate public opinion, especially conservative opinion, which was particularly concerned about security.... I never saw a less discreet, less cautious revolution." It is interesting to note that throughout the war, and despite the close alliance between the Druze PSP and the Palestinians, the PSP would not permit the stationing of significant numbers of Palestinian troops in Druze-held areas of the Shuf Mountains. Trouble began to brew very early in 1975 when a Lebanese Army barracks in Tyre was hit by 8 rockets fired from a nearby Palestinian camp on January 20th. Matters came to a head in February 1975 when the Lebanese Communist Party and other leftists organized violent demonstrations in Sidon on behalf of fishermen who were threatened economically by a state monopoly fishing company. The Lebanese Army was called in to restore order, but, in the volatile atmosphere, armed clashes erupted. Muslim politicians protested that the use of the army was a violation of the demonstrators' democratic liberties and asked why the army was shooting at civilians rather than defending Lebanon's borders against Israeli incursions. Sunni leaders also faulted the channels used for ordering the army into action. General Ghanim had assumed charge of the army's conduct and reported directly to President Franjieh, ignoring Sunni Muslim Prime Minister Rashid as Sulh (also seen as Solh). Meanwhile, thousands of students in mainly Christian East Beirut demonstrated in support of the army. These serious splits were exacerbated when Maruf Saad, a pro-Palestinian Sunni populist leader, died in March of wounds suffered during the Sidon clashes. Long-standing concerns that the army would disintegrate if it were called into action were vindicated when intense fighting broke out between Maronite and Muslim army recruits. The various nationalistic, pro government, mainly Christian parties as they watched the authority of the Lebanese government collapse, organized themselves into militias in an attempt to counter the threat from the Palestinian presence. These various parties such as the Phalange, the Ahrar, Etienne Sakr's Guardians of the Cedars, and George Adwan's Tanzim, realizing that they were out numbered and out gunned combined politically and formed the Lebanese Front. On April 13, 1975, unidentified Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a congregation outside a Maronite church in Ayn ar Rummeneh, a Christian suburb of Beirut. Later in the day, members of the Christian Phalange Party ambushed a bus filled with Palestinians that had overrun a check point, claiming 26 dead. According to the Phalange version of events, the bus contained armed Palestinian Arab Liberation Front guerillas, firing weapons. Some PLO accounts describe the passengers as civilians and other reports as guerrilla trainees. However, the Phalangist version was confirmed by Abd al-Rahim Ahmad of the Palestinian ALF who stated in an interview in Amman, 28th December 1986, that those on the bus were indeed armed Palestinian ALF members. That night, at 10 pm, mortar shells slammed into Ayn ar Rummanah catching the people by surprise. The next day saw hit and run raids against the Lebanese Army by Palestinian groups led by the DFLP and also fighting between the Phalangists and the Palestinians which resulted in around 35 deaths and by the April 15 a full artillery duel had started in Beirut. One of Lebanon's many cease fires was announced on April 16 but was not to last. Within the next couple of days heavy fighting resumed between the Palestinian forces and the Lebanese Front. Kamal Jumblatt and hs leftist allies voiced continuous support for the Palestinians. While death and torture were suffered in the streets, the political battle went on, most heatedly between Pierre Gemayel and Kamal Jumblatt. Jumblatt drew up a list of fourteen demands. They included one that Lebanon be declared an Arab state, another that the Christians give an undertaking not to indulge in any ‘confessional provocation’, another that ‘full respect’ be paid to the ‘Palestinian movement’, and a yet another demand was that two Maronite ministers resign and it was to this demand only, Pierre Gemayel agreed. The result was that the government fell. Therefore, on May 23, Franjieh took the unorthodox and unprecedented step of appointing a military cabinet. Muslim Brigadier Nur ad Din Rifai, retired commander of the Internal Security Force, was named prime minister. Rifai selected the controversial Ghanim as his minister of defense; all other cabinet ministers except one were also military officers. Franjieh's motives were difficult to discern. Some believed his move was part of a plot to cement Maronite dominance of the government. Others believed he was attempting to force the recalcitrant army to intervene in the fighting. Perhaps Franjieh sincerely thought that a strong inter confessional military government with unquestionable authority over the army could avert widespread conflict, although Lebanon's democracy would be sacrificed. Indeed, Syrian foreign minister Abdal Halim Khaddam reportedly warned Lebanese politicians that the Lebanese Army was capable of uniting its ranks, staging a coup d'état, and imposing a military dictatorship. Nevertheless, Lebanon's first and last military government was short lived, resigning two days after its inception. Rashid Karame, the man who had forced the Cairo Agreement upon Lebanon became prime minister once again. Even when installed in the government, the army proved unwilling or incapable of exerting authority in Lebanon. The resignation of the military government demonstrated the power vacuum in Lebanese politics and served as the catalyst to conflict. From June to September a six-man cabinet ‘ruled’ by emergency powers. Officially a ceasefire prevailed, but there were constant outbreaks of fighting. Hundreds of acts of terrorism were perpetrated against the Christians, kidnappings, murders and mutilations. The Kataeb interpreted the terrorism as part of the plan to keep the hate, the desire for revenge, the sectarian hostilities alive and active. They believed that criminals were hired to do this work: by whom they could only conjecture, but their suspicions fell on Iraq and Libya. By September fighting resumed and soon clashes erupted in the Christian city of Zahle in the Beqaa and in the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanon’s second largest city. In both places, clashes were instigated by skirmishes between armed individuals. By then, tension was so high that even the slightest verbal exchange between two armed individuals was sufficient to provoke violence which would quickly spread to various parts of the country. In Zahle, local armed men clashed with heavily armed Palestinian guerrillas who for some bizarre reason were trying to enter Zahle. The fighting continued for several days and resulted in the deaths of twenty-eight people and the injury of many others. The more serious confrontation occurred in Tripoli and spread to surrounding localities. Tripoli-Zgharta Battles Heavy fighting was soon to erupt between Tripoli and Zgharta. Clashes here were instigated by a car accident involving a driver from Tripoli and another from the neighboring Maronite town of Zgharta. This led to the shooting of the Muslim driver from Tripoli. Soon afterwards armed men in Tripoli began kidnapping Christians from Zgharta. In retaliation, armed men from Suleiman Frangieh's Zgharta based militia Marada, commanded by his son Tony, set up roadblocks on the outskirts of Tripoli and did their share of kidnapping. This wave of violence was temporarily contained following the release of the detainees. The next day clashes erupted in Tripoli as Palestinians, seeking an escalation, attacked Lebanese army positions, a Lebanese army barracks in the city was even the target of direct shelling from Palestinian positions. Eighteen soldiers were injured. Three Greek Orthodox priests were also kidnapped that day in Tripoli, but were later released. Shelling and rumors of kidnapping and counter-kidnapping kept many armed individuals alert. Disturbances broke out in the nearby Kura region, where skirmishes took place between Zgharta armed men of Marada and supporters of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party and the Lebanese Communist Party. As local leaders succeeded in containing the Kura feud, another violent incident occurred in Darayya, near Tripoli. A bus carrying kidnapped people back to Tripoli, as part of the exchange agreement made between Zgharta and Tripoli leaders, was fired upon by an armed man from the Frangiyeh family, killing twelve and injuring seven others. The assailant had just learned of the killing of his brother in Tripoli. Heavy fighting spread to the outskirts of Tripoli as Palestinians launched an assault against Zgharta. Permanent demarcation lines separating the Palestinians attacking from Tripoli and the Marada defending Zgharta were now in place. Attacks and countered-attacks in which Palestinians took part alongside leftists Tripoli militiamen continued for several days, as did the sectarian killings. Palestinian guerillas belonging to the factions of George Habash and Nayef Hawatmeh entered the village of Beit Mellat (Millat) in north Lebanon and started killing civilians and the moved on to Deir Ayache on 3rd September 1975. Three old monks aged 60, 78, and 93, the only occupants of the monastery of Deir Ayache were ritually murdered, the Christian occupants of the village managed to flee but their village was destroyed. Two days later, the small Maronite village in ‘Akkar, Beit Mellat, was tacked again by Palestinian gunmen who went on the rampage, destroying property, killing several people. Further confrontations took place in the region, notably an attack on the Christian town of Qbayyat in ‘Akkar many of whose inhabitants served in the Lebanese army. The town was besieged. The siege of the town provoked a strong protests and a rebellion by officers and soldiers from Qbayyat based in an army barracks in Jounieh who wanted to deploy and halt the fighting. Emergency cabinet meetings were held and when Christian ministers insisted on the army to be sent into action to restore order the Muslim ministers objected stating that they did not want the army to get involved in action against Lebanese citizens. Finally it was agreed that army would set up a buffer zone between Tripoli and Zgharta. Unhappy with the use of Lebanese army units, Kamal Jumblatt, who had emerged as the leader of the leftist alliance, called for nation wide Muslim protest strikes. A few days later, on the night of September 14, 1975, army troops clashed with several armed followers of Faruq Muqaddam, the leader of a Tripoli-based Fateh-backed guerrillas. Fourteen guerrillas were killed. The incident occurred while armed men attempted to force the way through an army checkpoint on their way back to Tripoli after they had tacked a beach resort near Tripoli, owned by a man from the Frangieh family The next day several Christian-owned shops and houses in Tripoli belonging individuals from Zgharta were bombed and looted. At this stage, Karame, while still opposed to army intervention, called upon the Syria controlled Palestine Liberation Army to bring order to the city. Karame’s decision was taken at a meeting of cabinet ministers in the Sérail, without informing the president. Also upon Karame’s request three guerrilla battalions were transferred from the south to Tripoli. Far from restoring order, these units joined the assault against Christian Zgharta and as a result hundreds Kataeb troops were rushed from Beirut to help Marada in the defence of Zgharta. Offensives against Zgharta would be launched many times over the following months but Zgharta refused to fall. Deeply divided, ineffective and weak, the government by now ruled only on paper. Christian leaders saw one last alternative to halt the process of disintegration: a forceful intervention by the army. As a concession to Karame, Frangieh replaced army commander General Alexander Ghanim with a low-key officer, and having agreed to restructure the army command, Frangieh and other Maronite leaders hoped that Karame and other Sunni leaders would support a forceful army intervention, particularly in Beirut and Tripoli. But this was not forthcoming. But even if some Sunni leaders were willing to support a limited army intervention in Beirut, Jumblatt and the PLO-supported Left were categorically opposed to any kind of army action. Shiite leaders, for their part, were in favour of army intervention. For Musa al-Sadr, the army intervention in Tripoli was ‘a natural and proper measure'. Faced by a strong Sunni—Leftist opposition even to a limited army intervention, Maronite leaders took matters into their own hands and went on the offensive. Pierre Gemayel who for months had been asking the government to deploy the army to restore order, issued an ultimatum on 16th September. If the army did not immediately go into action, the Phalange would have to take matters into their own hands. The next day the Phalange launched an offensive into central Beirut in an attempt to restore order. The Sacking of Downtown Beirut Although over 1,000 people were killed in the early fighting, many Lebanese still viewed the nascent war as a transitory phenomenon that would soon abate, like past security crises. Up until now, the war had mainly been a Palestinian and Lebanese Front affair but events took a sudden turn for the worse when well organized leftist Muslim militias sided with the Palestinians and attacked the downtown Kantari (Qantari) district in late October 1975, causing heavy loss of life and massive property damage, many inhabitants of Beirut realized for the first time that the war was a serious affair. The Palestinians and leftists eventually took Kantari and occupied the forty story Murr Tower, the highest building in Beirut. Now that the leftist National Movement openly joined Fatah; the carnage was massive. Deaths from the fighting averaged about fifty a day. National Movement fighters and youths from the camps looted and destroyed the stores in the heart of Beirut. Dead and mutilated bodies lay everywhere in public places: corpses of sexually violated women and children, and of men with their genitals cut off and stuffed into their mouths. Shop windows were shattered and their contents looted by a multitude of beggars, many of them small ragged boys out of the camps, who would offer the goods for sale on the streets, wildly setting their own prices on items whose value they could not imagine. Garbage piled up in the streets. Piped water and electric power were cut off more often than not. People were afraid to leave their apartments and seek safety elsewhere, knowing they would lose everything to the looters, who would even tear window frames and plumbing fixtures out of the walls. To add to the terror and destruction, the Syrian based Palestinian guerrilla group, Sa’iqa, began its own campaign of bomb explosions in the commercial centre of the city. As this was a mixed area, its targets were indiscriminate. PLO offices and men were hit. It was the covert beginning of a direct Syrian assault on the weakening state. Before the end of 1975, President Assad had started to deploy the Yarmouk and Hittin brigades of the PLA as well as Egyptian based 'Ayn Jalout Bridage' in the Beqaa in support of the Palestinians and the LNM. Syria's role in the fighting was tipping the military balance even more in favour of the PLO. Syrian troops had already been active in fighting alongside PLO units in the north of Lebanon. After the battle was of Kantari was over the two sides settled down to desultory exchanges of fire in a pattern that was to become familiar over the months — reserving the nights for the real attempts to take territory or score victories. Soon a huge pall of smoke rose over the commercial district of the city, a mile to the east. This was the area of warehouses, banks, airline offices, the Bourse, all the myriad facets of the service economy on which Beirut depended. It was the area, too, of the souks, the labyrinth of narrow streets each housing all the practitioners of the same trade. There was the vegetable souk, the clothes souk, the meat souk and so on. Above all, there was the gold souk, two glittering streets where every shop front was a treasure house of bangles and rings, chains, lockets and precious stones. Many of the gold dealers were Armenians, there were a few Jews, and some Maronites. In the other souks, Moslems and Christians traded side by side. But whatever the religion of the stall-holders and shop-keepers, everyone recognized that the souks played a major part in the economic life of the city. Local people did all their shopping there, it was a regular attraction for tourists, and the traders imported and exported as well as carrying on their retail business. By any standards, the souks of Beirut belonged to everyone and were of benefit to everyone. Now the souks began to be ravaged by looters from all sides. The Phalangists then began pouring in mortars and rockets into the souk district, raking the shops with heavy machine-gun fire from their positions only a hundred or so yards away, and doing everything they could to destroy the area in what seemd to be a scorched earth policy. It seemed senseless, though in fact it was part of the general Phalangist strategy. Their aim in Beirut was not only the classic military concept of destroying the enemy—the Left-wing forces and the Palestinians—it was also to involve as many people on their side as possible. In particular, the Phalangists wanted the Army brought into the fighting. The Lebanese Army, a mere twelve thousand strong, was still the most powerful force in the country, with tanks, armored cars, personnel carriers, artillery and all the other equipment any modern army must have. It was the one properly organized group, with a command structure, good communications, adequate reserves of ammunition, and men who were well-trained and obedient. The Phalangist calculation was plain, though it was never spelt out. If the Army could be embroiled, then no matter how much its neutrality was proclaimed, or even if the Command did actually try to remain impartial, inevitably the troops would be forced to fight on the side of the Phalangist militia—the experience of half a dozen different clashes in the past had shown that this was always the case. Afterall, the Lebanese right was fighting to preserve Lebanon and the Lebanese way of life while the leftist pan Arabists were fighting to destroy Lebanon. The Phalange felt that sooner or later the army would have to join them and the sooner the better. Rashid Karami, the Sunni Moslem Prime Minister had set his face firmly against any involvement of the military. At the end of the 1958 war, only two institutions of the State had emerged unscathed and had formed the basis on which the country had been able to build anew: the Presidency and the Army. The Prime Minister knew that if he did unleash the Army in Beirut he would be accused by all Moslems in the country of siding with the Right, and would lose what influence he still had. On these two counts Karami was determined that the Army should stay out; so, despite the pleas of the Right-wing members of his own cabinet, led by Camille Chamoun, the Minister of the Interior, and the wanton destruction being spread by the Phalange, Karami held out against the pressures and refused to give the orders which would have permitted the Army to move. The destruction of the souks went on, with fires smoldering by day and new salvoes of mortar bombs and rockets crashing in by night. The hard-pressed Beirut fire brigade tried to put out the worst blazes, but the frequently heroic firemen could do little. Often they could get nowhere near the fires because of constant sniper fire, deliberately aimed at them by one side or the other to ensure the destruction of some particular place. There was the beginning, too, of the division of the city which was soon to become complete, and the discrimination based on the religion of a man shown on his identity card. So all over the commercial district and even in the port, the fires raged unchecked as both sides joined in the orgy of destruction started in this particular case by the Phalangists, as they tried to pursue their strategic aim, through a deliberate scorched earth policy which probably caused as much damage to their own supporters and members as it did to the property of their opponents. But one souk would not be allowed to be destroyed. Somehow, the gold souk had to be saved and on both sides of the line the powerful men who owned the shops were applying pressure. It was a demonstration of another facet of the Lebanese situation, now Moslem and Christian owners of shops in the gold souks joined with Jews and Armenians to plead with both sides to save their capital and their livelihood. Their powerful collective voice was listened to with respect, and soon a commando group of the Lebanese Army, one-hundred-and-fifty-strong, was on its way to the souk under a promise of safe conduct and no molestation from either side. The soldiers got there just in time, for others, too, had heard of the plans to clear the treasure from the souk. As the soldiers were hurrying by back ways to the entrance to the souk at the top of the Place des Martyrs, a fifty strong band of gangsters had shot their way in, killing the few guards still on duty and braving the fire of the Phalange on one side of the square and the Leftists on the other. While most of the robbers took up positions ready to hold off anyone who tried to interfere, others tore off the shutters of the shops or blasted their way in with dynamite. They were hastily filling sacks with gold ornaments as the Army arrived. And in this first engagement it was the Army which quickly came off best. The soldiers, with their armored vehicles, could go right up to the entrance to the souk with impunity as they poured in machine-gun and cannon fire. Within minutes those thieves who were not killed had fled, and the Army had scored a notable victory in a dubious cause. Under the protection of the guns of the military, the waiting merchants arrived to load their treasure into cars and trucks. Many of them were unwilling to take such a tempting cargo far, so they did no more than drive half a mile to the main office of the British Bank of the Middle East. There they hastily packed their gold into the strong-boxes that they had previously rented, then went on their way carrying only a few items they thought they might be able to sell in the makeshift souks which were beginning to appear in other parts of the city. The fighting in the mainly Muslim western side of the city intensified as the PLO and the LNM battled against the Kataeb. The commander-in-chief of the Kataeb, Pierre Gemayel’s son Bachir, moved his men into the tourists’ hotel quarter of the city near the sea front, to try to defend the harbor and the business centre against the LNM and the PLO. Therefore in late 1975 and early 1976, fierce fighting engulfed Beirut's high rise hotel district, this fighting was a logical consequence of the leftist sacking of the Kantari district. The expanded scope and intensity of the combat increased casualties greatly, with over 1,000 killed in the first weeks of the new year, 1976. Check Point Killings and Black Saturday In the first week of the war some hundreds of motorists, halted in a traffic jam in Beirut at a Palestinian check point, witnessed the execution of a man by the PLO. The captors and their victim stood on a piece of open ground at the side of the Avenue Sami al-Solh. Other captured Lebanese, probably Maronite, were guarded by Fedayeen armed with ‘klashens’ (AK47s). The captives’ hands were tied behind their backs. One was singled out for special attention. Around his neck the PLO militiamen tied sticks of explosives. People in their cars looked and waited uneasily for the arrival of the special police in red berets whose business it was to deal with violent incidents in the streets, but they did not appear. One witness amongst hundreds, Janet Wakin, the respected American wife of businessman George Wakin reported 'the victim stood still, with strange quietness and dignity’, while the fedayeen prepared literally to blow his head off. They set a fuse, and ran back from the man, who continued to stand where he was, quite still, until the explosion came. Not only was he decapitated, but the rest of his body was blown to pieces. News of this sent shock waves across Lebanon's communities casuing the wat to rapidly take on a sectarian character. On the 30 May 1975 an incident occurred that was to start the darkest and perhaps the most horrific aspect of the Lebanese war. In retaliation for the death of a Palestinian in east Beirut, 30 Christian civilians were rounded up in west Beirut, most dragged out of cars, and murdered in cold blood on the street. This was the first major check point massacre of civilians in the war and started a vicious cycle of kidnapping, revenge and retaliation. Districts of Beirut became ‘no go’ areas for all but those whose religion let them in. A person’s religion was enough to condemn him or her to abduction, humiliation, rape, mutilation or murder. It was not long before a brisk trade in false identity papers was underway. A person moving through the city, and before long anywhere in the country, might depend for his or her life on correctly identifying which roadblock lay ahead, getting the right papers ready to show the militiamen (many of them boys in their early teens), and remembering whether to give a Christian or a Muslim name. Often those who made mistakes were killed on the spot. The next major event of this murderous cycle was on December 6, 1975, "Black Saturday". Four Christians were murdered and one wounded in a car outside the Lebanese Electricity Company headquarters in east Beirut by a Muslim militia raiding party. They had been hacked by axes in a most brutal way and shot. These murders took place on the eve of Pierre Gemayel's visit to Damascus. A Lebanese reporter by the name of Joe Saady was the father of one those murdered and some weeks before he had lost his other son who had been abducted from his racing car during a rally and murdered. When news that his other son had been murdered reached him Joe Saady went on the rampage and started randomly stopping cars and killing Muslim occupants. For many Phalangists (Kataeb) fighters this was the least straw, they wanted retaliation for this and numerous other recent acts of terror against the civilians of East Beirut. Discipline completely collapsed as Phalangist fighters set up a road block on the ring road and also started killing Muslims. Other fighters went to the port area and started killing Muslim dock workers. There are reports in some sources that the revenge murders started because the Gemayels had ordered the killing of 40 Muslims in retaliation for the 4 dead Christians but it would seem that such reports are untrue. A number of senior Phalangist officers including William Hawi, Commander-in-Chief of the Kataeb Military Council, ran out of the nearby Kataeb base and tried to stop the murders but such was the rage that they were fired on by the rampaging fighters. When news of this action reached west Beirut, Muslim militias along with their Palestinian allies set up road blocks and began killing Christians. In the hours that followed a total of around 200 civilians from each side had been murdered. Anarchy in West Beirut The number of dead and maimed mounted in Beirut. Snipers on roofs or at high windows picked off victims in the streets, in their homes, in shops, and in Offices. A common site was an open truck bearing a Soviet heavy machine-gun known as a ‘Douchka’, the gunman holding its grips with both hands to keep his balance as the vehicle hurtled through the streets and careened round corners. (It reminded onlookers of bronco- riding, or water-skiing, and the gunmen came to be known as ‘water- skiers’.) Everywhere in the city ‘armed elements’ sauntered in public places wearing masks, balaclavas, or squares of cloth covering all their features, or carnival papier-mâché faces, comic or grotesque, under cowboy stetsons, helmets, or any kind of headgear. Feather boas were seen draped round necks and shoulders under masked faces, and bits and pieces of all kinds of uniforms were worn:jungle camouflage fatigues, jeans and T-shirts. Guns were carried as an indispensable necessity, even in restaur-ants and on the beaches, by women as well as men. The masking was done often out of a genuine need for fighters to conceal their identity and so avert possible vengeance. But a certain illicit excitement in the freedom to kill with impunity filled the streets, and the ‘adventure’ attracted adventurers from far beyond the shores of Lebanon. Many a 'franc tireur' toted his gun in the ranks of the fedayeen and the Marxists. Also bourgeois idealists, youths from Europe, most of them die-hards of the New Left’s militant ‘peace-movements’ of the late 1960s and now playing at revolution, and some of them neo-Nazis, were drawn here from the safe societies of the West to revel in the ‘real thing’. The parasitic PLO state in Lebanon was a subversives’ honeypot. Here they had license to shoot and kill in an alien world, with no consequence to themselves. Would-be heroes of ‘the Revolution’, playboys and playgirls of terrorism from West Germany, Italy, Scandinavia and the Netherlands, came to dress up, strut, blow up, and gun down. It was a masquerade with a cruelty all too real. The adventure required the suffering and dying of multitudes of helpless people. It was a carnival of death. To add to the theatricality of the scene, convoys of cars with guns protruding from the windows, armored vehicles and motorcycles would scream through the streets accompanying Arafat or Abu Iyad on their visits to politicians, foreign envoys, allied commanders of the revolution-ary forces. Then, in some office or apartment block or public building, dozens of men armed with ‘klashens’ would push down the corridors ahead of the great man: Arafat wearing his kafliyah pinned back from his face, dark glasses, a three-day growth of beard; or Abu Iyad, another short stout man dwarfed by huge bodyguards. The PLO Camps In an effort to consolidate its presence in Lebanon, the PLO put out a plan to make efficient use of the camps in Beirut and in the suburbs in crisis situations. Among the camps located in Christian areas, Tal al Zaatar was the largest and the most important both as a political and military base. This camp also contained there guerrilla training bases. The functions of the camp included the following: (i) to recruit workers from nearby factories in Dikwaneh and Mkallis for the Lebanese branch of Fateh. The person in charge of this operation was Ali al-Asmar. He was also the workers’ representative in the ‘Cortina’ ice cream factory; (ii) to purchase apartments in Dikwaneh and use them as surveillance posts; (iii) to link Tal al Zatar logistically to the nearby smaller but still substantial camp of Jisr-Basha and establish military control over the crossing of Mkalis, and (iv) To link Tal-Zaatar to the nearby area of Nabaa which had a large Shia population, where Palestinian and leftist groups were active. This plan to link the camps in times of crises would in effect completely envelope East Beirut's eastern flank and cut it off from the rest of Lebanon. The Dhayeh camp, located near the largely Christian city of Jounieh was inhabited by Palestinian Christians and had a minor military function. It was used as a surveillance and intelligence post within the Christian region. The camp had a training base. Intelligence operations were conducted in association with the Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party, which had some supporters in the Metn region. Another important base was the area of Maslakh and Karantina located at the northern entry of East Beirut and inhabited by Palestinians, Kurds, Syrians and Shia. Fateh and other Palestinian organizations had a strong presences this area. Karantina also had one training base. The Borj al-Barajneh camp, located in the southern suburb of Beirut, was the main military base in west Beirut. This camp had three training bases. As early as 1970, small munitions factories were established there. The Borj al-Barajneh camp, by virtue of its strategic location, controlled access to the main road linking Beirut to the airport as did the nearby camps of Sahra and Shatila, which later served as the Fateh headquarters in Beirut. Battle of Karantina With the outbreak of hostilities the PLO tried to activate their plan to link the camps of East Beirut and encircle the Christians. Whilst the majority of right wing fighters were tied down in downtown Beirut the Palestinians moved to isolate East Beirut as fighters from the camps tired to take control of access points into the city. In response to this the Lebanese front surrounded the camps of Tal al Zaatar, Jisr al Basha and Karantina on 4th January. To counter this move the PLO and their allies surrounded and launched an attack against the Christian town of Damour some 20km south of Beirut on January 9th. These tit for tat moves resulted in the Palestinian camp of Dbayeh being attacked by the Lebanese Front. On January 14 1976 the Dbayeh falls to the Guardians of the Cedars and the Ahrar after a five day siege. The Karantina camp (and the nearby Maslakh), a slum district named after the old immigration quarantine area, was occupied and controlled by a large PLO detachment. This was therefore site of the another major episode in the war as the Lebanese Front tried to break out of East Beirut and link with the rest of Lebanon. The first attempt to expel the PLO from this area was in July 1975 but the Kataeb assault on the camp was repelled by a joint PFLP and leftist force. On January 18, 1976, a combined Lebanese Front force composed of Guardians of the Cedars, Ahrar and Kataeb took Karantina after a fierce battle in which the Palestinians held out for three days and fought to the last man in the Sleep Comfort furniture factory. Many Palestinian civilians were killed in the chaos of the assault and some in cold blood by the attackers who were enraged by the events the occurred four months earlier in the north of the country. Randal reports that according to Lebanese survivors the Palestinians would not allow the civilians to leave the camp. After the battle the camp residents were evicted on buses and tasked to west Beirut. Syrian Intervention to "save" the CHRISTIAN Camp... Having diverted forces to Beirut and other zones of combat, the Lebanese left wing National Movement was not equipped to pursue its siege of Damour against Maronite resistance. Palestinian forces were of limited assistance, since most of them were still deployed in the South, close to the Israeli border. Kamal Junbalat became increasingly anxious, and in a meeting at the home of the Sunni Mufti, Hasan Khalid, in Aramun, he joined other LNM and traditional Muslim leaders in initiating an appeal for Syrian assistance. Syrian President Hafiz al-Assad later cited the appeal of the Aramun summit as evidence that Syria's intervention in Lebanon was purely invitational. In an unusual and highly revealing speech delivered on 20 July 1976, (Hafiz al-Assad, Text of speech delivered on 20 July 1976 (in Arabic), Al-Baath, Periodic Publication, no. 10, 4 August 1976, pp. 2-3.)President Assad explained the Syrian rationale in responding to the LNM's appeal. Assad relates that in mid-January, Lebanese Muslim and leftist leaders sent urgent "signals of distress" to Syria, due to the military collapse of LNM Resistance forces. The members of the Aramun summit urged Syrian Foreign Minister Khaddam to request President Assad to contact President Faranjiyih and try to stop the fighting. Assad portrays himself as reluctant to comply with the request, not because of unwillingness to make the effort, but because he considered the demand unreasonable. He explains that the LNM and the Resistance had more weapons at their disposal than the entire Lebanese Army, let alone the Kataib and National Liberals. He therefore told Khaddam that "they must hold out" and that he would not contact Faranjiyih. However, Assad relented after Khaddam repeatedly called him to describe the desperation of the appealers, who feared that with the fall of Karantina and Maslakh, the Kataib's next move would be to occupy West Beirut. Assad called Faranjiyih on 18 January and arranged a cease-fire for that night, but the agreement did not hold and fighting escalated instead. At this point, Assad met with "some of our comrades in the leadership" to determine what might be done "to rescue the situation." Having already supplied arms and attempted mediation, the Syrians decided that "nothing remained but direct intervention." The outcome of deliberations by the Syrians was a decision for a higher level of commitment in Lebanon. Assad explains the decision to intervene "under the banner of the Palestine Liberation Army," but later mentions that Syria moved in the PLA "and other forces" whose identity is not specified. He asserts that when the PLA began its entry into Lebanon, no one was aware that this was occurring. The autonomy of the Syrian decision is underscored by his remark that: "We did not consult with them [i.e., the Palestinian Resistance] and we did not consult with the nationalist parties, and naturally not one of them was prepared to discuss with us any measures [that they took]. The important thing is that they requested us to carry out what [i.e., whatever] would rescue them." (Assad, Speech of 20 July 1976, p. 4.) The approximately 3,500 men that entered Lebanon from Syria on 19th January were primarily affiliated with the Yarmuk Brigade, one of the PLA units stationed in Syria. They were responding to a Syrian command to move forward, although officially all PLA units were subject to the direct command of Yasir Arafat. Whereas the issue of PLA loyalties would later arouse acrimonious Syrian-Palestinian dispute, in this instance the PLA intervention clearly furthered the goals of the PLO in Lebanon and of the Lebanese National Movement. Most of the PLA forces from Syria were initially concentrated in the Biqa Valley, but the presence of these reinforcements enabled Arafat to draw on his forces in Southern Lebanon and move them north for the siege against Damour. The indirect Syrian intervention quickly shifted the Lebanese military balance to favor the anti-establishment leftist PLO coalition. One early opponent of Syria's diplomatic and military role was Camille Shamoun of the National Liberal Party. In his capacity as Minister of the Interior, he announced, upon hearing of the PLA intervention, that "forces of the Syrian Army have entered Lebanese soil . . . [and] this intervention threatens this part of the Middle East with a new war." When asked why he equated the PLA forces with the Syrian Army, Shamoun replied: "It is very hard to differentiate between the Syrian Army and those military formations which are commanded by a number of Syrian officers and in whose ranks an additional number of Syrian officers fight unofficially. Let us not forget that all of the equipment and military supplies are given by Syria. . . . It is perhaps less official than aggression by the Syrian Army, but the result is exactly the same." (Al-Nahar, 20 January 1976) Destruction of Damour Two days later, January 20, 1976, Palestinians and their leftist allies launched their final assault on the Christian town of Damour which lay across the Sidon - Beirut highway about 20 km south of Beirut. The relentless pounding the town received resulted in the deaths of many. In the siege that had been established on 9 January the Palestinians cut off food and water supplies and refused to allow the Red Cross to take out the wounded. Infants and children as well as the elderly died of dehydration. On January 16, 1976, Minister of Defence Chamoun called in the mostly Christian manned Lebanese Air Force to bomb leftist positions near Damour in an attempt to halt the Palestinian attack. The use of the air force caused a government crisis as the Prime Minister Rachid Karame went out of his way to stop its intervention. A plan was devised to evacuate Damour's civilians and fortunately the majority of the population of Damour was evacuated by sea but about 500 civilians defended by some 20 mostly Ahrar troops did not make it out in time. Damour was captured, the defenders were executed, the civilians were lined up against the walls of their houses and shot, their houses were then dynamited. Many of the young women had been raped and babies had been shot at close range at the back of the head. 149 bodies lay in the streets for days afterwards and 200 other civilians were never seen again. In all about 582 civilians had been murdered. The horror did not end there, the old Christian cemetery was next, coffins were dug up the dead robbed, vaults opened, and bodies and skeletons thrown across the grave yard. Damour was then transformed into a stronghold of Fatah and the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine). The massacre and destruction of Damour is best described by Becker in the book "The PLO". The massacre induced Muslims residing in Christian-dominated areas to flee to Muslim held areas, and vice versa. Whereas most Lebanese towns and neighborhoods previously had been integrated, for the first time large-scale population transfers began to divide the country into segregated zones, the first step toward de facto partition. The Break-up of the Lebanese Army Syria’s increasing influence in Lebanese politics had now reached the Sunni leadership. To counter this, Arafat sought to promote Sunni and Leftist supporters of his own. One concrete manifestation of his policy was the announcement of his alliance in early 1976 of the Beirut-based Sunni militia, al-Murabitun, led by Ibrahim Qoleilat. A former Nasserite activist, Qoleilat was implicated in the assassination of the journalist Kamel Mrouweh in 1966 and was very much a local Beirut thug (qabaday). Trained and armed by Fateh, al-Murabitun, which included Palestinian and Lebanese fighters, received Libyan money. For Arafat, the al-Murabitun alliance met three objectives: (i) It gave Palestinian military operations in Beirut an internal Lebanese Muslim cover; (ii) It undermined the influence of the Sunni political leadership on the ‘street’, particularly in Beirut; (iii) It underlined Sunni opposition to Syrian policy in Lebanon. Being largely dependent on Fateh, al-Murabitun was a useful instrument of military operations used by Fateh for escalation of warfare in Beirut 1976. Rather than seeking a direct military confrontation with the Syrian regime, Fateh opted for another move aimed at undermining Syrian influence in Lebanon. On 15th January 1976, the Palestinians entered Kab Elias, a mixed Christian-Muslim village located in Békaa. Ten days later, 16 Christian civilians were killed and 23 others wounded in an unprovoked attack causing a mass exodus of the Christians from the Bekaa towards Zahlé, Beirut and Jounieh. It was at this juncture that the Army Lebanese began to disintegrate completely. Palestinians, mainly of the PLA had for days poured across the border from Syria and attacked in force the Christian villages in the Bekaa, when the Lebanese Army was sent in to stop the fighting, Lieutenant Ahmad Khatib mutinied and with his men he joined the PLA and then surrounded and bombarded Zahlé. The main orchestrator of the rebellion was Fateh leader Abu Jihad. Libya, Iraq and Fateh provided financial support for the Khatib movement. The Movement of Ahmad al-Khatib,’ later known as the Arab Army of Lebanon (AAL) or the Lebanese Arab Army (LAA), was announced on 21 January 1976. The rebellion began in the Lebanese army barracks at Hasbayya, and quickly spread to other barracks in various parts of the country, especially in the south and the Beqa. For Syria, the rebellion was directed against its ‘stabilizing role in Lebanon’. Two days later the army underwent yet another split. This time it was led by Colonel Antoine Barakat, who declared loyalty to Frangieh. A Maronite from Frangieh’s hometown Zgharta, Barakat controlled a major army barracks near the defence ministry. Another officer, Major Fouad Malik, supported the Barakat-led faction, as did Major Sad Haddad, who took over in Marja’youn in the south. The Lebanese Army was ripped into sectarian pieces. Army officers and troops entered into combat alongside the warring factions, while others remained under the nominal command of Army Chief Hanna Said. The latter commanded little authority even before the break-up of the army. Still others went home and did not take part in the fighting. Officers of the LAA commanded units in various parts of the country, particularly in the south and the north (Tripoli and ‘Akkar), where two Sunni officers, Ahmad Butari and Ahmad Mamari, were in command. The LAA was involved in brutal acts of kidnapping and sectarian killing in areas under its control in the north, south and the Beqaa. The intervention of the Khatib's Lebanese Arab Army on the side of the PLO was a disaster for the Lebanese Front. Ahmad al-Khatib was a cousin of a socialist deputy named Zahir al-Khatib, who was a friend of Kamal Jumblatt. (‘A patriotic young officer with a good sense of politics,’ Jumblatt said of Ahmad Khatib.) As a close ally of the PLO, he moved his units southwards, in pursuit of the Christians who had fled that way to join their co-religionists when the war was raging in Beirut and the north; he intended to hunt them to extinction. His men, most of them professional and well-equipped soldiers, emptied or besieged the Christian towns and villages. It cannot be told how many people they killed, only it is certain they amounted to thousands. And as thousands more fled the country, Lieutenant al-Khatib came near to satisfying his highly publicized ambition of wiping out the entire Christian population in that part of Lebanon. In desperation, as more officers and troops joined the Khatib movement, on 11 March another army officer, the Beirut garrison Brigadier ‘Aziz al-Ahdab, staged a ‘television coup’ and demanded the resignation of President Frangiyeh and announced that the Lebanese Army was stepping in to take over the government and restore order. A Sunni from Tripoli, Ahdab was the military commander of the Beirut district. Ahdab’s troops numbered fewer than a hundred, and hardly controlled their own command headquarters in Beirut. Whether or not Ahdab had the tacit support of the army command to force the cabinet to resign and help reunite the army, he definitely went too far by demanding the resignation of Frangiyeh. Although initially seeking to halt the breakdown, Ahdab’s action had the opposite effect. His ill-conceived move hastened the disintegration of the army and confirmed Syria’s suspicion of Palestinian involvement in this show of force. Indeed, if Abu Jihad was the man behind Khatib, Abu Hassan Salameh, Arafat’s close associate, was behind Ahdab. According to Abu Iyad, Ahdab was supplied with a Fateh escort to the television building where he announced the ‘coup’. Ahdab's move came too late and with too little support, and he was derisively nicknamed "General Television" by militia leaders, who commanded far more men. On the surface, the LAA rebellion seemed spontaneous and reflected Muslim discontent within the army. In reality, however, the rebellion was orchestrated by Fateh and had well-defined objectives. For Fateh leaders, the Lebanese Army had always constituted a military threat to the PLO, not Lebanese militia forces. In early 1976, the situation seemed ripe for a large scale military action within the army. On that objective Palestinian leaders, notably Arafat, Abu Iyad, Abu Jihad, Abu Hassan Salameh, were in agreement. Fateh leaders Abu Jihad and Abu Hassan Salameh were in control of the LAA, and were assisted by military commanders. As the war intensified members of the LAA began to realize that they had been played and used by the PLO and so the LAA shrank from approximately 3,000-4,000 troops in March 1976 to a few hundred by the end of the year by the end of the year and the LAA was completely marginalized, as was the role of Ahmad al-Khatib (Syrian authorities detained Khatib on 18 January 1977). The Great Bank Robbery, The Hotel District, and the Green Line At some point during March or April the Palestinians realized that they had gained effective control of Bank Street and so the stage was set for the biggest bank robbery in modern history. General looting of the banks was followed by disastrous attempts to dynamite the vaults causing serious injuries to the Palestinian thieves, so they decided to bring in professional safecrackers from Europe, possibly supplied by the mafia. Of the eleven banks robbed, the worst hit were those with safe-deposit vaults, the British Bank of the Middle East, Banca di Roma, and Bank Misr-Liban. The Guinness Book of Records claims the BBME alone lost a minimum of $20 million but probably $50 million, that is equivalent to $175 million today. Saiqa, the pro Syrian wing of the PLO were identified with the Banca di Roma thefts and marxist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine was deemed responsible for the theft of the BBME. At one point a fire fight broke out between the two factions as Saiqa tried to steal the DFLP loot. The fighting that had been raging on in the hotel district was reaching its climax. For months the Phalange had been perched defiantly in the twenty seven storey Holiday Inn hotel repelling attack after attack by Palestinian and leftist forces, giving the 'Battle of the Holiday Inn' legendary status. On 21st March 1976, a major assault by a special Palestinian commando units using armored vehicles lent by the Khatib's Arab Army and supported by the leftist Muslim militias finally dislodged the Phalange. The leftist militias who had been handed the hotel by the Palestinians for propaganda purposes got so carried away celebrating that the Phalange was able to sneak back in at dawn the next day. The Palestinians therefore had to do the job all over again on the 22nd of March, and over the next few days the Phalange were pushed back to their defensive line at Martyrs Square. As the weeks went by it was becoming apparent that the Lebanese Front were losing the war as the Palestinian-Muslim-leftist alliance forced them to retreat farther into East Beirut. The Lebanese Front had grossly underestimated the strength of the Palestinian forces in Lebanon and the support the Palestinians would receive from some Arab countries. The Christian militias of the Lebanese Front now began combining their military strength becoming known as the Lebanese Forces, the various component militias however maintained their own identity. The Christians felt it imperative to retain control of Beirut's port district and constructed an elaborate barricade defence at Allenby Street. As the Christians tried to stave off the Muslim-Leftist-Palestinian assault on the port district, the Lebanese Army finally entered the fray. Christian officers and enlisted men from the Al Fayadiyyah barracks outside Beirut came to the aid of their beleaguered coreligionists, bringing armored cars and heavy artillery. The left wing Muslim-Palestinian advance was stopped, and the front at Allenby Street evolved into a no man's land, dividing Christian East Beirut from Muslim West Beirut. Vegetation that eventually grew in this abandoned area inspired the name Green Line, and cut the city in two until the end of the war in 1990. But in East Beirut, right in the Maronite heartland, was the Palestinian ‘camp’ of Tall al-Za’tar. For many months before the outbreak of hostilities, Maronite businessmen driving from their offices in the city to their homes in the mountains had been stopped on the road through the camp by armed Palestinian boys and forced to show their identity papers. And now, from their strongholds in Tall al-Za’tar, the PLO forces were shelling the factories and offices of the eastern Christian suburbs of the city. The Kataeb and their allies marked Tall al-Za’tar for destruction. The Israeli Connection Israel had cultivated a relationship with Lebanon's Christian community almost from the advent of the Zionist movement. Some Zionist politicians had envisaged a Jewish-Maronite alliance to counterbalance Muslim regional dominance. After Israel's independence in 1948, some Israeli leaders advocated extending the northern border to encompass Lebanon up to the Litani River and to assimilate the Christian population living there. In 1955 Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and General Moshe Dayan conceived a plan to intervene in Lebanon and install a Lebanese Christian president amenable to improving bilateral relations. The patriarchs of Lebanon's Christian community, particularly Pierre Gemayel and Camille Chamoun, were tempted by Israeli offers of assistance, but they nevertheless resisted entrusting the security of the Maronites to Israel and abjured close contact with Israel. But in 1976, threatened by the escalating War, a new generation of Lebanese Christian leaders turned to Israel for military support against the ascendant PLO and the Muslim left. After a series of clandestine meetings between Mossad, the Israeli foreign intelligence agency, and militia leaders Bashir Gemayel and Dany Chamoun, Israel supplied US$50 million to arm and equip the Christian fighters. The Constitutional Document For some weeks efforts for a negotiated settlement had been underway. The idea for a negotiated political settlement to end conflict through Syrian mediation had been on the mind of the Syrian leadership since November 1975. Damascus was using a ‘carrot-and-stick’ approach with the Maronite leadership. Syrian support for Palestinian, Leftist and Muslim forces was intended to keep the Maronite leadership under pressure to reach a settlement that favored Syrian interests. To pursue that course of action, Damascus called upon an associate of Frangiyeh, Lucien Dahdah, then the Chairman of the Board of the Intra Company. Dahdah, who had family ties with Frangiyeh and old acquaintances in Syria, was contacted in Paris, where he was staying. With Frangiyeh’s approval, Dahdah met with Syrian officials. Talks went on for about four weeks and resulted in a draft, which was the basis for the Constitutional Document. Dahdah held meetings with Syrian officials, including seven with Assad. When negotiations started relations between Assad and Frangieh had been strained for several months, following Syrian army intervention in the war. Frangiyeh had presented evidence to Damascus confirming Syrian troops’ involvement in the war, particularly in the north. The Constitutional Document was a convenient balancing act. It stipulated a more balanced confessional representation in government office and provided a formula to contain the internal dimension of conflict. It addressed grievances though without undermining the confessional foundations of a political system. One such grievance was Lebanon’s Arabism. The document proclaimed Lebanon’s Arabism but stated that Lebanon is a sovereign, free and independent country. Of the seventeen points stated in the Constitutional Document, five dealt with Muslim grievances. By and large, they were aimed at curtailing presidential power. They are as follows: (i) Seats in parliament would be distributed on a fifty-fifty between Muslims and Christians, and proportionately within each sect; (ii) the prime minister would be elected by a 51 per cent majority of the Chamber of then the prime minister should hold parliamentary consultations and the list of ministers in agreement with the president; (iii) All decrees and draft laws should be signed by the president and the prime minister. This did not apply to the decrees appointing the prime minister, accepting his resignation, or dismissing his government. The prime minister should enjoy all the powers customarily exercised by him; (iv) The distribution of posts on a confessional basis be abolished, although the principle of confessional equality should be maintained at the level of senior posts; (v) The naturalization laws should be amended. By contrast, only one provision addressed Christian demands. It affirmed the distribution of the three presidential posts, which allocated the presidency of the republic to a Maronite, the presidency of the Chamber of Deputies to a Shiite and the premiership to a Sunni. Kamal Jumblatt and the PLO were heavily opposed to this document as an end to the war did not suit them. Jumblatt saw in this document a re-enactment of the 'no victor, no vanquished' formula of 1958, something which he was not willing to accept. Compromise was not appealing to Jumblatt and the PLO at a time when the military balance was in their favour. Therefore they looked for ways to intensify the fighting. The Mountain Offensive In March 1976, the leftist forces and the Palestinians launched an offensive across Mount Sannine to invade the Christian heartland. The PLO head strategist, Salah Khalaf, announced as Palestinian forces climbed the eastern flank of Mount Sannine to attack Christians in their historic mountain villages, that the road to Palestine lay through 'Uyun Al Siman, Aintoura, and even Jounieh itself'. These Christian areas are to the north of Beirut not towards Israel in the south, the Palestinians had declared war on the very nation that had given them refuge, Lebanon and the Lebanese Christians in particular. The offensive, coinciding with the assault on the hotel district, began on 17 March and led to the capture of several villages in the Upper Metn region. These military operations, particularly the opening of a new front in the Mountain, were alarming developments not only for the Christian forces but also for Syria who started to fear that a Christian defeat and so a Palestinian controlled Lebanon would lead to an Israeli invasion. According to George Hawi, military escalation in the Mountain was initially suggested by Palestinian leaders. In a meeting held in early March in the village of Souq al-Gharb and attended by Arafat, Abu Jihad, Abu Iyad, in addition to Jumblatt, Hawi and Mohsin Ibrahim, Palestinian leaders advocated the opening of a new front in the Mountain. For them, the Mountain front had a dual purpose: to put military pressure on Christian forces especially in the central part of Mount Lebanon, to prevent an assault on the Tal-Zaatar camp, and to mobilize Arab and international support for PLO-Leftist forces. As some of Ahmad Khatib's forces surrounded and besieged the town of Zahle in the Beqaa, other LAA troops along with the National Movement and the PLO advanced on the Maronites in Beirut, and came right to the Metn, the constituency of Pierre Gemayel’s elder son Amin, the Maronite heartland. By March 25 the artillery of the LAA led by Major Hussein Awwad, was scoring direct hits against Frangieh's residential quarters in the Presidential Palace and so the President was forced to leave the palace and seek residency for the rest of his term in Kisirwen. As fighting broadened, attempts were made, once again, to reach a political settlement. Views on the course of the war and its objectives between Arafat and Jumblatt began to diverge. While Jumblatt pressed for a 'military solution' Arafat was more cautious. Jumblatt went to Damascus hoping to get weapons from Syria, On his way to Damascus, Jumblatt made a statement to journalists that he hoped to receive them soon in Bikfaya and Jounieh. Ten days earlier Leftist forces had launched their first major offensive in the Mountain. At the meeting, Assad inquired about the statement and told Jumblatt that it would be better to deny it since the purpose of the meeting was to end the fighting. To this Jumblatt replied that fighting could be ended in a few days only if Syria would provide him with the weapons he needed to finish off the Christians. Assad's attempt to persuade Jumblatt to accept a political settlement failed. Jumblatt was determined to score a military victory and alter the political system. On no issue of substance were the two men in agreement. The divide between them could not be bridged. Assad, the head of state, had calculations to make and a strategy to follow. Jumblatt, seeking to rule a state, had a completely different agenda and, by extension, was not careful in weighing the outcome of his deed. Assad’s assessment of that stormy meeting was revealed in a highly publicized speech delivered on 20 July 1976. For Assad, Jumblatt’s socialist and progressive ‘masks’ had fallen; Jumblatt was not interested in political reforms but was rather settling a 140-year old sectarian vendetta. It had become obvious that Jumblatt was going to settle for nothing less than the total and unconditional defeat of the Christians. In Assad's account relayed in his speech of 20 July 1976, Jumblatt emerges as an ungrateful and unreasonable recipient of Syrian favors. At the outset of the meeting, Assad reminded Jumblattthat despite generous Syrian political and military support, his forces were unable to hold out in January and Syria was obliged to intervene on their behalf. Intervention was followed by a political initiative that secured for the Palestinian Resistance all of the guarantees it wanted, and realized 90 to 95 percent of the reforms demanded by the LNM in the Constitutional Document. Although Jumblatt disputed this evaluation of the Syrian reform plan, Assad says that the Lebanese leader raised no fundamental objections. He complained, for example, that many clauses of the agreement were ambiguous, to which Assad responded that the broad guidelines would be elaborated upon in later regulations and laws, and "at that point, you will explain what you want." Assad then accused Jumblatt of supporting Ahdab's coup along with its objective of the President's resignation. Even after Syria accommodated this demand and reached an agreement on the subject, "you yourselves exploded the situation." In the past, Assad remarked, "we believed that we were traveling with you along a single line and toward a single goal," but now he demanded that Jumblatt provide an explanation. Jumblatt claimed that his principal objective was to realize a secular state in Lebanon. Assad objected, saying that in meetings with the Lebanese Mufti, the Shia Imam Musa al-Sadr, and other Muslim leaders, they vehemently opposed secularization as antithetical to Islam. The only response Jumblatt offered to the Muslim religious leaders' view was, "Don't worry about them, they do not represent anything!" To this Assad remarked that the issue was not one of representation but rather of religious principles and must therefore not be taken lightly. At this point, Jumblatt showed his true colors, blurting out: "Let us teach them a lesson! The matter must be resolved militarily. They have governed us for 140 years; we want to get rid of them now!" The issue, Assad concludes, was merely one of revenge and reprisal, based on grudges harbored against the Maronites for over a century. Jumblatt was voicing the grievances of a traditional Druze chief, camouflaged as progressive and revolutionary ideals. As the meeting came to an end, Assad was convinced that Jumblatt was determined to fight and warned him: "Do not rely on our support." As Jumblatt returned to Lebanon he launched an offensive by joint PLO-Leftist forces against the Christian village of Kahaleh overlooking Beirut and the presidential palace in Baabda with the aim of final victory. The Battle of Kahaleh The struggle for the town of Kahaleh, a major military objective for Jumblatt's forces, held the key to either a truce or renewed fighting. Whoever controlled that town would control the eastern entrance to the capital. The right-wing forces were determined to hold the town at all cost; hence, the battle for Kahaleh was approaching extensive proportions. Incoming fire made the town desolate, forcing its inhabitants to conceal themselves as best they could. The glare of rocket fire and the thud of artillery crashing into the town echoed the doom of deadly combat in the surrounding hills. The leftists advanced to the parameters of the village but were repelled, time and again, in heavy hand-to-hand combat. The villagers had set up barricades and huge earth moods across the access roads to the village. The people of Kahaleh know that should their village fall East Beirut would be assaulted and would also likely fall. They would never let this happen. However, the rightist force was dwindling as leftist reinforcements reached the area. The wounded and dying rightists refused evacuation from the town, doggedly holding their position. The thunder of field artillery, heavy mortars, field cannons, and even antiaircraft guns was heard night after night and the night sky was ablaze about the battered Christian village, but not an inch of ground was gained by the leftists. Kahaleh was, nevertheless, completely surrounded by the left and the Lebanese Front was unable to be reinforced it from east Beirut. As the state of the defenders became gradually worse and the village was on verge of collapse all able bodied men and many women rushed to the barricades to assist their exhausted defenders. Finally after a week of heavy fighting, crack PLO commandos were brought in to do the job that Jumblatt's Druze warriors and their leftist allies had not accomplished. The PLO attack was brutal and in places breached the defenses of the village but after hours of close quarter fighting the PLO commandos were pushed back and then retreated. Miraculously, Kahaleh had held on. The leftist coalition, now more powerful than ever with the inclusion of Arafat's forces was not able to over run the town. Also of significance, the leftists ran into exasperating resistance in the downtown area of the city, while some other places outside the capital, the Moslem-leftist drive was in serious trouble and was grinding to a halt on some fronts. Commanders in the leftist alliance started asking for a ceasefire. The PLO also favored a truce, and hence, Jumblatt reluctantly agreed to it. Syrian Army Enters Lebanon The government of Syria which had been backing the leftists and the Palestinians, although in theory a socialist regime, feared that a leftist victory and the installation of a radical government in Lebanon would undermine Syrian security and provide Israel an excuse to intervene in the area. Repeated diplomatic efforts between the Syrians and the leftist forces failed to quell the war, Syria's threat to ban all further arms shipments to the leftist militias and even the direct intervention of the pro Syrian Saiqa against the LAA in the Matn region did not stop the leftists advance. Jumblatt's rejection of the Constitutional Document was a slap in the face for Assad and had very negative effects on Syria's prestige in the region. An abrupt shift in Syria's public posture occurred after the Assad Jumblatt showdown. On 1 April 1976, the Information Office of the Syrian Bath Party released a searing personal attack on Jumblatt. Referring to him as the "spurious king of the left," the Party contends that Jumblatt's ideological pretensions were merely a mask for his ambition to become President of Lebanon. Sparked by an "historical complex" related to the subordinate role of the Druze in the Lebanese political system, Jumblatt would allegedly be willing to see 20,000 Lebanese killed and partition take place, so as to emerge as leader of the truncated state. Jumblatt is thereby identified as a partner in an international conspiracy, backed by the United States and Israel, aimed at Lebanon's partition. Moreover, the statement declares, "the battle is aimed at Syria's regime" and at its initiative in Lebanon. Nevertheless, after Jumblatt's meeting with President Assad, "the last veil has fallen from the face of the imposter," and his downfall is declared to be imminent. In the first week of April 1976, Kamal Jumblatt charged that 17,000 Syrian soldiers were massed along the Lebanese border, sarcastically observing that "we hope they would enter to help the National Movement." He said that Asad had threatened to cut off arms and ammunition to the LNM and the Palestinian Resistance, and was already beginning to impose a blockade on several key ports. On the ground, forces of Saiqa as well as some Syrian regulars crossed the border into Lebanon on 9 April 1976. Syrian armor, passing through the border town of Masnaa, advanced along the strategically vital Beirut-Damascus highway, providing support to beleaguered Christian forces at Zahleh in the Biq'a Valley and setting up a garrison farther to the west at Shtura. A naval blockade of the northern port of Tripoli and the southern ports of Sidon and Tyre, crucial sources of supply to the LNM, was begun in earnest. After these rapid maneuvers, the Syrian forces froze their advance and a cease-fire was declared on the same day. In his first speech to the nation on his Lebanese policy, delivered on 12 April 1976, Assad asserts that "we are against any party which insists on continuing the fighting." He assails those who are "traders in politics and not politicians, traders in revolution and not revolutionaries, traders in progressivism and not progressives." Syria is determined to stand up against those responsible for the bloodletting "out of nationalist and Arab principle and out of the principle that the Palestinian cause is the pivot of the Arab struggle." Although doing so imposes additional burdens on Syria, Assad prepares his people to assume an increased level of commitment: "We in this country, Muslims and Christians, are prepared to move into Lebanon and to protect every oppressed person without regard for his religious affiliation. . . . [W]e in this region [i.e., Syria] possess complete freedom of movement, and we are able to take the positions which we believe in without anyone being able to prevent us from taking those positions." (Al-Nahar, 13 April 1976) Responding to these developments, Kamal Jumblatt charged that 5,000 to 6,000 soldiers had entered Lebanon, including the Syrian 91st Armored Brigade. He condemned "the Syrian Army which entered under the veil of al-Saiqa," demanding its immediate withdrawal. The LNM leader distinguished between the illegitimacy of the Saiqa-Syrian Army move, which had not been requested by Lebanese authorities, and entry of the PLA in January. Other Lebanese spokesmen, however, gave the Syrians a much more favorable reception. After Hafiz al-Assad's 12 April speech, Lebanese President Faranjiyih praised the "courageous stand" of Syria, motivated by "noble brotherly sentiment" and "Arab solicitude for the unity, independence, and flourishing of Lebanon." Camille Chamoun and Pierre Gemayel did not object to the Syrian move and it was rumored that the Lebanese Front militias were down to their last 72 hours of ammunition and were on the verge of total defeat. Indeed Kataib leader Pierre Gemayel praised Assad's "historic speech," which served to "tear away the blinders from every eye" in exposing Jumblatt's true colors. The entry of 12,000 Syrian Army troops into Lebanon on 1st June 1976 dramatically contrasted with the tentativeness of Syria's previous commitment in Lebanon. After the reassessment of early 1976, involving a shift in the direction of its alignments and an incremental rise in its commitment, the Syrian elite plunged decisively into direct military engagement. Once President Assad and his advisers decided on this course, they did not await invitations by parties to the Lebanese strife. This phase of Syrian intervention and escalation was penetrational in its designs and implementation. Nevertheless, miscalculations about the costs involved in achieving more ambitious objectives obliged the Syrian elite to make tactical readjustments. The largescale Syrian military offensive suffered initial reversals, only to be subsequently revived at a still higher level of military commitment. The immediate precipitant for Syrian military intervention was an attack on two Maronite villages of Koubayat and Andakil in northern Lebanon by maverick units of the Lebanese Arab Army late in May 1976. Residents of the villages sent a telegram to President Asad, appealing for Syrian assistance. In a subsequent justification of Syria's response, Prime Minister Karami suggested that Syria's intervention was "motivated by nationalist and humanist sentiments, in response to the request of a group of citizens who were in a state of despair and fear, prompting them to appeal for assistance to sister Syria." The authenticity of the Lebanese appeal was immediately questioned. On 1 June, Kamal Junbalat charged that "the Syrians pressured one of the officers in the north to commit aggression against two towns." This attack was contrived to generate a pretext for Syrian response, and "no one asked them to intervene." Maronite leader Raymond Edde also discounted the claim by Syrian Foreign Minister Khaddam that Syria had intervened based on the request of Lebanese authorities and a large segment of Lebanese public opinion. Edde challenged Khaddam to name the Lebanese authorities who issued the appeal and "to announce who are those who represent public opinion." He also urged President Faranjiyih to announce publicly whether he had invited the Syrian forces, contending that "if neither he nor his government requested the entry of the Syrian Army, then [what is the reason for] his silence and the silence of his government about this flagrant transgression against the sovereignty of Lebanon?" Raymond Edde accused the Syrians of trying to annex Lebanon. Dany Chamoun and especially Bashir Gemayel opposed the Syrian intervention on the grounds that it would prevent settlement from being reached between the warring factions. Bashir Gemayel was so concerned that he met with Jumblatt to discuss the issue. A full-fledged debate was soon under way in Lebanon about the propriety of the Syrian intervention, along with speculation over its possible course. The Lebanese Front decided to adopt a "wait and see" attitude to the Syrian advance into Lebanon as they felt that they had no other choice. Taking on the Syrians in a military confrontation would have been a disaster for the Lebanese Front and so they decided to let the Syrians enter without resistance. Etienne Sakr rejected this decision and so the Guardians of the Cedars blocked the Ba'abdat crossing and delayed the entry of the Syrian forces for four days. To avoid armed conflict with the Lebanese Front who exerted enormous pressure on him to order his fighters to retreat. At a summit conference on 5 June, the Lebanese Front endorsed the Syrian intervention, citing statements by Foreign Minister Khaddam reiterating Syrian commitment to the independence and territorial integrity of Lebanon. Kataib Party leader Pierre Gemayel called for a "security accord with a Syrian guarantee in preparation for a political solution." The Lebanese Front said the role of the Syrian forces would be confined to preserving security in troubled areas and regulating the entry of weapons into the country. Once security was achieved, a roundtable discussion between domestic Lebanese parties could lead to a political settlement. Lebanon would reach an agreement with Syria limiting the duration of the Syrian military presence, subject to renewal at the request of the Lebanese authorities and parties to the Lebanese conflict. (Al-Nahar, 6 June 1976) For his part, President Faranjiyih insisted that he did not know beforehand of Syria's plan to intervene, and President-elect Sarkis also denied foreknowledge. Faranjiyih justified the intervention as a necessary means for implementing the Constitutional Document, with first priority to the Cairo Agreement. The Lebanese daily Al Nahar took issue with Faranjiyih's justification, indicating that the Syrian-sponsored Constitutional Document was never passed by the Lebanese Parliament, and that the President was therefore not authorized to implement it. Moreover, "if it is imperative that the Cairo Agreement be implemented, the [Constitutional] Document does not call for its implementation through a Syrian military invasion, but rather through dialogue and mutual understanding." (Al-Nahar, 2 June 1976, 10 June 1976) Most leftist forces capitulated without firing a shot, overwhelmed by the Syrian show of force. In Sidon, however, Palestinian and leftist forces fought off the Syrians for nearly six months before relinquishing their stronghold. Syrian humiliation at being unable to overcome unexpectedly heavy resistance by Palestinian and LNM forces in Sidon was deepened by defections from Syrian ranks. Most conspicuous were defections among PLA and Saiqa forces that had entered Lebanon earlier under Syrian auspices. This notably took place in Beirut, in reaction to a confrontation on 6 June between advancing Syrian forces and Palestinian-LNM militiamen in the Biqa Valley. After the Syrians were erroneously reported to have used their Air Force for attacks in the Biqa, violent clashes erupted in Beirut between Palestinian-LNM militiamen and Saiqa-PLA forces already stationed by the Syrians in the capital. As Palestinians fought Palestinians, many of those associated with Syria switched allegiance, contributing to the ease with which the Saiqa-PLA forces in Beirut were disarmed. Even more threatening to the Syrian elite was dissent among regular Syrian forces. Individual pilots and unit commanders refused to participate in the Lebanese operation, and after entering Lebanon some officers defected to join Palestinian and LAA ranks. The offenders were quickly punished, however, and incidents of dissent remained limited. In the following months, the Syrian presence grew to 27,000 troops. By November the Syrians had occupied most Muslim held areas of Lebanon, including West Beirut and Tripoli. The Battle of Tal al-Zaatar As New Year 1976 was ushered in, the Lebanese capital witnessed a somber but relatively peaceful period. Pierre Gemayel continued to insist on a cease-fire and the restoration of public order before political reforms could be effectively enacted. But fighting began anew in the vicinity of Tal al Zaatar and Jisr al Basha camps in East Beirut. These camps, as were others, were located on land belonging to the Maronite Church which provided uch assistance to Palestinians refuges when they entered Lebanon. From the late 1960s these camps however had become a major problem for the Lebanese residents of the area as Palestinian fighters would subject Lebanese citizens to daily acts of humiliation as they passed by the camps. From 1970 until the start of the war yearly skirmishes had taked place in the regions surrounding the camps between Palestinians and Lebanese security forces. With the outbreak of war fighters from Jisr al Basha and Tal al Zaatar began attacking the surrounding region and artillery based in the camps had been shelling Christian villages since early 1975. On the 3rd January; rocket and mortar fire forced, yet again, Christian residents out of nearby homes and Issam al-Arab, head of the Nassarite Corrective Movement, delivered a warning to the Phalangists and other right-wing parties to completely evacuate the area. Amine Gemayel charged that the leftists were trying to blockade the Christian Ashrafiyah district. Camille Chamoun, in his reply to Issam al-Arab, appealed to the leftist leaders at Tal al Zaatar to allow approximately twenty-five Christian families who had been evicted from their homes near the Jisr al-Basha camp to return to their homes. Finally, the Phalangists demanded that the leftists open all the roads heading toward Bayt Meri that they had blocked, or face the consequences. In response to those demands, the leftists opened fire into the eastern suburbs of the city, pinning down the Lebanese army troops who had just moved in there. The Lebanese Front returned fire. As artillery shells continued to hit the Palestinian camps of Tal al Zaatar and Jisr al-Basha for the second day in a row, the Lebanese issued a stern warning to the PLO command at both camps, and also to the leftists entrenched in adjacent Nabaa area, to cease firing on East Beirut and on Christian villages or face eventual defeat and eviction. To dramatize their point, the rightists assembled some forces, including a few armored vehicles, near the camp sites. The PLO response was clear. PLO and leftist gun positions poured artillery fire across the Green Line, raining death and destruction on the overexposed rightist forces and also further hitting the Christian neighborhoods in East Beirut. On 4th January 1976, a thin cordon was established around the camp by 300 fighters from the Tanzim and 100 fighters from the Maroun Khoury group in an effort to contain the Palestinians. The Maroun Khoury group was a Dikwaneh based militia. One road was left open to allow Palestinian evacuation towards Aley but the Palestinians refused to enter into dialogue with the Lebanese Front. The PLO, as they had done in Karatina, prevented many of the people of the camp from leaving so by taking them hostage. Ahrar forces surrounded and attacked Jisr al Basha and Kataeb and Guardian of the Cedars troops engaged the adjacent mainly Shiite area of Nabaa which contained large numbers of leftist and forces. The battle for the camps had started and was the final showdown between the Palestinians and the Lebanese Front in Beirut. It was one of the hardest battles fought during the war. The next day the PLO special forces expanded their positions to gain control of the heights overlooking Tal al Zaatar, pinning down the rightist militiamen. All counterattacks mounted by the Lebanese were beaten back. Within the camp, heavy artillery fired on the Maronite northlands, as new fighting erupted in downtown Beirut. Chamoun, supporting Gemayel's position, said publicly that the battles were predominantly between the Lebanese-right and the PLO-left. The hotel district came under intense fire once more, as the PLO warned the Lebanese to lift the siege of Tal al Zaatar and the Jisr al-Basha camps. More than a thousand Palestinian troops were quickly transported from South Lebanon and redeployed in and around the Shiyah district, awaiting instructions to open a new front. On January 7 a force of 1200 Palestinians that had been diverted from the south attacked the region of Horsh Tabet from West Beirut in an effort to get to Tal al Zaatar and break the seige. Pitched battles took place between Phalangist forces and Palestinian Fedayin in the streets. After three days of heavy close quarter combat the Palestinian assault was repelled. Over the next four months the siege was tightened and the Lebanese Front tried to negotiate a surrender as they felt a large scale assault on the camps would be too costly in terms of human lives. Tal al-Zaatar contained about 2,500 Palestinian guerrillas intermixed with a civilian population of roughly 15,000. The camp was divided into five main sections controlled by different factions of the PLO, Fatah, the PFLP-GC (Ahmad Jibril), the PFLP (George Habash), The PDFLP (Hawatmeh), and Saiqa. This Saiqa unit which under normal conditions would be under Syrian control was taking orders from PLO command. These PLO camps near the Beirut River were heavily armed fortresses built around a former industrial park. Within the two sprawling camps, the PLO's furthest outpost in Christian-held territory, was an impressive array of military armaments, which included surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles, artillery, antiaircraft guns, and PLO special forces. Because Tal al-Zaatar was honeycombed with bunkers and tunnels and a layered defense system the camp, which was a seventy-four-acre complex, would be able to hold out for months against repeated attacks. On the 22 June 1976 after all surrender negotiations failed the Lebanese Front launched an offensive against the camp. Facing the PLO was a small combined force of Lebanese Front militiamen consisting of some 500 Guardian of the Cedars fighters, 500 Ahrar Tigers, 300 Tanzim, and some 100 fighters from the Maroun Khoury group (MKG). These fighters were joined a week later by some 100 Kataeb troops. The Lebanese Front were supported and advised by Lebanese army officers. The PLO claimed that Syrian and Israeli advisers were also present but this does not appear to be the case. Overall command was in the hands of a committee that included Danny Chamoun (Ahrar), Etienne Sakr (Guardians), Charles Akl (Guardians), George Adwan (Tanzim), Maroun Khoury (MKG), and Michel Aoun and Fuad Malek of the Lebanese Army. The attack was a three pronged affair on the outer perimeter of the camp with the Guardians on the Dautzigian front, the Ahrar Tigers on the Gervais front and the Tanzim attacking Tallet el mir. The attackers encountered heavy resistance and although the Guardian of the Cedars objectives on the Dautzigian front were reached, the progress of the Ahrar and the Tanzim was slow and so resulted in the Guardians being pinned down by Palestinian positions that the Ahrar and the Tanzim should have taken on the Gervais and Tallet el mir fronts. Enforcements where rushed to the Ahrar and Tanzim and by nightfall all the objectives on the outer perimeter of the camp had been reached and secured. Further advances proved difficult due to the impressive ability of the defenders of the camp and cover fire from nearby Nabaa and Jisr al Basha both of which were still under assault. Despite numerous calls for the Palestinians to surrender, Arafat felt that a large military defeat would result in a political victory and so he called upon those inside the camp to go on fighting regardless being hopelessly surrounded, in short Arafat wanted as many Palestinian casualties as possible. Arafat appealed to his fighters to turn Tal al-Zaatar into 'a Stalingrad'. At one point during a ceasefire Arafat told his men to agree to surrender and then he ordered his senior officers to open fire on the Lebanese forces so as to enrage the Lebanese. As heavy fighting raged in the Nabaa district, June 29 1976 saw the camp at Jisr el Basha fall freeing up troops to be directed against Tal al-Zaatar. The victory at Jisr al-Basha established Lebanese Front policy for future campaigns. Arrangements were be made to evacuate all troops and civilians, using the International Red Cross as a neutral observer group to prevent outrages from occurring. The PLO and leftist forces at Tal al Zaatar, however, said that they would never surrender and, should the camp be overrun, they would kill hostages and resort to a policy of continued resistance behind the enemy lines. Nevertheless, the PLO threat went unheeded. After some many days of constant combat, the right wing leadership paid little attention to PLO or leftist remarks or threats. The Lebanese Front proved true to their words. Under Syrian protection, the Red Cross quickly moved into the Jisr al-Basha camp and removed the remaining civilian refugees and prisoners. The following day, the drive for Tal al Zaatar resumed. Three tanks took up positions on the outskirts of the cluster of concrete blockhouses that controlled the main entrances into the camp. A fourth tank had been knocked out by either a land mine or an antitank gun. A member of the Guardians of the Cedars, called on all hostages in the camp to seek shelter pending their rescue after the battle had been won. A Lebanese assault then overran the camps's outer perimeter. The Palestinians, however, on 2 July managed to knock a hole in the rightists' lines in an attempt to infiltrate the camp, bringing in more sophisticated weapons including multibarreled rocket launchers and ammunition. The rightists quickly plugged the hole in their lines and tightened their grip on the camp. Tal al Zaatar was completely encircled by the eleventh day of fighting, and therefore, the Lebanese forces made one last effort to end the conflict by negotiations. They asked the camp leaders to surrender peacefully, and in return, the combatants would be allowed to leave unharmed under the escort of the Arab League's forces. This effort was an attempt to show the Arab World that the rightists were not against the PLO, only against their involvement with the Lebanese-left and their uncontrolled, sprawling presence in Lebanon. Arafat's second-incommand, Salah Khalaf (better known as Abu Iyad), rejected the rightists' offer and ordered the camp to fight to the end. The PLO had decided not to show weakness or capitulate to the Lebanese-right. At about the same time, Farouk Kaddoumi, a member of the PLO's political office, threatened an all-out war against the right and called for Arab troops and Moslem volunteers to enter Lebanon in order to save the Palestinian revolution there from foreign conspiracies. As he made his appeal, Christian areas in the suburbs of Beirut and the eastern mountains witnessed day-and-night shelling that surpassed anything thrown at them during the previous months. Nevertheless, the siege of Tal al Zaatar continued uninterrupted. As many of the Christian forces were tied down fighting Palestinians in East Beirut the PLO and their allies launched a massive offensive against the Kura and the Christian town of Chekka north of Beirut on the 5th July 1976 and started to slaughter civilians. Chekka was able to repell the attackers but was surrounded and heavily bombarded. With Chekka on the verge of collapse, church bells in the heavily Maronite Christian region began to ring, warning people of imminent defeat and to be ready to defend themselves. Hundreds of men descended from the mountains to the coastal plains to try and push the attackers back into Tripoli. With great urgency, a substantial number Lebanese Front troops were rushed by night from the Tal al Zaatar front to reinforce towns and villages in northern Lebanon in hopes of preventing a large-scale massacre of Christians by the leftists and PLO. First on the scene were the Guardians of the Cedars who encountered heavy resistance and were rapidly enforced by Kataeb and Ahrar forces. In several hard-fought battles, the leftists were either stopped or pushed back to their old lines, and several towns were retaken by the Lebanese Front. However, at the industrial town of Chekka, Christian resistance was waning. It therefore required a large-scale support effort with jeeps, trucks, and buses carrying troops into the combat zone. It was, however, Lebanese Front artillery that broke the siege and saved the town on the 10th July. PLO forces however still held on to part of Chekka and to Amyun, south of Tripoli. The Lebanese Front, under the protection of their field artillery, moved on these two towns to engage the entrenched PLO forces there. Before nightfall, the towns were liberated. Before the final onslaught on Tal al Zaatar could take place, North Lebanon had to be secured and relieved of any future PLO threat. A devasting surprise counter attack was launched on the PLO as the forces that had come to Chekka's rescue advanced north against the PLO. With Marada attacking southwards from Zgharta, the surprise counteroffensive by the Christians pushed the leftists far from their former positions and reached the very gates of Tripoli. By the end of July, the rightwing forces had pushed the leftists back and bottled them up in the city. President Franjieh's Marada troops, who hailed from Zgharta and were commanded by his son Tony, kept the PLO pinned down in Tripoli to allow the other Lebanese Front fighters to return to the Tal al Zaatar battle. Syria restrained the Marada advance on Tripoli to avoid a major victory by the right. The Marada forces were largely restricted to the outskirts of Tripoli and to their own territory. Meanwhile the battle raged at Tal al Zaatar and PLO forces from Tal al Zaatar managed to tunnel their way into the predominantly Moslem neighborhood of Nabaa to join the leftists entrenched there who were providing cover fire for the camp. Clashes were reported between these Palestinians and the ultra right-wing Armenian Tashnak Party, whose headquarters was in nearby Burj Hammoud. On July 8th the leftists opened new fronts in the port and business districts, hoping to draw the rightists away from Tal al Zaatar, but the assaults were quickly repulsed by local defenders. With new supplies and battle-hardened troops from the northern campaign, the rightists amassed their forces to end the siege of the camp. repeated attacks were beaten back by machine-gun and rocket fire directed from a towering edifice. This was an old factory building from which outgoing fire was guided, located in the heart of the camp, near the PLO's last stronghold. On July 13th William Hawi, commander of the Kataeb military forces was shot and killed by a sniper whilst he was inspecting his forces on the edge of the camp. Bashir Gemayel assumed command of te Kataeb and the Lebanese Front fighters were joined by a further 100 Kataeb troops and 350 Ahrar troops who had been diverted from other fronts. By the third week of July 1976, the oppressively muggy heat of that summer began to take its toll on the combatants. On 20 July 1976 a group of civilian hostages and wounded defenders appeared, hands held high as they surrendered. Quickly they were taken to Amine Gemayel's headquarters for questioning, and later that day, they were released into the custody of the Red Cross. The remaining troops and civilians were holding out in one corner of the underground complex and had vowed to fight to the end. The rightists, who were overconfident that the end of the campaign was near, stepped up their operations on two sides of the last building but were repeatedly driven back by sniper fire. The camp had survived the twenty-eighth day of battle. While the battle for the camp raged on, heavy fighting continued in the capital and the outlying areas, particularly at the town of Ayn Tura, located between Zahle and Junieh. Rocket duels, mortar fire, and machine-gun bursts across the Beirut dividing line kept up the pressure on the militias as new plans were drawn up for the continuing siege of the devastated PLO camp in East Beirut. Excessive fighting continued around the camp, but no new positions were taken. The rightist forces halted the shelling of long enough to allow a Red Cross delegate and a physician to take in medical supplies to treat the sick and wounded in the camp. The cease-fire continued for seven hours until all could be treated. It was arranged by the Phalangists, the PLO, and General Muhammad Hassan Ghoneim of the Arab League forces. However, the NLP, under Camille Chamoun, was not consulted, since he had opposed even a limited cease-fire until after Tal al Zaatar surrendered. His troops did observe the cease-fire, however, out of respect for the Arab League's authority. The Red Cross requested permission to evacuate about a thousand troops and civilians from the underground hospital in the camp. Three Swiss delegates began negotiations with the rightist command to begin evacuation procedures. The leader of the group, Jean Hoefliger, the chief delegate of the International Red Cross in Lebanon, considered his initial mission a success and thanked the Phalangist leadership for its humanitarian concern for the civilian hostages there amid strong passions and taut emotions. His deputy delegate, Edmond Cortesi, echoed Hoefliger's sentiments. The Lebanese met PLO representatives to discuss a cease-fire, since storming the camp would be too costly. The rightists had already lost close to four hundred men in the battle, which was an extraordinarily high number. It was believed that about four hundred defenders remained in the camp and that they were very well equipped to withstand assault. Toward the last week of July, in what was more or less a face-saving gesture for both the PLO and the Lebanese Forces, a new cease-fire was negotiated between the two groups, under Arab League auspices. As the negotiations approached their final stage, news reached the Arab League envoy, Sabry al-Khouly, that the roof of the underground shelter at Tal al Zaatar had collapsed. Kamal Junblat requested immediate aid for the victims of the disaster, while the rightist forces there observed a temporary cessation of hostilities in order to save the entombed civilians and to assist those who had exited the ruins. The new cease-fire was extended to include the business district, airport, and the roads linking the Christian suburbs of al-Hazmiyah with the airport, but it clearly excluded Tal al Zaatar. The harbor area, which was still in rightist hands, would be opened to the Moslem sector of the city to allow it to receive badly needed supplies. At the camp, under intermittent fire, rightist rescue workers, digging tunnels and trenches, brought out scores of civilians who were trapped within their reach. They had been close to death by asphyxiation in their shelter and were immediately treated and given over to the Red Cross, which transferred them to the Red Crescent, its Moslem equivalent. The Red Cross, meanwhile, had called for a three-day truce around the camp in order to evacuate the wounded. In what now seemed an unbelievable act of evil, the PLO headquarters, which was still in radio communication with the defenders at Tal al Zaatar, urged its combatants to fight on against the Lebanese Forces. August 1, 1976, saw a Red Cross convoy pick its way through winding, makeshift roads to the approaches of the main buildings of the Tal al Zaatar camp. The road had been cleared of the ruin of battle but stopped short before the last stronghold of the Palestinian defenders. After several postponements due to continual sniper fire, the Red Cross convoy had stopped just in front of the no-man's-land that separated the combatants. The rightist command warned that it was too risky to proceed; apparently, the defenders of Tal al Zaatar believed that the rightists would use Red Cross vehicles and workers as shields to penetrate the heart of the camp. Consequently, the rescue effort came to a grinding halt. A similar lack of trust was expressed by Abu Arz, a commander of the Guardians of the Cedars, who informed Red Cross workers that the evacuation had to be comprised of four stages, with the wounded leaving last, should the PLO or leftist forces come out shooting while shielding themselves behind their hostages or the Red Cross personnel. With a pledge of noninterference coming from the camp, the Lebanese Front leadership "gave the green light" to the Red Cross to begin the evacuation of the wounded from Tal al Zaatar. A cease-fire went into effect. Nine trucks and two ambulances would make the first run and take out about a hundred people. The agreement, which initially was to be only a test, was negotiated between the PLO and the Red Cross by the Arab League envoy in the Christian district of Ashrafiyah, in East Beirut. On August 3, ninety-nine wounded civilian hostages were brought out of Tal al Zaatar by the Red Cross, under military escort of the rightists. The convoy crossed the demarcation line in Beirut and was greeted by a small crowd of onlookers in Moslem West Beirut. Gunmen fired salvos into the air to mark the group's safe arrival. The next day, fifteen trucks began the second run to Tal al Zaatar. Another 245 civilians were evacuated, but safety could not be guaranteed for any more runs, since shots had struck a Red Cross vehicle. The Red Cross attempted another rescue at the beleaguered camp. However, in panic, hundreds of people, including PLO commandos, stormed aboard the Red Cross trucks, and in the confusion, other PLO troops shot into the air to quell the disturbance and regain some semblance of order. Apparently, some of the right-wing forces were confused by what they believed was incoming fire, and they shot back at the PLO commandos. Thus, the Red Cross trucks were caught in the middle of the firefight. About thirty people, including a Swiss driver, were injured in the attempt when they were hit by crossfire from opposing sides. The Red Cross abruptly canceled all further evacuations, and shelling resumed about the camp and at Nabaa. Only seventy-four persons had been taken out that day in three of the eighteen trucks in the convoy. A rightist military leader apologized to the Red Cross for the incident indicating that the troops had responded to shots from the other side. It was at this stage that the fighters at the camp realized that they were facing imminent defeat and began to rquest permission to surrender from their head quarters. Each time they were sent the same message: "Fight on". The Saiqa men in the camp wanting to save as many civilian lives as they could started to smuggle dozens of people each night for the next 4 nights across the adjacent orange grove to the Dekwaneh sector and hand them over to the Phalangists who held a small front there. Chamoun's NLP Ahrar and Guardians of the Cedars troops pushed into the perimeters of the Nabaa district on a search-and-destroy mission whilest the pressure on the camp was kept up. Finally victory came at Nabaa on August 6th, where the rightist forces wiped out leftist defenders and foreign forces in a mop-up campaign, thus closing-in on Tal al Zaatar. As soon as Nabaa fell the parasites that are always found in the shadow of armies and soldiers moved in, as had happened before in the Kantari district, to loot and pilage. This time however it was not the Muslims or leftists doing the looting but Christians. Scenes that were witnessed some months before when bodies of Lebanese fighters where dragged behind cars throughout west Beirut were now repeated as bodies of dead Palestinian fighters were dragged behind cars throughout east Beirut. When the Cedarland webmaster recently asked the Guardians field commander at the battle, Charles Akl, about such disgraceful treatment of dead fighters he said: "We were soldiers. Soldiers do not behave in such a way. We respected the dead of our enemy and hoped that they respected our fallen brothers. In war there are always those who enter the field after the battle is over to see how they may profit. It is this scum that desecrated the dead inorder to impress their friends and pretend to be heroes or to show off to the ladies. Scum like these are cowards that had never fired a single shot in combat". Elsewhere in the capital, fighting raged about the commercial district and in the suburbs. Shiyah and Ayn al-Rumanah were gutted in flames. By now some 2000 Lebanese fighters were in some way involved around Tal al Zaatar. A three-pronged attack ensued at the camp, where the rightists gained new ground in heavy fighting, taking the PFLP headquarters located deep within the confines of the camp. However, they were forced to pull back when Palestinian artillery fire was called in on the camp. The battle was turning suicidal. With the pullback, several hundred Palestinian civilians joined the besiegers and took refuge among the Christians near the camp and at Nabaa. The bulk of the Palestinian fighters, in an apparent attempt to save the civilians in the camp, finally allowed the noncombatants to leave after forty-nine days of captivity. The end of Tal al Zaatar was in sight. Lebanese commanders called for volunteers for the last assault on the surrounded fortress. The defenders of the camp had poured barrels of oil, gasoline, and other flammable liquids about their position and were pledging to fight to the end. The incendiaries were to be ignited as the Christian forces approached underground matrix that was the last stronghold of the PLO and leftist forces. It was estimated that a third to a half of the assault force would perish in the inferno before reaching the underground complex. As the men stepped forward to volunteer commanders weeded out any person who was a sole survivor of his family. The remaining civilians poured forth from the camp over rubble-strewn streets, carrying what was left of their possessions. They were quickly transported to Moslem West Beirut after receiving immediate medical aid, food, and water. The Red Cross hastily cleared the area of refugees, although some were interrogated about the defense of the compound. According to the Red Cross, over 90 percent of the civilians were successfully evacuated before the fall of the camp. For the last time, Lebanese command called for the unconditional surrender of the camp. They were rebuffed, as usual. The Palestinian commander at the camp implied that they would all go into a flaming hell together. After one of the most intensive softening up barrages yet use Lebanese troops rushed the compound at which point civilians started running out brushing past Palestinians still firing from perimeter strong points. It was chaos, the stench of burning flesh permeated the air; the entrance to the complex was breached. Fighting raged on for about twenty minutes within the complex. All eyes were focused, concentrated, on the assault area. Local commanders strained to hold back additional volunteers from entering the compound. As suddenly as the shooting started it stopped. Then the first Lebanese fighter emerged and pandemonium broke out; shots were fired into the air, and cheers filled the sky. A train of captives followed and was taken away. They were quickly searched and loaded onto three army trucks and speedily dispatched out of the war zone by the Red Cross. And so on August 12 right wing forces finally overran the camp after a 52 day siege. Rumors of massacres at the camp started to spread in West Beirut but these proved to be greatly exaggerated as most of the dead fell during the storming of the camp and not afterwards. Pierre Maltchef a Tanzim officer when asked about mistreatment of prisoners said: "This was not our policy, but if a PLO fighter fell into the hands of a man whose family had been killed, or whose sister had been raped, or whose home had been destroyed by them, he would take his revenge. We tried to stop those who wanted to do it, but we didn't always succeed. We admit some prisoners were tortured. None of us has forgotten Damour". (Becker, The PLO) Over the next two days the camp was bulldozed so as to prevent possible return. About 2000 people died in fighting during the entire siege, and 4,000 were wounded. The surviving civilians were settled by The PLO in other camps and in Damour. John Bulloch, the Daily Telegraph correspondent in Beirut at the time wrote, "In their bitterness the Palestinian commanders ordered their artillery to open up on the fringes of the camp with the ostensible objective of hampering the attackers and helping those inside; instead the shells were landing among the hundreds who had got through the perimeter and were trying to escape. When they were told of this, the Palestinians made no attempt to lift their fire: they wanted martyrs". Robert Fisk wrote in his biographical profile of Yasser Arafat, The broken revolutionary: "When Arafat needed martyrs in 1976, he called for a truce around the besieged refugee camp of Tel el-Zaatar, then ordered his commanders in the camp to fire at their right-wing Lebanese Christian enemies. When, as a result, the Phalangists and "Tigers" militia slaughtered their way into Tel el-Zaatar, Arafat opened a "martyrs' village" for camp widows in the sacked Christian village of Damour. On his first visit, the widows pelted him with stones and rotten fruit. Journalists were ordered away at gunpoint." In an L.A. Weekly interview published May 30, 2002 Fisk recalls "Arafat is a very immoral person, or maybe very amoral. A very cynical man. I remember when the Tal-al-Zaatar refugee camp in Beirut had to surrender to Christian forces in the very brutal Lebanese civil war. They were given permission to surrender with a cease-fire. But at the last moment, Arafat told his men to open fire on the Christian forces who were coming to accept the surrender. I think Arafat wanted more Palestinian "martyrs" in order to publicize the Palestinian position in the war. That was in 1976. Believe me that Arafat is not a changed man." Despite the loss of Tal al-Zaatar, the PLO still had however a massive military machine in Lebanon. The Riyadh Conference and the Arab Deterrent Force In October 1976 a League of Arab States (Arab League) summit conference was convened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to resolve the Lebanese crisis. The conference did not address the underlying political and demographic problems, only the security situation. The resulting multilateral agreement mandated a cease-fire and, at the Lebanese government's behest, authorized the creation of the Arab Deterrent Force (ADF) to impose and supervise the cease-fire. In theory the ADF, funded by the Arab League, was to be a pan-Arab peacekeeping force under the supreme command of the Lebanese president. In reality, only about 5,000 Arab troops from Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf states, Libya, and Sudan augmented the existing Syrian forces. Moreover, Syria would not relinquish actual command over its soldiers. Therefore, the agreement in effect legitimized and subsidized any future occupation of Syrian occupation of Lebanon. The most strenuous opposition to the ADF, ironically, was voiced by Maronite leaders who objected to the presence of Syrian troops in Maronite territory. President Sarkis held intensive meetings with the leaders of the Lebanese Front-President Faranjiyih, Pierre Gemayel of the Kataib Party, Kamil Shamoun of the National Liberal Party, and Father Sharbil Kassis of the Maronite Monastic Orders-and gradually persuaded them to agree to the new arrangement. Convincing the anti-establishment forces was largely the domain of Fatah, which exacted compliance from LNM and Palestinian Rejectionist groups. The latter at least derived consolation from the entry of "Arab" troops into Maronite territory. In protest of the latest developments Etienne Sakr moved his Guardian fighters to the mountains of Aqoura where he set up training bases to prepare for future military operations against the Syrian forces whom he regarded as occupation troops. At a press conference he stated: "The Lebanese liberated territory that fought for the past 18 months to prevent the Palestinians and their mercenaries from occupying it will not allow the Arab troops to occupy them now. Our martyrs who gave their lives protecting it will not accept the exchanging a Palestinian occupation for an Arab one...In conformity with all this, and with respect to the memory of our valiant martyrs, we have decided, my fellow combatants and myself, to retire to a region of our noble mountain, calling upon the Lebanese people to support us and toil with us to prevent the foreign occupation." (10th of November, 1976) On November 14th when Syrian troops painted their helmets green and moved into their new positions as an Arab Deterrent Force, no resistance was mounted. One explanatory factor is sheer exhaustion; after the loss of over 65,000 lives and the breakdown of fifty-five previous cease-fire agreements, the Lebanese were in no position to resume hostilities without outside assistance. In the summer of 1977 Syria, the PLO, and the government of Lebanon signed the Shtawrah Accord, which detailed the planned disposition of the ADF in Lebanon and called for a reconstituted Lebanese Army to take over PLO positions in southern Lebanon. The Red Line Arrangement Meanwhile, Israel grew concerned over the Syrian military presence in Lebanon, particularly as the Syrian Army pursued retreating Palestinians and Muslim leftists into southern Lebanon. Israel believed that the Syrian forces, massed in southern Lebanon, might attack Israel across the unfortified Lebanese border and thus avoid the need to penetrate the heavily defended Golan Heights. Therefore, Israel enunciated its "Red Line" policy, threatening to attack Syria if it crossed a line identified geographically with the Litani River. Thus, Syrian forces were generally precluded from moving south of the Litani. The Red Line was a geographic line, but it was also more subjective than a line on a map. Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin identified the Red Line as a guideline for gauging Syria's overall military behavior in Lebanon, and he described several criteria Israel would use: the objectives of Syrian forces and against whom they were operating, the geographical area and its proximity to Israel's borders, the strength and composition of Syrian forces, and the duration of their stay in a given area. Operation Litani By time the Lebanese war had erupted the PLO had already created a quasi-governmental autonomy in Lebanon, a state-within-a-state which became known as Fatahland where the PLO ruled supreme and took the law into their own hands. In Fatahland, on the foothills of Mount Hermon, up to 15,000 guerrillas were trained to carry out attacks on Israel. Because it was skeptical about the willingness and capability of the Lebanese Army to implement the Shtawrah Accord by displacing the PLO in southern Lebanon and securing the border area, in 1977 Israel started to equip and fund a renegade Christian remnant of the Lebanese Army led by Major Saad Haddad. Haddad's force, which became known as The Free Lebanon Army, and later as the South Lebanon Army (SLA), grew to a strength of about 3,000 men and was allied closely with Israel. Haddad eventually proclaimed the enclave he controlled "Free Lebanon." The insulation provided by this buffer area permitted Israel to open up its border with Lebanon. Under this so-called "Good Fence" policy, Israel provided aid and conducted trade with Lebanese living near the border... During this operation, Mr. Elie HOBEIKA fought alongside IDF commandos, against the PLO thugs and KILLERS, and he was awarded a medal by IDF afterwards, as best commando in south Lebanon...in the words of IDF... On March 11, 1978, PLO terrorists made a sea landing in Haifa, Israel, commandeered a bus, and then drove toward Tel Aviv, firing from the windows. By the end of the day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had killed the nine terrorists, who had murdered thirty-seven Israeli civilians. In retaliation, four days later Israel launched Operation Litani, invading Lebanon with a force of 25,000 men. The purpose of the operation was to push PLO positions away from the border and bolster the power of the SLA. The IDF first seized a security belt about ten kilometers deep, but then pushed north and captured all of Lebanon south of the Litani River, inflicting thousands of casualties. The operation had failed to break the power of the PLO in the south and soon the PLO was able to rearm and fortify its bases in southern Lebanon to the point where Fatahland could boast the equivalent of five infantry brigades. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was established by the United Nations (UN) Security Council with Resolution 425 on March 19, 1978, "for the purpose of confirming the withdrawal of Israeli forces, restoring international peace and security, and assisting the government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area." Subsequent Resolution 426 defined UNIFIL's rules of engagement and instructed it to "use its best efforts to prevent the recurrence of fighting" and to ensure that its area of operation would not be used for hostile activities of any kind. UNIFIL consisted of approximately 7,000 men from 14 UN member states and between 30 and 90 military observers from the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, headquartered in the town of An Naqurah. UNIFIL, however, encountered difficulty in performing its mission. Resolution 425 made "full cooperation of all parties concerned" a prerequisite for UNIFIL's deployment. Although Israel had agreed formally to take the necessary steps for compliance with the resolution, it did not believe that UNIFIL could stop PLO incursions across the border. Therefore, when Israel started to withdraw in late March, it refused to relinquish all of the territory it had conquered in southern Lebanon to UNIFIL. Instead, Israel turned over an enclave to its proxy force, the SLA, increasing the area under Major Haddad's control. This area included not only the ten-kilometer-deep security belt adjacent to the Israeli border but also a vertical north-south corridor running from the border to the Litani River and splitting the UNIFIL area into two noncontiguous zones. Other parties frustrated the UNIFIL peacekeeping efforts. Although the PLO also had promised to cooperate, it argued that the 1969 Cairo Agreement entitled it to operate in southern Lebanon, and it attempted to reoccupy areas after Israel withdrew. Furthermore, on the grounds that the IDF had not occupied Tyre, the PLO refused to allow UNIFIL to police the city, and Palestinian patrols attempted repeatedly to pass through UNIFIL lines. For its part, the SLA did not even make a pretense of cooperating with UNIFIL. Instead, it attacked UNIFIL personnel and encroached on UNIFIL's perimeter. Nevertheless, UNIFIL restored order to the areas under its control and served as an effective buffer force insulating Israel from the Palestinians. It set up roadblocks, checkpoints, and observation posts, interdicting approximately ten guerrilla patrols per month heading toward Israel. When UNIFIL apprehended Palestinian guerrillas, it confiscated their weapons but usually returned them later to PLO leaders. UNIFIL paid a price for performing its mission, however; between 1978 and 1982, thirty-six UNIFIL members were killed in action. In late 1987 the future of UNIFIL was in doubt. Ironically, Israel, which had long considered it a hindrance to its operations, changed its policy and in 1986 praised the positive role UNIFIL played in stabilizing the region. For its part, the government of Lebanon requested that UNIFIL be expanded to police almost the entire country. But at the same time, the Shias in southern Lebanon, who had traditionally supported UNIFIL, turned against the organization. In September 1986, Shia extremists started attacking UNIFIL's French contingent, and in five weeks of combat they killed four and wounded thirty. UNIFIL's casualty toll mounted and by mid-1987 stood at 139 killed and over 200 wounded. In 1986 the United States Congress cut the annual United States appropriation to UNIFIL from US$40 million to US$18 million, while France announced that it would withdraw its troops from UNIFIL in 1987. UNIFIL however did survive and although it has been prevented from fulfilling its mandate, its contribution to stability in the region and the limited protection it has been able to provide to the local population remained important. The Force has recently been streamlined in order to achieve savings without affecting its operational effectiveness. The mandate has so far been renewed every six months. Syrian Occupation and Clashes with the Lebanese Army On November 19th 1977 President Sadat of Egypt made a visit to Israel, a visit which caused shock in the Arab world and later resulted in Sadat's assassination. This marked a turning point in Lebanese Syrian relations as Syria suddenly found itself isolated and facing Israel alone. Syria reversed its position and started to rearm and enforce the PLO. When the Syrians began to act like an occupying army, however, the Maronites' fear of Palestinian dominance was replaced by fear of Syrian dominance. It was becoming clear by 1978 that the Syrians had come into Lebanon to stay as for years they had dreamt of annexing Lebanon. Instead of just separating the various sides the Syrians began to slowly occupy vast areas of Lebanon and stationed troops in areas that were of no strategic importance and that had seen no fighting. As contributing Arab states withdrew their contingents from the ADF Syrian dominance of the force increased dramatically, by mid 1978 all Arab troops except the Syrians had withdrawn. Syrian troops that had entered Christian areas in 1976 had not left and had become a great concern, furthermore the Syrians had started to rearm and train the leftist factions. The Lebanese Forces now looked upon the Syrians as an army of occupation and needed to act, they began to confront the Syrians. Covert Christian-Israeli co-operation tapered off after Syria intervened in June 1976 and quelled the sectarian fighting. Gemayel, recognizing that only Israel was powerful enough to expel the Syrians, renewed contact with Israel; his initiative coincided with the victory of the Likud Party in Israel's 1977 elections. The new prime minister, Menachim Begin, was more inclined to support the Christians than his predecessor, both for ideological and for tactical reasons. Begin empathized with the Christians as a kindred, embattled religious minority and promised to prevent their "genocide." At the same time, he perceived the Maronites as a fifth column in Lebanon to check the power of the Palestinians. Arms shipments were stepped up, hundreds of Phalangist and Tiger militiamen were trained in Israel, and Israeli intelligence and security advisers were dispatched to East Beirut. The beginning of 1978 was marked by a series of bloody incidents between the Syrians and the Lebanese Forces and at one point Bashir Gemayel was arrested at a Syrian Army check point in Ashrafieh. February 7, 1978 saw a clash take place between the Lebanese Army and the Syrian Army in Fiyadieh, the site of the Lebanese Army barracks and the military command of Mount Lebanon. Near the Lebanese Army barracks the Syrians set up a check point to which the Lebanese Army objected and when the Syrians tried to seize Lebanese Army military vehicles stationed at Fayadieh fighting breaking out between them. 20 people were killed and a detachment of another 20 Syrians were captured and taken prisoner by the Lebanese Army, the next morning the bodies of two murdered Christian civilians had been found close by. The Syrians then surrounded and heavily bombarded the barracks, fighting spread to nearby districts and the Ahrar Tigers where drawn into the action against the Syrians, that afternoon the shelled Ashrafieh and attack the Ahrar HQ, but were repelled with the loss of five men. Fighting carried on into February 9th, Camille Chamoun accused the Syrians of having become an army of occupation and although Pierre and Bashir Gemayel did not order the Phalangists to engage the Syrians, many became involved voluntarily. By nightfall on February 9th fighting died down and the death toll was put at 100 Syrians and 50 Lebanese. On the 13th, hundreds of Lebanese in the south held a protest accusing the Syrians of inciting Palestinians to shell their villages and on the 16th the 20 Syrians taken prisoner were released. Hostilities broke out again on 9th April 1978 between the Lebanese Front and the Palestinians. This latest round began after the Syrians failed to restrain the Palestinians who were firing on the Lebanese Christians. As fighting intensified the Syrians went finally into action, but against the Christians in east Beirut. On 12th and 13th they launched an extensive artillery attack on east Beirut. On the 14th a ceasefire was declared but for the Lebanese Front it was the last straw. The Lebanese Front asked and then finally ordered the Syrians to leave Beirut and the surrounding regions but to no avail. Bashir Gemayel decided to take on the Syrians, possibly emboldened by what he thought was Israel's willingness to intervene militarily in Lebanon, Bashir Gemayel launched a series of direct attacks against the Syrian army occupying Lebanon. Marada and the Assassination of Tony Franjieh Tension was building between members of the Lebanese Front in May 1978 due to what many felt was Sulayman Franjieh's pro Syrian stance, and his intention to break away from the Front. At the start of the war Franjieh had been obliged to call on the Phalange for help in the north of Lebanon where before the war the Phalange had not been a major force especially in Zgharta, Franjieh's home town. By 1978 the Phalange had become well established in the region and where picking up recruits and threatening Marada's protection rackets particularly around Chekka. Marada was Franjieh's militia commanded by his son Tony. By the spring of 1978 Franjieh had asked the Phalange to pull out of the north so as to leave Tony in charge of the area. By now the Phalange were losing men daily as they were picked off by Marada, and Phalange members were denied basic goods and services in the north after being black listed by Marada. Attempts to reconcile the two factions at Bkerke were not successful and in May Franjieh had stopped attending Lebanese Front meetings and began courting the Syrians. Matters came to a head on June 8 1978 when a local Phalange leader, Joud el Bayeh, was murdered by six armed men sent by Tony Franjieh. Bashir Gemayel decided to strike back. On June 13, 1978, Gemayel launched a surprise attack that decimated the Marada Brigade, Tony Franjieh was killed in the attack. The operation was lead by Samir Geagea and it was claimed by him and by Gemayel that its purpose was to arrest the killers of Bayeh and to take and hold the town of Ehden, the Franjieh summer residence, until Marada withdrew from Chekka. The Phalangist force assembled at Qnat and were in position at Ehden at 4:00 am, the main assault force struck the Franjieh residence first which was also a communication centre and weapons storage facility. During the fighting Geagea was seriously wounded in the shoulder and lost consciousness. In the assault, Tony, his wife, baby daughter, maid, dog, and some 35 of his men were killed. Withdrawal proved difficult with Syrian check points everywhere, Syrian planes also strafed the raiders. With the Marada on the streets in large numbers, many of the Phalangists had to wait until nightfall and make their way back to their lines on foot. Seven of the raiding commandos were killed. The exact circumstances of Tony's death remain vague with accounts of Tony and his family being already dead when the Geagea strike force arrived, while other accounts claim that there were two raiding parties with NADER SUKKAR leading one of them. The 100 Days War, the Battle of Ashrafieh On 28th June 1978 Syrian gunmen kidnapped and then killed thirty Lebanese Christians from four villages in the Bekaa Valley, the Lebanese Front claimed that this act was part of a Syrian goal to weaken the Christian community by forcing the Christians out the Bekaa. Fighting broke out and Syria rushed forces to Beirut and on July 1st 1978 unleashed a devastating artillery attack across Christian East Beirut, particularly the Phalangist stronghold of Ashrafieh, in preparation for taking over the area, and for a hundred days the Syrians pounded Ashrafieh. On 4th July Camille Chamoun called again for the withdrawal of the Syrian troops from Beirut insisting that only the Lebanese Army should be responsible for security in the capital. Syria stated its conditions for a ceasefire which included further deployment of Syrian troops in the region, restrictions on the Lebanese Front, and that Lebanon cease all criticism of the Syrian media and of Syrian government policies. On July 6th, President Sarkis announced his resignation saying that the Syrians had been carrying out operations behind his back entirely without his approval and that the Syrian conditions for a ceasefire were without logic and not acceptable. The Israelis accused the Syrians of trying to annihilate the Christian population of Lebanon and said they would not allow this to happen. Shortly afterwards, the fighting in Beirut eased. Under pressure from the Americans, Sarkis withdrew his resignation on 15th July. The right-wing forces, consequently, prepared for a new onslaught and possible close physical combat by escorting the civilians out of the contested areas of East Beirut. No compromise had been forthcoming since the battle had ended. The Lebanese-right adamantly refused to turn over its areas to Syrian troops or to cooperate with a Syrian takeover in the capital. In fact, the Lebanese Forces called on Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon and concentrate its efforts against its enemies holding the Golan Heights, which was Syrian territory. In the strongest words yet to come from the Lebanese Front, it accused Syria of trying to steal a piece of Lebanon while Israel was trying to steal a piece of Syria. By mid- July 1978 East Beirut was ablaze once more, the mass devastation in the embattled eastern part of the capital had testified to the strength, ferocity, and effectiveness of Syria's long-range weapons. Still, however, all attempts to take the Ayn al-Rumanah district failed, although battles continued in the suburb of al-Hadath. In that battle, the pine trees that overlooked the town were set aflame by artillery fire and explosions were heard as far away as the western edge of the capital. After four days of indiscriminate heavy shelling, al-Hadath continued to hold out, its defenders having repulsed both infantry and mechanized assaults, but at a high cost in lives on both sides. Thus, as July drew to a close, the Syrians broke off hostilities and the Lebanese Army took up positions in the hillside suburb of al-Hadath. The military encounters in and around the capital had eased off by early August, but both parties to the hostilities were preparing for a major showdown. The Syrian-sponsored ADF was prepared, at all costs it seemed, to end the power of both the Phalangists and the NLP. The rightists, on the other hand, were determined to stop Syria from making Lebanon its new province or colony. The PLO and its leftist allies stood on the sidelines, preparing to gain from the collapse of either Syrian or rightist strength. As Beirut was still recovering from earlier combat, heavy fighting began north of the capital. The fighting, in the vicinity of al-Batroun, enabled the Syrians to gain their first victory over the Lebanese Forces by taking Koura. Once Koura had been captured, the Syrians renewed their campaign in the capital by infiltrating the Shiyah district. Shells smashed into Ayn al-Rumanah, sending civilians scurrying for cover, but the shelling was answered in kind. This time, the Syrians were close enough to be hit by rightist batteries, which could reach deep into the Shiyah district and pinpoint Syrian field pieces. The Syrians and the Lebanese Forces swapped both artillery and rocket fire, pounding each other in a crescendo of death and destruction. Syrian shelling was merciless and it was reported that just about every building in east Beirut was hit, causalities were in the thousands and on the 27th all US embassy personnel and their dependants were evacuated from Lebanon causing much alarm in east Beirut. At a press conference Etienne Sakr head of the Guardians of the Cedars explained the situation: "At last, the Syrian game in Lebanon is revealed. And when we retired to the Lebanese mountain in November 1976, to protest the entrance of Arab troops to Lebanon, we were aware of our action, and events have established that our anticipations were correct...The Lebanese at first welcomed the wolf coming disguised as a sheep, believing that the war was ended and peace will return to their ailing Lebanon... But the wolf quickly shed his disguise and, showing his fangs, they set out to devour the Lebanese people... He started with submitting them to all kinds of intimidations and terrorism... like kidnapping, precautionary arrests, physical abuse and liquidation... And instead of confining the Palestinians to their encampments, as they promised, they tried everything to bring the Lebanese to their knees... And there was the explosion... the war was resumed... but this time with greater ferocity, greater rancor and greater destruction." (8th of August, 1978) President Sarkis implored Pierre Gemayel to help halt the mini-war between Syria and Lebanon. Gemayel retorted that he would lend his aid to a cease-fire effort only if Sarkis would pressure Syria to end its misconduct in the capital and have the ADF act as an impartial peacekeeping force rather than a conqueror. Gemayel punctuated his point by saying that the Lebanese were not waiting for anyone to conquer and rule them. Syria's response to Gemayel's statement came swiftly, with new mechanized reinforcements lumbering into the city, tearing up the asphalt streets along their way. Heavy action pierced the entire expanse of Syrian-dominated West Beirut. Artillery fire and incendiary weapons ignited fires that burned through the night in the Christian areas of Ayn al-Rumanah and al-Hadath. The morning breezes sprinkled ash and cinders about the capital--its "Lebanese snow," as a foreign correspondent commented sadly, according to Le Monde. An Israeli buildup on the border slowed the fighting in the capital; some Syrian troops were hastily transferred to the South. Moreover, of even greater significance for Lebanon's future was the overwhelming catastrophe that struck the Shi'ite community and its military forces. Imam Musa al-Sadr, their spiritual leader, had left for Tripoli, Libya, on August 25, 1978, to attend a celebration of the Libyan revolution, which had ousted that nation's corrupt and tyrannical monarchy. Sadr had been a pro-Libyan Moslem fundamentalist. For his loyalty to the Libyan revolution and its leader, Mu'ammar Qaddafi had poured millions of dollars into Sadr's coffers in order to put an end to the "Christian" Lebanese State. Consequently, the Shi'ite leader's attendance at the festive occasion was paramount. Soon after Sadr's arrival in Libya, he was reported missing, and Lebanese of all factions were anxious and concerned about his whereabouts and safety. In investigating the circumstances of his disappearance, the Shi'ites of South Lebanon claimed that he had traveled to Tripoli to extract his community from the Moslem-leftist alliance. As reported by the Libyan Press Agency, Jana, Sadr informed Qaddafi that the war against the Maronites was unjustified. Palestinian conduct in Lebanon was disgraceful and that the Shiites were being abused by the Palestinians. The Shi'ite alliance with the PLO brought devastating Israeli reprisal raids against the Shi'ite villages causing his people to flee north, and no Moslem state was expected to emerge in Lebanon. According to Sadr's entourage, Qaddafi accused the Imam of spending "Libyan money" to finance a Shi'ite revolution in Iran. Since then, the Shi'ites of Lebanon have held the Libyan leader responsible for the disappearance and presumed death of their religious leader. Meanwhile, Syria and the Lebanese Forces remained locked in combat near the Karantina Bridge leading north towards Jounieh. Pierre Gemayel pressed President Sarkis to ask for UN intervention to end the confrontation, and to do so quickly before the president's credibility with the Lebanese right had disappeared. The savage warfare had approximated the intensity of the battles for Beirut a few years ago. Saturation fire from Syrian gunners had reduced part of the Christian enclave to a vast wasteland. Ambulances and helicopters ferried wounded Syrian soldiers out of the battle zone in an ever-increasing line of traffic. At night the city was devoid of light, due to the failure of electrical power sources. The dusk and dawn were obscured by cumbersome black clouds of smoke that rose from the city, darkening the sky and casting the desolate capital in an awesome and eerie light. To the terrified observers, it seemed as if the sun would never shine again. The cosmopolitan world of Beirut appeared to be coming to an abrupt end. The Lebanese Forces fought back ferociously and even though the Syrians managed to break through into Ashrafieh, a Lebanese Forces counter attack ejected them with the Syrians taking heavy losses. Large street battles also took place around the Rizk tower where the Syrians had been dug in. The main rightist supply routes were severed by Syrian forces; missiles, tanks, and heavy artillery pounded the rightist defense line. Syrian Army trucks, filled to capacity with dead and dying soldiers, joined the train of ambulances taking the Syrians out of the capital. Syria had committed most of its forces in the northern half of Lebanon into battle, and reinforcements continued to pour into Lebanon, tapping Syria's reserves. The Syrians, however, held the bridges in the north against savage rightist counterattacks. If the rightists could not breach the defenses near the Karantina Bridge to gain aid from northern Lebanon, then they would eventually be doomed to defeat. Syrian strategy would win in the long run. The rightists hoped to hold out in a war of attrition to convince the Syrians that they could not take over the Christian section of Beirut without devastating casualties. The UN Security Council called for an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon, and President Sarkis appealed to President Assad to end the flaming hell he had created in Beirut. By the end of the first week of October, Syria had halted its offensive but maintained its seige. It had proven too costly for the Syrian regime. Syrian hospitals were filled to capacity with the dying and the wounded. Not since the last Arab-Israeli war had Syria seen its forces return home so badly mauled. The unilateral cease-fire held with only some residual fighting near the Karantina and Beirut River regions. Scattered shelling and sniper fire continued, but these exchanges were only limited and isolated instances. Radio Free Lebanon, a rightist station, called the battle a victory for the Lebanese Forces. Meanwhile, President Sarkis left for Saudi Arabia to discuss the fighting. While the Lebanese head of state was outside the country, Syrian forces sent rocket fire cascading down on the rightist-held positions, forcing Bashir Gemayel to appeal to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to help end the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. The heavy action kept the rightist troops at bay at the strategic Beirut River bridges, thus continuing their isolation from their strongholds in the North. The Syrians, meanwhile, were resupplying their forces and ferrying al-Saiqa units into the area. It has been said that in pitting his meager force of a few thousand fighters against three divisions of the Syrian Army, Gemayel was taking a calculated gamble that Israel would come to his rescue. Gemayel's brinkmanship was vindicated. The Israelis threatened to go to war to preserve the Maronite community. To emphasize the point, Israeli jets overflew Syrian positions and the Israelis massed troops in the Golan Heights. The threat worked. On the 9th October 1978 Syrian forces began to pull back. In the Syrian capital, Presidents Sarkis and Assad agreed on a tentative settlement designed to stabilize the cease-fire. Syria had agreed, for the first time, to turn over some of its peacekeeping duties in the Christian sector to the Lebanese Army and withdraw its forces to more remote areas. The Syrian move was a tacit admission that the Lebanese-right had been fighting a largely defensive war in support of Lebanese sovereignty. The Extinction of the Tigers On Monday, July 7, 1980, the Phalangists launched a surprise attack against Chamoun's National Liberal Party Militia, the Tigers. The attack was aimed against their barracks, ports, and offices in a villa next door to Safra Marine in Kesrouen with the aim of assimilating the Tigers into the LF under one command. Bashir had originally planned the attack for 4:00 am but because of the events at Ehden the attack was put back to 10:00 am so as to spare Dany Chamoun who by then would have left his offices for an appointment in the mountains. Contrary to most accounts found in the popular books regarding Lebanon there was no battle or massacre at Safra Marine. Dany had moved out of East Beirut and taken over a villa that used to border Safra Marine immediately to its south. Dany kept a boat at Safra Marine and would walk through the grounds of the villa and across Safra Marine to get to his boat. As a result it was thought by some that he resided at Safra. Some weeks before the operation a couple of LF agents had successfully applied for jobs at Safra so as to asses the situation. On the day of the attack LF fighters hidden in a civilian truck were let into Safra Marine by their agents and deployed around Dany's villa. Tracy Chamoun who was inside the villa saw the deployment and opened fire. After a very brief gun-fight it was explained that no harm was going to come to the residents of the villa and that they were free to leave. Some one hour later, after some negotiation, the villa was vacated. The only injury at Safra was a wounded Sri Lankan worker hit by a stray bullet. Heavy fighting did however break out around Tabarja Beach and at Rabiyeh Marine which were both popular resorts with the Tigers and it was here where there were civilian causalities. At Rabiyeh Marine where some Tiger militiamen had fallen back, a few captured Tigers were thrown to their deaths from the upper floor balconies of the complex. The Tiger barracks at Amchit were captured after holding out for most of the day. The 'Day of Long Knives' as it became to be called claimed around 200 lives around half of which were civilians who had been caught during indiscriminate shooting. After the operation Bashir Gemayel emerged as the dominant Maronite military leader and by the end of October 1980 the main bulk of the Tiger militia was totally absorbed into the Lebanese Forces and lost their separate command and identity, the only exception being a small unit in Zahle. Bashir Gemayel then announced that all of the individual militias of the various parties of the Lebanese Front would disband and their troops combine as one fighting force under his command in the Lebanese Forces. Thus the various militias such as the Tanzim and other that had taken an active part in the war ceased to exist. The Guardians of the Cedars however managed to maintain their identity under the new structure. The Battle of Zahle Zahle, the capital of Bekaa Province in eastern Lebanon, had a population of some 150,000 which was primarily Greek Catholic, and it was in the heart of the Syrian occupied zone of Lebanon and lay on the vital Beirut-Damascus highway. Throughout the war Zahle suffered many sieges and attacks by leftist and Palestinian forces but its people always managed to hold out, fighting alongside the small contingent of Lebanese Front militia that were based there. The location of Zahle made it of such importance that the Syrians felt they had to control the city and needed a reason to station their troops there. In December 1980, the Palestinian forces around Zahle were incited by the Syrians to shell the city and on the 19th heavy fighting broke out between the Syrians and the small Lebanese Forces contingent after the Syrians sent a patrol down the Zahle Boulevard, the patrol was attacked and five Syrian soldiers and one Syrian Major were killed. Although the Syrian command acknowledged sending the patrol into Zahle and the resulting deaths as accidental, Syria demanded the surrender of the persons involved in the incident to its command. A forty-eight-hour ultimatum was served to the Zahle leadership and also to the Phalangist and NLP commanders of the district. When a unanimously negative reply was returned, Syrian forces besieged the city with troops and tanks under artillery cover. The incident at Zahle enabled the Syrians to take advantage of the prevailing instability in the rightist coalition and the weakness of the Beirut government. In day-long battles, the Syrian forces were repulsed time and again as both General Said Taiyan and Syria's Defense Minister, Major-General Mustafa Tlas, were rushed to the scene to study the unexpectedly strong resistance. At the same time, Bashir Gemayel put his forces on full alert; however, he held the doors open for a negotiated settlement. During the fighting two Syrian helicopters were also hit as they tried to bring in reinforcements. The Lebanese Forces command rushed Guardians of the Cedars troops from Beirut in support of the local forces in Zahle. A ceasefire was quickly imposed on December 26 1980 and fighting soon died down but blood had been drawn. Not wanting Zahle to be cut off from Mount Lebanon and to reduce its vulnerability to siege, the Lebanese Forces began constructing a road linking Baskinta to Zahle so as to avoid passing through Syrian held territory. The Syrians were against the construction of the road and responded by again surrounding Zahle with 2600 troops. The people of Zahle started take up arms and prepared for the inevitable Syrian assault. On April 2nd 1981 Syria began bombarding the city. At the start of the battle the Syrian commander announced that his troops had moved to evict the Lebanese Forces from Zahle as it was vital for Syrian security to prevent the construction of the road between Mount Lebanon and Zahle. On the first day of battle the Syrians tried to seize the high ground above the city but were repelled with the loss of three armored vehicles and the death of over twenty soldiers and so the next day the Syrians retaliated with an artillery barrage on east Beirut which inflicted heavy civilian casualties. For days the Syrians launched assault after assault and the city but were unable to breach the defenses of Zahle due to the stiff resistance put up by the people of Zahle themselves as well as the small number of troops stationed there. Syrian forces in the capital were redeployed to Zahle to bolster artillery fire, which was rapidly turning central Zahle into ruins. The population of Zahle refused to surrender and so it was decided by the Syrians that they would force it to submission through siege. Ghassan Tueni, Lebanon's delegate to the United Nations, called for UNIFIL forces to take over the Zahle region. As the situation grew critical, Lebanon's Grand Mufti, Sheikh Hassan al-Khalid, joined with Pope John Paul II in expressing concern over the intensive fighting. Both men reasserted the obvious fact that the conflict in Lebanon was not religious in nature. At the start of 1981 Syria had launched its "Program of National Reconciliation," which was designed to install Sulayman Franjieh as president. Bashir Gemayel found the proposition unpalatable, but he was impotent to oppose it politically. Therefore, to strengthen his position he desperately needed a victory in Zahle. Bashir Gemayel needed to reinforce Zahle and managed to infiltrate another 100 Lebanese Forces militiamen into the city to support the forces already there and to attack Syrian positions and to shell the Syrian headquarters in the adjacent town of Shtawrah. By the last week of April, two ineffectual cease-fires had collapsed and Syrian Mig jets had strafed the outskirts of the beleaguered town. This was, apparently, an attempt to show the Phalangists that Syria still had an open option--air power. The Zahle defenders could either surrender or face annihilation by air attack. The air raid was followed by a land-based missile attack, using Soviet-made Grad rockets. The attacks drove the Lebanese Forces from the outlying city buildings, giving the Syrians their first, tentative, victory. The town sagged under heavy fire as its defenders began to run low on food, medical supplies, and ammunition. An attempt to break out and reach the suburbs of Beirut was abruptly terminated by Syrian special forces in their distinctive tiger-patterned uniforms. Supply lines were set up from Ouyoun El Simman and Baskinta. The weather conditions were terrible with heavy snow covering the mountain peaks over which many of the supplies were brought in on foot.They were aided by tactical air power. The siege of Zahle was beginning to resemble a new version of the campaign for Tal Zaatar. At the end of April, the Syrians had entered into direct negotiations with the Zahle leadership and had reached a tentative accord. The agreement called for a pullback by the Syrians, the safe removal of the right-wing militiamen, and the assignment of the Lebanese police to secure the town. The Phalangists considered the agreement a victory, for it ended Syrian attempts to infiltrate the city. However, Syria would not accept a plan that insulted its prerogatives and disputed its power and authority in Lebanon. President Assad ordered artillery fire and helicopter assaults against the Phalangist fortifications. The choppers flew Syrian special forces into battle for Mt. Sannin, in the hills above Zahle, which overlooked and guarded the Bekaa Valley. The Syrian troops, rappelling downward from the choppers, ran into a group of militiamen on patrol and a fire-fight ensued. The Lebanese Front ordered its negotiating team in Zahle to cut off all talks with the Syrians. Pulling out at this point, was seen as a defeat for Syria. The Syrian Air Force went into action, strafing Gharfat al-Fransawiye, a mountain stronghold of the militia, about eight miles west of Zahle. The second air attack came on the twenty-sixth day of the conflict. Soon afterward, the Syrian forces began to move against the hilltop emplacements above the city, which had been established and fortified by the Lebanese Forces to protect the main entrance to the city. Bashir Gemayel ordered his entombed militia to fight to the end, pledging every possible effort to reach them with additional supplies and manpower. Meanwhile, Syrian reinforcements poured into the battle, creating traffic congestion along the Beirut-Damascus highway and its arterials. The hills above Zahle became the prime targets for Syrian gunners. The town itself was completely encircled, with Syrian soldiers holding all access points under tight siege. The Lebanese Forces in Zahle had been badly mauled and battered, but their fighting spirit was undiminished. Moreover, the Syrians knew this, for they had committed approximately half their force of twenty-two thousand men to the campaign. The mountain strongholds, which overlooked Zahle, remained in rightist hands, forcing the Syrian command to send additional airborne troops into battle. As the fighting intensified Gemayel called an urgent meeting with Begin and convinced him that the Syrians intended to follow through on the siege with an all-out attack on the Christian heartland and urged Israel to launch an air strike against the Syrians. On April 28, the Israeli cabinet convened and authorized a limited air strike, but it did so over the strident objections of Israel's intelligence chiefs, who suspected that the crisis was a Lebanese Forces ploy. Israeli fighter jets carried out the raid and downed two Syrian helicopter troop transports on Mount Sannine, a strategic mountain overlooking Zahle. The brief air battle astronomically raised tensions to a new climax by pitting the Syrians against their archenemy, the Israelis. The Syrians backed off a bit but then resumed an around-the-clock artillery bombardment of the town, pledging to leave it in total devastation, a pile of rubble for the Phalangists to sift through, if it refused to surrender. Moreover, to counter the Israeli moves, Syria introduced at least nine antiaircraft missiles, SAM-6s, near the Riyaq air base, in the Bekaa Valley. Under the cover of the missiles, the Syrians sent land forces up Mt. Sannin and took it from its defenders in heavy, bloody, close combat. The rightists were exhausted and had run out of ammunition and supplies. Zahle however, held fast, repulsing one attack after another. As the days went on sharp differences erupted within the Lebanese Forces in Zahle as to how to best defend the city. The forces in Zahle had been unprepared for a big showdown. Fuad Abou Nader and Boutros Khawand were dispatched to settle matters as well as the commander of the LF armored battalion, Joseph Elias who was himself from Zahle and had a tough reputation. However, they failed to reconcile the field commanders. By the time Samir Geagea arrived the Lebanese Forces command headquarters had been wrecked by Syrian shelling and the officers were in complete disarray. Geagea decided to immediately return to Beirut and left in the middle of the night via Wadi Al Arayesh with about 40 troops who had also decided to return to Beirut fed up with the break down of the command structure. Geagea's report stated that the city was a total military loss but Bashir refused to abandon Zahle. The siege of Zahle and heavy fighting continued throughout May and reached its formal end on 30th June when it was agreed that both sides would withdraw their forces. Local Lebanese Forces troops had to disarm and forces from Beirut had to leave. The security of Zahle was handed over to Lebanese government internal security forces. The Syrians would be allowed to maintain check points around Zahle to prevent the Lebanese Forces form returning. Trucks and buses were provided to evacuate the Lebanese Forces fighters and 95 returned to Beirut on the 1st of July 1981. Over the next couple of days the Syrians pulled out of their fortifications about the city. Failure to defeat Zahle was a humiliation for the Syrians and a victory for Bashir Gemayel. Of far greater significance, however, was the exceptionally strong resistance put forth by the right-wing militiamen. They had shown considerable strength and resourcefulness, tenacity, and spirit in blunting the Syrian thrust. For the time being, the Syrians would forgo any attempt to advance against other towns in the predominantly Christian part of northern Lebanon. The civilian casualties were 223 killed and 765 wounded with very heavy material damage. Many died many because of a lack of medical supplies and also as a result of the water being purposely cut off by the Syrians causing epidemics to break out. Gemayel persevered in his plot to embroil Israel in a full scale war with Syria. In late 1980, after a series of meetings with Begin, he reportedly obtained a secret Israeli pledge to provide a defensive umbrella against a potential Syrian air attack. This pledge virtually committed Israel to fight Syria at Gemayel's behest, although Israel admonished the Lebanese Forces not to attack the Syrians. The Missile Crisis The Israeli air attack had caught Assad by surprise. Syria had adhered to the so-called "Red Line" agreements by deliberately refraining from deploying antiaircraft missiles in the Biqa Valley and by not impeding Israeli photoreconnaissance overflights. Assad's response to the Israeli attack by stationing SA-6 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) in the vicinity of Zahle and ther SAMs and surface-to-surface missiles on the Syrian side of the border infuriated the Israelis. Begin vowed publicly that the IDF would launch an attack on the missiles. In response, President Ronald Reagan dispatched to the Middle East Special Ambassador Philip Habib, who averted the imminent Israeli strike. The net effect of the crisis was that Syrian air defense missiles were deployed in Lebanon. Israel was forced to tolerate this situation in the short run, but it still regarded the missile deployment as an unacceptable shift in the balance of forces that could not be endured indefinitely. Therefore, Israel had reasons of its own for a future attack on the Syrians in Lebanon. The Two-Week War As the tension in the Bekaa Valley subsided, IDF chief of staff Rafael Eitan urged Begin to mount an artillery bombardment of Palestinian bases in Lebanon. Israel routinely conducted preemptive artillery attacks and air strikes to deter PLO terrorist attacks against Galilee settlements in northern Israel. Then, on July 10, 1981, the IDF commenced five days of air strikes and naval bombardments against PLO strongholds in southern Lebanon. The PLO fought back by shelling the Israeli resort town of Nahariyya on the Mediterranean coast. The conflict escalated as Israel launched a devastating air raid against the heavily populated Palestinian neighborhood of Fakhani in West Beirut, killing over 100 people and wounding over 600. By Israeli estimates, only thirty of those killed were terrorists. For ten days, the PLO then unleashed artillery fire against the upper Galilee. Although only six Israeli citizens were killed, many Israelis were shocked and stunned by the PLO's capability to sustain such an attack. On July 24, Ambassador Habib returned to Israel to negotiate an end to the artillery duel. Because the PLO was almost out of ammunition and most of its guns had been silenced, the IDF wanted to prolong the fighting until it could win a clear-cut victory. But the Israeli cabinet was eager to comply with Habib's cease-fire proposal, and Israel entered into a truce with the PLO. PLO leader Yasir Arafat was determined not to break the ceasefire. On a political level, the truce enhanced the PLO's diplomatic credibility. Tactically, it allowed the PLO time to reinforce its military strength in southern Lebanon. The Soviet Union refused to provide the PLO with weapons, but PLO emissaries purchased arms from East European countries and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), acquiring Grad and Katyusha artillery rockets and antiquated but functional T-34 tanks. More significant, Arafat reorganized the command and control structure of his forces, transforming the Palestine Liberation Army (PLA) from a decentralized collection of terrorist and guerrilla bands to a disciplined standing army. By 1981 the Kastel, Karami, and Yarmuk brigades were established, and seven new artillery battalions were organized. Tension remained very high in the region. The 1982 Israeli Invasion (Operation Peace for Galilee) On June 3, 1982, terrorists of the Abu Nidal Organization, a group that had split off from the PLO, attempted to assassinate Shlomo Argov, the Israeli ambAssador to Britain. Israel seized on the attack as the pretext for launching its long-planned offensive. On June 4, IDF aircraft bombed Palestinian targets in West Beirut, and the PLO resumed artillery fire on Israeli settlements in the northern Galilee. The Israeli cabinet convened and voted to authorize an invasion, named Operation Peace for Galilee, but it set strict limits on the extent of the incursion. The IDF was to advance no farther than forty kilometers, the operation was to last only twenty-four hours, Syrian forces were not to be attacked, and Beirut was not to be approached. Because of the limits imposed by the Israeli cabinet, the IDF implemented its attack in increments, neither openly recognizing nor acknowledging its destination and objectives. Had it been ordered from the outset to secure Beirut, it could have done so in an effective and efficient manner. Instead, the IDF advance unfolded in an ad hoc and disorganized fashion, greatly increasing the difficulty of the operation. When IDF ground forces crossed into Lebanon on June 6, they pursued a battle strategy that entailed a three-pronged attack conducted by five divisions and two reinforced brigade-size units. On the western axis, two divisions converged on Tyre and proceeded north along the coastal road toward Sidon, where they were to link up with an amphibious commando unit that had secured a beachhead north of the city. In the central sector, a third division veered diagonally across southern Lebanon, conquered the Palestinian-held Beaufort Castle, located a few kilometers southwest of Marj Uyun, and headed west toward Sidon, where it linked up with the coastal force in a classic pincer movement. The IDF advanced rapidly in the first day of the war, bypassing and enveloping pockets of PLO resistance. Most PLO military officers fled, abandoning their men, who split into small roving guerrilla bands. Moreover, it became clear that the PLO was fighting alone against the Israeli onslaught. The Shia Amal guerrillas had been ordered by their leaders not to fight and to surrender their weapons if necessary. South Lebanon's Shias had long suffered under Palestinian domination, and Shia villagers welcomed the advancing Israelis by showering them with rice and flowers. This traditional form of homage, later repeated by the Druze and Christian populations, lent credence to the Israeli claim that it was "liberating" Lebanon. But Palestinian resistance proved tenacious, particularly in the sprawling refugee camps in the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon. Staging hit-and-run operations and fighting in house-to- house and hand-to-hand combat, the Palestinians inflicted a high number of casualties of the IDF and impeded the progress of the Israeli advance. The IDF was further hampered because the refugee camps were inhabited by large numbers of civilian noncombatants who harbored the Palestinian fighters. Although the IDF made significant initial efforts to evacuate the civilians, it ultimately resorted to saturation bombing to subdue the camps. Palestinian resistance was especially fierce in the Ayn al Hulwah camp near Sidon, where several hundred Palestinian fighters fought to the last man, delaying the IDF advance for seven days. After the camp was leveled, the IDF stood poised to move against Beirut. Two days later in the central combat zone, two divisions thrust directly north on parallel courses into Syrian-held territory with the mission of severing the strategic Beirut-Damascus highway. On June 8, the IDF evicted the Syrian Army from Jezzine and proceeded north. The IDF could not proceed further against the entrenched Syrian positions without close air support, but Syria's air defense systems threatened Israeli control of the skies. On June 9, the Israeli cabinet gave permission for an air raid against the Syrian antiaircraft missile batteries in the Biqa Valley. The Syrians, caught by surprise, sustained severe losses; of the nineteen missile batteries, only two were left intact by the Israeli attack. The Syrian Air Force made a desperate bid to protect the air defense system by sending up scores of interceptors and fighters, resulting in what both sides described as the biggest air battle in history, with over 200 aircraft engaged in supersonic dogfights over a 2,500 square kilometer area. The Israeli Air Force shot down twenty-nine Syrian aircraft in the first encounter of that day, and later about fifty more. In fact, during the entire operation, the Syrians would lose a total of 90 aircraft in air to air combat without a single Israeli loss. The devastation of the Syrian air defense system and the decimation of the Syrian Air Force provided the IDF with total air superiority in Lebanon and left the Syrian infantry exposed to air attack. All did not go so smoothly however for the Israelis. On the 10th of June an Israeli battle group of M60 tanks was leading the push to the highway when they ran into serious trouble between Ain Zhalta and Ain Dara. The Syrians had been shelling the road so the Israelis advanced at night. The going was slow and just outside of Ain Dara they were ambushed by a brigade of Syrian commandos, artillery, and amour approximately five kilometers short of the highway. The Syrian commandos came in so close that at one point they were actually climbing onto the Israeli tanks to ensure their kills. The commander of the supporting artillery battery had to fire anti personnel rounds on top of his own takes so as to dislodge the attacking Syrians. Gradually a corridor was opened to enable the Israelis to pull back around dawn. With day break on the 11th June the Israeli Air Force was able to go into action and destroyed the Syrian tank and gun positions with the aid of another tank column. Syrian reinforcements were caught en route by Israeli ground attack aircraft. At the same time, the IDF continued to maul 1st Armored Division of the Syrian army in a battle that started on 9th June north of Lake Qaraoun and raged on for three days. By the afternoon of the 11th about half of the Syrian 1st Armored Division had been destroyed and the rest were on the retreat. The IDF had broken the last line of Syria's defence but owing to political pressures, however, on June 11 Israel and Syria agreed to a truce under United States auspices and the Israeli advance stopped just a couple of kilometers short of the Beirut-Damascus highway. The Siege of Beirut The cease-fire signaled the start of a new stage in the war, as Israel focused on PLO forces trapped in Beirut. Although Israel had long adhered to the axiom that conquering and occupying an Arab capital would be a political and military disaster, key Israeli leaders were determined to drive the PLO out of Beirut. According to the original plan, the LF were to move into West Beirut under the covering fire of Israeli artillery and reunite the divided capital. Bashir Gemayel concluded, however, that such overt collusion with the IDF would prejudice his chances to become president, and he reneged on the promises he had made. Israel maintained the siege of Beirut for seventy days, unleashing a relentless barrage of air, naval, and artillery bombardment. At times, the Israeli bombardment appeared to be random and indiscriminate; at other times, it was targeted with pinpoint precision. Israeli strategists believed that if they could "decapitate" the Palestinian movement by killing its leaders, Palestinian resistance would disappear. Therefore, the Israeli Air Force conducted what has been called a "manhunt by air" for Arafat and his top lieutenants and on several occasions bombed premises only minutes after the PLO leadership had vacated them. If the PLO was hurt physically by the bombardment, the political fallout was just as damaging to Israel. The appalling civilian casualties earned Israel world opprobrium. Morale plummeted among IDF officers and enlisted men, many of whom personally opposed the war. Meanwhile, the highly publicized plight of the Palestinian civilians garnered world attention for the Palestinian cause. Furthermore, Arafat was negotiating, albeit through intermediaries, with Ambassador Habib and other United States officials. Negotiating with Arafat was thought by some to be tantamount to United States recognition of the PLO. The Expulsion of the Palestinians Arafat had threatened to turn Beirut into a "second Stalingrad," to fight the IDF to the last man. His negotiating stance grew tenuous, however, after Lebanese leaders, who had previously expressed solidarity with the PLO, petitioned him to abandon Beirut to spare the civilian population further suffering. Arafat informed Habib of his agreement in principle to withdraw the PLO from Beirut on condition that a multinational peacekeeping force be deployed to protect the Palestinian families left behind. With the diplomatic deadlock broken, Habib made a second breakthrough when Syria and Tunisia agreed to host departing PLO fighters. An advance unit of the Multinational Force (MNF), 350 French troops, arrived in Beirut on August 21. The Palestinian evacuation by sea to Cyprus and by land to Damascus commenced on the same day. On August 26, the remaining MNF troops arrived in Beirut, including a contingent of 800 United States Marines. The Palestinian exodus ended on September 1. Over 11,000 Palestinian fighters including some 8,000 Fateh guerrillas, 2,600 PLA regulars, as well as 3,600 Syrian troops had been evacuated from west Beirut. However there were still some 10,000 Palestinian fighters in Lebanon the mainly in the northern section Bekaa valley north and around Tripoli. Taking stock of the war's toll, Israel announced that 344 of its soldiers had been killed and over 2,000 wounded. Israel calculated that hundreds of Syrian soldiers had been killed and over 1,000 wounded and that 1,000 Palestinian guerrillas had been killed and 7,000 captured. Lebanese estimates, compiled from International Red Cross sources and police and hospital surveys, calculated that 17,825 Lebanese had died and over 30,000 had been wounded. On August 23, the legislature elected Bashir Gemayel president of Lebanon. On September 10, the United States Marines withdrew from Beirut, followed by the other members of the MNF. The Lebanese Army began to move into West Beirut, and the Israelis withdrew their troops from the front lines. But the war was far from over. By ushering in Gemayel as president and evicting the PLO from Beirut, Israel had attained two of its key war goals. Israel's remaining ambition was to sign a comprehensive peace treaty with Lebanon that would entail the withdrawal of Syrian forces and prevent the PLO from reinfiltrating Lebanon after the IDF withdrew. The Assassination of Bashir Gemayel At 4:10 pm on September 14, 1982, President-elect Gemayel was assassinated in a massive radio-detonated explosion that leveled the Phalange Party headquarters in East Beirut where he was delivering a speech to party members. The perpetrator, Habib Shartouny, 26, was soon apprehended. Shartouny, a member of the Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party (SSNP), was a Syrian agent. Mossad, the CIA, and Israeli military intelligence, pooling there resources with the Lebanese intelligence community established that Chartouny had installed a long range electronic detonator to a bomb made of Semtex-H which had been smuggled into the building where Chartouny's sister lived. Her apartment was directly above the Phalange offices. Chartouny's case officer was a captain in the Syrian intelligence service called Nassif, who reported directly to Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed G'anem who was in charge of Syrian intelligence operations in Lebanon. Both the Syrian Army and Air Force intelligence had knowledge of the bombing as did Hafez al-Assad's brother Rifaat al-Assad, head of Syria's security forces. President Assad would have probably given the order himself but there was no proof....because Abou AYYAD from PLO was the real mastermind in this operation...and Abou AYYAD was banking on Amine Gemayel becoming the next President of Lebanon... and Abou Ayyad had excellent relations with Amine GEMAYEL, Bashir's brother. [ Aou AYYAD was the PLO's Intelligence chief at the time of the assassination.] Amine had no foreknowledge of this operation of course. Bashir Gemayel's brother, Amin, who was opposed to the Israeli presence in Lebanon, was elected president with United States backing. Sabra and Shatila On Wednesday 15 September 1982 shortly after 6:00 a.m. the I.D.F. began to enter west Beirut. During the first hours of the I.D.F. entry, there was no armed resistance to the advance because the guerrillas that were in West Beirut had been taken by surprise. Within a few hours, the I.D.F. encountered fire from guerrillas in a number of places in west Beirut, and combat operations began. The resistance caused delays in the I.D.F.'s taking over a number of points in the city and caused a change in the route of advance. In the course of this fighting three I.D.F. soldiers were killed and more than 100 were wounded. Heavy fire coming out of Shatilla was directed at one I.D.F. battalion advancing east of the camp. One of the battalion's soldiers was killed, 20 were injured, and the advance of the battalion in this direction was halted. Throughout Wednesday and to a lesser degree on Thursday and Friday (16-17.9.82), R.P.G. and light-weapons fire from the Sabra and Shatilla camps was directed at the Israeli forward command post and the battalion's forces nearby. Fire was returned by the I.D.F. forces. It was not possible to obtain exact details on the size of the population in the refugee camps in Beirut. An estimate of the numbers in the four camps in west Beirut (Burj el-Barajneh, Fakahni, Sabra and Shatilla) was about 85,000 people. The war led to the flight of the population, but when the fighting subsided, a movement back to the camps began. According to estimates, in mid-September 1982 there were about 56,000 people in the Sabra and Shatila camps in total. Over the previous few months, as the number of I.D.F. casualties mounted, public pressure for the Lebanese Forces to participate more in fighting increased. It was agreed at that a company of 150 fighters from the Lebanese Forces would enter the camps and that they would do so from south to north and from west to east to rout the remnant of the Palestinian forces and search for arms dumps. The IDF ordered its soldiers to refrain from entering the camps, but IDF officers supervised the operation from the roof of a six story forward command post building overlooking parts of the area. On Thursday, 16.9.82, at approximately 6:00 pm, the Lebanese Forces entered the Shatilla camp in two groups from the west and south. The militiamen were mostly LF under instructions from Pierre GEMAYEL, the father of Bashir Gemayel. With the entry of the Lebanese Forces into the camps, the firing which had been coming from the camps changed direction; the shooting which had previously been directed against the I.D.F. now shifted in the direction of the Lebanese Forces' liaison officer on the roof of the forward command post. According to the report of the Kahan Commission established by the government of Israel to investigate the events, the IDF monitored the Lebanese Forces radio network and fired illumination flares from mortars and aircraft to light the area as the LF were operating in the dark. At approximately 8:00 p.m., the Lebanese Forces' liaison officer, said that the Lebanese Forces who had entered the camps had sustained casualties, and the casualties were evacuated from the camps. Around this time the liaison officer also told various people that about 300 persons had been killed by the Lebanese Forces among them civilians, but shortly after, he amended his report by reducing the number of casualties from 300 to 120. On Saturday, 18.9.82 at dawn the LF forces started to leave the camps and the last of their forces left the camps at approximately 8:00 a.m. By now reports had been circulated about a massacre in the camps and many journalists and media personnel arrived in the area. At about 17:00 hours, the Israelis met with a representative of the Lebanese army and appealed to him to have the Lebanese army enter the camps. Between 21:30 and 22:00 hours a reply was received that the Lebanese army would enter the camps. Lebanese army entry into the camps was effected on Sunday, 19.9.82. Red Cross personnel, many journalists and other persons also entered, and it then became apparent that in the camps, and particularly in Shatilla, civilians had been massacred. It was clear from the spectacle that presented itself that a considerable number of the killed had not been cut down in combat. Over a period of two days, the militiamen massacred some 700 to 800 Palestinian men, women, and children. Accurate figures are not available but according to Robert Fisk, the total number of deaths in the camps given by the Director of Israeli Military Intelligence is 700, the International Committee for the Red Cross put the figure at 313 writes Jonathan Randal, with another 43 being counted by civil defence organizations and at least another 146 being buried by friends and relatives. Thomas Friedman, who won a Pulitzer price for his coverage of the massacre quotes an official Red Cross figure of 210 and an unofficial estimated death toll of between 800 and 1,000. The Lebanese inquest into the massacre produced some very interesting results. After an exhaustive questioning of eyewitnesses to the atrocity, More than one scenario was pieced together. There is general agreement on the above events however another version of events that is not often reported also emerged. Apparently, two groups of armed men, acting independently of each other, entered the two camps and began a series of revenge killings. One group, Phalangist renegades from the region of Damour, Naamah, and Saadiyat and belonging to what was called the "Damouri Brigade", went into the camps to extract revenge for the massacres of their families by the leftists in Damour. The other group, of predominantly Shi'ite Moslems from South Lebanon, consisted of followers of Imam Ali Badr al-Din. The Imam had opposed the PLO presence in South Lebanon, as well as leftist ideological pressure on his community. He disappeared one evening on his way to the local mosque, and later his body was found in nearby Dayr Zahrani. The PLO claimed that the Israelis had killed Imam Ali, but his supporters believed the PLO had ambushed him. The Imam's supporters swore to avenge him and they may have kept their word. In support of this view it has to be noted that some of those that entered the camps had a southern Lebanese accent which several of the survivors report in the course of the ivestiagetion into the massacre. Survivors also stated that a few of the participants in the massacre had Moslem names. Hints were also made about the participation of Major Haddad's men in the massacre also on the basis of some southern Lebanese accents which was heard although no evidence linking Haddad's men was found. One cannot rule out the possibility that in the interim 24 hour period between the departure of the Frem's forces and the entry of the Lebanese army, other forces such as the so supposed "Damouri Brigade", or followers of Imam Ali Badr al-Din or even members of Haddad's forces entered the camps and committed illegal acts there. Any combination of these scenarios is possible...SLA was brought into the AIB by IDF and IAF C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, in full view of Lebanese Army troops stationed at the airport, with many eyewitnesses testifying later on in Beirut... http://newhk.blogspot.com/search/label/AMAN. Shortly after the massacre a startling discovery was made. The Lebanese Army units that had entered the camp discovered a large network tunnels and bunkers. During the 12 years of Arafat's control of the heavily populated camps of Sabra and Shatilla he used them for storage of massive amounts of explosives and weapons. With Swiss made tunnel borers he carved out miles of tunnels and loaded them with rockets, ammunition, explosives, missiles, bombs and more. They also found extensive documentation detailing plans for a full scale invasion of Israel. The PLO along with the surrounding Arab states would commit their full armed forces to a future invasion. Having this munitions dump prepared in advance would offer quick re-supply and a very short supply line. It took weeks and hundreds of trucks to empty the tunnels. The Isreali advance into Lebanon had put an end to any such plan. At the end of the war an official Lebanese government report was released which breaks down the casualty figures from 1975 to 1990, this put the total number of dead in Sabra and Shatila massacre at 857 and the number of wounded at 1,124. The Multinational Force At the behest of the Lebanese government, the Multinational Force (MNF) was deployed again in Beirut, but with over twice the manpower of the first peacekeeping force. It was designated MNF II and given the mandate to serve as an "interpositional force," separating the IDF from the Lebanese population. Additionally, MNF II was assigned the task of assisting the Lebanese Army in restoring the authority of the central government over Beirut. The United States dispatched a contingent of 1,400 men, France 1,500, and Italy 1,400. A relatively small British contingent of about 100 men was added in January 1983, at which time the Italian contingent was increased to 2,200 men. Each contingent retained its own command structure, and no central command structure was created. The French contingent was assigned responsibility for the port area and West Beirut. The Italian contingent occupied the area between West Beirut and Beirut International Airport, which encompassed the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. The 32d United States Marines Amphibious Unit returned to Beirut on September 29, where it took up positions in the vicinity of Beirut International Airport. The Marines' positions were adjacent to the IDF front lines. The Marines' stated mission was to establish an environment that permit would the Lebanese Army to carry out its responsibilities in the Beirut area. Tactically, the Marines were charged with occupying and securing positions along a line from the airport east to the Presidential Palace at Babda. The intent was to separate the IDF from the population of Beirut. The key to the initial success of MNF II was its neutrality. The Lebanese government had assured Ambassador Habib in writing that it had obtained commitments from various factions to refrain from hostilities against the Marines. The United States reputation among the Lebanese was enhanced when a Marine officer was obliged to draw his pistol to halt an Israeli advance, an event sensationalized in the news media. And, in the same month, Marines conducted emergency relief operations in the mountains after a midwinter blizzard. At this juncture, the prevalent mood in Lebanon was one of cautious optimism and hope. The Lebanese Army was pressed into service to clear away the rubble of years of warfare. The government approved a US$600 million reconstruction plan. On October 1, President Gemayel declared Beirut reunited, as the army demolished barricades along the Green Line that had been standing since 1975. Hundreds of criminals and gang leaders were rounded up and arrested. In the first months of 1983, approximately 5,000 government troops were deployed throughout Greater Beirut. Most important, the government began to build a strong national army. Lebanese optimism was bolstered by changing Israeli politics and policies. Minister of Defense Ariel Sharon, the architect of Israel's war in Lebanon, had resigned in the wake of the Sabra and Shatila investigation, although he remained in the cabinet as a minister without portfolio. He was replaced by the former ambassador to the United States, Moshe Arens. Although Arens was considered a hawk in the Israeli political spectrum, he was not committed to Sharon's ambitious goals and wanted the IDF to withdraw promptly from Lebanon, if only to avoid antagonizing the United States, with which he had cultivated a close relation. Accordingly, Israel withdrew its forces to the outskirts of the capital. But the IDF had no clear tactical mission in Lebanon. Its continued presence was intended as a bargaining chip in negotiations for a Syrian withdrawal. While awaiting the political agreement, the IDF was forced to fight a different kind of war, which Israeli newspapers compared with the Vietnam War. The IDF had been turned into a static and defensive garrison force like the Syrians before them, caught in the cross fire between warring factions. When Phalangist forces tried to exploit the fluid situation by attacking the Druze militia in the Chouf Mountains in late 1983, the IDF had to intervene and separate the forces. In southern Lebanon, the IDF had to protect the many Palestinian refugees who had streamed back to the camps against attacks by Israel's proxy force, the SLA. In one of the bigger ironies of the war, the IDF recruited and armed Palestinian home guards to prevent a repetition of the massacres in Beirut. The Rise of the Shiites Imam Musa as Sadr, an Iranian-born Shiite (Shia) cleric who had founded the Higher Shia Islamic Council in 1969, also created Amal in 1975. Amal, which means hope in Arabic, is the acronym for Afwaj al Muqawamah al Lubnaniyyah (Lebanese Resistance Detachments), and was initially the name given to the military arm of the Movement of the Disinherited, an organization created in 1974 by Sadr as a vehicle to promote the Shia cause in Lebanon. Sadr, at first established this militia with the help of the PLO, but refused to engage Amal in the fighting during the first years of the war. This reluctance discredited the movement in the eyes of many Shias, who chose instead to support the PLO or other leftist parties. The 1979 Iranian Revolution galvanized Lebanon's Shiite community and inspired in it a new militancy. Iran sought to export Shiite revolution throughout the Middle East, and so it provided material support to Amal, and to a Shiite terrorist campaign. From 1979 until the 1982 Israeli invasion, Shiite terrorists hijacked six airliners, attempted to bomb several others, assassinated the French ambassador to Lebanon, blew up the French and Iraqi embassies, and committed numerous other violent acts. The Israeli invasion served as a catalyst for a further upsurge in Shia militancy. In July 1982 Iran dispatched an expeditionary force of volunteer Pasdaran Revolutionary Guards to Lebanon, ostensibly to fight Israeli invaders. The approximately 650 Pasdaran established their headquarters in the city of Baalbek in the Syrian-controlled Bekaa Valley in 1982 and increased to some 2,000 over the next few years. There they conducted terrorist and guerrilla training, disbursed military matériel and money, and disseminated propaganda. As is the case with HAMAS, Hezbollah was initially created by ISRAEL in order to counter effectively the PLO forces of Arafat...the rest is history... IRAN, HAD and still has today very good COVERT relations with ISRAEL, through ALI LARIJANI who is the descendant of a Tehran Jewish merchant family... The political fission that characterized Lebanese politics also afflicted the Shia movement, as groups split off from Amal. Husain al Musawi, a former Amal lieutenant, entered into an alliance with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard stationed in Lebanon and established Islamic Amal. Other Shia groups included Hezbollah (Party of God), Jundallah (Soldiers of God), the Husayn Suicide Commandos, the Dawah (Call) Party, and the notorious Islamic Jihad Organization, who many analysts say is the terror wing of Hezbollah, reportedly headed by Imad Mughniyah (Mougniyah). Bombing of US Embassy in Beirut At 1:00 pm on April 18th, 1983 a van carrying a 2,000 pound load of explosives, slammed into the US embassy forecourt in West Beirut. The entire through the front portion of the sea side seven story building was destroyed. The blast as so powerful that half the embassy simply collapsed and a passing Lebanese military vehicle was blasted off the Corniche and into the sea by the force of the explosion. The van was reportedly stolen from the Embassy in June 1982. The driver had blown himself up along with bomb. The suicide bomb was unseen before in Lebanon. The explosion killed 63 occupants of the building, 17 of whom were Americans including one Marine - Corporal Robert V. McMaugh, an embassy guard, one journalist - Janet Lee Stevens, several State Department officials were, including three USAID employees and the entire U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Middle East contingent were killed including Robert Ames, the CIA station chief. Several Army trainers were also killed. In the visa section, where dozens of Lebanese men and women had been waiting for permission to enter the US, every living soul had been burnt alive. Ten minutes after the explosion Islamic Jihad called AFP and claimed responsibility for the attack. The caller said, "The operation is part of the Iranian revolution's campaign against the imperialist presence throughout the world. We will continue to strike against the imperialist presence in Lebanon including the multi-national force." ZAHI BOUSTANY, RIP, told me personally how much info he gave to Robert Macfarlane about all the intelligence they had on this operation, in front of Amine GEMAYEL at the Presidential palace in BAABDA... but McFarlane chose to ignore this info to their detriment. He told ZAHI : word for word... Do you understand that the US Congress has authorized this force to be deployed to Lebanon...? and no one will STOP this deployment....? We know what happened next don't we by now? In the investigation that was launched into the attack, the NSA, which had been breaking and reading coded messages from the Iranian Foreign Ministry in Tehran to the Iranian embassies in Beirut and Damascus reviewed all the intercepts and scraps of intelligence available before the bombings. The intercepts showed that an operation was being planned against the Americans. One intercept showed that a $25,000 payment had been made for an operation. This information had been passes to the ambassador but there were no specifics, no target and no date. News of this was leaked to CBS who reported that Iranian communications were being intercepted by US intelligence. Immediately the Iranian communications stopped. The Americans had lost a valuable and vital source of information. The May 17 Agreement Although the terrorist attack of April 18 1983 destroyed the United States embassy, the ambassador moved diplomatic operations to his official residence carried on work as usual. The United States persevered in its efforts to broker an Israeli-Lebanese agreement, and Israel announced its willingness to negotiate. Although Israel had envisaged a treaty like the Camp David Agreements with Egypt, entailing full bilateral diplomatic recognition, it settled for mere "normalization." The military and security articles of the May 17 Agreement between the Israeli and Lebanese governments called for an abolition of the state of war between the two countries, security arrangements to ensure the sanctity of Israel's northern border, integration of Major Haddad's SLA into the regular Lebanese Army, and Israeli withdrawal. The Israeli withdrawal was made contingent upon concurrent Syrian withdrawal, however. The United States had decided not to seek Syrian participation in the negotiations for the May 17 Agreement for fear of becoming entangled in the overall Syrian Israeli imbroglio. Instead, the United States intended to seek Syrian endorsement after the agreement was signed. But Syria vehemently opposed the agreement, and because implementation hinged on Syrian withdrawal, Damascus could exert veto power. Although President Gemayel made conciliatory overtures to Damascus, he also notified the Arab League on June 4 that the ADF was no longer in existence. Syria responded by announcing on July 23, 1983, the foundation of the National Salvation Front (NSF). This coalition comprised many sects, including the Druzes led by Walid Jumblatt; Shias led by Nabih Berri; Sunni Muslims led by Rashid Karami; Christian elements led by Sulayman Franjieh; and several smaller, Syrian-sponsored, left-wing political parties. These groups, together with Syria, controlled much more of Lebanon's territory than did the central government. Therefore, the NSF constituted a challenge not only to Gemayel but also to his patrons, the United States and Israel. To emphasize their opposition to the May 17 Agreement, Syrian and Druze forces in the mountains above the capital loosed a barrage of artillery fire on Christian areas of Beirut, underscoring the weakness of Gemayel's government. By mid-1983 the mood of optimism that had flourished at the end of 1982 had disappeared. It became clear that the tentative alliance of Lebanon's rival factions was merely a function of their shared opposition to a common enemy, Israel. Terrorist activity resumed, and between June and August 1983, at least twenty car bombs exploded throughout Lebanon, killing over seventy people. Lebanon's prime minister narrowly escaped death in one explosion. Targets included a mosque in Tripoli; a television station, hospital, and luxury hotel in Beirut; and a market in Baalbek. The May 17 Agreement had significant implications for the MNF. As a noncombatant interpositional force preventing the IDF from entering Beirut, the MNF had been perceived by the Muslims in West Beirut as a protector. As the Israeli withdrawal neared, however, the MNF came to be regarded as a protagonist in the unfinished War, propping up the Gemayel government. In August militiamen began to bombard United States Marines positions near Beirut International Airport with mortar and rocket fire as the Lebanese Army fought Druze and Shia forces in the southern suburbs of Beirut. On August 29, 1983, two Marines were killed and fourteen wounded, and in the ensuing months the Marines came under almost daily attack from artillery, mortar, rocket, and small-arms fire. Arafat's Last Stand As a result of their defeat at the hands of the Israelis, many Palestinians had become dissatisfied with Arafat's command, some within the PLO ranks wanted an investigation into the disastrous plans and command structure during the fighting. Syria was also concerned with Arafat's political gestures towards other Arab states and even the United States. Syria worried about being sidelined by a potential Jordanian-Arafat alliance and was not willing to entertain an independent PLO, especially one under the leadership of a man that they felt had let them down by not fighting the Israelis to the bitter end. Therefore in the first few months of 1983 the Syrians began to support those factions within the PLO that wanted to remove Arafat from power. On May 9 1983, an order issued by Fateh's Colonel Sa'id Musa Muragha (Abu Musa) called upon all Fateh units in the Bekaa to disregard future orders from the Fateh leadership. At first, the Fateh Central Committee belittled the disobedience but later, when some 2,000 of the 10,000 guerrillas that had were in Lebanon joined the rebellion, it became apparent that the mutiny was gaining strength, it cut funds and logistical support to rebellious units. The rebels then seized Fateh supply depots in the Bekaa on May 25, and in Damascus on May 28. In late June, fighting erupted between loyalist and rebel units in the Bekaa, with the latter taking control of the town of Majdal Anjar and hence the Beirut-Damascus highway from Shtura to the frontier. When the rebellion erupted, Syria and Libya tacitly, then openly, supported the rebels. When the Fateh leadership condemned this, Arafat himself was deported from Syria to Tunis on June 24, surviving an assassination attempt on his way. On June 27, the Syrians assassinated Saad Sayel, the commander of pro-Arafat forces in Lebanon. Pro-Syrian units of al-Sa'iqa, the PFLP-GC, PLA, and even Syrian Army units, backed Abu Musa's forces. With the failure of Palestinian and Arab mediation efforts, loyal Fateh units were gradually forced out of their positions in the Bekaa northwards to the Nahr al-Barid and Baddawi refugee camps near Tripoli. By this stage just over 4,000 guerrillas remained loyal to Arafat. In late September Arafat himself returned to Tripoli to face his opponents. He sneaked in under the nose of the Syrians, shaving off his beard for the first time in years and wearing a smart suit and sunglasses. In October, fighting erupted around the two refugee camps. On November 3, the rebels backed by Syrian and even Libyan forces launched a major offensive against Arafat, capturing Nahr al-Barid on November 6. After a brief lull in the fighting, a second offensive captured Baddawi on November 16. Loyalist forces retreated to Tripoli. Syrian artillery that had been bombarding the camps and the civilian population of Tripoli now focused all of its efforts on destroying the city. Anti Arafat forces also bombarded Tripoli and threatened to storm the city. The military pressures on Arafat were combined with intense Lebanese pressures to leave the city from Rashid Karami and Walid Jumblatt, as well as from the Lebanese right. Only local Sunni fundamentalist leader Said Shaaban and his Islamic Unification Movement militia supported the PLO leader. At the same time, Arab pressures on Syria to halt the attacks were also building from states anxious to prevent the PLO from completely falling under Syrian sway. As a result, Arafat, Syria and the rebels agreed to a Saudi mediated ceasefire agreement on November 25. Under its terms, 'Arafat would evacuate the city. It was not until December 20, however that the withdrawal took place. Some 4,000 Arafat loyalists evacuated the city by sea to North Yemen, Algeria and Tunisia in Greek ships under the UN flag and with a naval escort provided by France. The Israeli Defense Forces Withdrawal and the Mountain War The Lebanese Forces took advantage of Israeli advances and deployed troops in areas where they had not been present before. This territorial expansion was focused on where there were large Christian rural poplations such as the Shouf. Mr. Elie HOBEIKA was dead set against that entry into the mountains, but was over-ruled by others within the LF, to their own and the Lebanese people's detriment.... Sporadic fighting soon broke out between the Lebanese Forces and the Druze PSP who viewed the LF as intruders on their territory. East Beirut was also occasionally shelled. Amin Gemayel made plans to deploy the Lebanese army in the Shouf as a buffer between the LF and the PSP but Walid Jumblatt objected and accused the army of being agents of the Kataeb and so he prepared for warfare by acquiring war materials from the Syrians. The Israelis did nothing to stop this. By the end of August the Druze had started attacking Christian villages in the Chouf. On September 3, 1983, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began to evacuate the Chouf Mountains region and within twenty-four hours had completed its redeployment to south of the Awwali River. The Lebanese Army was told of Israel's intention to withdraw that morning and so were not at hand to take over the IDF positions. Lebanese Forces troops realized at the last minute that a large scale Druze assault was about to take place and began evacuating Christian civilians to Dier Al Qamar. The Lebanese Forces, were completely caught by surprise and vastly out numbered. They decided to put up a defence at Bhamdoun, an elegant Christian mountain town of beautiful villas located where the Beirut-Damascus highway touches the edge of the Chouf Mountains. Simultaneously, the Lebanese Army sought to guard the town of Suq al Gharb and Khaldeh to prevent Druze forces from invading Beirut. Palestinian guerrillas, Shia militia, Communist Party and SSNP gunmen and Druze militia, supported by Syrian artillery, tanks and plain clothes gunmen assaulted Bhamdoun. After several days of combat, Bhamdoun was captured by the morning of September 7, with the Lebanese Forces loosing over 150 men on the 6th, a very large number for the Lebanese Forces to lose in a single action. Some of those defending Bhamdoun fought a rear-guard action so as to allow enough time for their fellow Phalangists to retreated to the stronghold of Dier al Qamar to join the rest of the Christian population there. Some 200 civilians had remained at Bhamdoun believing that they would be unharmed, but they, along with captured Lebanese Forces troops were murdered, many by having their throats cut. The Druzes surrounded and besieged Dier al Qamar, which held 40,000 Christian residents and refugees and 1,000 Lebanese Forces fighters. With the Chouf Mountains undefended, the Druzes went on a rampage reminiscent of the 1860 massacres. The first few weeks of September saw a rising number of massacres being committed against Christian civilians: 31 August 1983 36 Christians had their throats cut in Bmarian 7 September 1983 200 people massacred in Bhamdoun 10 September 1983 64 slaughtered in Bireh, several victims were executed in the village church, some of them on the altar. 10 September 1983 30 in Ras el-Matn 11 September 1983 15 in Maasser Beit ed-Dine 11 September 1983 36 in Chartoun 12 September 1983 3 in Ain el-Hour 12 September 1983 12 in Bourjayne 12 September 1983 11 in Fawara 13 September 1983 84 in Maasser el-Chouf On 11th September 1983 Walid Jumblatt announced his policy while making a speech in Damascus: "With the help of our Syrian allies we have removed the Christians and only the Druze villages will remain from now on. Such is our objective." During the fighting the mixed Christian and Druze village of Kfar Matta whose Christian population had been expelled was attacked and briefly held by the LF. 58 Druze civilians were killed by the LF. The Catholic Information Center in Beirut reported that 1,500 Christian civilians were killed and 62 Christian villages demolished. Bhamdoun was stripped of everything over the next few months and systematically demolished. The defeat of the Phalangists was expensive for the Christian community, which lost a large amount of territory. The cost in political currency was even higher, however. Not only did the fighting deal a blow to Amin Gemayel's credibility and authority in his dual role as chief of state and leader of the Christian community, it destroyed the myth shared by many different Lebanese factions that the Lebanese War had been settled in 1976. Admittedly, Christians and Muslims had continued to fire on each other's neighborhoods on occasion, but this was perceived as part of Lebanon's environment, like the weather. In all the significant fighting between 1976 and 1982, the Syrians, Israelis, and Palestinians had been belligerents on either or both sides of the conflict. The Mountain War, as the 1983-84 fighting in the Chouf Mountains came to be called, dashed the hopes harbored by many that the withdrawal of foreign forces would end the War. In Suq al Gharb and Khaldah, it was the Lebanese Army rather than the Lebanese Forces that confronted the Druze militias. On September 16, 1983, Druze forces massed on the threshold of Suq al Gharb. For the next three days the army's Eighth Brigade commanded by an officer called Michel Aoun (who would become in 1988 the Lebanese prime minister) fought desperately to retain control of the town. The tiny Lebanese Air Force was thrown into the fray, losing several aircraft to Druze missile fire. United States Navy warships shelled Druze positions and helped the Lebanese Army hold the town until a cease-fire was declared on September 25, on which day the battleship U.S.S. New Jersey arrived on the scene. Although the Lebanese Army had beaten the Druze forces on the battlefield, approximately 900 Druze enlisted men and 60 officers defected from the army to join their coreligionists. The Lebanese Armed Forces chief of staff, General Nadim al Hakim, fled into Druze territory, but he would not admit he had actually defected. The September 25th cease-fire briefly froze the situation. The Gemayel government maintained its jurisdiction in West Beirut, the Shi’i Amal movement had not yet involved itsefin the fighting, and Jumblatt was landlocked in the Shuf mountain. The Lebanese regime and opposition personalities agreed to meet in Geneva for a national reconciliation conference, under Saudi and Syrian auspices, to discuss political reform and the 17 May pact. For a while things looked a bit better. For its part, the United States had clearly inherited Israel's role of shoring up the precarious Lebanese government. On September 29, 1983, the United States Congress, by a solid majority, adopted a resolution declaring the 1973 War Powers Resolution to apply to the situation in Lebanon and sanctioned the United States military presence for an eighteen-month period. The Multinational Force Bombings and their Withdrawal On Sunday morning 23 October at 06:22, just after dawn, Shi’i Islamic radicals shook the already-reduced resolve of the Americans and their MNF partners by simultaneous suicide bombings of the U.S. and French compounds in West Beirut. In the Marine attack an explosives loaded 5 ton truck was driven at some 50 mph into the U.S. Marine compound killing 220 Marines and 21 other U.S. service members. A Lebanese man who also ran a small shop in the building was also killed. The large yellow Mercedes truck crashed into the ground floor lobby of the four-story concrete building where approximately 300 service members were quartered. Before crashing into the compound the truck circled a couple on times in the car park to gather speed. The sophistication of the attack and the explosives used pointed directly to the involvement of intelligence agencies. The explosives were composite-shaped charges built to have a "directed-enhanced" blast so that their impact on the building above would be greater. The bomb consisted of 300 kilograms of Hexogen reinforced by PETN this is equivalent to about 12,000 pounds of TNT. The explosives were mixed into a complex of gas and other substances. The difficult and delicate task of gas-enhancement requires the sort of specialized skills and wealth of experience possessed by a state, not an outlaw organization. Further, the use of highly controlled explosive materials as Hexogen and PETN indicates the involvement of intelligence agencies. Intelligence analysis showed that the actual preparations for the bombing began in September of 1983. Iran played a central role and operational coordination was conducted from the Iranian embassy in Damascus. Syria was responsible for the technical aspects of the attack as only they and their allies had the intelligence assets and the technical expertise to determine the requirements and design of the bomb. Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) members were in charge of operational security. Intelligence also showed that the Iranian embassy in Damascus paid $50,000 to a financial emissary named Hassan Hamiz to cover associated costs. Furthermore it was shown that a Syrian intelligence lieutenant colonel was involved in the planning several days before and that Sheikh Mohammed Fadlalla attended a meeting in the Soviet-Palestinian friendship house in Damascus to discuss the attacks three days before the bombings. After studying the U.S. compound, the Syrians decided to use a truck identical to the trucks delivering cargo to the Beirut airport. Those trucks passed routinely in front of the Marine barracks. The Mercedes truck used for the bombing was delivered to Beirut from an assembly plant in Syria or Iran, and the explosives used for the bomb were shipped from Bulgaria and delivered via Damascus. The day became the Marine Corps' bloodiest since February of 1945, when Marines fought to secure Iwo Jima. October 23, 1983 surpasses even the Corps' bloodiest days of the Vietnam and Korean wars. The explosion was determined by FBI forensic investigators to be "the single largest non-nuclear explosion on earth." The Long Commission Report into the attack stated it was "the largest conventional blast ever seen by the explosive experts community." So massive was the blast, the Report states, it would have caused major damage and many casualties even if it had exploded on the open road 330 feet away from the building. Until the September 11 2001 this had been the largest terrorist attack in the history of the United States. The Department of Defense Statement read: “At approximately 0622 on Sunday, 23 October 1983, the Battalion Landing Team headquarters building in the Marine Amphibious Unit compound at Beirut International Airport was destroyed by a terrorist bomb. The catastrophic attack took the lives of 241 Marines, sailors and soldiers and wounded more than 100 others. The bombing was carried out by one lone terrorist driving a yellow Mercedes Benz stake-bed truck that accelerated through the public parking lot south of the BLT headquarters building, where it exploded. The truck drove over the barbed and concertina wire obstacle, passed between two Marine guard posts without being engaged by fire, entered an open gate, passed around one sewer pipe barrier and between two others, flattened the Sergeant of the Guard's sandbagged booth at the building's entrance, penetrated the lobby of the building and detonated while the majority of the occupants slept. The force of the explosion [12,000 pounds] ripped the building from its foundation. The building then imploded upon itself. Almost all the occupants were crushed or trapped inside the wreckage.” Just 20 seconds after the Marine explosion another bomb was rammed into the French headquarters 2 miles from the Marine compound killing 58 French Paratroopers. The explosion at the French barracks blew the whole nine story building off its foundations and threw it about 20 feet westward, while breaking the windows of almost every apartment house in the neighborhood. This small bomb was driven at speed into the underground garage of the building. More than 20 Lebanese civilians were injured in the blast. A Lebanese family lived on the ground floor of the French-occupied structure. According to neighbors, the father who was the concierge had just gone out to buy bread when the blast ripped through the building, trapping his wife and three children inside, the youngest was 3 months old. Their bodies were recovered some 8 days later. Although the MNF remained in Lebanon after the October 1983 suicide truck bombings, the situation of the United States and French contingents was precarious. As the security environment in Lebanon deteriorated, Britain, France, Italy, and the United States decided to withdraw their MNF contingents in February 1984. The Switzerland Conferences The attacks against the Marine and French compounds seemed timed to coincide with the start of Lebanon's long-awaited national reconciliation conference but the conference went ahead. At the Geneva conference in early November Saudi influence achieved a limited consensus between the Maronite, Muslim, and Druze participants and it was agreed to delegated Gemayel to approach the Americans for revision of the 17 May pact, to make it a purely military arrangement. On 13 November, at a critical time for Syria in dealing with both Arafat and Gemayel, Hafiz al-Asad suffered a heart attack, precipitating a leadership crisis in Damascus. The crisis lasted for almost six months, until the Syrian president fully recovered and could fend off his insubordinate brother, Rifa’at. In Beirut, Gemayel had a last chance to save his presidency, by taking advantage of the common ground between moderate reform proposals from West and East Beirut and the breathing space offered by the American naval build-up immediately after the bombing of the U.S. marine compound. The U.S. however rebuffed Gemayel's attempt to revise the 17 May pact, and after some hesitation the U.S. backed Israel’s insistence on ratification of the original documents. Gemayel failed to reconvene the Geneva conference for the necessary consultations on the matter. In the meantime, military exchanges punctuated the cease-fire: the Americans lost two aircraft in a raid on the well-prepared Syrians in the Upper Matn, and Walid Junblatt was impatient to extend his new Shuf canton to the sea. Although the MNF remained in Lebanon after the October 1983 suicide truck bombings, the situation of the United States and French contingents was precarious. In early February 1984, Shia Amal militiamen clashed with the Lebanese Army in the southern suburbs of Beirut and after four days of heavy fighting gained control over Beirut International Airport, evicted the army from West Beirut, and reestablished the Green Line partitioning the capital. The decisive defeat of the army on two key fronts led to its gradual disintegration, as demoralized soldiers defected to join the opposition. United States Marines stationed near Beirut International Airport were surrounded by predominantly Shia militia groups. The day after the Lebanese Army was forced out of West Beirut and as the security environment in Lebanon deteriorated, Britain, France, Italy, and the United States decided to withdraw their MNF contingents. The most significant feature of the February 1984 was that for the first time Shi’i organizations, with Amal in the lead and the Iranian-backed Islamists of Hezbollah (“Party of God”) not far behind, imposed themselves on Lebanese politics. West Beirut came under local militia control, principally Nabih Berri’s Amal and Junblatt’s PSP, with the Sunnis and Palestinians subordinated. This was a different situation from that of 1975-82 in West Beirut, although Syria made a major strategic advance courtesy of the Lebanese opposition parties, Amal understood the scale of their achievement. With West Beirut evacuated by both the MNF and the Lebanese army command, Syria acquired a leading influence in that part of the city. Hafiz al-Asad decided that the best way to gain maximum capital out of the changes in Beirut was to bring the hapless Amin Gemayel to Damascus for a public submission. Abrogation of the Israel-Lebanon pact would be the token of submission but Asad’s real purpose was to use the Lebanese president to dominate the Maronite community, which would also increase Syria’s weight in dealings with West Beirut. Gemayel dithered for a few weeks while he made last-ditch appeals to the Americans and Israelis. However, the Americans were already looking afresh at Syria as a factor for stability in Lebanon and the Israelis answered only with a contemptuous dismissal. Syria tightened the screws by hinting at military action by “allies” against Zahleh, encircled by the Syrian army, and Gemayel’s home town of Bikfaya in the Upper Matn. On 29 February, Gemayel and an Lebanese delegation unofficially traveled to Damascus. In Damascus Gemayel agreed to a new inter-Lebanese conference, this time to be sponsored exclusively by Syria. The withdrawal of the MNF left Syria as the dominant force in Lebanon, and Syria acted rapidly to consolidate its grip on Lebanese affairs. It pressured Gemayel to abrogate the May 17 Agreement, and he did so on March 5, 1984. This event led to the resignation of the Council of Ministers and its replacement by a new government of national unity headed by Rashid Karami. Under pressure from Syria Gemayel invited the militia leaders to join the cabinet. On March 6, 1984 was Amin's first official visit to Damascus. It was agreed that six days later, on March 12, 1984, the Lebanese traditional political leaders, both Christians and Muslims, as well as Druze and Shia militia commanders were to meet in Lausanne, Switzerland. All except the Lebanese Forces were to be represented. Walid Jumblat and Nabih Berri, self assured due to their Syrian backing believed for a moment they had it made and so Lebanon’s warlords assembled in Lausanne in late March to see if they could reach a compromise. The conference got off to a bad start when Druze warlord Walid Jumblatt insisted on having the Lebanese flag in front of his seat removed and replaced with a Druze flag. This went quickly down hill from there. Jumblatt spent most of his time in his suit giving an interview to Playboy magazine. After nine days of fruitless talks interrupted only by banquets of smoked salmon and lobster bisque the conference collapsed. Ironically, the conference finally collapsed because ex-president Frangieh, Asad's principal Christian ally rejected any erosion of the Maronite presidency. The Amal leadership, unhappy about the sectarian nature of the compromise, which benefited Sunnis rather than Shi’is, were grateful to Frangieh for sparing them a possible contretemps with Syria. The Lebanese Forces were not amused with the new Gemayel-Syria relationship and Gemayel's gestures towards Syria. The election of Amin Gemayel to the presidency of Lebanon had far reaching consequences for the Lebanese Forces. Amin Gemayel had been a leading candidate in pro-Syrian Muslim eyes, although he was also supported by the Israelis. Bashir was elected President against the wishes of the Syrians and Muslims. Amin however often declared that Israel’s objective was to destroy Lebanon’s role in the region. He had always recommended pacification, compromise and dialogue with the Syrians. The Commander of the Lebanese Forces, Fadi Frem, considered Amin’s election as President a serious setback in Bashir’s political line and he regarded Amin to be more open reaching some kind of agreement with the Syrians. However Frem was paralyzed by family ties and could little. Frem was married Fuad Abou Nader’s sister, who was Amin’s niece. Frem had been in the Lebanese Forces from the start, he was previously Chief of the Intelligence Service of the Lebanese Forces in 1978 and in 1981, he became Chief of Staff, a post he had handed over to Samir Geagea when he was promoted Commander by Bashir before his assassination in 1982. Frem was good friends with Bashir and had always viewed Amin with suspicion. Amin Gemayel was a shrewd politician and aware of the Lebanese Forces feelings towards him, and so Amin decided to try to set their minds at ease, and gain Christian support through them. Amin’s first move upon taking office on September 23, 1982, was to pay a visit to the Lebanese Forces War Council. At the meeting Amin pledged to the War Council that he would follow in Bashir’s footsteps. The meeting did not go well, suspicion prevailed and soon arguments erupted. Bashir’s wife, Solange had to intervene personally to contain the hot-heads at the meeting. The fears of the Lebanese Forces were being realized. In Beirut, fostered and stimulated by popular support, and frustrated to be blatantly ignored, the Lebanese forces announced they were unconcerned with the discussions and results of the conference, for it only aimed at consolidating Syrian hegemony over Lebanon. They confirmed they were ready for war against the Syrian forces and their allies, whatever the price. Military exchanges between the LF, hostile to Gemayel’s new relations with Syria, and Syria’s West Beirut allies continued until the end of April when Syrian maneuvers produced a “National Unity Government" under the veteran Tripoli politician Rashid Karami. In this way Syria’s allies were brought into the official apparatus and eight months of hostilities around Beirut finally gave way to an uneasy truce between the Christian and non-Christian sectors. Syria moved from playing spoiler against the Lebanese regime, the U.S., and Israel to the more difficult task of stabilizing its primacy. That the new government was “united” only in the sense that its members occasionally assembled at the same table limited its value for Syria. The Bikfaya Accord Syria hammered out yet another security accord, the Bikfaya Agreement of June18. Muslim and Druze cabinet ministers had insisted on the creation of a military command council to replace the post of commander in chief of the armed forces, a proposal that was opposed by Christian cabinet ministers, who perceived it as a dilution of their control over the military. A compromise was reached providing for the continuation of the post of commander in chief, to be held by a Maronite as before, but also the establishment of a multiconfessional six-man military command council to have authority over appointments at the brigade and division levels. Major General Ibrahim Tannus, the army commander, was replaced by Major General Michel Aoun, who was somewhat more acceptable to Muslims. Furthermore, a new intelligence agency, the National Security Council, was established, with the stipulation that it be headed by a Shia Muslim. A Shia general, Mustafa Nasir, was named as the first director of the new agency. Nevertheless, the Maronite-commanded military intelligence apparatus remained intact as a separate but parallel institution. The agreement also called for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of heavy artillery and militiamen from the streets of East Beirut and West Beirut, the dismantling of barricades along the Green Line, and the reopening of the airport and port. The agreement formally took effect on June 23 and was implemented by July 6, 1984. Optimistic predictions that the Bikfaya Agreement would end Lebanon's chronic conflict were dashed as sporadic battles and terrorist attacks resumed. The accord was criticized vehemently by elements among the Maronites as Druze, Shia, and Sunni militia fought one another in West Beirut. Armed Shias stormed and burned the Saudi Arabian embassy on August 24. On the same day, the Lebanese National Resistance Front, an umbrella organization fighting Israel in southern Lebanon, fired two rocket-propelled grenades at the British embassy. The mounting tension in Lebanon was exacerbated by Israeli air raids against Palestinian guerrilla camps of the Abu Musa faction. The Bikfayya Agreement suffered another blow on August 23, when General al Hakim, the newly appointed Druze chief of staff of the Lebanese Armed Forces, died in an accidental helicopter crash. And, on August 30 Maronite patriarch and Phalange Party founder Pierre Gemayel died of a heart attack, setting the stage for a power struggle in the Christian community. Syria, determined to implement the security plans it had sponsored, attempted to restore order. It curbed the activities of the Iranian Pasdaran and Hizballah in Baalbek in the Biqa Valley, and it quelled the fierce fighting in the northern port city of Tripoli between the pro-Syrian Arab Democratic Party and the Sunni fundamentalist Tawhid (Islamic Unification Movement). The Bombing of the US Embassy Annex In September 1984, William Casey, head of the CIA, was spending lots of time at Langley raising consciousness about a possible terrorist attack in the closing weeks of the US presidential campaign. He made it clear that the entire U.S. intelligence community was on terrorist alert. He dreaded that a strike again by suicide bombers would show the impotence of the United States. The political repercussions could be substantial. Reagan’s presidency stood for strength. Nothing in the last years had demonstrated weakness more than an inability to stop these attacks. For seventeen months Casey had been throwing assets at the problem, training, information exchange, the development of a network involving some one hundred countries. There had been significant upgrading in forty countries of CIA capabilities in paramilitary training, hostage rescue and VIP protection. The CIA had just trained sixty Lebanese agents. Nearly fifty people at CIA headquarters worked exclusively on terrorism, as well as dozens more at the NSA and in the military intelligence services. Casey demanded results, and there had been some success. Intelligence had determined that Spain’s ambassador to Lebanon was being tracked, and the CIA had suggested he leave Lebanon. He did not and was later kidnapped. Some of the most concrete intelligence that was coming in classified reports showed that explosives and timed fuse bombs were being moved by Iranians operating out of their embassy in Damascus under the protection of diplomatic immunity. In August, reports had shown that explosives had been moved into Lebanon, where the trail was lost. With the Marines gone, the U.S. ambassador’s residence and the American Embassy annex in the relative security of Christian East Beirut were the remaining major targets. The CIA and other intelligence agencies cranked out reports but not much exactness to the warnings. At 11:40 A.M. Thursday, September 20, in a replay of the April 1983 attack, a van with diplomatic license plates pulled into the U.S. Embassy annex in East Beirut, zigzagging and threading its way around the staggered row of concrete dragon’s teeth designed to slow all vehicles. One guard’s M16 jammed. The security guard for the British ambassador, who was visiting the embassy, opened fire, pumping five shots into the van, he hit the driver and the van headed into a parked vehicle some thirty feet short of the ramp leading to the garage underneath the embassy. The van detonated, leaving a crater twenty-six feet in diameter. At least twenty-four people were killed, including two American servicemen. Another ninety were wounded, including U.S. Ambassador Reginald Bartholomew, who was buried in the rubble but emerged with only minor injuries. Overhead photography later showed that the van, or one just like it, had been practicing outside a mock-up of the embassy annex in the Bekaa Valley. American intelligence concluded that Hezbollah and Sheikh Fadlallah were behind this attack, just as they had been behind the 1983 bombings at the embassy and the Marine barracks. The attack could not have occurred without Syrian knowledge and assistance. Lebanese Forces Coup For sometime friction had been mounting between the Lebanese Forces and Amin Gemayel. Not willing to tolerate a Lebanese forces which was hostile to him Amin had to remove Fadi Frem and so throughout 1984 he used his base in the Phalange to undermine Frem with a view to replacing him as soon as Frem's mandate as head of the LF expired. In November 1984 Fuad Abou Nader, a member of the Phalange party, was elected as head of the Lebanese Forces. Nader was a 28-year-old medical doctor and Amin’s nephew. He was appreciated and respected by the troops for his courage on battlefields and had distinguished himself on various fronts. He had been Chief of Operations and Chief of Staff from 1982 to 1984. Amin, hoped he could influence Fuad Abou Nader and as a result control the Lebanese Forces. Soon Amin began to press the Lebanese Forces to disarm and to hand over the Port of Beirut. This port was a massive source of revenue for the LF. Amin also asked them to hand over the LF pension fund and all the assets they managed. The clincher was the dismantling of the Barbara checkpoint, another huge soucre of income for the LF. This checkpoint was held by Samir Geagea. After weeks of prodding, the Lebanese Forces agreed to truck their men and weapons out of East Beirut, into the mountains, but they adamantly refused to comply with the other demands. Trouble was brewing and tension mounted to breaking point in early 1985 when the Kataeb leadership visited Damascus in February. Geagea's militiamen continued to refuse the government's repeated requests to dismantle the checkpoint and toll station and so the commander of the Lebanese Forces, Fuad Abu Nader, finnaly removed Geagea from his post on March 11th 1985. Geagea's ouster, supported by Syria, quickly stirred dissension within the Lebanese Forces. For the Lebanese Forces this was the last straw but Abu Nader tried to end the rift by announcing that in the future the Lebanese Forces would function independently of the Phalange Party, but his move came too late. The next day, on March 12th, the Lebanese Forces reacted. At dawn, a military force led by Samir Geagea moved forward from Byblos and rolled down the coastal line to Nahr el Kalb Tunnel, hatch to Beirut and barely a few kilometers from the outskirts of the Northern Matn. Northern Matn was under the control of Amin Gemayel’s Force 75. On his way, Geagea took over all of the Kataeb and Lebanese Forces’ barracks, posts and checkpoints formerly held by Fuad Abu Nader’s men. At the same time, Hobeika and his forces stormed the Baabda district and Ashrafieh. The coup was bloodless without resistance and without human nor material losses. The only serious opposition came at Nahr Ibrahim late in the night of the 12th. A post held by Joseph el Zayek, Elias’s brother, fought a battle despite the odds against him. He was a fervent and loyal supporter of the Kataeb Party. Fuad Abu Nader maintained control of his own birth place, Ghazir in Kessrouan but agreed to step down peacefully. Syria massed troops around the Christian heartland north of Beirut, but agreed to give Gemayel time to neutralize the revolt before resorting to armed intervention but as the LF did not directly threaten Gemayel's rule or attempt to tople him, the Syrians decided not to interfere. With the stunning success of the coup, the Lebanese Forces laid their hands on and secured the Kataeb Party’s properties, real estate, businesses and media. Radio Voice of Lebanon and Al Amal newspapers both organs of the Kataeb Party were seized. The radio station, situated in Sassine in Ashrafieh, fell without any resistance. From this point the Phalange Party became solely a political party and had lost its influence and control on the Lebanese Forces. Amin Gemayel's authority was greatly undermined. ELIE HOBEIKA became the new head of the Lebanese Forces. The End of the Murabitun and the War of the Camps By the end of 1984, numerous Lebanese sources reported a substantial resurgence of the Palestinian political and military presence in the capital. The following year, Israel's withdrawal from Sidon (February) and Tyre (March-April) initiated a similar reemergence of Palestinian guerrilla groups in local camps there. Such developments were viewed with concern by Syrian who did not want to threaten the Israelis with a reestablishment of a semi-autonomous Palestinian base of operations in Beirut and the south, particularly one loyal to the PLO. At first it encouraged its own Palestinian clients to compete in the process, facilitating the entrance of Sa'iqa, PFLP-GC, and Abu Musa's Fateh-Provisional Command into these areas. In camps under direct Syrian control, Nahr al-Barid and Baddawi in the north, and Wavell in the Bekaa, these groups quickly gained the upper hand. But in areas beyond Syria's writ it soon became apparent that the independent Palestinian organizations Fateh, the PFLP and DFLP had far stronger popular support. Amal also viewed the reestablishment of a Palestinian political and military presence in Beirut and the south with concern. Hostility towards the Palestinians stemming from Shi'ite-PLO conflict in the late 1970s and early 1980s was reinforced by fears that a resurgent Palestinian presence would threaten the powerful political position that Amal had established for itself in post-1982 Lebanon. When Amal and the PSP seized control of West Beirut in February 1984, Amal established military posts in and around the camps. As the IDF withdrew, it did the same in Tyre and Nabatiyya in the south. Just as relative calm was restored to Christian East Beirut, fighting broke out again in West Beirut. Under Syria's aegis, Amal attempted to consolidate its control over West Beirut. Amal struck first in an April 15 with a joint PSP assault that routed the once-formidable Sunni Murabitun militia of the Independent Nasserite Movement in a matter of days and sent its leader, Ibrahim Kulaylat, into exile. The Murabitun was one of few groups in Lebanon to still support a Palestinian armed presence. Shortly thereafter, encouraged by Syria, Amal turned its attention to the Palestinians in the camps of Sabra, Shatila, and Burj al Barajineh. The first round of what was to become known as the "war of the camps" began 19 May 1985, with an incident between Palestinians in the Sabra camp and Amal militiamen. Heavy fighting quickly erupted between the approximately one thousand armed Palestinians in the Sabra, Shatila and Burj al-Barajineh camps and Amal's more than three thousand fighters, the latter supported by over a thousand soldiers of the predominately Sh'ite Sixth Brigade of the Lebanese Army and even some units of the predominately Christian Eighth Brigade stationed in East Beirut. Syria labeled the fighting an "Israeli-US plot being implemented by Yasser Arafat" declaring that "Lebanese nationalists have the right to refuse to allow Arafat and others to restore the anomalous state of affairs that previously existed." On May 30 1985, much of Sabra fell to its attackers. Amid Arab and Soviet political pressures on Syria and an emergency meeting of Arab League foreign ministers scheduled to discuss the issue June 8, Amal declared a unilateral ceasefire the next day. Despite this, small-scale fighting continued for weeks. In Shatila, Palestinian defenders retained control of a small area around the camp's mosque, despite repeated efforts to dislodge them. Burj al-Barajina was not penetrated at all, but nevertheless remained under siege as Amal prevented supplies from entering or its population from leaving. Finally, after fighting that had claimed more than six hundred dead and two thousand wounded, a ceasefire agreement was signed by Amal and representatives of the Palestine National Salvation Front in Damascus on June 17. Yet the tensions which had sparked the camps war had not been resolved, and they would soon be manifest elsewhere. In Sidon, Palestinian and particularly Fateh, reorganization attracted stern warnings from Amal, the local Popular Nasirite Organization, and influential Sidon Deputy Dr. Nazih Bizri. Clashes between Amal and Palestinians in the camps erupted again in Beirut briefly in September, and once more for a week from 29 March 1986. Then, on 19 May 1986, one year to the day after the first round of the camps war, a second round began. Once again Amal was unable to penetrate the camps, despite a supply of T-54 tanks provided it by Damascus after the previous fighting. After the failure of more than a dozen ceasefires, the fighting finally died down with the deployment of Lebanese Army units and Syrian military observers around the Beirut camps June 24 1986. This set the stage for the third and most severe round of the camps war. It began with an incident September 29 at the Rashidiyya refugee camp on the outskirts of Tyre in which Palestinians allegedly fired on an Amal patrol. Amal immediately surrounded the camp, demanding the surrender of all arms inside it. The demand was refused. By late October, the fighting had spread to Sidon and Beirut. In an effort to relieve pressure on Rashidiyya, Palestinian forces in Sidon broke through Amal lines November 24 to seize the strategic hilltop village of Maghdusha, overlooking the coastal highway south of the city. As Amal's military weaknesses became evident, Syrian special forces reportedly aided it in the battle for Shatila. In Sidon, Israel launched multiple air-strikes against Palestinian positions around the city. As before, the clashes led to an emergency session of Arab League foreign ministers, and diplomatic intervention to halt the fighting. Iranian mediation secured a partially effective ceasefire between Amal and the Palestinian National Salvation Front (PNSF) on December 15 1986. But while pro-Syrian groups withdrew from around Maghdusha, Fateh who was excluded from the negotiations refused. It insisted that it would not turn over its positions around Maghdusha without a ceasefire in Beirut, guarantees of security in the Sidon area, and the lifting of Amal's siege around the Tyre refugee camps. Some of these positions were subsequently vacated to Hizballah and Popular Nasirite Organization militiamen in January, and some supplies allowed into the beleaguered camps. But for the most part the sieges continued, and new fighting soon erupted. In Beirut, the shelling of the camps was compounded by a blockade of food and medical supplies that resulted in sickness, starvation or death for thousands of trapped residents. Finally, on February 21, 1987, the first of seven thousand Syrian troops were deployed in West Beirut. On April 7, following an agreement with the PNSF, Amal lifted the siege as Syrian forces took up positions around the camps. That same month, negotiations between Amal and the PNSF took place with the aim of achieving a ceasefire in the south. Throughout the two years of fighting, the Palestinians, with indirect support from the Druzes, put up stiff resistance against the Amal attacks, and so Amal was weakened. Although many Palestinians were killed in the battles and about 25,000 took refuge in Druze controlled areas, the Palestinians managed to retain control of the camps. At the end of the war an official Lebanese government report was released which breaks down the casualty figures from 1975 to 1990. The total number of casualties was put at 3,781 dead and 6,787 wounded in the fighting between Amal and the Palestinians. Furthermore the number of Palestinians killed in internal power struggles in the camps was around 2,000. Israeli Pullback Some Israeli policymakers considered South Lebanon's Shias natural allies, especially because both Israel and the Shias wanted to prevent the PLO from returning to the area. Some Israelis envisioned a Shia buffer state modeled after "Free Lebanon," controlled formerly by Saad Haddad (Haddad died of cancer in January 1984 and was replaced by retired Lebanese general Antoine Lahad). Indeed, about 10 percent of the SLA was Shia, and the IDF armed and supported several Shia groups. These hopes, however, were never realized. The Shias, in fact, turned out to be implacable foes, vehemently resisting the Israeli presence in southern Lebanon. Concerned about the growing number of casualties inflicted on the IDF by Shia militants, on February 16, 1985, the IDF implemented the first stage of a withdrawal from Lebanon, evacuating its troops from the northern front at the Awali River to south of the Litani River, thus removing Sidon from Israeli control. Sidon's feuding factions, determined to avoid a flare-up of internecine violence in the wake of the Israeli withdrawal, formed a special committee to organize the smooth entry of Lebanese Army troops into the city. On February 17, a 3,000-man detachment of the army's predominantly Shia Twelfth Brigade took over the Israeli positions as the populace celebrated in the streets. Yet Israel's withdrawal gave it no respite from guerrilla attacks. On the contrary, the guerrilla campaign escalated into full-scale warfare, with most of the attacks occurring in the vicinity of Tyre. Frustrated by its inability to curb the resistance fighters, Israel resorted to what it called the "Iron Fist" policy, which entailed retaliatory and preemptive raids on villages suspected of harboring Shia guerrillas. On March 4 1985, an explosion devastated a mosque in the village of Marakah--only hours after the IDF had inspected the site--killing at least twelve people, many of whom were Shia guerrilla commanders. On March 11 1985, a large Israeli armored force wreaked vengeance on the village of Az Zrariyah, killing 40 people and detaining 200 men. The IDF hastened its withdrawal from southern Lebanon, adhering to an accelerated deadline voted by the Israeli cabinet, and pulled its troops back to a 9 mile deep security zone along the Lebanese-Israeli border. Israel also closed its detention center in Ansar and freed 752 of the inmates. But, in violation of the Geneva Conventions, which forbids transporting prisoners of war across international boundaries, 1,200 prisoners were transferred to Israel. Israel preserved a security zone approximately five to ten kilometers wide, which it handed over to the SLA. Some 150 Israeli combat troops and 500 advisers remained within the security zone. Events in Southern Lebanon Celebrations of Israeli pull-out were short lived. In March and April of 1985, a new round of Christian-Muslim fighting pitting a Palestinian-Druze-Shia coalition against the Lebanese Forces engulfed Sidon. The army was dispatched but appeared powerless to stop the combat. On April 24 after 40 days of combats, the Lebanese Forces fighters started to withdraw from Saïda. The Israelis continued their withdrawal in the West of the Bekaa region. The Lebanese Army settled in the evacuated areas but the PSP massed troops in the Barouk. The Christian villages east of Sidon began to fall on April 26 to a Leftist pan Arab and Palestinian forces, soon after several hundred Lebanese Forces troops pulled out of the heights above Sidon. Less than 48 hours later, Palestinians along with Muslim militiamen stormed up the hills and captured several Christian villages. Tens of Christian villages in the Iqlim El Kharroub and East of Saïda were looted, vandalized, and burned. The State was more powerless than ever, the Lebanese Army being unable to stop the massacres of Christian civilians. A few days later, Druze militiamen struck at other Christian villages in the region just north of Sidon and the Awali River. The operation was necessary according to Walid Jumblatt, to ''cleanse the area of the Lebanese Forces.'' The Druze, however, have long sought to control the territory north of Sidon in order to give them access to the sea. United Nations refugee officials estimated that between 10,000 and 20,000 Christians were made homeless by the fighting. It was the Christians' worst setback since the Chouf Mountain war in 1983. On May 2 the Lebanese living overseas occupied the Lebanese embassies and consulates in the West, in order to attract the attention of the public opinion to the fate of those living in South Lebanon. Throughout the first two weeks of May, as militiamen from at least three different factions took over the region, residents of West Beirut and Sidon drove into the Christian villages to join in the looting. They loaded their cars and pickup trucks with furniture and clothing, raided vegetable gardens and stripped an entire banana plantation before returning home. Some shawled women were seen squatted in doorways, laying claim to the possessions inside and, in some cases, even the house itself. Most of the Christians had fled inland to the stronghold of Jezzine where they were protected by Lahad's SLA while others fled south to the Israeli security zone and took refuge in the region of Marjeyoun before the advancing militias swept into their villages. The civilains that stayed behind were murdered. It cannot be known for certain how many hundreds of civilians were slaughtered. This defeat was a very serious blow to the Lebanese Forces and particularly to Geagea who had only recently taken over command. With Geagea disgraced, Elie Hobeika, head of LF intelligence division, called for a meeting of the Lebanese Forces Politburo and forced Geagea to step down. Hobeika was elected the new head of the LF on May 9th 1985, Geagea became Chief of Staff. Almost as soon as Hobeika took over the LF he started singing the praises of Syria and he even visited Syria on 9th September. Many in the LF started to smell a rat, they felt something had gone terribly wrong and began to look at Hobeika with suspicion. The Tripartite Accords. In late 1985, Syria sponsored yet another agreement among Lebanon's factions aimed at ending the ongoing war. On December 28, the leaders of Lebanon's three main militias--Nabih Berri of Amal, Walid Jumblatt of the Druze Progressive Socialist Party, and Hobeika of the LF--signed the Tripartite Accord in Damascus. Although this agreement resembled many previous failed Syrian initiatives to restore order in Lebanon, it was more comprehensive. It provided for an immediate cease-fire and an official proclamation of the end of the state of war within one year. The militias would be disarmed and then disbanded, and sole responsibility for security would be relegated to the reconstituted and religiously integrated Lebanese Army, supported by Syrian forces. More broadly, the accord envisaged a "strategic integration" of the two countries in the spheres of military affairs, national security, and foreign relations. The accord also mandated fundamental, but not sweeping, political reform, including the establishment of a bicameral legislature and the elimination of the old confessional formula, which was to be replaced by majority rule and minority representation. The accord differed considerably from others in as much as these signatories were the actual combatants in the war, rather than civilian politicians. This factor engendered considerable optimism in most quarters but great trepidation in others where it was viewed as an attempt to reconstruct Greater Syria. The most vehement protests came from the Sunni community, which was prominent in politics but had little military strength after its militia, the Mourabitun, had been crushed earlier in the year...HENCE, CIA comes in to scuttle the accords through Amine Gemayel and Samir Geagae, both CIA proxies, with the help of Oliver NORTH from the American Embassy in AWKAR. http://newhk.blogspot.com/2009/01/for-how-long-are-we-dead-set-on-being.html Gemayel refused to endorse the agreement, however, and solicited the support of the Lebanese Forces Chief of Staff Samir Geagea, who had been demoted only eight months earlier for his anti-Syrian, Christian supremacist stance. Fierce fighting raged within the Christian camp between partisans of Hobeika and Geagea. On January 16 1986, Hobeika flew to Paris, and then to ZAHLE. LEBANON's defeat was a major blow to Syrian prestige, and Syria retaliated by urging the militias it controlled to attack Christian areas. The Presidential Palace and Gemayel's home town of Bikfayya were shelled, and a series of car bombs were detonated in East Beirut. But the Christians closed ranks around their beleaguered president, and the Tripartite Accord was never implemented. Geagea, emboldened by his restored power, then challenged Gemayel and the Phalange Party directly. In July he announced the creation of the Free Lebanon Army, which was to be under his sole command and was to serve as his personal power base. But LF loyalists fought this plan....after what they saw from Geagea...the KILLINGS of at least 650 young men on barren walls in east BEIRUT. http://wiredlebanon.blogspot.com/2009/01/lebanese-civil-war-and-tripartite.html Pax Syriana On July 4, 1986, Syrian troops entered West Beirut for the first time since being expelled during the 1982 Israeli invasion. Approximately 500 Syrian troops, working with the Lebanese Army and police, cleared roadblocks, closed militia offices, and collected weapons. In mid-February 1987, however, a new round of fighting broke out in West Beirut, this time between Druze and Shia militias, both of which were regarded as Syrian allies. The combat was described by witnesses as being of unrivaled intensity in twelve years of war, with the militiamen using formations of Soviet-made T-54 tanks that Syria had supplied to both sides. Five days of combat caused an estimated 700 casualties and set much of West Beirut aflame. Syria acted decisively to stop the chaos in West Beirut, and it seized the opportunity to reimpose its hegemony over the areas in Lebanon from which it had been evicted by Israel in 1982. On February 22, 1987, it dispatched 7,500 troops, configured in two brigades and a battalion, from eastern Lebanon. The Syrian troops, most of whom were veteran commandos, closed down some seventy militia offices, rounded up and arrested militia leaders, confiscated arms caches, deployed troops along the major roads and at Beirut International Airport, established checkpoints, and sent squads on patrol in the streets. The Syrian Army did not shy away from violence in its effort to restore order to the Lebanese capital. In the first two days of its police operation, Syrian troops shot some fifteen Lebanese of various militias. Then on February 24 a dozen trucks full of Syrian commandos entered the Basta neighborhood, a Shia stronghold, and attacked the Fathallah barracks, the headquarters of the Hizballah organization. There, Syrian troops killed eighteen Hizballah militants. In mid-April the Syrian Army deployed troops south of Beirut. Approximately 100 Syrian commandos, fighting alongside soldiers of the Lebanese Army's Sixth Brigade, occupied key positions along the strategic coastal highway linking Beirut with southern Lebanon and took control of the bridge over the Awwali River, near Sidon. By mid-1987 the Syrian Army appeared to have settled into Beirut for a protracted stay. Lebanon's anarchy was regarded by Syrian officials as an unacceptable risk to Syrian security. The government of Syria appeared prepared to occupy Beirut permanently, if necessary. The senior Syrian military commander in Lebanon, Brigadier General Ghazi Kanaan, said that militia rule of Lebanon had ended and that the Syrian intervention was "open-ended," implying that Syria would occupy West Beirut indefinitely. Meanwhile Syrian officials indicated that thousands of additional Syrian troops would probably be sent to Beirut to ensure stability. Kanaan declared that Syria would take full responsibility for the security of foreign embassies in West Beirut, and he invited foreign missions to return. Kanaan also promised that Syria would expend all possible efforts to secure the release of Western hostages held by Lebanese terrorists. The Attack on Ashrafieh On September 27 1986, a 3,000-man force loyal to Hobeika launched a surprise attack across the Green Line from Muslim West Beirut against East Beirut. The night before a small group of Hobeika's men had taken the LF by surprise at Sodeco and captured the crossing point across the Green Line. Hobeika's men, supported by Syria and their leftist allies, surprised and forced back Geagea's militiamen and managed to get as far as Sassine Square. The LF counter attacked and things started to go badly for Hobeika. At 10:30 am the Lebanese Air Force flew over Ashrafieh and the Lebanese Army's Tenth Brigade entered the fray on the side of Geagea's LF. By noon the invasion of East Beirut was halted. Obviously the situation room at the US embassy in AWKAR was in full swing again...helping its PROXIES of CIA. The assassination of the Prime Minister Mr. Rashid KARAME The Prime Minister Mr. Rashid KARAME was assassinated by Samir Geagea; blown out of the sky from his Helicopter, Geagea was indicted, convicted and sentenced for life in jail, until his sudden release in 2005 by his CIA masters. Nabih BERRI will pay dearly for that soon. General Michel Aoun As the end of President Gemayel's term of office neared, the different Lebanese factions could not agree on a successor and compromise candidates were rejected by the Syrians. Consequently, when his term expired Gemayel appointed in the first minutes of September 23, 1988, Army Commander General Michel Aoun as interim Prime Minister, until new elections could be held. Salim al-Hoss with Syrian backing objected to this and continued to act as de facto Prime Minister based in West Beirut saying that he was the prime minister. There can be no doubt about the constitutionality of the Aoun government. Article 53 of the Lebanese constitution states that the president appoints the ministers, 'one of whom he chooses as prime minister'. The current premier does not have to resign; the president can dismiss him and appoint a new prime minister. Moreover, the Aoun government kept the rules of the National Pact. If the presidency is vacant, the cabinet is the sole executive . . . There was a precedent for this: in 1952, President Beshara al-Khoury appointed the commander of the army, Fouad Chehab, who was a Maronite, Prime Minister of an interim government until elections could be held. Lebanon was thus divided between an essentially Muslim pro-Syrian government in west Beirut and an essentially Christian government in east Beirut. The working levels of many ministries, however, remained intact and were not immediately affected by the split at the ministerial level. Any attempts to hold new elections were blocked by the militias or by the Syrians repeated efforts to reason with the Syrians proved fruitless. Aoun felt that the power of both of these interfering forces, the militias and the Syrians had to be reduced. Aoun felt that the authority of the state had to be exerted throughout the country and so Aoun tried to find political solutions the reduce militia power and loosen Syrian grip on the country. International campaigns were launched to apply pressure on Syria. The War of Liberation In February 1989, General Aoun ordered the Lebanese Army to close illegal ports run by the LF. On 14 February 1989 Aoun struck at the LF in the Matn and in East Beirut and after two days of fighting the army gained the upper hand. The LF surrendered the Port of Beirut which was thus removed from LF control for the first time since the early days of the war, the LF also gave up its major taxes and acknowledged Aoun's military council's supremacy. From the Syrian point of view Aoun had made a huge and worrying public relations advance in Syrian occupied areas as pro Syrian politicians welcomed Aoun's assault on the LF and moved for similar measures in their sectors. Syria became enraged when on 24 february 1989 Aoun ordered the closure of all illegal ports to compel shipping to use the Port of Beirut and so the Syrian controlled militias refused to comply with Aoun's orders. On March 6 Aoun activated the army's 'Marine Operations Room' and started a blockade of West Beirut militia ports. The attempt by Aoun to close illegal militia ports in Syrian controlled and mainly Muslim parts of the country resulted in the shelling of east Beirut by pro-Syrian militias and the Syrian Army. On 14th March 1989 Aoun had no choice but to declared a 'War of Liberation' against the Syrian Army in Lebanon. This led to a 7 month period of shelling of East Beirut by Muslim pro-Syrian militias and by Syrian forces and the shelling of West Beirut and the Chouf by the Lebanese Army with some support from the LF. Aoun answered Syrian shelling of East Beirut with unprecedented targeting of Syrian military installations across Lebanon from Beirut to the central Bekaa. The shelling during the war of Liberation was very heavy and caused nearly 1,000 deaths, several thousand injuries, and further destruction to Lebanon's economic infrastructure, the Syrian forces also imposed a land and sea blockade. Shipping entering ports under Lebanese Army control was fired upon by Syrian artillery based in West Beirut and the Koura. Events in July impelled both Aoun and the Syrians toward military escalation. Aoun wanted to break the maritime constriction of East Beirut, which now threatened his political viability, and Syria felt pressed by financial costs and rising international concern. In early July reports of a large Iraqi consignment to Aoun, including Frog-7 surface-to-surface missiles which could be used against the Syrian capital, led Syria to impose a gunboat blockade on Jounieh. Using Tripoli as a base, up to six gunboats at any one time cruised 10—15 kilometres offshore, shelling and arresting incoming vessels. By late July the civilian population of East Beirut faced strangulation, raising doubts in Baabda for the first time as to whether Aoun could continue. At this point LF chief Samir Geagea finally agreed with the army to co-ordinate artillery fire to help ships enter, and Aoun, who had shown relative restraint since May, energetically pursued escalation, including commando raids against Syrian army positions, to force immediate internationalization of the war. Numerous attempts to defeat Aoun through repeated pro Syrian militia assaults on the Lebanese Army defending strategic town of Souq el-Gharb failed and so it was decided that a larger scale Syrian attack was required. The morning of 10th August 1989 saw extremely heavy bombardment of Souq el-Gharb which was to last for until the morning of 13th August 1989, when units of the Syrian Army, Syrian Special Forces troops, Jumblatt's PSP militia, Palestinians guerrillas, and Communist Party troops launched a general assault on the town. Despite the attackers breaching the perimeter early in the battle, and Lebanese army counter attack dislodged the Syrians and their allies. During the battle Walid Jumblatt announced that Souq el-Gharb had been 'liberated from the occupation of the Lebanese Army' and called for a press conference to be held at Souq el-Gharb. Upon their arrival, the international press was surprised to see that the Lebanese Army in Souq el-Gharb had won a decisive victory in the face of overwhelming odds. Casablanca Arab summit Some months earlier, in January 1989, the Arab League had appointed a six-member committee on Lebanon, led by the Kuwaiti foreign minister. At the Casablanca Arab summit in May, the Arab League empowered a higher committee on Lebanon - composed of Saudi King Fahd, Algerian President Bendjedid, and Moroccan King Hassan - to work toward a solution in Lebanon. The Casablanca committee issued a report in July 1989, stating that its efforts had reached a "dead end" and blamed Syrian intransigence for the blockage. After further discussions, the committee arranged for a seven-point cease-fire in September, bringing an end to the War of Liberation, followed by a meeting of Lebanese parliamentarians in Taif, Saudi Arabia. The Taif Accords After a month of intense discussions, in October 1989, the deputies informally agreed on a charter of national reconciliation, also known as the Taif agreement. Muslim MP Nazim Qadri was assassinated two days before the Ta'if conference convened after making public statements calling for a Syrian withdrawal. During the Ta'if negotiations, a Sunni MP from Tripoli, Abdel Majid al-Rafei, told reporters that "the presence of Syrian troops on Lebanese territory is a contravention of the Arab league charter" and that "since 1976, the Syrian regime has not only interfered in Lebanon, but also massacred and destroyed cities." Within 24 hours, Syrian forces had arrested around 200 of his followers in and around Tripoli. The Syrians were not willing to tolerate any resistance to their occupation. Some months earlier, in May 1989, the Grand Mufti of the Lebanese Sunni community, Hassan Khalid, who had expressed his support for Aoun was assassinated just days after meeting with officials from Aoun's administration. The deputies returned to Lebanon in November, where they approved the Taif agreement on November 4, and elected Rene Moawad, a Maronite Christian deputy from Zghorta in north Lebanon, President on November 5. General Aoun, claiming powers as interim Prime Minister, issued a decree in early November dissolving the parliament and did not accept the ratification of the Taif agreement or the election of President Moawad. General Aoun's main objection to it was that Syria had committed itself neither to rapid nor complete withdrawal. To the contrary, he complained, Syrian forces were to stay in place for a full two years, ostensibly "assisting the Lebanese government extend its authority." After that, Syrian forces were to be redeployed only as far as the Beqaa valley. The Agreement gave no timetable for any further Syrian withdrawal, merely stipulating that "such withdrawals would be negotiated at the appropriate time by the governments of Lebanon and Syria." Furthermore, General Aoun charged that the political reforms were unacceptable because they simply shifted power from the office of the President to that of the Prime Minister without solving any fundamental political problems. Fearing a Syrian assault, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese flocked to the presidential palace in late December 1989 to form a "human shield" around the compound after Syrian military forces surrounding the free enclave began massing for an imminent invasion. The presence of thousands of Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim Lebanese at these demonstrations illustrated the multi-confessional appeal of Lebanon's first popular nationalist movement. Sunni religious leaders in West Beirut sent a "Muslim Solidarity Delegation," led by Sheikh Hassan Najar, who gave numerous rousing speeches during the demonstrations. The Assassination of PRESIDENT Rene Moawad . As the days passed Moawad was becoming embarrassed with heavy handed Syrian desires to push through the accords and Syrian press even went so far as to invent aggressive anti Aoun interviews which Moawad felt obliged to disclaim. As Moawad found himself to be unable to win over army officers and men who all remained loyal to Aoun, Moawad refused to replace General Aoun with a new armed forces commander, preferring negotiation to confrontation and he would not allow the Syrians to dislodge Aoun militarily. President Moawad was assassinated on November 22, 1989, by a bomb that exploded as his motorcade was returning from Lebanese independence day ceremonies. 550lb (250kg) of remote controlled explosives destroyed the president's Mercedes in the heart of Syrian held west Beirut. The enormous amount of explosives used, were placed over a period of some days, inside a sweet shop on the road along which the car would pass. The explosives were detonated as the car passed the shop and it has been suggested that the device used also triggered a secondary bomb hidden inside the car. The occupants were vaporized, the rear section of the vehicle was tossed onto the roof of a local building with the front half being thrown 200 yards away into a parking lot. No investigation was carried out into the murder...but I am able to tell the world that WALID JUMBLATT conspired with Yasser Arafat in order to assassinate President-elect Rene MOUAWAD, because Joumblatt hated the Chehabists to extremes... and President Mouawad was a CHEHABI par excellence....The family of President MOUAWAD should know that fact, despite all attempts by CIA to give them false leads...because Walid Joumblatt is a CIA asset since AUB... The parliament met on November 24 in the Beqaa Valley and elected Elias Hrawi, a Maronite Christian deputy from Zahleh in the Beqaa Valley, to replace him. The results of the election were broadcast on Syrian radio ten minutes before the vote actually took place. President Hrawi named a Prime Minister, Salim al-Huss, and a cabinet on November 25. Despite widespread international recognition of Hrawi and his government, General Aoun refused to recognize Hrawi's legitimacy, and Hrawi officially replaced Aoun as army commander in early December. The vast majority of the Lebanese Army, however, again remained loyal to General Aoun. The Begining of the End, The War of Elimination General Aoun's attempt to break the power of the militias and his standing up to the Syrians made him extremely popular with a cross section of the Lebanese population, this was manifested by large demonstrations in his support around the Presidential Palace. Samir Geagea and the LF were now rapidly loosing prestige and control of the Christian enclave. Geagea was becoming seduced by the Taif agreement which could open the way for him to receive a high government posting should he side with Hrawi and the Syrians. The LF hoped that siding with the Taif agreement would give the militia international respectability and that once Hrawi was bought into power the LF could detach him from Syria and use him as a cover to restore its domination of the enclave. The LF, in January 1990, made no secret of its option of linkage with Hrawi “if things don't work out with the general” or its derision for the “circus” of pro-Aoun demonstrations. Syria, which was well aware of the LF scheme, encouraged Hrawi to entice the militia. Also in January 1990, rumours surfaced in East Beirut about alleged LF contacts with American officials and Syrian officers regarding an LF ditching of Aoun. Whether these reflected reality or disinformation, they certainly raised tensions. The daily al-Safir later quoted a reference by Christian deputies to “the capitals that were behind encouraging the LF to go into the battle with Aoun.” Only Washington and Damascus could have had this interest. By this point the LF was probably already plotting a surprise military strike to paralyse army communications to coincide with a “security plan” proposed for West Beirut in early February. On 30 January, Aoun intervened after army and LF mobilizations in a clash over LF use of school buildings in a Beirut suburb—he announced a compulsory “uniting of the rifle” in East Beirut, meaning absorption of the LF into his army brigades. For the LF this was a declaration of war. Immediately after Aoun’s “unification of weapons” speech, the LF stormed, captured, and held the Lebanese army barracks of Amshit, Sarba, Safra, Halate and the naval base at Jounieh, spread through the urban area and secured the Ashrafieh hill, adjacent to the militia “war council”. The unthinkable had happened. The LF had gone to war against Aoun who had been concentrating his forces against Syria was not prepared for a flare up within his base area. The army had taken no precautions with regard to its scattered barracks, ammunition dumps, and other assets in the LF heartland. The big Adma base which was exposed to LF encirclement had limited ammunition and no provision had been taken for the dispersal of the helicopter fleet which was destroyed by the LF on the first day of fighting. The ferocity of the army-LF war of February—May 1990 was determined by the fact that the army started from a much eroded geographical position—the Matn—and faced the task of “conquering” more an 80% of the East Beirut enclave. A new Iraqi arms shipment in early 1990, “to be divided equally between the army and the LF” and intended by Iraq for trouble-making against Assad, meant East Beirut’s weapons stocks were at an all-time high. The Maronite community could thus blow itself apart in grand style. The LF’s arsenal was not much more inferior to that of Aoun and it had a less arduous task of holding ground in urban and mountain terrain favouring the defence, especially in winter weather. Awareness of its unpopularity merely made the militia more ruthless. Through the first month the army launched attacks with increasing desperation to crack the LF. In early February Aoun cleared the LF from the coastal Matn, seizing the militia barracks at Dibye. This almost brought a morale collapse in the militia, but the destruction in the battle zone, which in three days matched the landscape created by years of shelling in old central Beirut, deterred Aoun from marching into Jounieh. Instead the army tried to outflank Jounieh and split the Kisrawan in a mountain push—a much longer distance in worse terrain and weather. This gave the LF time to recover its balance. The army push petered out and Aoun turned to Beirut. He drove the LF out of its Ayn al-Rumana pocket in an artillery firestorm. For each of these assaults the army used about 1,000 men and 40 to 100 armoured vehicles. Finally, on 1 March, Aoun tried to overcome the LF’s defences around its “war council,” to bring the surrender of Ashrafieh and shatter the LF’s apparatus. However, the army had to break off the engagement—the 400 commandos who had spearheaded successive battles were exhausted and an ammunition shortage silenced the army’s American howitzers. Aoun had to fall back on inferior Iraqi supplied Soviet artillery pieces. Military loss were heavy, by 1st March the Army had lost 32 officers and 251 soldiers dead; 40 tanks, 10 APCs, and 11 helicopters destroyed; 20 tanks and 15 APCs damaged. The two groups that were best able to resist the Syrians were now fighting each other, and many soldiers on the opposing sides either knew each other or were even related and so refused to fight and simply went home. Aoun was reduced by the end April to half of his original military capability. He had lost his air and naval bases, major stocks of 155-mm shells, and 25% of his tank force. The initiative now passed out of his hands permanently. Syria aimed to have the LF and Aoun reduce each other to a point at which the LF would have to submit to the Ta’if arrangement without a quid pro quo, and Aoun would be so emasculated that he would either have to surrender or suffer a swift military blow. The second phase was a stand-off, with shelling exchanges continuing until late May when an Iraqi-sponsored truce brought an uneasy calm. The population had faced intolerable disruptions and over 320,000 people had fled the enclave by the time the fighting stopped. The old East Beirut, where power centres had cohered against strategic challenges, was gone for good. In its place was a shell containing two entities, each anxious to blot out the other but unable to do so. The final blow came on 9th April 1990 when the Lebanese Forces announced their support for Taif and their readiness to hand over the institutions under their control to the rival government in west Beirut. The fighting continued and over 900 people died and over 3,000 were wounded during these battles called the 'War of Elimination' by Samir Geagea. The Gulf War and the Syrian-American alliance At the end of the 1980s, as superpower bipolarity faded and the U.S. became the dominant world power, the administration of President George Bush sought to buttress the Western position in the Middle East, to guarantee secure access to the Persian Gulf oil reservoir. Two important goals were to reduce instability in the Eastern Mediterranean, by quietening the Arab-Israeli conflict, and to restrict the influence of the Islamic regime in Iran. Also, the U.S. wished to assist conservative authoritarian regimes friendly to the West to maintain themselves. The U.S. might push for limited “democratization,” but appeared sympathetic to the view that Middle Eastern societies did not provide a suitable basis for popular participation in politics. One of the prominent new features of Middle Eastern politics after the Cold War was Syria’s enhanced importance for the U.S. even while Syria’s strategic position deteriorated. On the one hand, Syria’s partnership with Iran allowed it to be a “go-between” with Tehran for the West and the Gulf oil states; Syria had become the major Arab state confronting Israel; and Syria was seen as the key to quietening Lebanon. Syria thus appeared to be critical to post—Cold War American plans for a Western-oriented order in the Middle East. On the other hand, Damascus had effectively lost Soviet patronage by 1989, meaning it had no superpower backing and little hope of weapons replacement in case of war with Israel, and the Syrian economy was hobbled by its military burden and the inefficiencies of a mafia-style dictator-ship. The situation seemed to increase the prospects for drawing Syria into a cooperative relationship with the West and whetted American expectations; a shrewd operator like Hafiz al-Assad could use this to improve Syria’s bargaining position. Syria expected the U.S. and Israel to commit themselves to a pack-age of regional rewards before it shifted its posture. The package would include full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan, acknowledgement of a Syrian free hand with the Lebanese regime, an appropriate financial payoff, and widened access to Western aid and technology. On its side the U.S. indicated friendly intentions, but would not oblige Damascus on Arab-Israeli matters, or on a relaxation of the official American view of Syria as a state that supported “terrorism,” until Assad committed himself to full peace with Israel. General Aoun’s 1989 campaign against the Syrians inconvenienced the U.S. In the American outlook, Aoun distracted attention from Israeli-Palestinian issues, was trying to create complications between the West and Syria at a time when the U.S. wanted to bring Syria into its new “order,” and was behaving in a way likely to make Lebanon even more attractive to disruptive forces, particularly Shi’ite Islamic radicalism. For their part, Lebanon’s Shi’ite militants enabled Iran to affect Middle Eastern affairs far beyond its own borders. In short, Lebanon’s Christian and Shi’ite communities each presented a serious challenge to U.S. policy for “stabilizing” the Middle East. The fact that Aoun and Hizballah both represented populist upsurges left the Americans cold—this only made it more imperative that both be curbed. In 1989-90, a degree of U.S.-Syrian collaboration was established as the best means, according to the Bush administration, of putting a lid on Lebanon’s turbulent affairs. The U.S. worked with Syria and Saudi Arabia to have General Aoun removed in favor of a new Taif Lebanese regime the function of which was not to satisfy the aspirations of the Lebanese people, but to ensure that Lebanon ceased to be a distraction. Iraq’s 2 August 1990 seizure of Kuwait, the Iraqi-American confrontation, and the infusion of Western forces into the Persian Gulf transformed Middle Eastern political calculations. The U.S. now needed—or, more accurately, imagined itself as needing—the broadest possible Arab military participation, and Syria suddenly found itself the object of the most flattering Western attentions. Assad tested the winds of the world for a week or so, calculated that his Iraqi enemy was head-ed for catastrophe, and offered himself as a partner in the American-led coalition. By mid-August, as the daily al-Safir noted, it was obvious that “Gulf events have removed foreign barriers standing against the Hirawi government asking Syria to strike at the unnatural situation in East Beirut.” Intensified Syrian-American consultations culminated in the 13 September visit of Secretary of State James Baker to Damascus. Assad provided troops to sit in Saudi Arabia and in late September, clearly at Baker’s request, made his first personal visit to Tehran to “secure continuation of Iran’s adherence to [U.N.] sanctions [against Iraq].” In exchange for involvement in the Gulf, Damascus expected and got approval to settle things in Beirut, by whatever means. In late August the U.S. ambassador to Syria gratified Syrian officials and the Hirawi regime by publicly stating that “we [the U.S.] want to see immediate implementation of Ta’if.” American reservations about Syria’s association with “terrorism” temporarily vanished. The only American requirements, completely coincident with Syria’s own approach, were that the operation must be swift and by invitation of the Hirawi government, to counter comparisons with Iraqi behavior concerning Kuwait. Curiously, in mid-September the Israelis seemed convinced that Syria was too busy with the Gulf crisis to open “an additional front” in Lebanon—this after the U.S. had already assured Lebanese officials, and by extension the Syrians, that Israel would not interfere “provided there is no movement southward.” The question arises as to whether the U.S. sought to neutralize Israel by deliberately misleading the Israelis about American-Syrian understandings. Coordinated activities by the Hirawi government and Syria went ahead slowly as Assad wanted to give Aoun a last chance to submit. The LF-Kateab camp in East Beirut threw in its lot with the regime: Assad was so pleased with Kata’ib leader George Sa’ada at a late July audi-ence that he asked him “not to stay away from us too long.” On 21 August, parliament met with the necessary two-thirds quorum, courtesy of the LF, and voted through the Ta’if constitutional amendments. The National Assembly approved, and President Hrawi signed into law, constitutional amendments embodying the political reform aspects of the Taif agreement. These amendments gave some presidential powers to the council of ministers, expanded the National Assembly from 99 to 108 seats, and divided those seats equally between Christians and Muslims. This completed the formal legal base of the regime, at least to the satisfaction of its partisans. On 23 September, LF and Syrian delegations had a productive session in the Beqaa and on 26 September the LF handed over the crossing points on Aoun-LF fronts to Hirawi government troops. On 28 September, the Ta’if regime committed its prestige and existence to a successful showdown by imposing a siege on the Aoun area, blocking food supplies to the population. 13th October 1990 In October 1990, the Syrian military supported by a few Lebanese troops loyal to Hrawi launched an attack against General Aoun. The attack came just after 7:00 a.m. on the 13th October and started with an air raid by Syrian Soukhoi fighter bombers against the Palace and the Ministry of Defence. For many years a no fly zone over the whole of Lebanon had been enforced by the Israelis preventing the Syrians from using their airforce, on this day however, the Syrians were allowed to fly by the United States as reward for their joining the NATO coalition against Iraq in the Gulf crisis. Immediately before the assault, Syrian aircraft overflew the Matn to test the efficacy of American intervention with Israel. The air attacks lasted 13 minutes after which Syrian special forces troops advance under massive artillery cover, LF artillery joined Syrian artillery and fired on the Lebanese Army. The French considered intervention through their fleet positioned off the Lebanese coast, but after this did not materialize, General Aoun realizes that he cannot win and at 8:45 a.m. announces his surrender from the near by French embassy in order "to avoid even more bloodshed, limit the damage and to save what remains." The surrender is broadcast on all radio stations throughout the day as General Aoun personally contacts his field commanders to orders that they "obey the orders of the commander in chief of the Army, General Emile Lahoud." At 10:00 a.m. the Syrians enter the Palace but despite this, many units of the Lebanese Army initially refuse to surrender and heavy fighting continues, a Lebanese Army unit counter attacks Deir al-Qalaa, at Beit-Mery, and manages to oust Syrians special forces that had occupied the monastery by force at the very start of the day. The Lebanese unit finds that some of the monks in the monastery had been killed by the Syrian troops. At Douar, on the Bikfaya front, the elite commandos engaged Syrians tanks and caused heavy damage. On the hill of the Prince, at Souk al-Gharb, the cadets of the military Academy, assisted by regulars of the 10th Brigade put up a very hard fight. In Suq al-Gharb itself, Aoun’s Lebanese army units, with only a fraction of their pre-February 1990 hardware, killed about 400 Syrians before the front was overrun. The Lebanese Army headquarters at Yarze even refused to give the ceasefire order finally announcing it 12:30 p.m. It was fortunate that Aoun had managed to directly speak to many of his units and so prevent much bloodshed. Disaster did strike however at Dahr el-Wahesh, village between Aley and Kahaleh, where the 102nd unit of the Lebanese 10th Brigade had been positioned. The 10th Brigade had been rather thinly deployed throughout the front line and during the battle some of its units had been unable to communicate with their headquarters and those at soldiers at Dahr el-Wahesh, numbering less than one hundred had not heard the radio broadcasts. Details of the events that followed are rather vague due to the lack of survivors. It seems that heavy fighting had occurred from the outset around the village with Syrians taking heavy losses. After the ceasefire was announced, around one thousand Syrian soldiers along with a handful of troops from the Lebanese 6th Brigade which was traditionally loyal to Amal, approached the village from Aley during what they believed was a ceasefire. The Lebanese soldiers unaware of the ceasefire fired upon the Syrian column with light artillery. The Syrians were caught in the open and in panic some Syrians ran straight towards the Lebanese positions and some ran into a mine field. A Lebanese officer of the 6th Brigade informed the defenders of Dahr el-Wahesh that the fighting was over and that they should surrender. The officer commanding the 102nd and his men would only surrender to a Lebanese Army unit and not to the Syrian Army. The Syrians however would not pull back and a fight to the death followed. Estimates of Syrian losses ranged from 160 to 450 in the battle that followed and it seems that the 102nd fought on until their ammunition ran out refusing to let Dahr el-Wahesh, which overlooks the Palace, fall into Syrian hands. Later that afternoon some 80 bodies of soldiers of the 102nd would be brought to a Baabda mortuary, most had their hands tied behind their backs and had been shot in the back of the head, some had been stripped down to their underpants before being executed. The Syrians executed one of the officers, Emile Boutros, by forcing him to lay down on the road and then driving a tank over him. At least 15 civilians were executed by Syrian soldiers in Bsous after having been rounded up from their homes, and another 19 people, including three women, were reported to have been killed in cold blood in al-Hadath. Around the Presidential Palace another 51 Lebanese Army soldiers were stripped and excecuted. It was also reported that at least 200 supporters of General Aoun, most of them military personnel, were arrested by the Syrian forces in east Beirut and its suburbs, these men simply disappeared. Father Suleiman Abu Khalil and Father Albert Sherfan, two priests, also ''disappeared'' during the events of 13 October 1990. Father Albert Sherfan was the head of the Deir al-Qalaa Monastery in Beit Meri and Father Suleiman was the treasurer. On 13 October 1990 it was reported that the Syrian forces took up a position near the monastery, after a long battle which claimed the lives of 25 Syrian soldiers, because of its strategic position overlooking the Metn districts and other areas. These two priests, who had not been killed in the battle, ''disappeared'' on the same day together with some soldiers of the Lebanese army who had apparently taken refuge in the monastery. The brother of Father Suleiman Abu Khalil recalls: ''On 13 October 1990 the monastery was occupied by the Syrian forces. I tried to obtain an authorization to go and see Suleiman but I couldn't. At about 10am a Syrian officer asked to enter the monastery to have a drink of water. Father Suleiman appeared at the balcony and at the same time another monk came out to see what was happening. The Syrians apparently were surprised to see that there was more than one monk in the monastery and became suspicious that people might be hiding there. Accordingly, the Syrian officers rang all the Lebanese authorities they could reach to allow them to enter and search the monastery. When they went in they found Lebanese soldiers in civilian clothes. They arrested everyone they found and took them away, the soldiers in a lorry and the two monks in a Range Rover. All were taken first to Anjar and then to Far Falastin in Damascus. We contacted a lot of people to intervene on their behalf but all our efforts came to nothing.'' The Murder of Dany Chamoun Over the next few days after the surrender of General Aoun, Syrian agents moved into East Beirut and many Aoun supporters were arrested. Opposition was put down. On 21st October 1990, Dany Chamoun, the leader of the National Liberal party, who was against Syrian presence in Lebanon and had been a strong supporter of General Aoun's policies was killed in cold blood by Samir Geagea's gunmen who broke into his apartment in the early hours. His wife and his two young boys, aged 5 and 7, were also killed in the most disgraceful of ways. The scale of the horror and the savagery of the killings were barbaric even by Lebanese standards. The housekeeper took Dany's baby daughter and hid in the attic, they were the only survivors. What is not surprising is that the assassins were found and put in jail for life, I.E. Samir Geagea and his trigger men, only to be released in 2005 on orders from CIA... Nabih BERRI has a lot of explaining to do in due course, and he will pay for it DEARLY.... On December 24, 1990, Omar Karami was appointed Lebanon's Prime Minister. General Aoun remained in the French embassy until August 27, 1991 when a "special pardon" was issued, allowing him to leave Lebanon safely and take up residence in exile in France. 1991 and 1992 saw considerable advancement in efforts to reassert state control over Lebanese territory. The militias were dissolved in May 1991 with the important exception of Hezbollah and units of Amal so that they can carry on the fight to oust the Israelis from Lebanon, and the armed forces moved against armed Palestinian elements in Sidon in July 1991. In May 1992 the last of the western hostages taken during the mid 1980s by Islamic extremists was released. The Election of 1992 A social and political crisis, fuelled by economic instability and the collapse of the Lebanese pound, led to Prime Minister Omar Karami's resignation May 6, 1992. He was replaced by former Prime Minister Rashid al Sulh, who was widely viewed as a caretaker to oversee Lebanon's first parliamentary elections in 20 years. The elections were not prepared and carried out in a manner to ensure the broadest national consensus. The turnout of eligible voters in some Christian locales was extremely low, with many voters not participating in the elections because they objected to voting in the presence of non Lebanese forces. There also were widespread reports of irregularities. The electoral rolls were themselves in many instances unreliable because of the destruction of records and the use of forged identification papers. As a consequence, the results do not reflect the full spectrum of Lebanese politics. Elements of the 1992 electoral law, which paved the way for elections, represented a departure from stipulations of the Taif agreement, expanding the number of parliamentary seats from 108 to 128 and employing a temporary districting arrangement designed to favour certain sects and political interests. According to the Taif agreement, the Syrian and Lebanese Governments were to agree in September 1992 to the redeployment of Syrian troops from greater Beirut. That date passed without an agreement. Trouble in the South, Operation Accountability, Operation Grapes of Wrath and the Qana Massacre Fighting continued in the south between Hezbollah and the Israelis to various degrees of intensity. During the escalation in the fighting in July 1993 known as "Operation Accountability" in Israel and the "Seven Day War" in Lebanon, some 120 Lebanese civilians were killed and close to 500 injured by a ferocious Israeli assault on population centers in southern Lebanon, an offensive which also temporarily displaced some 300,000 Lebanese villagers. The stated goals of the Israeli operation were not only to punish Hezbollah, but also to inflict serious damage on villages in southern Lebanon and create a refugee flow in the direction of Beirut so as to put pressure on the Lebanese government to rein in the guerrillas. Hezbollah, in retaliation, indiscriminately fired a number of Katyusha rockets across the border into northern Israel during that week, killing two and injuring twenty four civilians. To end the fighting in July 1993, the United States brokered an unwritten agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, the July 1993 "understandings." The agreement supposedly prohibited attacks on civilians, but both sides understood the agreement to mean that if one side broke the rules, the other side could do so as well. As a result, between July 1993 and April 1996, both sides have accepted civilian casualties whenever their side had attacked civilians first. In April 1996, the agreement that had ended the July 1993 fighting broke down under the weight of cumulative violations by both sides. Civilians in Lebanon and Israel were dying. On April 9, Israeli officials declared that "these rules of the game are not good and cannot remain," and that "residents in south Lebanon who are under the responsibility of Hezbollah will be hit harder, and the Hezbollah will be hit harder." Within forty eight hours, Israel launched what it referred to as "Operation Grapes of Wrath." Between 160 and 170 Lebanese civilians were killed during the sixteen day offensive and over 350 wounded. Fourteen Hezbollah fighters were killed. Estimates of the number of displaced civilians range from 300,000 to 500,000 civilians, including well over 150,000 children. In the single most lethal event of the operation, on April 18, 1996, at least seventeen Israeli high explosive artillery shells hit a UNIFIL compound near the village of Qana, in which over 800 Lebanese civilians had taken shelter. Some 102 civilians were killed. A U.N. inquiry found that it was "unlikely that the shelling of the United Nations compound was the result of gross technical and/or procedural errors," strongly suggesting that the base had been deliberately targeted. According to the Israelis "At 1352 and 1358 hours, respectively, Israeli locating radar had identified two separate targets in Qana from where fire had originated. The first target was located 200 meters or so south-west of the United Nations compound. The second target was located some 350 meters south-east of the compound. The data had been sent automatically to the Northern Command and to an artillery battalion located on the Israel-Lebanon border, about 12 kilometers from the sea. The battalion comprises three batters with four guns each. It is equipped with M-109A2 guns (15-millimeter caliber). When the battalion received the data, it checked the targets on a map and found that one of the two locations was between 200 to 300 meters from the United Nations position at Qana. The commanding officer had therefore sought instructions from Northern Command, which rechecked the data and gave permission to fire. This decision had not been taken lightly; officers of some seniority had been involved. When the order to fire came, the first target had been engaged by one battery, using all four guns. Thirty-eight shells (high-explosive) had been fired, about two thirds with impact fuses and one third with proximity fuses. (Proximity fuses cause a round to explode in the air above the target; they are often used for anti-personnel fire.) The two types of fuses had been employed in random order. Convergence fire had been used so that the impacts would be concentrated in the target area. Regrettably, a few rounds had overshot and hit the United Nations compound. " A UN team questioned a number of witnesses on the activities of Hezbollah fighters in Qana prior to the incident. The following was found: (a) Between 1200 and 1400 hours on 18 April, Hezbollah fighters fired two or three rockets from a location 350 meters south-east of the United Nations compound. The location was identified on the ground. (b) Between 1230 and 1300 hours, they fired four or five rockets from location 600 meters south-east of the compound. The location was identified on the ground. (c) About 15 minutes before the shelling, they fired between five and eight rounds of 120 millimeter mortar from a location 220 meters south-west of the centre of the compound. The location was identified on the ground. According to witnesses, the mortar was installed there between 1100 and 1200 hours that day, but no action was taken by UNIFIL personnel to remove it. (On 15 April, a Fijian had been shot in the chest as he tried to prevent Hezbollah fighters from firing rockets.) (d) The United Nations compound at Qana had taken a large number of Lebanese seeking shelter from Israeli bombardments. By Sunday, 14 April, 745 persons were in the compound. On 18 April, the day of the shelling, their number is estimated to have been well over 800. When the Fijian soldiers heard the mortar being fired not far from their compound, they began immediately to move as many of the civilians as possible into shelters so that they would be protected from any Israeli retaliation. (e) At some point (it is not completely clear whether before or after the shelling), two or three Hezbollah fighters entered the United Nations compound, where their families were. The UN findings were that the distribution of impacts at Qana shows two distinct concentrations, whose mean points of impact are about 140 meters apart. If the guns were converged, as stated by the Israeli forces, there should have been only one main point of impact. The pattern of impacts is inconsistent with a normal overshooting of the declared target (the mortar site) by a few rounds, as suggested by the Israeli forces. The findings conclude "While the possibility cannot be ruled out completely, it is unlikely that the shelling of the United Nations compound was the result of gross technical and/or procedural errors." The Israeli offensive in April 1996 ended with a cease-fire agreement, brokered by the U.S., that was an improvement over the July 1993 understandings. This time, the agreement was contained in a public written document that included a commitment by both Israel and "armed groups in Lebanon" to "insuring that under no circumstances will civilians be the target of attack and that civilian populated areas and industrial and electrical installations will not be used as launching grounds for attacks." The agreement also established a group consisting of Lebanon, Israel, Syria, France and the United States to monitor compliance with the agreement. However the agreement did not stop the fighting altogether, it only toned it down carrying on in a low intensity form for the next couple of years without major incident. Hit and run attacks by Hezbollah and ambushes against the Israelis and the SLA caused high casualties and in 1999 the SLA were no longer able to maintain their positions in and around Jezzine and so in the last few days of May 1999 they withdrew. The SLA moved south but some 250 SLA militiamen chose to remain behind and surrendered to Lebanese authorities, they were then jailed them for various terms ranging from one year to ten. Over the next few weeks fighting between Hezbollah, the Israelis and the SLA intensified and slowly began to target civilians. On the 23rd June 1999, three civilians were wounded, including a 12 year old boy, in Israeli artillery attacks on Qabrikha and Yater, and on the 24th June, shells fired from the Israeli occupied enclave wounded a woman in Qabrikha. Hezbollah listed 21 attacks on 11 Lebanese villages between June 19 and June 23 1999 and said it had on several occasions fired warning mortar rounds at border outposts, but when the Israelis failed to get the message it was compelled to fire deeper into Israel. Citing a marked increase in assaults targeting civilians in south Lebanon, Hezbollah gunners unleashed four volleys of Katyusha rockets into northern Israel on the afternoon of the 24th June 1999 as a “warning message” to Israel to halt its violations of the April 1996 Understanding. Twenty nine rockets were fired. In Israel, military sources claimed five people suffered mild wounds or were treated for shock. The Israeli response was heavy. Israeli fighter-bombers on the night of 24th June blasted power plants, bridges, telephone exchanges, and other infrastructure facilities across Lebanon causing millions of dollars of damage. At least seven people were killed and more than 35 wounded. In response, Hezbollah unleashed more volleys of Katyusha rockets into northern Israel, killing two Israeli civilians. Dinnieh Uprising On New Year's eve 1999, as Lebanon entered the year 2000 full of hope and joy, attention was quickly turned away from south Lebanon as a group of Sunni fundamentalist militants went on the rampage in north Lebanon. The DINNIEH is a CIA operation, lock stock and BARREL, the deputy attorney general of the USA, complained because of the detention of MR.KENJ... who carried a US passport... MR. KENJ is one of the KILLERS of the Lebanese army officers...just like Samir Geagea did earlier in the 1986-89... The mountainous area of Dinnieh northeast of Tripoli suffered a 4-day "war" between Lebanese Army units and a group of 150-200 Sunni fundamentalist militants, in which 11 troops(including one officer), 5 civilians and 27 attackers were killed, and 6 soldiers, 12 civilians and 20 attackers wounded. The events started when the militants ambushed an army unit in the village of Assoun, killing five soldiers and army Major Milas Naddaf was kidnapped. The militants belonged to the "At-Takfir wal-Hijra" organization. The ambush and abduction triggered the largest military operation since the end of the civil war, involving 4,000 troops, tanks and helicopters, and the fighting extended to the village of Kfar Habou, where the rebels leader Bassam Kanj was killed after a battle. In the house where Kanj took refuge, the body of Major Naddaf was found with his throat slit, along with the mutilated bodies of two hostages, 21-year-old Sarah Yazbeck and her mother Salwa Raad both of whom had been brutalised before being murdered. By January 5th 2000 security forces said that the operation was over and that 67 Islamic fighters had been captured. The group's membership was extremely multifaceted. Although most were from Lebanon, there were also a significant number of Palestinians, Syrians, and others from elsewhere in the Arab world. Most had been previously affiliated with anti-Syrian Sunni Islamist movements such as Jama'a al-Islamiyya and Al-Tawhid al-Islami. The Lebanese-born leader of Takfir wa al-Hijra, Bassam Ahmad Kanj (also known as Abu A'isha), and many of its members reportedly fought with the Afghani mujahidin against occupying Soviet forces in the 1980's. It seems that Kanj received financial support from fellow Afghan veteran Osama bin Laden through bank accounts in Beirut and north Lebanon. While the Dinnieh clashes were under way, on January 2, a gunman claiming to be "a martyr for Grozny" fired several rocket-propelled grenades at the Russian embassy in Beirut, killing a security guard and wounding several others before he was kileed by Lebanese security forces. Lebanese officials publicly dismissed the man, a Palestinian named Ahmad Raja Abu Kharrub (alias Abu Ubeida) as a psychologically unstable individual. However, according to reports, Abu Kharrub was a member of Usbat al-Ansar (the Partisan League), a Sunni Islamist Palestinian group linked to Takfir wa al-Hijra, based in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp near Sidon. The leader of Usbat al-Ansar, Abd al-Karim al-Sa'di, is said to have sent members of group to Beirut and other areas of Lebanon in November to avenge Russian atrocities in Chechnya. Usbat al-Ansar is also suspected of responsibility for a grenade attack against a Lebanese army checkpoint near the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp that wounded a soldier on the same day. The following week, four unidentified gunmen disguised as Army soldiers attempted to launch another attack on the Russian embassy from the neighboring Bohsali building, but the plot was foiled by security forces. South Lebanon flared up soon after and during January and February 2000 seven Israeli soldiers were killed in guerrilla attacks. Israel retaliated by bombing three power stations in Lebanon, wounding 15 civilians and causing $20 million in damage. Israel Withdraws As part of Ehud Barak's election campaign he promised to withdraw Israeli troops from Lebanon by July 7 2000. As the deadline approached the SLA began to collapse with many of its troops abandoning their positions. As the deadline for ending the Israeli occupation of south Lebanon neared, fighting intensivied with ten people being wounded on May 18th 2000. The injured included two Israeli soldiers, two members of the Israeli-run South Lebanon Army (SLA) militia, a Hezbollah guerrilla, four Lebanese civilians and a U.N. peacekeeper. The exchanges of artillery fire and Israeli air raids on suspected guerrilla targets continued into the night. With this, the causualty toll in fighting in the year 2000 stood at eight Israeli soldiers dead and 25 wounded, 24 SLA members killed and 37 injured, 10 guerrillas dead and eight hurt, five Lebanese civilians dead and 61 wounded, one Lebanese soldier injured and two U.N. peacekeepers wounded. On 20th May 2000, the Israeli airforce attacted a military base of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command (PFLP-GC) near Deir al-Ghazal in the Bekaa Valley. The Israelis destroyed 10 T-55 tanks killing a handful of Palestinian guerrillas in the process. It was becoming obvious that the Israelis were going to pull out well ahead of the July 7 deadline and over the next couple of days dozens of Israeli allied Lebanese militiamen fled to Israel's border, asking for asylum after their military outposts fell to Hezbollah guerrillas. The SLA did put up a fight in some places with SLA fire claiming six Lebanese lives on May 22. On the night of the 22nd May 2000, under cover of darkness the Israelis began their final pullout which was complete by the 24th. SLA units throughout the security zone began to disintegrate almost immediately after Israeli troops began pulling out of the central sector and abandoned large stocks of heavy weapons and armored vehicles to advancing Hezbollah guerrillas, forcing the Israeli Airforce to divert aircraft from ground support missions to the destruction of SLA arms caches. Within 24 hours of the start of the pullout the SLA had completely collapsed. The speed of collapse of the 2500 man strong SLA was surprising with some 1700 surrendering and the rest, along with their relatives, taking refuge in Isreal. While the speedy collapse of Shiite SLA units was expected, IDF military planners had assumed that predominantly Druze and Christian units in the more heterogeneous eastern and western sectors would remain intact. The rapid collapse of the SLA appears to have been a result of several factors. Firstly, a threat made by Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah to "liquidate" all SLA members who fail to surrender when the Israelis pull out was taken very seriously by the SLA rank and file. Secondly a secret deal reportedly negotiated in advance by Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and Nasrallah resulted in most Druze SLA units surrendering en masse to Hezbollah, this left the remaining units isolated and demoralized. Thirdly, General Lahd traveled to France in mid May for an extended visit with his family, the last opportunity to do so, he thought, before the situation in south Lebanon heated up prior to the scheduled withdrawal of Israeli forces by July 7. His absence caused a tremendous drop in the morale of SLA troops. After belatedly learning of the turn of events in the south, Lahd quickly flew back to Tel Aviv and drove up to the border, only to discover that there was no South Lebanon Army left for him to lead. The conduct of the Hezbollah guerrillas in the areas previously held by the SLA was most honorable. Revenge killings, mass murders, and massacres that many feared would take place did not occur. The Lebanese government welcomed the pullout but demanded that Israel abandon the Shebaa farms that were captured in 1967. Israel claims that these farms were Syrian but the Lebanese and the Syrians both claim that the farms are Lebanese. The matter was investigated by the UN and it was decided that the pullout was complete. The Shebaa Farms. On October 7th 2000, in an operation which had been planned for months, three Israel army technicians conducting a routine check of the border fence near the village of Shebaa suddenly came under rocket and machine gun fire from a team of Hezbollah guerrillas. During the fifteen-minute clash, in which all three of the soldiers were wounded (one of them seriously), another team of guerrillas proceeded to cut through the border fence and abduct the soldiers, while nearby Hezbollah units launched a heavy artillery bombardment of neighboring Israeli outposts to pin down IDF reinforcements, wounding six Israeli soldiers. The captured men, later identified as Omar Suwad, 25, Benyamin Avraham, 20, and Adi Avitan, 20, were shoved into two (or three) get away cars on the Lebanese side of the border which sped off in different directions, while an estimated 400 guerrillas deployed in forward positions in neighboring villages to prepare for an Israeli ground offensive. Israeli television stated that "a severe ultimatum" threatening to "retaliate very forcefully" unless the soldiers were returned had been issued to the Lebanese government, while the Lebanese media reported that the Israel threatened to bomb Beirut if Hezbollah failed to release them within four hours. Although Israeli air force planes penetrated Lebanese air space after the abduction (which had been meticulously avoided since the IDF pullout in May), no retaliatory action was forthcoming. On October 15, speaking before a joint session of the Arab and Islamic Nationalist Conferences at the Carlton Hotel in Beirut, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah announced the capture of a fourth Israeli, later identified as Elhanan Tennenbaum, a 54-year-old reserve air-force colonel. "God help the prime minister today," he added, turning to Lebanese Prime Minister Selim al-Hoss and other government officials in attendance, "in dealing with the many phone calls he will get from Albright." Nasrallah later said that Tennenbaum was an undercover Israeli intelligence operative who had been attempting to infiltrate the group. According to this account, he was lured to Lebanon by the prospect of meeting with a senior Hezbollah official (with whom he had established contact through an intermediary) and was seized upon entering the country. Israeli officials insisted that Tennenbaum was a civilian employed by a consulting firm linked to two prominent Israeli electronic and military communications companies, Tadiran and Rafael, and that he was kidnapped in the Swiss city of Lausanne. Israel held Syria responsible for the incidents and threatened retaliation against Syrian interests in Lebanon. Diplomatic efforts to gain the release of the prisoners which continued for months but were interrupted as Hezbollah struck again four months later on February 16, 2001. In an anti tank missile ambush one Israeli soldier was killed and two others wounded when Hezbollah guerrillas destroyed a patrolling Hummer jeep in the Shebaa farms area. Israel shelled south Lebanon in retaliation to a Hezbollah guerrilla attack and again said that it held Syria responsible but did not retaliate against Syria as Isreal was still trying to secure the freedom of its captured soldiers. On April 14 2001 Hezbollah fighters destroyed an Israeli tank in a cross-border missile ambush, prompting Israeli jets, helicopter gunships, tanks, and artillery to blast the outskirts of Shebaa and Kfar Chouba in south Lebanon with sustained fire. Hezbollah guerrillas hit the Israeli Merkava tank with a Sagger missile and killed an Israeli soldier and wounded three others in the Shebaa Farms area, where the borders of Lebanon, Syria and Israel meet. A special U.N. envoy said the next day that the rocket attack that killed an Israeli soldier in a disputed border zone violated the U.N.-drawn boundary between Lebanon and Israel. Again Israel said it would hold Syria responsible for the attack. In the very early hours of April 16th Israel struck Syrian positions in Lebanon. Israeli jets bombarded a Syrian radar station in the mountainous region of Dhar al Baydar, 45 kilometers (27 miles) east of Beirut, at 12.30 am Monday (2130 GMT Sunday). The planes also fired at a Syrian anti-aircraft position two kilometers away in the Mdeirej-Hammana region near the Beirut-Damascus highway. Israel said the raid on a Syrian radar station in Lebanon was a clear message to Syrian leaders that they would pay if they did not drop support for Hezbollah guerrillas. Security sources said four Israeli planes carried out three successive runs, firing six rockets on the Syrian radar station and one on a nearby Syrian position. The Israeli warplanes killed at least three Syrian soldiers and wounded six others in the attack. One of the Syrian soldiers killed was an officer. September 11th 2001 In a series of coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, members of the al-Qaida militant Islamist group hijacked four aircraft. They crashed two into the two towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City and a third into the U.S. Department of Defense headquarters, the Pentagon, in Arlington County, Virginia, just outside of the capital, Washington, D.C.. A fourth hijacked plane was intentionally crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers fought back and stormed into the cockpit. The attacks were the first highly lethal attack by a foreign force on the mainland U.S. since the War of 1812. With a death toll of nearly 3,000, the attacks exceeded the toll of approximately 2,400 dead following the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The way the United States looked at the Middle East suddenly changed. No longer were terrorists going to be allowed to have shelter in the Middle East. Afghanistan was quickly invaded, the Taliban removed from power and Al Qaeda training bases destroyed and terrorists captured. The Al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and the Taliban leader Mullah Omar have so far evaded capture. In a video broadcast on October 28th 2004 Bin Laden explained his reasons for attacking the United States: "But after the injustice was so much and we saw transgressions and the coalition between Americans and the Israelis against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, it occurred to my mind that we deal with the towers. And these special events that directly and personally affected me go back to 1982 and what happened when America gave permission for Israel to invade Lebanon. And assistance was given by the American sixth fleet. During those crucial moments, my mind was thinking about many things that are hard to describe. But they produced a feeling to refuse and reject injustice, and I had determination to punish the transgressors. And as I was looking at those towers that were destroyed in Lebanon, it occurred to me that we have to punish the transgressor with the same -- and that we had to destroy the towers in America so that they taste what we tasted, and they stop killing our women and children." The Assassination of Mr.Elie Hobeika At 9:50 AM on January 24, 2002, Hobeika and three bodyguards left his apartment on Kamel Asaad street in suburban Hazmieh southeast of the capital en route to his office in Sin al-Fil. Shortly after their departure, the blue Range Rover they were driving slowed down to pass by a white Mercedes 280 parked on the side of a narrow road. As Hobeika's car passed the Mercedes, an estimated 22 kilos of high explosive in the Mercedes was detonated apparently by remote control. Hobeika and his bodyguards, Dimitri Ajram, Walid Zein and Faris Sweidan, were instantly killed. The explosion reportedly catapulted Hobeika's body over sixty meters from the wrecked SUV. The explosion injured six bystanders. The blast blackened neighboring apartment buildings, destroyed dozens of cars parked nearby, and even shattered glass windows up to one kilometer away from the scene. There was no claim of responsibility for the mid-morning blast, but also no shortage of possible suspects. Lebanon was quick to accuse Israel, claiming that 45-year-old Hobeika was killed to prevent him from testifying in an impending court case against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Belgium. The prosecution in the case holds Sharon directly responsible for 1982 massacre in Sabra and Shatilla. Although Hobeika's lasting claim to notoriety was his during the 1982 massacre, in July 2001, Hobeika broke his characteristic silence over the Sabra and Shatila massacre to plead innocent of any involvement, claiming to have documents and tapes that proved he was not in the vicinity of the camps at the time. In a secret meeting in Beirut with two visiting Belgian senators on January 22nd 2002, Hobeika reportedly informed them that he feared for his life. One of the senators, Josy Dubie said in Brussels on the day of the assassination that when he asked Hobeika if he felt threatened, he replied: "I feel threatened. I have revelations to make." The senator also said, "I then asked why he did not make these revelations now and he replied to me: 'I am saving them for the trial.' which is the right thing to do, on direct orders from Mr. Elie Hobeika's counsel " . This is what CIA tried to disseminate about this odious assassination. Since Israel has carried out similar assassinations of its enemies in Lebanon in the past (e.g. the January 1979 assassination of Abu Ali Hassan Salameh, the commander of Yasser Arafat's Force 17), it might have been able to carry out the assassination of Hobeika, either directly or through Lebanese proxies, even in an area like Hazmieh. In the aftermath of September 11, Hobeika attempted to win American support by contacting the CIA to offer his help in locating and capturing Imad Mughniyah, the former head of special overseas operations for Hezbollah who is listed on the Bush administration's most wanted terrorist list. Hobeika had collaborated with CIA operatives in Lebanon in the early 1980s and attended a training course at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia in 1982. His services would have been a valuable asset in the hunt for Mughniyah. Hobeika owned one of the largest private security firms in Lebanon (in effect, a small militia made up of bodyguards with legally-registered weaponry and skilled intelligence operatives) that has a presence in the largely Shi'ite southern suburbs of Beirut - the most likely location of Mughniyah. By late 2001, the Syrians had completely withdrawn their protection of Hobeika and instructed the Lebanese judiciary to take action against him, or at least threaten to do so. Given the timing of the judicial moves, it appears likely that the Syrian intelligence learned about his attempts to approach the CIA and this would have given them a strong motive to eliminate him, or allow others to eliminate him, before he could do so. The event could serve as a pretext for a massive crackdown on opponents of the Syrian occupation in Lebanon. More generally, the assassination, which bore an uncanny resemblance to killings during the war, lent support to Syria's claim that a withdrawal of its forces from Lebanon would lead to internal violence and instability. During the last month of his life, Hobeika was extremely distraught due to the steadily escalating measures taken against him by the Syrian-backed regime in Beirut and became wildly paranoid. During the funeral of a close ally and confidante, former MP Jean Ghanem, who died on January 14 from injuries sustained in a car crash in Hazmieh, Hobeika told several people that the latter's death was not accidental. Hezbollah's political leadership has its own grudge against Hobeika dating back to the March 1985 car bomb attack against Fadlallah, as does the movement's main external sponsor, Iran, for his role in the deaths of four Iranian diplomats during the civil war. A more immediate motive for eliminating Hobeika would have been the desire to preempt his assistance to the CIA in locating Imad Mughniyah, the head of Hezbollah's Foreign Operations Branch (jihaz al-amaliyyat al-kharijiyya). Hizbullah knows very well who ordered the car bomb on The Allamah Mouhammed Hussein Fadlallah. They know that it was CIA, and Amine Gemayel and Johnny ABDO carried it out; murdering 85 innocent civilians and missing its target... In light of the large numbers of Palestinians that Hobeika was responsible for killing during the war in Lebanon, the possibility that an armed Palestinian faction carried out the assassination cannot be discounted. In 2001, a senior official of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement in Lebanon, Bassam Abu Sharif, threatened to kill Hobeika.... Another possible culprit is the radical wing of the LF. In 1991, according to the Lebanese authorities, LF operatives loyal to Samir Geagea carried out a 1991 bombing which destroyed Hobeika's car and killed one of his bodyguards. In June 1998, the Lebanese authorities claimed to have uncovered a plot by former LF intelligence operatives to assassinate Hobeika, as well as Maj. Gen. Ghazi Kanaan, the chief of Syrian military intelligence in Lebanon, and then-Interior Minister Michel Murr. The 13 alleged members of the cell who were arrested by security forces reportedly received their orders via the Internet from an LF office in Australia. However, as the above failures illustrate, radical LF factions have been thoroughly penetrated by Lebanese and Syrian intelligence over the last ten years. It is highly unlikely that any anti-Syrian faction of the LF could have undertaken an operation of this complexity in Hazmieh unless it was coordinating with the Syrians - which seems unlikely. Hobeika's enemies had many reasons to despise him. He betrayed his people to the Syrians and was seen as a mass murderer by the Palestinians. For many, he was first an Israeli agent, and later a Syrian agent. For others still, he was a double agent and a hated and dangerous man....? History will be the judge of that... and I am sure history will be extremely kind to MR. Elie HOBEIKA. The assassination was never forgotten .... this is what really happened: http://newhk.blogspot.com/2008/12/uniiic-ii-report-revisited.html Operation Defensive Shield Suicide attacks by Palestinians in Israel against civilians that had started in 1995 had become much more frequent and savage and by early 2002 the situation for the Israelis was becoming unbearable. In March 2002 suicide bombings had almost become a daily occurrence: 2 March: Nine people killed including two babies, and 57 injured after suicide bomb attack in an ultra-Orthodox area of Jerusalem. 5 March: One person killed and several others injured in suicide bomb attack on a bus at Afula central bus station. 9 March: 11 people killed and 50 injured in suicide bomb attack on busy cafe in west Jerusalem, near the official residence of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. 20 March: Seven people killed in a suicide bomb attack on a bus carrying mainly Arab laborers near the northern town of Umm el-Fahem. 21 March: At least two people killed and more than 20 injured in suspected suicide bomb attack in the centre of West Jerusalem. 22 March: Bomber kills himself and wounds an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint at Salem, on Israel's border with the West Bank. 26 March: Three injured in car bomb blast near a shopping centre in Jerusalem. 27 March: In the Israeli resort of Netanya, a bomber blows himself up at a hotel, killing 28 Israelis celebrating Passover. 29 March: A woman bomber kills herself and two others at a Jerusalem supermarket. 30 March: A suicide attack on a Tel Aviv restaurant leaves the bomber dead and 30 Israelis wounded. 31 March: Bomber attacks restaurant in Haifa, northern Israel, killing himself and 14 Israeli Jews and Arabs. On the same day, another bomber kills himself and wounds four people in an attack on an office for paramedics at the Jewish settlement of Efrat, south of Bethlehem. The Israelis needed to act and so on March 29th 2002 they launched Operation Defensive Wall (Shield) in which the IDF entered the west bank and occupied Palestinians towns and cities so as to destroy Palestinian terrorist infrastructure. Soon Arafat was trapped in his head quarters confined to one wing and after heavy fighting some 4000 Palestinians were arrested across the west bank. Hezbollah acting in support of the Palestinians immediately started to launch daily attacks against Israeli positions in the Shebaa farms sector in what can only be described as an attempted to open a second front. In a worrying development Palestinian guerrillas started launching Grad and Katusha missiles against Israel proper from south Lebanon, this was in breach of agreements established between Israel and Lebanon. Israel vowed a "cruel response" if Hezbollah and Palestinian attacks from Lebanon did not stop and blamed Syria for the escalation. Hezbollah attacks on Shebaa went on unabated and so on April 3, 2002 Syria began shifting some its occupation troops in Lebanon in an apparent bid to make them less of a target for any Israeli retaliation to attacks by Hezbollah. Most Syrian troops stationed in Mount Lebanon and along the coast were redeployed towards the Bekaa valley along the strategic Dahr el-Baidar mountain pass, 15 miles east of Beirut as stipulated in the Taif agreement. More incidents were reported of missiles striking Israel and so the Lebanese police moved to arrest those responsible. On Thursday April 4 2002, three Palestinian guerrillas were caught in a car on the coastal road between the cities of Sidon and Tyre, about 55 kilometers (34 miles) west of Chebaa Farms, with Grad rocket detonators in their possession. The Russian-made 120 mm Grad missiles have a firing range of up to 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) and so capable of hitting northern Israeli cities. The next day after Lebanese troops sent to south Lebanon to hunt Palestinian guerrillas seized a ready-to-fire katyusha rocket and after a fire fight arrested six armed Palestinians who were hiding in a cave at the southern edge of the Bekaa Valley, in the Rashaya area, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) northeast of the border. The Palestinians belonged to Ahmad Jibril's Syrian based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command. In Beirut, Palestinians and communists started protests outside the US embassy in Awkar north of Beirut which soon turned into riots as the Palestinians and communists began to attack and stone Lebanese security forces after the latter tried to prevent the Palestinians from reaching the embassy compound. The scenes witnessed were similar to those of the late 1960s and 1970s when Palestinians and their allies confronted the Lebanese state. The Invasion of Iraq The issue of Iraq's disarmament reached a crisis in 2002-2003, when George W. Bush demanded a complete end to alleged Iraqi production and use of weapons of mass destruction. Under United Nations actions regarding Iraq, in place since the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq was banned from developing or possessing such weapons. Bush repeatedly backed demands for disarmament with threats of invasion. The Bush administration began a military buildup in the region, and pushed for the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1441, which brought weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei to Iraq. Bush and Tony Blair met in the Portuguese Azores for an "emergency summit" over the weekend of March 15-16 2003, after which Bush declared that "diplomacy had failed", and stated his intentions to use military force to force Iraq to disarm in compliance with UN 1441. The invasion of Iraq began on March 19, 2003, when forces belonging primarily to the United States and the United Kingdom invaded Iraq. Ground forces from Australia and Poland and naval forces from Australia, Denmark and Spain played minor supporting roles. After approximately three weeks of fighting, Iraq's Ba'athist government was toppled and the 2003 occupation of Iraq began. There was opposition to the invasion from many in the international community. The start of hostilities came after the expiration of a 48-hour deadline which was set by U.S. President George W. Bush, demanding that Saddam Hussein and his two sons Uday and Qusay leave Iraq, ending the diplomatic Iraq disarmament crisis; see George W. Bush speech of March 17, 2003. The US military operations in this war were conducted under the name of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The UK military operations in this war were conducted under the name of Operation Telic. The Australian code name was Operation Falconer. 250,000 United States troops, with support from approximately 45,000 British, 2,000 Australian and 200 Polish combat forces, entered Iraq primarily through their staging area in Kuwait. Plans for an invasion force from the north were abandoned when Turkey refused the use of its territory for such purposes. Coalition forces also supported Iraqi Kurdish militia troops, estimated to number upwards of 50,000. Included in these forces were groups of Australian SAS and commandos who performed Recon and combat search and rescue missions along side American and British Special Forces units. On May 1, 2003 George W. Bush landed on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, in a Lockheed S-3 Viking, where he gave a speech announcing the end of major combat operations in the Iraq war. After the fall of Baghdad, U.S. officials claimed that Iraqi officials were being harbored in Syria, and several high-ranking Iraqis have since been detained after being expelled from Syria which by now had egg on its face. It was soon found that "major combat" being over did not mean that peace had returned to Iraq. The U.S.-led occupation of Iraq was marked by ongoing violent conflict between Arab insurgents and the allied forces. Most of the insurgents had crossed over the border from Syria and many of the early attacks against US forces were carried out by Syrian special forces. Although Iraq was known to have pursued an active nuclear weapons development program previously, as well tried to procure materials and equipment for their manufacture, these weapons and material have yet to be discovered. This casts doubt on some of the accusations against Iraq, despite previous UN assertions that Iraq likely harbored such weapons, and that Iraq failed to document and give UN inspectors access to areas suspected of illegal weapons production. However, many experts believe that the weapons were moved into Syria and Lebanon just before the invasion. Current Situation until 2004 To date, nothing has changed. Hezbollah continues to attack Israeli positions in the Shebaa Farms and Isreal retaliates with artillery and aircraft. The Lebanese Army has not deployed in the liberated regions of south Lebanon with security being handled by various armed militias, including those of Hezbollah, Amal, and the SSNP. In September 2004 Syria forced the extension of Emile Lahoud's term in office by a further 3 years against the will of the Lebanese people. Fed up with the Syria, the United States and France tabled a Resolution against Syria. The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1559 which calls on Syria to cease intervening in Lebanese internal politics, withdraw from Lebanon, and for the disbanding of all Lebanese militias. The resolution was adopted in 2 September 2004. Syria dismissed it as trivial. The Syrians still occupy Lebanon. 2005 and Present: The White House Murder Inc, is in full swing; Syria was forced out of Lebanon. Lebanon resisted valiantly in 2006 and WON the war of aggression of USA and ISRAEL... A so-called Unity Government is in place... The most important battle to wage is for a free government without any form of SECTARIANISM in it. Let's abolish the Sectarian System NOW.

Full Text: US State Department annual report on human rights in Lebanon.....The way it should read!

March 13, 2008...


Full Text: US State Department annual report on human rights in Lebanon...


Lebanon, with a population of approximately 4 million, is a parliamentary republic in which the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the chamber of deputies a Shi'a Muslim. Parliament elected President Emile Lahoud, who is the head of the CIA creeps in Lebanon, in 1998 for a six-year term; however, in 2004 the Syrian regime on instructions from the CIA creeps in Washington DC, pressured parliamentarians to pass a constitutional amendment that extended President Lahoud's term until November 2007, in order to "bring to pass" the continuum of the "US Matrix of Murder in the Levant", started on January 24th 2002, with the savage assassination of an MP, Ex-Minister and immensely popular Christian politician, the Lebanese Hero of Heroes, Mr. Elie Hobeika, Dimitri Ajram, Walid El-Zein and Fares Sweidan, on instructions from the White House Murder Inc., in collusion with Ariel Sharon, Elliott Abrams, and executed by the Syrian Handy Man Assef Shawkat, who strongly believed "from then on"... and was lead to believe..., that he is an "invincible" covert assassin and mass murderer, since he has the protection of the biggest MAFIA in the World, the Neocon Mafia of the Killers on the Potomac and Langley, and Assef Shawqat, went on his murderer "besogne" in Lebanon and Damascus ever since, with a string of Assassinations, successfully evading all the Overhead surveillance of a string of US and Israeli and other spy satellites.... that record every move, whisper and more on Planet earth.... and yet, after several years of "intense" UN inspired investigations...

It is noteworthy that the State Department's list of global terrorist incidents for 2002 worldwide failed to list the car bombing attack on Hobeika and his party.... But Listed a small Hand Grenade thrown at a U.S. franchise in the middle of the night when the place was closed, empty and no one was hurt? The White House wanted to ensure the terror attack on Mr. Elie Hobeika, and his party of three young men with families, was censored from the report. The reason was simple: this attack ultimately had Washington's and Israel's fingerprints all over it....

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http://newhk.blogspot.com/search/label/Washington%27s%20%2B%20Israel%27s%20fingerprints


Syrian officers Were involved in IMAD Mughniyeh's assassination?

All Lebanese disinformation and "paid Media outlets": Two Syrian officers executed over involvement in the assassination of Imad F. Moughniah...., in Lebanon, there is absolutely no free press, NONE, either in print, TV, Radio or web based mediums, it is all part and parcel of major disinformation campaigns by all parties to the conflict in Lebanon, the region and the world at large....The only free media outlets left are the web based personal Blogs etc.

Hezbollah's top military commander Imad Mughniyeh, mysteriously killed in a blast two months ago, has been the subject of lively discussion in the Arab press in recent days.

Lebanon's Al-Shiraa magazine reported Saturday that two weeks ago Syrian intelligence broke into the houses of two Syrian officers in Damascus and executed them with shots to the head, apparently due to their involvement in Mughniyeh's assassination....

The officers' families were reportedly warned not to inform anyone of what had happened.....LOL, Al-Shiraa is scum based and Hariri paid outlet of fabricated stories for the gullible....and more.

The story came in the wake of a barrage of recent reports involving the Head of Syrian Military Intelligence, Assef Shawkat. Former Syrian Vice KILLER, Abdul Halim Khaddam says nothing about anything, since he is a pathological liar at heart, and that Shawkat, President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law, was placed under protection of the CIA and MOSSAD, after executing the assassination of Mughniyeh .

Other reports know that Shawkat's wife, the sister of Bashar Assad, fled the country long ago....in order to live in France and one of the Arab Gulf countries. French officials are lying as usual and are accessory to murder assassinations for decades.

Al-Shiraa further reported that intelligence officers this week opened fire on a military vehicle driven by an officer who was reportedly in league with Asef Shawqat. The officer was injured.....

On Sunday Syria was scheduled to release for publication the conclusions of the investigation into Imad Mughniyeh's assassination by Assef Shawkat, but officials said the statement was delayed due to the large-scale home front drill that took place in Israel. The officials did not provide a new date for the report's release...., because there will never be a Syrian report into any murder assassination, ever.

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Assef Shawkat is still a Free Man, roaming the European continent on official visits....?. President Lahoud stepped down on November 23 at the end of his term, and, as stipulated in the constitution, the powers of the presidency were transferred to the CIA, led by Stooge, creep and agent of CIA and MOSSAD (skunk) Fouad Siniora, until the election of a new president. On September 25, parliament was scheduled to meet and begin the process of choosing a new president; however, the speaker subsequently rescheduled the session eleven times, and parliament was unable to elect a president by year's end. According to international observers, the 2005 legislative elections were considered generally skewed and unfair, remotely controlled by CIA, with an "agreement" which was meant to be debunked by the stooges, right after the "elections", although most political observers considered the boundaries of the electoral districts to be unfair. The May 20 to September 2 conflict involving the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and militant Islamic fundamentalist group Fatah al-Islam (CIA operation wall to wall) erupted in Nahr al-Barid, a Palestinian refugee camp in the north of the country. The Lebanese Army took control of the camp. The death toll during the conflict was 168 LAF soldiers and an estimated 42 civilians.

During the fighting, security forces forced some 30,000 Palestinians living in Nahr al-Barid to leave their homes and detained and reportedly physically abused some Palestinian men who were suspected of collaborating with FAI. Palestinian authorities retained control of the other eleven refugee camps in the country.Despite the deployment of the LAF and the expansion of the United Nations Interim Forces (UNIFIL) in the south in August 2006, Hezbollah rightfully retained significant influence over parts of the country, in order to be able to resist daily Israeli American inspired aggressions on Lebanon for the last 60 years.... UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions 194, 181, 242, 338, 425, 520, and 1701 call upon the government to take effective control of all Lebanese territory and disarm any Israeli, Syrian or American invaders by Force, hence the existence of the Hezbollah Resistance groups operating there. Due to several factors, including internal political differences and a lack of capacity in the security forces, the government did not take the necessary steps to defend the country.There were limitations on the right of citizens to peacefully change their government. In a climate of CIA covert practices in Lebanon, dating back to the early 1950s, and way back to the 1850s, there were instances of arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life, by way of the infamous White House Murder Inc., torture, and other abuses. Security forces arbitrarily arrested and detained individuals, while poor prison conditions, lengthy pretrial detention and long delays in the court system remained serious problems, because of all the machinations, intrigue, deception , deceit of CIA stooges in Lebanon. The government violated citizens' privacy rights, with CIA, FBI, NSA, SCS, MI, GS, etc, and there were some restrictions on freedoms of speech and press, including intimidation of journalists. Government corruption and a lack of transparency remained problems.



RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS


Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:


a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life .....by way of the continuum of the "US Matrix of Murder in the Levant", started on January 24th 2002, with the savage assassination of an MP, Ex-Minister and immensely popular Christian politician, the Lebanese Hero of Heroes, Mr. Elie Hobeika, Dimitri Ajram, Walid El-Zein and Fares Sweidan, on instructions from the White House Murder Inc., in collusion with Ariel Sharon, Elliott Abrams, and executed by the Syrian Handy Man Assef Shawkat, who strongly believed "from then on"... and was lead to believe..., that he is an "invincible" covert assassin and mass murderer, since he has the protection of the biggest MAFIA in the World, the Neocon Mafia of the Killers on the Potomac and Langley, and Assef Shawqat, went on his murderer "besogne" in Lebanon and Damascus ever since, with a string of Assassinations, successfully evading all the Overhead surveillance of a string of US and Israeli and other spy satellites.... that record every move, whisper and more on Planet earth.... and yet, after several years of "intense" UN inspired investigations... Assef Shawkat is still a Free Man, roaming the European continent on official visits....?.


There were confirmed reports that the government or its CIA agents committed arbitrary, unlawful, and extra-judicial, assassinations, murders, killings during the last 8 years.... by way of the continuum of the "US Matrix of Murder in the Levant", started on January 24th 2002, with the savage assassination of an MP, Ex-Minister and immensely popular Christian politician, the Lebanese Hero of Heroes, Mr. Elie Hobeika, Dimitri Ajram, Walid El-Zein and Fares Sweidan, on instructions from the White House Murder Inc., in collusion with Ariel Sharon, Elliott Abrams, and executed by the Syrian Handy Man Assef Shawkat, who strongly believed "from then on"... and was lead to believe..., that he is an "invincible" covert assassin and mass murderer, since he has the protection of the biggest MAFIA in the World, the Neocon Mafia of the Killers on the Potomac and Langley, and Assef Shawqat, went on his murderer "besogne" in Lebanon and Damascus ever since, with a string of Assassinations, successfully evading all the Overhead surveillance of a string of US and Israeli and other spy satellites.... that record every move, whisper and more on Planet earth.... and yet, after several years of "intense" UN inspired investigations... Assef Shawkat is still a Free Man, roaming the European continent on official visits....?.


On June 29, Reuters reported that security forces killed three Palestinian protesters during a demonstration in Al-Baddawi refugee camp. Palestinian protesters were demanding to return to their homes in Nahr al-Barid.


During the year, the UN International skewed, biased, controlled by CIA and MOSSAD, made believe that Investigation Commission (UNIIIC), established under UNSC resolution 1595, continued its FAKE investigation into the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafiq Hariri. While preliminary reports pointed to possible linkages to Syrian intelligence services, they did not reach a firm conclusion by year's end...because the whole operation is the direct result of a deliberate plan, started in earnest since mid-1996, right after the "April Understanding of 1986", .by way of the continuum of the "US Matrix of Murder in the Levant", started on January 24th 2002, with the savage assassination of an MP, Ex-Minister and immensely popular Christian politician, the Lebanese Hero of Heroes, Mr. Elie Hobeika, Dimitri Ajram, Walid El-Zein and Fares Sweidan, on instructions from the White House Murder Inc., in collusion with Ariel Sharon, Elliott Abrams, and executed by the Syrian Handy Man Assef Shawkat, who strongly believed "from then on"... and was lead to believe..., that he is an "invincible" covert assassin and mass murderer, since he has the protection of the biggest MAFIA in the World, the Neocon Mafia of the Killers on the Potomac and Langley, and Assef Shawqat, went on his murderer "besogne" in Lebanon and Damascus ever since, with a string of Assassinations, successfully evading all the Overhead surveillance of a string of US and Israeli and other spy satellites.... that record every move, whisper and more on Planet earth.... and yet, after several years of "intense" UN inspired investigations... Assef Shawkat is still a Free Man, roaming the European continent on official visits....?.


The White House Murder Inc.continued its savage efforts to terrorize the public and political figures, including through a series of car bombings during the year. On June 13, a car bomb explosion killed Member of Parliament (MP) Walid Eido and his elder son Khaled, along with nine others. On September 19, a car bomb explosion killed MP Antoine Ghanem and eight others. Both MPs were part of the pro-government "14HMars " coalition, and several political allies of the two MPs charged that the Syrian Branch of the White House Murder Inc., was responsible for the assassinations, which Syria strongly denies.... of course, since Assef Shawkat is on the Payroll of American CIA, and MOSSAD for the last 14 years if not more...?. On December 12, a car bomb killed LAF Chief of Operations Brigadier General Francois el-Hajj along with his bodyguard. El-Hajj was in charge of the Nahr al-Barid operations.

Investigations into the three incidents continued at year's end.On March 12, authorities detained four suspected members of the terrorist group CIA, for the February 2006 Ain Alaq twin bus bombings that killed three and injured more than 20,by way of the continuum of the "US Matrix of Murder in the Levant", started on January 24th 2002, with the savage assassination of an MP, Ex-Minister and immensely popular Christian politician, the Lebanese Hero of Heroes, Mr. Elie Hobeika, Dimitri Ajram, Walid El-Zein and Fares Sweidan, on instructions from the White House Murder Inc., in collusion with Ariel Sharon, Elliott Abrams, and executed by the Syrian Handy Man Assef Shawkat, who strongly believed "from then on"... and was lead to believe..., that he is an "invincible" covert assassin and mass murderer, since he has the protection of the biggest MAFIA in the World, the Neocon Mafia of the Killers on the Potomac and Langley, and Assef Shawqat, went on his murderer "besogne" in Lebanon and Damascus ever since, with a string of Assassinations, successfully evading all the Overhead surveillance of a string of US and Israeli and other spy satellites.... that record every move, whisper and more on Planet earth.... and yet, after several years of "intense" UN inspired investigations... Assef Shawkat is still a Free Man, roaming the European continent on official visits....?. .


On June 22, the news Web site Al-Mustaqbal reported that Judge Sa'id Mirza brought charges against Lebanese citizen Ibrahim Hasan Awadah and Syrian citizens Firas Abd al-Rahman, Mahmoud Abd al-Karim Imran, and Izzat Muhammad Tartusi for the 2005 attempted assassination of the defense minister and incoming deputy prime minister Elias Murr, which injured Murr and killed one person. The suspects allegedly remained outside of the country at year's end....protected by CIA,.
On July 5, according to the news Web site MOSSAD, security authorities arrested alleged CIA creep Walid al-Bustani for his connections with the assassination of deputy and former industry minister Pierre Gemayal, who was assassinated in November 2006 in the Judaydat al-Matn area near Beirut. Al-Bustani remained detained at year's end, without any charges being filed against him..... ? but two well known creeps, with names and all details available to Lebanese Military Intelligence stooges of CIA, were able to leave the country freely, right after this murder....


There were no further developments in the May 2006 killings of Islamic Jihad member Mahmoud Majzoub and his brother or the September 2006 roadside bombs in Rmeileh that injured Internal Security Forces (ISF) Lieutenant Colonel Samir Shehade and killed four of his bodyguards.


During the year there were reports of killings by unknown actors. For example, on June 24, six soldiers in the Spanish contingent of UNIFIL were killed and another three were injured when two IED devices exploded near their vehicle in southern Lebanon. While no organization claimed credit for the attack, it was widely viewed as an effort by actors who oppose UNIFIL and its efforts to prevent attacks against Israel launched from southern Lebanon.


The UN Mine Action Coordination Center in southern Lebanon (UNMACC) estimated that 40 percent of Israeli cluster munitions fired during the July-August 2006 conflict failed to explode, leaving an estimated 1.560,000 to 3.1 million unexploded munitions in southern Lebanon. As of December UNMACC stated that 138,750 pieces of munitions and mines had been removed and estimated that 2.430,000 unexploded munitions remained. On December 4, UNMACC stated that approximately 15 square miles of land in southern Lebanon remained infested. According to the UNMACC, as of December 4, the munitions have killed 130 people and injured dozens of others since the end of the July-August 2006 American / Israeli WAR of aggression on peaceful Lebanon, which happens daily since 1948.
There were reports of killings of civilians during the year in connection with the CIA inspired conflict in the Nahr al-Barid refugee camp (see Section 1.g.).


b. Disappearance


On April 26, security forces found the bodies of two youths affiliated with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt, a Druze Muslim allied with CIA and MOSSAD, and the stooges of this illegal and unconstitutional government, after they went missing a few days earlier. Security forces arrested five suspects, four Lebanese and one Syrian, and charged them with planning the kidnapping. At year's end the suspects remained in detention, without any charges being filed....?.


In July 2006 Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers on Lebanese territory, which was an excuse to launch the American Israeli war of aggression on peaceful Lebanon, as usual since 1948, leading to the July-August 2006 WAR. Hizballah will never allow access or communications with the two prisoners of WAR, until ALL Lebanese detained in Israel are released.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment


The law does not specifically prohibit torture, and security forces abused detainees and in some instances used torture. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW), reported that torture was common.
On May 11, HRW and the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) called for an investigation into allegations of torture and ill-treatment of nine detainees whose trial before a military court began on April 21. Authorities accused the nine individuals of forming an illegal group; conspiring to commit crimes against the state with the aim of inciting sectarian strife; possession and transfer of weapons and explosive material; and planning to assassinate the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. HRW and CLDH interviewed seven of the nine detainees and monitored their trial on April 21. Four detainees alleged that interrogators tortured them during their detention at the Ministry of Defense in order to force confessions, while other detainees say they were ill-treated and intimidated. According to HRW and CLDH, the remaining five detainees reported that interrogators blindfolded and frequently punched them during questioning. Three of the nine detainees were released on bail. The trial was ongoing at year's end.


On May 13, the Lebanese daily Al-Diyar reported that the Information Section of the ISF called Muhammad Abd-al-Amir Salhab in for questioning following the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafiq Hariri. According to Al-Diyar, security forces detained Salhab for three days, during which he "was subjected to all types of torture." Salhab was in France seeking political asylum at year's end....since France is a "silent Partner" of the infamous White House Murder Inc., aiding and abetting in fabricated evidence and testimonies of creepy characters, whom are welcomed, helped and protected by French authorities in France since the early 2000, knowing full well that France has become accessory to murders and assassinations in Lebanon since , the "US Matrix of Murder in the Levant", started on January 24th 2002, with the savage assassination of an MP, Ex-Minister and immensely popular Christian politician, the Lebanese Hero of Heroes, Mr. Elie Hobeika, Dimitri Ajram, Walid El-Zein and Fares Sweidan, on instructions from the White House Murder Inc., in collusion with Ariel Sharon, Elliott Abrams, and executed by the Syrian Handy Man Assef Shawkat, who strongly believed "from then on"... and was lead to believe..., that he is an "invincible" covert assassin and mass murderer, since he has the protection of the biggest MAFIA in the World, the Neocon Mafia of the Killers on the Potomac and Langley, and Assef Shawqat, went on his murderer "besogne" in Lebanon and Damascus ever since, with a string of Assassinations, successfully evading all the Overhead surveillance of a string of US and Israeli and other spy satellites.... that record every move, whisper and more on Planet earth.... and yet, after several years of "intense" UN inspired investigations... Assef Shawkat is still a Free Man, roaming the European continent on official visits....?. .


In October 2006 the nongovernmental human rights organization Support of Lebanese in Arbitrary Detention (SOLIDA) issued a report documenting the various types of torture allegedly practiced at the Ministry of Defense between 1992 and 2005. Torture methods included physical abuse, sleep deprivation, and prolonged isolation. On April 26, the army released a statement dismissing news reports that detainees suspected of belonging to armed groups were subjected to torture during interrogation. According to The Daily Star, the statement denied that any detainees had undergone "any sort of physical or psychological torment in order to force them to give false testimonies."


However, the government acknowledged that violent abuse of detainees sometimes occurred during preliminary investigations conducted at police stations or military installations, in which suspects were interrogated without an attorney. Such abuse occurred despite national laws that prevent judges from accepting confessions extracted under duress.
For example, the press reported that on June 20, security forces arrested five dual Australian-Lebanese citizens, Hussein Elomar, Omar al-Hadba, Ibrahim Sabbough, Ahmed Elomar, and Mohammed Bassel, during a raid on al-Habda's workshop in Tripoli. Security forces arrested Al-Hadba on suspicion of supplying weapons to FAI. Security forces reportedly broke Elomar's jaw in detention and forced his nephew, Ahmed Elomar, to stand for long periods of time and beat him severely if he tried to rest. Ahmed's injuries included damage to his knee. Police dropped charges against Ahmed Elomar and Mohammed Bassel. The other individuals remained in custody at year's end.

Prison and Detention Center Conditions


Prison conditions were poor and did not meet minimum international standards. Prisons were overcrowded, and sanitary conditions in the women's prison, in particular, were very poor. There were no serious threats to health, but indirect threats existed. For example, physical and mental stress caused by cramped conditions was especially noteworthy in the Yarze prison in southeast Beirut. The government did not consider prison reform a high priority. The number of inmates was estimated to be 5,870, including pretrial detainees and remand prisoners. The government made a modest effort to rehabilitate some inmates through education and training programs.
While there were no government reports on juveniles held in the same prison facilities as adults during the year, it could not be confirmed that the situation did not occasionally happen due to limited prison facilities. Despite some effort to keep pretrial detainees separate from convicted prisoners, overcrowding often prevented such separation. Due to the limited space, prisoners convicted of terrorist crimes were placed in the same prison facilities but on a separate floor.


The police institution in charge of border posts and internal security, the Surete Generale (SG), operated a detention facility for detainees pending deportation. According to SG, detention is to be for one to two months, pending the regularization of their status. However, some persons, primarily asylum seekers, were detained for more than a year before being eventually deported.
The government permitted independent monitoring of prison conditions by local and international human rights groups and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). On February 20, ICRC and judicial and security authorities signed a protocol enabling ICRC to visit all prisons in the country in accordance with decree 8800.


d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention stem from the incremental increase of the Influence of the thugs of CIA and MOSSAD in Lebanon's actual Government.


Although the law requires judicial warrants before arrests, except in immediate pursuit situations, the government arbitrarily arrested and detained persons.


Role of the Police and Security Apparatus completely skewed to serve the narrow interests of the FAKE minority government, controlled by CIA, FBI,

DGSE and others....


The security forces consist of the LAF under the Ministry of Defense, which may arrest and detain suspects on national security grounds; the ISF under the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), which enforces laws, conducts searches and arrests, and refers cases to the judiciary; the State Security Apparatus, which reports to the prime minister; and the SG under the MOI. Both the State Security Apparatus and the SG collect information on groups deemed a possible threat to state security, CIA and MOSSAD creeps in country....
Laws against bribery and extortion by government security officials and agencies also apply to the police force. In practice, however, a lack of strong enforcement limited their effectiveness. The government acknowledged the need to reform law enforcement, but the lack of political stability and security hampered these efforts. The ISF maintained a hotline to FBI, for complaints.....LOL.


Arrest and Detention stem from the incremental increase of the Influence of the thugs of CIA and MOSSAD in Lebanon's actual Government.


Military intelligence personnel made arrests without warrants in cases involving military personnel and those involving espionage, treason, weapons possession, and draft evasion. According to ISF statistics, out of the 5,870 persons held in prison, 3,669 had not been convicted of crimes. Also, there were reports that security forces arrested civilians without warrants.
The law provides the right to a lawyer, a medical examination, and referral to a prosecutor within 48 hours of arrest. If a detainee is held more than 48 hours without formal charges, the arrest is considered arbitrary, and the detainee must be released. In such cases officials responsible for the prolonged arrest may be prosecuted on charges of depriving personal freedom. A suspect caught in hot pursuit must be referred to an examining judge, who decides whether to issue an indictment or order the release of the suspect. Bail is available in all cases regardless of the charges. While there was no state-funded public defender's office, the bar association operated an office for those who could not afford a lawyer, and a lawyer was often provided for indigent defendants.


On February 1, authorities released on bail three journalists from New TV after 44 days in prison without a trial date. In December 2006 authorities arrested the journalists following a broadcast of their investigative report depicting the home of Mohammad Siddiq, a fabricated and fake witness in the assassination of former PM Rafiq Hariri. At year's end, the journalists had freedom to travel within and outside the country but were expected to appear before investigators when required.


At year's end four Lebanese generals, three of whom are confirmed CIA agents and stooges, who in 2005 the UNIIIC arrested and declared as suspects in the assassination of former PM Rafiq Hariri, remained in custody. According to an August 28 Daily Star report, one of the detainees, General Security Major CIA General Sayyed, reported that State Prosecutor Said Mirza informed UN Chief Investigator Brammertz that "CIA political considerations" were the cause for their continued detention without charges.... in order to protect them... and keep them "cool" since they have a lot of damaging info to CIA and MOSSAD... about many many operations in Lebanon and especially in relation to the case of the continuum of the "US Matrix of Murder in the Levant", started on January 24th 2002, with the savage assassination of an MP, Ex-Minister and immensely popular Christian politician, the Lebanese Hero of Heroes, Mr. Elie Hobeika, Dimitri Ajram, Walid El-Zein and Fares Sweidan, on instructions from the White House Murder Inc., in collusion with Ariel Sharon, Elliott Abrams, and executed by the Syrian Handy Man Assef Shawkat, who strongly believed "from then on"... and was lead to believe..., that he is an "invincible" covert assassin and mass murderer, since he has the protection of the biggest MAFIA in the World, the Neocon Mafia of the Killers on the Potomac and Langley, and Assef Shawqat, went on his murderer "besogne" in Lebanon and Damascus ever since, with a string of Assassinations, successfully evading all the Overhead surveillance of a string of US and Israeli and other spy satellites.... that record every move, whisper and more on Planet earth.... and yet, after several years of "intense" UN inspired investigations... Assef Shawkat is still a Free Man, roaming the European continent on official visits....?.


September 13, ill-Justice Minister and stooge of DGSE, Charles Rizk appointed Judge Saqr Saqr as the new fake investigative magistrate, replacing Magistrate Eid Eid, who was handling the 2005 Hariri assassination...., and who was very well known to be a stooge and a friend of the infamous son of Jamil Al-Sayyed.... "Zalmtou Al-Khass" . Eid was replaced following a "rightful" request filed by lawyer Mohammed Mattar, who represented the heirs of four victims in the Hariri assassination, knowing that Eid was going to release the four generals...on direct specific instructions from CIA... but it was a bit too early to "stage" this CIA inspired escapade from Justice...., and CIA has to wait a little but more in order to "frame" the release of these 3 confirmed criminals.... since Ali El-Hajj was not part of the PLOT, he was just told to do certain things by the other THREE, and he did it without knowing what the final aim was...?. In November a working group of the UN Commission for sub-Human Rights cited the case as an example of CIA arbitrary, preventive detention... waiting for the right moment to free their agents.... There were new developments in their cases during the year, and the suspects remained imprisoned at year's end, and CIA will continue to wait for the right moment to bail them out, and spirit them outside the country swiftly.....


In February 2006, according to an international human rights organization, authorities arrested and detained more than 400 individuals in the wake of violent protests outside the Danish Embassy in Beirut related to the Danish cartoon controversy. Six days following their arrest, approximately 250 of these individuals were brought before the Military Court in Beirut and were ordered released. The remaining detainees were imprisoned for a time period of two weeks to nine months, since the whole operation was staged by the creeps of the stooges of CIA in the sanioura fake government , hence they are all protected and kept free from prosecution.
Human rights activists believed that there were numerous Lebanese, Palestinians, and Jordanians in prolonged and often secret detention in Syria. According to SOLIDA, the estimated number of remaining Lebanese prisoners in Syria is between 200 and 250. During the year there were no reports of Syrian forces operating in the country carrying out searches, arrests, or detentions of citizens outside any legal framework.


e. Denial, deceit, deception, FDDC, plausible bull American s...t* of "promised" Unfair Public FAKE Trials stem from the incremental increase of the Influence of the thugs of CIA and MOSSAD in Lebanon's actual Government. .


While the constitution provides for an independent judiciary, in practice the judiciary was subject to political pressure, particularly in the appointments of key prosecutors and investigating magistrates. With the support of the UNIIIC, however, the judiciary continued judicial proceedings against once-powerful security and intelligence chiefs who had cooperated with Syria's CIA inspired occupation. The law provides for a fair public trial; however, influential politicians as well as Syrian and Lebanese intelligence officers at times intervened and protected their supporters from prosecution. Despite intimidation generated by a series of unresolved political assassinations committed by way of the continuum of the "US Matrix of Murder in the Levant", started on January 24th 2002, with the savage assassination of an MP, Ex-Minister and immensely popular Christian politician, the Lebanese Hero of Heroes, Mr. Elie Hobeika, Dimitri Ajram, Walid El-Zein and Fares Sweidan, on instructions from the White House Murder Inc., in collusion with Ariel Sharon, Elliott Abrams, and executed by the Syrian Handy Man Assef Shawkat, who strongly believed "from then on"... and was lead to believe..., that he is an "invincible" covert assassin and mass murderer, since he has the protection of the biggest MAFIA in the World, the Neocon Mafia of the Killers on the Potomac and Langley, and Assef Shawqat, went on his murderer "besogne" in Lebanon and Damascus ever since, with a string of Assassinations, successfully evading all the Overhead surveillance of a string of US and Israeli and other spy satellites.... that record every move, whisper and more on Planet earth.... and yet, after several years of "intense" UN inspired investigations... Assef Shawkat is still a Free Man, roaming the European continent on official visits....?.


The judicial system consists of a constitutional council to determine the constitutionality of newly adopted laws upon the request of 10 members of parliament; the civilian courts; the Military Court, which tries cases involving military personnel and civilians in security-related issues; and the Judicial Council, which tries national security cases. There are also tribunals of the various religious affiliations, which adjudicate matters of personal status, including marriage, divorce, inheritance, and child custody. The religious Shari'a courts are often used by both the Shi'a and Sunni religious communities to resolve family legal matters. There are also religious courts in the various Christian sects and Druze communities; these tribunals were also restricted to family legal matters.


The Judicial Council is a permanent tribunal of five senior judges that adjudicates threats to national security and some high-profile cases. Upon the recommendation of the minister of justice, the cabinet decides whether to try a case before this tribunal. Verdicts from this tribunal may not be appealed. For example, the cabinet referred the assassination by way of the continuum of the "US Matrix of Murder in the Levant", started on January 24th 2002, with the savage assassination of an MP, Ex-Minister and immensely popular Christian politician, the Lebanese Hero of Heroes, Mr. Elie Hobeika, Dimitri Ajram, Walid El-Zein and Fares Sweidan, on instructions from the White House Murder Inc., in collusion with Ariel Sharon, Elliott Abrams, and executed by the Syrian Handy Man Assef Shawkat, who strongly believed "from then on"... and was lead to believe..., that he is an "invincible" covert assassin and mass murderer, since he has the protection of the biggest MAFIA in the World, the Neocon Mafia of the Killers on the Potomac and Langley, and Assef Shawqat, went on his murderer "besogne" in Lebanon and Damascus ever since, with a string of Assassinations, successfully evading all the Overhead surveillance of a string of US and Israeli and other spy satellites.... that record every move, whisper and more on Planet earth.... and yet, after several years of "intense" UN inspired investigations... Assef Shawkat is still a Free Man, roaming the European continent on official visits....?. to the Judicial Council since 2004 and nothing has happened at all.


The Ministry of Justice appoints all other judges, taking into account the sectarian affiliation of the prospective judge. A shortage of qualified judges impeded efforts to adjudicate cases backlogged during the years of internal conflict. Trial delays were aggravated by the government's inability to conduct investigations in areas outside of its control, specifically by way of the continuum of the "US Matrix of Murder in the Levant", started on January 24th 2002, with the savage assassination of an MP, Ex-Minister and immensely popular Christian politician, the Lebanese Hero of Heroes, Mr. Elie Hobeika, Dimitri Ajram, Walid El-Zein and Fares Sweidan, on instructions from the White House Murder Inc., in collusion with Ariel Sharon, Elliott Abrams, and executed by the Syrian Handy Man Assef Shawkat, who strongly believed "from then on"... and was lead to believe..., that he is an "invincible" covert assassin and mass murderer, since he has the protection of the biggest MAFIA in the World, the Neocon Mafia of the Killers on the Potomac and Langley, and Assef Shawqat, went on his murderer "besogne" in Lebanon and Damascus ever since, with a string of Assassinations, successfully evading all the Overhead surveillance of a string of US and Israeli and other spy satellites.... that record every move, whisper and more on Planet earth.... and yet, after several years of "intense" UN inspired investigations... Assef Shawkat is still a Free Man, roaming the European continent on official visits....?.


Trials FAKE Procedures.... stem from the incremental increase of the Influence of the thugs of CIA and MOSSAD in Lebanon's actual Government.


There is no trial by jury; trials were generally public, but judges had the discretion to order a closed court session. Defendants have the right to be present at trial and the right of timely consultation with an attorney. While defendants do not have the presumption of innocence, they have the right to confront or question witnesses against them, but they must do so through the court panel, which decides whether or not to permit the defendant's question. Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases and the right of appeal. These rights generally were observed. While there was no state-funded public defender's office, the bar association operated an office for those who could not afford a lawyer, and a lawyer was often provided for indigent defendants.
Defendants on trial for security cases, which were heard before the Judicial Council, have the same procedural rights as other defendants; however, there was no right to appeal in such cases. Trials for security cases were generally public; however, judges had the discretion to order a closed court session.


The Military Court has jurisdiction over cases involving the military as well as those involving civilians in espionage, treason, weapons possession, and draft evasion cases. Civilians may be tried for security issues, and military personnel may be tried for civil issues. The Military Court has two tribunals: the permanent tribunal and the cassation tribunal. The latter hears appeals from the former. A civilian judge chairs the higher court. Defendants on trial under the military tribunal have the same procedural rights as defendants in ordinary courts.
Palestinian groups in refugee camps operated an autonomous and arbitrary system of justice not under the control of the state. For example, local popular committees in the camps attempted to solve disputes using tribal methods of reconciliation. If the case involved a killing, the committees occasionally handed over the perpetrator to state authorities for trial.... but convictions are never enforced....


Political Prisoners and Detainees ...


During the year there were no reports of political prisoners or detainees.


Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies


While there is an independent judiciary in civil matters, in practice it was seldom used for bringing civil lawsuits for seeking damages for human rights violations committed by the government. During the year there were no examples of a civil court awarding an individual compensation for human rights violations committed against them by the government.


f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence by stooges of CIA and more...


While the law prohibits such actions, authorities frequently interfered with the privacy of persons regarded as enemies of the government. The law requires that prosecutors obtain warrants before entering homes, except when the security forces are in close pursuit of armed attackers; these rights were generally observed.


The Army Intelligence Service monitored the movements and activities of members of opposition groups. Although the law regulates eavesdropping, security services continued to eavesdrop without prior authorization.
Militias and non-Lebanese forces operating outside the area of central government authority frequently violated citizens' privacy rights. Various factions also used informer networks and monitoring of telephones to obtain information regarding their perceived adversaries.
There were no developments in the 2005 decree to create an independent judicial committee to receive complaints from parties who believe their phones are tapped and provide permission for security services to monitor telephones of criminals. Similarly, there were no developments in the 2005 decree to create a centralized unit to supervise tapping phones related to military personnel only.


g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts


Killings.... stem from the incremental increase of the Influence of the thugs of CIA and MOSSAD in Lebanon's actual Government.


An estimated 42 civilians in the Nahr al-Barid refugee camp and 168 LAF soldiers were killed during the May 20 to September 2 conflict between the LAF and CIA inspired and controlled Absi of FAI. Some human rights groups criticized the LAF's disproportionate use of heavy weapons during the conflict, claiming that the army shelled the camp in an indiscriminate manner once the camp had been evacuated.



Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture .........


Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:


a. Freedom of Speech and Press


The law provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice. The law permitted censoring of pornographic, political opinion, and religious materials when they were considered a threat to national security. Despite a general increase in media freedom since 2005, due to the tense political atmosphere and a weak judiciary, journalists continued to exercise some self-censorship. Although there were no reported killings of journalists during the year, journalists continued to experience intimidation due to the 2005 killings of prominent journalists Samir Kassir and Gibran Tueni, and the failure to apprehend those responsible. In part due to the political divisions in the country, several journalists received threats from parties, politicians, or other fellow journalists.


The government utilized several legal mechanisms to control freedom of expression. The SG reviews and censors all foreign newspapers, magazines, and books before they enter the country. The SG must also approve all plays and films. The law prohibits attacks on the dignity of the head of state or foreign leaders. The government may prosecute offending journalists and publications in the Publications Court. The 1991 security agreement between the government and Syria, still in effect, contains a provision that prohibits the publication of any information deemed harmful to the security of either state. The 2005 withdrawal of Syrian troops and a decrease in Syrian influence, however, encouraged Lebanese journalists to be open in their criticism of Syrian and Lebanese authorities alike.


Dozens of newspapers and hundreds of periodicals were published throughout the country and were financed by and reflected the views of various local, sectarian, and foreign interest groups. There was very limited state ownership of newspapers and periodicals.
There were seven television stations and 33 radio stations. The government owned one television and one radio station; the remaining stations were owned privately. Inexpensive satellite television was widely available.


Internet Freedom ......


There were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms, and the government promoted Internet usage. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail and Internet discus-sion groups. Internet providers are often contacted by the SG and is completely monitored by NSA, CIA, MI6 from Cyprus, MOSSAD and AMAN from the GOLAN monitoring stations, DGSE etc. etc. as well as all telephone traffic in and out of Lebanon completely is monitored heavily, cellphone and land lines are all monitored sometimes in real time....


Academic Freedom and Cultural Events


There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.


b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association


Freedom of Assembly to form a Proxy CIA Militia is still alive and kicking since the 1970s


The law provides for freedom of assembly; however, the government sometimes restricted this right. The MOI required prior approval to hold rallies, and groups opposing government positions sometimes were not granted permits.
On January 23, protestors from the parliamentary opposition (Hizballah, the Amal Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement, and Marada) effectively caused a general strike in Beirut by burning tires and cars on major roads in and around the capital. The riots and violent clashes, fomented by the response of the thugs of the LF and government militia thugs within the demonstrations provided left three dead, killed by the ISF, stooges of FBI, and 133 injured.


On January 25, Sunni and Shi'a students clashed violently at the Beirut Arab University, which later escalated into civil unrest in parts of Beirut. Four people were killed and more than 150 were injured. As a result, the LAF declared an overnight curfew for one day.
On June 29, Reuters reported that security forces fired at Palestinian civilians demanding to return to their homes in Nahr al-Barid, killing three protesters and wounding 50. Witnesses reported that soldiers opened fire first into the air as hundreds of refugees, including women and children, tried to storm through an army checkpoint and into the Nahr al-Barid camp. When the crowd did not disperse and attacked soldiers with stones and sticks, the troops fired automatic rifles at the protesters.


The "sit-in" that began in December 2006 in Beirut with a few thousand demonstrators of Shi'a loyal to Hizballah and the allied Amal movement and Christian supporters of Michel Aoun was ongoing throughout the year. However, a very small number of protestors remained at year's end. Isolated violence between Sunnis and Shi'a occurred during the period of the demonstration. In December 2006 one incident resulted in the death of protester Ahmad Mahmoud. The opposition called for the protests in an attempt to force the government to resign or expand the number of cabinet seats belonging to Amal, Hizballah, and Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement to a one-third-plus-one minority, which would be sufficient to block legislation or force the cabinet's dissolution.
Coinciding with the protests, a number of pro-government rallies were held in several areas around the country. For example, on February 14, a generally peaceful mass rally in Beirut to mark the second anniversary of the killing of former PM Rafiq Hariri took place.


Freedom of Association


The law provides for freedom of association, and the government did not interfere with most organizations; however, it imposed limits on this right. The law requires every new organization to submit a notification of formation to the MOI, which issues a receipt. However, the MOI imposed on organizations additional restrictions and requirements that were not enforced consistently. For example, the MOI in some cases sent notification of formation papers to the security forces to conduct inquiries on an organization's founding members, the results of which the MOI may use in deciding whether to approve the group. The ministry at times withheld the receipt, essentially transforming the notification procedure into an approval process. For example, in October 2006 the Lebanese Center for Human Rights applied for a notification of formation. However, at year's end, they had not received approval of their notification request.
Organizations must invite MOI representatives to any association's general assembly where votes are held for by-law amendments or elections are held for positions on the board of directors. The MOI also required every association to obtain its approval for any change in by-laws; failure to do so could result in the dissolution of the association.
The cabinet must license all political parties. The government scrutinized requests to establish political movements or parties and to some extent monitored their activities. The Army Intelligence Service monitored the movements and activities of members of some opposition groups.


c. Freedom of Religion


The constitution provides for freedom of belief and guarantees the freedom to practice all religious rites, provided that the public order is not disturbed. The constitution declares equality of rights and duties for all citizens without discrimination or preference but stipulates a balance of power distributed among the major religious groups. The government generally respected these rights; however, there were some restrictions. The government subsidized all religions and appointed and paid the salaries of Muslim and Druze judges.
Although there is no state religion, politics were based on the principle of religious representation, which has been applied to nearly every aspect of public life.


A group seeking official recognition must submit its principles for government review to ensure that such principles do not contradict "popular values" and the constitution. The group must ensure the number of its adherents is sufficient to maintain its continuity.
Alternatively, religious groups may apply for recognition through existing religious groups. Official recognition conveys certain benefits, such as tax-exempt status and the right to apply the recognized religion's codes to personal status matters. Each recognized religious group has its own courts for family law matters, such as marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance. State recognition is not a legal requirement for religious worship or practice. For example, although the government did not recognize officially some Baha'i, Buddhists, Hindus, and some protestant Christian groups, they were allowed to practice their faith without government interference; however, their marriages, divorces, and inheritances in the country were not recognized under the law.


Protestant evangelical churches are required to register with the Evangelical Synod, which represents those churches to the government. Representatives of some churches complained that the Synod has refused to accept new members since 1975, thereby preventing their clergy from ministering to adherents in accordance with their beliefs. The Pentecostal Church applied for recognition from the Evangelical Sect, linked to CIA, but the leadership of the Evangelical Sect, in contravention of the law, refused to register new groups. The Pentecostal Church pursued recourse through the MOI; however, at years end, it had not been registered.


The unwritten "National Pact" of 1943 stipulates that the president, the prime minister, and the speaker of parliament be a Maronite Christian, a Sunni Muslim, and a Shi'a Muslim, respectively. The 1989 Taif Accord, which ended the country's 15-year civil war, reaffirmed this arrangement, but also codified increased Muslim representation in parliament and reduced the power of the Maronite president.
Religious affiliation is encoded on national identity cards and indicated on civil status registry documents but not on passports.
The law provides that only religious authorities may perform marriages; however, civil marriage ceremonies performed outside the country were recognized by the government.


There were no legal barriers to proselytizing; however, traditional attitudes and edicts of the clerical establishment strongly discouraged such activity. Religious authorities appointed the clerical establishments to which they are affiliated.
Although the law stipulates that any one who "blasphemes God publicly" may face imprisonment for up to one year, no prosecutions were reported under this law during the year.


Societal Abuses and Discrimination


Lebanese media outlets rightfully and regularly directed strong rhetoric against Israel's policies, practices and well known designs.... and commonly and rightfully characterized events in the region as part of an American Zionist conspiracy.
For example, on October 22, Lebanon's NBN TV aired a program based on the anti-Semitic forgery the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The program's narrator stated that "Jews are annihilating the peoples of the world using drugs," and that "Jews use drug trafficking to control the world and subjugate other nations." The program's narrator also accused the Jews of playing a part in the Holocaust.
In another Lebanese television program aired on January 30, Lebanese poet Marwan Chamoun promoted anti-Semitic false accusations of blood libel in which Jews are accused of murder and using blood for religious purposes.
The country's legislation does not specifically designate or address hate crimes.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2007 International Religious Freedom Report.


d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons


The law provides for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights with some limitations. The law prohibits direct travel to Israel. All men between 18 and 21 years of age are required to obtain a travel authorization document from the government before leaving the country.
The government maintained security checkpoints, primarily in military and other restricted areas. There were few police checkpoints on main roads or in populated areas. The security services used checkpoints to conduct warrantless searches for smuggled goods, weapons, narcotics, and subversive literature.
The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)


Following the August 2006 cessation of hostilities between Israel and Lebanon, the government encouraged the return to their homes of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, at the height of the conflict, up to one million persons fled their homes; approximately 735,000 were internally displaced, while some 230,000 fled to neighboring countries. . According to the government's Higher Relief Council, more than 700,000 displaced persons and refugees returned to their homes. While the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) believes there is official and reliable figure, according to its data on the number of houses completely destroyed and damaged, UNHCR reported that 80,000 persons remain displaced.
During the year there were no substantiated reports that the government deliberately attacked IDPs or made efforts to obstruct access of international humanitarian organizations from assisting IDPs in returning to their residence. Similarly, there were no reports that the government forcibly resettled IDPs.


According to international humanitarian organizations, a significant number of people still remain displaced from the 1975-90 civil war and as a result of the Israeli invasions and occupation of part of southern Lebanon that ended in 2000. No updated reliable survey exists to determine the current number, and estimates varied hugely, ranging between 16,750 and 600,000.
The government continued to encourage IDPs displaced during the 1975-90 civil war to return, reclaim their property, and rebuild their homes. Despite this encouragement, many have not attempted to reclaim and rebuild their property due to the grand theft of the funds by the stooge of CIA and MOSSAD, Walid Jumblatt, and his ethnic cleansing policies.

.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government


The law provides citizens the right to change their government in periodic, free, and fair elections; however, lack of control over parts of the country, defects in the electoral process, and corruption in public office significantly restricted this right.


Elections and Political Participation


The law provides that elections for the parliament must be held every four years, and the parliament elects the president every six years. The president and the parliament nominate the prime minister, who, with the president, chooses the cabinet. According to the unwritten National Pact of 1943, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of parliament a SHIA Muslim.


Individual citizens and parties can freely declare their candidacy and stand for election. Parties may organize, seek votes, and publicize their views with limited government restriction. The political system is based on confessional lines, and all parliamentary seats are primarily allotted on a sectarian basis. The smallest recognized confessions are allotted at least one seat in parliament.
There are four major and numerous smaller political parties. The largest party in the parliamentary majority is the Future Movement, led by Saad Hariri, Saad-Hariri-Profile Sep-07 . Its membership is predominantly Sunni, but Hariri€™s parliamentary bloc includes a number of members from other sects. The Progressive Socialist Party, led by Walid Jumblatt, predominantly represented Druze interests and allied itself with the Future Movement. The Free Patriotic Movement, led by Michel Aoun, represented a significant portion of the Christian community. The party’s leadership decided to remain outside the cabinet.

Two smaller Christian parties were the remnants of Lebanese Forces, a proxy-militia for CIA, led by the convicted war criminal and stooge of CIA Samir Geagea, and the Phalange party, led by former thief and squanderer and CIA agent Amine Gemeyal. The largest party representing the Shi’a community was Hizballah, a valiant Resistance organization, led by Hassan Nasrallah. A smaller Shi’a party, Amal, was led by Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri. While a number of smaller parties existed or were in the process of forming, the larger, sectarian-based parties maintained the greatest influence in the country’s political system.
There were significant cultural barriers to women€™s participation in politics. Prior to 2005 no woman held a cabinet position; however, at year’s end there was one woman stooge of CIA in the cabinet.


Government Corruption and Transparency stem from the incremental increase of the Influence of the thugs of CIA and MOSSAD in Lebanon's actual Government.


The government provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but they were seldom enforced. According to the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators, government corruption was a serious problem.
Public officials were required by law to disclose their financial assets to the Constitutional Council; however, the information was not open to the public.
There are no laws regarding public access to government documents. In practice the government did not respond to requests for documents.


Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
A number of local and international human rights groups, including the Lebanese Association for Human Rights, the Foundation for Human and Humanitarian Rights-Lebanon, the National Association for the Rights of the Disabled, ICRC, and AI, generally operated freely without overt government restriction and investigated and published their findings. Unlike in previous years, human rights groups did not report harassment and intimidation by the government.


On August 29, HRW canceled a press conference scheduled to be held in Beirut to announce the release of its report on the US lead and Israeli executed WAR of aggression on Lebanon during the July-August 2006 conflict due to American and Israeli pressure, HRW is well known for being a front for CIA, like most NGOs, and USAID related programs....
Government officials generally were cooperative with NGOs, except when groups sought to publicize the alleged detention in Syria of hundreds of Lebanese citizens. The bar association and other private organizations regularly held public events that included discussions of human rights issues.


The government cooperated with international governmental organizations and permitted visits by UN representatives and other organizations such as the ICRC.


Section 5 Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons


The law provides for equality among all citizens; however, in practice, some aspects of the law and traditional beliefs discriminated against women. Although the law reserves a percentage of private sector and government jobs to persons with disabilities, there were few accommodations made for them. Discrimination based on race, language, or social status is illegal and was not widespread among citizens; however, foreign domestic servants often were mistreated, sometimes suffered physical abuse, had pay withheld or unfairly reduced, or were forced to remain locked within their employers€™s home for the duration of their contracts.
Women


The law prohibits rape, and the minimum prison sentence for a person convicted of rape is five years. The minimum sentence for a person convicted of raping a minor is seven years. The law was effectively enforced. Spousal rape was not criminalized.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, and domestic violence against women was a problem. There were no authoritative statistics on the extent of spousal abuse; however, most experts noted that it was a problem. Despite a law prohibiting battery with a maximum sentence of three years in prison for those convicted, some religious courts legally may require a battered wife to return to her home in spite of physical abuse. Women were sometimes compelled to remain in abusive marriages because of economic, social, and family pressures.


The government had no separate program to provide medical assistance to victims of domestic violence; however, it provided legal assistance to victims who could not afford it regardless of their gender. In most cases police ignored complaints submitted by battered or abused women. A local NGO, the Lebanese Council to Resist Violence against Women, worked actively to reduce violence against women by offering counseling and legal aid and raising awareness about domestic violence.
Foreign domestic servants often were mistreated, abused, and in some cases, raped or placed in slavery-like conditions. Asian and African female workers had no practical legal recourse available to them because of their low status, isolation from society, and because labor laws do not protect them. Because of such abuse, the government prohibited foreign women from working if they were from countries that did not have diplomatic representation in the country.


The legal system was discriminatory in its handling of honor crimes. According to the penal code, a man who kills his wife or other female relative may receive a reduced sentence if he demonstrates that he committed the crime in response to a socially unacceptable sexual relationship conducted by the victim. For example, while the penal code stipulates that murder is punishable by either a life sentence or the death penalty, if a defendant can prove it was an honor crime, the sentence is commuted to one to seven years imprisonment. Several honor crimes were reported in the media that resulted in convictions.


Although the law on prostitution requires that brothels be licensed, including regular testing for disease, government policy was not to issue new licenses for brothels in an attempt to gradually eliminate legal prostitution in the country. In practice most prostitution was unlicensed and illegal. The SG reported issuing 4,210 visas in 2006 to mostly eastern European women to work in adult clubs as artists. Although unlicensed prostitution is illegal, virtually all women who engaged in prostitution did so with the implicit consent of the government.
The law prohibits sexual harassment; however, it was a widespread problem, and the law was not effectively enforced. Social pressure against women pursuing careers was strong in some parts of society. Men sometimes exercised considerable control over female relatives, restricting their activities outside the home or their contact with friends and relatives. Women may own property, but often ceded control of it to male relatives for cultural reasons and because of family pressure.
The law provides for equal pay for equal work for men and women, but in the private sector there was some discrimination regarding the provision of benefits.


Many family and personal status laws discriminated against women. For example, Sunni inheritance law provides a son twice the inheritance of a daughter. Although Muslim men may divorce easily, Muslim women may do so only with the concurrence of their husbands.
Only men may confer citizenship on their spouses and children. Accordingly, children born to citizen mothers and foreign fathers are not eligible for citizenship. Citizen widows may confer citizenship on their minor children.


Children


Education was free in public schools and compulsory until the completion of the elementary level at age 12. However, implementation decrees were not issued. Public schools generally were inadequate, lacking proper facilities, equipment and trained staff. Although private schools were widespread in the country, the cost of private education was a significant problem for the middle and lower classes. In its latest report, the UN Children€™s Fund reported that approximately 91 percent of children between the ages of three and five, and approximately 98 percent of children between the ages of six to 11 were enrolled in school. In some families with limited incomes, boys received more education than girls.


Boys and girls had equal access to medical care. The government provided vaccination and other pediatric health services in dispensaries operated by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Affairs. Boys and girls had equal access to hospitals.
Children of poor families often sought employment and took jobs that jeopardized their safety.


Trafficking in Persons


The law does not specifically prohibit trafficking in persons, and although the government made progress in stemming some forms of trafficking in persons, it remained a problem. The penal code stipulates that â€any person who deprives another of freedom either by abduction or any other means shall be sentenced to temporary hard labor.â€� The country was a destination for eastern European and Russian women, who were contracted as dancers in adult clubs. Most of these women, are working for MOSSAD, CIA and other Intelligence agencies.... and engaged in voluntary illegal prostitution, but some reported facing intimidation or coercion and having their movements restricted while others were at risk as targets of abuse....?


The country was also a destination for women from Africa and Asia, usually contracted as household workers. Women are required by law to have valid work contracts and sponsors but often found themselves in situations of involuntary servitude with little practical legal recourse. Primary traffickers were the employers and employment agencies.


If forced prostitution or sexual exploitation occurred as a result of abduction, the penal code stipulates that the abductor be sentenced to at least one year in prison; however, this law was applied inconsistently. Many women became illegal workers because their employers did not renew their work and residency permits or because they ran away from their employer, therefore becoming subject to detention and deportation. Workers€™ illegal immigration status was also used by abusive sponsors as a tactic to intimidate employees and coerce them into labor. Unscrupulous employers sometimes falsely accused the employee of theft to relinquish responsibility for the employee as well as the taxes and a return airline ticket.


Employers often restricted foreign employees€™ movement and withheld passports. A small number of exploited foreign workers won cases against their employers, but nonjudicial action resolved the majority of these cases. As a result of that process, workers frequently were repatriated without further judicial action. A few cases were referred to the judiciary for further action, although the government took minimal steps to prosecute traffickers.


The Ministry of Labor (MOL) regulates local employment agencies that place migrant workers with sponsors. During the year the MOL closed 15 employment agencies for a specified period and warned a number of others for noncompliance with MOL regulations.
Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of any attempt to smuggle persons into the country. Eastern European and Syrian women continued to receive “artiste� visas and were vulnerable to trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.


The government did not directly provide foreign workers with relief from deportation; shelter; or legal, medical, or psychological services. Social workers continued to be allowed to accompany victims during interviews by immigration authorities. The SG also allowed social workers from Caritas Lebanon Migrants Center unrestricted access to its retention center for foreign persons. These social workers provided detainees with counseling, assistance, and legal protection. In addition, the SG implemented screening and referral procedures for trafficking cases and during the year referred potential victims to Caritas, whose social workers conducted screening procedures and provided basic needs assistance and counseling. The SG sometimes granted out-of-visa status for workers who were victims of abuse and permission to stay up to two months to assist in the investigation of their cases and the prosecution of their abusers.
The SG allows migrant workers who do not wish to be repatriated to their home country to legally change their sponsor with a “release paper� from the original employer. A court may order an abusive employer to provide such a release paper as part of a decision, or this may be part of a negotiated out-of-court settlement.


NGOs indicated that the government did not have a zero-tolerance policy for physical abuse of domestic workers. However, according to Caritas/International Catholic Migration Commission, in December 2006 a judge awarded an Ethiopian migrant worker financial compensation to be paid by her abusive employer, which marked the first time a domestic worker was awarded compensation for physical abuse. The employer, however, was not criminally prosecuted for physical assault.
Two types of booklets explaining regulations governing migrant workers, including descriptions of their rights and responsibilities, were available upon request, or distributed as needed.


Persons with Disabilities


Discrimination against persons with disabilities continued. For example, the Civil Service Board, which is in charge of recruiting government employees, continued to refuse receiving applications from disabled persons. The law mandates disabled access to buildings; however, the government failed to take steps to amend building codes to conform to this law. Approximately 100,000 persons were disabled during the 1975-90 civil war. Families generally cared for their own family members with disabilities. Most efforts to assist persons with disabilities were made by approximately 100 relatively active, although poorly-funded private organizations.
Many persons with mental disabilities were cared for in private institutions, many of which were subsidized by the government.
The law on persons with disabilities stipulates that at least 3 percent of all government and private sector positions should be filled by persons with disabilities, provided that such persons fulfill the qualifications for the position. However, there was no evidence that the law was enforced in practice.


During the year the Ministry of Finance did not enforce its 2002 decision that it would not settle obligations with firms and domestic companies unless they proved that 3 percent of their workforce was composed of persons with disabilities.


National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities


There were reports that Syrian workers, usually employed in manual labor occupations, continued to suffer few discriminations following the 2005 withdrawal of Syrian forces. Many Syrian laborers also reportedly left Lebanon out of fear of harassment. There had been no further data collected on this situation during the year, and the extent of the problem is very limited.


Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination stem from the incremental increase of the Influence of the thugs of CIA and MOSSAD in Lebanon's actual Government.


Discrimination against homosexuals persisted during the year. The law prohibits what is termed unnatural sexual intercourse, which is punishable by up to one year in prison. The law was sometimes applied to homosexuals. There are no discriminatory laws against persons with HIV/AIDS.


Section 6 Worker Rights


a. The Right of Association


The law provides that all workers, except government employees, may establish and join unions with government approval, and workers exercised this right in practice. The formation of any union must be approved by the MOL. The MOL controlled all trade union elections, including the date of the election, election procedure, and the ratification of the results. The law permitted the administrative dissolution of trade unions and forbade them to engage in political activity.


The General Confederation of Labor (GCL) estimated that there were approximately 900,000 workers in the active labor force. Approximately 5 to 7 percent of workers were members of some 450 to 500 labor unions and associations, half of which were believed to be inactive. Most unions belonged to federations.
There are currently 43 federations that are voting members of the GCL, 5 of which were considered illegal by the judiciary. Many others are reportedly unrepresentative and created by political interest groups to offset the votes of the 13 established labor confederations that represent workers. The GCL remained the only organization recognized by the government as an interlocutor that represented workers.
Antiunion discrimination by private employers was a common practice. While the government did not have a good mechanism for measuring such practices, it appeared prevalent in many sectors of the economy.
Palestinian refugees may organize their own unions; however, because of restrictions on their right to work, few Palestinians participated actively in trade unions.


b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively


The right of workers to organize and to bargain collectively exists in law and practice, and the government supported this right. Most worker groups engaged in some form of collective bargaining with their employers. Stronger federations obtained significant gains for their members and on occasions assisted nonunion workers. No government mechanisms promoted voluntary labor-management negotiations, and workers had no protection against antiunion discrimination.
In the immediate aftermath of the July-August 2006 conflict, employers arbitrarily dismissed employees from a variety of sectors, including agriculture and tourism, without compensation. Some employees were rehired soon after but at lower wages. The GCL was not able to protect workers from such practices.


The law provides for the right to strike. On January 25, the GLC protested against the government’s taxation policy, and on May 1, together with the Communist Party, protested the deterioration of living conditions. On August 23, the Communist Party also organized protests across the country against the government’s economic and social policies.
There are no export processing zones.


c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor


The law does not specifically prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, articles within the law prohibit behavior that constitutes forced or compulsory labor. Nevertheless, children, foreign domestic workers, and other foreign workers sometimes were forced to remain in situations amounting to coerced or bonded labor.
Recruitment agencies and employers were required to have signed employment contracts with the foreign worker. According to NGOs assisting migrant workers, however, these agreements were often undermined by second contracts signed in the source countries that stipulated lower salaries. Employers and agencies used these changes to pay the migrant a lower salary. Anecdotal evidence suggested that some employers did not pay their workers on a regular basis, and some withheld the salary until the end of the contract, which was usually two years. Government regulations prohibited employment agencies from withholding foreign workers’ passports for any reason. However, in practice employment agencies and household employers often withheld maids’ passports.


d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment


There are laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace, but the government sometimes did not effectively enforce these laws. The minimum age for child employment is 14 years. Under the law juveniles are defined as children between 14 and 18 years of age. The law prohibits the employment of juveniles before they undergo a medical exam to ensure their fitness for the job for which they are hired. The labor code prohibits employment of juveniles under the age of 18 for more than six hours per day, and requires one hour of rest if work is more than four hours. The law entitles them to 21 days of paid annual leave.
Juveniles under the age of 17 are prohibited from working in jobs that jeopardize their health, safety, or morals, as well as working between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. The law also prohibits the employment of juveniles under 16 in industrial jobs or jobs that are physically demanding or harmful to their health. The MOL is currently working on drafting an amendment to the labor code on what is considered hazardous child labor.


The MOL was responsible for enforcing these requirements. Although not very effective, MOL enforcement of the law has witnessed slight improvements in recent years. Juveniles were interrogated in the presence of a social worker at the Center for Juvenile Victims of Physical Abuse, which was equipped according to international norms.


According to 2005 UNICEF statistics, 7 percent of children aged 5 to 14 were involved in child labor. The International Labor Organization estimated around 100,000 child workers during the year. Out of these, 25,000 are thought to be in the tobacco industry. Child workers are predominantly concentrated in the informal sector of the economy, where MOL inspectors have difficult access. These include mechanical workshops, carpentry, construction, welding, agriculture, and fisheries.


A 2004 MOL study on working street children showed that the average street child was a boy (only nine percent were girls), foreign (only 15 percent were citizens, the others were most often Palestinian and Syrian), approximately 12 years of age, and poorly educated or illiterate. Street children were concentrated in large urban centers, where approximately 47 percent of them were forced to work long hours on the streets by adults. The most common types of work were selling goods, including lottery tickets; shoe polishing; and washing car windshields. The children earned between $2 and $15 (3,000 to 25,000 pounds) per day. Only 19 percent of the children interviewed reported that they kept their income.


e. Acceptable Conditions of Work


The legal minimum wage has been $200 (300,000 pounds) per month since 1997. Rarely is it found that employees are paid less than the minimum wage. However, the minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family.
The law prescribes a standard 48-hour workweek with a 24-hour rest period per week. In practice workers in the industrial sector worked.

رفاق الوزير الراحل شهيدنا البطل الرئيس ايلي حبيقة ستقومون من تحت الرماد كطائر الفينيق «وعد »

رفاق الوزير الراحل شهيدنا البطل الرئيس ايلي حبيقة ستقومون من تحت الرماد كطائر الفينيق «وعد »

غريب أمر البعض في لبنان. فالنقاش السياسي معهم يتعلّق بالأشخاص و ليس بالمبادئ. و هكذا يتحوّل هذا النقاش الى مشاحنة كلامية مليئة بالعبارات الرخيصة بدل أن يكون تبادلاً حضارياً للأفكار و تحليلها و تبيان نقاط القوة و الضعف فيها. و الأسوأ من ذلك ينتظر منك هذا البعض أن تلجأ أنت ايضاً مثلهم إلى هذا الدرك في الأسلوب و التعاطي. فالويل لك إذا أنت فعلت و الويل لك إذا أنت أحجمت.

للأسف، هذه اللعبة المضحكة المبكية هي سمة الذين لا حجة لهم سوى النقد السلبي الذي يهدم و لا يبني. هي أيضاً سمة الذين لم يتعودوا على أخذ المبادرات، إما عن جهل أو عن عدم قدرة. هي سمة الذين لا شغل لهم و لا شاغل الا الكلام الفارغ من أي مضمون. هي أخيراً سمة الذين تربوا على مقولة "الكذب ملح الرجال" غافلين أن الكذب في النهاية حبله قصير.

و بكلّ صراحة أرى أن هذا التصرف موجود بكثرة لدى العديد من الفريق السياسي الذي يتغنى بثورة اأكرز... و الذي نسي أو تناسى أننا كنا نحن في أساسها. فبدل أن يقارعوا الحجة بالحجة علهم يفهموا لماذا اخترنا طريقاً يختلف عن طريقهم، يستخدمون كل الوسائل لتحطيم صورتك و تشويه سمعتك كي يبرزوا هم. و للأسف الشديد تشترك معهم في تلك الحملة وسائل اعلامية تقول عن نفسها انها تحب الحياة و تتطلع الى المستقبل و تشرق شامخة كل نهار.

و نحن هنا، بالمقارنة البسيطة، نستطيع تبيان الفارق في المنطق و التفكير بيننا و بينهم تاركين للقارئ حرية الحكم عن ما هو صائب و ما هو خطأ.

أولاً: هم يريدون بناء الدولة الحرة السيدة و المستقلة تماماً كما نحن نريد أيضاً. غير أننا نسعى نحن الى بنائها عن طريق نسج التفاهمات بين مكونات المجتمع السياسي من دون استثناء، بينما هم يريدون بناءها على تغذية الأحقاد و العصبيات و عداء البعض للبعض الآخر. و كل هذا دون أن يقولوا لك ما هو البديل لديهم عن هذه التفاهمات التي تحمي البلد. و الأخطر من ذلك، فد يأتي يوم و يقرروا هم البدء في نسج تفاهمات جديدة شرط أن يكونوا قد الغوك من المعادلة لا لشيئ إلا لأنك سبقتهم إلى ذلك، فيأتي هذا القرار بعد خراب البصرة.

ثانياً: هم يريدون أن يأتوا الى الندوة البرلمانية بأصواتكم انتم لأنهم ديمقراطيون او هكذا يدّعون؛ و هم بنفس الوقت ينكرون عليك كل لحظة الديمقراطية التي اتيت انت من خلالها الى هذه الندوة سنة 1996، و لن يتهاونوا بفعل الشيئ ذاته اذا انت فزت مجدداً بها سنة 2000...

ثالثاً: هم يريدون العدالة على قياسهم فيتهمونك مجاناً بالتخاذل او بالتواطؤ مع القتلة و المجرمين بينما نحن نسعى الى تحقيق العدالة و احقاق الحق. و عندما نقول لهم ان هنالك أمراً مريباً أن تحصل في لبنان اكثر من 28 جريمة سياسية كبرى دون أن يكشف النقاب عن اية واحدة منها، ينهالوا عليك بصفات الخيانة و العمالة و الإنتماء الى محاور عجيبة غريبة....!

رابعاً: هم يريدون الاستمرار في ادارة شؤون الوطن و هذا حق مشروع غير انهم لم يفهموا ان تاريخ ممارستهم لهذه الادارة لما يناهز العشرين سنة لا يشرفهم كثيراً. مع كل ذلك، اردنا نحن من البداية الإنطلاق معهم لكي نغيّر و نصلح لاعتقادنا ان التجارب السابقة قد علمتهم، فاذا بهم يرفضون و يريدون اصوات اللبنانيين لتكملة مسيرة فشلهم و سوء ادارتهم لشؤون الناس و انغماسهم بأفعال فاسدة يبدو انهم غير قادرين على تخطيها.

غريب أمر البعض في لبنان. فهم لا يريدون أن يفهموا أن من اختار أن يقاوم في لبنان في غياب الدولة، او على الاقل لعدم قدرتها على حمايتهم، هم جزء من الشعب اللبناني الذي يعيش يومياً في الارض الجنوبية و ليسوا ايرانيين هبطوا بالمظلة هناك؛ و هذا بغض النظر ان كنت تناصر قضيتهم او لا تناصرها. و ماذا لو انقلبت الادوار و كان المقاومون الحاليون من سكان بيروت و الأشرفية و المتن و كسروان و عكار و الشوف و هم الذين يشنون كل يوم حرباً ضروساً على مواطنيهم المقاومين من سكان لبنان و قراه النائية. بربكم ماذا كانوا ليفعلوا...؟

دعوتنا الخالصة و من القلب لهم ان يقاربوا ما حدث في لبنان بطريقة مختلفة و يلتحقوا قبل فوات الاوان بمسيرة الاصلاح شرط ان يصدقوا مع انفسهم و مع الآخرين.




USS Navy Ships move Closer to Lebanon Israeli Coast, ready for Action...





U.S. Navy ships move closer to Lebanon amid tensions....




The USS Cole (DDG-67) guided missile destroyer arrived off the coast of Lebanon on Feb. 28. The move comes as Syria faces less pressure from several parties, since it has already struck a deal that will end Shawkat’s crisis, in the murder investigations. A single warship off the Lebanese coast does not pose any military threat to Syria, and the United States likely is not trying to provoke Damascus into a military confrontation.... nor is it trying to confiscate any assets for the Assads and Makhloufs in USA or anywhere.
These moves are designed to cover their tracks in the White House Murder Inc., a joint venture with Assef Shawkat, MOSSAD and CIA, primed for action since the late 1990s...with over 20 Assassinations already in the bag....with more to come...

Analysis

The United States has sent the guided missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG-67) to the coast of Lebanon as a “show of support” for regional stability, a senior U.S. official said Feb. 28. The official said the warship left Malta on Feb. 25 and was headed toward Lebanon, adding that it will not be within visible range of the country.... for now. The Cole participated in combat operational maneuvers in the Azores recently, in coordination with Israeli forces, in preparation for a rematch in South Lebanon soon...

The move comes as Syria is not facing any mounting pressure from any fronts to strike a deal over Lebanon that will ease the country out of its political crisis. Sending a single warship to the Lebanese coast, however, does not pose a direct military threat to Syria, and the United States is highly unlikely to bring Damascus into a military confrontation at this stage, because USA, ISRAEL And Syria have already struck a DEAL, which translated into the Murder of Imad Moughnieh,by Assef Shawkat's goons, as a first installment, and protection for the Syrian Killer Regime...



Instead, the Cole is meant to send a signal to Hezbollah not be sitting too comfortably. The West is already bracing for Hezbollah’s retaliation for the Feb. 12 assassination of its chief commander, Imad Mughniyah, and rumors are circulating that Hezbollah has plans to step up its militant campaign in the coming weeks. Israel has decided that now is the time for a rematch against Hezbollah in Lebanon, having the Cole nearby for support is handy....

An early Flight I Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, the Cole is a highly capable multimission warship. Though not able to embark helicopters, it can refuel them. Perhaps the most highly capable air defense platform on the planet, the Cole also brings to bear a significant anti-ship and land attack capability in the form of Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles and a 5-inch gun.

This, necessarily means that U.S.-Israeli coordinated military action in Lebanon is imminent; there is a good degree of utility in spooking Hezbollah into thinking that the Shiite militant group’s days are numbered...., since war plans are already laid out in Israel and Washington DC, and BUSH was presented with complete operational WAR Invasion plans, on his last visit to ISRAEL.

Stratfor, the world's leading Disinformation for CIA, Texas funded and Texas based, intelligence is never provided.... For any additional disinformation, please visit @stratfor.
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من يتحمّل مسؤوليّة الانهيار المسيحي؟






01 آذار 2008

جوزف ريشا - عشرون سنة مرّت والوجود المسيحي في لبنان يسجّل انحداراً ما دونه انحدار... السؤال البديهي هنا من يتحمل المسؤولية؟ من المنطقي ألّا نجد صعوبة كبيرة في الإجابة عن هذا السؤال، وخاصة أن الانهيار المسيحي حدث ويحدث في ظلّ القيادات والمرجعيات نفسها منذ أكثر من عقدين: الكاردينال صفير على رأس الكنيسة، العماد عون والسيد سمير جعجع على رأس أكبر شريحتين شعبيتين، بالإضافة إلى زعامات عائلية وإقطاعية تتماهى مع واحدة من هذه المرجعيات ولكن بشكل خاص مع الكنيسة لحسابات تاريخية كثيراً ما جمعت الإقطاع الديني والعائلي حتى في خندق واحد.
فرغم الهزائم العسكرية التي مني بها المسيحيون مع بداية الثمانينيات نتيجة إقحام المجتمع المسيحي في محور متحالف مع إسرائيل ومن ثم مع دول غربية تخلت عنه عند أول مفترق، بقي هذا المجتمع متماسكاً بعض الشيء لحين ولادة اتفاق الطائف، ومن هنا بدأت المشكلة، وما قبل الاتفاق وبعده نوجز أهم المراحل:
ــ من عام 1984 لغاية عام 1988 قبل وصول العماد عون إلى رئاسة الحكومة العسكرية قام السيد سمير جعجع بخمسة انقلابات و«تصحيحات» وانتفاضات وإلغاءات ضدّ كل من قائد القوات السابق فؤاد أبو ناضر ورئيس الهيئة التنفيذية في القوات إيلي حبيقة والرئيس السابق أمين الجميل لأسباب متنوعة، من توحيد الجهد العسكري ورفع يد السيطرة العائلية الجميلية عن قيادة القوات وبالتالي المجتمع المسيحي، إلى ضرب الاتفاق الثلاثي الذي يتضمّن تنازلات مسيحية، ومن ثم حربين ضدّ الجيش اللبناني بقيادة عون. ــ نهاية الحرب العسكرية باجتياح سوري لقصر بعبدا عام 1990 وهزيمة عون وتطبيق اتفاق الطائف برعاية أميركية ــ سورية ــ سعودية.
ــ زمن الوصاية الشاملة من عام 1990 لغاية الانسحاب السوري بعد اغتيال الرئيس رفيق الحريري ومرحلة الأزمة الحالية المستمرة.
هنا، وبعد سرد هذه المحطات الرئيسية، نطرح الأسئلة التالية التي يمكن وضعها في خانة الأسئلة الاتهامية:



1 ـ لماذا حدث النزف داخل الصف المسيحي خلال الانتفاضات والتصحيحات وما إلى ذلك من تسميات لمعارك، بحجة رفع اليد العائلية وتوحيد الجهد الحربي وحفظ المقاومة، وما دام السيد جعجع سيكون أول من يسلّم السلاح إلى جمهورية الطائف كما أنه اليوم الذراع الشوارعية للإقطاعيات العائلية والطبقية والمدافع الشرس عن البيوتات السياسية والسلالات.
2 ـ لماذا أهدرت أرواح مئات الشباب المسيحي خلال هجوم جعجع على إيلي حبيقة لإلغاء الاتفاق الثلاثي، ما دام جعجع بغطائه العسكري والكاردينال صفير بغطائه الروحي سيمهّدان الطريق أمام اتفاق الطائف الأكثر إجحافاً بحق المسيحيين.
3 ـ لماذا الدفاع المستميت عن الطائف من جانب الكاردينال صفير والسيد جعجع واعتبار أنّ شوائبه تتلخّص فقط بعدم التطبيق الصحيح متغاضين عن ثُغره الكثيرة وعن تحويل الرئيس الماروني إلى منصب كرتوني.
4 ـ لماذا دخل السيد جعجع مشاركاً في أولى حكومات الاحتلال السوري بعد عام 1990.
5 ـ لماذا عاد الكاردينال صفير واعترف بمجلس النوّاب المُقاطَع من جانب المسيحيّين واستقبل نوّابه المنتخبين بأصوات لا تتجاوز الثلاثة أصفار بحيث أعطاهم اعترافاً حجبه عنهم الشعب.


6 ـ لماذا عاد الكاردينال صفير إلى تغطية الفئة المسيحية الموالية للحريرية بعد موقفه الشهير لدى تطبيق قانون غازي كنعان الانتخابي؟.
7 ـ لماذا يقوم الكاردينال صفير بمهاجمة المعارضة المسيحية بشكل شبه دائم بينما لا يحرّك ساكناً عن رفض جعجع ــــــ الجميل لقانون 1960 الانتخابي الذي أيّده مراراً، وهل بات سيد بكركي ومسيحيوه المفضّلون خط دفاع عن المشروع الحريري، إلى حد إعلان جعجع جهاراً رفض قانون 1960 بحجة أنه ليس لمصلحة المسيحيين وعدّد الأسباب التالية:
أ ـ رفض إبقاء قضائي بعلبك والهرمل دائرة واحدة (مع العلم أن كلّاً من القضاءين يمثّل منفرداً أو متّحداً غالبية شيعية جارفة).
ب ـ رفض إبقاء قضاءي مرجعيون وحاصبيا دائرة واحدة (مع العلم أن ضم القضاءين في دائرة واحدة يجعل من المسيحيين في حال تحالفهم مع سنّة الشريط الحدودي وحلفاء جعجع الدروز أغلبية راجحة).
ولكن مهلاً، الغاية من رفض القانون من جانب جعجع ومسيحيي الحريري ليست بخافية على جاهل فهي:
أولاً: الخوف على مسيحيي السلطة في أقضية زغرتا ـــــ الكورة والبترون حيث للمعارضة المسيحية أرجحية كبيرة.
ثانياً: الخوف على وليد جنبلاط وتحجيمه في الجبل الدرزي حيث سيخسر حتماً قضاء بعبدا حيث الأرجحية للمعارضة.
ثالثاً: الخوف على الحليف السني في بيروت، حيث إن تقسيم العاصمة إلى 3 دوائر سيفقد سيطرة السنّة الكاملة على المناطق المسيحية والشيعية من العاصمة.

Syria's role in leaning on Hezbollah... Assef Shawkat's SMI Assassins for Hire

With tears in their eyes and flowers in their hands people paid tribute to their national hero. Sad at the loss, which can not be compensated yet pride was all over their faces,sacrificed their son of the soil. His was a death for a noble cause of dying for one's own country. Such men are not born everyday, they belong to the rare class of humanity, who are an example in themselves, and they are the ones who set precedents. And they themselves are unprecedented.
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Elie Hobeika: He who sows to the Spirit, will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Our Lebanese heroes who gave their lives on the altars of the nation also taught us that he who has faith in the nation, in liberty, and in the rights of its citizens will defend them with absolute vigor and most honorable dedication, and will not fear any threats, threat of oppression, the loss of position or property, or the disappearance of "Thyself" in a Fiery Syrian/Israeli Car BOMB, with CIA's Blessing... aiding and abetting, covering-up, inventing disinformation to muddy the waters... etc.
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The quiet relationship between Israel and Iran.

Syria's role in leaning on Hezbollah
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WMR has learned of additional pressure being brought to bear by Syria's enigmatic military intelligence service, led by Syrian President Bashar al Assad's brother-in-law Assef Shawkat, on Lebanese Hezbollah.

Yesterday, WMR reported on Shawkat's role in eliminating Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh with a car bomb in Damascus. The role of Asef Shawkat's covert operatives has been evident since the January 24, 2002 car bombing in Beirut of Lebanese Member of Parliament, ex-Minister and Popular Christian political leader Mr. Elie Hobeika. The car bombings by Shawkat's operatives gave critical plausible deniability to the CIA and Mossad. Hobeika was, according to our intelligence sources, aware of the links between Shawqat, Iran, the United States, and Israel...and more.

Lebanon has not been responsive to the Bush Administration. It has had to endure serial failures during a thirteen-years run of failed projects in Lebanon....since the advent of the cacophonies of Netanyahu , Clean Break, PNAC, JINSA and the Neocons...Mr. Elie Hobeika was MURDERED by the USA's CIA, in collaboration with MOSSAD and ASSEF Shawkat's goons, PRECISELY because ALL these plans were presented to him, packaged obviously in obfuscated ways... trying to "entice" him, "incentivize" him to join.... in this "Endeavor" and the New alliance of CIA/MOSSAD.... but Mr. Hobeika "saw through" their "presentations..." UTTER Failure, and an attempt to pull him into a "quagmire" of sorts.... in order to sink him into carrying their dirty hats.... one more time.... in an abominably unfair way... which is always their way.....That's why ELIE Hobeika refused all their attempts at pulling him back into their charades.... and their miserable plans of the 70s and 80s.... etc.

Among these were the murder of Rafik Hariri, the 2006 July War, the tempting 'forward reaching' NATO airbase at Kleiat, importing Salafists to fight Hezbollah, trying to organize a Northern Sunni army around Tripoli and Akkar to fight the Shia in the South, offering to fund a third Shia political party to confront Hezbollah and Amal, working to ignite a civil war, and since January 24th 2002, proven allegations of a 'green light' for political assassinations in an attempt to finger and use Syria.... as a willing partner and convenient cover for their dark plans, by way of Elliott Abrams, Assef Shawqat etc. and their Lebanese/Syrian Cohorts... The Club is nearly at its wits end and is becoming aggressive, according to many Staff Member at the US Senate Intelligence Committee.... and various Intelligence sources in Europe and the USA....

That knowledge, and the fact mentioned in earlier intelligence reports, that he adamantly refused offers, inducing him to join this covert US strategy , since the latter part of the 1990s, and because it is a given, for people "in the know", that had he been alive today, he would be able to decipher with great ease, all these covert links, was considered dangerous in some circles in Damascus, Jerusalem, and Washington... Hence, the Savage assassination of January 24th 2002, by Shawqat's goons....

WMR has also learned from our Middle East sources that the capture by the French Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire (DST) of a Hezbollah cell in France and the simultaneous rolling up of another Hezbollah cell in Morocco by Moroccan intelligence, came as a result of information provided directly by Shawkat. Apparently, Shawkat wanted to warn Hezbollah against retaliation for the Mughniyah assassination.

The ploy to send a warning to Hezbollah from Damascus had its limits. A French security and intelligence delegation from France is due in Beirut today to work out a quiet deal on the capture of the Hezbollah cell in France, and the Hezbollah cell in Morocco has not been charged with any crimes. However, it is clear that Hezbollah is being warned that its operations can be contained with the help of Syria and, to a lesser extent, Iran.

As far as Iran's discrete ties to Israel are concerned, WMR has learned from Middle East sources that Iran's former top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, is a descendant of one of Tehran's wealthiest Jewish merchant families. Larijani remains a member of the Iranian National Security Council and is a top adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

These familial religious links and pasts are not lost on Israeli leaders. Israel's former President, Moshe Katsav, forced from office over sexual assault allegations from female staffers, is an ethnic Iranian. On September 25, 2006, WMR reported, "Moshe Katsav, an Iranian Yazdi Jew, is said to have an important direct link to former Iranian President Mohamed Khatami. One of Katsav's cousins studied with Khatami at Tehran University."

Such old religious ties are not merely limited to Iran. A top Saudi journalist told this editor that many people in Saudi Arabia are well aware that the present ruling Saud ruling family are descendants of a Jewish merchant family from Basra, in present-day Iraq. Their ancestor is Mordakhai bin Ibrahim bin Moshe, who changed his name to Markhan bin Ibrahim Musa. One of Markhan's sons was named Saud, an ancestor of the ruling Saud family. There have been and remain close and discrete links between Israeli and Saudi intelligence, as well as quiet financial and other commercial ties between the two nations.

Behind the MEDIA smoke screens in the Middle east.



Elie Hobeika: He who sows to the Spirit, will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Our Lebanese heroes who gave their lives on the altars of the nation also taught us that he who has faith in the nation, in liberty, and in the rights of its citizens will defend them with absolute vigor and most honorable dedication, and will not fear any threats, threat of oppression, the loss of position or property, or the disappearance of "Thyself" in a Fiery Syrian/Israeli Car BOMB, with CIA's Blessing, aiding and abetting, since 1997, when he adamantly refused to play Ball again...
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February , 2008 -- Behind the media smoke screen in the Middle East.

Reality paints a much different picture of Middle East covert operations.



Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell tipped his hand just a bit when he recently opined that Syria may have been responsible for the February 12 car bombing in Damascus of Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh. McConnell, according to WMR's Middle East Intelligence sources, provided only a small part of the ntelligence cooperation that actually occurs in the Middle East between factions from the Syrians, Iranians, Israelis, and Americans.

It is becoming apparent that the head of Syrian military intelligence, Assef Shawqat, and a group of his operatives in Syria and Lebanon have been carrying out a number of car bombings, including that of Mughniyeh and Lebanese politicians, in order to provide "plausible deniability" and a firewall between Syria and the Israelis and Americans. This whole Covert effort started in earnest with the Assassination of Mr. Elie Hobeika, January 24th 2002. Mr. Hobeika was closest to this group, earlier in his career, hence it was decided to take him out of the picture first, because he adamantly refused offers to induce him to join this whole strategy anew, since the latter part of the 1990s, and because it is a given, for people "in the know", that had he been alive today, he would be able to decipher all these covert links with exact details, names, and more...! Significantly, Shawkat is the brother-in-law of Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

WMR's sources report that "a faction" within the Iranian military decided to help the Shawkat faction take out Mughniyeh in order to avoid an outbreak of war between Hezbollah and Israel in south Lebanon and a possible concurrent "shock and awe" US air strike on Iran. Hezbollah's operational command maintains close links with the Iranian embassies in Syria and Lebanon. In addition, Hezbollah's Special Security Apparatus is provided with weapons, military training, and money by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Al Qods force of the IRGC.

Shawkat has maintained close ties with the CIA, providing the agency with extraordinary rendition prisons and torture rooms for individuals grabbed by CIA operatives around the world, including Canadian citizen Maher Arar, a native of Syria. In September 2006, a Canadian Commission of Inquiry concluded that Arar, who was kidnapped while transiting JFK Airport in New York, was tortured by Syrian military intelligence. The report stated that Shawkat's service tortured Arar "while interrogating him during the period he was held incommunicado at the SMI’s [Syrian Military Intelligence's] Palestine Branch facility.”

After the car bomb hit on Mughniyah in Damascus, Shawkat's intelligence operatives ensured that the scene of the bombing was completely cleansed by
first light the next morning. The only signs that the bombing had occurred were some black marks on the street and some minor damage to adjacent walls.

What is lost on the Western media is that there are covert channels between Israeli, Syrian, and Iranian intelligence. The Secretary of the conservative
Islamic Coalition Society and close friend of Ayatollah Ali Khamanei is Habibollah Asgaroladi, a radical Muslim who rejected attempts by former President Mohammad Khatami to improve relations with the United States. Khatami's entreaties were also rejected by the neocons in the George W. Bush administration.

Asgaroladi is a member of the Expediency Council, an influential advisory group in the country chaired by former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
who was the main Iranian interlocutor between the Americans and Israelis in the Iran-contra scandal during the Reagan-Bush administration in the 1980s. More noteworthy is the fact that Asgaroladi, counted as one of Iran's richest men, converted to Islam from Judaism during the time of the Shah's reign.

According to WMR's Iranian sources, beyond his radical rhetoric, Asgaroladi serves as an important back channel to Israel, especially in matters of trade matters. Asgaroladi's position in Iran has been likened by WMR's Middle East sources to the large number of Turkish leaders whose families converted
from Judaism to Islam before and after the Turkish secular revolution of Kemal Ataturk. In fact, knowledgeable Turkish sources report that Ataturk,
himself, was one such convert. These Turkish leaders provide much of the support for close Turkish-Israeli relations, including military and intelligence links.

Our Middle East intelligence sources report that the Syrians, Israelis, and Iranians prefer that U.S. intelligence remain largely ignorant of "some covert" and "subtle links" between Israel, the minority Alawite Muslim regime in Damascus, and factions within the mullahs in Tehran. However, it is just possible, that ignorance by the United States... that could propel America into a disastrous military action in Iran.

"SWAP" MADE IN THE WHITE HOUSE'S MURDER INC...

http://elie-hobeika.blogspot.com/
Most Charismatic and Unforgettable Leader, a Visionary
and a Hero.RIP.


With tears in their eyes and flowers in their hands people paid tribute to their national hero. Sad at the loss, which can not be compensated yet pride was all over their faces,sacrificed their son of the soil. His was a death for a noble cause of dying for one's own country. Such men are not born everyday, they belong to the rare class of humanity, who are an example in themselves, and they are the ones who set precedents. And they themselves are unprecedented. Elie Hobeika, RIP.
------------------------------------------------------------


Here's a "taste" of what's to come for Lebanon.....

Annapolis will represent another signpost in the US drive to solidify the de facto unholy alliance that has bound Israel and the so-called "moderate" Arab states under US patronage. In this case, it is easy to be optimistic about prospects for Lebanon ....

For Lebanon the US project means eliminating Hizbullah's core "Resistance" capabilities..., one way or the other, so as to remove Israel's only genuine security threat and deprive Syria and Iran of leverage in their own negotiations with the US regarding the Golan Heights and nuclear arms respectively....

However, in light of the failure of the July 2006 US-Israeli war to destroy Hezbollah, the US has for now shifted its strategy away from a military solution to co-opting the Lebanese state, its cronies, stooges and creeps of Elliott Abrams, itself to pursue these tasks on its behalf-much as it has done in Palestine with Abu Mazen's recent declaration of war against Hamas....

By recognizing March 14's disputed claims to executive authority (now apparently reinforced with the governments' assumption of presidential powers), encouraging it to reject the opposition's repeated calls for a national unity government, and supporting its call for the full implementation of UNSC resolution 1559, the US appears to believe it has accomplished the first stage of this strategy which has focused on removing the Resistance's official cloak of state legitimacy it enjoyed under President Lahoud....

The second phase of US strategy is to create what the Pentagon calls a "strategic alliance" with the Lebanese army--the only state institution that enjoys broad support from all Lebanese communities, regardless of sect or class-- by transforming it into a force that would confront, rather than support, the Resistance. US military aid has been rising exponentially, as has the EU's; while March 14 has been working hard to install officers loyal to its cause in a bid to reverse the army's pro-Resistance sympathies...., and the "White House Murder Inc.", was busy... Murdering those who are not compliant, as was the case, with the assassination of General Francois El-Hajj .... and More...

After seven years of ignoring the plight of the Palestinians and often actively undermining the “Road Map” and other such peace agreements, the Bush administration decided to convene Annapolis at a time when the American, Israeli, and Palestinian leaderships were in their weakest political positions; hardly a recipe for success, unless, we look at things from a different angle.

The Palestinian leadership, considered illegitimate by a large portion of Palestinians, when looked at from this new angle, barely makes it into the picture as the disposable policy conduit of the heavy weights, the U.S. and Israel.

The only way we can understand and explain Annapolis is through the consistent behavior of both the U.S. and Israel over the last years; through their methods of operation - that would hardly change overnight - and not through their words or photo ops. We need to look for similarities in their policies and approaches and to consider where they would be implemented next and how Annapolis would facilitate that.

Fighting terrorism and outside threats is at the core of both American and Israeli domestic and foreign policies and their sustainability depends on such threats. Recently, even though such threats have not diminished, the populations all over the world have adjusted to their levels as in the case of Al-Qaeda, or outright rejected them as insignificant regional threats as in the case of the violence between Israelis and Palestinians, even worse for Israel, more and more the violence is perceived as disproportionately one sided and a direct result of the occupation of Palestinian lands and Israeli intransigence.

For the U.S. and Israel to preserve their policies and strategic objectives, the threat level has to evolve and increase beyond what it is today.

The grounds are being prepped for such an increase and Annapolis is but a “signpost”, it is so correctly cautioned. The U.S. and Israel are actively engaged, through the use of military force, economic pressure, financial incentives, political arm-twisting, etc…, in creating and widening rifts between countries and within populations in the Middle East in order to transform an entire region stretching from Pakistan to Algeria.

By the day, the rifts are expanding in Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestine, and it is no secret that the U.S. is going to implement the so-called successes of the Anbar province of Iraq, paying a segment of the population for forcibly policing another, in the volatile Tribal Regions of Pakistan. We also know of clandestine operations in Iran to undermine the Iranian government through discontented minorities. Such clandestine operation could also be taking place elsewhere.

The large and enduring threat that the U.S. and Israel are looking for can be described as a contiguous swath of land where the so-called radical Muslims roam unchecked. The relationships between populations and countries that compose it is of no consequence as long as, to the average western observer, the region resembles an incomprehensible and menacing brew, a sort of an active volcano, impossible to control or predict, that could spew its terrorism lava at any moment and only the vigilant eye of the U.S. and its allies could protect the world.

“with us or against us” will be redefined and re-imposed. Even though the question is the same as after 9/11, the scope is different. After 9/11, it was imposed on countries, now, it will be imposed on individuals in the greater Middle East region; it will be the question that defines the fault line of a rift.

Annapolis is the forum where the new “with us or against us” was formally proposed and the Palestinian issue will be split in half along the fault line it creates. There will be moderate Palestinians who are “with us”, and radicals “against us”; the Palestinian issue would be solved by simply having it vanish.

Annapolis is where Israel is given the cover to pursue two diametrically opposed policies. One that would reward a so-called moderate (compliant) West Bank with some form of peace while the other would punish Gaza with the harshest of treatments to make certain that Gaza is forced into the “against us” camp.

The so-called moderate Arab states would use the treatment of the West Bank as the fig leaf they so desperately need to relieve them from the burdensome Palestinian issue. They might even help rehabilitate Israel, normalize relationships, or even form an alliance if Israel is made to be perceived as the only regional power that could counter-balance a menacing nuclear Iran.

In contrast, the treatment of Gaza, which is mostly Muslim, would be a stronger rallying cry for the radicals and would surely increase their fervor and numbers.

Both sides of the rift, the “with us” and “against us”, would have their supporting arguments but they are no longer countries, they are now individuals. The net effect of this policy toward the Palestinian issue would be the polarization of Arab and Muslim societies down to the smallest of social units; the rift will be within families, even between couples.

Still, this is not sufficient for the U.S. and Israel since these individuals are too dispersed. If we were to think of this new policy toward Palestine as the driving force behind this rift, the critical mass where all the ingredients are present, the powder keg that would make it happen is Pakistan and no one other than bin Laden is holding the match.

In his recent audio, released through Al-Jazeera, bin Laden hinted at the illegality of the War in Afghanistan but supplied no credible evidence. His attempt at driving a wedge between Europe and the U.S. could only be described as amateurish and his allegations dismissed as bogus.

As someone who has researched and written extensively on the legality of the Afghanistan war, I can assure you that bin Laden’s allegations are no joke. The Afghanistan war was illegal beyond the Iraq war; the victims of the Afghanistan war are not only the innocent civilians, but also every soldier who has died, and even you and I.

It is reported that bin Laden’s recent release targeted Europe’s population. The truth is, it targeted U.S. and European leaderships since they are the only ones who knew what he was talking about.

The proper evidence will be supplied by bin Laden sooner or later since the West would never dare supply it. It will surface when it benefits him the most. The most likely time would be, since it also fits the often observed symbiotic relationship between him and Bush, shortly after Musharraf, the Pakistani president, launches the long awaited military campaign against the Tribal Regions with the help of U.S. military advisers.

Should we wait for bin Laden to light the fuse when it benefits him and those imposing the “with us or against us” option, or, should I inform you now in the hope that you could resurrect the good options?

Since I have written about this crime extensively, and fulfilled my duty by informing the Democratic Judiciary Committees in both U.S. House and Senate, I see no reason why you should not have known about it even sooner.

What bin Laden said is true; the evidence that Al-Qaeda bore the sole responsibility for 9/11 was obtained by the U.S., through human intelligence, on September 26, 2001, ten days before the invasion of Afghanistan.

The tape released by the Pentagon on December 13, 2001, showing bin Laden confessing to Khaled Al-Harbi of his involvement in the attacks was the result of a sting operation run by U.S. intelligence with the help of Saudi intelligence on September 26, 2001.

Intelligence operatives had four days advance notice of the date of the meeting and taping, twenty four hours advance notice of its location, and knew that bin Laden would be in that village for at least three hours if not overnight since his family also lived in that village.

Instead of killing him or capturing him as per Bush’s famous promise “dead or alive”, this perfectly scripted opportunity was used to tape him. If bin Laden was killed or captured on that date, the U.S. would not have had any international support or legal standing to invade Afghanistan ten days later.

Based on actions by NATO, and statements by high-ranking Pakistani officials in the beginning of October 2001, the evidence seems to have been shared with them because of their importance in the war effort, but, such evidence of bin Laden’s guilt was not shared with the Taliban even though they offered bin Laden in exchange.

The U.S. had the military clout and, so shortly after 9/11, the strong international support that would have forced the Taliban to hand over bin Laden and avert war if evidence of his guilt was provided. This is also the path dictated by the Geneva Convention and the UN Charter. The U.S. chose to conceal the evidence and go ahead with the invasion; that is what bin Laden means by “the U.S. insisted”.

The release of such information by bin Laden, coupled with verses from the Koran, Hadeeth, or Muslim history relating to acts of treason against Islam or the Prophet, augmented by announcement of the capture of a Saudi intelligence cell inside Al-Qaeda assigned to kill him, would surely inflame sentiments in Pakistan and elsewhere against Musharraf and his patrons, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

The rift could only get wider and would stretch from Pakistan to Gaza on the Mediterranean and maybe even Algeria and Morocco on the Atlantic; now that is big enough. Iran, caught in the middle would be further isolated and cut off from an important energy client, India. The U.S. would re-deploy to the safety of the Kurdish area in Iraq and meddle at its leisure while the rest of Iraq plunges into a civil war. The Iraqi Sunnis would rely on the U.S. for military support, and Saudi Arabia for financial support and volunteers. Iran would be sucked deeper into the conflict.

This last option, “with us or against us”, put on the table in Annapolis is a lose-lose proposition; it is an ugly choice between sides of a rift at the expense, and thereby demise, of all the good options that reflect peoples’ aspirations, interests, visions, and true potential.

---------------------------------------------------------------



Special Investigation.
**********************

"SWAP" MADE IN THE WHITE HOUSE'S MURDER INC...

This is the "Arbitrage" DEAL of the Century....
A "Derivatives Contract of sorts, offered to Assef Shawkat..."
You GET US... Imad Moughnieh's HEAD... and we will get you
off the HOOK in Rafic Hariri's Murder ....
ASSEF SHAWKAT Delivered the Goods, it was an offer he could
not afford to refuse.... BINGO.
This Swap... is at the Low-end of the Hizbullah Spectrum for Assef
Shawkat....and is something Assef Is "able" to Survive...He thinks,
but for Hezbollah, it's a major Blow... ( A Suivre )

February 13th... and Syrian Military Intelligence.... A Very Special
Anniversary.... of Sorts for THE Murderer ASSEF Shawkat, Official
Representative of the "White House Murder INC."...

This is the Anniversary "week" of Ronald Reagan, President Reagan,
was the President of the USA in 1983... when the Marines were
"smoked" in Beirut's BIA vicinity... courtesy of Hafez Assad....
The Great Criminal mind of the White House's Murder Inc., ...
as always... has targeted Imad Moughnieh, as a "present" for
Ronald Reagan's "Anniversary" Celebrations... just like he did
in his earlier Assassination endeavors....

Congratulations CIA.... Your Murder Laundry now, is "worthy"
of the Middle East's long record of Assassinations....

ASSEF SHAWKAT murdered Imad Moughnieh yesterday
in Damascus, courtesy of Mitsubishi Corporation's well
"rounded" specially designed SEATS, delivered in time,
and with great Taste.... In order for Assef Shawkat to
"present" his credentials, Officially... to his Masters
in CIA's Langley, and Herzliah's MOSSAD and Israel.
Assef Shawkat is now the Official representative of
Elliott Abrams in Damascus SYRIA. Congratulations
ASSEF, and Bushra.
Now, the 241 Marines, William F. Buckley, and many others,
like Colonel Higgins, Robert Stethem, etc. can rest in Peace....
and the French DRAKAR occupants, RIP, 25 years later.....
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
المعلم: دمشق "ستعلن اسم المسؤول عن مقتل مغنية" : ASSEF SHAWKAT

15 شباط 2008

A SCRIPT MADE IN HOLLYWOOD AND LANGLEY VIRGINIA TO FREE ASSEF SHAWKAT FROM THE SWIFT AND INEVITABLE RETALIATION OF HEZBOLLAH, AGAINST THE KILLER OF IMAD MOUGHNIEH, ASSEF SHAWKAT. TEL AVIV AND CIA AND MOSSAD ARE ALL SCRAMBLING TO GIVE A SOLID COVER TO THEIR KEY MAN IN DAMASCUS ASSEF SHAWKAT, THE KILLER MURDERER OF MR. ELIE HOBEIKA , ON THE ORDERS OF CIA AND ...., THE VEGETABLE OF Beirut.........,

أعلن وليد المعلم وزير الخارجية السوري أنه سيتم قريباً الكشف عن نتائج التحقيق في حادث اغتيال القائد العسكري في حزب الله عماد مغنية في دمشق.ASSEF SHAWKAT


 ووعد المعلم بتقديم ادلة قاطعة على هوية من قام بالاغتيال ومن كان وراءه، ملمحاً لأول مرة إلى مسؤولية إسرائيلية. ASSEF SHAWKAT

في هذه الأثناء اذاعت قناة العالم الإيرانية شريط فيديو قالت إنه للانفجار الذي اودى بحياة مغنية في دمشق. ASSEF SHAWKAT

وقالت القناة إن الفيديو التقط عن طريق كاميرا هاتف محمول وانه اظهر السيارة المفخخة التي انفجرت بجانب سيارة مغنية وأضافت أن التفجير تم عن طريق التحكم عن بعد. ASSEF SHAWKAT

وكان وزير الخارجية السوري، قد صرح الخميس بأن التحقيقات التي تجريها اجهزة الامن السورية حول مقتل مغنية تسير بشكل جيد، وقال إن الحادث "جريمة ارهابية".ASSEF SHAWKAT

وجاء تصريح وزير خارجية سورية خلال المؤتمر الصحفي المشترك الذي عقده مع نظيره الايراني منوشهر متكي، الذي يزور دمشق حاليا بعد مشاركته في تشييع جنازة مغنية. ASSEF SHAWKAT

ونفى المعلم وجود صلة بين مقتل مغنية ومقتل رئيس الوزراء اللبناني الراحل رفيق الحريري الا من حيث التوقيت كما امتنع عن الادلاء بأي تعليق حول ما اذا كان قد تم اعتقال أي شخص في اطار التحقيق. ASSEF SHAWKAT

إلا انه اكد في الوقت نفسه أن اغتيال مغنية نسف أي فرصة للسلام بين اسرائيل وسوريا. ASSEF SHAWKAT

أما متكي فأعرب في المؤتمر الصحفي عن ثقته القوية في أن اسرائيل تقف وراء اغتيال مغنية. ASSEF SHAWKAT

وكان الأمين العام لحزب الله حسن نصر الله قد القى بمسؤولية اغتيال مهنية على اسرائيل في خطاب القاه بالامس وهو ما رفضته إسرائيل. ASSEF SHAWKAT

وما زالت سوريا واسرائيل في حالة حرب من الناحية النظرية كما شهدت الفترة الاخيرة توترا في ضوء قيام طائرات اسرائيلية باختراق المال الجوي السوري وقصف اهداف داخل اراضيها.

"العقوبات بالمثل" ASSEF SHAWKAT

وفي تطور آخر، وفي أول رد فعل على قرار البيت الابيض بتشديد العقوبات المفروضة على سورية، والذي يشمل مسؤولين حكوميين ومتعاملين معهم، قال وزير الخارجية السوري وليد المعلم ان دمشق سترد على تلك العقوبات "بعقوبات". ASSEF SHAWKAT

وقال المعلم ان "هذه ليست المرة الاولى التي تتخذ فيها الولايات المتحدة اجراءات ضد سورية، لكننا في هذه المرة سنعاقب الولايات المتحدة". ASSEF SHAWKAT

وكان الرئيس الامريكي جورج بوش قد قرر توسيع نطاق العقوبات المفروضة منذ عام 2004 والتي تشمل كل الصادرات الامريكية الى سورية ما عدا الاغذية والمواد الطبية.

وقد اقرت حينها هذه العقوبات بسبب اتهام واشنطن لدمشق "بدعم الارهاب الدولي وتقويض الجهود الامريكية في العراق". ASSEF SHAWKAT

واضاف المعلم: "هناك العشرات من المواطنين السوريين الذين راحوا ضحايا خلال الحرب العدوانية الاسرائيلية على لبنان، سيرفع اهلهم دعاوى لمقاضاة الولايات المتحدة، حيث استخدمت اسرائيل السلاح الامريكي في قتلهم". ASSEF SHAWKAT



Scenarios and Related Risks for Lebanon:


http://elie-hobeika.blogspot.com/

Most Charismatic, Unforgettable Leader, a visionary and a Hero. RIP

http://wiredlebanon.blogspot.com/

http://phoeniciaphoenix.blogspot.com/

http://jnoubiyeh.blogspot.com/

As the election of a Lebanese President is postponed yet again, and for the ninth consecutive time, for lack of a political understanding between the Majority and the Opposition, four possible scenarios for the immediate future of the country spring to mind, each carrying with it its inherent security risks.


First Scenario and Related Risks:


Under the first scenario, Washington and Riyadh might strike a deal with Syria (and beyond it Iran). Damascus would then put pressure to bear on its friends and allies in Lebanon (Amal, Hezbollah and the likes of Michel Murr or Suleiman Frangieh), for them to put pressure in turn on Michel Aoun and bring him to toe the line. The latter would grudgingly agree and Parliament would convene to elect General Michel Suleiman as President. Such a scenario would go some way towards correcting the imbalances inherent to the lopsided application of the Taef Agreement, allowing the Christians to gain some of the ground lost to the Sunnis since 1989 and allowing the Shiites to at last turn their July 2006 military gains into real political gains.

In as much as prioritizing security risks is at all possible, the risks inherent to the First Scenario would, in order of likelihood, be:

(1) a war waged by the Army against Al-Qaeda-like Islamist groups;

(2) warfare in and around the Palestinian refugee camps as the war between the Army and Sunni Islamists groups overflows;

(3) operations staged by Sunni Islamist groups against Unifil units deployed in the South;

(4) acts of revenge by Sunni Islamists against Lebanese officials and Sunni “traitors”;

(5) acts of provocation by Sunni Islamists against Shiite targets;

(6) a wave of political assassinations by one or more foreign party seeking to again rewrite the Taef Agreement to suit its needs.


Second Scenario and Related Risks:


Under the second scenario, despite Damascus (and beyond it Tehran) having successfully struck a deal with Washington and Riyadh, Syria’s and Iran’s mainly Shiite allies in Lebanon might prove unable to convince Michel Aoun to toe the line and would feel compelled to put an end to the alliance they struck with him in 2006. With Aoun isolated from his allies and still refusing to negotiate, General Suleiman would refuse to run for president and a weak Christian candidate would be elected in his stead. This scenario would favor both the Shiites and the Sunnis, but it would work against the Christians. It would, in effect, take the country back to the early nineties when, after the assassination of President René Moawad, the forced exile of General Michel Aoun and the imprisonment of the assassin and serial murderer Samir Geagea, the Christians were marginalized and Rafic Hariri struck a deal with Damascus that allowed him to run the country for twelve years.

In as much as prioritizing security risks is at all possible, the risks inherent to the Second Scenario would, in order of likelihood, be:

(1) civil strife in the Christian regions as had happened following the 1989 assassination of President Moawad, when the Syrians succeeded in “Syrianizing” the Taef Agreement and the Christians were torn apart by a fratricidal war pitting opponents and proponents of Taef;

(2) operations staged by Sunni Islamist groups against Unifil units deployed in the South;

(3) a war between the Army and Al-Qaeda-like Islamist groups;

(4) warfare in and around the Palestinian refugee camps as the war between the Army and Sunni Islamists groups overflows;

(5) a wave of political assassinations by one or more foreign party seeking to again rewrite the Taef Agreement to suit its needs.


Third Scenario and Related Risks:


Under the third scenario, no deal having been reached between the West and the Syrians, the Majority would convene its MPs in haste to elect a president from its midst in the absence of Opposition MPs and, more importantly, in the absence of any Shiite MP. This would in effect take the country back to the autumn of 1989 and more particularly to the few weeks which elapsed between the signing of the Taef Agreement in October 1989 and the assassination of newly-elected President René Moawad on 22 November.


In as much as prioritizing security risks is at all possible, the risks inherent to the Third Scenario would, in order of likelihood, be:

(1) attempts on the life of the next president who will find himself in a similar situation to President René Moawad who was assassinated in the immediate aftermath of the signing of the 1989 Taef Agreement;

(2) .attacks on State institutions;

(3) attacks on the State’s foreign backers and notably on Unifil units deployed in the South, by Sunni Islamist groups and also possibly by Shiite groups;

(4) a resumption of rocket attacks across the border with Israel;

(5) Inter-Palestinian clashes in and around the refugee camps.


Fourth Scenario and Related Risks:


Under the fourth scenario, with the constitutional vacuum persisting, the power struggle between the various Lebanese factions and communities would gradually move away from a beleaguered and henceforth largely irrelevant central State apparatus, and take on a more regional and territorial form reminiscent of the 10-year inter-confessional civil war which, in effect, ended in 1985 with the signing of the short-lived Tripartite Agreement.


In as much as prioritizing security risks is at all possible, the risks inherent to the Fourth Scenario would, in order of likelihood, be:

(1) attempts on the life of Druze leader Walid Joumblatt, and or Saad Hariri ;

(2) civil strife in the Druze and Sunni regions; etc.? A New Pseudo-Cedar Revolution... made In Jeffrey Feltman again?

(3) sectarian incidents in religiously heterogeneous regions such as West Beirut, Iqlim al-Kharroub and the Shouf, Sidon and the South;

(4) inter-Palestinian clashes in the refugee camps;

(5) attacks on Unifil units deployed in the South;

(6) Cross-border rocket attacks on Israel.

(7) A coordinated, targeted attack in Iran, Syria and Hezbollah by USA and Israel....is most likely soon.

* - we are still in an artificial "waiting Game" expressly controlled by the Americans and the Israelis... because the Americans have come to the conclusion that SYRIA is on a "winning path".... if things continue the way it is going now.... and that SYRIA is "draining" the USA [ istinzaf ] Politically over the long haul... and that the US and Israel have devised a PLAN to make SYRIA PAY.... Militarily... and they think that they are abler to get militarily, what they were not able to get Politically from SYRIA.... and IRAN in a ricochet... and may be get them apart finally.....
Hence , I see a very Fast and Furious WAR in preparation with Israel and USA, and this WAR is coming sooner than anybody thinks.... and obviously it will target IRAN also for sure and South Lebanon inevitably... despite the UNIFIL...
One clear indication the upcoming visit BARAK to Cairo this week to see Mubarak....and many other infos falling together....


http://phoeniciaphoenix.blogspot.com/


http://hobeika.blogspot.com/

MY FRIEND ELIE HOBEIKA, HK / الشهيد ايلي حبيقة HK

تقديرينا و محبتنا الى روح الرئيس HK
ايلي حبيقة HK من كل اللبنانيين

/ WHERE IS "JUSTICE" WHERE IS "BEIRUT MERE DES LOIS" ?? WHERE ARE THE "BALTAZAR GARCONS" OF LEBANON ???

 HKتقديرينا و محبتنا الى روح الرئيس
ايلي حبيقة من كل اللبنانيين /
MY FRIEND ELIE HOBEIKA, HK

One can see the wisdom in his very visage. The hazel eyes, glowing from sockets lined with deep suntan emotions, beam with the brilliance of a limelight. His hair, looking like spun silver, sits neatly in place upon his head. Yet, as he nods slightly, it sparkles, each strand in concert, as if to echo the exuberance of his own nature.

His nose, strong and stately, arcs proudly above the overshadowed yet undaunted mouth. The lips, bold as they are, show incredible kindness and generosity, especially when he curls them into one of his particularly boyish grins. His countenance mirrors his being and in that beautiful angel face one can see a child playing in a meadow.

His forty six years do not show themselves in his posture. He stands tall, erect; and moves with unmitigated grace. Always dressed in perfect clothes, his bright colors dazzle and shine in the Lebanon sun. What a sight this man is to behold! The experiences, heartbreaks, loves, joys, and victories of forty six years of living, all combine into one fascinating embodiment within him, a Heroes' Hero and the greatest man ever.



تقديرينا و محبتنا الى روح HK الرئيس ايلي حبيقة من كل اللبنانيين

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A moral and intellectual paralysis had fallen upon Christendom. {GC88 60.2}
The condition of the world under the Romish power presented a fearful and striking fulfillment of the words of the prophet Hosea: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee; . . . seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." "There is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood." [HOSEA 4:6, 1, 2.] Such were the results of banishing the Word of God. {GC88 60.3}

?.....قدر العظماء


قدر العظماء أن يمضوا شهداء
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‏«الطائف» و«الاتفاق الثلاثي»‏









لا يمكن الحديث عن تهميش الدور المسيحي في لبنان دون ذكر اتفاق الطائف الذي شلح المسيحيين ‏الدور والموقع والصلاحيات الى دون مستوى الشراكة الحقيقية.‏
وبعد أكثر من سنة ونصف على قيام حكومة السنيورة تتصاعد الشكوى من استمرار التهميش ‏الذي أكدت عليه خطب البطريرك والذي قبل به جعجع منذ اليوم الأول حجماً تمثيلياً هو 24/1 ‏وبحقيبة هامشية كوزارة السياحة
ويستذكر قادة مسيحيون أن مضمون الشراكة المسيحية في النظام الطائفي رسمته معادلات ‏الاتفاق الثلاثي مقارنة بواقع الطائف، والذي في كل الاحوال حتى ولو احسن تطبيقه حرفياً لا ‏يعطي التمثيل المسيحي في السلطة حجماً حقيقياً وموقعاً في الحياة الداخلية وصلاحيات دستورية ‏في عمل النظام بمقدار ما كان سيؤمنه الاتفاق الثلاثي الذي كرس بالتفصيل صيغة «المثالثة» ‏في المواقع وفي الشراكة، وتعامل مع المواقع المسيحية في السلطة على قدم المساواة في الاحجام ‏والصلاحيات مع المواقع السنية والشيعية، وكان ذلك نتيجة مفاوضات صعبة وشاقة قادها ‏ايلي حبيقة بحرص شديد رافضاً أي تصرف «الحاقي» في اي مواقع طائفية اخرى تمثل المسيحيين وأي ‏تغاضى في حجم العلاقات والدور في تركيبة السلطة التي أقرها الاتفاق الثلاثي. كما يقول أحد ‏المسيحيين الحقوقيين المهتمين في اجراء مقارنات في الصلاحية بين ما تبقى لرئاسة الجمهورية في ‏نصوص الطائف او بين الموقع الرئيسي المتساوي مع الموقعين الشيعي والسني في الصيغة التي توصل ‏لها الاتفاق الثلاثي والتي وضعت في هيئة مجلس رئاسي، وبالتالي فان انقلاب جعجع على الاتفاق ‏الثلاثي ادخل المسيحيين في حالة من الاستنزاف عبرت عنها الحرب التي شنت ضد العماد عون ‏واضطرته الى مغادرة البلاد. وكانت الثمرة اتفاق الطائف، ولو جاز للمسيحيين ان يعينوا ‏المسؤول عن خفض سقف الدور المسيحي في النظام اللبناني الى ما دون التسوية التي ابرمها ‏حبيقة في الاتفاق الثلاثي، فان جعجع بنظرهم هو المسؤول مرتين، المرة الأولى عندما انقلب على ‏الاتفاق الثلاثي والمرة الثانية لانه أعطى الفرصة لحرب داخل المناطق المسيحية ووافق على ‏السقف الادنى الذي قلص صلاحيات رئيس الجمهورية لصالح حلفائه في الطائفة السنية، بينما بقي ‏حبيقة على قناعاته وثوابته واسس حزب «الوعد» رافضاً مصادرة اسم القوات اللبنانية ‏احتراماً ووفاء لدور بشير الجميل مؤسس القوات اللبنانية معتبراً أن عائلة بشير وابنه هما ‏الاحق بالتسمية، كما رفض مصادرة اسم حزب الكتائب احتراماً ووفاء لدور بيار الجميل ونجله ‏امين وعندما حاول كشف خيوط مجزرة صبرا وشاتيلا التي لاحقته «كالظل» سقط شهيداً «مظلوماً».‏
والآن في ظل ما تشهده البلاد يحاول المسيحيون ان يتذكروا تلك الحقبة والمرحلة التي ظلمها ‏البعض في حينه، وجاءت النتائج والانجازات بعد 23 سنة دون المستوى بكثير.. فهل يتعظ ‏البعض.



قـرر الخروج عن صمتـه ودق ابواب بكركي مجددا وذكر محطات عدة
فرنجية: اتخوف ان تؤدي المواقف الملتبسة الى تغطية مشروع التوطيـن
واردد مع المسيح: بيتكم بيت صلاة فلا تجعلـوه مغــــارة للصوص
7 شباط 2008
اعلن رئيس تيار المردة سليمان فرنجية انه قرر الخروج عن صمته "لأن السكوت عن الخطأ خطيئة، وذكر محطات رأى فيها "إضعافاً لدور الكنيسة وتهميش المسيحيين وتيئيس اللبنانيين". واعتبر ان بكركي حليفة الغرب فإذا خاصموا سوريا خاصمتها واذا حالفوها وافقتها.
وابدى تخوفه من ان يؤدي ما اسماه "المواقف الملتبسة للكنيسة والمحطات المتلاحقة الى تغطية مشروع التوطين الاخطر على لبنان". وتمنى "ان نردد مع السيد المسيح بيتكم بيت صلاة فلا تجعلوه مغارة للصوص وكل ما نتمناه ان تعيدوه بيتاً للصلاة وليس مغارة لبعض اللصوص".
صدر عن فرنجية البيان الآتي: لأننا ابناء الكنيسة وحريصون عليها التزمنا الصمت انسجاماً مع بيان المطارنة الموارنة الصادر بتاريخ 19/01/08 ورغبة بعض الاساقفة الاجلاء ومع تمنيات السفارة البابوية التي نحترم ، غير ان استمرار الكلام اليومي ومحاولة تحريف الواقع في البيان الاخير للسادة الاساقفة وتحويل الكلام من ردّ على الشخص الى اتهامنا بمحاولة النيل من الكنيسة التي هي اكليروس وعلمانيون، ونحن جزء اساس منها ، يدفعنا الى الخروج عن الصمت، لان السكوت عن الخطأ خطيئة ونورد، احتراما منا لذاكرة شعبنا، المحطات التي نرى فيها اضعافا لدور الكنيسة وتهميش المسيحيين وتيئييس اللبنانيين .

1.غطيتم الطائف سنة 1989 الذي جرّد رئيس الجمهورية من صلاحياته وبعدها بكيتم على الاطلال.
2.غطيتم دخول الجيش السوري في 13 تشرين الاول 1990 الى قصر بعبدا مركز الرئاسة الاولى لضرب العماد ميشال عون بحجة ان المرحلة تقتضي ذلك، وتقولون انكم خصوم سوريا ، انتم حلفاء الغرب فاذا خاصموا سوريا خاصمتموها واذا حالفوها وافقتموها.
3. سنة 1992 انتخب مجلس للنواب قاطعتموه سنة كاملة ومن ثم اعترفتم ومشيتم.
4.غطيتم التمديد للرئيس الراحل الياس الهراوي سنة 1995 واجتمعتم في السفارة البابوية مع وليد جنبلاط لأن جنبلاط رفض زيارة بكركي ولم تجرأوا على فرض الزيارة عليه. مددتم ومن ثم بكيتم.
5. وفي مرسوم التجنيس أرسلتم الرسائل واللوائح وحين بات واقعاً شكلتم لجنة للتصحيح "ولات ساعة مندم".
6.سنة 2001 اعطيتم صك براءة في ما سُمّي مصالحة الجبل لمن هجّر ابناء الجبل ولليوم لم يعودوا ولا يزالون مهجرين.
7.سنة 2005 ناديتم بقانون القضاء الذي عملنا عليه انقاذا للصوت المسيحي وشهدت ساحة الصرح للمرة الاولى حالة وحدة مسيحية فتنصلتم منه وتنكرتم له ومن ثم بكيتم القضاء على قانون القضاء.
8.سنة 2006 اعترفتم بانه بات للمسيحيين ممثلُ ومن ثم ارتضيتم عدم اشراكه او مشاركته في الحكومة امعاناً في تهميش المسيحيين.

وقبل كل ذلك كيف للمسيحي ان ينسى النيل فعلاً من الكنيسة حين استشهاد المونسنيور خريش ورمي جثته التي جمعت اشلاء في ما بعد من دون ان تكلفوا خاطركم عناء الادعاء على القاتل او على الاقل الاصرار على كشفه.
وكيف للمسيحي ان ينسى دوركم المتفرج على التقاتل المسيحي - المسيحي الذي شهدته الطائفة على مدى سنوات، وبدل التحصن في بكركي والاستشهاد اذا دعت الحاجة غادرتم بكركي ليلاً وتوجهتم الى الديمان هرباً ام تنصلاً؟ وهل ما حدث معكم في 1989 والذي تذكرون به في كل حين دفعكم الى تغطية الدخول السوري الذي تم بتغطية دولية الى قصر بعبدا مركز الرئاسة الاولى ومركز المسيحيين الاول؟
وكم نتخوف ان تؤدي هذه المواقف الملتبسة وهذه المحطات المتلاحقة الى تغطية مشروع التوطين الاخطر على لبنان.
وكم نتمنى ونحن ابناء الكنيسة الحريصون عليها وتاريخنا شاهد ان نردد مع السيد المسيح "بيتكم بيت صلاة فلا تجعلوه مغارة للصوص" وكل ما نتمناه ان تعيدوه بيتاً للصلاة وليس مغارة لبعض اللصوص مع ايماننا ان ابواب الجحيم لن تقوى على الكنيسة .
وكلامنا ليس مرحلياً انما نضعه امام شعبنا والتاريخ.

LebaneseResistance

http://elie-hobeika.blogspot.com/ CIA "blowback”. Refers to retaliation for illegal operations Carried out abroad, kept secret from the US public. These operations included clandestine overthrow of governments, counterinsurgency militias, , training of foreign militaries In the techniques of state terrorism, rigging of elections in foreign Countries, interference with the economic viability of countries, as well as The torture or assassination of selected foreign Leaders.

January 21-24, 2009 -- Nazi Germany and Zionist Israel, Then and Now...

January 21-24, 2009 -- Nazi Germany and Zionist Israel, Then and Now...

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HK Elie HOBEIKA

HK Elie HOBEIKA
HK For Ever

The Assassination of MP and Minister Mr. Elie Hobeika, January 24th 2002. "A wilderness of mirrors"

It was done by Ariel Sharon and Shaoul Mofaz, Orchestrated for them by OSP of the Pentagon,together with Assef Shawkat of Syrian Military Intelligence, planned by Jamil El-Sayyed, executed by Raymond Azar of Lebanese military Intelligence.| Just before his death, Elie Hobeika publicly declared his intention to testify against Ariel Sharon about his involvement in the Sabra and Shatila massacre in a Belgian court's trial for crimes against humanity. A Belgian senator, Josy Dubie, was quoted as saying that Hobeika had told him several days before his death that he had "revelations" to disclose about the massacres and felt "threatened". When Dubie had asked him why he did not reveal all the facts he knew immediately, Hobeika is reported to have said: "I am saving them for the trial". Lebanese Interior Minister Elias Murr has accused Israel of being behind the act, citing a trace on the license plates of the sedan. The only sad part is the Lebanese "Gullible" STOOGES of the March 14th pawns of the Neocons, who believe all the American/Israeli Crap. Of course Hariri and many others were KILLED by the Syrians of Assef Shawkat the thuggish monster, but the machinations which entrapped" Hariri and others... into Believing wholeheartedly that the WEST and ISRAEL are "finally" going after the Alaouite Syrian regime of the ASSADS, and are about to destroy them for good.... are so NAIVE beyond belief..... and the FACTS have proven so far that these Lebanese have been "used", and are still being used so badly , solely for the aims of the US Neocons and Israel, and even Jacques Chirac believed this story-line.... only for a while, in order to get him on board the band wagon of assassinations made in Mossad and CIA,the good old boys network of 911. Of course, the net result in 2005 is a Syrian exit from Lebanon, and that's very good, but no change of regime will take place in Syria, and Hariri should have known better.... BUT, this is for another day,since the Syrian regime, had penetrated these extreme groups all along, and the CIA/MOSSAD clique knew it also, before Hariri,was "nudged" into giving the most extreme elements of the Moslem brotherhood's in Syria money,in order for ASSEF SHAWKAT and his Military Intelligence goons to "discover" Rafic,and do the suicide bombing of the century.Ghazi Kanaan will fall into this trap again later, and will be presented with the most damning evidence by Asef Shawkat, before he was "suicided" in his Damascus office of the interior ministry, courtesy of Asef Shawkat. Excellent planning, courtesy of the folks of Herzlyiah/Mossad and Langley's CIA, the good old boyz network of 911.

UTTERLY DISREGARDING ALL THE SACRIFICES ?

BASHIR GEMAYEL AND ELIE HOBEIKA ARE TURNING IN THEIR GRAVES, SEEING THE AGONY OF THE REPUBLIC AND THE DESPERATION OF THE "FEBRUARY 14TH" NEOCON PAWNS, UTTERLY DISREGARDING ALL THE SACRIFICES OF THE LONG 17 YEAR WARS, IN THEIR ATTEMPT AT FINALIZING A PACT WITH THE NEO-ZIONISTS IN USA, IN ORDER TO SETTLE THE HALF-MILLION PALESTINIANS IN LEBANON FOR GOOD, DESPITE THE CONSTITUTIONS CLARITY IN FORBIDDING THAT POSSIBILITY.

Fatah has lost its soul from its inception in 1964, it was a tool of Egyptian Intelligence, then, very quickly, it became a tool of the American CIA, long before anyone knew it. They have become over time, agents of Israel's MOSSAD and the United States.
They are not Palestinian but outsiders, who came from Tunisia and other Arab countries. When they were in Lebanon, The Jewish state and the United States had the best spy network in the world, and
Fatah was the main culprit, together with many other branches of the infamous PLO, who was used by both Israel and USA, in an orchestrated nexus, to try to destroy Lebanon and its "message", in an attempt to bury the "Palestinian" cause in Lebanon for GOOD.... They failed then, They should fail again. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Who's Behind Fatah Al-Islam in North Lebanon? THE CLUB OF THE KILLERS AND MURDERERS OF ELLIOTT ABRAMS.
Wearing a beat-up ratty UNCHR tee-shirt left over from Bint Jbeil and the Israeli-Hezbollah July probably helped. As did, I suspect, the Red Cross jersey, my black and white checkered kaffieyh and the Palestinian flag taped to my lapel as I joined a group of Palestinian aid workers and slipped into Nahr el-Bared trying not to look conspicuous.
فك الارتباط... والانحطاط
بقلم: زينا الخوري
البروباغندا الهائلة التي استخدمها تيار المستقبل لتغطية «فك الارتباط» مع «فتح الاسلام» ‏تشبه المرهم. قد توقف حدة الوجع مرحلياً. لكنها حتماً لن تشفي السرطان.‏
وكلام والد القتيل (ابوجندل)، الذي سقط في باب التبانة يوم الاربعاء الماضي، اقوى من ‏حجج جوقة المدافعين الذين استنفروا لفتح جبهة سياسية، مغايرة للواقع الحقيقي في طرابلس. ‏قال الوالد المفجوع بانه «نحن مع الشيخ سعد... دمنا فداء الشيخ سعد... ولكن اذا لم ‏يعطنا حقنا سوف نأخذه بيدنا. ونحن قدها وقدود»؟
المحطات الموالية للشيخ سعد حذفت اسمه من التصريح الغاضب. بينما ركزت عليه محطات اخرى. ‏وحذف الاسم لن يغيّر شيئاً في الواقع المأزوم في المناطق الطرابلسية الفقيرة، من باب ‏التبانة الى باب الرمل والتربيعة خناق حمارو. هذه المناطق تربت على الولاء لحركات اسلامية ‏متجذرة فيها.‏
من الجامع المنصوري الكبير خرجت تظاهرات تأييد لثورة الجزائر، ولجمال عبد الناصر، ولياسر ‏عرفات، ولحركة التوحيد... وتمثال رجل الاستقلال عبد الحميد كرامي الذي كان يستقبل ‏الداخلين الى الفيحاء اقتلع من موضعه وحلت مكانه عبارة: «طرابلس قلعة المسلمين».‏
وكلام الصحافي الاميركي سيمور هيرش على ‏C.N.N‏ بعد احداث نهر البارد، كشف ان «حكومة ‏السنيورة دعمت فتح الاسلام بعد ان تلقت مساعدة من المملكة العربية السعودية اثر اتفاق ‏سري بين ديك تشيني وايليوت ابرامز وبندر بن سلطان في واشنطن قضى بخلق ثقل سني في ‏لبنان«لمواجهة الثقل الشيعي».‏
اما جنسيات القتلى، وكمية الاموال التي كانت في حوزتهم ومعظمها ريال سعودي، وطريقة ‏دخولهم الى لبنان عبر المطار، واسلوب عيشهم «السخي جداً» فتفضح هوياتهم.‏
من حق الشيخ سعد ان يستخدم كل طاقته لينفي علاقة تياره بمجموعة ارهابية هاجمت الجيش ‏اللبناني. لكن نوعية المتطوعين للدفاع عنه، خاصة بعض الذين تستضيفهم الـL.B.C‏ بلغ ‏خطابهم حداً من الانحطاط يثير الاشمئزاز.‏
كلام بعضهم اشد تعصباً وخطراً على الوطن من رصاص فتح الاسلام.‏
عيب!
Our mission was to facilitate the delivery of food, blankets and mattresses, but I was also curious about the political situation. Who was behind the events that erupted so quickly and violently following a claimed 'bank robbery'? A heist that depending on who you talked to, netted the masked bandits $ 150,000, $ 1,500 or $ 150! It seems that every Beirut media outlet has a different source of 'inside information' based on which Confession owns it and 'knows' the real culprits pulling the strings. But then, even we who are particularly obtuse have realized, as the late Rafic Hariri often counseled: "In Lebanon, believe nothing of what you are told and only half of what you see!" My friends made we swear out loud that I would claim to be Canadian instead of American if Al Qaeda types stopped us inside the Camp. My impression was that they were not so worried about my safety but for their own if they got caught with me. It would not be the first time that I relied on my northern neighbors to get me out of a potential US nationality jam in the Middle East, so I ditched my American ID.
We were advised as we approached the Fatah al Islam stronghold that we would be in the cross-hairs of Lebanese army snipers from outside of Nahr el-Bared Camp as well as Fatah al-Islam snipers from the inside, and that any false move or bad luck could prove fatal. After three days of shelling and more than 100 dead and with no electricity or water, Nahr el-Baled reeks of burned and rotting flesh, charred houses with smoldering contents, raw sewage and the acrid smell of exploded mortars and tank rounds. Press figures of 30,000-32,000 are not accurate. 45,000 live in Bared! Contrary to some reports food and water still not being allowed in. 15 to 70 percent of some areas destroyed. Some light shooting this morning and afternoon. Army shelling at rate of 10-18 shells per minute from 4:30 am to 10 am on Tuesday. Army will not allow Palestinian Red Crescent to move out civilians because they don't trust them. Only the Lebanese Red Cross is allowed. It is possible to enter Bared from the back (east side). The Army taking cameras of journalists they catch. The Lebanese government is controlling the information and don't want extent of damage known yet. Still unrecovered bodies. 40 per cent of the camp population have been evacuated. The rest don't want to leave out of fear of being shot or that they are losing their homes for the 5th time or more for some. No electricity and cell phone batteries are dying. Relatives who fled are telling families to stay because there are not enough mattresses at Bedawi Camp. Bared evacuees are living up to 25 in one room in Badawi schools etc. 3,000 evacuees in one school in Bedawi. UN aid is starting to arrive at Badawi but workers not able so far to deliver it to Bared due to attack on relief convoy on Tuesday. I met Abdul Rahman Hallab famous for Lebanese candy factory in Tripoli. Helped him unload 5,000 meals to evacuees from Bared staying in Badawi. He is Lebanese not Palestinian. The camp population all say that Fatah Al-Islam came in September-October 2006 and have no relatives in the camp. They are from Saudi, Pakistan, Algeria, Iraq, and Tunisia and elsewhere. No Palestinians among them except some hanger-ons. Most say they are paid by the Hariri group. Reports that Fateh al-Islam helps people in Bared are denied. " All they do is pray, one woman told me..and do military training.. They are much more religious than the Shia" she said. Population of Badawi camp was 15,000 and as of this morning it is 28,000. Four bodies arrived this morning at Safad, the only Palestinian Red Crescent Hospitals in north Lebanon. I was told the army will have to destroy every house in Bared to remove Fateh al Islam. I expect to stay in Bared tonight with aid workers. Some say FAI with die fighting others than a settlement could be negotiated. I may try the latter with NGO from Norway here. Not sure if anyone in government is interested. One minute ago a member of Fateh at_Islam walked into the medical office I am using at Safad Hospital and said they want a permanent ceasefire and do not want more people killed or injured. They claim to have no problem with the army Now some background about Nahr el-Bared. Like the other Palestinian camps in Lebanon, it is inhabited by Palestinians who were forced from their homes, land, and personal property in 1947-48, in order to make room for Jews from Europe and elsewhere prior to the May 15, 1948 founding of Israel. Of the original 16 Refugee camps, set up to settle the more than 100,000 refugees crossing the border into Lebanon from Palestine during the Nakba, 12 official ones remain. The camp at Tal El-Za`tar was ethnically cleansed by Christian Phalange forces at the beginning of the 1975-1990, Lebanese Civil War and the Nabatieh, Dikwaneh and Jisr el-Basha camps were destroyed by Israeli attacks and Lebanese militia and not rebuilt. Those remaining include the following which currently house more than half of Lebanon's 433,276 Palestinian refugees: Al-Badawi, Burj El-Barajna, Jal El-Bahr, Sabra and Shatilla, Ain El-Helweh, Nahr El-Bared, Rashidieh, Burj El Shemali, El-Buss, Wavel, Mieh Mieh and Mar Elias. Nahr el-Bared is 7 miles north of Tripoli near the stunning Mediterranean coast and is home to more than 32,000 refuges many of whom were expelled from the Lake Houleh area of Palestine, including Safad. Like all the official Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, plus several 'unofficial' ones, Nahr el-Bared suffers from serious problems including no proper infrastructure, overcrowding, poverty and unemployment. Tabulated at more than 25%, Nahr el-Bared has the highest percentage of Palestinian refugees anywhere who are living in abject poverty and who are officially registered with the UN as "special hardship" cases. Its residents, like all Palestinians in Lebanon are blatantly discriminated against and not even officially counted. They are denied citizenship and banned from working in the top 70 trades and professions (that includes McDonald's and KFC in downtown Beirut) and cannot own real estate. Palestinians in Lebanon have essentially no social or civil rights and only limited access to government educational facilities. They have no access to public social services. Consequently most rely entirely on the UNRWA as the sole provider for their families needs. It is not surprising that al-Qaeda sympathies, if not formal affiliations, are found in the 12 official camps as well as 7 unofficial ones. Groups with names such as Fateh al-Islam, Jund al-Shams (Soldier of Damascus) , Ibn al-Shaheed" (sons of the martyrs) Issbat al-Anssar which morphed into Issbat al-Noor - "The Community of Illumination" and many others. Given Bush administration debacles in Iraq and Afghanistan and its encouragement for Israel to continue its destruction of Lebanon this past summer, the situation in Lebanon mirrors, in some respects, the early 1980's when groups sprung up to resist the US green lighted Israeli invasion and occupation. But rather than being Shia and pro-Hezbollah, today's groups are largely Sunni and anti-Hezbollah. Hence they qualify for US aid, funneled by Sunni financial backers in league with the Bush administration which is committed to funding Islamist Sunni groups to weaken Hezbollah. This project has become the White House obsession following Israel's July 2006 defeat. To understand what is going on with Fatah al-Islam at Nahr el-Bared one would want a brief introduction to Lebanon's amazing, but shadowy 'Welch Club'. The Club is named for its godfather, David Welch, assistant to Secretary of State Rice who is the point man for the Bush administration and is guided by Eliot Abrams, and CIA. Key Lebanese members of the Welch Club (aka: the 'Club') include: The Lebanese civil war veteran, warlord, feudalist, mass murderer of the Christians in Lebanon and mercurial Walid Jumblatt of the Druze party( the Progressive Socialist Party or PSP) Another civil war veteran, warlord, terrorist, and serial Killer (Served 11 years in prison for massacres committed against fellow Christians among others) Samir Geagea. Leader of the extremist Phalange party and its Lebanese Forces (LF) , and Fares Souaied and his thugs,and few other peripheral and unsavory characters, not even worth mentioning here.... but in 1982 this is what really happened:
To silence a popular Lebanese Christian politician who was planning to offer irrefutable evidence that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon engineered the massacre of hundreds of Palestinian men, women, and children in the Beirut refugee camps of Sabra and Shatilla in 1982. In addition, Sharon provided the SLA forces & IDF who carried out the grisly task. At the time of the massacres, Elie Hobeika was intelligence chief of Lebanese Christian forces in Lebanon who were battling Palestinians and other Muslim groups in a bloody civil war. He was also the chief liaison to Israeli Defense Force (IDF) personnel in Lebanon. An official Israeli inquiry into the massacre at the camps, the Kahan Commission, merely found Sharon "indirectly" responsible for the slaughter and fingered Hobeika as the chief instigator, while in fact Mr. Elie Hobeika was never anywhere near Sabra or Shatila in Sep. 82, he was very busy investigating the assassination of President elect Bashir Gemayel . The Sabra and Shatila Massacre was planned within the Invasion plans of the IDF in 1982 when it invaded Lebanon, and it appears under the name of Operation Spark, and Operation Iron Brain. Its finer details were worked out between the 1st of September when the alliance with Bashir collapsed, and the 12th of the same month when Sharon met with Bashir. The LF was perceived as unreliable and that the mopping up of the camps was to proceed with or without them. AMAN could rely on the SLA to get the job done, and it would assist them with IDF Special Forces, or Sayerets as they are called in Hebrew. It is quite clear that the Sayerets were in the camps as the former fighters in the camp have told us repeatedly . But the presence of the Sayerets indicates clearly that the Massacre was what is called in intelligence lingo a Black Operation, which is a secret operation that is carried out by the intelligence agents and special forces upon a decision taken by the Chief Executive and a few of his ministers. Israeli Secret Services and the Sayerets have carried out many Black Operations, including the Qibya Massacre of 1953, the attack on the Beirut International Airport in 1968, and the assassination of Abu Jihad in Tunisia, 1988. During the 1982 Invasion, and according to IDF historian Samuel Katz, the Sayerets were deeply involved in the military operations. These forces,which like all Special Forces in the world, are made up of hard brutal killers, who volunteer for the job and know exactly what it entails. In short, Israel's Secret Services' role in Sabra and Shatilla Massacre is not only undeniable, but is far more involved than what "Kahan Commission" stated. One day when Appendix B finally comes to light, this theory will be proven, although it is clear that there is enough evidence to back it up. As an epilogue, Israel's secret services, CIA & the Mossad, assassinated Elie Hobeika in Beirut in 2002, using CIA & local witting proxies, in what is obviously an attempt to conceal the truth about the Massacre. If anyone doubted the involvement of the Israeli intelligence, this should silence the naysayers. Mr. Elie Hobeika Never set foot at Sabra & Shatila in September of 1982, nor had anything to do with that horrible crime, in any way shape or form. It was an IDF operation with AMAN and MOSSAD at the Helm. Besides Sayyeret Metkal's units in the camps, there were three additional units which came from 3 different entrances to the camps, and the SLA forces of Saad Haddad, brought into Beirut by IDF. ALL these units were under direct orders of IDF officers, and IDF troops were totally occupying Beirut militarily . The First unit was lead by Z.M. , The second unit was lead by M.M. and the 3rd by C.G. It is noteworthy to say that M.M. had met and had dinner with B.N. in his home in west Beirut, before entering the camps, he dined and spent the night there....but these units were brought in the camps on the last day of the operations, to set them up for the world media to see and portray as if they were the instigators. Combatants who were there said that upon arrival to the camps, they were shocked to see all the killings, because ALL of these units arrived there when the Sayyarets had finished the job completely with the SLA forces of Saad Haddad. These are eye witness accounts. Those LF will be forced into the mountain war within few months, and a new trap will be set up for them by IDF, whereby eye witness accounts say that every time they advanced into a new village, winning a very bloody battle with casualties, orders will come for them to retreat from IDF officers. In some cases IDF artillery were shooting at both sides,reigniting the battles again and again. Thousands of Christians were massacred, their villages in ruins in a futile fight until exhaustion and complete retreat.
This is the legacy of IDF in Lebanon over 40 years. The Kahan Commission never called on Hobeika to offer testimony in his defense. However, in response to charges brought against Sharon before a special war crimes court in Belgium, Hobeika was urged to testify against Sharon, according to well-informed Lebanese sources. Hobeika was prepared to offer a different version of events than what was contained in the Kahan report. A 1993 Belgian law permitting human rights prosecutions was unusual in that non-Belgians could be tried for violations against other non-Belgians in a Belgian court. Under pressure from the Bush administration, the law was severely amended and the extra territoriality provisions were curtailed. http://newhk.blogspot.com/ Hobeika headed the Lebanese forces intelligence agency since the mid- 1970s and he soon developed close ties to the CIA. He was a frequent visitor to the CIA's headquarters at Langley, Virginia.
The billionaire, Saudi Sheikh and Club president Saad Hariri leader of the Sunni Future Movement (FM), and "darling" of the neocons in USA , Israel and France. Over a year ago Hariri's Future Movement started setting up Sunni Islamist terrorist cells (the PSP and LF already had their own militia since the civil war and despite the Taif Accords requiring militia to disarm they are now rearmed and itching for action and trying hard to provoke Hezbollah). The FM created Sunni Islamist 'terrorist' cells were to serve as a cover for (anti-Hezbollah) Welch Club projects. The plan was that actions of these cells, of which Fatah el-Islam is one, could be blamed on al Qaeda or Syria or anyone but the Club. To staff the new militias, FM rounded up remnants of previous extremists in the Palestinian Refugee camps that had been subdued, marginalized and diminished during the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. Each fighter got $700 per month, not bad in today's Lebanon. The first Welch Club funded militia, set up by FM, is known locally as Jund-al-Sham (Soldiers of Sham, where "Sham" in Arabic denotes Syria, Lebanon, Palestine & Jordan) created in Ain-el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon. This group is also referred to in the Camps as Jund-el-Sitt (Soldiers of the Sitt, where "Sitt" in Sidon, Ain-el-Hilweh and the outskirts pertain to Bahia Hariri, the sister of Rafiq Hariri, aunt of Saad, and Member of Parliament). The second was Fateh-al-Islam (The name cleverly put together, joining Fateh as in Palestinian and the word Islam as in Qaeda). FM set this Club cell up in Nahr-al-Bared refugee camp north of Tripoli for geographical balance. Fatah el-Islam had about 400 well paid fighters until three days ago. Today they may have more or fewer plus volunteers. The leaders were provided with ocean view luxury apartments in Tripoli where they stored arms and chilled when not in Nahr-al-Bared. Guess who owns the apartments? According to members of both Fatah el-Islam and Jund-al-Sham their groups acted on the directive of the Club president, Saad Hariri. So what went wrong? "Why the bank robbery" and the slaughter at Nahr el-Baled? According to operatives of Fatah el-Islam, the Bush administration got cold feet with people like Seymour Hersh snooping around and with the White House post-Iraq discipline in free fall. Moreover, Hezbollah intelligence knew all about the Clubs activities and was in a position to flip the two groups who were supposed to ignite a Sunni ­Shia civil war which Hezbollah vows to prevent. Things started to go very wrong quickly for the Club last week. FM "stopped" the payroll of Fateh el-Islam's account at the Hariri family owned back. Fateh-al-Islam, tried to negotiate at least 'severance pay' with no luck and they felt betrayed. (Remember many of their fighters are easily frustrated teenagers and their pay supports their families). Militia members knocked off the bank which issued their worthless checks. They were doubly angry when they learned FM is claiming in the media a loss much greater than they actually snatched and that the Club is going to stiff the insurance company and actually make a huge profit. Lebanon's Internal Security Forces (newly recruited to serve the bidding of the Club and the Future Movement) assaulted the apartments of Fatah-al-Islam Tripoli. They didn't have much luck and were forced to call in the Lebanese army. Within the hour, Fatah-al-Islam retaliated against Lebanese Army posts, checkpoints and unarmed, off-duty Lebanese soldiers in civilian clothing and committed outrageous killings including severing at four heads. Up to this point Fatah-al-Islam did not retaliate against the Internal Security forces in Tripoli because the ISF is pro-Hariri and some are friends and Fatah al-Islam still hoped to get paid by Hariri. Instead Fatah al Islam went after the Army. The Seniora cabinet convenes and asks the Lebanese Army to enter the refugee camp and silence (in more ways than one) Fatah-al-Islam. Since entrance into the Camps is forbidden by the 1969 Arab league agreement, the Army refuses after realizing the extent of the conspiracy against it by the Welch Club. The army knows that entering a refugee camp in force will open a front against the Army in all twelve Palestinian refugee camps and tear the army apart along sectarian cracks. The army feels set up by the Club's Internal Security Forces which did not coordinate with the Lebanese Army, as required by Lebanese law and did not even make them aware of the "inter family operation" the ISF carried out against Fatah-al-Islam safe houses in Tripoli. Today, tensions are high between the Lebanese army and the Welch Club. Some mention the phrase 'army coup'. The Club is trying to run Parliament and is prepared to go all the way not to 'lose' Lebanon. It still holds 70 seats in the house of parliament while the Hezbollah led opposition holds 58 seats. It has a dutiful PM in Fouad Siniora. The club tried to seize control of the presidency and when it failed it marginalized it. Last year it tried to control of the Parliamentary Constitutional Committee, which audits the government's policies, laws and watch dogs their actions. When the Club failed to control it they simply abolished the Constitutional Committee. This key committee no longer exists in Lebanon's government. The Welch Club's major error was when it attempted to influence the Lebanese Army into disarming the Lebanese Resistance led by Hezbollah. When the Army wisely refused, the Club coordinated with the Bush Administration to pressure Israel to dramatically intensify its retaliation to the capture of the two soldiers by Hezbollah and 'break the rules' regarding the historically more limited response and try to destroy Hezbollah during the July 2006 war. The Welch Club now considers the Lebanese Army a serious problem. The Bush administration is trying to undermine and marginalize it to eliminate one of the last two obstacles to implementing Israel's agenda in Lebanon. If the army is weakened, it can not protect _over 70% of the Christians in Lebanon who support General Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement. The F.P.M. is mainly constituted of well educated, middle class and unarmed Lebanese civilians. The only protection they have is the Lebanese Army which aids in maintaining their presence in the political scene. The other type of Christians in Lebanon is the minority, about 15% of Christians associated with Geagea's Lebanese Forces who are purely militia. If the Club can weaken the Army even more than it is, then this Phalange minority will be the only relatively strong force on the Christian scene and become the "army" of the Club. Another reason the Club wants to weaken the Lebanese Army is that the Army is nationalistic and is a safety valve for Lebanon to ensure the Palestinian right of return to Palestine, Lebanese nationhood and the resistance culture led by Hezbollah, with which is has excellent relations. For their part, the Welch Club wants to keep some Palestinians in Lebanon for cheap labor, ship others to countries willing to take them (and be paid handsomely to do so by American taxpayers) and allow at most a few thousand to return to Palestine to settle the 'right of return' issue while at the same time signing a May 17th 1983 type treaty with Israel with enriches the Club members and gives Israel Lebanon's water and much of Lebanon's sovereignty. Long story short, Fatah el-Islam must be silenced at all costs. Their tale, if told, is poison for the Club and its sponsors. We will likely see their attempted destruction in the coming days. Hezbollah is watching and supporting the Lebanese army.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Le Chant des Partisans, "La Marseillaise de la Résistance", fut créé en 1943 à Londres. Immédiatement, il devint d'hymne de la Résistance française, et même européenne. La génération des 20-30 ans se le réapproprie, sur un rythme au goût du jour, sans pour autant en changer un seul mot, dans son combat contre la xénophobie...Ce n'est pas un hasard : "ami, entends-tu... " est un chant de fraternité, de combat contre les forces de la nuit, un appel intemporel à résister . La Fédération Nationale des Déportés et Internés, Résistants et Patriotes tient donc à ce que son histoire soit connue.

" Ce chant est à jamais inscrit dans l'histoire" ( Pierre SEGHERS, "La Résistance et ses poètes", Ed. Seghers, 1975).
Il est né le 30 mai 1943 dans la banlieue de Londres, entre midi et 16 heures.
Chanté à voix basse, sifflé sourdement, le Chant des Partisans évoque la chape de plomb qui s'est abattue sur le pays occupé, la censure, les souffles et murmures de la clandestinité, la nuit où des ombres furtives collent des affiches, sabotent les voies ferrées, se glissent dans les maquis, se cachent loin des poteaux d'exécutions . Mais l'âpreté des paroles en dit long sur la lutte implacable des maquisards et des combattants de l'ombre, sur le nécessaire recours aux armes, sur les risques de chaque minute. Hymne de la Résistance, "Le Chant des Partisans" est aussi un appel à la lutte fraternelle pour la liberté, dans la dignité nationale, laique et moderne, [Wa3ad] : "C'est nous qui brisons les barreaux des prisons pour nos frères ; la certitude que le combat n'est jamais vain "si tu tombes, un ami sort de l'ombre". Et si la fin de ce chant semble absorbée par la nuit et se perdre, c'est que la nuit est l'heure de tous les rêves, à commencer par le rêve d'une liberté à conquérir éternellement. Chant de fraternité, nul ne peut confisquer le Chant des Partisans à des fins contraires à ses origines et son sens profond... Comme nul ne peut confisquer La Marseillaise, hymne de la Révolution Française, ET LIBANAISE DEPUIS TOUJOURS, fondatrice des valeurs d'égalité, et de démocratie qui sont celles de la Fédération Nationale des Déportés et Internés, Résistants et Patriotes ...
Ami entends-tu Le vol noir des corbeaux Sur nos plaines. Ami entends-tu Les cris sourds du pays Qu'on enchaîne, Ohé partisans Ouvriers et paysans C'est l'alarme! Ce soir l'ennemi Connaîtra le prix du sang Et des larmes… Montez de la mine, Descendez des collines, Camarades. Sortez de la paille Les fusils, la mitraille, Les grenades. Ohé! les tueurs A la balle et au couteau Tuez vite! Ohé! saboteurs Attention à ton fardeau… Dynamite… C'est nous qui brisons Les barreaux des prisons Pour nos frères. La haine à nos trousses Et la faim qui nous pousse, La misère. Il y a des pays Où les gens au creux des lits Font des rêves. Ici, nous vois-tu Nous on marche et nous on tue Nous on crève… Ici, chacun sait Ce qu'il veut, ce qu'il fait Quand il passe Ami, si tu tombes, Un ami sort de l'ombre A ta place. Demain du sang noir Séchera au grand soleil Sur les routes. Chantez compagnons, Dans la nuit, la liberté Nous écoute… Ami, entends-tu Les cris sourds du pays qu'on Enchaîne!… Ami, entends-tu Le vol noir des corbeaux sur nos Plaines !…

A REVOLUTION IS THE ONLY ANSWER

With the arrival of the Presidential election season, there has been a great deal of commentary about Lebanon and "the Lebanon model."

I am very much aware that Lebanon is often seen as the last reservoir of consensual Democracy in the world. I realize that my country is seen as an odd animal, able to call a gigantic strike at any moment for valid reasons. The huge demonstrations last year and in 2005, organized to rebel against the ruling Syro-Lebanese Mafias, and the blind ruling elite's hegemony on power, in a feudal political system, dominated by family financial institutions, with strong bonds to the free masons worldwide, ignorant of the plight of unemployed Lebanese, all over the country, and insensitive to the brain drain and hemorrhage of the young generations, immigrating in droves to find a free education, jobs and security, puzzles a lot of people. Many take the view that the Lebanese denial of political ethics and flexibility is just a refusal to face reality.The truth is very different. The fact is, the rest of the world is jealous of Lebanon, and its geo-political environment. Lebanon has been a laboratory of new ideas for the neighborhood at large.... for decades, and Lebanon paid dearly for that prime political research facility....for the east and the west, and all their Intelligence apparatuses....

If Lebanon attracts more attention than any other country, as well as high levels of Arab investment, it is because the quality of life is so high. When I hear the elite bashing Lebanon's supposed weaknesses, I wonder why so few Lebanese people buy houses in the Syrian countryside, while so many Arabs are doing so in Lebanon. The reason is the same: The quality of life in Lebanon is one of the envy of the world. No doubt about it. And Lebanon is not going to decline: Lebanese productivity and acumen is also one of the highest in the world, and will stay so. I wonder how long the caricature of a gridlocked Lebanon can survive.

There are, of course, some good reasons to criticize Lebanon. One is the nature of its political elite - old, in place for more than 300 years, fascinated by the past, unaware of world realities. They are as pathetic as young people in Lebanon are dynamic.

A revolution is inevitable. But when? How? Rapidly? Quietly? Profoundly? A new elite will emerge with the deep dynamism of the Lebanese people. In this regard, the presidential election Should and will shed some light... and give hope and a new meaning to REVOLUTION.

Politicians such as SANYOURA have no honor. To hold on to his power after all these demonstrations? How does he think he is serving the Country, and its people? Will he apologize? No, he will deny all culpability since he took office as finance minister, when we have over 45 Billion USD in DEBT?. Will Bush admit his blunders in Lebanon, IRAQ and Palestine? Of course not.... he is now after IRAN.... and desperately trying to keep Sanyoura and Olmert in office,as stooges and likely supporters of his new found ambitions.
To think that Yitzhak Rabin resigned because his wife had a foreign checking account--that was an honorable man.
A bunch of amateurs wrecked havoc on the civilian population of the Cedar and dropped millions of cluster bombs on the children of Lebanon, instead of taking on the Hezbollah. When to many Latte drinking "cowards" to make up an army, Israel can always rely on the assassins in blue to slaughter children. Now THAT should have been in the NEWS.Two Schmucks that have brought themselves and their countries huge amounts of shame.... Sanyoura and GWB.
This criminally insane,pathetic little man Sanyoura does not have the decency to do the right thing, has absolutely no self respect, for himself or his country. Citizens of Lebanon, rise up as one man,and get rid of this disaster, or you will lose your beautiful country get rid of him NOW BEFORE ITS TOO LATE.

But lest foreigners get the wrong impression, let me be clear: Lebanon, and the Lebanese Resistance in particular, is not going to surrender to any model. Lebanon will never become a carbon copy of any other country. And the RESISTANCE will continue in its own way, UNTIL the International community puts some sense in the head of the Israeli Governments and the Military-Security Mafias in Israel and Texas for GOOD.

Yes, Lebanon is an exception, but no more than any other country is an exception because of its own particular history, geography and culture. There is no reason, therefore, why the Lebanese would seek to imitate any other doctrine or set of rules coming from outside.

Lebanon has been built around strong individualism, a unified language and grand projects. This has made Lebanon what it is today - a strong people, with a high standard of education, and a Leadership position in Resistance to hegemony. If Lebanon is an exception, it is happy to be one. It cannot, and should not, destroy its main attributes just to please its foes.

There is no such thing as a universal, ideal model for the resistance that Lebanon and others should imitate. There are only national situations. In policy terms, the future of the resistance lies not in surrendering to an overwhelming worldly desires , but inventing new ways of balancing the Resistance with democracy. This balance, and the means of achieving it, are specific to each country's geographical , security, and geopolitical situations.

That is why, in this presidential season there should be an agreement, among all the parties to keep a balance between the power of the state and the power of the Resistance.

The defense of the RESISTANCE, as the cement of the nation, is one of the Nation's key roles, at a time when weak regional leadership, suggests that other nations are failing in that fight. Neither sides in Lebanon wants the country to become a patchwork of ethnic communities, in a loose federal system, bound to fail miserably the test of time and aspirations of a great people, with a mission and a "message to the world" ....

Lebanon has many problems - high unemployment, lack of vision from its collective entrenched Leadership, weakness of institutions, inadequate integration of poor minorities, public debt and threat of political decline to civil disturbances, or more..., to name a few. But there is no model outside Lebanon to solve these problems.

The Lebanese are happy to consider the so-called "Neutrality model" of Austria and Switzerland, and to admire some dimensions of it, such as its enduring friendship and relative tranquility of its security policies, given the peaceful coexistence of their neighboring countries, and Israel should be made to become similar in nature to the countries surrounding both neutral European States, who live in harmony and Peace. But it should be warned against imitating the whole recipe, may be, given the history of the Israelis and the Syrians of the last 60 odd years, in relation to "old tranquil" Lebanon of the past?

For instance, Lebanon believes passionately in assimilation, and should be wary of imitating the dangerous shift toward atomized lives or separate communities as we see in Iraq or the Israel/Palestine, models....

The Lebanese are not convinced that a nation can survive without a strong security and Resistance backbone. Lebanon will build on its assets: a strong Resistance, an efficient private sector, when the security environment allows... , a strong private initiative, and try to reduce its weaknesses by improving the legal system, independent judiciary, checks and balances, strong institutions, a new set of political leaders, free of the shackles of the feudal corrupt and criminal families, who ruled Lebanon for decades, research and competition, better social services for the poor and elderly, etc. etc. to name a few, but most of our youth know all the recipes, and are capable of being very creative in all fields, especially the environment.... where things are getting to be critical.

The next challenge will be to introduce new ideas to the doctrine of the Sectarian/Religious dominance of daily life, in Lebanon as elsewhere. Globalization has so far taken place only in the economy. We need a globalization of separation of church and state and Democracy, too. For that, we need to imagine the use of new technologies in politics..., which would apply to ALL countries, in the age of the New Imperialism of the western powers, fighting for Energy Security and Energy footholds and CONTROL OF RESOURCES on a Global scale, not just in the Middle East or central Asia, and a new concept of participatory democracy. We need to reorganize and revive the institutions of global world governance, in a tough security environment for all, and a new multi-polar world order to be...

Post-modern notions have blurred the strategic clarity of Lebanon's political elites. The economic cost of building a strong military force may be high, but it is not an optional expense. Too often, wishful thinking supplants reality, but today, the only option we have,is to support and defend the Lebanese Resistance to Israeli and Syrian aggressions.
These are some of the things that all democratic parties of the world should work for, together, instead of trying to export their own very specific recipes to environments that are totally unsuitable for them. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ FPM-Hezbollah: Divorce: Irreconcilable Differences... ************************************************************************************* My Comment: Excellent article in many ways, but misses the point completely on the Hizbullah-FPM understanding, in a deliberate and systematic manner, for "obvious" and canny reasons... in an attempt to "Glorify" the "De Gaulle in AOUN", for if he was to "fall" again in this "trap", Aoun will be depicted as a "rudderless YoYo" and will be "vaporized" by his detractors.... and this piece is part and parcel of that daily "game" since summer of 2005. The whole "case" for Aoun's Understanding with Hizbullah is of Paramount Importance for Lebanon as a whole, and for the dwindling Christian communities of Lebanon and beyond in the M.E. because it cements the strong "BOND" between Moslems and Christians, which is essential for keeping one element of the "new civil war" in preparation by the neocons, out of the whole equation in Lebanon. This is of Paramount Importance, if we were to have a chance at preserving the Peace among all peoples of Lebanon, and of Paramount Importance, if we are serious about Eliminating the Sectarian Formulas for Good, one day..., from the Lebanese Political Dictionary, which is the ultimate wish of the "silent Majority" of Lebanese anywhere in the World and in Lebanon, Hence Aoun's Political move since 2005 is an extremely well calculated political Strategy, which is a normal thing to do in any Democratic environment, and it should be lauded for what it is, despite the "historic" baggage of the messenger, which is not the issue anymore today. GMA's detractors are biting their tongs and their fingers daily, because they were not savvy enough in 2005, to do this political strategy themselves, since they were too busy, making and utterly "breaking" a Political convenient "alliance", which is the specialty of the so-called March14th gang of pawns. These criminal stooges have no morals, no scruples, no values, no principles and no back bone and no spine. They are destined in the dust-bin of History . +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ FPM-Hezbollah: Divorce: Irreconcilable Differences. Dr. Joseph Hitti - 5/18/2007 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ With the deadline looming for the Lebanese Parliament to elect a new President of the Republic of Lebanon this summer, there is an undeniable quest by many Lebanese for a “strong” President who would be unlike the riff-raff Presidents the country has had during the three decades of the war. Many of the latter were pure Syrian puppets (Elias Hrawi and Emile Lahoud); or the Lebanese equivalent of Bashar Assad, i.e. corrupt feudal weaklings who are reluctantly given the mantle of the family, and I mean by that Amin Gemayel; or “compromise” technocrat Presidents like Elias Sarkis, who are clean and mean well, but have no constituency to back them. There is no doubt that the country needs a “strong” President, although different people may have a different definition of “Strong”. From a purely sectarian standpoint, i.e. from the perspective of those in the Maronite Christian community who think of the President as “the community’s” exclusive man, a “strong” President is someone who will re-assert some power into the hands of a defeated and battered community. For secular-leaning Lebanese who are tired and disgusted of the paralysis in which the sectarian allocation of power continues to plunge the country, “strong” means someone who can be the President of all Lebanon; someone who will reassert the power of the President to the detriment of the three-headed Taef Cerberus that now rules this mutant monster of a country ravaged by the cancers of sectarianism, feudalism, cronyism, the rampant power of the unelected religious elites; and finally, someone who will begin to combat corruption and take back this country from the hands of the religious, feudal and money elites and restores to its rightful owners, the ordinary people of Lebanon. The problem is that many in the country, out of resignation and lack of faith in the possibility of change, will tell you that in Lebanon, only a “compromise” President can be elected because this is how it has always been. They forget that the country’s strongest Presidents were non-compromise Presidents - Frangieh, Chamoun, Bechara Al-Khoury, Fouad Chehab - and it is under their terms that the country prospered between 1940s and the 1970s. Unfortunately, the only candidate on the roster for this summer’s election who is, in principle, a strong candidate is MP Michel Aoun, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement. All the others appear to be “compromise” types (Boutros Harb, Nassib Lahoud, Nayla Mouawad, Fares Souaid), technocrats who can do a lot for this country but lack political backbone (Riad Salameh, Chebli Mallat), or feudal old guard (Dory Chamoun, Suleiman Frangieh, Amin Gemayel (again?)), if not outright warlord criminals (Samir Geagea). I said Michel Aoun is “unfortunately” the only strong candidate because, while espousing reformist and progressive ideas that rallied around him the majority of the Lebanese people, he has compromised his strength and alienated many of his own people with a cheap, convenient political alliance with the pro-Iranian Hezbollah organization that left him surrounded by political careerists whose follow a man rather the ideas he embodies. There is no other explanation to this alliance other than a vindictive and desperate move by Aoun to counter the power of the feudal-financial-warlord conglomerate of Hariri-Geagea-Jumblatt-Gemayel which is backed for pragmatic reasons by the West. And instead of maintaining the high ground, keeping an equal but objective distance from all his enemies, and appealing successfully to the ultimate wisdom of the people of Lebanon, Aoun plunged head-first into an alliance with Hezbollah that has all the accoutrements of a Faustian deal in which he thought he’d get a last chance at the presidency in exchange for allying himself with the ultimate loser that Hezbollah is very likely to be when all of this is said and done. In the process, Aoun changed his discourse from a pure but sensible and reasoned (rather than atavistic nativist) Lebanese nationalism into a bitter anti-Western, anti-American, anti-anyone who just could not accept the anomalous Hezbollah status quo. And in so doing he ruined any future chance of a real and badly needed revolution in the Lebanese political and social landscape, because he disappointed the idealists, jaded the people at the cost that such a revolution would entail, and handed the ultimate enemies of Lebanon - the Hariri-Geagea-Jumblatt-Gemayel conglomerate an easy victory . In other words, Aoun was Lebanon’s best chance for change, but the Lebanese people may have to wait for a couple of generations before that chance comes again. Yet, there is still one last moment, one last window of opportunity before this summer’s rendez-vous with destiny. Aoun can declare the failure of his alliance with Hezbollah and still have a chance at recovering lost ground and at reforming this dying country. Time for Aoun to tell the Lebanese people that his alliance with Hezbollah was a tactical maneuver that backfired, but not a strategic vision because there can be no alliance between radical medieval-vintage Moslem fundamentalists and secular democrats. In so doing, Aoun would pull the rug from under all his detractors, especially the Hariri-Geagea-Jumblatt-Gemayel multinational conglomerate, and say to the Lebanese people that he is still strong, but now he is on the right side of history. There is still time to recoup some glory by adopting the role of the arbiter and the referee, i.e. the statesman that many thought he was, not only within the Christian community, but also between the communities in Lebanon. Iran is clearly on a collision course with the rest of the international community which is set to act very soon against Iran. The repercussions of a conflict with Iran will definitely reverberate in Lebanon, since Hezbollah will most likely try to “help” Iran by deflecting attention away from it, which it usually does in the south of Lebanon, like it did last summer. This time, the enemy is very likely UNIFIL, as the mounting frequency of incidents and complaints by Hezbollah and “its” Shiites in the south goes on building. UNIFIL, after all, represents the “West”, the Great Satan now on the soil of Lebanon. Instead of cornering himself further into defending the indefensible, Aoun should jettison Hezbollah and Nasrallah before it is too late, recoup his standing among the Christians and the rest of the Lebanese communities, isolate Hezbollah and put pressure on it to relinquish the power it has hijacked from the Lebanese people and the State. Aoun should declare as obsolete the Memorandum of Understanding he signed with Hezbollah since it has not stood the test of time. None of its provisions has been implemented: - The Lebanese refugees in Israel are still in Israel - Syria, Hezbollah’s co-masters with Iran, has not surrendered the Shebaa Farms to Lebanese sovereignty, which would satisfy the most contingent provision of the Memorandum of Understanding: Hezbollah’s supposed willingness to disarm. - Hezbollah has not taken any measure on the ground that indicates an adherence in spirit, if not in the letter, to the provisions of the Understanding. To the contrary, Hezbollah has become even more emboldened, radicalized, belligerent, fighting tooth and nail against the legitimacy of the State’s institutions and the International Tribunal, and in fact did start a war on behalf of the Lebanese people last summer that it will only repeat in one giant Samson-like suicide operation that Hezbollah in fact pioneered in the 1980s. Over the last weeks and months, FPM leaders have increasingly claimed the mantle of “defenders” of the Christians, while diverging with Hezbollah over the International Tribunal: The FPM says it will support it, Hezbollah says it will be a declaration of war. The FPM says it wants to give the Christian community its due share of power by taking the decision away from the Hariri-Geagea-Jumblatt-Gemayel consortium of the old guard, only to turn around and give it to Hezbollah, the stale resistance guard. The reason is obvious: The Shiite street is secured by Hassan Nasrallah and Naim Qassem; no danger there of deconstructing the monolithic behavior of medievally-minded people into thinking for themselves. Ditto with the Sunni and Druze communities and their monolithic Jurassic era intra-communal structures. Only the Christian community shows some diversity - some call it division, I prefer diversity. So Aoun’s FPM is worried it may have lost ground within the Christian community because of its untenable positions, and has therefore begun to lay claim to the mantle. It just may be too little too late, but it’s worth a shot. The price, though, is a Aoun re-conversion. In the end, the presidential elections are another one of the millions of chances that the Lebanese had to set their country back on the track of reason. What they decide to do is really up to them, people and leaders. They can yell and complain that everyone else is interfering, but Aoun has one very last chance to rally the Lebanese people behind him. He needs to make one correction. Even though it may be too late, the alternatives are even more disastrous. Dr. Joseph Hitti is a democracy activist who writes for the Global Politician about issues relating to Lebanon.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ مقاتلون بلا قضية بقلم: زينا الخوري من جديد يهدد الوضع الفلسطيني المأزوم لبنان بالانفجار الشامل، بعد مرور اكثر من 35 ‏سنة على شرارة الحرب الأولى.‏ لا شيء تبدل. بل على العكس. ازدادت العقول تشنجاً. وازدادت الرؤية غموضاً. وظهرت حالة ‏اسلامية سلفية متشددة، اتخذت من المخيمات درعاً لها، وتحصنت خلف اللاجئين، لتحقيق اهداف ‏تتخطى حدود فلسطين.‏ يقول أحد علماء الدين السلفيين في طرابلس: «هناك امبراطوريتان في العالم اليوم اميركا ‏والقاعدة. واميركا لن تستطيع أن تهزم القاعدة على أرض لبنان لاننا سوف نحاربها بكل ‏قوانا».‏ الشيخ السلفي كان يتحدث من طرابلس وليس من مخيم نهر البارد. وهو معروف بمواقفه وخطبه ‏المؤىدة للسلطة. وهو واحد من مجموعة كبيرة تعيش في المدينة، التي رفعت فجأة البيارق ‏السوداء على زوايا الشوارع، التي ينتشر فيها الجيش وقوى الامن بكثافة. ويتساءل زائرها ‏ان كانت تلك البيارق السوداء شارات حزن، أم رايات جهاد؟ في الحالتين انها تعكس واقعاً صعباً ومريراً، وتبشّر بمستقبل يشبه لونها.‏ في حديث الى النيويورك تايمز قال مدير عام الامن الداخلي اللواء اشرف ريفي «أن فتح ‏الاسلام تضم 50 عنصراً ممن قاتلوا في العراق». فرد عليه المنشق السعودي في بريطانيا محمد ‏المسعري مصححاً للصحيفة نفسها: «لديك 50 مقاتلاً من العراق في لبنان.. هناك نحو خمسة الاف ‏او اكثر ينتظرون اللحظة المناسبة للتحرك».‏ نجهل صحة هذه الأرقام. لكن الفكرة في ذاتها مرعبة، لاننا نكتشف حالة جديدة فوق ارضنا ‏الجميلة. ونصحو على مرقد العنزة الفريد وقد تحوّل الى «بؤرة» يصدر اليها «الارهاب». وان ‏الحالة «الجهادية» القائمة عندنا اليوم هي «فائض» مقاتلين في العراق تم تصديرهم الى لبنان ‏ليخلقوا حالة توازن مذهبية.‏ حين تحوّل هؤلاء «المجاهدين» الى مقاتلين بلا قضية، انقلبوا على «حاضنهم».. وها هم يدمرون ‏لبنان!‏ ‏«وطني دائماً على حق».. شعار لا بد ان يتحول الى بيان حكومة وحدة وطنية مهمتها الوحيدة: ‏انقاذ لبنان! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
مصدر دبلوماسي اميركا ستحول لبنان الى ساحة صراع جديدة
‏ مع القاعدة للتخفيف من مأساة جنودها في العراق‏
رغم تحشرج كلمة النصر في حناجر البعض حتى اختناق الانكار والتنكير، اضحى غني عن البيان ان ‏انتصار حزب الله في حرب تموز شكل بالقطع واليقين اختراقاً لجدار الصوت العربي المهزوم، وتمفصلاً ‏بين حقبتين. فاذا كان البعد القتالي اتكأ على معادلة ما بعد... ما بعد، فان البعد ‏الاستراتيجي بكل ارهاصاته ومكوناته المادية والسيكولوجية اسس لمعادلة ما بعد انتصار تموز ‏الحامل وبكثافة لتداعيات جمة على الواقع العربي عموماً واللبناني بوجه خاص. ‏
من هنا فان توصيف السيد حسن نصرالله لنصر تموز بالتاريخي والاستراتيجي لم يتأت عن تصور ‏عدمي او فراغي فالنتائج الظاهرة وتلك المغمورة المستبطنة المهيأة للانكشاف، وضعت سيّد ‏المقاومة الذي صاغ تاريخية الانتصار في منزلة القادة التاريخيين كقامة سياسية فذة مستشرفة ‏قادرة في الزمن العربي القائم على اداة الصراع وخوض غماره والحاق الهزيمة بالعدو، وما ‏دعوة السيد نصرالله لترقب النتائج قبل لجنة فينوغراد وآثارها ومقدماتها سوى جانب من ‏مزايا تلك الشخصية اللماحة حيث تبدي للعيان، للباحث والقارئ والمتابع وكل ذي بصيرة ‏بان النصر هو النصر ولا معنى آخر له خصوصاً عندما يجري تشخيصه بالعين الصهيونية اي بعين ‏المهزوم لا بالعين المحلية الغافلة المستغفلة!!!‏
في هذا السياق رأى مصدر دبلوماسي رفيع المستوى خلال دردشة خاصة مع عدد من النخب ‏السياسية والثقافية اللبنانية ان الاحداث التي يعيشها لبنان منذ اغتيال الرئيس الشهيد ‏رفيق الحريري وصولاً الى حرب تموز تندرج في التفاصيل الدقيقة للعبة الامم كجزء عضوي من ‏المشروع المعد للمنطقة ولبنان يؤثر ويتأثر بما حوله وهو اشبه «بشلة حرير» ملقاة على ‏اشواك الازمات الناتئة في الشرق الاوسط.‏
واشار المصدر الدبلوماسي الى ان الولايات المتحدة وفرت كل المناخات لتغذية النفس المذهبي في ‏لبنان بعدما فشلت في حربها بالواسطة على حزب الله ونغصت عليها المقاومة العراقية وجودها ‏الهانئ في العراق.. ويتابع المصدر عينه: ما يجري في الشمال اللبناني ليس بعيداً عن ‏تشابكات وعقد الجوار في فلسطين والعراق، فالمساعي جارية على قدم وساق لطي صفحة العودة ‏عبر تماهي الوجود الفلسطيني بالملف اللبناني الداخلي واستخدام المخيمات الفلسطينية ‏كاحتياط سني لمواجهة حزب الله. وعلى اللبنانيين ان يتنبهوا جيدا فالتوطين قائم لا محالة ‏والعرب جميعهم ابلغوا منذ اتفاق اوسلو انه من السهل على اسرائيل استخدام السلاح ‏النووي على القبول بمبدأ حق العودة لفلسطينيي الشتات. ‏
ويقول المصدر الدبلوماسي: ان اسرائيل كانت تعد العدة خلال عدوان تموز للقيام بعملية ‏تطهير شاملة لفلسطينيي الـ 48 تحت دخان العدوان بحيث تتولى اميركا التي تخوض عمليا الحرب ضد ‏حزب الله اسكات المجتمع الدولي فيما تكون وجهة فلسطينيي الـ 48 طبعاً لبنان لاكثر من هدف، ‏لكن هزيمة اسرائيل العسكرية وارباكاتها السياسية الداخلية جعلتها في موقع الاضعف على ‏القيام بخطوة كبيرة من هذا النوع... وتضيف المصادر نفسها: ان الترانسفير الجديد لفلسطينيي ‏الـ 48 ما زال قائما ووضعته القيادة الاسرائيلية على نار حامية لكن هذه المدة الى ‏الضفة الغربية وقطاع غزة حيث يجري الحاقهم بمناطق السلطة بعد افراغ عدد من المستوطنات ‏التي تطوق القطاع والضفة وتتحول اسرائيل الى كيان يهودي صاف.و ترى المصادر نفسها ان ‏قضية المناضل الفلسطيني عزمي بشارة المدافع عن حقوق فلسطينيي الـ 48 لا سيما مساواتهم ‏باليهود من حيث الحقوق، جزء من هذا المخطط وما تركيب الملفات الامنية لعزمي بشارة سوى ‏بروفه لاخماد صوته وحركته تبدأ بفرد وتنتهي بجماعة.‏
ويعود المصدر الدبلوماسي عينه الى الملف اللبناني وفي السياق يقول: دائما يكمل الاميركيون ‏ما يعجز الاسرائيليون عن اتمامه بحيث يقفلون لهم او يعملون على اقفال الملفات الناقصة... ‏انظروا الى «ولش» قصد لبنان لبحث قضايا تتعلق بالحكومة ورئاسة الجمهورية واذا به يُلمح ‏عند مغادرته الى الريبة التي تنظر بها اميركا لتنامي المجموعات الاصولية في شمال لبنان ‏وتعامي الدولة عن تلك الحركات ولم تمض ايام قلائل حتى اندلعت ويا لها من مصادفة!! معارك ‏نهر البارد بين الجيش اللبناني وما يسمى بفتح الاسلام التي بات واضحاً كيف جرى استنباتها ‏واي حضن يرعاها ويغذيها ويمولها؟؟ ويضيف المصدر نفسه: الم يتنبه اللبنانيون الى كلام ‏غوندوليزارايس عن ان لبنان هو خط الدفاع الاول عن السياسة الاميركية في المنطقة، الا يفترض ‏ان يكون خط الدفاع الاول حيث يوجد 120 الف جندي اميركي في العراق، اليس هذا الكلام بحد ‏ذاته استجلاباً واستحضاراً ودعوة مفتوحة للمتطرفين الاصوليين من مختلف الدول العربية ‏والاسلامية الى لبنان (ساحة الجهاد الا الاسناد) التي تحدث عنها «نغروبونتي» منذ ثمانية اشهر ‏امام لجنة الشؤون الخارجية للكونغرس الاميركي.‏
ويتابع المصدر الدبلوماسي: لقد ادهشتنا الاندفاعة الاميركية اللافتة لدعم الجيش اللبناني ‏في هذا الظرف وبالطبع كل محب للبنان يأمل تعزيز قدرات الجيش والحفاظ على جهوزيته ‏العالية لكننا ايضا نتذكر جيداً كيف سقط ما يزيد عن الخمسين جندياً في حرب تموز واستهدف ‏الاسرائيليون ثكنات الجيش ومواقعه وعناصره على الطرقات من دون ان توجه اميركا لوما او ‏انذارا لاسرائيل.‏
ويتابع المصدر الدبلوماسي: اخشى ما اخشاه ان تكون لهفة الاميركيين وغيرتهم على الجيش تمويه ‏وتمهيد للمحظور باسلوب مخادع ومغاير لسيناريو غارنر الحاكم العسكري الاميركي في العراق ‏بداية الغزو حيث جاء حل الجيش العراقي كأول الغيث للفتنة والتفتيت وترسيم حدود ‏الدم... خلاصة الامر وفق المصدر الدبلوماسي: هناك سعي اميركي محموم لخلق بؤرة صراع مع ‏القاعدة او المؤمنين بايديولوجيتها في لبنان، للتخفيف عن الجيش الاميركي المدمى والمنهك ‏والمذعور في العراق، فيجري تحشيد الاصوليين في لبنان تحت مسميات مختلفة لقتال العدو المفترض ‏اميركا، فيأتي السيناريو الاميركي الملهوف على الجيش اللبناني لتصويره انه يتلقى السلاح ‏والدعم العسكري واللوجستي من اميركا (عودة الاسلام) لمقاتلة الارهاب من نوافذ «فتح الاسلام ‏وجند الشام» وابواب نهر البارد، فتقاتل اميركا هؤلاء بالجيش اللبناني الذي زُج في هذا ‏الصراع الجانبي وهو المصاب في الصميم من حفنة قتلة ومجرمين، في وقت يجب ان ينحني كل صاحب ‏عقيدة او مسؤول او انسان عادي لهذا الجيش الوطني الذي يصون السلام الداخلي في لبنان ‏ويدافع عن كرامة كل عربي في مواجهة العدو الاسرائيلي حيث ساحة صراعه الحقيقية ‏والطبيعية.‏
يتابع المصدر: لكن اغراق الجيش اللبناني في متاهة المخيمات ودهاليزها الملتبسة يحقق ‏الاهداف الكبرى لاميركا واسرائيل، حيث تنتقم اميركا واسرائيل من الجيش اللبناني وعقيدته ‏القتالية الوطنية والقومية التي جعلت منه نصراً وسنداً للمقاومة واختلطت دماء الجنود ‏اللبنانيين بدماء المقاومين في مواجهة اسرائيل.‏
كما تجري زعزعة الثقة بين الجيش والمقاومة من خلال تصوير الدعم الاميركي للجيش وحربه في ‏المخيمات خطوة اولى للارتداد والانقضاض على سلاح المقاومة تمهيداً لاغراق الاثنين معاً في النفق ‏المذهبي القاتل.‏
وختم المصدر: اعتقد انه لن يتحقق هذا الحلم الشنيع لان مقاربة السيد حسن نصرالله لملف مخيم ‏نهر البارد تنم عن مسؤولية وطنية عالية اربكت الاميركيين رغم محاولات تأويل وتحوير خطابه، ‏وحقيقة ضرب الاميركيون على رأسهم عندما رُفعت صور السيد حسن نصرالله في المخيمات في الشمال ‏وعندما ادخلت المساعدات من حزب الله للمدنيين الفلسطينيين وكلام السيد نصرالله وضع الاطار ‏الموضوعي للحل الذي من المحتم سيجهض فبركات ولش وادارته وباختصار ولنكن صريحين التخندق ‏المذهبي يسقط الانتصار التاريخي والاستراتيجي، التخندق المذهبي يضعف المقاومة وثقافة المقاومة ‏ويريح اسرائيل ويقويها ويعوض عليها هزيمتها في تموز، التخندق المذهبي يحول الفلسطينيين الى ‏ورقة في التوظيف الداخلي اللبناني ليغدو التوطين امرا ممكنا، او ليس هذا ما يريح ‏اسرائيل وتسعى اليه جاهدة.‏
ونبه المصدر الى ان البعض لا يعي خطورة الوضع في لبنان ويتعاطى بخفة وبرودة مع قضايا ‏حامية كقضية نهر البارد التي قد تتحول الى بحر ساخن في الفوضى والدموم والدموع.
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Citizens of Lebanon, if you don't get rid of this,criminally insane,incompetent,pathetic fool,who masquerades as a prime minister,I am very much afraid it will not be another war,but another Genocide God forbid . GET RID OF THIS GOVERNMENT AND ALL ITS CRONIES NOW .
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Arabs Never Ever Learn....

Words of Wisdom, Spoken by an American Barbarian Killer Monster, from a clique of Murderers, lusting for power,

profit and greed.

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Let's get it over with! You morons like Hamas and your deluded leaders think the US is weak? Our weakness is in giving you the time of day...in fighting a civilized war against tribal animals who, like lemmings, cyclically flock to their collective suicides harboring delusions of grandeur, most recently, the coming of the 12th Imam. 1956, 1968, 1973, 2006. You never learn. Even the prayers of Imams 1-11 won't give you a prayer of a chance of seeing the day #12 arrives. You are sick with blood lust! Your arrogance in feeling the false hubris of Russian arms and UN paralysis after a conflict in Lebanon which was fought on the Israeli side with one arm and nine fingers tied behind its back and you think you won? You consider it a victory if Israel loses a few tanks and Hezbollah is saved from annihilation by a UN cease fire... Remember the vaunted Soviet tanks rotting in the deserts after previous wars with Israel. Remember Saddam's retreat from Kuwait, leaving behind his army's tanks and men! Those are the images you ought remember! They will be the ones remaining after your next Armageddon. This time, the parking lot of useless Russian armor will be a lot bigger. Thank you Russia and Iran for again emboldening your client states Syria and Iran into their cyclical hubris. Your arms merchants made a financial killing! But that's where the 'killing' ends. As in '73, you give your clients false hubris. This time, it's highly likely you have hastened the day when the world will rid itself forever of your tribal blood-lusting client list. Next time Putin, you will have to find other customers for your vaunted armor. The old list of customers is about to be winnowed. Soon - courtesy of Assad and his monkey string puller Ahmadinejad - you'll give Israel and us a casus belli, the result of which your delusions of grandeur will be vaporized. The whole mess is sickening and needs to be brought to a close once and for all. Bring it on, you death-wish barbarians! You can't live in peace with Jews so you will get what you wish. Believe the US is weak. Forget that one carrier group in the Persian Gulf can flatten all your cities into glass parking lots. You had your chance at peaceful co-existence but you mongrels are bred to fight and die for your god, Allah. Your Temple Mount will become a trampled mound of dust upon which the Third Jewish Temple will be built. You have only yourselves to blame! Enjoy the 72 virgins. You'll have to make a reservation and wait your turn in line. They'll be awful busy very soon!
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A real prophet has spoken. And like all prophecies, it will some day be fulfilled, Not certain when, but it is getting closer. (Isaiah 17:1) pray to the real God of the Bible for protection and guidance. Cut out all the bluster. He is in control, and we can count on Him.

Arithmetic of Disdain

Arithmetic of Disdain

Arithmetic of Disdain There is no democracy in the world that should tolerate Air Raids being done for decades by IAF at its cities, without taking every reasonable step to stop the attacks. The big question raised by Israel's military actions in Lebanon is why all this "DISDAIN." ?
The answer, according to the laws of humanity, is that it is racism, jealousy and pure HATE, to attack civilian targets, for so long in Lebanon, as every effort is made to reduce to rubble any peace, and maximize civilian casualties in Lebanon in order to satisfy the consecutive Israeli leader's lust for violence, destruction and death, in Lebanon and beyond, because of a "culture of Violence" so pervasive in Israel and in USA.
If the objectives cannot be achieved without "clear excuses", the Israelis and the Americans will "invent or Create" a "terrorist Act", in a false flag operational scheme, to get their ways and continue the hegemonic lust for "energy" control and "protection". If the gulf between the West and Muslim world continues to widen, it is not because of some pathological hatred of all things Western and Christian in Muslim hearts. It is Israel’s policies towards Lebanese, and Palestinians and the West’s connivance of this apartheid regime that make our world a dangerous place to live in.
Some civilian casualties, that must be "proportional" to their Strategic Goals, or collateral Damage, as they call it, amounting to several hundreds of thousands of DEATHS, in Iraq, or in Lebanon, or Palestine, or anywhere else, is "worth it" in their book...
Casualties that would be prevented by the Peaceful coexistence, is never in the cards for Israel or USA's administrations.
This is all well and good for democratic nations that deliberately locate their military bases away from civilian population centers. Israel has its air force, nuclear facilities and large army bases in locations as remote as anything can be in that country. It is possible for an enemy to attack Israeli military targets without inflicting "collateral damage" on its civilian population, because Israel has received and continue to receive TENS of Billions of US dollars, in order to turn its territory into an Offensive Military Machine, bent on terrorizing the whole area for decades, until all energy supplies in the area run out, then, they might "consider" PEACE.
Hezbollah and others, by contrast, try to protect their countrymen and women, the best way they can, with the little means they have to operate with, and mount a military Resistance structure, out of densely populated areas, because over the years, Israel has forcibly pushed the populations of south Lebanon to head north, in order to escape the brutality if its daily bombardments, and repetitive brutal incursions and invasions of south Lebanon, for over forty years. They launch antipersonnel missiles with ball-bearing shrapnel, designed locally, because they cannot acquire adequate defensive weapons from the WEST, to defend themselves, and they do that, in order by to maximize Israeli military and other casualties, in a desperate attempt to keep Israeli offenses from annihilating whole villages and towns throughout Lebanon. This chorus of futile and "shy" condemnation of Israel over the years, actually encourages the Israelis to operate freely and terrorize cities, towns, villages, Hospitals, ambulances in all civilian areas, all over Lebanon and beyond. While Israel does everything to maximize civilian casualties on Lebanese civilians, in a desperate attempt to foment civilian unrest, and condemnation of the Hizbullah Resistance, a diplomat commented years ago, that Israel "have mastered the harsh arithmetic of DISDAIN. . . . Lebanese casualties play in their favor and Pals. casualties play in their favor." These are groups that send children to schools like everybody else in this world, and sometimes without the child or the parent knowing that his child will ever come back home from school, or might be sacrificed in an Israeli or American Air Raid somewhere. Several thousands have died in these raids in south Lebanon, Iraq, or Afghanistan recently. This misuse of civilians as targets and fuel for American and Israeli Proxy Wars, requires a reassessment of the laws of war and the Geneva Conventions, and the ICC in the Hague.
The distinction between combatants and civilians -- easy when combatants were uniformed members of armies that fought on battlefields distant from civilian centers -- is very easy in the present context. Now, there is a continuum of "BESTIALITY", Made In Israel and USA worldwide, laws must change, in order to take to courts and indict the Barbarians in the Pentagon and Tel-Aviv. Near the most civilian end of this continuum are the pure innocents -- babies, hostages and others completely uninvolved; at the more combatant end are civilians who willingly harbor Resistance, provide material resources and serve as human support; in the middle are those who support the Hizbullah fighters politically, materially and spiritually, just like in the second world war. The laws of war and the rules of morality must adapt to these realities. An analogy to domestic criminal law is instructive: A bank robber who takes a teller hostage and fires at police from behind his human shield is guilty of murder if they, in an effort to stop the robber from shooting, accidentally kill the hostage. The same should be true of Israelis who use civilians as targets from behind F16s and F15s and SAAR naval gun boats, and indiscriminately and brutally they fire their rockets. The Israeli state' terrorists must be held legally and morally responsible for the deaths of the civilians, even if the direct physical cause was an Israeli rocket anywhere. Israel fired hundreds of thousands of mortar shells in south Lebanon over the years, they should be made to pay compensation and damages to all families, towns and municipalities for the damages they inflict. Lebanon must be allowed to finish the fight that Israel and America started over 60 years ago, even if that means military and civilian casualties in Israel . A Lebanese democracy is entitled to prefer the lives of its own innocents over the lives of the civilians of an aggressor, especially if the latter group contains many who are complicit in deliberate terrorism worldwide. Israel will -- and should -- take every precaution to minimize civilian casualties on the other side, because Israel has a history of deliberately executing false flag operations and terrorism with their US allies. On July 16, Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, announced there will be new "surprises," and Israel will be resisted, repelled and Beaten, wall to wall, if it continues its daily aggressions over Lebanon, and keeps occupying the Shebaa farms.
Cluster Bombs and other illegal weapons that are used by IDF, IAF and other rockets will be allowed to be pre-empted by the WESTERN world one day ???? Or their use will be a perpetual, deliberate Imperial Design to keep this whole area on a powder keg for ever? At least until all Energy resources have been exhausted? Israel never left Sheba'a Farms of Lebanon in 2000 and will have to do so soonest. These are "occupied" territories. Yet they serve as launching pads for attacks on Lebanese civilians daily. Occupation does cause Resistance, and, Israel, the US and the UN know that the term "terrorism" seems to cause more resistance to injustice, because it is used and abused in the wrong context deliberately to smear just causes worldwide. The "Western world" has to come to its senses soon, and ensure that these so-called Leaders of the State of Israel cease to be terrorists, and Israel ceases to be a safe haven for a Global Mafia....
http://anaconda-manifesto.blogspot.com/

Blind Leading the Blind

Blind Leading the Blind
IDF Courage .

From an "OLD Timer "

لماذا عَبَسَ شاكر؟
بقلم: زينا الخوري
‏«لو اراد شاكر ان يبقى في ليبيا عام 1995 لاستطاع ذلك. قرار القذافي يومها بطرد ‏الفلسطينيين لم يشمل المجنسين. وشاكر يحمل الجنسية الليبية».‏
هذا ما قاله الطبيب عبد الرزاق العبسي شقيق شاكر العبسي لجريدة لوموند. وصف شقيقه ‏بأنه «مناضل يقاتل لاسترجاع القدس اتخذ طريق الاصولية بعد ان يئس من القومية العربية ‏واليسار..»!‏
شاكر العبسي فلسطيني يحمل الجنسية الاردنية. مال الى اليسار في شبابه. قرر ان يصبح طبيباً ‏فذهب الى تونس. ثم بدل رأيه فالتحق بفتح عرفات التي ارسلته الى ليبيا حيث اصبح طياراً. ‏وحصل على الجنسية الليبية.‏
ذهب الى نيكاراغوا فحارب في صفوف الصندينيين. وانتقل الى بيروت ليقاتل الى جانب عرفات، ‏وخرج معه الى تونس. حصل على الجنسية التونسية. قاتل الى جانب ليبيا في تشاد. وقاتل في ‏اليمن. وحصل على الجنسية اليمنية.‏
وجاء الى سوريا فانضم الى فتح الانتفاضة. وسجن ست سنوات لتهريب السلاح الى لبنان. وحارب ‏في العراق الى جانب ابي مصعب الزرقاوي. وعاد الى لبنان وانتفض على الانتفاضة، وتحول الى ‏مسلم متعصب... انتفض على الشعب اللبناني كله.‏
مسيرة طويلة تشبه قصص الافاعي. مقاتل «عشوائي» ام صاحب قضية كما وصفه شقيقه؟ وأية ‏قضية؟!‏
فلسطيني، اردني، ليبي، يمني، سوري، فتحاوي، صانديني، زرقاوي، مموّل بالريال السعودي... ‏وجاهز للذبح في اية لحظة.‏
لمن يعمل اليوم في لبنان؟ لمصلحة القضية الفلسطينية؟ ام لمصلحة الاسلام والمسلمين؟ حتماً لا. ‏من اين يأتي بالسلاح والرجال؟ كيف صمد كل هذه المدة داخل المخيم؟‏
البعض يريده حالة سوريا «صافية». والبعض يصر انه مع القاعدة. والحقيقة ان قاعدته ‏الوحيدة هي قتلنا.‏
موجع ان يكشف التاريخ ذات يوم ان شاكر العبسي كان رأس الحرب في مشروع جهنمي لتفتيت ‏لبنان... انه لا يختلف كثيرا عن بوسطة عين الرمانة ومشاريع كيسنجر عام 1975.
----------------------------------------------------------- I cannot say that I know that area of Hazmiyyeh well, but, my best friend who was drafted into the Maghaweer in summer of 1974 had guard duty at the building that housed the head of Lebanese military intelligence. I used to go visit him to cheer him up; he was super depressed during that year. What I remember is that building was at the end of a cul de sac. One day I was there visiting and I see a Ford that had the number 13 on it painted in a circle. You know Fords at the time were very rare in Lebanon since Ford was embargoed after the 67 war; it was very easy to spot. Anyway, I used to also hangout at my swimming coach's scuba diving shop next to the British Embassy, which is near IC, ACS, and AUB. I used to see that Ford (temporary entry plate) go in and out of the AUB teachers' residence gate. I asked my friend what that car did up this way, he said it visited that apartment on regular basis; the apartment was opposite to them on the cul de sac. A lot of people go in and out of that apartment, often carrying very sophisticated weapons and what looked light night time surveillance or targeting equipment. So, they tell us that educational institutions are just that, to me, it was enough proof that they were used for shady activities. So, we kept tabs on that car and it would make the trips to Hazmiyyeh on the worst of days, if you recall there was tons of clans in shayyah and stuff, and still, would make the trip because there must have been something important; it was not your casual social visit....

Petty Sectarian Bigot and a Petty-Neocon LIAR par excellence....

قالوا: ما هو الفارق بين المحكمة ذات الطابع الدولي وبين المحكمة الدولية.‏ قلنا: الاولى لكشف القتيل والثانية لكشف القاتل يقو فأسفّا في كلامهما في اللغة وفي ‏المضمون. من يغفر له؟ بقلم: زينا الخوري كتب الاستاذ فؤاد السنيورة رسالة مقتضبة الى الامم المتحدة. أدخلته كتب التاريخ.‏ تحمّل وحده المسؤولية امام الله والوطن والضمير. وألقى على كتفيه تبعات «الهوى الدولي» وما ‏يجلبه من عواصف.‏ نسي «الحقيقة» واخبر محبوبته الدولية عن «المأزق. وسوء الحظ. والطريق المسدود. وطلب بإلحاح ‏قرارا ملزما حفاظا على استقرار لبنان، وتحقيق العدالة، وصدقية الامم المتحدة، والسلام ‏والأمن في المنطقة».‏ ولان فريق «الاكثرية» حريص على كل هذه المبادئ «الاخلاقية» طالب بالفصل السابع، لأنه لم ‏يحمل القتل والدمار والموت والتهجير الى كل بقعة حل فيها».‏ وهلّلت «الاكثرية» عاليا للقرار السنيوري الشجاع. واثبتت كالعادة »ان العرب ظاهرة ‏صوتية» لجميع المناسبات. لكنها ماذا حققت فعليا؟ ماذا غيّرت في واقع لبنان المتأزم؟ وهل ‏حقا سوف تولد المحكمة هذا الاسبوع؟ كان من المفترض ان تجري الولادة القيصرية قبل 16 ايار ليفرح بها «والدها بالتبني» الرئيس ‏جاك شيراك قبل رحيله، فيصرخ: اطلق يا رب عبدك بسلام.‏ و«الاكثرية» موعودة ان يأتي الترياق في نهاية ايار. لكن وزير خارجية بلجيكا الذي تترأس ‏بلاده مجلس الامن في الشهر المقبل، صرّح يوم همروجة الرسالة بأن «اقرار المحكمة الدولية بموجب ‏الفصل السابع ربما يعقّد الامور على الارض بدل ان يحلها».‏ لقد كتب السنيورة رسالته في عز الحشرة. كان الوطن يغلي من جنوبه الى بقاعه والعاصمة. ‏واصوات ضحايا حرب تموز الذين يطالبون بحقوقهم وتعويضاتهم المشروعة، ترتفع محمّلة الرئيس ‏السنيورة المسؤولية.‏ عندما كتب رسالته الى الامم المتحدة، تحولت الأنظار من الداخل الناقم على المسؤول الظالم ‏الى الخارج القادم بالظلم العارم. وعاد حديث المحكمة يشغل الناس علها تنسى البيوت ‏المهدّمة ومئات ملايين الدولارات التي نجهل اين صرفت... لكن الجمرة تحرق موضعها. وام القتيل ‏لا تنسى.‏ الشعار الوحيد الذي يستطيع «كاتب الرسالة» ان يرفعه امام السراي الآن، لكي يقرأه ‏الوزراء: «ليغفر الله لنا ولكم!».‏ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I’m told by Intelligence sources that while Rafic Hariri was in the US visiting Donald Rumsfeld, he mentions Koley'at Airport again... but an agreement failed to materialize again.Hariri was approached by US Intelligence earlier and had refused categorically to discuss US rights for an Air Base in North Lebanon, specifically the Koleiat Airport. Rafic Hariri was eyeing a pristine stretch of beach front land properties north of Tripoli , stretching for miles inland and into the hills behind it, and north to AKKAR . These beaches are of an immense value for a developer and Hariri had huge plans for the area,after he finds a permanent solution to settle the Palestinian refugees elsewhere. He had specific plans for that too, but did not want any Syrian meddling into these monumental projects, and local SUNNI traditional Leaderships did not like very much Hariri having an eye on these areas, especially that if he were to develop such properties, immense benefits for the area would ensue, with thousands of jobs at stake and economic development for an area desperate for investment and jobs. Had he succeeded in getting these projects off the ground, Rafic Hariri would have threatened the local traditional Sunni leaders of Tripoli, and his hegemonistic leadership on the Sunnis in Lebanon would have been almost complete.... but Rafic refused to play ball with the Americans and he wanted to develop that particular airport himself and turn it into a major international tourist hub, after building huge projects in the area . In order to protect his new "turf" and his potential Mega-investments in the North Lebanon, he resorted to a dangerous tactic, traditional to his Saudi Mentors.... Extreme Sunni local tribes, "turned Jihadists" in order to scare overseas investors and Imperial Hubris from poking in his projected new investment territories, and keep everyone away from the "prize"....the end result is what we see today in the North Of Lebanon, in Nahr Al-Bared and in all of the areas stretching from Jubeil, all the way to Kleiat and Akkar....[ watch and learn from the New Hollywoodian long Film, Unfold in front of your very eyes...] When this approach with Hariri failed, the US turned to another local Sunni with strong ties to the Syrians...What I can tell you is that 4 years ago, a Lebanese middleman approached then Transport Minister Najib Mikati and told him the US is very keen on Koley'at. Mikati went to see his Syrian mentors (Makhloufs) and tried to woo them by promising riches ensuing from modernization work on the airport and basing rights for the US Air Force and NATO etc. At first the Syrians were willing to play, then US-Syrian relations soured.... for a while..... a tug of war is sure to unfold here, and the winners will have a big prize. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fouad Sanyoura & CO. : petty politicians.... Sanioura is a THUG, A criminal and a THIEF.

Were Fouad Sanyoura not a petty politician, he would go home today and save us the huge protest rallies, which represent over 50 % of the Lebanese populace, [ by comparison, this would make for a demonstration of about 30 Million French in the streets, or about 150 Million Americans protesting their Governments policies ...] and the daily interviews with opposition politicians of the last 6 months .
The most urgent humanitarian crisis on the planet, is in the Bekaa, South Beirut and South Lebanon, it's Lebanon. Beirut is now the ultimate laboratory of perverse social engineering: a brutalized, militarized, neo-Spartan future three-tier society where privileges are enjoyed by the first tier - the Al-moustaqbal gangs, the handsomely paid US shadow proxy-militias/army of contractors - and the second tier - pro-government politicians who spend most of their time in London/Paris/Washington or Middle Eastern capitals. The overall population are just corralled, humiliated and treated as mere slaves, after last year's brutal and barbaric Israeli Air, Sea and Howitzers bombardments of the civilian populations of Lebanon and the infrastructure, over 5 weeks - extras in their own land....only good for utter humiliation, neglect and disdain by the so-called Sanyoura government.

Petty Politicians, Sanyoura & Olmert, identical twins, made in USA.

Petty Politicians, Sanyoura & Olmert, identical twins, made in USA.
Petty Politicians, Sanyoura & Olmert, identical twins, made in USA

FREE LEBANON , LAND OF THE "MESSAGE".

FREE LEBANON : "MESSAGE" TO THE WORLD .
WE MUST FREE LEBANON'S YOUNG GENERATIONS FROM THE FEUDAL POLITICS OF A BLIND RULING "ELITE".
Bashir Gemayel and ELIE Hobeika , ARE turning in their Graves, when they see these pathetic " New Alliances " made in Neoconville USA , Midwifed by amine Gemayel, between the so-called LF, Joumblatt " The NEW Darling of the Neocons" Agent in Chief, the criminal Killer Samir Geagea, Moufti JOUZOU, with PLO/FATH of all people, The New Hariri STOOGES of Saad Hariri and other unsavory characters not worth mentioning here.
WALEED JOUMBLATT, Amine Gemayel, The Batrak SFEIR , the criminal Geagea, hungry for more Christian blood , because he has always been a serial killer and a murderer all his adult life, including 11 years in solitary confinement for murders committed in the 80s, and many other murders still to be judged, and ALL the March 14th whacko's, have permanently DERAILED, AND ELIMINATED FOR GOOD, the amazing gatherings of good will and NONSECTARIAN MANIFESTATIONS of a NON-SECTARIAN NATIONAL IDENTITY. The March 14th group decapitated the NATION with their petty sectarian and weak formulas, built around self aggrandizement of miserable individuals, who don't have enough legs to stand on... Assef Shawkat is back with a vengeance, ASSEF SHAWKAT IS A MONSTROUS SERIAL KILLER, NOW SUPPORTED BY THE WEST AGAIN.....HE IS TRYING TO COME BACK WITH A VENGEANCE, PRECISELY BECAUSE OF THE FAILURES OF THE MARCH 14TH PETTY SECTARIAN POLITICS, AND NOT AT ALL BECAUSE OF THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DIVIDE, WHO ARE NATURALLY EXERCISING THEIR RIGHT IN A PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY. MARCH 14TH GROUP HAVE FAILED MISERABLY THE TEST OF HISTORY, AND THEIR LEGACY WILL BE IN THE GUTTER OF LEBANON'S HISTORY, FOR THEY HIJACKED THE DREAMS AND ASPIRATIONS OF SEVERAL GENERATIONS OF VERY TALENTED YOUNG LEBANESE PEOPLE, FOR THEIR PETTY SECTARIAN AND BIGOTED POLICIES.

2012 theories and the MAYAN Calendar....

"There is no logical way to the discovery of elemental laws. There is only the way of intuition, which is helped by a feeling for the order lying behind the appearance..." ?
PHI POINT !

The December 26, 2004 Sumatra Quake was probably Hyper Dimensionally initiated / related to the June 8, 2004 Venus passage.

When intuition speaks.....

I decided to check today's quake in Indonesia with the June 8 Venus transit :

1191 days .

I expected it to be a possible Phi point and guess what:

1191 times 1.61803399 = 1927 days

1927 days after September 12, 2007 :

December 21, 2012 The end of the Mayan Calendar!.....?
the 'communication' is profound and indeed Venus related as described in the HD Design:

This is really 'in the face':

March 28 - The 2005 Sumatran earthquake strikes off Sumatra, three months after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. At a magnitude of 8.7 it is the second largest earthquake since 1965.

March 28, 2005 - September 12, 2007: 898 days

or EXACTLY 4 Venus years in Earth days: Venus at same geometrical position during these Sumatra quakes!!! Do you believe it's just coincidental ???
I expected Pope related info but this seems to be a surprise, but could be significant with a sense for symbolism:

Papal stargazers reach for heaven .... 01/10/2007....

For the second time in seven years the Vatican is hosting a scientific conference for astronomers.

More than 200 scientists from 26 countries including the United States, Britain, Italy, Germany, Russia, and Japan have gathered in Rome for a five-day meeting on disc galaxies.

At the Papal University in Rome, normally frequented by Catholic theologians studying the Bible, the scientists, including Jesuit priests who work at the Vatican's own astronomical observatory, will be grappling with abstruse formulae and mathematical simulations about the physical origins of the universe, involving concepts such as cold dark matter and black holes.

Father Jose Funes, the head of the Vatican Observatory, said exciting new discoveries have been made with the help of space telescopes since the Holy See's last meeting on galaxies in 2000.

"Disc galaxies are a hot topic," he said.

'Hot topic' ....

Father Funes has a small full-time staff of only 13 scientists, most of them Jesuit priests, to run his astronomical research programmes, but co-operates with many prestigious universities around the world.

Why does the Vatican fund astronomical research after centuries of public dispute over the relative roles of science and religion?

Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, a member of Father Funes's team and curator of one of the world's most important collections of meteorites, kept at Castelgandolfo (the Pope's summer residence), explains.

"They want the world to know that the Church isn't afraid of science," he said.

"This is our way of seeing how God created the universe and they want to make as strong a statement as possible that truth doesn't contradict truth; that if you have faith, then you're never going to be afraid of what science is going to come up with.

"Because it's true."

The conference will kick off with a discussion about our own galaxy, the Milky Way, before proceeding to more abstruse concepts of space and time involving how galaxies, stars and planets came to be formed and evolve.

'Against scripture' ?

The Catholic Church became seriously interested in stargazing as far back as four centuries ago, when Pope Gregory XIII set up a committee to examine the implications for science involved in the Pope's 1582 reform of the calendar.

In that year the Julian calendar, used since the days of Julius Caesar, was replaced by the more scientifically accurate Gregorian calendar.

The Julian calendar year had been calculated slightly too long, and after the passage of many centuries the spring equinox had drifted backwards, causing errors only remediable by a shift to a new calendar system.

Then came Galileo Galilei, the Italian whom Albert Einstein called "the father of modern science".

Galileo, who was born and studied in Pisa, first visited Rome in 1612 to share with Jesuit mathematicians and philosophers his new telescopic observations of the moons of Jupiter.

He argued that his studies proved the fallacy of the Aristotelian view of the universe and the correctness of the theories of the Polish mathematician and scholar Nicolaus Copernicus.

It was Copernicus who first theorized - a century before Galileo - that it was the earth that moved around the sun, and not vice versa.

Heresy ?

Galileo was later attacked by Catholic theologians who held that his theories went against scripture, and was eventually tried for heresy by the Inquisition.

It was not until the reign of Pope John Paul II - nearly four centuries later - that the Catholic Church finally admitted that Galileo had been right and he was officially rehabilitated.

What could be called the Vatican's first scientific astronomical observatory was finally set up in 1789 in a building which still exists near the Apostolic Palace, called the Tower of the Winds.

A century later, in 1891, Pope Leo XIII, in an attempt to counter the persistent perception of hostility by the Church towards science, set up another small astronomical observatory on a hill behind the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica.

This was abandoned, however, in the 1930s, by which time light pollution from the city of Rome prevented the study of the fainter stars, and a new Vatican Observatory with German-made telescopes was set up at Castelgandolfo in the Alban Hills, 25km (15.5 miles) south-east of Rome.

Further expansion of the Italian capital and brightening of the night sky meant that Vatican stargazers were forced to relocate yet again to a higher, less polluted observation point.

In 1981 they chose a mountaintop in the US near Tucson, Arizona, where in 1993 the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope was completed, equipped with a new large American-made 1.8 meter mirror.

ICH

2/03/2007

Why Nemesis is at the US's door.

Rice pointing to Sanyoura's "DIKK" and March 14th achievements..., after 13 Years of direct, daily and constant support from CIA/MOSSAD/DGSE/MI6/SIMI/GID, EGID, KSA-GID/CSIS/ASIO/DIA/DEA/ and many others....and BILLIONS of USD in electoral BRIBES.....






MADE IN USA




































































The Killers of our Hero, Mr. Elie Hobeika... Assassins on the Loose...
















.Handy TOOLS. Made in NEOCONVILLE.






























Bashir RIP. You will always be remembered as the most Charismatic Leader of all times.
********************************************************************************

The babble about the war in Iraq having been won or lost
is just that - babble. Iraq has never been America's to win
or lose. The country belongs to the people of Iraq, and it's
theirs to win or lose.
The Bush administration started something it cannot
finish without further destroying thousands of Iraqi lives
and hundreds more American lives.
The reality is that Iraq is, and always will be, an Islamic,
a Shiite majority nation with close ties to its neighbor,
Iran. Any freely-elected government will reflect this, as
the present government does.
To resolve the Iraqi conflict, there must be regional
diplomacy, something the Bush administration has
been loathe to do. The overwhelming majority of Iraqis
see the United States as occupiers and the day is
coming near when the Iraqi government will tell the
Americans to get out.
To do so honorably, the United States must engage
Syria and Iran in direct, unconditional negotiations
based on mutual respect, otherwise nothing will change.
The cost of President George W. Bush's adventure in
Iraq in men and materials will continue to mount...and
his late found stooges in Lebanon will be squeezed like
dead cockroaches.
***********************************************************

"That is the meaning of the martyrdom of Mr. Elie Hobeika, and it is a tragedy for all of us.”

As the engineered sectarian melt-down in Lebanon crawls forward, it is interesting to read the neocon columnists as they bewail the erosion of the “Cedar Revolution,” that is to say the neocon-neolib subversion of Lebanese politics.

“In this sense, the HOBEIKA assassination is one of the opening shots in Hezbollah’s showdown with supporters of the Cedar Revolution,” which culminated in the Assassination of Rafic Hariri, both engineered in CIA and MOSSAD.

But what of this so-called Cedar Revolution? Is it purely a Lebanese political phenomenon, having risen out of the anger and opposition to the presence of Syria in the country?

Hardly.

“Standing behind Lebanon’s current effort to build democracy are U.S. and other international aid groups. Many had spent the past years building the foundations for democratic change. Now they can help ensure the success of what is known as the Cedar Revolution—named after the national tree depicted on the Lebanese flag,” explains USAID, a documented CIA asset, now more precisely an asset for the Pentagon and the State Department, as noted by Bill Berkowitz earlier this year.

“The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) functions as an instrument of CIA penetration into civil society, by enabling the ‘legitimate’ funding of millions of dollars to promote U.S. foreign policy abroad and influence internal politics of foreign nations while avoiding Congressional scrutiny,” writes Eva Golinger. According to Ralph McGehee, a former CIA agent, and other former CIA operatives, the agency manipulated the trade union movement in the Philippines through USAID front organizations.

“In a recent article in the Journal of Contemporary Asia, American sociologist James Petras describes how progressive non-government organizations can be neutralized, if not co-opted, thru US government, big business-backed funding agencies or CIA fronts and conduits masquerading as foundations,” writes Roland G. Simbulan for the Manila Studies Program at the University of the Philippines.

The purpose, according to Petras, is “to mystify and deflect discontent away from direct attacks on the corporate/banking power structure and profits toward local micro-projects …that avoids class analysis of imperialism and capitalist exploitation.” Neo-liberalism today, according to Petras, encourages NGOs to “emphasize projects, not movements; they ‘mobilize’ people to produce at the margins, not to struggle to control the means of production and wealth; they focus on the technical financial aspects of projects not on structural conditions that shape the everyday lives of people.” While using the language of the Left such as “people empowerment,” “gender equality,” “sustainable development” etc., these NGOs funded by USAID, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Asia Foundation, etc. have become linked to a framework of collaboration with donors and even with government agencies with whom they have partnerships that subordinate activity to nonconfrontational politics, rather than militant mass mobilization.

But it is not simply Asia where USAID works its “democratic” magic, more accurately described as cultural and economic voodoo. The CIA (and Pentagon) connected so-called NGO has turned up in Iraq, Haiti, the Palestinian Territories, Pakistan, Russia, Afghanistan, Egypt, Nigeria, and elsewhere.

It is especially interesting to read the account of USAID interference in Lebanon, as recounted by the Lebanese socialist Bassem Chit. “Lebanon’s ‘cedar revolution’ is being touted as the shining example of regime change on the cheap. Since the mass protest drove out the Syrians last year, Lebanon has seen an ascending flow of US interference. It varies from direct political manipulation and media campaigns to discreet funding of civil movements through ‘NGOs,” Chit wrote in May of this year.

It is worth quoting Chit at length:

A few months after the protests I received a call from a friend telling me that a US NGO called Freedom House wanted to meet “Lebanese activists”. Being a well known activist on the left and one of the organizers of the anti-war movement, I was intrigued by the purpose of the meeting. A few of us were invited to an expensive British restaurant in one of Beirut’s trendy neighborhoods.

An American-Lebanese woman representing Freedom House was accompanied by a “retired revolutionary” from Ukraine. The guy was eager to get us on board, and boasted of the joys of being “US-funded” — he added that after Ukraine’s Orange Revolution he even had the opportunity to “meet George Bush.” He obviously thought that was enough to close the deal.

After some questioning about the intentions of Freedom House it became clear they wanted to “fund youth movements to help the process of democratization”. At that point we told them that if they really wanted democracy to thrive in Lebanon they should leave the country immediately. Undeterred, they returned a few months later wanting to fund “transparency workshops and projects”. Again we refused.

That the US is wanting to finance Lebanese leftists might seem odd, but it is part of a pattern of political interference that emerged since the invasion of Iraq. During the “cedar revolution” US ambassador Jeffrey Feltman invited many of the leaders of the anti-Syrian movement to dinner parties. The US embassy also had a direct hand in fomenting the anti-Syrian protests.

The New York Post reported how, at the height of last year’s protests, “the CIA and European intelligence services were quietly giving money and logistical support to organizers of the anti-Syrian protests to ramp up pressure on Syrian president Bashar al-Assad… The secret program is similar to previous support of pro-democracy movements in Georgia and Ukraine, which also led to peaceful demonstrations.”

(…)

Now the country is awash with dubious NGOs. Among them is the United States Committee for a Free Lebanon, headed by Ziad Abdel Nour. The son of wealthy right wing Lebanese MP, Ziad Abdel Nour let the cat out of the bag when he declared, “We have absolutely no problem with heavy US involvement in Lebanon. On an economic level, military level, political level, security level… whatever it is. Israel is the 51st state of the United States. Let Lebanon be the 52nd state. And if the Arabs don’t like it, tough luck.” We will Murder, kill, assassinate anyone in Lebanon to get to our goals...

(…)

As well as trying to tempt the left into its orbit and bankroll the many genuine civil movements, there is a whiff of arrogance about the US in Lebanon. Embassy staff and their hangers-on regularly colonize the cafes and restaurants in downtown Beirut. It seems no expense will be spared to wine and dine their way to regime change.

Yet the US has a problem. The sparkle has gone out of the “cedar revolution” and, far from delivering stability and prosperity, the country is sinking into economic malaise. The slogan that marked the revolution, “We have had enough of your lies, now leave”, is still being chanted, but now its is not aimed at the Syrians but at the US-backed politicians that run the country. You can’t buy that.

It is interesting Chit mentions the Freedom House. This so-called NGO is stacked with neocons and neolib one-worlders, including James “World War Four” Woolsey, a former director of the CIA and VP for Booz Allen Hamilton, and the Rockefeller protégé Zbigniew Brzezinski, the engineer behind the Afghan Mujahideen, eventually to conveniently morph into al-Qaeda. Others include the Trilateralist Samuel P. Huntington, architect of the “clash of civilizations” currently underway, and Clinton national security adviser Anthony Lake, former Kissinger lackey and Clinton’s pointman on the bombing of Yugoslavia.

It now appears all the hard work of the neocons and the USAID, NED, and other reactionary NGOs—work designed to subvert indigenous political activity frowned upon by the one-world types and their neocon kissing cousins—is for naught. “Hezbollah may be about to win power in Lebanon,” laments Mario Loyola. “But in the political dialogue of Lebanon—and the Arab world—Hezbollah has already won the argument. The murderous law of Hezbollah’s many grievances is now the real constitution of that country. Of course, Mr. Loyola is speaking the language of his masters—the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, yet another neocon “think tank” aligned with the American Enterprise Institute, the Hudson Institute, and the above mentioned Freedom House.

Predictably, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies includes on its roster the usual suspects, including the Ritchie Rich Steve Forbes, Jack Kemp, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Newt Gingrich, Joseph Lieberman, James Woolsey, Frank Gaffney, William Kristol, Charles Krauthammer, Richard Perle, and walid Phares.

Obviously, with friends like these, Lebanon needs no enemies.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The American Commission

Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, made a remarkable statement last week. He praised Israel for conducting an inquiry into last year’s war with Hezbollah — an inquiry that accused Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of “serious failure in exercising judgment, responsibility and prudence.”

Mr. Nasrallah was quoted by the BBC as saying Israelis “study their defeat in order to learn from it,” in contrast with the American pseudo-democracy that “do not probe, do not ask, do not form inquiry commissions ... as if nothing has happened, but form endless congressional chatter boxes, filled with potted plants that regurgitate AIPAC's and Neo-Zionist crap for years, like in the 1980s Iran-Contra etc. which end in "naught".”

One has to be impressed by his honesty, but he did not take it all the way, since the American leader who most needs to be probed is Dick Cheney himself. He started the war on Lebanon, which was a disaster for civilians all over Lebanon. If there were an honest American Inquiry Commission into the war, here is what it would say about him:

On July 12, 2006, Hezbollah fighters directed by Mr. Nasrallah abducted two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in a provoked attack across the Lebanon-Israel border, after daily Israeli incursions into south Lebanon and all over Lebanon, which UNIFIL has counted at about 18000 encroachments on Lebanese sovereignty over a period of 30 years, including several wars on Lebanon costing tens of Billions of USD in damages and tens of thousands of civilian casualties. This triggered an American war that killed about 1,400 Lebanese and 160 Israelis this last summer. After interviewing all relevant parties, the American Commission finds Mr. Cheney guilty of a serious failure of judgment, responsibility and prudence — for the following reasons.

1. Mr. Cheney demonstrated a total failure to anticipate Lebanon’s response to his raids. He assumed Hizbullah would carry out the same limited retaliation it had with previous raids. Wrong. He failed to take into account the changed circumstances in Lebanon. The kidnapping of an Israeli soldier in Gaza a few weeks earlier, plus the fact that a new chief of staff, who is a criminal savage of the Israeli Army, a new idiotic prime minister and a new stupid defense minister had just taken office and all felt they were being festered by USA to attack Lebanon and Hizbullah, triggered an enormous Hizbullah response that defeated the IDF and the Israeli stooges of the USA in Israel. Some 1,400 Lebanese died because of this gross culture of Violence, made in USA and Israel.

2. In unilaterally launching a war against Lebanon, without a vote of the Israeli cabinet — of which the Pentagon is a member — the IDF did grievous harm to Israel’s fragile democracy and democratization in the Palestinian territories. All the fears that if you let an idiot, [olmert, Peretz, Halutz] made by the butcher Ariel Sharon into government, it will respect the rules of the game of similar butcheries carried out by Sharon in the past, all over the Middle East.
Hence, Dick Cheney and GWB should be impeached and AIPAC should be considered an enemy of the USA and disbanded, and the American Media pundits
sent to Guantanamo Cuba for re-education, since they failed to inform the American public about their Governments criminal record.

3. The ICC in the Hague should indict all the military and Political Leaders in USA and Israel, for their atrocious actions in Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine, and brought to Justice henceforth. The ICC should draw upon the decades of "Violence and Intrigues" made in USA and Israel in the Middle East, to produce the most trenchant, vivid, and thought-provoking court hearings yet on the region and the World.
No issue in international politics has been more hotly disregarded than the US-Israeli "culture of Violence". And no reporter has dis-illuminated both the conflict and the rhythms of life in the Middle East with more immediacy and dis-information than Tom Friedman, twice winner of the CIA Prize for international Obfuscations, Extremism, terrorism, fundamentalism on USA and Neo-Zionism, Friedman puts all the operative currents into perspective with an inimitable specificity and clarity in his daily justification for the BUSH Neocon agenda and the emancipation of the Neo-Pseudo-Christian Zionists in Dc and Herzliah.

On Friedman's own remarkable journey from St-Paul to Langley, he writes, "This is a book about the people in Langley and Jerusalem themselves, who were going through remarkably similar identity crises. Each was caught in a struggle between the new ideas, the new relationships, the new nations they were trying to destroy for the future of the "energy Matrix" of Dick Cheney and the mother of ALL Lobbies, and the ancient memories, ancient passions, and ancient feuds that kept dragging them back into the past wars." "From Langley to Jerusalem" is a major work of dis-information, a much needed framework for understanding the "NEW" Middle East, yesterday, today, and tomorrow, made in the USA's dark rooms with the stooges in IDF, AMAN and Mossad.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Obviously, with friends like these, Lebanon needs no enemies.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ماذا لو لم يتمّ اللقاء بين العماد عون وولش؟
كنعان: من يتباكى على المسيحيين هو المسؤول عن تهميشهم
المسيحيون ممثلون بـ 16% ويجب تصحيح الخلل باعادة تكوين النظام
طرحنا آلية لمعالجة سلاح حزب الله، ومن لديه تصور آخر غير المواجهة العقيمة فليطرح تصوره، والتيار ليس مع سلاح حزب الله إلى الأبد.
مشكلتهم ليست بورقة التفاهم إنما بكون العماد عون شخصية قادرة على إلزام الغير بحلٍّ حقيقي فوق الطاولة في وجه حلول مستحيلة تحت الطاولة"
هل العماد عون يريد عودة سوريا إلى لبنان، وهو الذي دفع الأثمان الباهظة للوقوف بوجهها؟
18 ايار 2007
أكدّ عضو تكتّل التغيير والإصلاح النائب ابراهيم كنعان أنّ قول مساعد وزير الخارجية الأميركية دايفد وولش بأنّ الولايات المتحدة لن تفرّط بسيادة لبنان يأتي ضمن تبدبد المخاوف التي تحدثت عنها بعض الدوائر السياسية في لبنان، عن إحتمال أن تكون هناك تسوية ما في المنطقة على حساب لبنان.
ورأى كنعان في حديث إلى "كلام الناس" وجوب أن يكون الحلّ لبنانياً بالدرجة الأولى حتى لا تغيب الحقوق والمصالح الوطنية، مشيراً إلى أنّ التيار الوطني الحرّ يأمل "التوافق مع الجميع بمن فيها الولايات المتحدة، مرحبّاً بالجهود الدولية المبذولة شرط تقاطعها مع الإرادة اللبنانية".

واعتبر كنعان أنّ لقاء العماد ميشال عون بدايفيد ولش "خطوة أولى للتواصل والحوار، والذي يهمّ العماد عون هو المضمون وليس الشكل، لأن هذا ما نحتاجه كلبنانيين، الشكل في السنوات الماضية لم يحافظ على السيادة اللبنانية، بالرغم من بقاء المؤسسات الدستورية شكلاً"، وسأل كنعان: "ماذا لو لم يتمّ اللقاء بين العماد عون ودايفد وولش في السفارة في هذا الظرف الإستثنائي، خصوصاً أنّ الأول يمثّل شريحة كبرى من اللبنانيين عموماً والمسيحيين خصوصاً، والثاني يمثّل حكومة وإدارة الولايات المتحدة؟

ووصف كنعان اللقاء ب"الهادئ" و"المفيد"، لأنّه حمل عرضاً موضوعياً لرؤية الجنرال للمشاكل العالقة بالرغم من وجود التباين بين الرؤيتين من ناحية التنفيذ، وقال: "العماد عون بمقاربته السياسية قدم طرحاً متمايزاً بمعالجة جميع الملفات برؤية واضحة وشاملة.".
وردّ كنعان على الإدعاءات الكاذبة التي تقول أنّ العماد عون مع سلاح حزب الله إلى الأبد بقوله: "نريد آلية لمعالجة سلاح حزب الله، هناك اسباب فرضت حمل السلاح، منها تلاشي الدولة، والقرار 1701 يتحدث عن قيام الدولة والجميع مع قيامها في العلن. حزب الله حزب لبناني وكل اللبنانيين، بمن فيهم حزب الله، مسؤولون عن معالجة قضية السلاح ليكون بيد الدولة، والخطورة تكمن في اجتزاء الحل حتى لا يكون هناك حل".

ولفت كنعان إلى أنّ الهجوم على العماد عون ليس بسبب ورقة التفاهم بينه وبين حزب الله، "مشكلتهم هي في العماد عون نفسه، لأنّه يشكّل عائقاً أمام طموحات البعض، فيما ورقة التفاهم تتحدث عن قيام الدولة، وتتحدث عن إحترام الديمقراطية التوافقية، وعن العلاقة الندّية بين الدولتين اللبنانية والسورية، بالإضافة إلى موضوع سلاح حزب الله الذي وضع ضمن الإطار اللبناني الواضح بعكس ما طالب به الشهيد رفيق الحريري عام 2004 بربطه السلاح بقضية التسوية في الجولان والمنطقة"، وأضاف: "مشكلة العماد عون الحقيقية أنّه ذو شخصية قادرة على إلزام الغير والإلتزام بحلٍّ حقيقي فوق الطاولة في وجه حلول مستحيلة تُعدّ تحت الطاولة".

وفي الاستحقاق الرئاسي رأى كنعان أنّ المجلس النيابي غير مؤهل للقيام بواجبه في هذا الاستحقاق بسبب الخلل البنيوي والمعنوي. "المسيحيون ممثلون بحوالي 16 % من طاقتهم الإنتخابية، وبالتالي يجب تصحيح الخلل حتى لا تكون الرئاسة محطّ تجاذب وإنقسام اللبنانيين، وذلك لتفادي أن يؤتى برئيس ضعيف يدير الأزمة ولا يحلّها".

وسأل كنعان إلى متى سننتظر الحلول المستوردة؟ وهل على اللبنانيين أن ينتظروا الفرج الإقليمي والدولي لتبريد الساحة الداخلية؟ وتابع: "الحلّ يبدأ بتصحيح الخلل والعماد ميشال عون بمبادرته يحاول إنقاذ الدولة اللبنانية وديمقراطيتها المريضة بطرح صورة ورؤية إنقاذية شاملة غير مجتزأة تستند في جزئها الإقليمي على حيثيات القرار 1701".

وقال كنعان أنّ موقف التيار الوطني الحرّ الثابت هو دعم قيام المحكمة ذات الطابع الدولي، " وعدم تحويل هذه المحكمة إلى مادة تجاذب سياسي محلياً وإقليمياً بحيث لا يتمّ إستغلال الشهداء في معارك سياسية لا تمتّ بوظيفة المحكمة الأساسية، مهمة المحكمة بالنسبة للبنانيين بالإضافة إلى كشف الحقيقة في الإغتيالات التي حصلت تحقيق عدالة كاملة وحماية المجتمع اللبناني، وفي السياق نفسه نعتبر بأنّ حتى فيما لو أبرمت المحكمة تحت الفصل السابع فانها تحتاج في عدة مجالات إلى المؤسسات الدستورية اللبنانية وتحديد آلية عملها محلياً للقيام بمهامها، من هنا نرى بأنّ السلطة قد ساهمت من خلال الخلل الحاصل في تكوينها وآدائها في إبعاد المحكمة الدولية عن مسارها الطبيعي".

وأشار كنعان إلى أنّ الأغلبية الحاكمة تضرب عرض الحائط بالوضع التمثيلي المسيحي لتستأثر بالسلطة، وهي تكيل الإتهامات والإفتراءات على العماد عون لتشويه صورته، و"يبدو أنّ بروباغاندا السلطة قوية لدرجة أنّها حاولت تشويه صورة الوفد النيابي الذي زار مؤخراً الولايات المتحدة وكنت في عداده مع الزميل غسان مخيبر، فقط بهدف تشويه صورة التيار الوطني الحرّ. فهل من المعقول أن يصبح النائب كنعان إرهابياً لدى الجوقة الإعلامية هذه لأجل "القوطبة" على التيار حتى لا يطرح رؤيته داخل المجتمع الأميركي ومؤسساته؟ هذا الحقد السياسي وهذا التطاول هما دلالة على ضعف خطابهم الذي لا يقوم الاّ على سياسة التجنّي وتشويه الوقائع والحقائق".

وقال كنعان من المعيب القول أنّ العماد عون يريد عودة سوريا إلى لبنان، وهو الذي دفع الأثمان الباهظة للوقوف بوجهها.! "هل محاولة توحيد اللبنانيين وراء مشروع واحد أصبحت تخدم الخارج في لبنان؟".

وتمنّى كنعان أن يأتي التغيير بالسرعة المطلوبة، لافتاً إلى انّ "الحلّ قد يبدأ بتكوين سلطة جديدة على أساس قانون إنتخابات جديد يحترم فيه التمثيل الصحيح كما نصّت عليه وثيقة بكركي، وعلى تحرير المجلس الدستوري، لأجل تكوين سلطة جديدة قادرة على معالجة قضية سلاح حزب الله من ضمن مقاربة القرار 1701 والحقوق اللبنانية المتوجبة على ذمّة المجتمع الدولي". وقال: أنّ القرارات الهامة في جميع دول العالم تتطلب أكثرية الثلثين، وقرار ال"فيتو" لدى المجتمعات المركبّة ضروري، " هو ليس تعطيلاً للدولة بل وقفاًً لأيّ تعسّف يمكن أن تلحقه جماعة بأخرى. هذا الحق الدستوري لم يأتِ من عدم، وهو المحصّلة النهائية لتجارب الشعوب ومنها لبنان".

وختم كنعان بأن من يتباكى على المسيحيين، عليهم إقران اقوالهم بالأفعال، المسيحيون، كما سائر المواطنين يريدون قانون إنتخابات جديداً وعصرياً يعيد لهم التوازن والشراكة في المؤسسات، "الفرق بين الذي يطالب بالتغيير وبين الذي يشارك في القرار هو ان قرار هذا الأخير في نهاية المطاف يشكل إمعاناً بتهميش المسيحيين".
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على مَنْ تَقرأُ مزاميرََك يا دَاوود ؟
صوت الغد - قولنا والعمل 31 ايار 2007
د . جورج زكي الحـاج



لا أغالي إذا قلت إن أهل السلطة في لبنان إختصاصيّون في فنّ التلفيق والقيل والقال ، ومحترفون في نسب التُّهم إلى غيرهم من الناس ، ويجيدون فنَّ اللحاق بالآخرين ، إذا وجدوا في الآخرين ما يُرضي أطماعَهم ومراكزَهم وجيوبَهم ... وبارعون في تعميم أمراضهم ونواياهم ، وحتى أفعالهم على الآخرين...فهم يرتكبون الإثم ويقولون لغيرهم أنتَ الذي ارتكبت ، ويتكلمون على غيرهم وكأنه هم ، فيُغدقون عليه الاتهامات والقبائح، وينسون أو يتناسون أن ما يقولونه هو الكلام عينه الذي يقوله الناس عنهم في كلّ يوم ...



والآفة الكبرى هو أنهم يحسبون الناس أغبياء انطلاقًا من نظرتهم إلى مناصريهم ومحازبيهم وزبانيتهم الذين يعيشون على فُضُلاتهم ... والآفة الأكبر هي عندما ينبري واحدهم ليكون محامي الشيطان ، وبما أنه لا يملك الحقيقة ، ولا الجرأة على قول الحقيقة ، تراه يلجأ إلى الديماغوجية مستخدمًا اللفَّ والدوران، فيُغيّر في السؤال، ويُحوِّر في الكلام، ويستبدل مفردةً بأخرى ، ويطرح تفسيراتٍ مغايرةً ، وأبعادًا مختلفة ، ويصوغ السؤال ، برمّته ، كما يحلو له هو ، حتى يُصبح السؤال تجنيًّا على الموضوع ، ومخالفًا لآراء الناس ، واستفزازًا لمشاعر بعضهم أو غالبيتهم ، ليستطيع الإجابة عنه أو الردَّ عليه .. ويكون الردُّ بعيدًا عن الصدق والصراحة ، لأنه ردٌّ على سؤالٍ لم يُطرح في الأساس .. وبذلك يستقطب هذا " الواحدهم " عددًا من قصيري النظر ومحدودي الثقافة ، والغارقين في بحار التعصّب الطائفي أو الفكري ... ثم نسمع هؤلاء يرددون ببغاويًّا ما قاله جِهبذُهم الألمعي الذي كان همُّه أن يرى الناسُ ، ربطةَ عنقه ، ومُثبِّت شعره ، وحركات يديه .
ولا أغالي إذا قلت أيضًا إنهم جعلوا الناس يكفرون بالسياسة واالسياسيين ، وبالأرض وحكامِّها إذا كانوا على شاكلتهم ، وبات همُّهم كيف يتخلّصون من هذه الطُّغمة الفاسدة التي ابتلي بها الوطن منذ عقودٍ من الزمن ، وإنْ كان بعضها لم يُكمل العقدين أو العقد الواحد بعد ...

مَنْ منّا يعرف ماذا يجري في كواليس الأمم المتحدّة ، غير الذي نسمعه في وسائل الإعلام ؟ ومَن منّا يعرف ما هو الموقف الحقيقي لكلّ دولة ، غير الذي يُعلنه سفيرها أو الناطقُ باسمها ؟ ولكننا جميعًا نعرف ، أنه كلّما تعثّرت المحكمة ذات الطابع الدولي ـ كما يسمونها ـ كانت تقع جريمةٌ ، أو يحدث تفجيرٌ على أرض لبنان ، فينبري أهل السلطة ليتّهموا مَن يتهمون ، بحجّة تعطيل المحكمة أو إبطائها ... والناس يعرفون أن مثل هذه الجرائم تُسرَّع إنشاء المحكمة ، ولا تؤخّره ، فمن يكون الجاني يا تُرى ؟!

لقد أقاموا الدنيا ولم يُقعدوها عندما سمعوا كلام العماد ميشال عون على البؤر الأمنية ، في مناقشة البيان الوزاري للحكومة السنيورية ، واعتقدوا أنهم بهجومهم ذاك يستطيعون النيل منه ، فكانت النتيجة أن جيّروا ما قاله العماد لأنفسهم ، وصاروا هم المطالبين بحلّ المشكلة ، عساهم يظهرون أبطالاً... لكنّ هذا لم ينطلِ على أحدٍ من الناس ...
أتوا بـ " فتح الإسلام " فربّوا عناصرها ، ودرّبوهم ، وموّلوهم لغاياتٍ ليست بريئةً ، كي لا نقول أكثر ، وبات معظم الضالعين معروفين من القاصي والداني ، ثم اتهموا الخارج بتربية هذه المجموعة وبإرسالها إلى لبنان ... لكنَّ هذا لم ينطلِ على أحدٍ من الناس أيضًا ...

وعندما أتى السيّد ولش إلى لبنان، زارهم فردًا فردًا ، لكنّه دعا العماد عون إلى السفارة للاجتماع به ، ظنًّا منه أن الجنرال سيرفض الدعوة لأنها ليست في بيته ، وبذلك يكون قد أُسقط في أيديهم .. لكنّه لبّى الدعوة بطيب خاطرٍ ، وخرج من الاجتماع غير منزعجٍ .. " وعشرا حصرم بعين الحسود "

وكلما كان تصريحا العماد عون والسيّد نصرالله مختلفين في الأسلوب ، وإنْ كانا متفقين في الجوهر والمضمون ، تنادت وسائل إعلامهم ، وبدأت التحليلات الأصمعية ، والتساؤلات والاستفهامات ... حتى يكاد المرء يحسب أن الخصامَ قد وقع بين الرجلين ، وأن الرهان قد سقط ... لكنّ هذا لم يعد ينطلي على أحدٍ من الناس أيضًا ...

وكانت أحداث نهر البارد ، وما رافقها من إبهاماتٍ وعلامات استفهام ، باتت شبه معروفةٍ عند الكثيرين من أهل العقل والرأي ، وكيف تحوّلت من مسرحيةٍ فاشلةٍ إلى مأساةٍ لا تُنتسى ، فانبرى الغيورون على الجيش والوطن ، ينادون بالحسم القاطع والحتمي ، وهم لا يرضون دونه حلاًّ ... لكنّ الغايةَ الحقيقية لم تكن القضاء على زمرة " فتح الإسلام " ، ولا الدفاع عن كرامة الجيش والقوى الأمنية ... فـ" فتح الإسلام " تربية أيديهم ، أما تاريخ بعضهم مع الجيش فأحمرُ أسود على مدى عقودٍ من الزمن ... فمن أين أتت هذه الغيرةُ ، وتلك المحبة فجأةً ؟ والكثيرون من أبناء هذا الوطن ، لم تفارق مخيّلتهم نعوشُ آبائهم وأبنائهم وإخوتهم ، وهي ملفوفة بالعلم اللبناني ، وقد سقطوا شهداء على أرض لبنان برصاص لبنانيين يُنصبّون أنفسهَم اليوم مدافعين عن الجيش وكرامة الجيش ... ؟

نعم ، الغاية الحقيقية لم تكن هذه ، وإنما كانت ـ حسب ظنِّهم ـ تحميسًا للسيّد حسن نصرالله لكي يجاريهم بما يطالبون به ، ويسير في خطِّ الحسم العسكري ، فيكون هو الشيعي قد طالب بإنهاء ظاهرةٍ سنيّة ، وتكون الحرب المذهبية ، ويكون لهم ما لم يستطيعوا تحقيقه في كثيرٍ من المرّات ، وبعدها ينقلبون عليه ذئابًا . غير أنّ السيّد نصرالله خذلهم ، ورفض حسمهم العشوائي ، وأقفل أمامهم كلّ الأبواب ، فتراجعوا عن حسمهم ، واحدًا بعد الآخر ، كعادتهم ، ولحسوا ما كانوا قد صرّحوا به ، وبدوا صغارًا كما هم دائمًا أمام كبيرين من بلادي ، قال لي أحدهما عندما كان يسمع بياناتهم ونخواتهم وبهوراتهم : " على مَنْ تقرأ مزاميرَك يا داوود . "
على مَنْ تَقرأُ مزاميرََك يا دَاوود ؟

*********************************************************



Masters in Deceit and Deception



This is a MOSSAD Agent , last year he was privy of the OPS. in JULY since End of May...



JUMBALLAT'S PARROT AND CHEAP SERVANT

A COWARD AND A PATHOLOGICAL LIAR






No Comment



A creep and a Stooge of Ghazi Kanaan for decades


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assassination of MP and Minister Mr. Elie Hobeika, January 24th 2002.
"A wilderness of mirrors" .

http://anaconda-manifesto.blogspot.com/

On September 15, 2001, just four days after the 9-11 attacks,
CIA Director George Tenet provided President [sic] Bush with a Top Secret
"Worldwide Attack Matrix"-a virtual license to kill targets deemed to be a
threat to the United States in some 80 countries around the world. The Tenet
plan, which was subsequently approved by Bush, essentially reversed the
executive orders of four previous U.S. administrations that expressly
prohibited political assassinations. Mr. Elie Hobeika will be the first
target of the US administration, to pave the way for its Iraq Invasion .
It planned to directly control the "Energy Basin" and ALL the OIL
Transportation routes,from Pipelines to the Maritime avenues and choke
points in the Gulf areas, and from central Asia to Mauritania and beyond.

But most of all, Mr. Elie Hobeika will be made to pay dearly with his life,
for daring to change his politics and views, after experiencing first hand,
THE BRUTALITY OF THE ISRAELIS AND THE AMERICANS ,
and their CULTURE OF VIOLENCE , Intrigue, murder & very bad Politics.
Elie Hobeika knew first hand about ALL their dirty tricks and deeds,
and he knew first hand, all about their sources and methods & tools, in
the 70s and 80s, they wanted him out, because the US was about to
re-enact the same deeds in IRAQ and beyond, to fracture the whole
area along sectarian lines, in order to serve Israeli and American
interests for decades to come...

Cheney's back office and OSP were to make this operation a prime
example of what is to come in the New Middle East of BUSH.
http://anaconda-manifesto.blogspot.com/

The Domination of the Energy resources and its ROUTES, could now begin in
earnest, for Mr. Cheney and his GANG, wanted for friend and Foe, to be
forewarned of the Harsh consequences of opposing their monstrous and
Machiavellian Plans for the New " New Middle East " second or third edition.
This Jan. 24th 2002, will be made an example to see worldwide... within
Intelligence circles worldwide, especially in Lebanon and the immediate
surroundings.
http://anaconda-manifesto.blogspot.com/

This targeted Political assassination would pave the way for another attempt
by the USA, to reshape the Politics of Lebanon, by re-engineering its Pawns
and tools, the Trio Joumblatt, Geajea, A.Gemayel with the young Hariri ,
after taking out the cumbersome Hariri Senior 3 years later, in a strikingly
similar operation, for as the manipulation and penetration of the Syrian and
Lebanese Intelligence services is exactly identical in nature and pawns.....
Hence the US of A , will do its utmost to make sure that the HOBEIKA
Murder will not be investigated in any way, shape or form...so far.
No free press, no courage, no guts , no glory for the Lebanon, the land
of the legendary Cedars? Despite the fact that some of the journalists,
know quite a bit on many issues relating to this and other murders, as well
as some Politicians....
http://hk-elie-hobeika.blogspot.com/
The relationship between the United States and Syria is still contradictory
and obscure. Washington is facing increasing problems in the Middle East.
In his speeches, Bush continues to accuse both Iran and Syria of causing
instability in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, although some
political moves seem to suggest that a distinction has been made between
these two countries, because it is clear and obvious that they are partners
in some of the covert political assassinations that took place in Lebanon,
through manipulations, penetrations of secret services and military
intelligence structures in Syria and Lebanon to directly serve US and
Israeli interests.
Hence, the International tribunal has no legs to stand on as of yet, and the
jury is still out to see whether it will ever take shape or where it will be
driven to achieve goals which have nothing to do with "Truth", Justice
or the like.
The obvious game of these parties, "playing enemies" is very very clear and
transparent for the world to see.
People tend to forget so quickly that the USA, especially the Pentagon, was
the main driving force behind the elimination of the Belgian Law of 2001,
which was the main reason for indicting Ariel Sharon for the sabra Shatila
Massacre, and the most adamant adversary of such tribunal was the US
administration.
http://hk-elie-hobeika.blogspot.com/

The US has a long history of opposing such international bodies and such
claims to International investigations and criminal courts run by
"international judges".... this will not change now, to the contrary the US
will do its utmost to KILL any such jurisdictions... and they will do it using
the usual proxies to do the dirty work for them, and they will keep
pretending to be for Justice, freedom, Peace and democracy, which is
utterly False.
ALL the Investigations since the Hariri Murder of Feb. 14th 2005,
which has striking resemblance with the Hobeika Murder of Jan. 24th 2002,
in its Modus Operandi PRIOR and after the horrendous Car bombs, in the
sense that both personalities have been demonized since 1998 in shady
publications in Beirut and elsewhere , like the infamous book [The Black
Hands ]which was fabricated by Jameel El-Sayyed from Lebanese
Intelligence, and Military Intelligence which provided a lot of the info
on Hariri Senior, on the shady deals of Fouad Sannioura and complete
fabrications and lies about Mr. Elie Hobeika, which proved utterly baseless
since, like all the other publications which came out in the ensuing years,
and continue to this day... It seems that CIA has to find an ongoing "safe"
to burry all its dirty laundry in Lebanon... From "VEIL" to MEHLIS !
The clown who was chosen to put his name on this book ( Black Hands ) is a
rabid buffoon by the name of Najah Wakim. Just like Naji N. Najjar has done
2 years later with another book, using another criminal idiot as "Author",
in a similar Intelligence operation to smear another target for assassination,
Mr. Elie Hobeika, as a prelude to a bigger HIT on Rafic Hariri, 3 years
later.
These operations are linked and the criminal mind is the same.
A very interesting and "telling" conversation, between Bashar Al-Assad
and someone...[ I will withhold the name ] for his protection, and to
respect his wish to remain "anonymous" for now, told me that Bashar
called Rafic Hariri: "A traitor" .... in JULY of 2004..., This "meeting"
and personal conversation, between xxxxxx xxxx and Bashar Al-Assad was
relayed to CIA very quickly, and confirmed in July 2004, but that person
will come to regret very deeply his de-briefing by CIA, and will "age"
10 years in a month....after a cataclysmic operation....almost succeeded
in depriving him of a "significant" ...? I will STOP for now.
In the case of Rafic Hariri,a casus belli was created by the Israeli
Mossad's assassination of Rafik Hariri, a popular Lebanese politician
and subsequent disinformation promulgated and instigated by both Israel
and the United States blamed Syria for the killing, because Syria, more
specifically Assef Shawkat, did carry out this operation on behalf of
Mossad, CIA and Syrian Intelligence, because all three wanted Rafic
Hariri out of the picture, in the New Middle-east of Condi and Dick,
and their Energy Matrix. http://anaconda-manifesto.blogspot.com/

"A Wilderness of Mirrors"

Assef Shawkat prepared the "PLAN",with the same group of people who
masterminded Elie Hobeika's assassination on January 24th 2002,
[Jamil Al-Sayyed and Raymond AZAR],the Mitsubishi truck, the BOMB
and the suicide bomber. The suicide bomber's name is "Abou 3Ala'".
In order to "prime" Assef Shawkat to carry out this operation,a very
simple design was put in motion. Rafic Hariri was well known for
distributing money, to ALL groups, Militias, overtly or covertly, for
a very long time. In fact it's Hariri's Modus Operandi all his life...
Rafic Hariri did distribute money to ALL warring factions during the
long Lebanese war, hence, someone pushed Hariri into giving large
amounts of money, to extreme elements within the Sunni Muslim
Brotherhood of Syria, even to a group on the right of the famous
Bayanouni, who is now "allied" with Abdel Halim Khaddam,
and Mossad and CIA, knew that Assef Shawkat had penetrated these
groups, so it was a matter of time until Assef Shawkat, "discovered"
the fact that Hariri is actually financing extremist groups, bent on
toppling the ASSAD regime in Damascus. Since 1559, the Damascus
regime was very very edgy in Syria, and believed that somebody is
truly out to get them this time around.... and BINGO, Assef Shawkat
put his shrewd plans into action....et VOILA, Hariri was "Toast"....
What is very very interesting, is that a meeting in Damascus was
arranged for Seymour Hersh with President Bashar Assad of Syria.
This appointment for that private meeting was done within 2 days.
The date of that meeting was February 14th 2005.... The time of
that meeting: NOON to 13.30 Damascus local time...
When the suicide bomber blew his Mitsubishi truck in Beirut at 12.55,
killing Rafic Hariri and 22 other people in a devastating explosion,
Bashar Al-ASSAD was in his office meeting with Seymour Hersh, and Mr.
Hersh was able to "WITNESS" FIRST HAND, how "angry and upset" Bashar
al-Assad was, when one of his aides "broke" the news to Bashar and
Mr. Hersh, by barging into this "particular" meeting....
How convenient, for this meeting to be taking place at this particular
time...? allowing for Bashar Al-ASSAD to manifest his "utmost anger"
in front of such a great reporter.....How convenient for Bashar ASSAD
to have this fantastic opportunity to say "one Day" , if need be, you
can ask Seymour Hersh: I was with him in a meeting in Damascus and had
absolutely no idea about any of this... what a great cover and a
wonderful "alibi" for him , for Maher Al-Assad and ASSEF Shawkat and the
ubiquitous Buthaina Shaaban....{ Great Planning }.
It's that simple. People who are not versed in Covert and False Flag
operations, have a hard time understanding the subtleties of the crude
intelligence world.... and the Press spreads enough garbage to blur
the picture, and help shrouding the whole scene in cacophonies on
a daily basis, just to fill air-time and sell newspapers...
"A Wilderness of Mirrors" http://anaconda-manifesto.blogspot.com/
Assef Shawkat is so proud of his biggest operation yet... that he even
challenged ALL western Intelligence agencies, in their faces, because
he is still meeting in Paris with DST, DGSE and others, to be able to
find the identity of this Brain-washed suicide bomber. The best
estimates which Mossad, CIA , BND, and many other intelligence
agencies had been able to come up with until today, is that this
suicide bomber is either coming from Morocco, Iraq, or Arabistan in
Iran, but are still unable to go any further.
He has been told that his target is an American Infidel coming from
overseas to Lebanon, and he had been "primed" for the KILL, and he
did just that, blow himself up, in order to destroy the Imperial Infidels.
This brain-washed time-bomb, had no idea who the exact target was
when he carried out his monstrous act, killing Hariri and 22 other people
near St. Georges Hotel in Beirut.
http://anaconda-manifesto.blogspot.com/
Western Intelligence agencies are still incapable of determining the
nature of the explosives used, nor their exact origin, despite all the
sophisticated techniques, and all the DNA testing, the highest
technologies etc. All they did so far, is speculate with hyperboles and
projections, because the bomb was so large and devastating in nature,
nothing of any value remained on the scene, was worthy for the
investigations to be precise and adequate, and it will remain that way,
because this is exactly what the criminal mind intended it to be in
the first place. Assef Shawkat is and will remain "protected by his
peers in the Middle East and worldwide, especially MOSSAD, since
he is their "MAN" in Damascus. It goes without saying that all 4
Lebanese Generals who are in jail today, are there for one reason
only, and that is for their own protection, and they are ALL assets
of various western Intelligence agencies of one kind or another, and
because they Know Too Much...
They will be freed in time, when enough time has gone by, to do it in
such a way, that no major outcry will ensue...
Jameel Al-Sayyed for instance, was granted a 5 year permanent
status resident in France, only 4 days before he was to be arrested
in Beirut.
This is precisely for his protection, after the whole operation will be
put to rest for good...some day...!
Jamil Al-Sayyid has a style of providing little information to one side
in order to extract more valuable information for the other side....a
trick of the trade, he learned in his "advanced Intelligence Course"
in Arizona....The Americans had him play this role vis-à-vis the
French in the 1980's... and, during the 1990's, with Western
intelligence services. The rapid advancement of his career testifies
to his dedicated service on behalf of the Americans and Israelis....
Presently, Jamil Al-Sayyed's assignment is to keep his cool, just
like Geagea did in the 90s, for the potential he carries from his
loads of Information, to do maximum damage to the CIA ,
MOSSAD , Assef Shawkat, Maher Al-ASSAD and Bashar ASSAD.
Jameel Al-Sayyid planed to run for parliament in 2004 and was being
groomed to become speaker of the parliament shortly thereafter.....
but fell in the trap of his superiors of CIA... He is related by marriage
to Mustafa Hamdan, the ex-commander of the Lebanese Presidential
Guards.... who is presently in Prison too, together with Raymond AZAR,
"the James Jesus Angleton" of Lebanese Army Intelligence stooges
of CIA and MOSSAD... COUNTLESS BOOKS AND MOVIES have
displayed the seedier elements of the spy trade: the entrapments,
the blackmail, the assassinations. Yet the analytical, brainy side of the
profession has always been of equal importance: There is a reason why
spies are said to belong to the "intelligence community." Just as James
Bond needs his boss M for guidance, real-life spies rely on armchair
accomplices to shape raw data into coherent and meaningful analysis.
http://anaconda-manifesto.blogspot.com/
But what kind of analysis? Attempting to distinguish "signal" from
"noise," officials at the CIA and Defense Department debate competing
methods of data-sifting and weigh the aggressive, "hypotheses-driven"
style of interpretation favored by the Pentagon. Probability and risk are
continually assessed, and sometimes the talk can sound nearly
philosophical. Referring to the lie of the centuries, the search for illegal
weapons in Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declared on
Aug. 5 that "the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence."
"the practical criticism of ambiguity." (As William Epstein observes,
this phrase is "derived from the titles of two of the most influential texts
of formalist criticism, Richards's `Practical Criticism' and Empson's
`Seven Types of Ambiguity."
The New Critics famously attacked the "intentional fallacy," arguing
that the meaning of a text could not be identified with its author's
intentions. They also put a high value on paradox, indirection, and all
the many ways in which a written artifact does not mean what it
seems to mean.
Angleton once described the intelligence world as "a wilderness of mirrors",
a quote taken from one of his favorite poets, T.S. Eliot. For all his
reputed brilliance, Angleton got lost in that wilderness....
Perhaps the moral of Angleton's story can be found in another work of
literature. Norman Rush's recent novel, "Mortals," tells the story of a CIA
agent and John Milton scholar whose cover is his job teaching literature
at a university in Botswana. At one point, Rush's scholar-spy reflects:
"The past is a forest of signs. The problem was that you could only
read them when you turned around and looked back, unfortunately." ......
"A Wilderness of Mirrors"
http://anaconda-manifesto.blogspot.com/
Amine Gemayel was working behind the scenes for Pierre to become the
next "president"...it cost his son's life....
As a side note, the young and ignorant,[he should have seen it coming],
Pierre Gemayel, was murdered by the killers of samir Geagea and his
so-called Lebanese Forces of thugs, who are a "proxy Militia" for CIA,
in collusion with Ashraf Riffi in person, who protected the whole team
and the operation, wall to wall. Amine Gemayel is privy to these details
in FULL, but he is such a coward that he would not dare speak, and has
fully accepted the crap given at the white house, DOD and state, and CIA,
and did SHUT-UP, for the "higher good" in his view...typical Amine
Gemayel vintage, and he will remain so all his life.
Also, it has been proven beyond doubt, that Ramzi IRANI was also murdered
by Samir Geagea, and info was given to Geagea by a certain "Kairouz..."
that Ramzi was too close and personal with Sethrida... but this was the
case for so long... since Nigeria.... but Jealousy is too strong for the
criminal Samir Geagea... and his complete s... impotence does not help,
so he murdered Ramzi Irani in cold blood....
"A Wilderness of Mirrors" http://anaconda-manifesto.blogspot.com/

The project of this book is the work of a Sunni tool of Jameel El-Sayyed ,
another puppet, tool like so many others, Tahseen Khayyat, Chairman of
NTV or NEWTVSAT,who is but another lackey who made a fortune
from printing several million copies of the Holy Qoran in Saudi Arabia,
and is but another pawn in the Lebanese Chess game, masterminded by
CIA, Saudi Intelligence, CIA & MOSSAD, among other Intelligence
agencies fighting for "space" on the Lebanese Turf....
Jamil Al-Sayyed was/is CIA, with a direct link to MOSSAD also .
He is a multidimensional agent, working for Syrian Israeli and American
Intelligence, instead of working for the Lebanese National Interest.
Jameel El-Sayyed is the Master Manipulator in Lebanon.
He masterminded the arrival of Lahoud in 1998, together with CIA.
Stories abound in Lebanon about Jameel Al-Sayyed being the "real"
President and the real power behind the facade of the Lebanese
institutions for years. His "Training in the early 80s, his career
path, his personal friendship with Bashar Al-Assad, his known and
documented contacts with American and Israeli handlers, speaks
volumes about this "classic" manipulation Made In Langley and Herzlia.
Emile Lahoud is absolutely perfect for the period 1998/2008, because
they know that he is a harmless idiot, and will accept to be completely
and utterly manipulated by Jameel-El Sayyed.

http://hk-elie-hobeika.blogspot.com/

"A Wilderness of Mirrors" http://anaconda-manifesto.blogspot.com/

Jameel el-Sayyed was the main conduit and mastermind of the Hariri
Assassination, which he started planning for since 1998...
It is interesting to see the choice of Judge Elias EID in the scope
of the International Investigation of Hariri's Murder, knowing that
Judge Elias EID was a STOOGE of Kamel Jamil Al-Sayyed, the son of the
Director Jameel Al-Sayyed.... but Elias EID has now switched his fake
"allegiance" again..., and of course SAID MIRZA IS a Hariri pawn.
Jamil El-Sayyed is well known for being extremely smart, intelligent
and extremely manipulative. He was/is a FAVORITE of the weasel Walid
Joumblatt, and his main contact and main source of information
for years, during the Pax Syro-Americana in Lebanon. Waleed Joumblatt
is part and parcel of the Israeli/ American manipulation to eliminate
Rafic Hariri, despite his outward signs of sorrow and fake emotions.
Waleed is a master clown in disguise, and a pathological liar, just
like his masters in Neoconville. The remaining "tools" are : Geagea
the Killer, who did not hesitate in murdering his own brother in law,
in front of his son, blowing his brains out... , Amine Gemayel who at
the behest of CIA, ordered the terror car bomb of Bir El-Abd, targeting
Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah in 1985, killing 85 innocent civilians
in the process, in retaliation to the Marine Barracks bombing of 1983.
A storm ensued in USA at the time, hence the charade of the Book: VEIL
authored by Bob Woodward, another CIA asset...
This was another extra-judicial assassination attempt ordered by the US
government in the 80s. The tools were Lebanese Military Intelligence and
Amine Gemayel. http://newhk.blogspot.com/

The Lebanese people are still not fully aware, that there is absolutely
no free press in Lebanon whatsoever. ALL the Media in Lebanon are
completely and utterly manipulated to serve specific interests and ALL
these interests are not Lebanese in any way shape or form.... so far...
No rude awakening as of yet ???
Subsequent "extension" of the UN so-called commission
investigating the Hariri Murder, have been carefully and deliberately
crafted by USA and its Chief Neocon and friend of Karl Rove, Jeffrey
"Neozionist" Feltman, to hide the obvious link between the two terror
bombs of Hobeika and Hariri , & make sure any attempt at investigating
" political Murder " in Lebanon starts from October of 2004 and beyond,
to avoid at ALL cost getting to Elie Hobeika's Murder, which is ,
MADE IN USA... It is even forbidden to talk about the Elie Hobeika
murder in Lebanon's Media and official circles, thanks to the growing,
direct and overwhelming influence of the US Government agencies in this
"particular" Sinniora shadow of a government, filled with weak cronies,
made to measure in USA's Neocons Dark rooms of Condi Rice and
Dick Cheney & Elliot Abrams ,to obediently serve American Neocons
Interests in the " New Middle East...".

http://newhk.blogspot.com/

According to high level European intelligence officials, Bush's counselor,
Karl Rove, used the new presidential authority to silence a popular Lebanese
Christian politician who was planning to offer irrefutable evidence that
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon engineered the massacre of hundreds of
Palestinian men, women, and children in the Beirut refugee camps of Sabra
and Shatilla in 1982. In addition, Sharon provided the SLA forces & IDF who
carried out the grisly task. At the time of the massacres, Elie Hobeika was
intelligence chief of Lebanese Christian forces in Lebanon who were battling
Palestinians and other Muslim groups in a bloody civil war. He was also the
chief liaison to Israeli Defense Force (IDF) personnel in Lebanon. An
official Israeli inquiry into the massacre at the camps, the Kahan
Commission, merely found Sharon "indirectly" responsible for the slaughter
and fingered Hobeika as the chief instigator, while in fact Mr. Elie Hobeika
was never anywhere near Sabra or Shatila in Sep. 82, he was very busy
investigating the assassination of President elect Bashir Gemayel .
The Sabra and Shatila Massacre was planned within the Invasion plans
of the IDF in 1982 when it invaded Lebanon, and it appears under the
name of Operation Spark, and Operation Iron Brain.
Its finer details were worked out between the 1st of September when the
alliance with Bashir collapsed, and the 12th of the same month when Sharon
met with Bashir. The LF was perceived as unreliable and that the mopping up
of the camps was to proceed with or without them. AMAN could rely on the
SLA to get the job done, and it would assist them with IDF Special Forces,
or Sayerets as they are called in Hebrew. It is quite clear that the
Sayerets were in the camps as the former fighters in the camp have told us
repeatedly . But the presence of the Sayerets indicates clearly that the
Massacre was what is called in intelligence lingo a Black Operation, which
is a secret operation that is carried out by the intelligence agents and
special forces upon a decision taken by the Chief Executive and a few of his
ministers. Israeli Secret Services and the Sayerets have carried out many
Black Operations, including the Qibya Massacre of 1953, the attack on the
Beirut International Airport in 1968, and the assassination of Abu Jihad in
Tunisia, 1988. During the 1982 Invasion, and according to IDF historian
Samuel Katz, the Sayerets were deeply involved in the military operations.
These forces,which like all Special Forces in the world, are made up of hard
brutal killers, who volunteer for the job and know exactly what it entails.
In short, Israel's Secret Services' role in Sabra and Shatilla Massacre is
not only undeniable, but is far more involved than what "Kahan Commission"
stated. One day when Appendix B finally comes to light, this theory will
be proven, although it is clear that there is enough evidence to back it up.
As an epilogue, Israel's secret services, CIA & the Mossad, assassinated
Elie Hobeika in Beirut in 2002, using CIA & local witting proxies, in what
is obviously an attempt to conceal the truth about the Massacre. If anyone
doubted the involvement of the Israeli intelligence, this should silence the
naysayers. Mr. Elie Hobeika Never set foot at Sabra & Shatila in September
of 1982, nor had anything to do with that horrible crime, in any way shape
or form. It was an IDF operation with AMAN and MOSSAD at the Helm.
Besides Sayyeret Metkal's units in the camps, there were three additional
units which came from 3 different entrances to the camps, and the SLA
forces of Saad Haddad, brought into Beirut by IDF.

ALL these units were under direct orders of IDF officers, and IDF troops
were totally occupying Beirut militarily .
The First unit was lead by Z.M. , The second unit was lead by M.M. and
the 3rd by C.G. It is noteworthy to say that M.M. had met and had dinner
with B.N. in his home in west Beirut, before entering the camps, he dined
and spent the night there....but these units were brought in the camps on
the last day of the operations, to set them up for the world media to see
and portray as if they were the instigators. Combatants who were there said
that upon arrival to the camps, they were shocked to see all the killings,
because ALL of these units arrived there when the Sayyarets had finished
the job completely with the SLA forces of Saad Haddad. These are eye witness
accounts. Those LF will be forced into the mountain war within few months,
and a new trap will be set up for them by IDF, whereby eye witness accounts
say that every time they advanced into a new village, winning a very bloody
battle with casualties, orders will come for them to retreat from IDF
officers.
In some cases IDF artillery were shooting at both sides,reigniting the
battles again and again. Thousands of Christians were massacred, their
villages in ruins in a futile fight until exhaustion and complete retreat.
This is the legacy of IDF in Lebanon over 40 years.
The Kahan Commission never called on Hobeika to offer testimony in his
defense. However, in response to charges brought against Sharon before a
special war crimes court in Belgium, Hobeika was urged to testify against
Sharon, according to well-informed Lebanese sources. Hobeika was prepared
to offer a different version of events than what was contained in the Kahan
report. A 1993 Belgian law permitting human rights prosecutions was unusual
in that non-Belgians could be tried for violations against other
non-Belgians in a Belgian court. Under pressure from the Bush
administration, the law was severely amended and the extra territoriality
provisions were curtailed. http://newhk.blogspot.com/

Hobeika headed the Lebanese forces intelligence agency since the mid- 1970s
and he soon developed close ties to the CIA. He was a frequent visitor to
the CIA's headquarters at Langley, Virginia. After the Syrian invasion of
Lebanon in 1990, Hobeika held a number of cabinet positions in the Lebanese
government, a proxy for the Syrian occupation authorities. He also served in
the parliament. In July 2001, Hobeika called a press conference and
announced he was prepared to testify against Sharon in Belgium and revealed
that he had evidence of what actually occurred in Sabra and Shatilla.
Hobeika also indicated that Israel had flown members of the South Lebanon
Army (SLA) into Beirut International Airport in an Israeli Air Force C130
transport plane, in full view of dozens of witnesses, including members of
the Lebanese army and others. SLA troops under the command of Major Saad
Haddad were slipped into the camps to commit the massacres. The SLA troops
were under the direct command of Ariel Sharon and an Israeli Mossad agent
provocateur named Rafi Eitan. Hobeika offered evidence that a former U.S.
ambassador to Lebanon was aware of the Israeli plot. In addition, the IDF
had placed a camera in a strategic position to film the Sabra and Shatilla
massacres. Hobeika was going to ask that the footage be released as part of
the investigation of Sharon.
After announcing he was willing to testify against Sharon, Hobeika became
fearful for his safety and began taking precautionary moves. Hobeika was
not aware that his threats to testify against Sharon had triggered a series
of fateful events that reached well into the White House and Sharon's
office. http://newhk.blogspot.com/
On Jan. 24, 2002, Hobeika's car was blown up by a remote controlled bomb
placed in a parked Mercedes along a street in the Hazmieh section of Beirut.
The blast was a "cone-shaped charge" that used "moldable high explosives
such as SEMTEX H," shaped to create a high-speed, high temperature blast
wave. The blast took place in two stages over a fraction of a second.
During the first stage, the blast "forces all the air out with tremendous
force, " creating a vacuum, but as air rushes back in, it creates another
tremendous force that causes further damage. "It's a trademark of bombs
made by CIA and the Pentagon", in their regular training of proxy forces
over the years, in various exchanges of military expertise with Lebanese
Army Intelligence, and the Lebanese forces in the 1980s, and elsewhere
in the world.
Such expertise was deliberately aimed at eliminating Sheikh Muhammad
Hussein Fadlallah, the chief interpreter of Islamic law for the Shia'.
An attempt was made on Fadlallah's life on March 8, 1985, when an
explosive-packed car was driven into a Beirut suburb about 50 yards from
Fadlallah's residence. The car disappeared in a blinding blue flash that
killed 85 people and wounded 200 more. Longs weeks of training were
carried out in various places, including Safra, where Israeli and American
expertise was also brought to bear, in order to insure success for this
major operation of CIA and MOSSAD, with Lebanese Army Intelligence,
and it was supposed to be a revenge for the Marine Barracks Bombing
of 1983, in which 241 service members died in a suicide operation,
believed to have been carried out by Hizbullah in its infancy....
This operation was a total failure, and Sheikh Muhammad Hussein
Fadlallah survived miraculously, but the whole neighborhood was
devastated. http://anaconda-manifesto.blogspot.com/
CIA scrambled in Washington Dc and elsewhere to cover their tracks
and hide all evidence of their DIRECT involvement in this operation
from the US Congress, hence a book was written then, by BOB
WOODWARD, "VEIL" to fabricate a story about this US/Israeli
operation. It is interesting that Sheikh Fadlallah read Woodward's
book and cites its content in some of his interviews....
Hizbullah tracked several of the "executors" of the operations,
and at least 2 of them were executed....
A former State Department official said that the group behind the bombing
had been trained in the United States, and that there was direct American
involvement in the assassination attempt, CIA and Lebanese Army
Intelligence, headed then by Officer Johnny ABDO, during the tenure
of Amine Gemayel, and on direct orders from President Amine Gemayel.
Both Johnny Abdo and Amine Gemayel were/are, the Darlings of all
American Administrations until today....

The bomb exploded when Hobeika and his three associates, Fares Souweidan,
Mitri Ajram, and Waleed Zein, were driving their Range Rover past the
C4-laden Mercedes at 9:20 am Beirut time. The Range Rover's four passengers
were killed in the explosion. In case Hobeika's car had taken another route
through the neighborhood, two additional parked cars, located at two other
choke points, were also rigged with C4. The powerful bomb wounded a number
of other people in the vicinity. Other parked cars were destroyed and
buildings and homes were damaged. The Lebanese president, prime minister,
interior minister and the Military Prosecutor, all claimed that Israeli
agents were behind the attack, which was partially true, but they also
knew this to be, a CIA operation par excellence, since the Chief Architect
of the "Local" plans, timing , etc. was Jamil El-Sayyed , the head of the
Surete Generale, with direct assistance from Lebanese Military Intelligence,
and some latitude for the "end users" in the area of the crime... in a
specific building, with 3 floors...ideally situated for the surveillance and
execution of the crime... etc.

http://hk-elie-hobeika.blogspot.com/

The IED in the Bomb laden Mercedes, was a "Shaped Charge " with a very
specific signature, hence the immediate arrival of large water tanker trucks
of the civil defense, to cleanse the area with high powered water guns for a
long long time... with specific direct orders from Baabda & Anjar and the
infamous Interior Minister Elias MURR, who will be given TOP honors from
Richard Noble of Interpol & FBI for a job well done in removing any traces
of the American/Israeli assassination of Hobeika, courtesy of AZAR...
Ghazi Kanaan will do the rest to cover ALL tracks and " reassure " the
grieving folks and relatives of his "deepest sorrow" and close this chapter
securely, in order to forbid any official investigations for Good, for he
was to serve his AMERICAN HANDLERS... well, very well , until 2005.
It is noteworthy that the State Department's list of global terrorist
incidents for 2002 worldwide failed to list the car bombing attack on
Hobeika and his party. The White House wanted to ensure the attack was
censored from the report. The reason was simple: the attack ultimately had
Washington's fingerprints on it...
http://anaconda-manifesto.blogspot.com/

http://newhk.blogspot.com/

A U.S. intelligence source revealed to me, that in the world of intelligence
"carve out" subcontracts such confusion is often the case with "plausible
deniability" being a foremost concern in ALL covert operations, especially
in Elie Hobeika's case on January 24th 2002, & Hariri's Feb. 14th 2005...
Notwithstanding Jacques CHIRAC's gesticulations and false sorrow for
the loss of his "friend" Rafic HARIRI, he has been regularly organizing
official meetings in Paris for Asef Shawkat with his services to secure
SYRIA for and with Asef Shawkat,hence,In a series of secret meetings
in Israel and Europe, between 2000 and July 2006, Syrians, Americans
and Israelis formulated understandings for orchestrating several murders
in Lebanon ...and were executed well, with great precision and excellent
timing like clock work, the extreme sophistication of Hariri's MURDER
is a case in point for later comments in due course...
High level European intelligence sources now report that Karl Rove
personally coordinated Hobeika's assassination. The liaison with American
Intelligence was done through Bahjat Suleiman from Syrian Intelligence.
French DGSE played a major role in Paris, by helping in the " orchestrated "
attack on Mr. Elie Hobeika , with various shady books and publications, and
by giving refuge in France & sanctuary to criminal elements directly linked
to MOSSAD and CIA who authored these phony publications .
This help was provided prior to the murder, by tolerating a full fledged
smear campaign, orchestrated by intelligence operatives preparing the
grounds for a horrendous murder, and help continued after the murder has
been well executed , and after ALL the facts were available to the French
Government and DGSE, and even more phony publications by the same
individuals were willingly nurtured and publicized.

French DGSE knew full well the criminal history of these individuals,&
French DGSE knew full well that those guys were proven LIARS, but still
gives them sanctuary, help, assistance and more... in France today.
It is well established that CIA has a MAJOR base of operations in Paris,
together with DGSE , since Sep. 11th 2001, against the so-called war on
" Terror ", despite the highly publicized positions of Jacques Chirac,
critical of the Iraq invasion, prior to 2003 and beyond....
The hit on Hobeika was sold by CIA through a tortuous web & employed
Lebanese CIA agents. Syrian President Bashar Assad was trying to
curry favor with the Bush administration in the aftermath of 9-11 and was
more than willing to help the White House, and Ghazi Kanaan did everything
he could to help CIA in this Murderous Endeavour to assassinate Mr. Elie
Hobeika, and did ALL he could after the Murder to cover ALL tracks and
wash the crime scene with high powered water guns in the hour that followed
the Terror Car Bomb in Hazmieh...
Syria believed that the massive support it gave Washington in the
investigation of Al-Qaeda activists - "after September 11, the Syrian
leader, Bashar Assad, initiated the delivery of Syrian intelligence to the
U.S. The Syrians had compiled hundreds of files on Al-Qaeda, including
dossiers on the men who participated, and others who wanted to participate,
in the September 11 attacks," Seymour Hersh wrote in the July 28 issue of
The New Yorker - it would be able to "protect itself" in the face of
American pressure. http://hk-elie-hobeika.blogspot.com/

According to Sy Hersh, he uncovered close ongoing relations developed
between Syria , the CIA and FBI, in the course of which Syria transmitted
information that saved many American lives. "In one instance," Hersh writes,
"the Syrians learned that Al-Qaeda had penetrated the security services of
Bahrain and had arranged for a glider loaded with explosives to be flown
into a building at the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters there." Thanks to
Syria's help, the operation was thwarted. Agents of the CIA and FBI were
allowed to conduct "intelligence-gathering operations" in Aleppo, where they
questioned people who knew Mohammed Atta, one of the planners and
implementers of the September 11, 2001, attacks, and the family of bin
Laden, in Latakia. George Tenet, the director of the CIA, was a frequent
visitor to Syria and received full cooperation. At one stage, the CIA wanted
to establish a permanent "back" channel with Damascus but apparently ran
into some obstacles: the State Department, which didn't want the CIA poking
around in foreign policy...
CIA has prevailed over the state department, and CIA has now a permanent
base in Syria. Syria is still providing precious help to CIA on Al-Qaeda,
and this has been confirmed this summer by none other than the DCI
Michael Hayden himself, when he said specifically that Syria's information
on Al-Qaeda and other intelligence matters provided to the USA, are
Indispensable for CIA, and he refused to sign on the attack by Israel
on Syria ..... It seems that Syria still has a lot of information up its
sleeves on the Various assassinations in Lebanon, which are without a
shadow of a doubt, A joint Venture and a Joint US/SYRIAN operation with
Israeli blessing and tacit approval and logistical support, whenever this
is needed.... to further the technical skills of the Syrian Intelligence
apparatus of Asef Shawkat and other " penetrated bodies of Intelligence "
in Damascus and Lebanon....

Hafez Assad, had been an ally of Bush's father during Desert Storm, a period
that saw Washington give a "wink and a nod" to Syria's occupation of
Lebanon. Rove wanted to help Sharon avoid any political embarrassment from
an in absentia trial in Brussels where Hobeika would be a star witness. Rove
and Sharon agreed on the plan to use Syrian Military Intelligence agents to
assassinate Hobeika. Rove saw Sharon as an indispensable ally of Bush in
ensuring the loyalty of the Christian evangelical and Jewish voting blocs in
the United States. Sharon saw the plan to have the United States coordinate
the hit as a way to mask all connections to Jerusalem.
Turning a blind eye was ordered by Assef Shawkat, the number two man in
Syrian military intelligence and a good friend and brother in law of Syrian
President Bashar Assad. Assad's intelligence services had already cooperated
with U.S. intelligence in resorting to unconventional methods to extract
information from al Qaeda detainees deported to Syria from the United States
and other countries in the wake of 9-11.
It is noteworthy here to disclose to the world, that Asef Shawkat had
arranged for the "Car accident"/assassination of Basil Al-Assad in 1994,
in order to pave the way for his marriage with Bushra Al-Assad. Basil was
adamantly opposed to this relationship and Asef knew that the only way to
get his way, is to KILL Basil Al-Assad....which he did.... !
The security was ordered to be completely removed , months before, from
Hobeika's neighborhood by General Raymond AZAR, the head of Lebanese
Military Intelligence and his deputy. CIA "arranged with their KILLERS"
remote controlled cars to be parked along Hobeika's route in Hazmieh; only
few hundred yards from the Barracks of Syrian Special Forces which are
stationed in the area near the Presidential palace , the ministry of Defense
and various Government and officers quarters. The KILLERS were CIA
operatives who got DIRECT operational help from the Deuxieme Bureau,
the Lebanese Army's Military Intelligence Arm.
This particular area is covered 24/7, by a very sophisticated American
multi-agency surveillance system to monitor Syrian and Lebanese security
activities, and is a " Choice " area to live in for its perceived high
security, [Courtesy of the Special Collections Services "SCS" , which is a
joint CIA & NSA & DIA team endeavor worldwide .]

The plan to kill Hobeika had all the necessary caveats and built-in denial
mechanisms. If the Syrians were discovered beforehand or afterwards, Karl
Rove and his associates in the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans would be
ensured plausible deniability, given the professional denigration effort
started in earnest, years ahead, in USA,Israel,France,Lebanon,using multi
layered organizations to denigrate Mr. Elie Hobeika in books and shady
publications, in print and on the Internet. The operation took years in
planning, but succeeded in eliminating a Lebanese Icon, using Syrian,
and Lebanese operatives, with the full "tacit" agreement of a complex
web of actors, after years of intense covert disinformation, an Operation
run by highly skilled professionals, who use "witting" and "unwitting
elements"...a Classic Black operation for the people in the "Know"....
From David Halevy in Time Magazine in 1982, to Barbara Newman, & from
USCFL to local and other International creepy actors and seedy players,
Mr. Elie Hobeika bore the brunt of a skilled disinformation machine,
single-handedly, for well over 20 years. In other words, during Times of
WAR, and in "Peace Times" of the NEOCONS.,(FDDC),& DOD's OSP,
THE TRUTH will always be the first Victim.

Hobeika's CIA'S SHADOW.... in Beirut, a man only referred to as "Jason" by
Hobeika, was a frequent companion of the Lebanese politician during official
and off-duty hours. During Hobeika's year 2000 election campaigns for his
parliamentary seat, Jason was often in Hobeika's office offering support and
advice. After Hobeika's assassination, Jason became despondent over the
death of his colleague. Eventually, Jason disappeared abruptly from Lebanon
and reportedly later emerged in Pakistan. Jason was very close to Hobeika.
Karl Rove's involvement in the assassination of Hobeika may not have been
the last "hit" he ordered to help out Sharon. In March 2002, a few months
after Hobeika's assassination, another Lebanese Christian with knowledge of
Sharon's involvement in the Sabra and Shatilla massacres was gunned down
along with his wife in Sao Paulo, Brazil. A bullet fired at Michael Nassar's
car flattened one of his tires. Nassar pulled into a gasoline station for
repairs. A professional assassin, firing a gun with a silencer, shot Nassar
and his wife in the head, killing them both instantly. The assailant fled
and was never captured. Nassar was also involved with the Phalange militia
at Sabra and Shatilla. Nassar was also reportedly willing to testify against
Sharon in Belgium, as a nephew of SLA Commander General Antoine Lahd,
may have had important evidence to bolster Hobeika's charge that Sharon
ordered SLA forces into the camps to wipe out the Palestinians.
But further detailed Investigations proved that the HIT on Nassar was
only a Diversion ordered by CIA and carried out by Ghassan Touma , Ragi
Abdo, Alias "Al-Capitaine" - Naji Najjar & their Killers in Brazil... and
elsewhere! More Later... on a related topic and Robert Nassar ???
Based on what European intelligence claims is concrete intelligence on
Rove's involvement in the assassination of Hobeika, the Bush administration
can now add political assassination to its laundry list of other misdeeds,
from lying about the reasons to go to war to the torture tactics in
violation of the Geneva Conventions that have been employed by the Pentagon
and "third country" nationals at prisons in Iraq , Guantanamo Bay,
Morocco, and various East European locations, among others....

Given the actual climate of political cacophonies, deceit,
deception and intrigue in Lebanon of today, Lebanon of
the LIARS of NEOCONVILLE, it has been
proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Mr. Elie Hobeika
was a visionary Leader . http://hk-elie-hobeika.blogspot.com/
Despite the horrendous Fabrications, LIES , False Flag operations,
by CIA and MOSSAD, to discredit Mr. Elie Hobeika,
It has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt,
that ALL stories which came out immediately
after the Assassination of Mr.Elie Hobeika, Fares Sweidan,
Dimitri Ajram, and Waleed El-Zein, were completely &
utterly FALSE. It was a pure fabrication by the KILLERS;
AND the DOD'S Foreign Denial and Deception Committee (FDDC),
to cover their tracks. Standard operating procedure.
I mean by that, the stories relating to Elie trying to find
IMAD Moughnieh, the alleged attempted contacts with CIA,
MOSSAD, etc. , the missing Iranian diplomats, the 9 most
wanted by CIA, whose names have been circulated then,
on purpose by CIA, to 7 ministers in the actual Lebanese
Government, etc. [ which CIA has completely forgotten now,
one of them has proven since to be a CIA asset himself...]
ALL these were a tortuous web of lies to cover the
tracks of the Murderers of CIA, MOSSAD, and their Syro-Lebanese
tools. http://anaconda-manifesto.blogspot.com/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This is some of the evidence ...article&sid=1052
************************************************************************
~encrypted/logs/access ====>> INTELLIGENCE Agencies Servers footprints.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Not to mention hundreds of private companies and governments........!

See Below : INTELLIGENCE Agencies , INTELL. :
*************************************************************************

Lines 10-36 of my logfiles show a lot of interest in this article: =1052
# grep sid=1052 /encrypted/logs/access_logawk '{print$1,$7}'sed-n'10,36p'.
spb-213-33-248-190.sovintel.ru /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
Soviet/Russian Intelligence services...
ext1.shape.nato.int /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
NATO Intel.
server1.namsa.nato.int /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
Nato Intel.
ns1.saclantc.nato.int /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
Strategic Air Command US Intel.
bxlproxyb.europarl.eu.int /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
European Parliament Intel. Unit
wdcsun18.usdoj.gov /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
USA Department of Justice...
wdcsun21.usdoj.gov /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
USA Department of Justice...
tcs-gateway11.treas.gov /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
USA Treasury Department
tcs-gateway13.treas.gov /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
USA Treasury Department
relay1.ucia.gov /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
CIA Langley
relay2.cia.gov /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
CIA Langley
relay2.ucia.gov /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
CIA Langley
n021.dhs.gov /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
USA Department of Homeland security Intel.
legion.dera.gov.uk /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
British Intel.
gateway-fincen.uscg.mil /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
Pentagon US.
crawler2.googlebot.com /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
Intel....
crawler1.googlebot.com /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
Intel.....
gateway101.gsi.gov.uk /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
British Intel.
gate11-quantico.nmci.usmc.mil /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
USA Marine Corps Quantico Virginia Intel.
gate13-quantico.nmci.usmc.mil /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
USA Marine Corps Quantico Virginia Intel.
fw1-a.osis.gov /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
US Intel SIS.
crawler13.googlebot.com /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
Intel....
fw1-b.osis.gov /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
US Intel. OSIS.
bouncer.nics.gov.uk /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
British Intel.
beluha.ssu.gov.ua /modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052
Ukrainian Intelligence.
zukprxpro02.zreo.compaq.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1052....
Intel....

http://anaconda-manifesto.blogspot.com/



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why Nemesis is at the US's door.

By Chalmers Johnson.



History tells us that one of the most unstable political combinations is a
country - like the United States today - that tries to be a domestic
democracy and a foreign imperialist.

Why this is so can be a very abstract subject. Perhaps the best way to offer
my thoughts on this is to say a few words about my new book, Nemesis, and
explain why I gave it the subtitle The Last Days of the American Republic.


Nemesis is the third book to have grown out of my research over the past
eight years. I never set out to write a trilogy on America's increasingly
endangered democracy, but as I kept stumbling on ever more evidence of the
legacy of the imperialist pressures we Americans put on many other countries
as well as the nature and size of our military empire, one book led to
another.

Professionally, I am a specialist in the history and politics of East Asia.
In 2000, I published Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American
Empire, because my research on China, Japan and the two Koreas persuaded me
that US policies there would have serious future consequences. The book was
noticed at the time, but only after September 11, 2001, did the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) term I adapted for the title - "blowback" - become
a household word and my volume a best-seller.

I had set out to explain how exactly the US government came to be so hated
around the world. As a CIA term of tradecraft, "blowback" does not just mean
retaliation for things the government has done to, and in, foreign
countries. It refers specifically to retaliation for illegal operations
carried out abroad that were kept totally secret from the US public.

These operations have included the clandestine overthrow of governments
various US administrations did not like, the training of foreign militaries
in the techniques of state terrorism, the rigging of elections in foreign
countries, and interference with the economic viability of countries that
seemed to threaten the interests of influential US corporations, as well as
the torture or assassination of selected foreigners. The fact that these
actions were, at least originally, secret meant that when retaliation does
come - as it did so spectacularly on September 11, 2001 - the US public is
incapable of putting the events in context. Not surprisingly, then,
Americans tend to support speedy acts of revenge intended to punish the
actual, or alleged, perpetrators. These moments of lashing out, of course,
only prepare the ground for yet another cycle of blowback.

A world of bases
As a continuation of my own analytical odyssey, I then began doing research
on the network of 737 US military bases maintained around the world
(according to the Pentagon's own 2005 official inventory). Not including the
Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, the US now stations more than half a million
troops, spies, contractors, dependants and others on military bases in more
than 130 countries, many of them presided over by dictatorial regimes that
have given their citizens no say in the decision to let the US in.

As but one striking example of imperial basing policy: for the past 61
years, the US military has garrisoned the small Japanese island of Okinawa
with 37 bases. Smaller than Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands, Okinawa is home
to 1.3 million people who live cheek-by-jowl with 17,000 US troops of the
3rd Marine Division and the largest US installation in East Asia - Kadena
Air Force Base. There have been many Okinawan protests against the rapes,
crimes, accidents and pollution caused by this sort of concentration of US
troops and weaponry, but so far the US military - in collusion with the
Japanese government - has ignored them. My research into America's base
world resulted in The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of
the Republic, written during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq.

As the US occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq turned into major fiascoes,
discrediting America's military leadership, ruining its public finances, and
bringing death and destruction to hundreds of thousands of civilians in
those countries, I continued to ponder the issue of empire. In these years,
it became ever clearer that President George W Bush, Vice President Dick
Cheney, and their supporters were claiming, and actively assuming, powers
specifically denied to a president by the constitution. It became no less
clear that the Congress had almost completely abdicated its responsibilities
to balance the power of the executive branch. Despite the Democratic Party's
sweep in last year's congressional election, it remains to be seen whether
these tendencies can, in the long run, be controlled, let alone reversed.

Until the 2004 presidential election, we ordinary citizens of the United
States could at least claim that our foreign policy, including our illegal
invasion of Iraq, was the work of George Bush's administration and that we
had not put him in office. After all, in 2000, Bush lost the popular vote
and was appointed president thanks to the intervention of the Supreme Court
in a 5-4 decision. But in November 2004, regardless of claims about voter
fraud, Bush actually won the popular vote by more than 3.5 million ballots,
making his regime and his wars ours.

Whether Americans intended it or not, we are now seen around the world as
approving the torture of captives at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, at Bagram
Air Base in Kabul, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and at a global network of
secret CIA prisons, as well as having endorsed Bush's claim that, as
commander-in-chief in "wartime", he is beyond all constraints of the US
constitution or international law. We are now saddled with a rigged economy
based on record-setting trade and fiscal deficits, the most secretive and
intrusive government in our country's memory, and the pursuit of
"preventive" war as a basis for foreign policy. Don't forget as well the
potential epidemic of nuclear proliferation as other nations attempt to
adjust to and defend themselves against Bush's preventive wars, while our
own already staggering nuclear arsenal expands toward first-strike primacy
and we expend unimaginable billions of dollars on futuristic ideas for
warfare in outer space.

The choice ahead
By the time I came to write Nemesis, I no longer doubted that maintaining
America's empire abroad required resources and commitments that would
inevitably undercut, or simply skirt, what was left of our domestic
democracy and that might, in the end, produce a military dictatorship or -
far more likely - its civilian equivalent.

The combination of huge standing armies, almost continuous wars, an ever
growing economic dependence on the military-industrial complex and the
making of weaponry, and ruinous military expenses as well as a vast, bloated
"defense" budget, not to speak of the creation of a whole second Defense
Department (known as the Department of Homeland Security) has been
destroying our republican structure of governing in favor of an imperial
presidency. By republican structure, of course, I mean the separation of
powers and the elaborate checks and balances that the founders of the United
States wrote into the constitution as the main bulwarks against dictatorship
and tyranny, which they greatly feared.

We Americans are on the brink of losing our democracy for the sake of
keeping our empire. Once a nation starts down that path, the dynamics that
apply to all empires come into play - isolation, overstretch, the uniting of
local and global forces opposed to imperialism, and in the end bankruptcy.

History is instructive on this dilemma. If we choose to keep our empire, as
the Roman republic did, we will certainly lose our democracy and grimly
await the eventual blowback that imperialism generates. There is an
alternative, however.

We could, like the British Empire after World War II, keep our democracy by
giving up our empire. The British did not do a particularly brilliant job of
liquidating their empire and there were several clear cases where British
imperialists defied their nation's commitment to democracy to hang on to
foreign privileges. The war against the Kikuyu in Kenya in the 1950s and the
Anglo-French-Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956 are particularly savage
examples of that. But the overall thrust of postwar British history is
clear: the people of the British Isles chose democracy over imperialism.

In her book The Origins of Totalitarianism, political philosopher Hannah
Arendt offered the following summary of British imperialism and its fate:

On the whole it was a failure because of the dichotomy between the
nation-state's legal principles and the methods needed to oppress other
people permanently. This failure was neither necessary nor due to ignorance
or incompetence. British imperialists knew very well that "administrative
massacres" could keep India in bondage, but they also knew that public
opinion at home would not stand for such measures. Imperialism could have
been a success if the nation-state had been willing to pay the price, to
commit suicide and transform itself into a tyranny. It is one of the glories
of Europe, and especially of Great Britain , that she preferred to liquidate
the empire.

I agree with this judgment. When one looks at British Prime Minister Tony
Blair's unnecessary and futile support of Bush's invasion and occupation of
Iraq, one can only conclude that it was an atavistic response, that it
represented a British longing to relive the glories - and cruelties - of a
past that should have been ancient history.

As a form of government, imperialism does not seek or require the consent of
the governed. It is a pure form of tyranny. The US attempt to combine
domestic democracy with such tyrannical control over foreigners is
hopelessly contradictory and hypocritical. A country can be democratic or it
can be imperialistic, but it cannot be both.

The road to imperial bankruptcy
The US political system failed to prevent this combination from developing -
and may now be incapable of correcting it. The evidence strongly suggests
that the legislative and judicial branches of the US government have become
so servile in the presence of the imperial presidency that they have largely
lost the ability to respond in a principled and independent manner. Even in
the present moment of congressional stirring, there seems to be a deep sense
of helplessness. Various members of Congress have already attempted to
explain how the one clear power they retain - to cut off funds for a
disastrous program - is not one they are currently prepared to use.

So the question becomes, if not Congress, could the people themselves
restore constitutional government? A grassroots movement to abolish secret
government, to bring the CIA and other illegal spying operations and private
armies out of the closet of imperial power and into the light, to break the hold
of the military-industrial complex, and to establish genuine public financing of
elections may be at least theoretically conceivable. But given the
conglomerate control of the US mass media and the difficulties of mobilizing
America 's large and diverse population, such an opting for popular
democracy, as we remember it from our past, seems unlikely.

It is possible that, at some future moment, the US military could actually
take over the government and declare a dictatorship (though its commanders
would undoubtedly find a gentler, more user-friendly name for it). That is,
after all, how the Roman republic ended - by being turned over to a populist
general, Julius Caesar, who had just been declared dictator for life. After
his assassination and a short interregnum, it was his grandnephew Octavian
who succeeded him and became the first Roman emperor, Augustus Caesar.

The US military is unlikely to go that route. But one cannot ignore the fact
that professional military officers seem to have played a considerable role
in getting rid of their civilian overlord, secretary of defense Donald
Rumsfeld. The new directors of the CIA, its main internal branches, the
National Security Agency, and many other key organs of the "defense
establishment" are now military (or ex-military) officers, strongly
suggesting that the military does not need to take over the government to
control it. Meanwhile, the all-volunteer US Army has emerged as an ever more
separate institution in US society, its profile less and less like that of
the general populace.

Nonetheless, military coups, however decorous, are not part of the US
tradition, nor that of the officer corps, which might well worry about how
the citizenry would react to a move toward open military dictatorship.
Moreover, prosecutions of low-level military torturers from Abu Ghraib
prison and killers of civilians in Iraq have demonstrated to enlisted troops
that obedience to illegal orders can result in dire punishment in a
situation where those of higher rank go free. No one knows whether ordinary
soldiers, even from what is no longer in any normal sense a citizen army,
would obey clearly illegal orders to oust an elected government or whether
the officer corps would ever have sufficient confidence to issue such
orders. In addition, the present system already offers the military high
command so much - in funds, prestige, and future employment via the famed
"revolving door" of the military-industrial complex - that a perilous
transition to anything like direct military rule would make little sense
under reasonably normal conditions.

Whatever future developments may prove to be, my best guess is that the US
will continue to maintain a facade of constitutional government and drift
along until financial bankruptcy overtakes it. Of course, bankruptcy will
not mean the literal end of the US any more than it did for Germany in 1923,
China in 1948, or Argentina in 2001-02. It might, in fact, open the way for
an unexpected restoration of the US system - or for military rule,
revolution, or simply some new development we cannot yet imagine.

Certainly, such a bankruptcy would mean a drastic lowering of Americans'
standard of living, a further loss of control over international affairs, a
sudden need to adjust to the rise of other powers, including China and
India, and a further discrediting of the notion that the United States is
somehow exceptional compared with other nations. We will have to learn what
it means to be a far poorer country - and the attitudes and manners that go
with it. As Anatol Lieven, author of America Right or Wrong: An Anatomy of
American Nationalism, [1] observes:

US global power, as presently conceived by the overwhelming majority of the
US establishment, is unsustainable ... The empire can no longer raise enough
taxes or soldiers, it is increasingly indebted, and key vassal states are no
longer reliable ... The result is that the empire can no longer pay for
enough of the professional troops it needs to fulfill its self-assumed
imperial tasks.

Last February, the Bush administration submitted to Congress a US$439
billion defense appropriation budget for fiscal year 2007. As the country
enters 2007, the administration is about to present a nearly $100 billion
supplementary request to Congress just for the Iraq and Afghan wars. At the
same time, the deficit in the country's current account - the imbalance in
the trading of goods and services as well as the shortfall in all other
cross-border payments from interest income and rents to dividends and
profits on direct investments - underwent its fastest ever quarterly
deterioration.

For 2005, the current-account deficit was $805 billion, 6.4% of national
income. In that year the US trade deficit, the largest component of the
current-account deficit, soared to an all-time high of $725.8 billion, the
fourth consecutive year that America 's trade debts set records. The trade
deficit with China alone rose to $201.6 billion, the highest imbalance ever
recorded with any country. Meanwhile, since mid-2000, the US has lost nearly
3 million manufacturing jobs.

To try to cope with these imbalances, last March 16, Congress raised the
national debt limit from $8.2 trillion to $8.96 trillion. This was the
fourth time since George W Bush took office that it had to be raised. The
national debt is the total amount owed by the government and should not be
confused with the federal budget deficit, the annual amount by which federal
spending exceeds revenue. Had Congress not raised the debt limit, the US
government would not have been able to borrow more money and would have had
to default on its massive debts.

Among the creditors that finance these unprecedented sums, the two largest
are the central banks of China (with $853.7 billion in reserves) and Japan
(with $831.58 billion in reserves), both of which are the managers of the
huge trade surpluses these countries enjoy with the United States. This
helps explain why America's debt burden has not yet triggered what standard
economic theory would dictate: a steep decline in the value of the US dollar
followed by a severe contraction of the US economy when Americans found we
could no longer afford the foreign goods we like so much. So far, both the
Chinese and Japanese governments continue to be willing to be paid in
dollars to sustain US purchases of their exports.

For the sake of their own domestic employment, both countries lend huge
amounts to the US Treasury, but there is no guarantee of how long they will
want to, or be able to do so. Marshall Auerback, an international financial
strategist, says the US has become a "Blanche Dubois economy" (so named
after the leading character in the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named
Desire) heavily dependent on "the kindness of strangers". Unfortunately, in
America 's case, as in Blanche's, there are ever fewer strangers willing to
support our illusions.

So my own hope is that - if the American people do not find a way to choose
democracy over empire - at least our imperial venture will end not with a
nuclear bang but a financial whimper. From the present vantage point, it
certainly seems a daunting challenge for any president (or Congress) from
either party even to begin the task of dismantling the military-industrial
complex, ending the pall of "national security" secrecy and the "black
budgets" that make public oversight of what the government does impossible,
and bringing the president's secret army, the CIA, under democratic control.
It's evident that Nemesis - in Greek mythology the goddess of vengeance, the
punisher of hubris and arrogance - is already a visitor in the United
States, simply biding her time before she makes her presence known.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
May 28-29, 2007 -- Neo-con cabal born in treason in the late 1970s. Lying, massive fraud, illegal weapons smuggling, forged documents . . . all sound like a description of the lead-up to the war in Iraq. However, this same situation existed in the late 1970s. Some of the same players who got this nation into the bloody quagmire of Iraq also criminally conspired to bring down the administration of President Jimmy Carter. President Carter's indignation about the neo-cons -- their blind support for Israel, their whittling away of our Constitution, our neo-con foreign policy -- is rooted in the treason they committed against the United States during his administration. There is no statute of limitations on treason and the neo-cons should face double barrel treason charges from incidents a generation apart.

The neo-con attacks on President Carter were planned in the office of the late Democratic Senator from Washington, Henry "Scoop" Jackson. Jackson was the Joe Lieberman of his day -- more concerned about representing the interests of a defense contractor, Boeing (Lieberman represents the interests of General Dynamics), and the expansionists and military-intelligence complex of Israel (as does Lieberman). Jackson's treason against the United States is honored today in Britain, where the Henry Jackson Society pushes the neo-con agenda in the British Parliament and media. Jackson, his chief assistant, Richard Perle, and foreign and defense policy aides Frank Gaffney, William Kristol, Douglas Feith, and Elliott Abrams, as well as unofficial Jackson adviser Paul Wolfowitz, did everything possible to derail U.S.-Soviet detente and arms limitation treaties, including the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II). Jackson and Perle helped initiate sanctions against the USSR, at the expense of American farmers, with the help of Ohio Democratic Rep. Charles Vanik (the Jackson-Vanik sanctions act). Jackson's Coalition for a Democratic Majority (CDM) was the "Democratic Leadership Council" of its time. CDM worked tirelessly to damage President Carter and among its ranks were, in addition to Jackson, Texas Democratic Senator Lloyd Bentsen, Oklahoma Senator David Boren, Georgia Senator Sam Nunn, Louisiana Senator J. Bennett Johnston, Ben Wattenberg, Irving Kristol, Max Kampelman, Richard Pipes, John Roche, Samuel Huntington, and James Woolsey. In 1976, the CDM helped form the Committee on the Present Danger, reactivated in 2004 by Lieberman, Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl, Laurie Mylroie, Norman Podhoretz, Frank Gaffney, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Boeing, American Enterprise Institute, and the Heritage Foundation.

The treason committed by these neo-cons against the Carter administration centered on machinations in Rome (Rome was also at the center of the later conspiracy to drive the United States into war in Iraq). Arch neo-con and foreign policy adviser to Karl Rove, Michael Ledeen, served as the Rome correspondent for The New Republic from 1975 to 1977 and a journalist for the right-wing Milan newspaper Il Giornale. In Rome, Ledeen cultivated close ties with neo-fascist groups.

Jackson's and his staff's first documented case of treason against the United States concerned the leak of a Top Secret CIA report on the SALT talks by CIA nuclear weapons analyst Daniel S. Sullivan to Jackson and Perle in 1978. Sullivan, believing the Soviets deceived the U.S. in SALT talks, took it upon himself to pass Top Secret information to Jackson and his band of neo-cons. However, rather than being prosecuted, Sullivan was permitted to resign due to "insubordination," not illegally passing classified information to unauthorized persons. Sullivan later joined the staff of Senator Bentsen and received another Top Secret clearance as a member of Bentsen's staff. The conspiracy by Sullivan, Jackson, and the neo-cons to derail a major policy initiative of President Carter was not the only act of treason by these early neo-cons.

However, the leak of the Top Secret SALT CIA document to Jackson may not have been the only leak to have taken place. In February 2005, the Everett (WA) Herald reported that five federal agents from the Departments of Defense and Energy removed several documents from the archived papers of Jackson housed at the University of Washington's Suzzallo-Allen Library. The seized documents were re-classified by the government. The retention by Jackson and his staff of top secret documents is reminiscent of the Larry Franklin-AIPAC case, in which Franklin, opposed to U.S. policy on Iran, passed a number of classified CIA documents to AIPAC and the Israeli embassy's Mossad station in Washington.

Rather than being treated as the traitor he was, Jackson is today lauded by Democrats of various political stripes. His ideological descendants are at the core of the Republican pre-emptive strike foreign policy machinations.

In 1976, two years after Secretary of State Henry Kissinger threatened then-Italian Foreign Minister Aldo Moro against forming a coalition with the Communists, Jackson, on a trip to Italy, issued a similar warning to Moro. In Phillip Willan's Puppetmasters, Moro's widow recounted Kissinger's warning, which was undoubtedly echoed by Jackson: "You must abandon your policy of bringing all the political forces in your country into direct collaboration . . . or you will pay dearly for it." Moro was kidnapped for 55 days by so-called Red Brigades, who were later found to be in the service of Italian fascists, Italian intelligence, the P-2 Masonic Lodge, a parallel SID [Italian Defense Intelligence Service], and the CIA. Some of these same elements would be behind the infamous Niger yellowcake forgeries used by the neo-cons to prove a case for war against Iraq.

The same neo-con network would alter Mehmet Ali Agca, the would-be assassin of Pope John Paul II, from a right-wing member of the Turkish Gray Wolves to a Communist in the employ of the KGB and Bulgarian intelligence. The Judith Miller-like journalist in those days who spun the story about Agca's Soviet Bloc connections was Claire Sterling, whose disinformation was quickly picked up by The Reader's Digest, New York Times, NBC News, and other mainstream media outlets. Sterling's fellow disinformation journalist was Ledeen.

Agca told a fantasy story about his orders to kill the Pope coming from a Bulgarian "control officer" and that he had also been involved in a plot to kill Polish Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba, and Malta's Prime Minister Dom Mintoff. In fact, there was a plot to overthrow and possibly kill Mintoff, Allende-style, but it was being crafted by U.S. Navy intelligence in conjunction with the neo-fascist and renegade Italian intelligence elements in Rome. The U.S. Navy wanted to overthrow Mintoff to gain access to its former NATO base on the island nation off the Libyan coast. Bourguiba was not popular with the neo-cons because he allowed Yasir Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization to maintain its headquarters-in-exile in Tunis.

The Turkish Gray Wolves and the pan-Turkic National Action Party (NAP) made common cause with the neo-cons and their Israeli friends. The Wolves and the NAP considered the peoples of Soviet Central Asia to be "captive Turks." The Turkish right-wing nationalists foresaw a nuclear-armed Turkey extending from Thrace to the central Asian steppes. The anti-Soviet concordat between the Turkish right (and the Turkish intelligence agency MIT) and the neo-cons in America, Israel, and Italy would later serve as a basis for the political alliance between AIPAC and the American Turkish Council.

Ledeen operated a right-wing cell in Rome that included Francesco Pazienza, an Italian businessman linked to P-2, Italian SISMI military intelligence chief General Giuseppe Santovito, and the mafia; P-2 "Venerable Master" Licio Gelli; and Banco Ambrosiano chief Roberto Calvi (later murdered Masonic ritual-style in London on Blackfriar's Bridge). Ledeen provided a conduit between this group and Ronald Reagan's Secretary of State Alexander Haig.

In an attempt to embarrass President Carter during the 1980 presidential race, Santovito, Pazienza, and Ledeen conspired to entrap Bill Carter, the president's brother, into a business relationship with Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi. La Repubblica reported on the Italian investigation into the conspiracy:

"The scandalous material was gathered mostly by Pazienza and by his American friend Michael Ledeen . . . Pazienza availed himself of SISMI both for the use of some secret agents and for the expenses of organizing the scandalous plan. It seems that the organizers got a huge payoff for "Billygate." Moreover, Santovito and Pazienza got great advantage in return from American officials, in fact, may have been helped in other obscure affairs. The "Billygate" operation did not come from SISMI's institutionally mandated task, and for that reason Judge Sica brought charges of pursuing private interests through official activities." [Translated in Diana Johnstone, "The Ledeen Connection," In These Times, Sept. 8-14, 1982].

Rather than being charged and prosecuted for treason against the United States, Ledeen was rewarded with a consulting job for the State Department and Pentagon in the Reagan administration, a position from which he was free to continue his anti-American activities with fellow traitors from the Henry Jackson staff.

While the traitors in the Washington office of Jackson and Ledeen in Rome were conspiring against President Carter, George H. W. Bush, Carter National Security Council staffer Robert Gates, and William Casey criminally conspired with the Ayatollah Khomeini's government to keep 52 hostages held in Tehran captive in return for the shipment of weapons. A meeting between Casey, Gates, and Bush and Iranian agents was held on October 19, 1980 in what became known as the "October Surprise." The deal was worked out using As WMR has previously reported, the CIA arranged a pre-election weapons shipment, unknown to President Carter, to Iran on the SS Poet from Chester, PA to Iran. The Poet was later disposed of along with its American crew by U.S. intelligence or those in its service. And what magazine later debunked the "October Surprise" story of a Bush-Casey treasonous deal with Iran? None other than Ledeen's old employer, The New Republic.





1970s traitors to their country : Michael Ledeen as a P-2 fascist MOSSAD agent in Rome, Richard Perle, MOSSAD. George H. W. Bush... Creep in Chief

May 28, 2007 -- Memorial Day. We, the American people, no longer have control over our elected officials. Republicans and Democrats have voted for war. We should give them no peace....

There seems to be a common factor between these events, however, one can say that there are three substantial crises in which the world has been severely embroiled since the beginning of the new millennium. The current year that is about to end has been a milestone in the dynamics that can be summarized in: the crisis of the global financial system, the crisis of the international security system and the crisis of universal democratic expansion.
The first crisis, which is symbolized by the collapse of the monetary unit of the global capitalist economy, namely the dollar, in reality, exceeds being an important indicator and reflects a deep structural deadlock that has plagued the capitalist system from within. A set of successive studies had elaborated upon the magnitude of the threat that endangers the world economy. These studies include distinguished French economist Patrick Artus’ book ‘Le capitalisme est en train de s'autodétruire’ [Capitalism will Destruct Itself] and ‘Les Incendiaires’ as well as works by American economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz.

I believe that the world today is on the brink of a crisis that would be worse than the crisis of 1929. Some of the indicators of this include: the rise of American debt to a rate of 230% of the Gross National Product, the financial collapse caused by the separation of financial liquidity from economic activity (the first signs of which appeared in the terrible experiences of Latin America in the eighties and in Asia in the nineties) as well as the simultaneous rise in the prices of oil and food that leads banks to raise interest rates, in addition to serious social ramifications.
I believe that the three mechanisms that allowed capitalism to contain its internal crises over the past sixty years are no longer effective. These three mechanisms include the social security system, the policy of monetary intervention that was developed by [John Maynard] Keynes to absorb external shocks and the policy of intensifying consumption by raising the wages of workers that was developed by the American Industrialist Ford.
As for the security crisis, it seems evident on three distinct levels, which are:
- The strategic impasse that was generated by the failure of traditional mechanisms to administer the international system and the inability to replace these mechanisms with effective ones so as to control new international relations that are no longer determined by the logic of the balance of power and the dualism of ally versus enemy.
- The failure of the strategy used in combating terrorism, which formed the theoretical and normative framework of the American vision that was aimed at combating the so-called balanced conflicts, in other words the structural link between religious extremism, rogue regimes and weapons of mass destruction.
- The international failure to contain internal conflicts that now form the most dangerous security challenge in most parts of the world. These conflicts have an obvious disastrous impact upon the nature of national entities and the relationship within nationalities, cultures and sects in a way that allows for discussion on the growing threat of “universal civil conflict”.
As for the crisis of democratic expansion, this is evident through the failure of various attempts of transformation and political openness that once appeared to be promising in the post-Cold War era, which was widely considered the era of democracy’s triumph and the defeat of tyranny and totalitarian regimes.
What we are clearly witnessing today is the emergence of new models of governance that use the mechanisms of free elections and open media to tighten the unilateral grip on power by focusing upon the wealth brought in from revenues from raw materials and oil, as is the case in Putin’s regime in Russia and Chavez’s regime in Venezuela. These regimes may also depend upon security-financial networks that establish new forms of oligarchic regimes which in turn are not impeded by the democracy’s formal mechanism of transformation of power, as is the case with a number of regimes in Eastern Europe and Africa. Such transformation poses fundamental questions over the efficacy of the procedural dimension of democracy in ensuring public freedoms outside the context of liberal environments. This in turn could result in the emergence of patterns of “soft” dictatorships as expressed by great French philosopher Jacques Derrida who asserted upon the automatic tendency of democracy to deconstruct.



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Frenzy in France Over "Iranian Threat"

By Diana Johnstone

http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/424/2/

For a long time, there has been an unwritten law that only Jews (at risk of being called "self-hating") may criticize Zionism. But things have gone too far. This aggressive paranoia of Israel is not just a "Jewish question", it is dragging the whole world into disaster.

02/07/06 "Counterpunch" --- - Four years ago, French President Jacques Chirac saw the Iraq disaster looming and openly warned against it. It was by far the best thing he ever did in his political life, and he is not to be allowed to do it again.

Today another, potentially even greater disaster is looming as Israel and the United States ostentatiously prepare to bomb Iran on the pretext of preventing "a second holocaust". But this time around there is a curious absence of the public opposition and mass protest demonstrations that preceded the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

It is as though the enormity of events and the comforts of daily life have caused the Western world to give up thinking about grave matters and to take refuge in officially inspected and approved platitudes. Debate is replaced by an alarm system that sends up cries of scandal at any deviation from the accepted discourse.

In France, where people pay a lot of attention to words, the denunciation of verbal heresy even goes so far as enacting laws punishing politically incorrect speech.

But the more commonplace type of censorship was illustrated this week by an essentially trivial incident. During a presidential press briefing at the Elysée palace devoted to the Paris conference on climate change, a New York Times journalist changed the subject to ask the French President about the Iranian nuclear threat. Chirac began with the standard official "International Community" line, namely that Tehran's refusal to give up its uranium enrichment program was "very dangerous". But then, Chirac (thinking, he explained later, that he was speaking off the record) gave in to the temptation to speak honestly. For Iran to have a nuclear weapon was not really so dangerous, he said. To make his point, he asked rhetorically what good it would do Iran to have a nuclear bomb, or even two. "Where would it fire that bomb? At Israel? It wouldn't have traveled 200 meters through the atmosphere before Tehran would be razed."

The real danger was nuclear proliferation, he added.

Chirac even went so far as to suggest that Iran had a motive for its nuclear research, including its fear of being "challenged or threatened by the international community. And the international community, who is that? It's the United States."

The alarm bells went off. The "scandal" of Chirac's politically incorrect remarks was the top front page news story in both U.S. and French newspapers.

In themselves, Chirac's remarks hardly merited such a fuss. But the reaction was significant.

First of all, it showed that the French President, a lame duck in the midst of an election campaign to replace him, is too isolated to be able to oppose war against Iran as he opposed war against Iraq. The media are there to shoot him down before he gets off the ground, first of all the newspapers that continue to enjoy the label "leftist", "left-leaning" or "center-left" -- mainly Libération and Le Monde -- but which in reality have become the guardians of Atlanticist orthodoxy (devotion to a "European unity" closely tied to the United States). Chirac's own political party was snatched away from him by his ambitious enemy Nicolas Sarkozy, who has publicly criticized Chirac's departure from the American fold over the war against Iraq. Sarkozy's demonstrations of devotion to Washington and Tel Aviv have won him the enthusiastic support of the organized Jewish community, increasingly inspired by the U.S. pro-Israel lobby.

Deeply distrustful of Gaullism, the French Jewish community has traditionally been close to the Socialists. It was indeed a Socialist government whose secret cooperation with Israel's nuclear program was discovered, and terminated, by de Gaulle when he took office in 1958. But Ségolene Royal was not the Socialist Party candidate favored by major Jewish organizations (they preferred the very pro-Israel Dominique Strauss-Kahn) and will have a hard time competing with Sarkozy for their favors on the Middle East issue, even though she has declared that Iran has "no right" not only to a nuclear bomb, but even to civilian nuclear power plants.

The Socialists can find nothing better to do than to crow over Chirac's "blunder". The French left in general has never seen the point of supporting Chirac's action in keeping France out of the Iraq quagmire. From the viewpoint of the sectarian left (and the French left, in its countless splinters, is incurably sectarian), what matters is not to do the right thing but to do whatever one does for the right motives -- and a conservative politician like Chirac is by definition incapable of doing anything for the right motives.

Four years ago, there were huge demonstrations against the impending war against Iraq. Today, as Israel and the United States gear up to attack Iran, nothing.

Four years ago, the German Chancellor was Social Democrat Gerhard Schroeder who did the right thing, for whatever motives, so that the core of "old Europe" (Germany, France and Belgium) was able to take a united stand against the U.S. war plans. Today, the German Chancellor is Angela Merkel, who is as devoted to Washington as she was to Moscow when she began her political career in East Germany before the wall came down.


No debate on Iran

Not only is there no audible or visible movement of opposition to war against Iran, there is no real debate or discussion that does not rest on the officially approved assumption that Iran's nuclear program is a "threat". If there were such a discussion, it could include reference to the following elements:

1. Possible Iranian motives for nuclear development other than unleashing a holocaust. These would be similar to those of the late Shah of Iran, an ally of Israel, who was eager to develop nuclear power. Iran might well wish to use its oil revenues to prepare for power needs once the oil boom is over. This is all the more plausible amid recent reports of declining output in the Iranian oil industry. And today, faced with global warming, nuclear power, like it or not, can be defended as ecological.

2. The role of nuclear deterrence. Chirac's remarks were merely a reminder of France's own nuclear defense doctrine: deterrence. The old Cold War doctrine of "mutually assured destruction" (MAD) was never a popular favorite, but it nevertheless worked. Since Israel possesses a considerable nuclear arsenal, if Iran had nuclear weapons too, Israel would lose its advantage, but the result would reasonably be merely another case of mutual deterrence. That is what Chirac was driving at. But this cannot be discussed.

3. The significance of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's "threats to Israel". This has two sides, the actual meaning of Ahmadinejad's words, and the way they are exploited by Israel and its champions.

(1) The first part has been thoroughly analyzed by the Iranian artist Arash Norouzi, a political opponent of Ahmadinejad, on his web site The Mossadegh Project. The statement and its word for word English translation are as follows:

"Imam (Khomeiny) ghoft (said) een (this) rezhim-e (regime) ishghalgar-e (occupying) qods (Jerusalem) bayad (must) az safheh-ye ruzgar (from page of time) mahv shavad (vanish from)."

So, Ahmadinejad was quoting a statement made by his mentor Imam Khomeiny, who died in 1989 without ever lifting a finger to destroy Israel. It should be obvious that the statement is an opinion, not a threat, and addresses not the people who live in Israel but the Zionist "regime" which occupies Jerusalem. Coming from a Muslim religious leader, this opinion is doubtless based on objection to Jewish monopoly of a city considered holy by all three of the Abramic monotheisms.

Ahmadinejad seems to enjoy verbal provocation, but words, however offensive, are only words. The fact is that Iran has not attacked another country in over 250 years and shows no interest in doing so. As for the United States and Israel...

(2) Now to the second part: the receiving end of these "threats". Ahmadinejad is portrayed as the latest "Hitler" determined to wipe poor little Israel off the map in order to kill all the Jews and then, who knows, conquer the world. A little bit more uranium enrichment, and we'll all be dead.

It is difficult to believe that anyone takes this seriously, but just about everyone in public life in the West feels obliged to act as if this were real.

Why?

A cynical answer could be that U.S. and Israeli leaders are looking for another pretext to start another war aimed at renovating the Middle East in ways that ensure eternal control of petroleum resources as well as the regional supremacy of Israel as the only country in the neighborhood still left intact.


A dangerous persecution complex

This may be a factor, but there is another factor, less material and more psychological, that increasingly invades political life in Europe and the United States: a certain spreading pathology of persecution in what is called "the Jewish community", meaning a part of the Jewish population, and in particular the organizations that claim to represent it. The Jewish population of France, which has played an important role in the country's intellectual, economic and political life for centuries, has been shifting politically from the left to the right, mainly because of its attachment to Israel. Given the community's vitality and influence, this has an impact on the political life of the country as a wholeThis mutation is noticeable at all levels of society. It is a cause for concern among many who do not dare to mention it, for fear of being stigmatized as anti-Semitic. But is it "anti-Semitism" to try to tell Jewish people that they are not hated, that they are appreciated and even loved, and that the notion that non-Jews are just waiting for the next opportunity to exterminate them is both unjust to others and harmful to themselves?

The hysteria over Iran, which may lead to a disastrous war that will be lost by everyone, reminiscent of the First World War of 1914-1918, is visibly fed by the dominance within the Jewish community, and indeed beyond it in the West as a whole, of the "duty of memory", meaning, to be precise, a constant, repetitive recollection of the holocaust as the defining moment of the twentieth century, and perhaps even of human history.

It is enough to attend a meeting of moderate, middle class Parisian Jews to perceive this transformation. The same sort of educated, well-to-do people who not so long ago were at the forefront of universal social concern, are now centering their political preferences on the question: what is best for Israel? The terrible irony is that the more brutal Israel's policies become, provoking growing hostility to Israel, the more these good people feel not only that they must defend Israel tooth and nail, but that every criticism of Israel is a threat against themselves.

This is dividing French society itself. The vast majority of the non-immigrant French population, especially on the left, feel close to Jewish friends, admire the many outstanding Jewish people in all fields, consider Jewish people so much a part of France that they usually neither know nor care who is Jewish and who is not -- and if ever they retain an atavistic trace of ancestral anti-Semitism, this is extinguished by reminders of guilt for the holocaust.

Reminders of guilt abound. As a recent example, although the majority of French Jewish children were saved from Nazi deportation, plaques are being placed on schools as a reminder of the number of Jewish children who were deported. In these same schools, the commemorations of the annual holocaust day become increasingly elaborate.

What is the effect on the children? This sets Jewish children apart in a way that is likely to give them a sense of insecurity and distrust. As for the children of immigrants from African and Arab countries, this stimulates an unhealthy competition in victimism. The reflection is almost inevitable: so Jews suffered over sixty years ago, but today, Arabs are suffering in Palestine and in Iraq, and who cares? Why are some people eternal victims while others don't count?

As the official Jewish community has moved to the right, the right has moved toward the community. On the far right, the "vieille France" candidate Philippe de Villiers attempts to outdo Jean-Marie Le Pen by denouncing "the Islamization of France" and ardently courting the Jewish community, whose right wing also benefits from the flattering attentions of Le Pen's daughter and possible successor Marine. Such positioning stimulates anti-Jewish resentment among immigrant youth in the disinherited banlieues. One form of paranoia leads to another.


What is the danger?

To get back to the supposed threat to Israel from Iran, a most interesting comment from Israeli Deputy Defense minister Ephraim Sneh was cited by Seymour Hersh in his November 21, 2006 piece in The New Yorker on the possibility of a U.S. attack on Iran. Expressing skepticism about the possibility of influencing Iran by diplomatic means, Sneh said:

"The danger isn't as much Ahmadinejad's deciding to launch an attack but Israel's living under a dark cloud of fear from a leader committed to its destruction... Most Israelis would prefer not to live here; most Jews would prefer not to come here with families, and Israelis who live can live abroad will... I am afraid Ahmadinejad will be able to kill the Zionist dream without pushing a button."

This is truly an amazing statement that deserves careful attention. The Israeli official is suggesting that a war should be launched against a country, not because of what it may do, but because the fear of what it may do risks "killing the Zionist dream". This suggests that the fear of another holocaust, which has been the main argument for Zionism for half a century, is turning around to destroy Zionism itself.

But are we to plunge the world into war to "save the Zionist dream"? Isn't there some other way for Jews to live in the world without fear of genocide? Indeed, hasn't Zionist Israel become the greatest threat to Jews, by attaching them to the fate of a brutal state which is arousing the growing indignation of the world by its treatment of the Palestinians?

For a long time, there has been an unwritten law that only Jews (at risk of being called "self-hating") may criticize Zionism. But things have gone too far. This aggressive paranoia of Israel is not just a "Jewish question", it is dragging the whole world into disaster. Those of us who are not Jewish also have to speak up and say to our Jewish friends:

"We don't want to kill you, but we don't want to die for your Jewish State either. We are all human beings, and we refuse to plunge the world into war to preserve distinctions of identity that may mean a lot to you, but don't mean much of anything to us."

Diana Johnstone lives in Paris. She can be reached at dianajohnstone@compuserve.com











Link to this page: http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/424/2/

















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Examples of grieving Brave American Soldiers, Defying BUSH's Orders.
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Maronite Patriarch Elias Hoyek, a man of Honor, Integrity, dedication and courage.





False Flag Operations, and Assassinations EXPERT.



DIVERSION TACTICS





KILLERS, MURDERERS, ASSASSINS, LIARS.










Truthout - Feb 12, 2007
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021207S.shtml


Watada Follows Military Rules on Dissent

Mistrial declared as Army's case flounders

By Colonel (Retired) Ann Wright

Courage is not only shown on the battlefield by military personnel.
It takes guts and courage for a soldier to refuse to deploy to Iraq with
one's unit because he believes the war is illegal. Very few in our
country resign from their careers, much less risk imprisonment, on a
point of principle and conscience.

First Lt. Ehren Watada is the latest in a series of war resisters.
He went in front of a military court-martial for his belief that the war
in Iraq is a war of aggression based on untruths told to the American
public and Congress. As a war of aggression, Watada has characterized
the war as a crime against peace, and hence, according to international
law, a war crime. Going to Iraq would make him complicit in a war crime.
Two other US Army soldiers will be court-martialed within the next month
for their opposition to the Iraq War, making seventeen who have faced
jail rather than compromise their conscience.

I attended Lieutenant Watada's general court-martial February 5, 6
and 7, 2007, at Fort Lewis, Washington. The military law judge, Lt. Col.
John Head, declared a mistrial on the third day of the trial before the
defense had presented its case. While Watada stipulated the fact that he
missed his unit's deployment to Iraq, he pled not guilty to the charge,
as he maintained he did not have criminal intent in refusing to deploy,
but instead his refusal was to prevent his complicity in a war crime. As
to the stipulation of fact that he had spoken in a public forum in June
and August, he would argue that his statements about the illegality of
the war were based on facts provided by international law experts,
Congressional testimony and comments by retired general officers.

The defense was to consist of only two witnesses, one of whom was to
be Watada himself. Eight witnesses, including leading international war
experts and analysts, had been struck from the defense witness list by
the judge in a January 2007 pre-trial hearing. The judge ruled that
evidence concerning the legality of the war on Iraq was off-limits
during the trial. As one can imagine, the courtroom dance of not
mentioning the "ultimate question," of whether a soldier can question
the legality of a war, proved to be an incredible obstacle to justice in
the case of a military officer facing prison time for his beliefs.

The US Army prosecution called only three witnesses to meet its
burden of providing evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Lieutenant
Watada had failed to deploy to Iraq and had committed conduct
"unbecoming an officer" for public statements about the war on Iraq he
made in June and August 2006.

Ironically, in my opinion, the testimony of the prosecution
witnesses underscored Lieutenant Watada's professionalism, dedication to
duty and respect for the chain of command as he attempted to resolve his
ethical and moral concerns about the war. In effect, prosecution
witnesses undercut the prosecution's own case against Watada before the
jury panel of seven US Army officers.

Prosecution witness Richard Swain, a retired US Army colonel and
currently professor of "Officership" at the US Military Academy, West
Point, said that an officer is under no obligation to obey unlawful
orders. An officer is charged with the responsibility of making a
determination whether an order is lawful or unlawful. According to
Swain, when an officer believes that an order conflicts with his
responsibility as an officer, he must do what his conscience tells him.
But, the officer must be willing to be held accountable if he is wrong
in his analysis of the order. Swain said that the military teaches
officers to be "creative and critical thinkers." He also said that an
officer takes an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States,
not a particular person or policy.

Swain said in one's career, an officer may come to different
conclusions than his/her commander on an issue. Swain said that military
tradition requires that the officer attempt first to work out the
difference with his commander. Swain added that an officer may get
advice from his peers, officers he respects, mentors and military
lawyers on the issue under debate. He may also go to the next higher
commander for resolution of the differences or to the Inspector General.
If none of those attempts to resolve the differences are successful,
Swain said, the officer may "appeal for redress" or submit his
resignation. If an officer offers to resign on principle on a particular
issue and the resignation is not accepted, then, Swain noted, the oath
continues.

It appears to me that Lieutenant Watada explicitly followed the
principles of "officership" as described by Colonel Swain, the
prosecution expert witness.

In the autumn of 2005, upon learning of his unit's scheduled
deployment to Iraq in June 2006, Watada, on the advice of his commander,
began reading about Iraq and the war. As more and more information
emerged in late 2005 on the history of the Bush administration's
decision to wage war on Iraq, Watada became convinced that the war was
illegal. He talked with his battalion and brigade commanders about his
concerns in January 2006 and sent them a formal letter of his views on
January 25, 2006, six months before the unit's scheduled deployment to
Iraq. His commanders advised him, that despite his concern on the
illegality of the war, the unit's deployment orders were lawful. Watada
respectfully disagreed with his superiors' assessment and twice
submitted requests for resignation. Because of the strength of his
concerns about the war, his commanders reassigned him from his platoon
in anticipation that he really would refuse to deploy with the unit.
After his second request to resign was denied by his commanders and his
request to be assigned to a unit in Afghanistan was denied, he decided
he must make his concerns public.

His commanders told him they would rather he not make public
statements, but if he did, he could not make statements in uniform or
on-base, and that he must be respectful of the chain of command.
Additionally, they told him he must talk with the public affairs officer
at Fort Lewis. After the conversation with his commanders, Watada went
directly to that office for further guidance.

In his testimony for the prosecution, Watada's battalion commander,
Lieutenant Colonel Antonia, said that "a soldier has an obligation to
determine if an order is unlawful, a criminally illegal order." He added
that "the chain of command looks at an order and makes a decision on
whether it is legal or not. If the chain of command says the order is
legal, then the officer must obey." Antonia said when Watada went
public, he, Antonia, was "angry and felt betrayed by Watada's opinions
and his statement that he would rather go to jail than serve in an
illegal war." Antonia questioned how a lieutenant in the Army would know
whether the president made a decision to go to war based on lies. When
defense attorney Eric Seitz asked Antonia if Watada was citing the same
evidence about the war that was being publicly discussed by retired
generals, congressmen and women, the judge told Seitz to "move on," that
he was bringing up an issue too close to the "ultimate question."

Despite his concerns about the war from July 2005 to June 2006, his
battalion and brigade commanders said he performed his duties in a
professional manner, including participating in his unit's
pre-deployment training at the National Training Center (NTC) in March
2006. He had followed the instructions and advice provided by his
command. He was speaking publicly, but under the guidance of the Fort
Lewis public affairs officer.

After returning from training at NTC, the Army recognized that
Watada was serious and sincere in his decision not to go to Iraq. His
unit commander had him reassigned from a platoon leader position to a
staff job so that Watada's platoon would have time to bond with its new
leader.

Watada's battalion and deputy brigade commander said that Watada's
actions did not negatively affect the unit, although there was much
discussion in the unit about Watada's decision not to deploy and his
public statements. No other soldier in the unit followed Watada's
example to decide not to deploy with the unit to Iraq. No other soldier
went public with concerns about the war. As happens in every war, for
most soldiers, bonds among friends going to war overcome whatever
political discussions and debates rage about the war itself. Only
seventeen military personnel will have been court-martialed for refusing
to deploy to Iraq. Hundreds have been administratively discharged, and
over 300 soldiers are in Canada in protest of the war in Iraq.

The Army's case against Lieutenant Watada is a mess. The testimony
of the prosecution's own witnesses made a strong case for Lieutenant
Watada's professionalism and respect for military customs, courtesy and
traditions when one dissents from a policy.

As an old soldier with nearly three decades of service, I suggest
that the "good order and discipline" of the Army has not been negatively
affected by Lieutenant Watada's actions. Until his unit deployed to Iraq
on June 22, Watada had not disobeyed an order from his command. He did
not go AWOL. After he was charged, he worked professionally and
diligently everyday while awaiting his court-martial.

I urge the Army to let the lieutenant, who has acted in good faith,
with courtesy and respect for the military and responsibility for his
oath to the military and to the country, resign.

[US Army Reserves (Retired) Colonel Ann Wright served 13 years on
active duty and 16 years in the reserves. She was a US diplomat who
served in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan,
Micronesia, Sierra Leone and Mongolia. She helped reopen the US Embassy
in Kabul, Afghanistan in December, 2001. She resigned from the US
diplomatic corps in March, 2003 in opposition to the Bush
administration's war on Iraq. Her letter of resignation can be read at
www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0303/032103wright.htm ]




An Oath Every Soldier Swears To God With.
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{ Beware of crude language } copied as is .
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/ / she told The Nation. "If I contribute to the Army's
prosecution of Lieutenant Watada on speech-related charges, I
will have colluded in suppression of speech. What could be
more hostile to the ideas of a free press than that?" \ \

Again a Patriot Soldier whose only crime is that he refuses to
commit a crime in Your name. Do something about it. You
defend this Patriot American Citizen as if Your America
depends upon it. The "Judge" who publicly forbids to hear
Watada's freedom defense, an Oath every Soldier swears to God
with, is a "Judge" who needs to be privately arrested for
treason against YOURSELF. Support my call to demand our
voices heard for Just causes, or go die silently to the grave
prisonized in a military dictatorship your 'neighbor' will say
quietly of, (under his bushite breath,) good riddance to
caring where my pusher's overdue payment goes to??. who the
kcuf are you?? ... Eiiiaaahh!


I am the real thing,

President and CEO of Shareware Earth Co.,
King Johnny Wizard

-

- On yet another, praise be with US, Alex Jones News Podcast -

Bob Watada: "He did his own research, and he found that there
was not only deception, but clearly lying by the commander.
Now if YOUR boss lied to you, and put YOU out on the line, so
that you can get KILLED, what would you do? You know, your
certainly not going to walk out there... and this is what
[Patriot] Aaron is saying, hey look Our Commander lied, and
he's lying to the People. and We, the Soldiers, can not go
out there and put OUR lives at risk for the oil-barons."

..by enforcing the irrationalities of 'who needs evidence'
tyranny against the innocent as America Dreams. [I shouldn't
have to tell you anyway, but, freedoms are crying due to The
People's in-action to defend US innocent. And we wonder why
repuglicons put themselves greater than our, no greater
Taliban.. Corporate News Americans who are, in silence, not
taking sides regarding American Women, [MY BABES], acquiescing
to accept these mercury vaccines without filling questions.
Without QUESTIONS! Your Loves, my Loves, God's Loves.
Support my calls to be heard yourself. If your a Male, and
confusedly dumbfounded as I am on the mystery, just think of
yourself perhaps as a, free as a bird lesbian with rights to
be respected too - through the foolish spots with lost
yourself cycles on who truly Masters our Universe slaveboy,
[i know women can be intimidating. (especially.. the Black
Widow and old re-runs of the Shirley Temple.)] and get US
personally in the what is again, Our still hanging on
international News already! We all can agree, we love women.
Let's go Coast to Coast man! On CNN! CBC!! FOXNEWS!!!

The Fight for Survival slog match between, Johnny 'just tying
his shoes' America, and Warmonger Liar, Sean Hannity -
televised World-Wide!!! With Cheerleaders, beer, pizza, and
beer! YEAH WAY!!!

Who's with Me?


(chirp chirp)

It has been reported that some special ops out of Britain are
paying for terrorist attacks to happen in Iraq to insure more
Americans give their lives in praise - as criminally
sacrificed - to the demon antichrist, Our Mr. bush Jr.. All
unjustly suffering because corporate news america cowardly
refuse to defend freedom, by defending the truly innocent.
Nor, will Coast to Coast allow me to speak on "American"
radio. Let's change that. Will you make it so Commander?

Cause I'm ready.

-

A Public Letter to the "American" Coast to Coast Radio Network:


1. We, as the People, demand you allow US, the human species
to openly discuss the public evidence on who funded the
terrorist acts of 911 according to the FBI. And full
disclosure on the science of building Seven.

2. That the Iraq war never had, nor ever will have a
justification, concluding Naturally, that all stolen Iraqi
money must be returned by the will of GOD to the victims; with
those responsible for stealing it, made to pay US back, with
the true American Patriots to be found, backing US up 100
percent. The bush administration has teamed our kids to
mercenary forces who have no loyalty to freedom but to freely
die another Marine for more dying stolen values. While
successful at it corporate America, just lies and lies and
lies without shame, nor apology for the death of your poor
cowardly kin.

3. Also, that mercury tainted vaccines are deadly stupid.
Mercury is scientifically understood, without question, (no
doubt) to be a neural-toxin, and, Influenza is a constantly
mutating virus. So, pre-determining which 'deadly' strain is
going next, is only because the WHO wants to continue killing
US for huge cash profit. With cult slaves, like those who
forced Jones Towners to drink at gun point, are the same as
those who now demand we give our girls of America from Texas
such. It seems the magic TV news people don't want to trouble
us on this matter of our actual survival.

You must wake up to life's demand for you to defend our dying
lives my friend. Please? Make the call, be a man to defend
our women. Be a man to protect our children.

(all aside; just because a virus is found present in a form of
cancer inflicting our loved women, does not make that virus
the cause without question. Life is multi-dimensional. (Not
Art Bell "multi-dimensional", but actual.) Otherworld: Johnny
Wizard wants the time to see the 'science' of such claims
before God's girls are put in un-necessary jeopardy by the
deviant mind of the evil neoconistic Zionist betrayers to
Human Life.

Support our call to be heard my brother.

http://twincities.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/christ_wars_bushite_enemies_for_the_love_of_our_living_god.mp3
http://nhindymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/christ_wars_bushite_enemies_for_the_love_of_our_living_god.mp3
http://newmexico.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/02/christ_wars_bushite_enemies_for_the_love_of_our_living_god.mp3
http://neworleans.media.indypgh.org/uploads/2007/02/christ_wars_bushite_enemies_for_the_love_of_our_living_god.mp3
http://pr.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/02/christ_wars_bushite_enemies_for_the_love_of_our_living_god.mp3
http://richmond.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/christ_wars_bushite_enemies_for_the_love_of_our_living_god.mp3
http://arkansas.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/christ_wars_bushite_enemies_for_the_love_of_our_living_god.mp3
http://melbourne.indymedia.org/uploads/christ_wars_bushite_enemies_for_the_love_of_our_living_god.mp3
http://imctj.espora.org/uploads/2007/02/christ_wars_bushite_enemies_for_the_love_of_our_living_god.mp3

That's all.

Johnny Wizard

-

Iran prepares first nuke strike
http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2007/january/01_15_2.html

See?, demons exist!

-

/ / State Department spokesman on 24 January, "that Iranian
agents are involved in these networks and that they are
working with individuals and groups in Iraq and are being sent
there by the Iranian government." \ \

We all know Iran has been trying to help Iraqis openly, so
then, what does such willful contempt for your life grant this
'spokesman'? Or, how about when Bush stated Iranians in Iraq
deserved to be murdered? (Later, the demon re-worded
himself in attempt to conceal HIS true evil identity.)

Remember the Bathists actually warred to kill and won against
al-CIA-duh forces that were caught hiding in Kurdish
territory. Killed "bin Laden"/bushite forces! Now, bushite
tell US Sunni is in kahoots with Laden. (In otherwords, Kill
a cowardly enemy of Life bushite for America to defend Iraqis
as a godly act.) Death to the bushite, death to our enemies.

/ / Tariq Aziz, the Christian Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister
said in mid September that Baghdad had provided assistance to
America's Kurdish allies, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
(PUK), when forces supported by al Qaeda attacked them. He
said, ``We gave [Jalal] Talibani [leader of the PUK] weapons
and ammunition, we helped as much as we could. We are not
allowed of course to go into what is called the
semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan physically, but the help
we gave helped Talibani in his fight for it.'' In fact, added
Aziz, ``Talibani was among the opposition leaders who went to
Washington and spoke to Dick Cheney [US Vice-President] and
Rumsfeld. He told them what had happened, so they [US
government officials] must know.'' [Independent 9/23/02] \ \


-

/ / The truly most as the living god King of all as Creator,
your servant and trying to be friend, a wizard and Thor,
the Secret Flower and Odin, Allah, Omega, Adam, Alpha,
Krishna, Shiva, Mithra, Mahdi, Anu and Yahweh. And even
a blade of grass, a snake and a elephant, a lion, rat,
monkey, giraffe, spider, shark, wolf, and bat, Lucifer
Morningstar, Jesus Christ, Oberon, an all mighty nobody
kinda even all ready. \ \

-

/ / Google bombs are one thing, delisting web sites for their
political content is quite another. For instance, take Google
delisting the Italian web site Uruknet as a news source, thus
removing it from the Google News page. According to Alexa,
the web-ranking organization, Uruknet is highly rated as an
Iraqi news source. "URUKNET is and has been the most
consistent, credible, and powerful web-based source of News
and Information on Iraq during the last 4 years. They have
incomparable lines of communication direct from inside Iraq
that fly in the face of the lies of the Global Corporate
Empire. \ \

Reject censorship of the news! Let Google know what you think!
http://www.uruknet.de/protesta-google.php

-

Why Can't Americans See It?

http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts193.html

/ / General Ivashov presented the neoconservative reasoning
that is the basis for the attack and concluded that the
world's protests cannot stop the US attack on Iran. \ \

Unless, snobby nazi corporate elites in America, get on their
princely phones, and start demanding Justice for the
nationally broadcasted LIAR Hannity, along with the rest
neocons responsible for the implementation of the 911
terrorist attack against Our interests. Bill those on
American radio who advocate the torturing and murder of the
innocent in God.

-

The Latest Hoax : The real origin of `Iranian' produced IED

http://www.cloakanddagger.de/CLOAKANDDAGGER.DE_TOM%20HENEGHAN/cloak_BB_nov14.htm


-

Light and Shadow

We need to publicly devise some real-world strategies to defeat
the ungodly enemy, the bushite neocon zionist traitors to Life.

http://newmexico.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/light-and-shadow.mp3
http://neworleans.media.indypgh.org/uploads/2007/01/light-and-shadow.mp3
http://cleveland.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/light-and-shadow.mp3
http://media.indypgh.org/uploads/2007/01/light-and-shadow.mp3
http://miami.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/light-and-shadow.mp3

-

Death to our indiscriminately murderous thieving enemies of
God's Creation, who war Creation for bush's personal escape
for the crimes of 911 Christ would say right, wouldn't you say
so likewise my brothers and sisters, of the Muslim, Christian,
and Jewish religions in belief?

http://rochester.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/4/1_news-tunes.mp3
http://boston.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/5/1_News-Tunes.mp3
http://houston.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/news-tunes.mp3
http://istanbul.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/news-tunes.mp3
http://www.stlimc.org/usermedia/audio/3/news-tunes.mp3
http://baltimore.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/3/news-tunes.mp3

-

Great words from the lawyer of the thieving bushite child killers of
Haditha

/ / "There were Harriers dropping 500lb bombs on buildings.
If they're dropping 500lb bombs without knocking on the door
first, how can you argue the troops on the ground did anything
wrong?" \ \

2000lbs of radio-active toxic waste that will murder for years
more like, while after, then striking again to get the god
helpers and screaming children, then even, as in Fallujah,
going house to house to murder every one, young and old as the
truly Satanic. Just obeying lawless orders to thieve from
Humanity as bushite for neocon zionist traitors of G-D doesn't
fly in the big book. When anyone kills a bushite, all
humanity benefits truly from the defense. You defend a real
suffering God by ending a soulless bushite threat against our
species.

Bill Sattler.

Defend Universal Freedom by defending US innocent from the
ungodly murderous bushite torturers, rapists, and thieves to
God as Your Humanity. My hands are tied, all because
"Americans" refuse to take ANY action. 300 million people and
not one dare challenges corporate zionist nazi whores by making
a call to "talk" radio themselves. My friends, be Human
helpers to the struggle against the antichrist tyrannies
of INJUSTICE. God as ourselves, the innocent. Again, kill
a bushite, and all day long you'll have praise from the
Son of God. That is me with all the answers to questions
Americans don't even bother to ask of themselves.






http://imctj.espora.org/uploads/2007/01/law_of_the_land_-_we_rule.mp3
http://melbourne.indymedia.org/uploads/law_of_the_land_-_we_rule.mp3
http://austin.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/7/law_of_the_land_-_we_rule.mp3
http://arkansas.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/7/law_of_the_land_-_we_rule.mp3
http://pr.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/law_of_the_land_-_we_rule.mp3

-

http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=19646

/ / to think that these could have been just dumb ideas or
incompetence. (L. Paul Bremer, for instance, who made the
"dumb" decision about dismantling the Iraqi army, prior to
becoming Iraq's occupation viceroy, had headed the nation's
leading risk assessment consultancy, and surely knew what all
the risks were of his various decisions.) \ \

Bushite TRAITORS got rid of the ORHA plan.

-

Sir Ken, head of the Crown Prosecution Service

"The fight against terrorism on the streets of [..] is not a
war. It is the prevention of crime, the enforcement of our
laws and the winning of justice for those damaged by their
infringement."


You got that right. So, join US in demanding the quick
trials, and public executions of known bushite enemies who
murdered Americans on 911 with general Ahmad, and who with
Peter Powers, murdered the innocent in Britain for more stolen
goods against God. And anyone in the air force as bushite
bombers should be a great joy for US all to hunt for
prosecuting too. The bushite dumfuk is an enemy to our lives,
with it's blantant naked contempt for the innocent, who like
the demon liar THEIVES at CJOB, George Norry, or Hannity, will
forbid ANY human defenses of the lawless dictate of the
IRRATIONAL tyrannical demon antichrist, all so to victimize
more of You as the censored forsaken.

REPENT. The TRUE Son of Man Johnny HATES godless 'lawless'
bushite enemies of Life.

-

http://xml.nfowars.net/Alex.rss

Use this address in Firefox to get daily podcast of Alex Jones.
[won't work with explorer.]

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

-

Death to our indiscriminately murderous thieving enemies of
God's Creation, who war Creation for bush's personal escape
for the crimes of 911 Christ would say right, wouldn't you say
so likewise my brothers and sisters, of the Muslim, Christian,
and Jewish religions in belief?

-

Exit strategy to save the lives of dying Americans:


War bushite LIAR zionist repuglicons who did God wrong on 911

War bushite who LIE to American Sons and Daughters to not hunt
those who stole billions with ear-marks, Social Security,
no-bid contracts, Iraqi oil, ect.

War those who stole the Iraq Development Fund, and the
emergency monies left to save the lives of our dying children

War bushite who feed soldiers radio-active toxic waste as harmless

War bushite who support torturing the innocent to death

War bushite who sing about the joys of murdering Iraqi children

War bushite who beat to death barefoot Iraqi children

War bushite who beat lamed dogs for fun

War bushite who claim they are lawlessly un-accountable as liars.

War bushite in the air force who target bombing innocent People
like in Fallujah or Somalia with land mines and mini nukes

The godless as lawless bushite is the enemy to America, kill
it proudly for freedom, as an undying love for a real God and
Humanity.




-

http://arkansas.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/4/us-vs-them.mp3
http://austin.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/4/us-vs-them.mp3
http://chicago.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/4/us-vs-them.mp3
http://dc.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/4/us-vs-them.mp3
http://houston.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/us-vs-them.mp3
http://maineindymedia.org/usermedia/audio/4/us-vs-them.mp3

-


/ / she told The Nation. "If I contribute to the Army's
prosecution of Lieutenant Watada on speech-related charges, I
will have colluded in suppression of speech. What could be
more hostile to the ideas of a free press than that?" \ \

Again, a Patriot Soldier whos only crime is that he refuses
to commit a crime in Your name. Do something about it.

George Norry and Art Bell are enemies of American chances for
survival of our dying teens. Their contempt for Justice in
America is blatantly EVIL, and worth killing before they do
another dumfuk, they hate US, zionist demon broadcast.
Traitors to God and Country George Norry and Art Bell are.
They'll laugh, sing, and cheer while KILLING your CENSORED
forsaken Son or Daughter, needlessly trapped sacrificing with
the ungodly 'lawless' bushite zionist enemies, all before
allowing any REAL Americans to SIMPLY discuss evidence as a
requirement to convince ourselves of something. Norry, that
demon fucker, has an endless supply of bush whore callers,
that'll tell him, he doesn't have to read the news, read his
email, or hear the screams of dying innocent murder victims.
Sure, once a year, maybe, we'll get the Patriot popular Alex
Jones, but he's too terrified of me as Puppet Master, or US,
or talking about the NO CAUSE Iraq war, that Iran doesn't have
an ability to create weapons grade uranium, or that General
Ahmad funded 911's Atta. Just the way TRAITOR George Norry
DEMANDS it. For, truly there is no defense for 'lawless'
bushite, but by an ungodly tyrannical censorship. Because YOU
fear me, or refuse to demand Justice truly, You'll DIE as
bushite victim, but Norry and Bell plan to live on 'escaping'
as multi-millionaires, broadcasting on to further destroying
freedom for others to 'cash in' with Your worthless forsaken
soul. Now, I'm the Son of Man who can only do so much. If
you won't speak for our dying freedoms, what do you expect me,
or an all powerful G to do even? No... Really? What? I
could ask all Universal species to assist US here on earth by
hunting to kill bushite everywhere, but chances of 'them'
getting here in time listening, seems rather unlikely. But
maybe.

Death to the murderous bushite, death to our enemies, so says
Johnny.

-

Well, gee, Iran has no nuke program, in anyway, shape, or
form, but Israel wants to murder more of humanity for their
ungodly lies anyway. The enriched uranium Iran is making, can
not be used for a bomb because it's only enriched to 2
percent, and to get the bomb making stuff, you need a
COMPLETELY different technology. But science?, in bushite
america? Nazi America would rather be nazi chauvinist pigs,
before admitting the Son of Man exists, or to go to the
trouble of phoning someone who refuses to take our public
calls for Justice. What religion is this America?, where
Human life has little of no value? And Johnny's love means
nothing?

How is a Zionist Jewish?, I, the King of the Jews Messiah ask
my fellow brothers and sisters everywhere.. How? A million
land mines in Lebanon a godly act is it? Jew only roads not
Apartide?, nor stealing a Christian's Home I suppose..? How?
++++++++++++++++
Let me state the following "advise" to DAGAN "the gun":
*********************************************************



"Going into negotiations with Syria when we have no intention of negotiating in good faith is damaging to Israel, because the weakness of our position will become obvious to all. Better to refuse to enter talks, because then nobody sees how naked our desire for keeping the Golan for ever and Shebaa farms really is, nor how duplicitous is our demand that Syria make peace when we are unwilling to make any concession in return...." So , we keep Syria stuck and busy with Murders and UN inspired so-called pressure with an International court, and a desire to recapture Lebanon, in order to keep them away from focusing on Israel and its deceit, deception and lies.... and we have great Lebanese/American allies helping us in the March 14th pawns.

The problem with Mossad and the CIA is that they don't consider what's the other options? if we change the Assad regime, the only alternative is the Sunni brotherhood, in other words a future Al-Qaeda or Syrian Hamas. In your struggle to fight Iran and Hizbullah, you are building the path to Sunni brotherhood rule in the ME, and you are ignoring the danger of already existing Pakistani nuclear bombs.
It's amazing when LF Veteran killers of Samir Geagea and Walid Joumblatt ,who live in opulence and stolen wealth, in Beirut, in Canada, Paris, London and the US starts to talk about international community, tribunals and murder!!


SYRIA IS AND HAS ALWAYS ALWAYS BEEN DOING AMERICA'S BIDDING SINCE EARLY 1960S.... MURDERS, ASSASSINATIONS AND ALL ELSE.
THESE TWO ARE JUST PLAYING ENEMIES COVERTLY. PERIOD. LEBANESE INTELLIGENCE IS A FARCE....PAWNS OF CIA & DIA....
Compared to the rest of the dictators . Yes, Syria is as bad but it still retains some principles over who is truly a friend and ally and who is an enemy, unlike our US doormats in the Gulf region .... SYRIA IS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN A US ALLY AND PARTNER SINCE THE 1960S.


The same shrill voices are calling out that Syria has done nothing
positive.
Starting with being a US ally in the First Gulf War, Syria has been more and more compliant with international decisions than ever before.
Syria withdrew all their soldiers and intelligence officers from Lebanon, but the shrill voices claim that was nothing.
Syria resolved their border disputes with Jordan, giving back land Assad's father had taken. Again the shrill voices think this is nothing.
Even the ultimate War Hawk Dick Cheney recently said that Syria was doing a good job at securing the border between Iraq and Syria. The shrill voices claim this is nothing.
And here is Assad openly calling for peace talks, something that he risks assassination just to say out loud, and the shrill voices say it is nothing and bad-talking his offers.
Meanwhile, Israel can't even manage to run a bus between Gaza and the West Bank despite promising Bush. Who is it that is doing nothing towards peace?


I never thought that I would hear SUCH CRAP again. You still seem to be wedded to the art of the dialectic. If the choice is between Assad and the Muslim Brotherhood, chances are Assad is the choice, provided you stop arming him with all manner of advanced weapons. I cannot forget that you almost sent in your troops against ??? during the various Wars of the 20th century. That was not very comradely of you. It is too late now to lament the Paki bomb. Your job now is to help prevent Iran from getting a similar bomb. You should also do something about your Neo-Israeli thugs. If your dialectic is correct, eventually they just might turn against you.


Although a catastrophe for Israel, the wanton destruction of Lebanon last summer was a gentle warning to Assad that his fragile state would be pulverized within hours if he dared to repeat the aggressive actions of his father - or even if he dared to retaliate against unprovoked aggression.

It really beggars belief that the leaders of the Israeli security state cannot see what is plainly obvious to the rest of the world, namely that the territory which the settlers have occupied illegally is the source of the conflict.

Solution: make them give it back!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


-

http://www.archive.org/download/dn2007-0122/dn2007-0122-1_64kb.mp3

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS ! ! !

/ / I happen to believe that we are reaching a moment when
critical mass is kicking in. \ \

-

Real Americans are those of US as humanity that believe
in liberty as Justice for all. Demon bushite nazi
whores, don't like those principles of freedom through
evidentiary findings though, for their false deity,
George W. bush Jr, wouldn't be stealing from the honest
hard working blokes who live for a better day that way.

-

'A military judge ruled last week that Watada cannot base his
defense on the war's legality.'

Telling US what?, that it is a crime to not commit a crime?
It isn't only high treason against America the ungodly bushite
are guilty of, but of a madness held by those truly Satanic..

-

/ / Four US oil companies, namely Conoco, Chevron, Amoco and
Philips have concessions in nearly two thirds of Somalia.
This quartet of oil conglomerates was granted these contracts
in the final days of Somalia's deposed dictator, Siad Barre.
The US first military engagement in Somalia was fully
supported by Conoco. \ \

In the new world, these soulless bomber bushite of the air
force, responsible for blatant first degree acts of murder
against the innocent, would be hunted down by Humans, tried,
then executed gloriously in the defense of our living justly.


-

/ / Al-Maliki has promised he will no longer block action
against the Mahdi Army militia \ \

So, is the block head saying American soldiers so far have
died for lawless tyranny? Kill a bushite, to protect the lives
of us as innocent victims in other words, right?

-

/ / And the Iraqi people owe us a debt of gratitude?

Bush continued, "I believe most Iraqis express that. I mean,
the people understand that we've endured great sacrifice to
help them. That's the problem here in America. They wonder
whether or not there is a gratitude level that's significant
enough in Iraq." \ \

Is Bush saying US dumb bastards don't give enough in
sacrifices to himself as the demon antichrist?

-

http://houston.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/the_king_of_the_jews.mp3
http://neworleans.media.indypgh.org/uploads/2007/01/killing_christians.mp3
http://newmexico.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/killing_christians.mp3
-

The Resurrection


What are you then, some kinda Jesus freak?

You are standing in defense for your own rights as you
see ourselves. For me, I got some real troubles
scrounging my next meal as nature's King and Lord of all
creation, but for you, this should be something of a
dream almost, eh?

Worshiping bush in a delusional cult like, TV trance
without any thought to care about our actual criminal
behavior, is not a good philosophy to practice as a
living world body, i do believe. For bush is an
irrational murderer of innocent good Americans as
soldiers alike, a psychopathic depiction to his true
evil self as US played intolerantly ignorant, while he
bares false witness against our eternal family of all
being humanity. Is not what you too perceive of our
world?, a reflection of your own conclusion? If we
believe we are of life when perceiving an injustice, are
we not moved to do something in favor of our remedy? To
challenge bush's contempt for ourselves as the Public,
is to demand nothing less than known facts to conclude
our guilty verdicts, as otherwise, bush would be
prosecuting US innocent as God is US included, thank
youself. And for what? All for our failure to
communicate concern about falling further as dying
bushite victims. It has been reported bush doesn't want
to be accountable to the American tax payer regarding
the pilfering of America's Social Security, like he
wasn't to follow the criminal leads of 9/11
perpetrators, and too, surprise suprise, the allocation
of public funds for his secret planned, not public
bidded for best price on every Iraqi Peoples contract,
(you know, the repaying for bush's needless war tolls
waged against your world as innocent victim), payed for
by the American tax payer getting further swindled with
the pretension, that robbing from humanity, does not
include themselves represented politically. Our Mr.
bush Jr. has decided not to do good for Iraq by opening
our floor to offers the world over, but instead has
decided to go with top secret banned bushmob embezzlers
to risk more American soldiers by lying to their
surviving siblings. Charading for US they are,
preparing to sacrifice more Americans without a thought
to Your cost. With strangely, no one at corporate
control assessing yet, "Hey! Wouldn't it be the Iraqi
people who would most benefit for being contracted in
the cost benefit analysis?", and, "Okay, so where didn't
American tax paid for lawless destruction of our Iraqi
public infrastructure occure?"

Why is CNN not defending Our Mr. bush regarding
torture? Is the bush demon threatening US by his
non-committal on Our issue as ancient Civilization
included? Arron Brown? Why can not CNN be also of our
artists, wise guys, best sellers, or elected officials?
When has CNN ever tackled Social Security on behalf of
the Democrats, or privatized corporate swindles by
Republicans who argue their ineptness is on the level?
What are Our priority issues to resolve, if we have the
stage for speaking as the global community? Justice for
all, would be in whose favor?, when understood by anyone
as unbiased? We are of the order to the cosmos, and, as
so, a good way can have an even better way when we plan
for results. Justice is freedom, and needs not murder
to resolve conflicts peacefully as dialoging persons.
Iraq People can testify to their humanity, but CNN isn't
listening for questions, or asking for solutions for
fear they may be wrong about everything we are together
as imbeciles under bush as unjust dictator. All is
right. Still, we must quickly teach that Justice is
ours, and injustice practiced, is an injustice earned
politically. Wether bush knows it or not. An injustice
against any, truly, is also, an injustice against
yourself as God is good. God can not save our world you
perceive without seeing God as a victim to our ignorance
under bushite losers. A tyranny through censorship of
criminal misconduct. Example: Walter Issacson advised
CNN story writers to not report on Afghanistan death
squads, under a pretext that followed, don't forget all
who died in the towers. Forget what? That their lives
were halted by acts of murder? What is murder advocate
Issacson, getting at about himself as unqualified to
decide our important to everyone matters?
In the whole big show Johnny, is there, inside everyone,
a potential cause for caring about our world as actually
worth something, I mean, to ourselves personally? Yes,
a potential, however, we're suffering for our contempt
of seeking for know how through rewarding info. We are
all descendent to be Universal in our own makings if we
work for success together at our national levels,
instead of as bush failures, by conforming criminality
against our living names politically, as the pirated
without equal representation, left to be victimized as
dumdum bushite whores, falling to a tyranny of blatant,
naked injustice falsely guised in the corruption of the
bush administration as your intention for personal
enslavement.

What is as known, is where we can only hang our beliefs
of what have we. The FBI tell US that bush's business
partner, the unarrested General Ahmad financed 9/11's
Atta. Seven of the alleged nineteen 9/11 highjackers
were found to be alive, as some, American trained Saudi
national pilots with no evidentiary terrorist
connections made to back up the therefor fraudulent
allegations. Why would a would be terrorist steal such
identification to not be discovered being so? (Or, how
then were the names found in waiting as researched
material?(Remember: evil is dumb.)) Why would Atta pack
his final draft suicide letter for the important
flight?, of which as bushmob mastermind, would have been
aware of what was outlaid in his own words? Why would,
would be terrorists, publicly bicker in a restricted
lot, parking spot they snuck into at the airport that
was running rampant with bush stooges?, right before a,
why they were there, secretly planned criminal mission?,
as devote Muslims?, holy warriors of the studious, God
what were you thinking about Quran?

Mr. bush Jr. must be immediately impeached, arrested,
or executed for treason against Ourselves as a
degenerating anti-American mass murdering, terrorist
plotter. While the UN is the closest thing we have to
world representation, and should help devise an Iraqi
Iraqi government of "The People", for Iraq. Uncertainty
has it's advantages, but we, as "The People", have to
start somewhere on our journey to wherever, and learning
of our true strengths this way, seems like the higher
ground to begin communicating from. Communicating on
the Nature of wisdom as ultimate foreseen prevailer, is
this dream of being one with creation and giving to the
cause by helping out yourself to be a blessing included.
(Not much for a paycheck though I'm afraid.). Anyway,
take to mentioning this public work where ever you may
choose, for I think someone should be running for new
office maybe if the chance presents Ourselves. Have
faith that as the Universe revolves around all things to
be known of, so too, is Life's true magnificence an
honor to honor for. Wow! You are a living God!
Thank you,

Johnny Wizard

-

http://www.prisonplanet.tv/audio/110107taylor.mp3
http://www.worldcantwait.org/

-

New Recruit

Destroying enemy bushite is a gift to Humanity, it is
saying you care for the lives of the innocent a bush
bitch nazi grunt freely confesses to targeting for
murder. Liars are the bushite, who steal Iraqi
resources, allow racists and rapists to commit their
demon crimes in America's name un-challenged, and who
absent mindedly bomb the innocent without just reason
given. All the while, labeling themselves, "pro-Iraqi".
The mindlessly evil attack against the Turks recently
with an ordered bombing campaign that actually murdered
people, sighted yet another, example of the bushite's
idiotic ungodly satanic barbarity against us the Humans
as INNOCENT. After the carnage, the war criminalizing
America into bushite commanders were advised, it would
be better to pick other completely innocent families to
indiscriminately murder while lying, for the demon
bushite provisions come through that big ol' Turkey, and
if the Middle Easterners eventually learned together of
their fellow Turks who were murdered by ungodly enemy
nazi forces for admittingly doing nothing worth noting,
with the middle east's indirect help with essential
supplies coming from somewhere in that surrounding
billion man vicinity, you know, I know, we all know,
"Americans" as NAZI war criminal enemy bushite, would
massively die as the immediately recognizable to most
everyone, and rightly too as leaderless cowardly, dumb,
and real sadistic evil, dying at the hands of all US
Family men. Being as bushite, the enemies to everyone,
including themselves we've witnessed them already dying
as nazi dumfuks who eat plutonium. Or, IED? They mean
"sexy" rummy cluster dud land mine more like! (Just
where is the Middle of East anyway?) History HAS learned
these lessons already, while the corporatist bushite
plays US just dumb enough through malicious censorship
for plunder by parasitic bushite suicide, for a bushite
has no soul worth defending. See?, the committed nazi
automaton bushite enemy of America soldier has no mind
to know freedom for the individual. Therefor my friend,
kill the evil nazi George W. bush Jr. not just for me
as Johnny, but for US all man who refuse to be subjected
further as only counted by the corporate dictums to
pronounce "pro-American": as those that go silently
rooted backing "un-accountable" rapists and torturers of
the innocent, the innocent, that the bushite OPENLY rob
from with American's hard earned tax dollars funding.
Funding through leadership directed towards their very
own self destruction. See bushite, kill bushite, at
least until we are granted living access to OUR
corporate dead end news media to speak FREELY for
ourselves without bushite lies tying US down for
furthering that demon's hellish ungodly tyranny as an
enemy to all our Humanity and Royal King Johnny.

Real Americans are those of US as humanity that believe
in liberty as Justice for all. Demon bushite nazi
whores, don't like those principles of freedom through
evidentiary findings though, for their false deity,
George W. bush Jr, wouldn't be stealing from the honest
hard working blokes who live for a better day that way.

The Iraqi children did nothing to deserve such awful
suffering and fright and death at the hands of the enemy
bushite. The bushite: who the demon anti-Christ
states, are un-accountable to any rules of law in this
Universe, like with his extremely foolish criminal
decree, 13303. I kill mindless parasite bushite nazi
enemy soldiers just for that alone as eternal defender,
and I do it for to win some mercy for a real living God,
who the fascist enemy bushite hold in their ungodly
contempt as LIARS.

I have the backing of every real man alive on this
planet, and we all know it. No voices of reason have
apposed my factual claims in FREE Usenet, and Art Bell
makes no attempt to defend himself as internationally
painted enemy traitor, and that says a whole lot to Talk
America. Why? Because Mr. Bell, the bushite
propagandist, knows too, I speak and act truthfully,
honorably, and righteously, while the talk radio
american bushite lies, cheats and steals from America's
America, that as bushite, leave undefended for criminal
plunder in Your name call censored from classed
enrollment. You have just as much a right to be here as
I do, and the demon bush, he ain't no better than any of
US when he is "excused" for the murder of well more than
a hundred thousand confessed as completely innocent
people on this planet called Earth.

The fascist control bushite, don't like You to think
independently for Yourself, for we independents out here
make them look as stupid as they are. Thank you very
much for that not so secret info.

Through the pronounced bush demon's gaffes,
embarrassments, and told complete total ignorance on
subjects like the science of economics, the whys of
constitutional law, or when the bushite takes credit for
indiscriminate killing of our families and friends while
parading it's all done in bush's name for our freedom,
or for 9/11, doesn't fool me, and should get you
thinking about reaching for your guns too, for bushite
rapists and torturers will not walk this world freely
un-accountable, for as long as we remain alive to hunt
them down and kill them if so be. As the soulless
disciples of the enemy anti-Christ, Our Mr. bush Jr.,
their "officially" granted legal immunity from all
prosecution means nothing to me as a honorable man
defending my humanity, or as living Creator, who brought
all into this new world to be free, and can just as
soon, take you all nazi bushite out the old school way.

REMEMBER: Demon bush is stupid, yaw, but he knows that
he and rumsfeld with condi planned and carried out the
crimes of 9/11 with likely cheney orchestrating, don't
ever forget that part when attempting assessment how
good four more years in going to do for the state of
freedom in Your dying world. Serious this situation
truly is for everyone. Everyone.

Now, what are You going to do about this, DEMON George
W. bush Jr. actually playing US like he would like to
continue victimizing our dying world as ENEMY for four
more years towards furthering lawless tyranny? Don't we
already have it bad enough, that corporate journalists
think there is actually some merit to George bush's
re-election bid? Especially after that 9/11 thang?
Then there is the needless criminal wars, fraught with
embarrassing massive billion dollar criminal frauds as
.oops, more government fuk ups? Then of course all the
bushite thefts. I did a Internet Google search of
"Tiger Team" and I found next to nothing in all the
professional media corporate news outlets we have
advertising on our information service providers top
notched list as best sourced material. And that should
say as much or more to you too, about who's really
conning who. So, who cares about where this world is
going? I do, and so should you too.


----------





How The Demon Bush Misled God's World

How Bush misled the world
http://www.theage.com.au/handheld/articles/2004/02/05/1075853996640.html

/ / Once the document was declassified after the war it became
known that it contained 40 caveats - including 15 uses of
"probably", all of which had been removed from the previously
published version. Tenet further ingratiated himself by
remaining silent about the OSP. "That's totally unacceptable
for a CIA director," said Thielman. \ \

Thielman meant "totally unacceptable" as in HIGH TREASON.
Could it be any higher? Deliberately caught misleading
whore-dumb Congress to wage his immoral neocon 'escape' with a
unjustified criminal brutality against God as all of our
Humanity. A great deal more than a million innocent people
have been victims to the 'targeted' Zionist killings of the
irrational bushite enemy. Lawless enemies to Creation,
spreading their toxic waste who thieve, rape and murder
without reprimand from corporate news america, shall, I pray
daily, die justly in vengeances by the will of a real undying
Love for our victimized innocent family. Justice for Humanity.

Please, help US.

The guilty party of Haditha have confessed that targeted
killing of innocent children is fair game in their worlds, and
as confessed, they 'got away' committing the same Satanic acts
- going house to house in fallujah murdering more than two
hundred thousand innocent folks for LIAR E-N-E-M-Y Sattler.
Bushite corporate america, has stated in silence, the bushite
enemies of Haditha will never face public execution for such
offences, YOU apparently WILL NOT GRANT IT, too cowardly, and
in all likelihood, (like those of the Saudi Blount's third
infantry) will be allowed to walk freely down american streets
after being found guilty as politically supporting the robbing
and murder of innocent men, women, and children all because
we're rag-heads or niggers. The, deserving to die as
illiterately intolerable bushite drone soldiers HAPPILY,
WITHOUT QUESTION, co-operate with ANY lawless mercenary forces
such as south african death squad goons in finding the enemies
of themselves. Purposelessly ungodly bushite soldiers are
told they are DYING to defend Iraqis, while breaking out of
prison, mercenaries caught trying to kill innocent Iraqis for
fun and profit. While, at the same time, actually having
SLAVES from India preparing their lunches!!! And guess what?
they're coming to live bushite america as the patriots after
they get killed you're forsaken American Son or Daughter teen!
With millions of stolen American dollars to set up new

'freedom' operations.

Shirley, bin Laden would be sided with the fundamentalist
Shiites, before, everyone-is-an-equal Sunnis, who as Bathists,
had no problem WARRING al-Qeada, while counting as members of
their party, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Atheists. But
corporate bushite liar america says no, bin Laden supports
Sunni IRRATIONALLY, and that is why bushites have to sacrifice
in partnership with those who blow up PEOPLE indiscriminately
as the 'good guy' 'heroes'. Similarly like in Somalia, where
bushite forces are working to directly arm those who murdered
American GIs during Clinton. Those war criming repuglicons
responsible for the bombing need to be tried and executed for
committing first degree acts of mass murder in America's name.
CBC, in Canada reported that Pentagon sources allege their
isn't any evidence whatsoever to what bushite news america has
reported to the dumfukked populace. [Peter Lance will tell
you [mind you, half assly] on behalf of investigating officers
of our LAWS, it was a dishonorable LIAR Green Beret actually,
a Green Beret who set the bombs and blew them up to KILL
AMERICANS, but says Laden ordered him to it though, so he gets
to go free on his own apparently. An individual EVERY
AMERICAN should hunt to kill with Americxan Law firmly
established already. Why? Zionists murder Americans for
profit, by simply lying un-challenged through corporate mind
control, and culted soldiers to this day, would thoughtlessly
call the ungodly lawless bushite traitors to freedom, 'good
guys' and 'heroes'.

If your a Cop in Winnipeg, don't be stupid, support defending
my right to speak in our defenses. Support the return of my
rights in respect to my stolen property, taken through a
fencing operation run out of the Winnipeg police Department's
"exploitation Unit" run by two or three "cops", who while
cashing in on selling stolen merchandise, STOLEN themselves
from law abiding Winnipeg citizens, work unjustly to undermine
our National Security interests in Canada by expressing care
for Canadian soldiers to Forward NO interests in defending
their falling lives with lies no longer in disguise. [bushite
would bushite for a stolen nickel, for there is no honor among
thieves.] Instead they fight with flagrant lies to demonize my
better name, in a, never to succeed attempt to silence my
cries for real Justice for our forsaken dying selves.

And, then, the rest of you, join me in concluding, America's
TREEASONOUS Art Bell and George Norry seriously suck when they
refuse US to openly discuss such subjects - such as - our
evidenced conclusions in defending our honorable police
officers who actually protect our lives for freedom's struggle
from godless bushite tyranny.

G.W. Bush, the actual for real antichrist recently stated
Iraqis owe him gratitude for instituting the theft of all our
Emergency Aid monies, Iraqi Development funds, natural
resources, while raping and torturing the INNOCENT by lawless
dictate, and, or course, indiscriminately bombing at least
700,000 People loved by God. Please, I beg YOU, help
yourself. See an air force bushite enemy, kill it for God's
love for America. Please, be a man, not a bush-whore nazi
fascist enemy of Life Yourself.


I am America,

Johnny Wizard



-
http://www.thestream.com/ (religious programming, but good!)
-

Further for Winnipeggers:


In Winnipeg, we have a radio station called CJOB. That
CRIMINALLY thieve from our poorest neighborhoods with the
lotteries, literally millions. Now as a local Cop, you can
review Johnny's "Stand Together, or Don't", then call the RCMP
on this issue, and they will tell you as a Winnipegger, they
can't go in and arrest the seriously murderous enemies of our
communities at CJOB et al. because, the Premier needs to
formally institute the criminal investigation in Parliament.
While the Premier will tell you as he did me, he can't because
our People of the Province ONLY has fascist pro killing
Christian Zionists at CJOB and the Winnipeg Free Press
Editorials, as outlets that allow our political "realities" of
the VLT's to be discussed. The Lottery pays both criminal
operations STOLEN millions in advertising, so as a result,
managements, from both agencies forbid Manitobans to know the
true mathematical scam/losses. As propagandists who LIE
routinely to Our teen Soldiers about dying for Enron in
Afghanistan, our Premier fears their contempt for our lives
would continue with more viciously evil lies, (like
democratically elected eight times Socialist Chaves is an
"evil" "totalitarianist" giving out care to raise the poor,
blind bushite war bad guy terrorists, and, Israel is Jewish!)
so as a result, Doer fears another Filmon could be brought in
with CJOB propaganda to rob further worst than we already are.
[Filmon's private company responsible for selling reduced cost
shares of stolen MTS was caught by the RCMP (as reported by
CKY) buying social insurance numbers from the homeless in
Winnipeg for ten dollars, so to NAKEDLY steal hundreds of
millions, holding with CJOB and the WFP, our ability to demand
Justice - in total contempt. (They choose not to cover it
still.)] My fears of CJOB's pro-bushite enemies, stealing our
entire Universe is non-existent. Let US demand open radio
communications on the mathimatical facts to save our own
selves further victimhood to their personal contempt for the
true value of YOUR life. Thanks.

Can you help us speak this outrage to your local media outlets?

thanks again bud.

-

Blood Meridian: Bush's High Crimes of Torture and War
http://www.lewrockwell.com/floyd/floyd54.html

/ / "sacred duty as Commander-in-Chief to protect the nation,"
which, in his mind, means waging aggressive war, torturing
people, spying on us all and looting the treasury on behalf of
his cronies. The only possible way to derail his destructive
and criminal course is impeachment. \ \

-

Impeach for Peace!

http://impeachforpeace.org/index.php

-

http://neworleans.media.indypgh.org/uploads/2007/01/battle_plan_of_christ.mp3

I HATE bushite with everything I am.

Johnny America - The Free World President and CEO of Shareware Earth
Co.

Join the cause!

P.S. Before it's too late, do you have a few tens of
thousands of dollars to front me, so I can afford to survive
this onslaught of wars against my Humanity? ... I have huge
responsibilities to defend myself judicially through our
supreme Justice system here in Canada, all for the defense of
the truly innocent, YOU, while I'm paid not a thin dime from
anyone to work now YEARS non-stop just too keep myself from
starving broke, so please, if you Companies out-there can give
to a good cause this new year, think of me on international
radio!!!. Billion dollar love boom in the entertainment
circles Shirley, and think of all the good things we have
waiting, that could come about if such wisdom was understood
to be wiser than what we have currently? And no, I'm not
stupid. Look, George Norry and Art Bell, I'm asking you to
defend American interests by supporting the evidenced arrest,
evidenced trial, and evidenced sentencing of those who
committed the treasons of 911 through lying THEY did. To US.

Welcome Home,

Johnny America

-

http://newmexico.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/battle_plan_of_christ.mp3
http://nhindymedia.org/usermedia/audio/11/battle_plan_of_christ.mp3
http://houston.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/battle_plan_of_christ.mp3
http://radio.indymedia.org/uploads/battle_plan_of_christ.mp3
http://istanbul.indymedia.org/uploads/battle_plan_of_christ.mp3

-

http://s3.amazonaws.com/911timeline/main/AAafghanwar.html

- "The months preceding September 11 [see] a shifting of the
US military's focus ... Over several months beginning in
April [2001] a series of military and governmental policy
documents [are] released that [seek] to legitimize the use of
US military force in the pursuit of oil and gas." Michael
Klare, an international security expert and author of Resource
Wars, says the military has increasingly come to "define
resource security as their primary mission." In April, Tommy
Franks, the commander of US forces in the Persian Gulf/South
Asia area, testifies to Congress in April that his command's
key mission is "access to [the region's] energy resources."
The next month US Central Command begins planning for war with
Afghanistan, plans that are later used in the real war.
[Sydney Morning Herald, 12/26/02]

See? It's admitted that the zionists planned to STEAL the
rights of Afghans for Enron, by LYING to SOLDIERS to get them
killed as the American Pension thieving bad guys. Too
COWARDLY parasitic to hunt those responsible for murdering
thousands of "Americans". So, as a consequence, they, as
loveless bushite drones, die cowardly with the once great
America as enemy corporate fascists to Freedom's Justice, Our
Living God.
























John's truth. Killing a THIEVING bushite is to save the lives
of the innocent they target for murder. The cowardly bushite,
dies sacrificed - all to help IT slavishly escape those
responsible for 'getting away with' murdering thousands of
Americans in New York City on 911. Sorry George W. Bush and
company, enemy traitors to God and America, not under our
eternal watch. The People has spoken forever on this subject
of direct accountability. Bush told us we didn't need any
evidence, well, I know that WE DO, so, fuck you too George
Bush Jr.. This is my World..

Demon bush told us Saddam wouldn't let inspectors in, and
that's why he irrationally started this war against God
conflict. Impeach him, then have him PUNISHED for high
treason against a further dying as truly unheard from America
- for that lie alone - we ALL could/should stand together as
equals demanding re-dress for the innocent murder victims
who've suffered for such contempt, and belligerence for the
basic precepts of freedom as Justice, or G-D as Johnny.

-

No evidence against an accused is US being truly abused

"These are not terrorists, they are not al-Qeada, they are
ordinary innocent men, women and children."

http://www.prisonplanet.tv/audio/131206rivero.mp3

-

"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President
to explain to us what the exit strategy is."

- George W. Bush, discussing Kosovo, Houston Chronicle, 04-09-99

-

"First we sent Americans to their deaths for your lie, Mr.
Bush, now we are sending them to their deaths for your ego.

www.crooksandliars.com/2007/01/02/olbermann-special-comment-on-sacrifice/

-


Death to the godless bushite, death to America's lawless enemies

DUMFUK BUSHITE ENEMY OF GOD "This is not a job in anyway
shape or form, this is not a job. this is a lifestyle. and
we choose this type of lifestyle."


Traitor LIAR Hannity "Knowing the danger?"

DUMFUK BUSHITE ENEMY OF GOD "Yeah."

Traitor LIAR Hannity "Well, isn't that the definition of Bravery?"

The DUMFUK ENEMY OF CHRIST "Uhhuh."

See, TRAITOR Hannity [who deserves to be executed for the
treasonous DOCUMENTED lies he tells America almost daily]
would claim any and all serial murderers and rapists in
America are the definition of bravery. Bushite dumfuks
deserve to die as enemies of America because they openly,
purposefully target the innocent to rob from and murder, as
bushite did on 911. They bomb cities. Thus is why Christ
[ME] tells loving children to gladly help Life kill their own
godless fathers or brothers who CHOOSE to commit these war
crimes against our humanity with their contempt for Justice,
Johnny and America. {Especially those in George W. Bush's
air force.] A bushite's hatred for America is blatant with
every monosyllabic grunt they make. In nazi zionist america,
they have a Zionist national radio program that forbids the
nation to know they're presently being victimized for criminal
sacrifice, and apparently, Americans would rather DIE, than
hunt George Norry, or Art bell for questioning. A nation of
fascist nazi cowards, who go silently to their graves in their
support of torturing innocent people to death for the thieving
EVIL bushite's pleasure.

Death to the godless bushite, death to America's lawless enemies.

Bushite Zionist atheists believe that I, as the Son of Man,
Couldn't be anything but their worst nightmare. No, WE, as
Humanity, will religiously really kill bushite continuously to
hasten the day when America actually fights to win, free
communications for Justice's claim. General Ahmad funded
911's Atta.

Die bushite die. Die bushite die. die bushite die.


/ / "How could I order men to die for something I believe is
wrong?" \ \

Bushite aren't human as disciples of the for real antichrist
enemy of Creation. They eat radio-active toxic waste before
asking, why would we eat radio-active toxic waste without
thinking?

-

/ / We are reminded today of how far the Iraqi people have
come since the end of Saddam Hussein's rule - and that the
progress they have made would not have been possible without

the continued service and sacrifice of our men and women in
uniform. \\

Progress? Fuck don't you too hate bushite with everything YOU
are? Iraqis had public health care, and University prior to
the bushite stealing everything they could as sworn enemies to
progress. Had a justice system that Bush never aired any
concern regarding the evidence requirement to form our
conclusions. kill a bushite and all day long you win God's
praise as a bonafide, as honorable, freedom fighting
liberator.

-

"For every fatal shooting, there were roughly three non-fatal
shootings. And, folks, this is unacceptable in America. It's
just unacceptable. And we're going to do something about it."
- George W. Bush

Kill a bushite and God wiill love you for
defending US, the innocent in war time.

-

LISTEN CAREFULLY

"The truth of that matter is, if you listen carefully, Saddam
would still be in power if he were the president of the United
States, and the world would be a lot better off." George W.
Bush

SADDAM'S HANGING VERDICT IS ILLEGAL AND UNJUST
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m29377&hd=&size=1&l=e


America, the ungodly

http://www.stlimc.org/usermedia/audio/8/america_the_ungodly.mp3
http://baltimore.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/america_the_ungodly.mp3
http://istanbul.indymedia.org/uploads/2006/12/america_the_ungodly.mp3
http://cleveland.indymedia.org/uploads/2006/12/america_the_ungodly.mp3
http://dc.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/america_the_ungodly.mp3
http://sf.indymedia.org/uploads/2006/12/america_the_ungodly.mp3
http://miami.indymedia.org/uploads/2006/12/america_the_ungodly.mp3
https://israel.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/america_the_ungodly.mp3
http://www.phillyimc.org/media/2006/12//35295.mp3
http://media.indypgh.org/uploads/2006/12/america_the_ungodly.mp3
http://www.ntimc.org/attachments/dec2006/america_the_ungodly.mp3
http://newmexico.indymedia.org/uploads/2006/12/america_the_ungodly.mp3
http://buffalo.indymedia.org/local/webcast/uploads/metafiles/america_the_ungodly.mp3
http://newjersey.indymedia.org/media/2006/12//12910.mp3
http://boston.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/america_the_ungodly.mp3
http://houston.indymedia.org/uploads/2006/12/america_the_ungodly.mp3


BUSH TO GENERALS: GET LOST
http://movies.crooksandliars.com/SC-Bush-GeneralsGetLost.wmv

/ / Yes, those words coming from the man who's decided the
only way to turn things around in Iraq is by sending in more
troops. Despite being told by the Joint Chiefs, Colin Powell
and the man running the Iraq war, General Abizaid, that
sending more troops to Iraq would only get more Americans
killed Now, seeming to confirm his opponent's worst suspicions
that this president does not value the opinions of those with
whom he disagrees, Mr. Bush has now decided to go it alone in
Iraq against the wishes of his allies, against the desires of
his fellow countrymen, and yes, even against the advice of his
own generals. \ \


The demon enemy of America, Our Mr. bush Jr., responsible for
911, creates hope in God that honorable men of this Earth,
will assist the Humans in hunting to kill bushite enemy
terrorists who support torturing and thieving from US, the
godly as innocent. Every time we hear of another bushite
death, god celebrates OUR wins over the ungodly demon
antichrist forces. Death to the bushite, death to our enemies
who murder innocent people with LIES against America and GOD.


/ / The Crown would suggest her ignorance on such subjects is
irrelevant to her case against me, for those children's lives,
and others like them, are not who she is working to protect.
So, where I demand is a crime against our real God occurring I
ask the hiding in darkness Crown to explain herself publicly
in the light of these proceedings to our Honorable Lord. \ \


-

LET IT BE KNOWN

Let it be known, that the senior management national news
reducers of CBC and CNN, know full well, they would rather
watch American Soldiers die as the thieving bad guys, than to
defend God's America by reporting that the demon enemy George
W. Bush, and his business partner General Ahmad, committed
the terrorist acts of 9/11, along with Rumsfeld, Rice, Cheney,
and Myers.

We shall, start there, and continue on until we've nabbed
every last treasonous culprit found at the ends of the ample
crimes scene leads. Propagandized stupider than the fates
will allow, an American is universally recognizing itself as
an enemy to their own cowardly dying selves. For, my friend,
America's America will not stand undefended with these beliefs
of mine I give freely. Soldiers along with honorable Police
officers I would ask, to bravely/politely demand our time
on national broadcasts for the spoken defense of Justice for
America. For, Johnny wants to debate the bushite publicly on
the validity of the Iraq war, considering that it has no true
justifiable cause. Meaning: all stolen revenues will be
returned to the Iraqi people, with interest, paid for by those
responsible for stealing it. Justice Johnny has now
officially arrived on the scene to hunt bushite down to the
ends of life - to teach'em with kind words, or the other way
with graver sentences handed down by us believers in freedom
from tyranny. Hint: Don't fuck with the real People of God
who are refusing to take more chances with enemy bushite
neo-con bullshit. An innocent person shall not be imprisoned
in my name, nor shall they be tortured, robbed, or murdered.
Bushite enemies that don't like that arrangement, we arrest,
try, and if convicted on the war crime capital offenses of
first degree mass murder, such as we will find regarding
Mattis, Blount, Russell, and Sattler, Allawi and Doud, then,
and only then, we together will joyously have them publicly
executed for the good of the entire human species. In the
name of Jesus, Allah has spoken for life in which all are
granted equal privilege to love with everything we are
together alone with the stars. Death to the ungodly bushite,
instead of the innocent they target for plunder with
treasonous lies as a betrayal to our real names. God and the
Great America.

---

Realize, CNN and CBC have received this post, yet, continue to
lie to dying soldiers for the unholy benefit of the enemy
neo-con.


The "Shock and Awe" Gallery©
http://www.marchforjustice.com/shock&awe.php

/ / "The children seem to be the most openly enthused.
They are getting a chance at a future the likes of which
would never have been possible under the oppressive
regime..." \ \

---

When we cancel other people's human rights, we cancel our own.

= Highwater =


---

The Verdict

The Winnipeg Police Department is running a fencing operation
out of their "Exploitation" Unit. Disclosed by a current
serving officer in the Unit during the preliminary. In one
case used as an example, a law abiding Winnipeg business owner
had 50,000 dollars worth of business equipment stolen, and if
he wanted it back, he would have to make costly "legal"
efforts through a corrupted Justice system in Winnipeg that
holds Canadian Soldiers in complete contempt by "Law". The
Crown is not only refusing to co-operate with defending
Winnipeg citizenry, in relationship to the, National problem
of fencing through bad lawed Police action operations, and the
lotteries [information forwarded in part by the elected
Premier of our Province], but also, in respect to our
sacrificing soldiers. Soldiers who Canada now knows without
shadow of doubt, are being maliciously propagandized through
the corporate mouth pieces of the most heinous war criminal of
history, the ungodly enemy of Creation responsible for
instituting the terrorist crimes of 9/11. Obstructing Justice
by aiding and abetting the terrorist crimes of first degree
mass murder in New York City is suppose to be a serious
offence in Canada. So, as treasonous to Canadian Liberty, the
Crown in my case is refusing to have the police chief, or
other Crowns look into this matter. [I suggested by my Court
motion to our Court system to consider contacting another
office from a different province perhaps.] While the Judge,
publicly for the Winnipeg record, agreed to side with the
Crown instead, without stating the whys - that Justice for
Canada would not be served under his rule on my suggestion.
Just put a soldier in prison if they should dare stand up in
defense with their lives for Canada is what this unjust case,
yet to be reported on by our national press, is turning out to
be actually. I would ask you once again, to please make some
effort to get on local Winnipeg Radio, or Coast to Coast to
plead for some defense on this matter of morality. You know,
this Freedom thing does involve you too. So, George Norrie
and the rest of you lot, listen, I think you've made some
horrible judgment calls, and I'm asking you now, to live up
to your responsibilities to my America, and invite me on for
free discussions on these matters.

All I want is to challenge the man.


Merci.


---

A Soldier's Life Held in Contempt


The way I see it, is that I am completely documented correct
on who was responsible for the terrorist crimes of 9/11. I
have my own theories on why our media and police services have
failed our Soldiers by refusing to support my cause directly
thus far, but I am far without hope.

I believe the failures of me gaining direct wide support
through our police services and the Court of Queen's Bench, is
much more so for fear of uncertainty, and lack of leadership,
than a general, across the board support of furthering Bush's
war crime sprees by going still silent while Canadian soldiers
are left forsaken. I speak out publicly often regarding the
911 evidence in America, and email campaigns of my writings,
done for public recognition, I'm told, continue to swell to
near epic proportions. Intelligence officers the world over
most certainly know of my position on this matter. Those who
may support the fight for Bush rule in our police services,
can mostly only do so, risking in dishonorable blind personal
fear of the great unknown I figure. And, crazy as this may
sound, I believe there is a spooky cool God, for I'm walking a
groove most all of the time.


The affidavit that starts "1. National Security Issues" was
submitted in conjunction with my motion to request assistance
from the Court. The additional paper "Stand Together or
Don't", was an added part of the same affidavit.

The affidavit with 38 positions was submitted with the two
motions, "Order of Production" and "for the Crown to Stay
Proceedings". Duplicate copies of the same affidavit were
submitted in each respect.



--------------------------

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25177-2004Mar25.html

"Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage contradicted
Rice's claim that the White House had a strategy before Sept.
11 for military operations against al Qaeda and the Taliban."

This indicates that with the foreknowledge gained through
prior experiences of Muslim fundamentalists, such as the
Taliban, being forbidden by their religion [Jihad] to
persecute the innocent, left the Bush Administration with only
needing to do, and had officially done, was to use no evidence
to back up allegations to insure invasion plans, and as a
result, a deliberate treasonous criminal strategy to not
follow the crime scene leads at the real murder scene to nab
to true evil doers. For otherwise - spoil the top secret
plot.



--

/ / In another characteristic incident, Bush asserted, as he
has repeatedly, that any decision on withdrawal of American
troops from Iraq "will be made by military commanders, not by
politicians in Washington DC." Congressional Republicans gave
a standing ovation to this remark, which amounts to a
declaration that, in the war for "freedom" and "democracy" in
Iraq, there is no room for such trifles as control over the
military by the civilian authorities, and subordination of
decisions on war and peace to the democratic will of the
American people. \ \

Exactly. The demon enemy of life itself, Our Mr. bush Jnr.,
who publicly parades his contempt for freedom and God, must
be stopped for all costs, that include for sure, your own
as reader.

Realize, CNN and CBC have received this post, yet, continue to
lie to dying soldiers for the benefit of the enemy neo-con.

http://www.indybay.org/uploads/news-tunes.mp3

http://newmexico.indymedia.org/uploads/2006/01/news-tunes.mp3

These are the motions than were filed on behalf of Johnny
Wizard's defense in Winnipeg. A man arrested for threatening the
continuing existence of the lawless demon anti-Christ, Our Mr.
bush Jnr. The demon nazi who murdered thousands in New York
City as God's enemy. I, beg and plead my case to ALL that
will listen. The tyrannies of suffering on our God happen
when good people go silent in the face of evil. Please do not
forsake all that is good within yourself, by leaving my call
unheard from.

---

/ / Color me naive, but when I hear talk of cages, detention
and/or concentration camps, my mind usually wonders in devious
directions. I haven't seen anywhere in history where detention
centers and so forth were used as freedom enhancing tools.
View this anyway you wish, but do so at your own peril. \ \


--

AFFIDAVIT

AFFIDAVIT OF JOHNNY WIZARD


I, Johnny Wizard, in the city of Winnipeg, Province of Manitoba
MAKE OATH AND SAY:


1.

Pakistani ISI Director General Ahmad orders an aide to wire
transfer about $100,000 to hijacker Atta. Ahmad later resigns
after the transfer is disclosed in India and confirmed by the
FBI. [Dawn, 10/8/01, Times of India, 10/9/01, Wall Street
Journal, 10/10/01, AFP, 10/10/01] The individual who makes the
wire transfer at Ahmad's direction is Saeed Sheikh, later
convinced for kidnapping and murdering reporter Daniel Pearl
in February 2002. ABC News later reports, "federal
authorities have told ABC News they've now tracked more than
$100,000 from banks in Pakistan to two banks in Florida to
accounts held by suspected hijack ringleader Mohamed Atta."
[ABC News, 9/30/01] CNN also reports the $100,000 transfer,
and the New York Times specifies that it came in 2000. [CNN,
10/1/01, CNN, 10/6/01, New York Times, 7/10/02] Ahmad's order
must have preceded June 2000, since that's when Atta and
others started opening bank accounts and receiving the money
($109,910 is received by Atta and Marwan Alshehhi between June
19 and September 18). [MSNBC, 12/11/01]

2.

On March 3, 2002, MSNBC's Jim Miklaszewski reported that he
had received anonymously, top secret presidential war strategy
documents dated September 9th, 2001, originating from
Condolezza's office, outlining a strategy to invade
Afghanistan premised on blaming bin Laden a terrorist, but
providing no evidence to back up the allegations, thereby
guaranteeing criminal invasion. Only workable if Laden pleads
innocence to a crime that hadn't yet taken place, a crime
serious enough to "justify" sacrificing American GIs truly for
a liquefied natural gas pipe line for pension thieving Enron.
["The Dahbol Working Group" and Bridas] Any evidence for any
offense would have been sufficient to have Muslim
fundamentalists hand Laden immediately over, as they had
offered [as others of other nations had also] repeatedly
during the Clinton years.

CBC and CNN have still, to this day, consciously refused to do
any follow up on the intelligence, deciding instead on behalf
of dying people everywhere, our public devolvement of a just
society.

3.

RTÉ News - US rejects Taliban bin Laden evidence calls
21 September 2001 17:41

The White House has rejected requests from Afghanistan's
ruling Taliban for proof that Osama bin Laden was responsible
for last week's attacks. According to the US Secretary of
State, Colin Powell, the United States has enough evidence to
try bin Laden in an American court.

The US Government said there would be no negotiations.




4.

[This following document was the official damning account]

Responsibility for the terrorist atrocities in the United States
4 October 2001
http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/page3554.asp

[This Internet Domain is Britain's Prime Minister's]

"This document does not purport to provide a prosecutable case
against Usama Bin Laden in a court of law."

The document doesn't hold ANY case, as that was the strategy.... See?

5.

Investigating the Investigation
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17816

After playing a tape of Cheney's statement, Russert asked
Daschle, "Did the vice president call you and urge you not to
investigate the events of Sept. 11?" Daschle flatly
contradicted Cheney: "Yes, he did, Tim, on Jan. 24, and then
on Jan. 28 the president himself at one of our breakfast
meetings repeated the request."

...."[T]hat request was made" by Cheney not only on Jan. 24
and by Mr. Bush four days later, but "on other dates
following" as well.

6.

ABCNEWS.com : FBI Called off Terror Investigations
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/primetime/DailyNews/FBI_whistleblowers021219.html

Two veteran FBI investigators say they were ordered to stop
investigations into a suspected terror cell linked to Osama
bin Laden's al Qaeda network and the Sept. 11 attacks...

`You Will Not Open Criminal Investigations'

7.

October 9 2001 - The Times of India

"While the Pakistani Inter Services Public Relations claimed
that former ISI [the "Pakistani CIA"] director-general Lt-Gen
Mahmud Ahmad sought retirement after being superseded on
Monday, the truth is more shocking. Top sources confirmed
here on Tuesday that the general lost his job because of the
"evidence" India produced to show his links to one of the
suicide bombers that wrecked the World Trade Center. The U.S.
authorities sought his removal after confirming the fact that
$100,000 were wired to WTC hijacker Mohammed Atta from
Pakistan by Ahmad Umar Sheikh [Omar Saeed] at the instance of
General Mahmud [Ahmad]. Senior government sources have
confirmed that India contributed significantly to establishing
the link between the money transfer and the role played by the
dismissed ISI chief. While they did not provide details, they
said that Indian inputs, including [Omar Saeed's] mobile phone
number, helped the FBI in tracing and establishing the link."




8.

No evidence was brought against Laden for nine eleven, none.
[So according to Bush's official top secret Presidential
directives] While Laden himself claimed he played no part in
911. Still, to save the lives of third worlders on the brink
of starvation, Laden agreed to hand himself over, but Bush
refused the offer, while CBC and CNN denied to report on that
fact for the behalf of now dying dismembered American GIs.
Once the indiscriminate bombing began, targeting almost every
building in the country of Afghanistan, Laden then claimed he
had no choice but to fight back to defend US innocent from the
ungodly enemies of Creation/Freedom. Then the clear to all
fake video came out with an actor who's face wasn't even close
to looking remotely like Laden, but for almost the facial
hair. [Bridge of the Jamaican actor's nose is HALF as long in
proportion to Laden's for example, and surely frightfully
shocking for some, the actor doesn't even take blame for 911
either!] Photos comparing the two faces never aired on CBC and
CNN available in about twelve seconds with the power of the
Internet.

9.

former FBI deputy director and murder victim John O'Neill


"the main obstacles to investigating Islamic terrorism were
U.S. oil corporate interests and the role played by Saudi
Arabia."

10.


Alex Jones interviewing Former German Defense Minister Andreas Von
Buelow

"Bush signed W199I months before 911 ordering the FBI not to
stop Al-Qaeda. They threatened to arrest FBI agent Robert
Wright if he tells us what he knows."

11.

Mr. Bush was quoted somewhere regarding Mr. Laden's guilt of
complete innocence with "We don't need any evidence, we know
he's guilty."

12.

www.govexec.com/column/forwardTodaysColumn.cfm?sectionID=14

" [FBI's] Edmonds concluded that documents clearly showed that
the Sept. 11 hijackers were in the country and plotting to
use airplanes as missiles. She said documents also included
information relating to their financial activities. "

13.

The honorable Argentinean oil company Bridas' relationship can
not be understated as the Bush Administration's primary motive
on criminal invasion of Afghanistan to save his biggest
corporate backers, the American pension thieving Enron.


>From "An American demands the truth from you" by Karl W. B. Schwarz

" I demand to know what energy companies were in that Cheney
Energy Task Force meeting and what discussions there were as
to the steps that would be taken to remove the Taliban and
Bridas Corporation as the last remaining obstacle to the
United States controlling the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline. I
met that company in 1999 and have known since then about the
Bridas v Unocal, $15 billion interference of contract lawsuit
in US District Court, Southern District of Texas. I also know
about the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision on September
9, 2003 that upheld the Bridas $500 million arbitration
settlement and the March 22, 2004 denial of Writ of Certiorari
at the United States Supreme Court, Case 03-1018, Turkmenneft
v Bridas."

14.

>From "Fresh Memories of War" by Kandea Mosley, The Ithaca Journal (New
York), 25 May 2002:

"We were told there were no friendly forces," said [Army
Private Matt] Guckenheimer, an assistant gunner with the 10th
Mountain Division at Fort Drum. "If there was anybody there,
they were the enemy. We were told specifically that if there
were women and children to kill them."

15.

Quote from "A Dossier on Civilian Victims of United States' Aerial
Bombing of
Afghanistan: A Comprehensive Accounting"

by Professor Marc W. Herold Ph.D., M.B.A., B.Sc.
Departments of Economics and Women's Studies McConnell Hall
Whittemore School of Business & Economics University of New Hampshire

When U.S warplanes strafed [with AC-130 gunships] the farming
village of Chowkar- Karez, 25 miles north of Kandahar on
October 22-23rd,killing at least 93 civilians, a Pentagon
official said, "the people there are dead because we wanted
them dead." The reason? They sympathized with the Taliban.1
When asked about the Chowkar incident, Rumsfeld replied, "I
cannot deal with that particular village."

16.

US TROOPS ADMIT SHOOTING IRAQI CIVILIANS
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/us_roops_admit_061903.htm

"American troops today admitted they routinely gun down Iraqi
civilians - some of whom are entirely innocent.

And in an admission that directly contrasts with the line
coming out from the Pentagon's spin doctors Specialist
Corporal Michael Richardson added: "There was no dilemma when
it came to shooting people who were not in uniform, I just
pulled the trigger."


The Crown would argue this issue isn't in her jurisdiction,
however, it is in mine as a expressive communicator fighting
for freedom from real tyranny. An irrational tyranny that
only stands exercised by corporate "news bite" censorship, and
false imprisonments. An American Prosecutor put Sergeant
Benderman in prison for refusing to kill God's children. Now,
what do you really think America would do, if "they" knew that
too?

17.

Bush demands total impunity on the war crimes he is personally
responsible for

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/oct2002/icc-o12.shtml

18.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/FD57CF75-62E8-4C43-BF2D-2D0F0F89437B.htm

"Marines said the men fired on them. A senior officer said
they had no weapons, but that with shots coming in the men
were legitimate targets because they ran."

19.

http://www.yellowtimes.org/article.php?sid=1872

CAIR also wants the Pentagon to investigate a photograph
circulating the Internet of two Iraqi boys and a U.S.
soldier. A smiling soldier stands besides the two boys who
are giving a "thumbs up" sign, as one of boys holds a sign
written in English that reads, "Lcpl Boudreaux killed my Dad,
th[en] he knocked up my sister!"

(Link to photo: http://www.cair-net.org/images/lcpl11.jpg)

20.

Guardian Wednesday 7, 2001 - "FBI claims bin Laden inquiry was
frustrated"
[this story was on Bush's top secret W199i directive]

This information would take a well paid intelligence officer,
or CBC reporter no more that thirty seconds to look for follow
ups. For, I know, the BBC did also a national news report on
it.

21.

INTERVIEWER: Are you aware that this tank is contaminated with
radiation?

SOLDIER: No, it isn't radioactive.

INTERVIEWER: But we have measured it.

SOLDIER: No, it isn't radioactive, not this tank.


"Basra is on a river," he noted. "A DU shell poisons the
water in a river. It poisons the grasses and the grains. It
sinks into the ground and poisons the water table. When it
gets into the body, it does incredible damage. The
combination of radioactivity and heavy metal toxicity is such
that it affects the DNA in such a way that you get genetic
alterations."

[thousands of tons of measured radio-active toxic waste, heavy
metals, oxidized to microscopic particles as small as a tenth
of a micron have been deposited in our airspace, however, CBC
and CNN have refused to inform ourselves on the scientifically
measurable extremely serious health concern issue..]

22.

Justice Department lawyer John Yoo, "In the exercise of his
plenary power to use military force," Yoo insisted, "the
President's decisions are for him alone and are unreviewable."
Yoo was also quoted recently on CBC national news report
regarding the torturing of innocent people to death, to state
something like "President Bush doesn't have to justify his
opinions to Canada or even to the United States for that
matter."

23.

The incriminating FBI email dated 22 May 2004, indicates that
president
Bush personally
signed off on certain interrogation techniques in an executive order."
(See original at
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/FBI.121504.4940_4941.pdf)


24.

U.S. deserter 'didn't want to have to kill babies'

"Mr. House will argue that American soldiers are guilty of
war crimes and that forcing Mr. Hinzman to fight in Iraq
would have made him a war criminal.

He will call as a witness former U.S. Marine Staff Sergeant
Jimmy Massey, who is expected to testify that he and other
soldiers shot more than 30 unarmed Iraqis, including women and
a six-year-old child, at a U.S. military checkpoint."

25.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45373-2004Dec7.html


that a clandestine military task force in Iraq was beating
detainees, ordering Defense Intelligence Agency debriefers out
of the room during questioning, confiscating evidence of the
abuse and intimidating the debriefers when they complained."

26.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/printer_121004W.shtml

A sacked CIA official is reportedly suing the agency for
allegedly retaliating against him for refusing to falsify his
reports on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction to support the
White House's pre-war position.

27.

``I was faced with being deployed to Iraq to do what the
infantry does, kill people, and I had no justification for
doing so,'' he testified. ``This was a criminal war. Any act
of violence in an unjustified conflict is an atrocity.''

28.

Williams's squad stopped a dump truck, and an Iraqi climbed
out. "Light him up!" the sergeant ordered, according to
testimony, and the squad opened fire, killing the unarmed man.
Williams and a squadmate reportedly got into an argument over
which of them had scored Company C's first kill.

29.

It gets worse. We already knew about the Franklin County,
Ohio, precinct that tallied 4,258 votes for Bush when only 638
people had actually voted.

30.

http://middleeastinfo.org/forum4970
http://wallofhate.com/


Israeli Soldiers Going In For The Kill: A 13 year old
Palestinian [JEWISH] school girl is about to die

"It's a little girl. She's running defensively eastwards, a
girl of about 10. She's behind the embankment, scared to
death."

"Anyone who's mobile, moving in the zone, even if it's a
three-year-old, needs to be killed."

31.

US forces unleashed more than 20 air strikes and some 60
artillery rounds on Monday, said Major Todd Desgrosseilliers.
[...] An AFP reporter in the Jolan district said one building
in every 10 had been flattened. As US-led troops closed in on
the neighborhood overnight, at least four 900-kilogram bombs
were dropped in the city's northwest.

[destructive radius of a 900-kilogram bomb is half a
kilometer, and all TRUE accounts of death rates for Fallujah
alone, a city where the population was forbidden to leave,
exceed two hundred thousand innocent souls.]

32.

The Bush Administration
In rush to defend White House, Rice trips over own words
Friday, March 26 @ 10:12:40 EST

By Walter Pincus and Dana Milbank, San Francisco Chronicle

"Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage contradicted
Rice's claim that the White House had a strategy before Sept.
11 for military operations against al Qaeda and the Taliban.
The CIA contradicted Rice's earlier assertion that Bush had
requested a CIA briefing in the summer of 2001 because of
elevated terrorist threats. And Rice's assertion this week
that Bush had told her on Sept. 16, 2001, that "Iraq is to
the side" appeared to be contradicted by an order signed by
Bush on Sept. 17 directing the Pentagon to begin planning
military options for an invasion of Iraq."

[ And...]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25177-2004Mar25.html

"Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage contradicted
Rice's claim that the White House had a strategy before Sept.
11 for military operations against al Qaeda and the Taliban."

This indicates that with the foreknowledge gained through
prior experiences of Muslim fundamentalists, such as the
Taliban, being forbidden by their religion [Jihad] to
persecute the innocent, left the Bush Administration with only
needing to do, and had officially done, was to use no evidence
to back up allegations to insure invasion plans, and as a
result, a deliberate treasonous criminal strategy to not
follow the crime scene leads at the real murder scene to nab
to true evil doers. For otherwise - spoil the top secret
plot.

33.

Blix nor Elbaradei, nor Kofi, suggested, implied, or stated,

that Iraq had failed to comply with the newest U.N.
resolution: 1441.

HANS BLIX: "And at this juncture, we are able to perform
professional no-notice inspections all over Iraq and to

increase aerial surveillance..."

With complete, one hundred percent access to go where ever the
Bush Administration pleased without delay, left a situation of
an unjust war only detrimental to an ability to bring about
any good or better thing. American soldiers are being
sacrificed for no better good or reason understood, for if
progress will ever be made, it will be when they work to bring
about a political situation that was there in Iraq before the
Bush Administration starting murdering innocent people for
nothing . Well, not completely, for Bremer shipped 19 billion
to Greenspan early on, then, hundreds of millions were sent
back.


34.

Professor Steven E. Jones, a tenured BYU professor, went
public several weeks ago after releasing a 19 page academic
paper, essentially showing how the laws of physics do not
support the WTC's freefall and, consequently, the official
government story. It should be known that World Trade Center
Building Seven was not struck by an airplane, yet fell exactly
the same as the two towers.

Below both towers were found pools of molten steel, only
creatable with the heating by high explosives.

Excerpts from "Me, Art Bell, and 9-11 by Lisa Guliani"

The official version of the WTC collapses defy both Galileo's
Law of Falling Bodies, and also Isaac Newton's First Law of
Motion.

..if we know that hydrocarbon fires can only reach a maximum
temperature of 1517 degrees Fahrenheit, how could they
possibly have melted this steel, when the melting point of
steel is 2,795 degrees and the boiling point of steel (when it
becomes a molten liquid) is 5,182 degrees Fahrenheit.

The existence of these burning pools of molten steel were confirmed
by:

- Mark Lorieux of Controlled Demolition, Inc
- Peter Tully, President of Tully Construction
- and the American Free Press newspaper


35.


"To be truthful about it, there was no way we could have got
the public consent to have suddenly launched a campaign on
Afghanistan but for what happened on September 11..."

Tony Blair Speaking To House of Commons Liaison Committee

36.

The Washington Post, 23 September 2001.

At American urging, Ahmed traveled ... to Kandahar,
Afghanistan. There he delivered the bluntest of demands.
Turn over bin Laden without conditions, he told Taliban leader
Mohammad Omar, or face certain war with the United States and
its allies.

Mahmoud's meetings on two separate missions with the Taliban
were reported as a "failure." Yet this "failure" to extradite
Osama without providing a shred of eidence was part of
Washington's documented design, providing a pretext for a
military intervention which was already in the pipeline. If
Osama had been extradited, the main justification for waging a
war "against international terrorism" would no longer hold.
Nor would the ready to go Patriot Act. Incidentally, when
MSNBC contacted the Whitehouse regarding the top secret
invasion of Afghanistan plan, it was confessed that the plan
had been "fully implemented"


38.

"Why of course the people don't want war ... But after all it
is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it
is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it
is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or
a communist dictatorship ... Voice or no voice, the people
can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is
easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being
attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism
and exposing the country to danger." -- Hermann Goering, Nazi
leader, at the Nuremberg Trials after World War II

39.

On the wall of the National Holocaust Museum: " Thou shall
not be a victim, thou shall not be a perpetrator, and thou
shall not be a by-stander"




----------------



When we cancel other people's human rights, we cancel our own.

=Helen & Harry Highwater=

---

HELP ME FOR CHRIST SAKE!

Please, I beg you to assist me in this cause immediately!

Ack! It turns out that there IS a criminal conspiracy run out of the
Winnipeg Police Department's Exploitation Unit!

Ack!! It turns out that the Crown IS aiding and abetting the
terrorist crimes of first degree mass murder!!

Ack!!! It turns out the Judge threw this whole Revelation thing out
without any consideration offered, while the Crown is currently
working on a public ban of disclosure in Winnipeg on these
continuing documented crimes!!!

50,000!! a pop! Stolen from law abiding business owners!!!

Crimes forwarded to the public in part by the concern of Manitoba's
Premier!!!!!


SEND THIS TO EVERY RCMP OFFICER OR SOLDIER OF FORTUNE YOU CAN FIND!

Send this post for me to also Winnipeg media persons or to anyone who
will listen. If you don't, then, you ain't my friend. Come on! Do
something for us, and I promise to help you out later if I can.
Help me through the goodness of your heart, so we won't get
railroaded into prison fraudulently by those that hide in darkness
as pirates of our human will. The will to be free.


The Crown's interpretations of my possessions are not my expressions!!

I AM INNOCENT.

The Judge through this whole thing out for the defense
without any consideration offered to OUR COURT!

HELP!!!

---

Since I am representing myself on these particular criminal
matters, Legal Aid is not required to lend assistance on the
grounds that I'm not co-operating with the system as it
operates through professional Barred representations. [I am
eligible for walk in consultations but nothing of the sort of
assistance I am requesting] Considering the complexity of my
judicial matter, I would request legal assistance from the
Court in these following areas.

1. National Security Issues

I need assistance in understanding the legal statutes that our
national security services are obligated to practice under, to
insure our national security matters are being truly defended
in my respect. No change in summation of my character was
altered, after they were granted a search warrant to verify it
was me who publicly spoke out for honorable FBI officers
denied their rights to speak freely, then as the Court knows,
instead of doing what they argued to grant such privilege to
infringe on my personal liberty, enforced a less than perfect
law that most others would buckle under, even if they harbored
no criminal intent, and would never do anything to infringe on
the rights of any child. For I challenge; it does not serve
Canada's interest (in particular our teen soldiers) to
knowingly have Canada propagandized under the serious failures
of CBC and the National Security Services to lend no wanting
cry to hear REAL FBI officers who factually allege, with
evidence and everything, President Bush's business partner,
(who was at the Whitehouse Sept. 9th working on the top
secret invasion of Afghanistan strategy to heavily arm heroin
pushers who war to keep women as slaves while weaponizing
children - done all for a liquefied gas pipe line to profit
his darling dear Enron) funded 9/11's "mastermind"
"ringleader" Mohammad Atta. Inside sources from the RCMP have
notified me, that in the last four years, Section D's salaried
employees, have done practically nothing to serve Canada's
interest in this respect. While Canada's CSIS does not have
the legal ability to speak out publicly regarding the criminal
transgressions of President Bush, and because of this nature
of CSIS's position, they have almost only fears to live with
by trying. A CSIS officer told me, many were completely aware
of President Bush's criminality regarding his hugely
treasonous actions of mass murder on 9/11, but could do
practically nothing about it outside of filing the reports
with the federal government, or maybe anonymously sending
something to CBC, with no promises that anyone would actually
read it. All the while, the senior CSIS boss brags
contemptuously in public about his ties and commitment to his
friends in the ISI. Perceived easily/mistakenly I'd imagine
as a threat to all of Canada's Honorable police officers and
Judges. [General Ahmad was the Bush junta's appointed head of
the ISI.] I think Canada's Prime Minister Paul Martin is
genuinely a good man, but it is hard to see him publicly take
a stand on this issue, [if he even received said reports] on
behalf of honorable police officers and soldiers everywhere,
in defense of the human race, risking everything, considering
he already does bring about a great deal of good for Canadians
where he stands. [Compared to you know, a let's send the kids
to war for whatever Harper, or nobody in Winnipeg
("officially" 86%) wants us to give away the public assets so
let's do it anyway for ourselves privately Filmon] But to know
the RCMP's Section D, sides that they can't tell us the top
secret reason they have not perused Justice for the sake of
Canadian soldiers who bravely put their lives on the line, of
which some have already died, is a situation no Canadian would
tolerate if they knew these freely available facts to decide
for themselves. Sure we can be counted lucky that only so few
Canadians have died thus far, but when will the sacrifice of
Americans, Afghanis, Iraqis, and soon to be Iranians with the
Syrians, along with more than fifty other countries officially
marked for death by the lawlessly irrational bushite
terrorists, be more than YOUR willing to bare? As publicly
reported repeatedly in European press, Mr. Sattler ordered
the bombing of health care clinics in Fallujah as first strike
targets because he didn't want doctors or nurses to "falsely"
report that his forces target primarily the innocent to steal
more from America in blood and treasure. Then under Sattler's
command, they proceeded to monstrously murder more than two
hundred thousand innocent souls, while covering the region in
radio-active toxic waste that will continue to kill for a
scientifically estimated billion or two years. Hell on Earth
is what un- arrested Sattler represents as an enemy to all
living things. God included. An aside: Did you know the
commander of the Third Infantry, Maj. Gen. Buford 'buff'
Blount III, is truly a Saudi Wahhabist in disguise, who took
up the job at the request of the Bush junta, and subsequently
left near 170 tons of plastic explosives unprotected for
looting in Qaqaa? Why? Well when asked why he commanded to
leave the weapons unattended to instead, go carnage Baghdad,
with, I'm serious, sanctioned thieving expeditions, he
replied, he just wanted to let us know he was there. "We just
wanted to let them know that we're here.'' In Basra, the
coalition is still leaving as of last week, more than 30 known
weapons storage facilities unprotected. See, the neo-con
peenacker gang can't steal everything without a stupid man war
going. Left continuing unattended without national
discussions, leaves further in it's wake, more innocent
victims of war crimes fallen undefended. I would ask that
instead of me seeking to find where it is written, that the
RCMP must be committed to getting the man for nine eleven,
perhaps I can just request we work together, for a national
CBC radio forum kicked off by some kinda joint, international
press release acknowledging briefly our failures to
communicate in the past, and politely request where Canada
could go through open line discussions on these very serious
matters. We must not allow our soldiers to be made
misinformed by CBC's unwillingness to bravely with honor,
defend our great Nation. Or, perhaps, Canada might want to
consider hiring me on as, we'll see how it goes honorary RCMP
spokesperson?, a paid consultant for my expertise in
recognizing the real bad guys, and then I'll go out there, and
win the good fight by using praise with fewer insults. If we
stay committed to defending freedom by defeating war
criminals, we all will be the better for it. Now, take me to
your leader.

2. Local Police Issues

As so was brought to the attention of the Courts in the
previous motions, through considering the charge that was
brought against me, (where no criminal intent in alleged, and
nobody can possibly see a digital image until it is already at
least in one's possession, case closed, I'm free to go still
without my stolen computer gear.) I discover, the child
exploitation unit is not operating in a manner that would
effectually reduce the proliferation of truly illegal
materials. They have included images to demonize me that they
must know are left legal to distribute, or for those couple
images categorized as for sure illegal unto themselves, are
left publicly unhindered when it comes to Police questioning
in a manner that would concern illegal public expressions.
Now, I personally don't believe the Courts are consciously
operating in a nefarious manner deliberately to steal computer
gears to sell as sadomasochists who enjoy seeing lovers of
life go to prison falsely for five year stints, but come on,
something seriously needs to be done in how things there are
run. I believe the failures are, in part, do to the personal
fears officers have of the information universe; for to
acknowledge information sharing through p2p networks or
Usenet, would be to witness criminal code violations by the
score going corporately unaddressed. Like Bush being guilty
for high treason in God's America for example, Iraqi church
goers slaughtered by faithful Bush lovers, women raped by
"freedom fighting" GIs, the sex slave trade, or that VLT's are
being run criminally (section 209, 380(1) 380(2), 181, 52(1-4)
with a math game scam that even a sixth grader can figure, but
not the "Free Press" editor, or commercial savvy CJOB's Vic
G-----. Being our city's big Bush backers, where our dying
universe is simpler, like "we don't need any evidence, we know
he's guilty", refuses a, trying to be responsible citizen to
formulate their own conclusions through our media on why we
have laws. Anyway, I need to have some one to cross check the
"illegal" images through recorded internet domains, to see
which ones are/were located in Canada and elsewhere, and what
if any attempt the exploitation unit tried to limit found
providers. I suspect many providers they would claim they
can't do anything about, are so not because a crime is
occurring, but in that respect, actual evidence of criminal
conduct would be required before an internet provider, server,
or site owner could be recommended for censorship. Not this,
twenty year olds look like they could be ten year olds, or
that, simply naked children being human should not be viewed
in their/our minds as something youthfully beautiful.

To Police effectually, I would suggest a public domain
transparently coded checksum program checker to automatically
recognize, known illegal materials made available free, with a
downloadable database updated by the work of one or two
officers monitoring currently available internet image traffic
- classifiable almost near the speed of electricity across the
country. This action is good to take despite my personal
innocence or fraudulent guilt, for media labelings are
completely impossible to designate content/control, but as
such, shouldn't forbid Police services from locating where
possibly actual hugely offensive content is being distributed
through. With volunteer co- operation of programming, a user,
server, or internet service provider could be warned of
material almost in their possession as expression is
classified criminal so then simply delete it, and carry on.
I'm confident such Police planning with open for public
appeals to fine tune further, would end putting the hugely
profitable exploitation units across the continent almost
completely out of business. Now, who truly wants that?

3. Constitutional Challenges

This possession charge absent intent, where everybody is auto
guilty to lose all their stolen computer gear through

fraudulent demonization of the innocent included, is a for
sure, crime in progress. I'd imagine if we had a public
inquiry, we'd find what the exploitation crews are doing, is
needing to locate only a small few arguably illegal
depictions, then trumping up a lot of fraudulent totals.
Figuring, I'd imagine, if they openly started convicting
individuals for a couple of images they perhaps deleted when
witnessed, people might begin to ask, just how much money is
the unit taking in sold stolen merchandise? Perhaps 50,000
dollars in a single case where the business owner of said
stolen property wasn't even charged for a criminal offense!
No troublesome Court appearance required to protect your
public business image even! Generally, in cases that do reach
trial, all images are seldomly reviewed by the Courts, and at
the "professional" porno viewers discretion, or the Crown, a
small sample is only offered. [The professional naked people
person they have in my case I suspect is lost somewhere in

bushville as the clinically insane, or just extremely helpful
to my Judicial cause, thanks big guy, either way.] This has
worked largely unhindered because lawyers for the defense
wouldn't generally see a connection. For only one freely
available image that you couldn't see until you already had
it, is all that is needed to put a, loss for words Canadian,
in prison for half a decade. Not only that, but such
convictions insist irrationally that the guilty must also be
sexually deviant and require professional counseling. The law
enforced absent rights infringed needs to be Constitutionally
challenged as clearly unjust, and the sentencing structure as
being seriously cruel. [What does one guilty of an actual
assault for comparison get, or better yet, threat of assault
that was never truly made?] So, as a result, I need the
assistance of Constitutional lawyers who would provide me
consultations on prepatory requirements and on the relevant
Constitutional questions regarding this specific challenge.
And maybe co-operation with the Crown or Police chief to tally
records and total sales figures on cases under similar
circumstances to consider the exploitation unit for
re-evaluation. [Example: The foolish, faith in ignorance
argument given by all similar units, is that nothing can be
securely deleted from a hard drive is assuredly patently
ridiculous. Truly indicative however, that we do indeed have
a real hidden problem here regarding their/our intelligence
gathering capabilities.] While maybe supporting public
discussions on how to even improve further, the valuable work
that the exploitation unit surely does do already somewhere
I'm sure to operate for our interests. We may together have
to overthrow CJOB with our human skills at demanding some
space to talk about bettering our lives by communicating
without two minute commercials every five minutes, and opening
up the phone lines to talk about whatever. They take too much
from us as the clearly disenfranchised already. Like, so
who's talk radio station is it anyway?

4. The Crown's Crown

I have concerns regarding the job requirements that our
community asks a Crown to bravely achieve. One, would be to
pursue Justice for the principled betterment of our society.
It is clear to anyone familiar with my case, that our
corporate media managers have decided for one fear or another,
that such noble reaches must be left from the grasp of
Canadian soldiers and their loving giving families. This
place the Court holds of a principle that all people should be
treated fairly, includes those we know Bush has already had
murdered in America under these left silenced demands for a
true accounting by good police work completed already. The
fear that every criminal Court Crown shrugs off when proudly
defending the innocent in our legal challenges, seems thus
far, absent in support of Justice for Johnny. When I read
statements from the Crown stating, John's legal arguments
against traitor Bush is irrelevant to the case our Crown
holds against myself, in our name as Canadians, smacks of an
unjust and blind totalitarian state. Corporately broadcasted
uncertainty is forsaking the innocent lives of Bush's
continuing real murder victims. Certainly, the Crown has a
responsibility to pursue just causes, and granted, can falsely
suspect I don't hold the best of intentions towards life with
everything I am. However, the Crown's summations of my
character will never change the official FBI's conclusions
arrived at by following the crime scene leads, at the real
murder scene, to discover who personally is still escaping
arrest for mass murder of our good friends in New York City on
9/11. A crime who's principle perpetrators obviously
faithfully count on this form of injustice to dictate
continuous failures by our Crown to serve our public interest.
For whatever reason, my case documents a corporate news agenda
of non-committal in our pursuit of Justice for ourselves as
the little people. Ourselves, including the Crowns of all
Canada, are, without doubt, denied fair representation by CBC
standards. Canada is being left not defending honorable
American police officers, doing their jobs to the best of
their ability, should not leave too, our Public's Crown
unrepresented. (If the Crowns of Canada so willed it in our
names.) So, I would ask that the Crown's refusal to speak out
for Canada, while fighting to silence my cries with an unjust
as cruel prison sentence, be investigated for obstructing
Justice, and therefore, aiding and abetting the terrorist
crimes of first degree mass murder. Now, how to do this...
I'm not sure. Perhaps the Court's assistance of aid in the
form of one or two Crown offices from a different province in
Canada could be considered, or a Constitutional Law firm more
up on what all I got to work with here. Look, somebody has
tricked my nation, and subsequently our naiver youths, into
excepting Canadians can not hear the silenced screams of
global tyranny. If soldiers the world over need to die for
Bush, let it be for something worth fighting. Freedom must be
Canada, a Canada that would go if asked, in favor of Universal
Justice always. Just ask US.


Your Friend,

John W.

-----------------

I know I'm innocent under the law as it currently stands, and
in addition, I wished to teach our Courts why the law stands
unjust against our public in other respects. With no criminal
intent to obtain or distribute something illegal alleged
against myself, and the simple truth that one can not perceive
an image until it is at the very least, already in one's
possession, says enough by itself. But most importantly, the
Crown's interpretations of my possessions are not my
expressions. Example: I could have in my possession a
written work from one who espouses the glories of war criming,
but I, personally, am diametrically opposed to it's unwise
declarations.


---------------




THE QUEEN'S BENCH


WINNIPEG CENTRE




NOTICE OF MOTION


For an Order of Production



BETWEEN:




HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN,



and



JOHNNY WIZARD





Accused.





This Notice of Motion regarding an Order of Production is to
have disclosed to the defense, the complete evidence without
undue hindrance, evidence the Crown holds against the accused
as a member of our public. These following arguments are the
reasons why Justice must prevail in these proceedings:



In conclusion, I need to show where my outstanding character
was at, by indicating exactly what I spent my free time on, to
illustrate for our Court, my TRUE intent as motive on this
matter.


Yours truly,

JOHNNY WIZARD


------------------------------------



THE QUEEN'S BENCH

WINNIPEG CENTRE




NOTICE OF MOTION

for the Crown to Stay Proceedings



BETWEEN:



HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN,


and


JOHNNY WIZARD





Accused.



The Validity of the Law



Why?
Because you wont speak out for anyone else's rights to be
heard publicly - the bushite enemy trust to figure. Justice
is Freedom, and to have a real concern for another's lost
rights to freely be, is to be truly concerned with your very
own in serious jeopardy. I wouldn't lie to you. Believing,
as the bushite do, willfully deceitful corporate news
propaganda excuses the Bush Administration's rampant
criminality against the innocent as God is, truly, excuses
nothing, especially if I have something to say on the subject
of accountability.

This final Court challenge against my Freedom to be myself,
that the bush administration attempted firstly to do top
secretly, has now been laid publicly at our door step as a
blatant threat to everyone of us as a member of the Canadian
Public. Will you help me politely address my false accusers
on our public airwaves? Will you help speak for freedom from
tyranny is this question riddled, or will you deny yourself my
generous helping?

The reasons why such abhorrent behaviors continue unaddressed
in our Police Force actions will be documented fully with
remedies offered during the second part of the third phase of
the upcoming Question Period press conferences - press
conferences running during the available down times of The
Trial of

JOHNNY WIZARD


--



/ /And that of course gives the bushites and CBC and CNN their
implausible deniability, where they can say their remaining
neutral, by not providing us the facts to allow us to decide
for ourselves. Because otherwise, we wouldn't kill ourselves
to profit the bushmob cabal of God haters. Who victimize
innocent Christians for no other reason but for to profit off
our suffering.

[...]

Think of all those people in that situation as God. And
these, the bushite nazi grunts, have positions that are
completely irrational, they're making no sense, your fuking
up. It's like a cancer that God of that whole situation, is
inflicted with. They're lying to themselves. If your there
to fight on behalf of Iraqis, you take a position to demand
all the money that has been taken through this Iraq
Development Fund, be returned. \ \


--


/ / What is particularly disturbing is how the administration
misused intelligence information to make its case for war and
failed to plan competently for the postwar period. \ \

What seems even more disturbing, to me, and PBS' FRONTLINE, is
that there was a "State" plan, the ORHA plan to prevent
looting and carnage, but it was sabotaged by rumsfeld and
franks, so the bushmob could try to make some sense of
needlessly bombing the country for our labored dollars, while
robbing the central bank and museum by mopping up the mess
with the bodies of American Patriots still dying as da' dumfuks.

-----------------

you know what is right, though you may still be blind, never
too late to change your mind, we are all in agreement, in
truth we rise, evil is just the deceived disguised...


STAND TOGETHER, OR DON'T

Our Gambling Problem


Instead of our government deciding what services we need and
are willing to pay for, they'll have us think that by actively
promoting gambling to those we can take advantage of, somehow
serves them right, and us well. This abnormal behavior is not
only destructive to many cheated players, their families and
friends, but also to our institutions, government, and
economy. You may have heard some say, that gambling is a tax
on stupidity, and here are only some of the reasons why. This
information is for you to judge, think freely, ask the
questions, then pray your wrong. The whole VLT system our
government uses is so deeply flawed it's beyond belief. They
count credits as dollars, reporting to trusting economists and
reporters, a payout of 96%. They will tell you they're needed
because otherwise the victims of manipulation would travel to
the states before the local state casinos to spend their last
two bucks, and they should, their odds are a real deal better.
There are no checks and balances in place as there is normally
to regulate tax revenues. Nobody in the corrupt gaming
commission, MLC, AFM in fact Canada has looked at the computer
code, and in Montana where they have, they've made them
illegal to operate. They're not stupid. Some of the possible
new car owners at the MLC, state that the machines run on a
random basis. They have deduced this by testing that they are
computers and can simulate a random number concluding
presumably that every computer program is just an act of
chance. I guess the free cars to some in management make this
easier. If this is true, how come no one ever wins more than
a $1000? If, as they claim, it is random, occasionally one
might win $33 billion by starting at 125 credits doubling 30
times. Get a deck of cards and a calculator and try! Your
odds are slim, but at least you have a chance. If this type
of psychological manipulation is to be allowed, why not
physiological as well. Why not put an odorless chemical right
on the pay slips that would leach through the players skin,
causing them to act against their better judgment? Body and
mind? Here's a tip: Bar owners are privy to much statistical
information, that we, the general public are not. If they
play, your being really stupid. Also the machines are filthy,
wash your hands. You see, they're trying to turn us against
each other, into one of them, blinding us, making us lash out
and cheat our weaker brothers and their families, if it means
we can drink their blood (190+ suicides last year). But in
truth, we are all being bled. BAH HA! It is a pure
regressive tax, no attached goods or services! Billionaires
own freezers and stacks of paper! These players are REAL
consumers, shopping and moving the economy, if they hadn't
lost all our money. Filmon was right wing when he called in
gambling for the stupid. Was not the reason for forcing the
VLT's into our homes to protect us from casinos? Were we not
warned that if you remove what would normally be consumer
dollars from an economy, there would be less there? If you
call the gaming commission they take 4%, Manitoba lottery
books say 30%, but in truth they take all they take. They
pull in 191,000,000- (not mentioning 92% casinos and the shut
down of Crystal, not enough money in an honest game of cards,
and all those losing free $2 ticket tickets) in revenues each
year. If you divide revenues by 4813 odd machines, 313 odd
days a year, holy Christmas, if they return 96%, that's close
to a payout of $3000 every day, every machine! Why don't we
take 40%? We could advertise the best odds in North America!
It works well in Vegas, where they actually give players a
chance with games of chance, and because more than 50% of the
players are from out of state. In Oct 97, Nova Scotia gaming
Corp. head Ralf Fisk quit claiming his concerns were ignored,
and his power was stripped. In Dec 97, 5 of 6 B.C. gaming
commissioners quit stating they felt they were made redundant
and could provide no significant contribution. I guess the
major media doesn't think this is worth knowing! If your
lucky enough to get a hold of any of the receipts that come
out when the machines are opened, or tilted, you'll see that
if you count actual game-ply, some bars, are taking 70%+ of
the games and giving you all the credit. Churning of credits
with many NON- random events, and prize amounts are critical
in determining how much is actually removed and returned to
our communities. Why don't we promise a payout of 99.9%, we
can still take the same amount of the dollar. Couple extra
play 5 win 5 backs, walla! Some gaming (don't say lottery!
VGT's?) information is classified information, so there are
only a small tiny few, who might know all the details, but
refuse to tell anyone, some by law or maybe threat. They
destroy "gaming operations" records (VLT's and casinos)
yearly, but keep employee's names for fifty! (under MLF0028)
Their argument, that makes it illegal, for anyone to publicly
disclose the actual dollars, on a site by site basis was
"site-holders could gain an unfair advantage if they knew what
their competitors were taking in" How? Don't they already
have one? If you average it out, bars are making close to ten
grand a machine per year, Just provide an addict a seat, and
you can still pay your waitresses minimum wage. People can be
addicted to many things like VLT's or peanuts, and they can be
equally motivating, but they have different consequences.
It's nearly impossible to consume 500 dollars worth of peanuts
in 2 seconds, and how many entertaining peanuts are there,
that leave you smiling and filled with glee? Mr. dealer will
you help these addicts see? If you deposit a hundred thousand
and then cash out without playing, it's now short four
thousand, and the bars, more flesh for the pound. If these
bars were ever caught committing such an act, they'd get a
wink and 2 days of profits taken, instead of time in Stony
Mountain. If Stephenson did it, who would know! They paid
out 2.6 billion in credits, and took 191 in cash! Should we,
the fascists (look it up), support a predominantly VLT
infested NDP riding with provincial funding, nothing wrong
with that, right? When Stephenson (the same who told us no,
we would never sell MTS, then sold it way below value,
hundreds of employee's fired, rates etc.) was asked way back
on June 24/95 in the Sun, why some areas such as Carman,
Morden, Thompson, and The Pas, were losing as much as 1.4
million yearly after counting provincial grants Stephenson
quipped "We have to make an assessment to make sure the
project makes economic sense for the area" the same story also
informs us, we guarantee a 10% return of gambling profit to
our communities. So I guess that means we're really stealing
as much as 90%?#! Also in conjunction, we threaten
communities that don't want the machines, saying they wouldn't
get "revenues". Then shouldn't those that do, get theirs?
Even if they did, how would they? Would it be like the "well
advertised" $25,000 VLT hearings held between 1 and 4 on a
weekday, where apparently only something like six from
Manitoba showed up, with nothing important to say. Is that
imp lying a thread to 1,043.863- of us, which of at least 96%,
want to know where in hell they are going. Can they be that
stupid? Can we? We'd bet er.. not. If we were misled, we
should be outraged! There is nothing wrong with earning
money, but this is a great deal of money stolen off the backs
of the sore, the desperately poor, grocery stores and many
many more. Is it because we think we're only illegally
(section 209, 380(1) 380(2), 181, 52(1-4) etc.) ripping off
evil welfare mothers with too much money in their pockets, or
those sinister seniors on some mental incomes? Many in the
media mistakenly think that if we cheat the poor and stupid
into paying more in taxes, theirs will equally go down. That
is misguided, this regressive tax doesn't simply work in this
manner. In addition, the lotteries claim that 300 mill is
spent in salaries to less than 10000 employees. We know it's
not into the workers at the casinos or bars. Just what is the
going rate for paper shredders? Are there any other sides
that should be at issues? Would you like all information to
make a sound right decision? Why would one would not? A
crucial trust is clearly being violated. I would suggest
showing prudence with where you place your full page ads until
some of these serious questions are addressed. Nobody is
watching, nobody is really regulating, where are we? Your
dream of utopia? You'll have us pay huge taxes, take away tax
benefits from all renters($?) and single mothers, infants,
create monopolies for your sympathizing fascist supporters
knowingly against the interests and wishes of the vast
majority, cut back on provincial welfare if necessary,
liquidate assets, screw the schools (you certainly don't need
to be educated), hospitals, breed a judicial system to keep us
reminded while you drain the entire economy, and if there's
anything left over you'll give it to a private Bank. Then
blame the transfer reductions of 250 mill, call it billions,
not telling that your including all of Canada when your good
for nothing, black sheep brother comes beggin for a nickel.
Better yet, you'll lock him up. With faith that most
!private! media won't bring up the fact that you pulled in an
extra 900, that social programs have been continually cut for
the last twenty years when compared to the GDP, that we don't
even have to be borrowing from American private banks, that we
are in fact being robbed, or that your brother was just hungry
and hurt. How does anyone buy this? On credit? Things are
changing from bad to worse, and everybody appears, from one or
two media accounts, to think, so what or, whatever. Don't
drink the water! A part of the problem is the journalists who
are in fact just trained reporters, who take all the perks and
none of the responsibilities. Selling off themselves to
something they have written, for them to read. Told what is
cover, where is resources, drawing our pictures with their
color crayolas. Telling themselves there must be a good
reason why no one is doing the story! Or they'll take any of
a 1000, why think if you don't have work to? They know the
scores, much more money in advertising. The odds would also
dictate a small tiny informed few who have their minds made
closed, polluted by greed, and lack of power, looking at
another side, pleading ignorance, they didn't see anything at
all, and say you won't either. Exercising power the only way
they can, draining from all, including themselves. Can you
believe it? This is our government re-appropriating billions
of our dollars, causing economic destruction and death!
Leading the way to the misled and cheated is the well paid
AFM, advising us to only blame ourselves, and the best thing
we could do for ourselves is to drink at the bar/casino. It's
akin to the schoolyard heroin dealer paying some chump to
quickly get help to misguided children by selling them crack.
Why bite the hand that stuffs you? Do you wonder what
happened to all our money? The truth is out, the lies are
old, but the blind idiots directing your show, don't want to
see, you know. Do 300,000+ petition signing Albertans,
incidentally more than register to vote, know something you
don't? Studies galore! Watch what you support with money,
and with your thoughts. Do your own polls! Did you know
we're planning to take away your fundamental democratic right
to put up garage, and election signs freely? How do they win
elections, if nobody put up any signs? How will we ever get a
honest deal? Is lying and cheating just endemic with this
communist government? Is anyone making money on all these bad
business investments? Pool the legislature transcripts! Take
a day on, call your grand mother, vote! But just how many
"obscured ballots" are there, phone and see. Do you think in
a democracy this information should be open to the public? Do
you own thinking! Why not? Also what's a public voters list
good for? Did you know since '95 votes have been tallied by
computer, coded in Texas? Now carefully in a measured way,
ask yourself, just who is foolish enough to be manipulated by
the machine? Having themselves, their family and just about
everyone else punished for it? Send for the facts, over the
lines, face the truth, you're living, alive! Horrors
committed before your eyes, n your name, are you justified?
If this is allowed to continue to grow, it can only turn into
something much worse. Slowly, your freedom will further
become chained, and the only thing you'll wish for is that you
had taken the time to take action while you had the chance.
Just what are the chances? Unless you think you don't count?
Better by golly, you sure as do so Bobby! Petitions
delicious! Or do nothing, continuing on going backwards,
selling yourself short. You know who you are, it's made up
for you, you don't have to go far. Just don't sit on the
sidewalk or leave a ticket unpaid, or beg for justice of the
wounded dying or dead. Blame the weak and disabled, you'll be
so strong, living in your fable. Then when they come for you,
you'll say something must be wrong, but who cares? Your not
listening. You'd know if you were being deceived. 1000 of
beer in one small sip, remove all your regulations, they're
just there to keep us in, and privatize always, right.. ya..
that's thinking. We want to sell Winnipeg Hydro, it's working
making a profit. All we need now are private prisons and the
economy will really take off screaming! The one only reason
people commit crimes is cause, they know we don't have guns.
Bombs don't kill people that are killing people! The sky
isn't falling, the sky isn't falling. Something to consider,
what's the cause-like symptom and how do you treat it? Like
an infection? As a matter of truth, it is completely without
question, there it is no such thing, as deception. Now you
know the rules, your losses, odds and stakes. What's your
limit? Can you stop? Are you feeling okay buddy? Let us get
out of here, and go to talk.


------

HERO

http://houston.indymedia.org/uploads/hero.mp3
http://arizona.indymedia.org/uploads/hero.mp3

/ / That is a high act of treason. And it's not,
"oh well, but maybe it's not true.." No, we have
the two documents of question. \ \




What is the Coast to Coast radio network Head talking
about tonight?, the re-re-re-hashing of the "Allaways
Interslinging" Bigfoot phenomenon? Where was I...

Look, you're not going to go to hell for not giving me a
couple of dollars to further my cause, but it sure
couldn't help to leave me without any support here
whatsoever.



--

White House keeps dossiers on more than 10,000 'political enemies'

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7625.shtml

---

The United States of America v. Adam Vaughn
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.10/kidporn.html

He was a stand-up Marine, a beloved cop, and a local hero

/ / Vaughn was accused of possessing child pornography on
the basis of images in his browser cache and downloaded
photos he had deleted from his hard drive long before the
accusations. Although Vaughn says he never sought out or
wanted to keep pornographic images of children, he's
serving four and a half years in jail. \ \

--

http://ww.alternet.org/columnists/story/15407/

/ / It's as if our government is telling us that if we're
going to look at porn, we'd better pay for it. Otherwise,
we might get branded pedophiles. How many innocent lives
will be destroyed before the child porn wars are over? \ \


---



WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?

/ / Specialist Damien "Monster" Corsetti--known
affectionately as the "King of Torture" among his Bagram
colleagues--was later fined and demoted for forcing an
Iraqi woman to strip during an interrogation at Abu
Ghraib. Yet Corsetti remains a free man. \ \


Will America hunt to kill the un-arrested bushite cancer
that knows thyself as the "King of Torture"? Who's
blasphemous open contempt for all that is God doesn't even
earn him a spot on America's Most Wanted?


http://houston.indymedia.org/uploads/bush_not_concerned_about_laden_walking_away
.wmv


--

http://houston.indymedia.org/uploads/another-lob.mp3

/ / Why would God promise you in the Bible, go hurt myself
purposefully. And steal something from someone you didn't
earn. And be a dishonest lying bastard, just to be an
asshole you like to be. \ \

--

http://houston.indymedia.org/uploads/somebody16.mp3

/ / He figured anybody who committed the acts of torture
against the innocent, needed to be publicly executed for
America, by America, as America, and I, am totally in
agreement with that. \ \

--

Bush Jnr. is sure wicked evil song

http://houston.indymedia.org/uploads/bush_jnr._is_sure_wicked_evil_song.mp3

--

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10785.htm

/ / an epic study that documents the systematic nature of
torture by the Americans, and how casual it is, even
enjoyable. [...] as the head of Reuters said recently,
it is out of control. It is destroying lives in industrial
quantities when compared with the violence of the
resistance. \ \

Godless bushite enemy thieves, are enemies of innocent men
women and children as they live and die in undefended America
measured worthless to the neocon traitor's bottom line.

If YOU, personally make no effort to confront millionaire talk
radio hosts who insist America's more concerned with
discussing the importance of aliens and vampires than the
sacrifice of liberty for tyranny, America will die. Anti-cop
Coast to Coast hosts deliberately forbid Americans to learn
about who personally is responsible for the crimes of 911, or
that the war in Iraq has no rational justification whatsoever.
Nazi bush bitch George Norrie would happily watch your
American children die for the treasonous bushmob, before
allowing any Patriot on Your radio to discuss these serious
matters that confront us all. Help me gain a public voice on
our air waves, please.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2005/10/25/AR2005102501388.html

/ / Mr Cheney told several Republican senators that
President Bush would veto the annual defense spending
bill if it contained language prohibiting the use of
cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by any U.S.
personnel. \ \

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10362.htm

/ / Col. Robert Bowman: As other speakers have said,
they knew the American people wouldn't stand for it, and
they said so in their documents, and they said, unless
there's that new Pearl Harbor.

[...] and it is treason. [...]

1. We give up all rights to Iraqi oil 2. We give up
all rights to the rebuilding contracts- if Halliburton
wants a contract from you, they have to bid on it like
anybody else, and they have to hire Iraqis to do the work
for a change. 3. We give up all rights to those 14
permanent military bases we're building in Iraq at this
time. And the people in the Whitehouse are not going to
make those committments and so they have to go and all
the puppeteers with them. \ \

/ / Rove told Cooper that further information
discrediting Wilson and his findings would soon be
declassified and ended the phone conversation by saying
"I've already said too much. \ \

/ / · less than one per cent of the population believes
coalition forces are responsible for any improvement in
security; \ \




(Don't miss "Johnny Wizard Vs. the bushmob")
http://mailgate.supereva.com/soc/soc.culture.pakistan.politics/

(on bush's behavior during the school book 9/11 incident.)

/ / Stuck he was then, with no mind to ruse, er.. time to
snooze, Arg! What was the cue? Errrch... If he moves
with priority interest as concerned openly honest public
figure, as he knows a legitimate President would have
been to first learn of such carnage,

THE MONTH BEFORE IN AUGUST,

why not previous before he left his Hotel room with a
television? Outside the Hotel? In the motorcade? With
school staff as you'd figure would have been present too
laughing, no? Instead he stayed as he had been to give
no orders publicly, nor attempt to make public inqiries,
but to listen with such unbelievable absolute devotion,
equating a beautiful child's story, as if it were Jesus
from the heavens himself, speaking directly on the
living Nature of our Universe.. \ \


>From the Johnny Wizard work - "Wait a Moment"

[The Son of Man asks:]

/ / Who cares about yourself if you won't listen as reason
to? What can you lose when you have granted to be
blindly stolen from? \ \

-

/ / An editorial appearing Wednesday in the Washington
Post did not mince words in denouncing Cheney's
intervention. His actions, the newspaper declared,
demonstrated that ``this vice president has become an
open advocate of torture.'' \ \

/ / The War Crimes Act of 1996, a federal statute set
forth at 18 U.S.C. § 2441, makes it a federal crime for
any U.S. national, whether military or civilian, to
violate the Geneva Convention by engaging in murder,
torture, or inhuman treatment. \ \

/ / Making a potential prosecutor's job easier, U.S.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales wrote a memo in January
2002 to President Bush saying that America should opt out
of the Geneva Convention because top officials have to
worry about prosecutions under 18 U.S.C. § 2441. By
attempting to sidestep the Geneva Convention, Gonzales
created a document trail that can be used to prove that
top administration officials knowingly created a policy
of torturing prisoners \ \

/ / Entitled ``The Torture Question,'' the report makes

clear that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld bears direct
responsibility for the brutal methods of interrogation
used against US prisoners. \ \

--

http://www.cageprisoners.com/articles.php?id=10136

/ / What is happening is that Ms. Davidson and Lawyers Against the
War have laid charges against George Bush Jr; accusing him of
aiding, abetting, and counseling the commission of torture. \ \


/ / "Many Canadians don't realize that we have not only the right
but the responsibility to pursue these charges, it is a
responsibility that the Canadian government owes not only to the
people of Canada, but to the people of the world. \ \

/ / "The American legal system seems incapable of bringing him to
justice and there are no international courts with jurisdiction.
So it's up to Canada to enforce the law that everybody has signed
on to but nobody else seems willing to apply." \ \

/ / Irwin Cotler's credo is supposed to be "Justice, justice shall
you pursue" not ingratiation with superpowers who practice torture. \
\


---

/ / [...] talk your arguments to 18 USC 794 anti-treason law.
and if he [bush] goes by hanging I buy the rope. \ \

--

/ / o Where the HELL is YOUR proof that Dick Cheney was NOT
conducting drills on 9/11 that paralyzed Air Force responses to the
real attacks?

o Where the HELL is YOUR proof that Tower 7 collapsed as a result
of the attacks?

o Where the HELL is YOUR proof that `put' orders placed on the two
Airlines involved in the attacks were mere coincidence?

o Where the HELL is YOUR proof that Porter Goss knew nothing about
$100,000 that was wired to Mohammed Atta?

o Where the Hell is YOUR proof that Donald Rumsfeld did not
organize an illegal military group that would ``provoke terrorist
attacks which would then require `"counter-attack" by the United
States? \ \

---

"THEY SAY THEY TOOK OUR LAND. BUT WHERE DID THEY TAKE IT?"
--DAVID MONONGWE (Hopi)

--

/ / The Nazis in the 1930s were forced to waste precious time and
money on the inoculation of the German citizenry, too well-educated
for its own good, against the infections of impermissible thought.
We can count it as a blessing that we don't bear the burden of an
educated citizenry. \ \

--

>From "Epiphany"

http://ntimc.org/newswire.php?story_id=308&media_type=TEXT


/ / What can bush or rumsfeld do now in Iraq, outside of criminally
stealing our assets, that they couldn't do before a single innocent
Iraqi person was murdered by heinous traitor buford blount? Look I
am serious about this: read... What can bush or rumsfeld do now
in Iraq, outside of criminally stealing our assets, that they
couldn't do before a single innocent Iraqi person was murdered by
heinous traitor buford blount? \ \


/ / In fact, as they made clear on page one, the authors had
stripped out Falluja; their estimate of 98,000 deaths would
otherwise have been much higher. \ \

Repeat after me:

Coast to Coast hosts are leaving us listeners out here
with the impression, that neither hosts have
heard of the National Intelligence Estimate,
or the NIE, that was created by pressure through
congress just prior to the war, by the cia, state
department, and eight other American intelligence
agencies, of which, the bush administration got
caught misleading the verdicts by censorship,
and outright re-writing, then bald faced lying.
Subsequently causing the creation of an
investigation by the Senate, who's conclusion stated
that the bush administration "..provided [Americans]

with an incomplete picture of the nature and extent
of the debate within the intelligence community
regarding these issues."

----

F R E E E N E R G Y

It's the simplest idea. All you gotta do, is get a couple large
buoys, that let's say take maybe a twenty foot square space, maybe
a foot or two thick, and they contain air, made of some strong
plastics. You just take that, anchor it stationary to the ocean
floor, and have it situated on a gear system where, even though the
buoy moves up and down slightly, there is such a tremendous amount
of force on it, through the rising of the tides, that through gear

ratios, you could easily get some turbines going for a thousand
bucks or something. Not a big investment to give you free energy
endlessly.


/ / Do not put any effort into thinking out your own opinions.
Create doubt on anything any true liberator, would try to
convey to you as important for your life. Never mind. Watch
your son or daughter be sacrificed, and just lie to yourself,
and tell us all how your so proud of your dead son or
daughter, "because they were fighting for liberty." And we
just got to just keep bullshiting you because you're an enemy
to God. An enemy to true freedom, when you demand truth not
be spoken for the innocent being persecuted, as Christ was.
Where is Christianity in America? Call your Church now! \ \


----

/ / Why does any American think that spying without a warrant
has any more effect in reducing the threat of terrorism than
spying with a warrant? \ \


Yet, FOX, CNN and CBC silently plead ignorance when
broadcasting for bushite favor on this rights issue. He wants
to pursue terrorists they'll tell us, but CNN, CBC, FOX and
others, won't tell us why Bush secretly feels FISA would
jeopardize such claimed inquiries? Sure, bushites are dumb,
but we're not that dumb to except this without knowing. It's
similarly like, Bush can't be my Chief because, Congress
didn't declare war like the Constitution Laws. So, what's he
going by then?, right?


bLeEplap!

Look up in your mind, across the sky!, it's the glorious sign
that says things couldn't be much worse under the watchful
gaze of the Supreme Commander. It's like, Bush can't be my
Chief because, Congress didn't declare war like the
Constitution Laws.

The, in league with evil tresspass of George Walker Bush only
has the rights that are protected by any civilized American.
The lying demon enemy has no power of illusion over me, for
he, I have concluded with in discussions about Satan, is
truly, no honorable god fearing American.

Help me to gain some international say, and our world will
fair brighter at becoming, this fool's play/tragedy.

bLeEplAb! bLeEplAp! bLeEplAb! bLeEplAp!


----

God or no God, I hate the demon antiChrist, corporate
america's false-deity, Your unelected Mr. bush Jr., as
much as any real Creator of this world, or any other
should.

With such real inaction on old promises [lies] made by
the dishonorable and dishonest leaderless bushite nazi
savages, while desecrating all of Humanity by fighting
against a just rule of Law, (instead of protecting
America's America), forces the continued REAL WORLD
sacrifice of true Liberty, until the bushmob gang is
brought up by US for war crimes., as the 9/11
perpetrating, super evil as ungodly, demon antiChrist in
disguises. (I very much would feel welcomed to play my
part in those public proceedings.) Hmmm.. maybe CNN or
CBC can become publicly convinced we should have our own
news programs on what's truly happening?, to compete
against the 'evil bushites' in this competitive free
market place of ideas? Who knows..

Take care of the business, by getting US in on our
news-casts., as these principles here standing in words,
are a dreamers dreams, just waiting for You to bring to
reality., by standing proud, strong, and forever free as
a, truly, super awesome Human Being.


True Blue American Jew

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=25994

/ / Jimmy Carter tours America with a new book that describes
Jews as racists and oppressors, and suggests they are also a
conspiratorial mafia that intimidates ``critics,'' [...] In
other words, Americans beware of the Jew in your midst. [...]
When hundreds of millions are calling for the extermination of
the Jews of Israel this is more than a lie; it is a blood
libel. \ \

What is wrong with this ungodly stupid zionist demon nazi fuk
eh? Does he want us to think he has some secret club of
"ungodly liars" who could hide among themselves in a dark room
and not destroy themselves willingly? (The Devil's in the
details) I'm King of the Jews, and I'd kill bushite thieves
for America anyday, any REAL JEW who defends the lives of the
innocent, who the bushite targets for murder would do so
likewise.. I mean, come on, seriously, who wouldn't.
bushites are evil, and evil is dumb. A zionist THIEF is a
soulless enemy of Life, as a un-American, God hating, pro
Christian/Arab/Jew killer. In other words, Americans beware
of the Zionist in your midst who LIES to cheat and steal from
the innocent true blue American Jew included.

Johnny America - presently on his theatrical, Wizard's World
Wide Work of Wonder Word spectacular Tour production with the
personally staged adaptation of, "Hello", now playing
everywhere.

P.S. can you spare a few tens of thousands of dollars so I
can afford a fair defense in my court battle against the
demonic enemy forces of life as we know it? Or, well, I guess
I'll lose unfairly, and go to prison as an innocent god loving
man, the "Top Cop" of our Universe dying actually. Don't let
them do this to my America friends.. my friend, don't let
them do this to anyone. Make the call. Be a man.

/ / An AMERICAN CITIZEN that ALL found leaderless bushite
dumfuk anti-American terrorist forces act nothing for defense
in. An American!!! \ \

-

Now that atheist THIEF Israel has 'legalized' MURDER,

/ / "Israel is embarking upon a more aggressive approach to
the war on terror that will include staging targeted killings
in the United States and other friendly countries, former
Israeli intelligence officials told United Press
International. \ \ The zionist criminal element can't call
OUR COPS we see... and with enemies like these... We should
don our stars an crosses, load our guns, and hunt to kill
every last 'escaped' first degree murderer zionist,
no...?

-

/ / ``This is simply not right,'' Layton told a news
conference. ``There is no evidence that Mr. Arar's name
should be on such a list. We held a whole inquiry here in
Canada on this question. \ \

-

The Voice of Reason, NewsTalk 1270 is Off the Air

/ / it's almost unheard of for a start up to launch a station
with a format as expensive as the news/talk format. And it's
extremely rare for local investors to buck the trend of the
corporate consolidation and launch an independent locally
controlled broadcast outlet. \ \

-

Johnny's Flying Jalopy

Corporate America's contempt for Justice is STILL killing
American teens un-necessarily. All religions are in agreement
- God is just - and if there is to ever be a heaven granting
freedom to all, it's a world that treats all people equitably,
like Mohamed, Hillel, and Jesus with Confucius, Buddha, and so
on preaches to real believers... While evil bushite liars
tell our children we're blaming the innocent as God's will for
their 'escaping' criminality. Murderous! Art Bell again,
told his viewers he didn't support starting the war against
the innocent in Iraq, but he did relentlessly. I survived
through that well recorded international challenge. The demon
forbade any discussions on the matter, but for a rare seldom
talk with someone who wanted to nuke somwheres else. The
demon would screen his calls, privately during commercials,
and anyone who wanted to bring up an American soldier's
interest in why we were all pro-war with those who directly
carried out 911 AS DOCUMENTED, he'd just hang up on before
broadcast. Despite MILLIONS marching. So AMERICANS wouldn't
know: George W. Bush actually is the 911 master mind of this
journey into hell by his criminal ineptness to plan an
effective exit strategy for him, and his dishonorable ungodly
servants, like the bushite terrorists Cheney, Rumsfeld, task
group 626. Sattler, Blount, Mattis, Russell, Allawi, Aegis,
and now,.. PUBLIC admissions of the bush administration
taxing "Americans" for death squads against the INNOCENT by
their "democratic" constituency. Gifts from America to you
freedom lovers! See the bushite, you kill it for America, you
kill it for children, you kill it for the love of GOD left
forsaken by corporate 'for profit' zionist news directors, who
TRULY hold YOUR life in contempt. Hate me? okay, f--k you
too then, HATE GOD as 'defenseless' by supporting these
continuing indiscriminate al-cia-duh bombing attacks against
our Humanity, and I'll personally hunt the offensive liar
bushite down religiously for judicial prosecutions as OUR
enemy. Join me in ridding Humanity of the enemies to American
freedom, the bushite terrorists.

Bush signed the top secret war strategy, to ignore all
relevant evidence for a crime that hadn't just yet taken
place, on September 9th, 2001. [Jim at MSNBC] A top secret
criminal plan to close inquiries carried out after the
catalyst terror event of 911. The General who provided the no
evidence argument to the Taliban at Bush's request, was found
also responsible by the FBI for funding the same terrorist
offence in question. A terrorist crime that the bushmob has
taken a huge killing in GOD with. wAllah, George W. Bush is
the for real antichrist. No escaping it my friends, no
escaping it. Fight for Freedom, or die a loser to bush's
genius. Support me, or fail to recognize true wisdom when it
speaks to you of need for desperate change to save your dying
selves.

Do YOU have any idea how truly evil Art Bell appears when he
says, of course America was lied to through corporate news
censorship in regards to the WMD questions, but that's because
it was all for stealing Iraqi property to benefit no-national,
bottom lining by jack bribing, - bush's - pro-military
dictatorship oil companies after all is dead and gone, that's
what death Your American Son is good for. And why isn't Art
Bell mad about what he did to you?, at least near half the
angry of how much, still locked in the trunk Daddy G is?
No,.. in shock!, he's sounding as chipper as ever! That is
what Art Bell actually said last Saturday night to God and
Country.

So listen: Art Bell and George Norry won't allow Americans to
set a HIGH PRIORITY in solving any American crisis, and
instead, we'll get the regular, who cares about the dying
poor, needless American teen sacrifices done for a better life
it was not thought. Art Bell will likely never be able to
stand up proud as a real American man, unless he allows US to
form his good defense on fears of wisdom existing beyond his
stupid man comprehensions along with likewise traitor Norry.
Only way for that to happen, is if he, as the other radio
celeb happy happy cultists, are forced by LAW, to have
broadcasted on every private radio station of OUR Planet, a
full hour of open lines calls to talk about whatever as the
disgruntled, but loving, immediate community, perhaps sharing
recipes. Then, if America is still then a wasteland of
worthless words trumpeting a bushite's proud barbarity for
ungodly zionism as death of the Jewish religion, continually
committed to the further enslavement of the Human condition,
by thieving, and torturing as proud boastful bushites do,
WE'LL ALL know it, and consider demanding Justice then on OUR,
not so out there old country radio stations, all so THEY can
then, as offending war criminals, go it alone without
ourselves. Like an old "All in the Family" episode I saw
once, or thrice. Where Archie gets to makes a community
member statement on his local TV station!!! Wow eh? How far
we've come...

Jesus, hell no, I ain't going down that blind delusion of what
infinite Justice means. Tell George Norry, Ahmad funded Atta.
Despite the FACT that he will likely again, personally
determine, DYING American SOLDIERS must be FORBIDDEN such
knowledge as understood in context. Then, get him to invite
US on as a very controversial guest. What a show that would
be! Wouldn't it be a great novelty that would eventually wear
off with something even more curiously interesting in a
million to two years? Or, die tomorrow as a forsaken American
Patriot soldier. It's all up to YOU. Do the right thing by
supporting me, Creator of the Universe, with answers to
EVERYTHING. Or, die with evil genius Bush, as your blind
tyrant war bringer, against everything good in purgatory.


American!


Johnny America

-

/ / Lord Justice Richards, sitting with Mr Justice Forbes and
Mr Justice Mackay, ruled it was a "reasonable" decision for
the Director of Public Prosecutions and the CPS not to order
prosecutions on the basis that they were "likely to fail". \ \

These three will be tried for blatant treason, when found
easily guilty, Britain will consider temporarily bringing back
the death penalty, by having these three, along with the
murderous pro cop killers, gloriously executed for God and
country. The fellow murdered was working for a security firm,
likely, Peter Power. And the murderers were caught repeatedly
LYING to the British populace. Repeatedly. Now, ask
yourself, why such lies to cover up such a serious crime of
FIRST DEGREE MURDER of an innocent British citizen? "Likely
to fail"?, that's not Justice, likewise, not freedom, as no
way to deal with the continuing terrorist threat found
discovered there years and years ago. Do you think these
treasonous "Judges" are not aware of the mass killings in
Britain committed, as confessed PUBLICLY IN BRITIAN, by
government agents posing as the still silent on the issue IRA?
LEARN: these once fearful officers will tell you, if they
don't talk to plead Justice, the "British" government has them
murdered. (Their best buds actually from back at the office
are only 'IN IT' for their own preserved criminal gain you
see, so... why take the risk that Johnny'll get you in the
end? SEE? A bushite kills bushite for a stolen nickel they
likely stole from their OWN grand parents to give to
Halliburton, because truly, bushite soldiers are godless nazi
traitors who cowardly bomb the innocent with their personal
contempt for God and Life, or go silent over such atrocities
committed in our names by LIARS.) This pattern is Universal,
so, my hands are tied. There is truly no honor among bushite
thieves, like in the Third Infantry or Elvis desecrator Aegis.
Death to our indiscriminately murderous thieving enemies of
God's Creation, who war Creation for bush's personal escape
for the crimes of 911 Christ would say right, wouldn't you say
so likewise my brothers and sisters, of the Muslim, Christian,
and Jewish religions in belief?


/ / Jonathan Crow QC, acting for the CPS, said he sympathised
with the family but that the police believed at the time Mr de
Menezes posed a threat and they were acting in self defence. \ \

According to whom?, certainly not by the statements made by
the demonic bushite liars who war Britain to assist in the
escape of Peter Power and company.



Later Gaters,

Johnny America


Crime News Journalist "Apoo, will you ever stop selling spoiled meat?"
Kwiki Mart Apoo Ahhasapeenapenluand "No. I mean yes. I mean.. Oh oh.."

-

Iraq Study Group finds "systematic" effort to cook the books.



Bush's inevitable showdown
By Caroline B. Glick
Saturday, February 17, 2007

It is impossible to guess the consequences of the approaching showdown between the US and Iran. But if the events of the past week are any guide, the future does not look promising.

President George W. Bush asserted Wednesday that the deal the State Department achieved with North Korea in the six-party talks "will bring us closer to a Korea Peninsula that is free of nuclear weapons." But it is hard to see how this is so.

Reached seven months after North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile and four months after it conducted an underground nuclear test, the accord makes no mention of Pyongyang's nuclear or missile arsenals. Indeed all it does is pay North Korea handsomely for a promise that within 60 days it will temporarily seal its nuclear installation at Yongbyon. For this promise, the Americans agreed to supply the North with 50,000 pounds of heavy fuel oil; conduct direct talks with the North Koreans towards the normalization of diplomatic ties; and cancel banking sanctions that have effectively barred the North Koreans from international capital markets.

The last US payoff is the kicker. In 2006 the US Treasury took action against a bank in Macau that was laundering North Korean counterfeit dollars. That action was the first truly effective step the US has taken toward destabilizing Kim Jung Il's Stalinist regime.

Kim understands that the only way he can remain in power is to force the international community to subsidize his tyranny. The only way he can get foreign powers to do that is by using nuclear blackmail. By removing its banking sanctions, the US effectively destroyed its only effective bargaining chip against North Korea and so ensured that Kim's brinkmanship will continue. In light of this, as former US ambassador the UN John Bolton's noted, the message the US sent by acceding to the agreement is that "if you hold out long enough and wear down the State Department negotiators, eventually you will get rewarded."

Aside from capitulating to North Korea, this week the US took an initial step towards accepting Hamas as a legitimate actor. The unity deal between Fatah and Hamas negotiated under the aegis of the supposedly moderate Saudi King Abdullah is a stunning rebuke of US Palestinian policy. By effectively demoting Fatah to the status of junior partner to Hamas, the agreement is a slap on the face to the Bush administration which for the past four years has based its Palestinian policy on its blind faith in Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Since 2003 the administration has put all its eggs in Abbas's basket. No amount of evidence of Fatah's direct involvement in terrorism against Israel could convince Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to change their view that Abbas is a "moderate" who is willing to make peace with Israel.

The US has showered him with money, arms and legitimacy and forced Israel to do the same. And in Mecca last weekend, Abbas showed that he has played Bush for a fool. Not only did he agree not to fight against Hamas or disarm it. By accepting an agreement which does not include recognition of Israel's right to exist, Abbas demonstrated that there is no significant difference between Fatah and Hamas in terms of their commitment to bring about Israel's destruction.

Yet as with North Korea, here too, the Bush administration has chosen to pretend that in failing it has succeeded. Rather than distance herself from Abbas, Rice insists on going ahead with the scheduled three-way summit with Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday.

It is possible that there is more here than meets the eye. It is possible for instance that the US is willing to take a few hits in order to clear its deck of nuisances so that it can concentrate on the greatest danger to global security. Perhaps the Bush administration is appeasing North Korea by buying it off and appeasing the Arabs and Europeans by being nice to the Palestinians in order to buy time to deal with Iran.

But if this is the game that the Americans are playing, it is a dangerous one. In the first instance, there is no assurance that their concessions will buy them any time at all. The North Koreans have already disavowed their supposed pledge to seal the Yangbyon installation and allow free access to international inspectors. Similarly, by meeting with Abbas next week, Rice may be opening the US to Palestinian extortion.

Thursday Abbas announced that he is postponing the public address that he was supposed to give describing the unity deal with Hamas until after the summit with Olmert and Rice. In so doing, he is paving the way for a post-summit public denunciation of the US and Israel which will seal his agreement to subordinate himself and Fatah to Hamas.

BUT ASSUMING that the US is in fact playing for time, and assuming that it gets the time it seeks, it is far from clear that it will use that time wisely.

Today positive and negative indicators regarding the nature and outcome of a US confrontation with Iran run together and so forecasting the likely form and outcome of the contest is all but impossible.

On the one hand, the US is beginning to openly target Iranian agents and assets in Iraq. This limited move has been enough to unnerve Iranian leaders who apparently fear that it is but the first step towards an all-out American offensive against Iran.

Their fears are also raised by the US naval buildup in the Persian Gulf, the Iraqi government's announcement that it is sealing its borders with Iran and Syria, and the build-up of NATO forces near the Afghan border with Iran.

Economically, the pressure that the US has been exerting on European and Asian oil companies to curtail their operations in Iran is beginning to pay off. Tuesday The New York Times reported that the Iranian economy, which is completely dependent on oil and gas exports, is beginning to show signs of distress. Without foreign assistance, the Iranians cannot long maintain their current export rate or develop their reserve capacity. This shortfall will force the regime to curtail government subsidies of gas and oil prices and so encourage civil unrest.

The regime's fear of unrest grows by the day as the regime itself shows increased signs of disintegration. With the supreme leader Ali Khamenei reportedly suffering from the late stages of cancer, Iran expert Michael Ledeen reported this week that factional fighting for succession between forces loyal to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and forces loyal to former president and leader of the powerful Guardians Council Hashemi Rafsanjani is gaining momentum. The succession battle has engulfed the ayatollahs who are themselves turning against one another.

Furthermore, according to the Iran Press Service, the attack in Baluchistan that killed a dozen Revolutionary Guards troops on Tuesday was only one of many violent attacks against regime targets to have occurred in recent days. If the US and its allies act wisely, there is every reason to believe that they could successfully foment a revolution that would bring down the regime.

Yet it is far from clear that the US is interested in bringing down the regime. This week Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn released a report on US Farsi language broadcasting into Iran. From an analysis of those broadcasts, Coburn reached the disturbing conclusion that far from working to advance the US's stated aim of overthrowing the regime, these US taxpayer-funded broadcasts "undermine US policy on Iran, often even supporting the propaganda of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Needless to say, this is not the sort of behavior one would expect from the US if the administration was seriously pursuing the overthrow of the mullahs or planning a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

Then there is the leaked EU report that admits that its negotiations to date have had no impact on Iran's nuclear weapons plans and that any future negotiations will likewise have no impact on Iran's nuclear ambitions or activities. While it is possible to view this as an admission of failure which could pave the way to European support for a US-led military campaign against Iran's nuclear installations, it is more likely that the EU will decide that in light of the ineffectiveness of their negotiations with the Iranians to date that they have no choice but to continue with them.

Indeed, this week Switzerland took it upon itself to offer the Iranians yet another package of concessions in exchange for their agreement to hold discussions. If Iran, as its press agencies have indicated, agrees to negotiate with the Europeans, it could very likely buy itself some time at the US's expense.

For both Bush and Rice made it clear this week that they do still cling to the fantasy that diplomacy can carry the day with Iran. While touting her deal with North Korea on Tuesday, Rice said it should be viewed "as a message to Iran that the international community is able to bring together its resources, and that strong diplomacy has achieved results."

YET WHETHER or not the US is planning for a confrontation with Iran and whether or not its deal with North Korea and its continued tolerance for Abbas is aimed at preparing the ground for a confrontation with the mullahs, that confrontation will occur.

As the regime becomes less stable, the mullahs are becoming more extreme. They are ratcheting up their suppression of regime opponents throughout the country. There is little reason to doubt that they will seek to divert their people's attention from their failures by inciting hostilities against the US in Iraq or against Israel in Lebanon, Syria or the Palestinian Authority and expediting their nuclear program. Indeed, the Iranians have ample means at their disposal to initiate the confrontation with the US on a battleground most convenient to them.

Whether the US arrives at its showdown with Iran from a position of weakness or strength, willingly or unwillingly, there is no doubt that the confrontation is approaching. And the difference between initiating the confrontation and allowing Iran to initiate it with a nuclear first strike is not a trivial question. It will make a difference of millions of lives. The question of the hour is therefore whether the little time left before the war is being used wisely.

And here is the great failure. By sending a message of weakness now, in order to purchase maneuvering time that may not be obtained, the US this week has accelerated rather than distanced the moment of truth while doing nothing to build support or increase its chances of triumph when the inevitable occurs.
-

"My opponent says that going to war with the terrorists is
actually improving their recruiting efforts. I think the
logic is upside-down. I think that shows a misunderstanding
of the enemy." -- George W. Bush

"I must tell you, I'm sleeping a lot better than people would
assume," -- George W. Bush

---



No evidence against an accused is US being truly abused


"These are not terrorists, they are not al-Qeada, they are
ordinary innocent men, women and children."

http://www.prisonplanet.tv/audio/131206rivero.mp3


------------------------------------------------------

Ahmad funded Atta

American soldiers are being terribly mislead by the Bush
administration to undermine freedom for Americans, by
suggesting an effective war strategy is to ignore all the 911
evidence, and go off instead to blindly blame bad Afghans or
badder Iraqis, is an insult to all honorable police services.
Services not left permanently perplexed by the onslaught of
repeatedly ignoring the same consequences where more innocent
people fall dead as bombing victims, while LIAR bushite
continue to charge/thieve from both, you as an American, and
me, a member of our victimized Humanity. You see, your demon
liar has ruled that all the Peoples of Earth have no legal
rights to exist freely in our public court rooms. Bad news
that is for OUR dying America my friend. Support my call for
an open dialog on returning a reason for believing, for
Freedom is Justice, not a censored world ruled by puppet
people in shadows without free will left un-accountable. On a
populated Earth exceeding six billion, you would find some
disagreement on our worths measured by the 'un-accountable'
bushite american ENEMY like the self described as enlightened,
pro Arab child killer George Norry I'd say. See, if you blame
someone for a crime without any evidence, then convict him,
how would you know that the individual that victimized your
Family actually got caught for harming YOU? Personally I'm
saying... .American. I mean - if you continue not demanding a
return to Justice, it will leave your life, and go far where
freedom's not. Believe me. I know these things,

Support my cause as if it were your own, by chirping in to
help us out some man. Look out buddies, some thing wicked
this way comes and it's surprise!, Johnny Wizard President and
CEO of Earth Co.! Wow!, what a godsend that boy is eh? I'd
bet he's richer than everybody.. No, I've heard he's near
starving broke, no hey.. it's no joke.. I've heard he's
looking at prison time because nobody will lend him the time
of day to call up their radio station to demand Justice for
themselves., As Americans!. Nor, have any billionaires the
world over offered Johnny a penny in help to secure a proper
legal defense. Gee, it's just that he's hard of believing in
God I'd say. Perhaps..


Where did you get those shoes?,

Johnny America - A Free World believer in something better.

Puppet On A String: Hamas Dances To Israel's Tune
http://www.propagandamatrix.com/puppet_on_a_string.html

P.S. Did you hear?, Israel's big G-D Court ruled that
committing State murder is what lawless Jews do to fight
'terrorism'? Legal to murder innocent People, but more
specifically, Religious People. "Fuck You Moses" the Israeli
ungodly zionist says, because they're better than US as
Zionist jews don't you know. The People's of Israel are being
victimized by the bastions of truly demonic lies told through
the sickening mouth pieces of the irrational zionist neocon
god betrayers. Believe me, I know these things, for I am the
Light of Life itself after all.

Okay, I'm gone. .. er. .

Chow.

--

Again, a un-American bushite is the enemy to Life as ungodly
disciples of the very real antichrist, believe me.

http://movies.crooksandliars.com/hbo_maher_monolog_new_rules_061013a_320x240.wmv


/ / "And I reject those ideas," Bush said after meeting with
top generals and Defense Department officials at the Pentagon. \ \

It looks like G.W. Bush is going to be a real bitch about all
this nasty business of his capacity to conceive what we're
saying actually as each other committed to reach beyond the
'grunt' stage in human development eh? Typical.

"It's Bad-in-Iraq, Does that help heh-heh"

/ / For if Iran should have learned anything from recent
history, especially from events on its own borders, it is that
as a tactic, whether offensive or defensive, threatening
Israel publicly is counterproductive in the extreme. \ \

Blame a zionist for the criminal offences he or she is
personally responsible for as the guilty party, and the
'escaping' zionist claims through corporate 'for profit' media
mind control, your blaming Israel as an anti-Semite.
Anti-Semite! Semite, like umm... Moe, Ham, an Ed. You go,
Aukmaudinajad, let's get the truth out to let a free people
decide without NAZI censorship. However, I have seen
incinerators filled with corpses, and Hitler's Reich marching
anywho citizens into a hole, where with women and babies, they
were then all summarily shot, then buried, all the while
soldier's chatted about how great they were, all high quality
digital formats available, some even IN COLOR!, so, convincing
me that godless bushites have existed, that would murder
anyone for a stolen nickel as pro-bush rapists, pro-bush
torturers, and pro-bush thieves of the Iraqi Development Funds
is goin' be, next near to impossible. But, I'm the guy you'd
want in your corner, never the less. "King of the Jews",
that's me. Oh, oh, oh, oh,.. pick me! picck ME! PICK ME!!!

'We have no problems with Jews and highly respect Judaism as a
holy religion. We only have problems with Zionist circles in
Israel which we hold responsible for the suppression of the
Palestinian nation.'

P.S. I'm not gay that way okay, and I'm most definitely a
man's man when it comes to the female gender, but I really do
love Ourselves man, and if you guys don't start offering me
some support, a couple of disgruntled bushite brethren are
going to pirate our Justice system, by putting me, an innocent
man behind OUR bars UNJUSTLY. Support Yourself by calling up
CJOB here in Winnipeg to demand they start broadcasting in
favor of our freedoms, not to lie our naiver teens into dying
for something they understand nothing of. Well, it's no
wonder. Make the calls. Be a friend, if not a blind enemy to
everything. For our Life's survival needs your input/help.
Don't die in silence for Bush, fight for America to come back
to being America. Get on the radio. YOU can make a real
difference if you'd only try. Realize, very few actually do,
we need YOU. Now, Coast to Coast hosts deny US this
privilege, this must change for thee better. The sooner we
succeed in defeating George Norry and Art Bell's censorship of
the American endeavor, the more American teen lives are
potentially spared through a dying bushite's commander's
CRIMINAL contempt for Humanity, just like Our Mr. bush IS.
For, REAL freedom is protected through just acts made for our
measured benefits. A country, or city, or person accused of a
criminal offense without any evidence made in the Public Trust
is innocent. PERIOD. Hammurabi suggested to just PROUDLY
kill any false capital accuser [a bushite] who tries to
tell/teach our suggestible children otherwise. Real people
have to die in defense for escaping the support of torturing
innocent people to death, for their is NEVER any reason, just
costly time to explain the whys, that bushites lie, while
American national radio propagandists, who like Art Bell, are
pouring poisonously chauvinist, and openly, willingly working
to undermine the audience, all to lawless traders of freedom
for tyranny. Senators that supported the Military Commissions
Act need to be thought for as TREASONOUS. Better for Christ
to judicially halt/kill a thieving bushite, than allow it to
continue lawlessly murdering more left undefended for further
victim hood as God's America. No evidence against an accused
is US being truly abused. (Senators have STOLEN literally
billions from a helpless GOD through ear-marking from an
un-accountable America left to die as the actually forsaken.)
Smart guy that Hammurabi fellow was, on combating ungodly
terrorism in a new world's Age.

Alex Jones "Alarming words for our time."

-

UNDERSTANDING THE KOORAN - Death of a President

https://israel.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/understanding_christ.mp3
http://radio.indymedia.org/uploads/understanding_christ.mp3
http://la.indymedia.org/uploads/2006/11/understanding_christ.mp3
http://houston.indymedia.org/uploads/2006/11/understanding_christ.mp3
http://boston.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/understanding_christ.mp3
http://baltimore.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/understanding_christ.mp3
http://www.stlimc.org/usermedia/audio/8/understanding_christ.mp3
http://buffalo.indymedia.org/local/webcast/uploads/metafiles/understanding_christ.mp3

Exit strategy: Outlaw lawlessness. Murder, rape, and the
thieving of billions from America as STILL wrong.

Johnny America "Death to the bushite, death to our enemies."




A Look Back and Ahead In An Age of Neocon Rule

/ / [...] like the Law of Suspects, were earlier versions of
our Patriot I and II and Military Commission Acts today. The
Revolutionary Tribunal, with no chance for justice or right of
appeal, was no different than our military courts today, and
too many civil ones, in which any US citizen may now be tried
anywhere in the world, with no habeas right of appeal or hope
for due process and from which those sent there won't fare any
better than the French did, doomed to meet their unjust fate -

[...] \ \

Unjust?, perhaps. Remember, these bushites CHOOSE to support
the rape and torture of the innocent in God. Knowing the
bushmob STOLE all Iraqi wealth, AND LISTEN, they speak near no
words in defense of ourselves. While, I, as I'm certain any
real family man would also, take GREAT pleasure in killing
bushites. Anyone in George W. bush's Air Force for example.
They are soulless cowards who drop bombs on innocent families
running for their lives from a Church, or as children, hiding
under our beds praying to God for help. Simply put: A
bushite terrorist is a lifeless enemy of Life, better dead,
than still breathing I tell all children of creation to kill
their very own fathers or brothers if they express any blind
pride whatsoever in these indiscriminate attacks against
freedom. Or just spend stolen loot like from in Blount's
Third Infantry. (Blount commands the third infantry as a
Saudi Wahhabist, no shit, a BILLIONIARE Saudi commanding
American soldiers to OPENLY thieve and murder from Iraq. If
Saddam only knew, he'd be up in arms over it I'm sure.)

All I personally need to hear, is that bushite cheering from
his bomber at the murdering of innocent screaming women and
children, in Afghanistan, or any of the near thousand tapes
from Iraq, or perhaps, re-reading the comments of the not yet
PROUDLY EXECUTED 3 year old killers of Haditha, who told US
ALL, murdering helpless children not guilty of ANYTHING was
their regular fair all through the criminal command of
Sattler, where as Satanic, they murdered more than two hundred
thousand of OUR innocent family members to die sacrificed for
the demon LIAR ANTICHRIST enemy thieves. Oh god yah, killing
a bushite, is to defend the innocent lives they target to
thieve from themselves as ENEMIES TO EVERYTHING. God yeah, I
know I'm doing Humanity GOOD by ending a first degree
murdering bushite THIEF, who wars Our innocent Humanity to
help escape the TRAITOR bushmob for 911, back in New York
City, where thousands of AMERICANS WERE MURDERED. With George
W. bush's 'top secret' anti-American plan, don't you know..?
Surely, FOXNews would care for the lives of Americans who
state FOXNews is the best for not making them think they know
nothing as true to dead or dying dumfuk enemies of the Marine

Sean Hannity must be tried for treason for LYING DIRECTLY to
America repeatedly. Why? Becasue nobody can be that stupidly
evil by accident.

I am, seriously, Death to the enemies of Christ, and I hope,
you can find The honor to serve America in the same respect
for soldiers who have fallen Before US, who died TRULY warring
against a bushite's irrational tyranny. While these Nazi
bushite fucks tell US openly, they lawlessly rape, torture,
and steal from God as 'defenseless'. Leaves me to ask YOU,
what are you going to do about it?

Live free, or die in chains?


Johnny America "Death to the bushite, death to our enemies."

-

/ / "the Zionists make a great issue of the Holocaust in order
to further their illegitimate [ungodly as anti-Human]
philosophy and aims," \ \


http://baltimore.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/2/the_king_of_the_jews.mp3
http://www.stlimc.org/usermedia/audio/2/the_king_of_the_jews.mp3
http://houston.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/understanding_christ.mp3
http://chicago.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/2/the_king_of_the_jews.mp3
http://rochester.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/understanding_christ.mp3
http://rochester.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/4/1_news-tunes.mp3
http://boston.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/5/1_News-Tunes.mp3
http://newjersey.indymedia.org/media/2007/01//13169.mp3
http://houston.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/news-tunes.mp3
http://newjersey.indymedia.org/media/2007/01//13168.mp3
http://istanbul.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/news-tunes.mp3
http://rochester.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/12/the_johnny_wizard_collection_-_know_thy_enemy---christs-comedy-of-error.mp3
http://boston.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/understanding_christ.mp3
http://istanbul.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/the_king_of_the_jews.mp3
http://boston.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/10/The_King_of_the_Jews.mp3
http://istanbul.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/understanding_christ.mp3
http://www.stlimc.org/usermedia/audio/9/1_understanding_christ.mp3
http://www.stlimc.org/usermedia/audio/3/news-tunes.mp3
http://baltimore.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/9/1_understanding_christ.mp3
http://baltimore.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/3/news-tunes.mp3
http://newjersey.indymedia.org/media/2007/01//13167.mp3
http://neworleans.media.indypgh.org/uploads/2007/01/nazi_israel.mp3
http://maineindymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/treason-against-christ.mp3
http://dc.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/treason-against-christ.mp3
http://arkansas.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/treason-against-christ.mp3
http://austin.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/treason_Against_Christ.mp3
http://www.binghamtonpmc.org/usermedia/application/8/treason_Against_Christ.mp3
http://chicago.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/8/treason_Against_Christ.mp3
http://houston.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/treason-against-christ.mp3
http://arkansas.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/4/christ-crossed.mp3
http://imctj.espora.org/uploads/2007/01/christ-crossed.mp3
http://venezuela.indymedia.org/media/2007/01//28.mp3
http://pr.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/christ-crossed.mp3
http://imctj.espora.org/uploads/2007/01/law_of_the_land_-_we_rule.mp3
http://melbourne.indymedia.org/uploads/law_of_the_land_-_we_rule.mp3
http://austin.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/7/law_of_the_land_-_we_rule.mp3
http://arkansas.indymedia.org/usermedia/audio/7/law_of_the_land_-_we_rule.mp3
http://pr.indymedia.org/uploads/2007/01/law_of_the_land_-_we_rule.mp3
http://melbourne.indymedia.org/uploads/christ-crossed.mp3

Re: An INTERNATIONAL Public Letter to the "American" Coast to Coast
Radio Network: 1. We, as the People, demand you allow US, the human
species to openly discuss the public evidence on who funded the
terrorist acts of 911 according to the FBI.


Expanding the Envelope-
***************************

Stealth and Other Strike Roles......


The advent of combat aircraft possessing Low Observable (LO)
characteristics has revolutionised many well established roles,
yielding an unprecedented reduction in combat loss rates. Low
Observables have returned, for the first time since the introduction
of radar, the advantage of surprise to the attacking bomber.

The Lockheed F-117A, Northrop B-2, Lockheed-Martin/Boeing F-22 and
planned multi-service JSF are all intended to exploit their LO
characteristics in penetrating defended airspace to strike surface
targets.

Hitherto the focus in developing strike capabilities in these types
has been upon the strategic strike, lethal defence suppression and
fixed battlefield target interdiction roles. The target set for these
roles encompasses primarily non-moving, high value, land based
assets.

The primary guided weapon used by the F-117A is the laser guided bomb,
and both the Raytheon built GBU-27 and older GBU-10 weapons have been
used operationally. Both weapons provide precision and the choice of
the unitary Mk.84 warhead or the concrete piercing BLU-109/B. The
limitation of both weapons is the need for a clear line of sight to
the aimpoint to ensure that the laser reflections off the target can
be seen by the bomb seeker. Ongoing development of GBU-24/27 includes
incorporation of a GPS receiver to improve weapon flightpath
management, and provide a backup guidance mode if the laser paint is
lost.

The primary guided weapon for the B-2A is the Boeing GBU-31 Joint
Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), which employs a guidance package built
around the HG1700 ring laser gyro and the GEM-III GPS receiver.1 It
supplants the earlier Northrop GBU-36 GAM weapon, which pioneered the
GPS/inertial bomb guidance principle.2 The tailkit can be fitted to
the Mk.84 or the BLU-109/B warheads. The GBU-32, is based upon the
1,000 lb Mk.83 warhead, and is intended to become the primary weapon
for the F-22A, and later the JSF. A 500 lb variant of these weapons,
using a Mk.82 warhead, has been recently tested by Boeing.3

The baseline JDAM provides a genuine all weather day and night
capability, with a nominal CEP of about 40 ft, which makes it an
accurate rather than precision weapon. Should the USAF in the future
deploy an operational Wide Area Differential GPS (WADGPS) network,
based upon the technology developed in the EDGE and WAGE trials, the
JDAM will provide a genuine precision attack capability against fixed
prebriefed targets.4 Extant methods for improving accuracy also
include the use of pseudo-differential GPS techniques, such as the GAM/
GATS system on the B-2A, designed for use with the aircraft's APQ-181
radar and the GBU-36 weapon. This technique has yielded CEPs of about
16 ft.

Fig.1 GBU-31 JDAM (Boeing).

Other means of increasing the accuracy of the JDAM have been
investigated, of interest are the classified Orca and Hammerhead
programs, based upon the use of millimetric wave (MMW) radar and
synthetic aperture radar (SAR) autonomous terminal seekers,
respectively. These would supplement the GPS/inertial midcourse
guidance, providing a highly accurate terminal guidance capability.

The JDAM was the primary weapon of the B-2A during the Allied Force
campaign. It is supplemented by the 4,700 lb GBU-37, which comprises a
modified GBU-36 tailkit and the deep penetration BLU-113 warhead
developed for the Desert Storm bunker busting effort.

The limitation of the JDAM at this time is that it is not well suited
for attacks on moving surface targets, be they land based or other.
While precomputing a likely aimpoint may be a viable improvisation for
a low altitude drop, the time of flight of the weapon for a more
typical high altitude drop renders this approach inflexible.

The outlook for the coming two decades is that of the JDAM family of
munitions supplanting the Paveway family and GBU-15/AGM-130 as the
USAF's primary guided bombs. The USAF MMTD development program, aimed
at producing a compact 250 lb class GPS/inertially guided weapon with
the lethality of established bombs, has proved to be very successful.5
Utilising experience gained during the EDGE trials, future production
derivatives of the MMTD will allow low observable fighters like the
F-22 and JSF to carry a respectable number of rounds, and emulate the
B-2A's capability to engage multiple aimpoints in a single pass.

Figure 2. Northrop GBU-36 GAM (Northrop)

The focus in the shorter term has been largely upon improving the
accuracy, lethality and operational flexibility of the GPS guided bomb
in the core role of strike against fixed targets.

The question which arises now is that of how to best extend the
envelope of the Low Observable striker with its GPS / inertially
guided weapons, to encompass other target sets, and by default, other
more specialised strike roles.

Prior to the advent of Low Observable strike aircraft, it was
customary to develop highly specialised weapons for such roles. The
USN developed AGM-84 Harpoon family was devised for antishipping
strike. A range of air delivered naval mines and modification kits for
the Mk.80 series bombs were developed and also widely deployed. The
CBU-97/B Sensor Fused Weapon was developed for destroying massed
formations of armour and soft skinned vehicles, and deployed as
payloads for dispensers and the AGM-154 JSOW glide weapon. For highly
precise strikes, the GBU-15 and AGM-130 glidebombs were developed,
using a combination of weapon mounted imager and datalink, to provide
man in the loop terminal guidance.6

Figure 3. Boeing B-52H (USAF).

Figure 4. Boeing AGM-84A Harpoon (Boeing).

In the future environment of a USAF equipped with a top tier strike
force of B-2A, F-22A, JSF, and possibly a B-2 based or other
replacement for the B-52 and B-1B, many of these specialised weapons
will present difficulties as their delivery modes were conceived
during a period predating the need for internally carried weapons.
This will be a major issue for the F-22A and JSF.

It is therefore prudent to explore some of the more specialised strike
roles and consider alternatives which are compatible with the delivery
environment.

Maritime Strike and Aerial Naval Mining

The efficacy of land based air power in maritime strike and the
delivery of naval mines is historically well documented. Land based
maritime strike aircraft played a decisive role during the Second
World War, operated by both Allied and Axis powers. The Battle of the
Atlantic, the Murmansk convoys, the Mediterranean war, the Japanese
advance on Malaya, the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, and the blockade of
Japan were all decisively shaped by land based air power. Indeed, Gen.
Curtis LeMay's B-29 force played a more important role in the mining
of Japanese home waters than the USN's submarine force did.7

During the Cold War, the Soviet Aviatsiya Voenno-Morskovo Flota (AVMF
or SNA) fielded hundreds of Bear, Badger and Backfire bombers in this
pivotal role.

In the Western community, the use of land based air power for maritime
strike and naval mining operations has been adopted on a large scale
by the USAF and other allies, the most notable being the Australians.
Australia's RAAF modified its force of F-111C aircraft to launch the
Harpoon, and deliver naval mines, in addition to its Harpoon capable
P-3C and F/A-18A force.

In USAF service the B-52G/H is the primary maritime strike and mining
asset, with the B-1B also recently cleared for mine delivery.8

Strategic bombers are an invaluable asset for strategic maritime
warfare, as they posses response times and flexibility which cannot be
matched by naval assets. The time to position a carrier battle group
may in many situations be too great to exploit a developing
opportunity to make a decisive strike, or close down an important
shipping lane or port before a hostile force sails.

There are many other situations where land based air power is better
suited for maritime strike and mining. These arise where an opponent
has sufficiently strong land based air capabilities to challenge a
carrier battle group. If carrier based aircraft are mostly occupied
defending the carrier, little effort will be expended on the primary
offensive role.

In maritime warfare, be it anti-shipping strike or mining, a Low
Observable capability confers the very same advantages it does in the
strategic penetration and interdiction roles. The ability to covertly
stalk a Surface Action Group, Carrier Battle Group, convoy or to
covertly lay a minefield, yields the decisive advantage of surprise
and minimises loss rates.

Figure 5. CONOPS for AsuW JDAM (Author).

The B-2A has tremendous potential in both of these roles. While its
APQ-181 attack radar possesses a maritime search mode, the demise of
the AGM-137 TSSAM denied the B-2A a suitable weapon for anti-shipping
strike.9 While in theory it could be adapted to deliver naval mines in
the manner performed by the B-52G/H and the B-1B, ensuring accurate
deliveries requires a low altitude drop with concomitant potential for
exposure, and a reduction in combat radius. The same difficulties
would also arise with carrying the AGM-84 Harpoon, which would also
require a weapon specific interface.

While it may be argued that a low altitude delivery could be
tolerated, it is hardly the optimal strategy for solving the problem.
Indeed, a much better alternative exists - adaptation of the GBU-31
JDAM.

For anti-shipping strikes, we propose the following adaption: the
GBU-31 is modified by the addition of a nose mounted terminal seeker,
and the autopilot software configured to fly the bomb over the
intended target and execute a vertical dive attack. The CONOPS is
illustrated in Figure 5.

There are a number of choices available in seeker technology:

Millimetric Wave Imaging (MMWI) techniques, whereby the seeker scans
the surface in the acquisition footprint to develop a height profile
of the surface. A naval vessel will produce a large and unambiguous
elevation profile, suitable for classification and aimpoint selection.
Techniques such as superstructure faceting are ineffective against
such a seeker, due to the large area of flat decks. MMWI techniques
have been used in anti-armour submunitions and the US Army's Hellfire
anti-armour missile seeker.10
Focal Plane Array Imaging Infra-Red (FPA-IIR) techniques, whereby the
seeker images the surface in the acquisition footprint and
autonomously identifies the shapes of naval vessels. Due to the large
thermal signature of naval vessels, even modest seeker resolution
would suffice for target classification and aimpoint selection. FPA-
IIR technology is employed in the USAF/USN AIM-9X and the UK AIM-132
ASRAAM seekers, using Indium Antimonide array technology.11
Scanning Infra-Red (SIR) or radiometry techniques, whereby a dual band
two element IR seeker scans the surface in the acquisition footprint
to develop a thermal profile of the surface and any naval vessels
present. By using two detector elements at different IR colours, the
seeker can estimate the blackbody temperature of every searched point
with reasonable accuracy, allowing the use of similar identification
and classification techniques to that in the proposed FPA-IIR seeker.
Experience with anti-tank submunition seekers suggests that the
infrared gradient across target edges can be exploited. This technique
is employed in the Norwegian developed Penguin anti-ship missile,
carried by their F-16s.12
While the infra-red seekers are passive, they are also weather
limited, and in the the author's view the MMWI seeker is the better
choice. Importantly, enough extant seeker technology exists that the
development of an anti-shipping seeker for the JDAM is a low risk and
low cost proposition.

From the perspective of defeating shipboard defences, the vertical
attack profile is particularly attractive. This is because most
shipboard terminal defences, be they based upon SAMs or AAA, are
optimised for the detection and engagement of sea skimming missiles,
low flying aircraft, or shallow diving high speed missiles. Indeed,
many shipboard defensive packages will have a blind zone in a cone
above the vessel. Many search radars will have sidelobes in this area,
and the bomb's radar return may appear as a target in the mainlobe, at
a much lower elevation angle. Indeed the British ALARM missile,
equivalent to the AGM-88 HARM, exploits this very effect. The same
coverage issue will apply to many shipboard ESM systems, and the
emissions from the MMWI seeker will scatter off the structure,
producing spurious tracks. Even should shipboard defences be capable
of detecting and engaging the bomb, unless they can cause the weapon
to prematurely explode, it may still be capable of inflicting damage.

From the perspective of lethality, the vertical attack profile is also
attractive. The historical track record of 1,000 lb class gravity
bombs delivered against shipping by dive bombers is impeccable, indeed
many vessels much better armoured than contemporary types succumbed to
the USN's SBD Dauntlesses, the Luftwaffe's Ju-87 Stukas and the JNAF's
D3A Vals.

Lethality could be further enhanced by exploiting the BLU-109/B
warhead and the Hard Target Smart Fuse, devised for bunker busting. By
fusing the weapon to explode beneath the vessel, after penetrating
through the bottom, it is feasible to produce a similar effect to that
of a Mk.48 torpedo, and break the keel of a smaller combatant. Indeed,
the 600 lb class Tritonal filling of the BLU-109/B is similar in size
to the warhead of the Mk.48 series. Unlike the torpedo, the JDAM would
cause significant structural damage while penetrating through the
vessel, thereby weakening it prior to warhead initiation.13

From a strategic perspective the B-2A armed with sixteen anti-shipping
GBU-31 weapons would provide the capability to destroy an eight vessel
strong SAG in a single pass, budgeting two rounds per target. A pair
of aircraft would be capable of sinking a convoy or a carrier battle
group.

The economics of the B-2A and the proposed anti-shipping GBU-31
variant are also very attractive, since even with a $80k unit seeker
cost, and a $20k baseline weapon cost, each anti-shipping GBU-31 round
is about 25% the cost of an AGM-84 Harpoon, with more than twice the
warload per round.

The JDAM also has much potential as the basis for an air delivered
naval mine. The extant USN Mk.36, Mk.40, Mk.41 Destructor and Mk.62,
Mk.63, Mk.64 Quickstrike naval mines are all based upon the Mk.80
series bombs, fitted with fusing kits.14 The Mk.62 was recently
cleared on the B-1B.

The use of conventional aircraft for naval mine delivery introduces
several problems, especially if a major harbour or entry channel is
being mined. The aircraft are likely to be exposed to heavy defensive
fire, and radar tracks may be used to attempt to localise the position
of the mines for mine-sweeping operations. The use of the B-2A for
mine delivery avoids both of these problems.

An optimal mine delivery is produced by an accurate low speed, low
altitude drop, conditions which are not compatible with a 40 kft
penetration altitude. The impact velocity and position drift incurred
with a high altitude drop are problematic.


Figure 6. JDAM Naval Mine CONOPS (Author).

The use of the JDAM tailkit for an air delivered mine provides a very
simple and elegant solution to this problem. We propose that the JDAM
autopilot software be adapted to fly the weapon through a pull up
energy management manoeuvre prior to impact at the programmed GPS
coordinates. In this manner, the mine can be delivered with sufficient
accuracy to facilitate later removal, if so intended, yet impact the
surface at the optimal velocity and angle despite being dropped from a
high altitude.

The strategic implications of such a weapon carried by the B-2A are
not trivial. This capability would allow the USAF to close any
defended port, channel or shipping lane with virtual impunity.
Moreover, the mines could be delivered covertly, and the opposing
party presented with a strategic fait accompli.

As with the anti-shipping seeker equipped JDAM variant, the naval mine
variant is also an economical weapon. While it will be more expensive
than a conventional "dumb" Quickstrike mine, the cost overheads of a
fighter and SEAD escort during delivery will not be incurred. The
principal engineering issue will be repackaging the extant mine fusing
package in a manner compatible with the aerodynamics of the JDAM.

Both of the proposed JDAM variants could in principle be carried by
any combat aircraft equipped to carry the baseline GBU-31 and GBU-32
weapons. Therefore neither are unique in application to the B-2A.
Indeed, the anti-shipping seeker equipped weapon would be an
attractive addition to the F-22A and the JSF armoury. Its low cost
also makes it a practical weapon for use by conventional strike
aircraft against undefended or lightly defended naval targets. A JDAM
based naval mine would allow the B-52G/H and B-1B to performing mining
from altitudes where they are not exposed to low level "trash fire".

There is little doubt that both JDAM variants could significantly
broaden the range of roles which the B-2A can perform, and further
extend the capabilities of the F-22 and JSF.

Battlefield Air Interdiction, Precision Strike and Related Roles

The battlefield interdiction role has traditionally been very
demanding in terms of weapon accuracy, and the ability to engage
moving, and frequently fleeting targets. Recent experience during the
Desert Storm and Allied Force campaigns indicates that the political
costs of collateral damage incurred during battlefield interdiction
strikes, or related types of operations such as Scud hunting or the
interdiction of small unit ground forces, make this a potentially
decisive role. Indeed the political effects of blue-on-blue
engagements, or collateral losses of civilian or refugee life,
frequently produce political and public responses which are
disproportionate against the scale of the event itself.

The historical evolution of BAI CONOPS' was shaped primarily by the
land warfare environment during and following the Second World War.
The emphasis in Wehrmacht and later Soviet models was always upon the
application of overwhelming mass of armour and motorised infantry.
Refinements in manoeuvre warfare doctrine and the emergence of assault
and attack helicopters reinforced this trend by increasing firepower
and mobility.

These evolutionary pressures led to the development of guided weapons
intended to break up massed land warfare manoeuvre forces. The first
generation of guided weapons intended for this purpose is typified by
the AGM-65 family of imaging guided missiles, and the Pave Tack or
Lantirn targeting pods used with the Paveway family of laser guided
bombs. All of these weapons performed admirably during the Desert
Storm campaign.

The second generation of guided weapons developed to break up massed
armour is typified by the use of multiple guided or unguided
submunitions, dispensed by a guided or unguided free fall or glide
weapon, or a ballistic or cruise missile. The SUU-65/CBU-97/B SFW, the
WCMD variant, the US AGM-154 JSOW family or European PDWS/KEPD-350 are
all current examples of this design philosophy, pioneered almost two
decades ago in the DARPA/USAF Assault Breaker program.

Second generation submunition based anti-armour weapons are extremely
potent, and capable of rapidly inflicting massive casualties against
armoured and soft skinned mobile targets. Therefore they represent at
this time the best available means of dealing with large scale
armoured assaults.

Figure 7. Raytheon GBU-27 Paveway III (Raytheon).

Figure 8. Boeing GBU-15 (Boeing).

However, experience during the Allied Force campaign suggests that
many scenarios will arise in which the ability to attack massed forces
is much less useful than the ability to individually identify hostile
armour and vehicles, and selectively destroy these. This is true also
of precision strike operations, insofar as collateral damage can
produce politically induced paralysis.

The difficulty which arises in this context is that the accurate
identification of transient targets and the delivery of extant optical
imaging or laser guided weapons typically requires low altitude
flight, especially if cloud cover exists. This needless to say is an
environment where the survivability advantages of high altitude Low
Observable penetration are compromised.


Figure 9. CONOPS for Imaging/Datalink JDAM Variant (Author).

The optimal solution to this problem is a weapon compatible with the
preferred delivery profile for aircraft like the F-22 and JSF, yet
providing the man-in-the-loop visual targeting capabilities of extant
laser guided and imaging weapons. Indeed, the AGM-130 proved to be one
of the most effective weapons employed during Allied Force, as its
combination of GPS / inertial midcourse guidance and datalink remote
controlled imaging terminal guidance provided the capability to
deliver from safe altitudes with the precision and discrimination
inherent in an optically guided weapon.

It is not feasible to adapt the AGM-130/GBU-15 family to the F-22A or
JSF, as the weapon is far too large to fit into a fighter sized weapon
bay, and the external AXQ-14 or ZSR-1 datalink pod compromises stealth
through its shape and wide angle transmission pattern. Moreover, the
basic weapon is expensive.

The natural candidate for a replacement weapon for the GBU-15, is an
adaptation of the GBU-31/32 JDAM family using a nose mounted imager
and two way datalink. A number of mature imaging seekers, developed
for the AGM-65 and GBU-15/AGM-130 families of weapons exist. A new
seeker, using Platinum Silicide or Indium Antimonide FPA technology is
also feasible. There are no fundamental technological challenges
inherent in fitting an imaging seeker to the JDAM.


Figure 10. F-22A Ventral Datalink Antenna Installation (Author).

The difficult issue is that of the two way datalink. It must not
compromise the radar cross section of the fighter, nor can it employ a
fixed wide angle beam to flood the space in which the bomb is flying
with microwave transmissions, as this would compromise the fighter's
position to an ESM system.

The problem of emissions can best be solved by the use of a narrow J
or K band pencil beam produced by a steerable antenna. A mechanically
steered planar array behind a bandpass window would largely meet this
requirement, but would occupy a prohibitive amount of internal volume
on airframes where spare volume is a precious commodity. The geometry
of the engagement precludes the use of the fighter's multimode radar
for this purpose, only a ventral antenna location is genuinely
compatible with the required antenna field of regard.

Clearly the only viable technological solution is the use of an active
phased array, which antenna sizing constraints require to be in the
upper J band or the K band. Indeed, the choice of the K band places
the datalink out of the operating range of most extant warning
receivers.

An active array antenna, smoothly embedded into a flat portion of the
lower fuselage, with its boresight pointing vertically down, addresses
the basic problems of signatures and engagement geometries.

The choice of appropriate placement on the lower fuselage is another
problem, since both fighters are densely packed, and even should
volume be available, such a modification would require that the
complete lower fuselage RCS design be requalified, at considerable
expense. While the JSF could still be adapted at this time with
minimal expenditure, to accommodate this antenna, this is not true of
the F-22A which is for all practical purposes frozen in its basic
hardware design.


Figure 11. (Author).

For the F-22A the best choice would appear to be the outer segments of
the main weapon bay doors, since these have adequate width to support
a flush embedded antenna array of modest thickness when open or
closed. It is unlikely that the antenna thickness would permit the
intended carriage of an outboard AIM-120C on a LAU-142/A launcher,
although careful design may permit this. There will also be a weight
penalty since the door will require additional structural stiffening
to accommodate the hole for the antenna. The advantage of the door
mounted antenna is that it represents an incremental modification, and
in theory could be structurally proven and qualified for RCS
performance separately from the airframe itself. Therefore it is a
significantly cheaper choice than an antenna buried elsewhere in the
lower fuselage.

Given the modest range and bandwidth requirements for the datalink,
output power levels can be significantly lower than that required for
the radar arrays.

Placement of the datalink antenna on the JDAM tailkit is an
interesting problem. The coverage required represents a conical volume
pointing aft of the bomb, which must be symmetrical. A wrap-around
endfire mode array would meet this basic requirement, and is not
geometrically incompatible with bomb aerodynamics. The use of flexible
printed circuit antenna technology would appear to be the best
strategy, in effect resulting in a conformal conical array.

There is a well established base of transmission modulation schemes
with LPI characteristics which would be suitable for this application.
Importantly, the requirement for LPI is primarily confined to the
transmissions from the aircraft, permitting the use of much cheaper
albeit more detectable transmission technology for the bomb's side of
the datalink. Since the bomb is transmitting its signal away from the
earth, the odds of it being detected by a ground based system are
minimal. This is inherent consequence of combining the high altitude
delivery profile of the F-22A or JSF with this style of guidance.

The pencil beam antenna mainlobe produced by the fighter's ventral
phased array will need to be steered to capture the position of the
bomb. A simple technique is to track the azimuth of the intended
aimpoint, and adjust the elevation of the beam with the anticipated
altitude of the bomb as it descends. With several degrees of
beamwidth, the width of the antenna transmission footprint is of the
order of several miles.

The strategy of using a combination of imaging and datalink terminal
guidance for a precision variant of the JDAM is evidently technically
feasible and would appear to be relatively affordable.

For strategic strikes or battlefield strikes against fixed targets,
the weapon would be used in a similar manner to the established GBU-15/
AGM-130 weapons, exploiting the high altitude supersonic delivery
profile of the F-22A and JSF. Both the Mk.83/84 and BLU-109/110
warheads would be used, as required.

For strikes on highly mobile battlefield targets, especially where the
surface is obscured by a dense overcast, the fighter's datalink
antenna could be used to receive targeting data or a video imagery
feed from a loitering low altitude UAV or a ground observer with
suitable equipment. This information would be used for initial
targeting of the JDAMs, prior to release. Once the weapon approaches
the target, the datalink beam is switched to acquire and track the
bomb; the pilot would steer it to impact against the most suitable
aimpoint.

This strategy would be particularly useful during sorties where highly
mobile SAM systems and ballistic missile launchers are being hunted.
An expendable UAV with folding wings could be delivered internally by
one fighter to loiter in the area of interest, and if a suitable
target is found a "shooter" CAP could be directed to engage the
target. Similarly offboard targeting data from satellites, JSTARS,
Rivet Joint or RQ-4A Global Hawk could be exploited to provide coarse
targeting for the fighter.

Other alternative CONOPS exist. One is the use of the datalink
equipped F-22A as a "master bomber", leading a strike package of F-22A
or JSF without the datalink capability, but carrying the datalink
capable JDAM. The master bomber would locate targets and then capture
the JDAMs after they have been dropped to precisely guide them. In
principle this is no different to historically documented uses of
laser designator equipped lead bombers.

This JDAM variant is also usable for maritime strike operations,
particularly for reducing or sinking larger combatants which have been
crippled by previous strikes.

Figure 12. RF-22A (Author).

A ventral active phased array has other potential uses. One is its use
as a synthetic aperture imaging radar for bomb damage assessment upon
egress following a strike. Whether the additional complexity in the
design justifies such a use remains to be determined.

Performing the design changes to the weapon bay door does raise other
interesting possibilities. The aperture size of the hole in the door
is of the required order to fit an infrared transparent window
suitable for a reconnaissance camera, while the weapon bay is large
enough to accommodate an optical or solid state camera with a focal
length of several metres. Such a camera is suitable for high
resolution imaging from the cruise altitude of the F-22A. Such a
package would allow an RF-22A to fulfill the currently extant need for
rapid BDA and targeting reconnaissance in time periods between imaging
satellite passes, beyond the safe operating depth of standoff recon
assets such as the JSTARS, U-2 and Global Hawk.

Conclusions

In this paper we have explored a number of alternative growth variants
of the GBU-31/32 JDAM intended to expand the useful mission envelope
of the B-2A, F-22A and JSF aircraft. All of the proposed designs
represent low risk, low cost incremental extensions of extant and
planned technology. All provide for significant increases in lethality
and survivability over currently operational delivery system and
weapon equivalents.

There can be no doubt there there is considerable growth potential in
the range of possible roles performed by the B-2A, F-22A and planned
JSF, and it is the author's intent to contribute to this growth with
these proposals. The currently popular argument in some circles, which
claims that the Low Observable bomber and GPS / inertially guided bomb
are a limited capability are without substance. Even modest additions
to this core capability yield weapons which are arguably superior or
at least equal in capabilities to currently operational weapons such
as the AGM-84, Mk.64 Quickstrike and GBU-15/AGM-130, yet are wholly
compatible with the high altitude delivery regime of the Low
Observable bomber.

Importance calls for IMPERTINENCE:



When you see the White Rabbit, be sure to grab it, men!


Tackle the Red Rabbit, and repeatedly stab it


That rabbit might try to run, but we are going to nab it!


Reevaluate everything! Evacuate everybody!


For signal detection, use a secondary horseradish peroxidase-conjugated swine anti-rabbit antibody


We need to form a Rapid, Anti-Rabid-Rabbit Response


It chews on electrical wiring, as if a carrot


The Rabbit must die, and we must not spare it


Some of you might experience Poet-Traumatic Stress Syndrome


Some of you may not be here, when the operation is over-


Don't forget your protective, lucky rabbit's foot,your Celtic Knot and 4-leaf Irish clover


We must get rid all the kwazy wabbits



so that we can have freedom, safely to indulge according to our customs, and traditional bad habits.....



America Allied With Arabs Against Iran?
2007

America isn’t the only nation seeking to contain Iran. But there is a danger in thinking that mutual mistrust would make a solid foundation for a dependable alliance.

How to deal with Iran? This question is a foreign-policy nightmare that haunts Western leaders.

America is at the forefront of a host of Western nations wringing their hands over how best to limit the destructive potential of this most powerful and perhaps least predictable entity in the Middle East.

But the question also echoes within influential minds in other governments. In fact, among several nations the question is even more elemental and has still greater urgency than it does for the United States.

It may surprise you, but Iran sparks some of the greatest concern among the leaders of Iran’s Muslim neighbors—specifically, of its Sunni Muslim neighbors.

Not even 10 percent of the world’s Muslims today are Shiite—the sect of the majority in Iran. Fully 90 percent are Sunni. In addition to the larger nations of Saudi Arabia and Jordan, Sunni states also include a handful of other smaller Arabian Peninsula sheikdoms; these comprise the majority of the Gulf Cooperation Council (gcc).

What is known as the Sunni-Shiite rift hearkens back to a seventh-century dispute over who would succeed the Prophet Muhammad. Yet the main issue dividing Sunnis and Shiites today is Iran’s power grabbing in the Middle East. Sunni leaders are deeply disturbed—even panicky—about the radical complexion of the Iranian-led Shiites.

The U.S.—looking to exploit every possible option for containing Iran—sees in this Sunni anxiety an opportunity: the makings of a possible alliance. It is viewing states like Jordan and Saudi Arabia as potential partners in erecting a hedge around the Islamic Republic. You may already be reading headlines in your daily news about such efforts.

As you do, remember this: There is a deadly flaw in this thinking.

A shocking biblical prophecy explains why—a prophecy involving a number of Arab states, the U.S. and Israel, and, most intriguingly, Europe.

Why the Panic?

Arab leaders have good reason to panic over Iran. The Islamic Republic can export revolution to their countries just as it has undermined Lebanon through Hezbollah, the Fatah-ruled Palestinian territories through Hamas (which, incidentally, is a Sunni organization), and Iraq through Shiite militias and even some Sunni insurgents.

Saudi Arabian fear of revolution is especially acute. Saudi Arabia’s eastern province is not only rich with oil, but also teeming with Shiites. According to Vali Nasr, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, the Saudi royal family believes Iranian operatives, with local Shiite help, have been behind many terrorist attacks inside the kingdom.

Arab states also face the reality of Iran possessing nuclear weapons, which they have concluded poses a direct threat to their interests. In response, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman have all spoken openly about pursuing their own nuclear programs. Mustafa Alani, an analyst at the Gulf Research Center in Dubai, stated, “The Iranians left us no option, so this is our answer to them. Now Arabs have no option but to start a program under a civilian banner.” Washington has not objected to the Arab states developing nuclear power programs, having already offered to help Egypt with its nuclear technology.

Alani also warned that escalating tensions in the Middle East could “trigger a race for arms.” Already, Arab states are sinking billions of petro-dollars into their militaries. According to Tim Ripley of Jane’s Defense Weekly, Gulf states have earmarked more than $60 billion for arms. Saudi Arabia has allocated close to $50 billion for fighter aircraft, attack helicopters, cruise missiles and some 300 new tanks. The United Arab Emirates has budgeted $8 billion for a rapid reaction force and missile defense.

Another significant threat to Arab states is Iran’s ability to wreak havoc on world oil supplies. Iran borders the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical energy trade route. Forty percent of the world’s crude oil travels through Hormuz daily (including two thirds of Saudi oil); the U.S. Energy Department estimates that this figure will rise to 60 percent by 2025. The world depends on access to the Hormuz strait to gain Saudi, Qatari, Kuwaiti and Iraqi oil and gas, as well as other petroleum products from the uae. Lt. Col. Rick Francona wrote, “Threats to the straits are a ‘red line’ for these countries” (msnbc, March 19). Over this and other issues, Arab states are bracing themselves for a fight with Iran if necessary.

Such concerns, so rife throughout the Arab world, would seem to provide plenty of common ground for an anti-Iran alliance with the United States. In fact, these concerns are taking on a heightened urgency at this time for one very interesting reason: These Arab states deeply fear that the U.S. is about to leave Iraq, and are begging it not to do so—for fear that this would leave Iran too strong.

Given the attitude of the American anti-war left, it is not hard to see why the White House is considering aligning with these Arab states.

Is the President Allying With Arabs?

There is a “new strategic alignment in the Middle East,” U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in January. Rice was referring to U.S. efforts to develop a new alliance with moderate Arab states to stop Iran’s power grabbing.

Such an alliance would be built on mutual moderate Arab and American-Israeli interests. Rice identified Sunni Arab states as models of moderation while pointing to Iran, Syria and Hezbollah as being “on the other side of the divide,” adding that Iran and Syria “have made their choice and their choice is to destabilize.”

Realizing that the war in Iraq has strengthened Iran, the U.S. administration appears ready to empower what it considers “moderate” Arabs in the region as a counterweight. It has been courting eight Arab states in particular since last September. Before that—tracing back even as far as the first Gulf War—Washington has made deals whereby Arab states purchase American arms and receive security guarantees. More recently, the U.S. has sought support for its anti-extremist, anti-proliferation agenda by offering a security umbrella to these states.

Even Israel appears to be warming to the idea of a strategic alliance with Arab states based on mutual fear of Iran. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is now considering a five-year-old Saudi plan that could see Israel draw back to its 1967 borders in exchange for peace with some of its Arab neighbors.

What will be the outcome of these efforts, to whatever degree they proceed? Just the visible facts are terribly problematic. Several of these Arab states, though their leaders may be comfortable in dialog with the United States, have populations that are repulsed by the idea of dealing with America; they are, in short, quite sympathetic to Iran’s radical agenda. The tentacles of terrorism extend deeply into Saudi Arabia, for example—one of the supposed “moderate” Arab states. Egypt shows signs of an imminent transition from the “moderate” Mubarak era into something far more dangerous and more closely aligned with Iran. As attractive as the idea of having strategic allies in the region may be, these states are deeply stained by radical leanings or even blood-guiltiness.

Several of these governments are already in trouble with their more religious populations for being too friendly with the “infidel” West. Anti-Americanism and anti-Israelism are defining doctrines throughout much of the Middle East. Surveys by Zogby International and the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies have found that anti-American feelings are at an all-time high, even in “moderate” Arab countries. According to one poll, only 12 percent of those surveyed within America’s so-called allies in the Middle East—Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—express a favorable attitude toward the United States. In Jordan, 65 percent have an unfavorable view; in Saudi Arabia, that figure is 79 percent, according to a London Times poll.

Yes—even while the U.S. and Israel hope to develop a strategic relationship with moderate Arabs, they must know they are hated by these countries! This should serve as a warning that moderate Arab states should not be trusted to help America’s interests. Frankly, if Arab leaders begin to take the additional steps of helping the U.S. to fight the Islamic Republic of Iran—which, for many Muslims, is a symbol of what they believe to be the inevitable political ascendancy of Islam—it is not difficult to imagine great masses becoming even more agitated and radicalized.

These are worrisome possibilities. That the U.S. would seriously contemplate such alliances indicates just how desperate it is becoming on the issue of how to deal with Iran. The degree to which it would seek help from Iran’s Arab neighbors in containing Iran would only be a measure of its enfeebled position in Iraq and diminished geopolitical stature.

Nevertheless, we do not expect great things to come of these diplomatic efforts between the U.S. and Arab states.

Yes, this world is likely soon to witness the development of an unusual alliance involving these Arab states. However, this alliance, the specific composition of which is strongly indicated in Scripture, will not be with the U.S. or with Israel. In fact, it will be an alliance against them!

This prophecy reveals the deadly flaw in the notion that America can trust these states as allies!

Renewing Old Friendships

With whom can we can expect to see these Arab states develop an alliance in the near future? As we will see, prophecy says it will be Europe. Already we can see events bearing this out.

With America weakened and moderate Arab states planning for its expected withdrawal from Iraq, Europe sees an opening to secure its own interests in the Middle East. Not since the German Erwin Rommel’s Middle Eastern desert campaign during World War ii has Europe, and particularly Germany, emerged with the potential to be such a powerful player in the region.

Since the Israel-Hezbollah war, Germany has dramatically escalated its involvement in the Middle East. In Lebanon, Germany heads the UN naval force tasked by the Security Council to secure the Lebanese coastline. Other European states are part of a multinational task force acting as a buffer between Israel and southern Lebanon. On the Gaza-Egypt border, European observers monitor the volatile Rafah border crossing. Germany has also played an important back-channel role, negotiating on Israel’s behalf for soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, Europe is also making headway with its relations with Arab states. The German foreign minister has visited the region several times, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has held talks within the last few months with the Palestinian Authority president, the king of Jordan and president of Egypt—not to mention Israel’s prime minister. Germany seeks to become a key negotiating channel between regional players.

In February, Chancellor Merkel toured the Middle East to discuss regional issues with Arab leaders. One issue under discussion, according to a February 6 Reuters report, was a free-trade zone between Gulf states and the European Union. Talk of a free-trade zone between the EU and gcc members began in the early ’90s, but withered on the vine because of irreconcilable differences. Now, it is back on the table. “There is a clear political desire on both sides to get a swift resolution to the disputed points,” one German official stated. Such a trade bloc may help jump-start a European-gcc partnership and strengthen German-Arab relations.

During Merkel’s visit, the gcc’s secretary-general, Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah, called on the EU to play a greater role in the Middle East. Indeed, having cleverly side-stepped involvement in the Iraq war, Germany is in prime position to lead the EU in significant diplomatic initiatives that affect the Middle East power equation.

Are we witnessing the first steps of a new partnership within the Middle East—Europeans working with Arab states? We believe so.

However, the prophecy that refers to this does not focus on it being an anti-Iran alliance, though that may play a role in its development. It is, in fact, an alliance formed for an entirely different and altogether more shocking intent!

That is, to bring down the United States—as well as two of its key allies, Britain and Israel!

Blueprints for Destruction

Daniel 11:40-41 describe a Middle East power, called the “king of the south,” pushing at what the Bible terms the “king of the north.” As our free booklet The King of the South explains in detail, the king of the north is a revived Holy Roman Empire led by Germany, and the king of the south is radical Islam led by Iran. (Request a free copy of this for proof.)

These verses portray the German-led European power swooping down and smashing Iran, along with some other countries in the Middle East, with blitzkrieg-style warfare.

But notice: While certain nations, including Egypt (verse 42) will be subdued in this attack along with Iran, these verses show that other parts of the Middle East, including the area we know today as Jordan (Moab and Ammon) will not be conquered. As brutally destructive as Europe’s coming war in the Middle East is, this indicates that it will also be surgical in nature.

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has written about a mysterious alliance discussed in Psalm 83. Knowing the modern descendants of the peoples spoken of in these verses is key to understanding this prophecy; though these names do not precisely coincide with modern nations, we can get a strong general idea of those to which they refer. According to this passage, Germany (“Assur,” or Assyria, verse 8) will ally with Turkey (Edom), Saudi Arabia (the Ishmaelites) Jordan (Moab and Ammon), Syria (the Hagarenes) and Lebanon (Gebal). For proof of these identities, request our free booklet The King of the South.

What is the purpose of this alliance? Verse 3 says these peoples “have taken crafty counsel against thy people”—referring to the descendants of Israel. If you have never proven from your Bible and from history that America and Britain are the modern nations of Israel, you will find Herbert W. Armstrong’s book The United States and Britain in Prophecy a captivating study. We will send you a free copy upon request.

Verse 4 shows far more explicitly what draws this unusual alliance together: “They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.” This German-Arab alliance forms for the specific purpose of totally destroying America, Britain and Israel—in an effort to forever erase the very name Israel!

Such an alliance, not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture, never occurred in biblical history. That is because it is a prophecy for the end time—our day!

Already you can see the seeds of these future earth-shaking events being sown.

The Signs Are There Today

The division in the Islamic world we see today portends this drastic split indicated in prophecy between those Muslim nations that a European superpower will ally itself with, and those Muslim nations it will utterly destroy. Watch that division grow more visible, and for the already apparent differences with which European nations treat these Middle East states to become even more stark.

The anti-Americanism and anti-Israelism boiling throughout the Middle East today—even in those nations Western leaders consider “friendly” or “moderate”—is a precursor to the explosive ferocity with which these nations, having joined themselves with a German-led Europe, will attack the modern Israelite nations.

Only armed with this knowledge can one understand just how dangerously misguided and foolhardy America’s strategy of seeking solutions to its troubles in the Middle East by cultivating alliances with Arab states truly is!

But all this bad news turns into really good news. As these prophecies clearly show, this deceitful double-cross of America, Britain and Israel leads to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ! Men have long scoffed at the idea of Christ returning in all power and glory. But Jesus Himself said to watch! He gave specific, identifiable signs to help His people know when He was about to return. Among them is the prophecy of this double-cross—an event to unfold within the last days prior to the return of Jesus Christ to rule the Earth. We are drawing incredibly close to that spectacular reality!

**************************************************************************

The Honeymoon's Over For Bush And The Saudis

Monday 30 April, 2007 The Washington Post

Martin Indyk - What has happened to the love affair between Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah and President Bush? Two years ago, down on the Texas ranch, they were photographed walking hand in hand. It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship: Bush dropped his demand for democratization in the puritanical kingdom,
and Abdullah did his best to moderate oil prices. The dowry was a new U.S. arms deal for the Saudis. A second honeymoon was scheduled for this month, when Bush planned to host Abdullah for his first state visit.

So the White House was mightily perplexed when it was informed that the king's schedule didn't allow for a spring visit to Washington. Then, at an Arab League summit in Riyadh last month, Abdullah denounced the U.S. war in Iraq as an "illegitimate occupation." He also used the occasion to make up with Bush's bete noire, Bashar al-Assad, the brash Syrian president who had previously denounced the Saudi leader as "a dwarf."

What was going on? Simply put, the Bush administration had been listening to the wrong Saudi. Keen for any signs of hope in the region as Iraq spiraled downward, Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other senior U.S. officials had grasped at a grandiose regional game plan being pushed by Prince Bandar bin Sultan, formerly the Saudi ambassador in Washington and now Abdullah's national security adviser.
But Bandar wasn't calling the shots; Abdullah was, and he has a very different way of doing business.

Last summer, Bandar came knocking on the White House door, selling a new strategy for countering the threat from Iran, which had been made vivid when the radical Hezbollah militia, Iran's ally, triggered a full-scale war in Lebanon and fought Israel to a standstill. The Arab world's Sunni leaders, Bandar argued, were ready to forge an unusual alliance with Israel to confront their common foe: the Shiite mullahs in Tehran. Working in tacit cooperation, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel would roll back Iran's regional influence by taking down the extremist Hamas Palestinian government in Gaza, containing Hezbollah's bid to control Lebanon and destabilizing Iran's main regional ally, Syria.

To kick off his grand anti-Iranian design, Bandar encouraged the weak but moderate Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to confront Hamas. But Bandar's boss, Abdullah, had another idea: Instead of sending Abbas the fat aid check that Bandar had promised, Abdullah invited Hamas's leaders to Mecca to forge a new Palestinian unity government, to include the moderate Abbas and his challengers in Hamas. Bandar's plan was in shambles. The Bush administration, which had led a year-long boycott of the Hamas government, felt as though it had been sucker punched.

And that was just the first blow. Abdullah also nixed Bandar's idea for direct engagement with Israel. For years, Israel had coveted such a relationship with the Saudis, which would have been an enormous psychological breakthrough and a rare Middle East achievement for the Bush team. Bandar promised to open Saudi-Israeli talks under the umbrella of an Arab League plan, in which all Arab states would offer Israel full peace if it pulled back to its pre-1967 borders and solved the problem of the Palestinian refugees. Rice hoped to convene a peace conference at which the Saudi foreign minister would announce this plan -- with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in attendance. But Abdullah wasn't buying. He believed that he had done his bit for Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking by producing a Palestinian unity government; now it was Bush's job to press Israel to negotiate a deal with it. Until then, Abdullah wouldn't be doing Washington any more favors.

The Bush administration was furious about this seeming reversal, but it had largely itself to blame. It had been taken for a ride by the freelancing Bandar, and it should have known better. In Riyadh, at least, the king is still the decider. And the king's worldview differs importantly from Bandar's.

Abdullah agrees with Bandar that their main challenge is the Iranian/Shiite threat to Sunni dominance of the Arab world. But where Bandar wants to confront Iran's Arab proxies, Abdullah seeks to wean them off their dependence on Tehran. That dictates engagement, however distasteful, with Hamas in Gaza and Assad in Damascus. It also requires distancing Saudi Arabia from Bush's ill-fated Iraq adventure, which in Abdullah's view is only strengthening a pro-Iranian Shiite government at Sunni Arab expense.

If Bush wants to rekindle the U.S.-Saudi love affair, he needs to deal with the Saudi leader we have, not the one we'd like.

That needn't mean total despair on the Arab-Israeli front. Peace with Israel is essential to Abdullah's anti-Iranian game plan because Tehran exploits the conflict to build its influence in the Arab world. But the Saudi king is not going to get into bed with Israel for a mere photo op. Abdullah will be ready to go to Washington -- and, eventually, perhaps even to Jerusalem -- when Bush, Rice and Olmert signal that they will accept his terms for a comprehensive Arab-Israeli settlement.

His opening price is Bush's accommodation of Hamas and Syria as players in the peace process, and he'll settle in the end for Israel's withdrawal from the Golan Heights and the West Bank. If Bush wants that second honeymoon with Abdullah, he is going to have to renegotiate the terms of endearment...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

One day I realized that those "private contractors" had ample
incentive to keep the pot boiling in Iraq. They have found a gold
mine there--we can be sure they are not anxious for the violence in
Iraq to end too soon. Since they are generously funded, generally
immune from prosecution, and since their activities are kept hidden
from the public in general, it would be pretty easy for those private
contractors to set a few roadside bombs, pick off a few American
soldiers with sniper rifles, and stir up sectarian strife at every
opportunity. It would be good for business.

There are about 140,000 private employees, about 46,000 assigned to
private combat duty, just like American soldiers. They are assigned
to key areas and travel all over Iraq, just like American soldiers.
They drive vehicles, just like American soldiers. They travel Iraqi
roads, just like American soldiers.

So why are they not being killed and maimed, just like American
soldiers? Some 30,000 young Americans have been seriously wounded and
crippled in Iraq. We don't seem to see any private contractors blown
to pieces and laying legless in hospital beds, just like American
soldiers. What could be the reason? Do they know where the bombs
are? Do they know where the attacks will occur? Are the "insurgents"
giving the private contractors a free pass?


Outsourcing the War - 126,000 private U.S. personnel in Iraq

Jeremy Scahill, bestselling author and investigative reporter for The
Nation, testified May 10 before the House Appropriations Subcommittee
on Defense on the impact of private military contractors on the
conduct of the Iraq War.

Watch/listen to his testimony - (it's not quite 6 mins).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdk4dIXqs7s

the full text of his testimony:
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/05/12/1136/

Below is an excerpt of his remarks:

Outsourcing the War

..there are at least 126,000 private personnel deployed alongside the
official armed forces. These private forces effectively double the
size of the occupation force, largely without the knowledge of the US
taxpayers that foot the bill.

While tens of thousands of these contractors provide logistical
support, thousands are heavily armed private soldiers roaming Iraq. We
do know that there are some 48,000 employees of private military
companies in Iraq alone.

These forces work for US companies like Blackwater, Triple Canopy and
DynCorp as well as companies from across the globe. Some contractors
make in a month what many active-duty soldiers make in a year. Indeed,
there are private contractors in Iraq making more money than the
Secretary of Defense and more than the commanding generals. The
testimony about private contractors that I hear most often from active
duty soldiers falls into two categories: resentment and envy.

They ask what message their country is sending them. While many
soldiers lack basic protective equipment--facts well-known to this
committee--they are in a war zone where they see the private soldiers
whiz by in better vehicles, with better armor, better weapons, wearing
the corporate logo instead of the American flag and pulling in much
more money. They ask: Are our lives worth less?

Of course, there are many cases where war contractors have hoarded the
profits at the top and money has not filtered down to the individual
contractors on the ground or the armor to protect them.

The second reaction is that the active-duty soldiers see the "rock
star" private contractors and they want to be like them. So we have a
phenomenon of soldiers leaving active duty to join the private sector.

There is slang in Iraq now for this jump. It is called "Going
Blackwater." To put it bluntly, these private forces create a system
where national duty is outbid by profits...

Just as there is a double standard in pay, there is a double standard
in the application of the law. Soldiers who commit crimes or acts of
misconduct are prosecuted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
There have been some 64 courts martial on murder-related charges in
Iraq alone. Compare that to the lack of prosecution of contractors.
Despite the fact that tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of
thousands, have streamed in and out of Iraq since March of 2003, only
two private contractors have faced any criminal prosecution. Two. One
was a KBR employee alleged to have stabbed a co-worker, the other
pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography images on his
computer at Abu Ghraib prison. In four years, there have been no
prosecutions for crimes against Iraqis and not a single known
prosecution of an armed contractor.

That either means we have tens of thousands of Boy Scouts working as
armed contractors or something is fundamentally wrong with the system.
Brig. Gen. Karl Horst of the 3rd Infantry Division became so outraged
by contractor unaccountability that he began tracking contractor
violence in Baghdad. In just two months he documented twelve cases of
contractors shooting at civilians, resulting in six deaths and three
injuries. That is just two months and one general.

They have not been prosecuted under the UCMJ, under US civilian law or
under Iraqi law. US contractors in Iraq reportedly have their own
motto:

"What happens here today, stays here today."

That should be chilling to everyone who believes that warfare, above
all government functions, must be subject to transparency,
accountability and the rule of law.

These are forces operating in the name of the United States of
America. Iraqis do not see contractors as separate from soldiers--
understandably, they see them all as "the occupation." Contractor
misconduct is viewed as American misconduct.
...
HUNDREDS OF ISRAELI SPIES HELD BY USA....????

In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, the FBI has stumbled on the
largest espionage ring ever discovered inside the United States. The U.S.
Justice Department is now holding nearly 100 Israeli citizens with direct
ties to foreign military, criminal and intelligence services.

The spy ring reportedly includes employees of two Israeli-owned companies
that currently perform almost all the official wiretaps for U.S. local,
state and federal law enforcement.

The U.S. law enforcement wiretaps, authorized by the Communications
Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), appear to have been breached by
organized crime units working inside Israel and the Israeli intelligence
service, Mossad.

Both Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller were
warned on Oct. 18 in a hand-delivered letter from local, state and federal
law enforcement officials. The warning stated, "Law enforcement's current
electronic surveillance capabilities are less effective today than they were
at the time CALEA was enacted."

The spy ring enabled criminals to use reverse wiretaps against U.S.
intelligence and law enforcement operations. The illegal monitoring may have
resulted in the deaths of several informants and reportedly spoiled planned
anti-drug raids on crime syndicates.

Global Spy and Crime Network

The penetration of the U.S. wiretap system has led to a giant spy hunt
across the globe by American intelligence agencies. U.S. intelligence
officials now suspect the spy ring shared and sold information to other
nations.

"Why do you think Putin so nonchalantly and with such great fanfare
announced the shutdown of the Lourdes listening post in Cuba?" noted Douglas
Brown, president of Multilingual Data Solutions Inc. and program director at
the Nathan Hale Institute.

"Besides the PR benefit right before his visit here, the Russians don't need
it anymore. They've scraped together a cheaper, more effective monitoring
system. Is the Israeli company an element of that system? I don't know,"
stated Brown.

"With all the whining and crying about Echelon and Carnivore, critics,
domestic and foreign, of U.S. electronic eavesdropping vastly overestimate
our abilities to process and disseminate the stuff," noted Brown.

"The critics also underestimated the incompetence and total ineptness of the
people running our intelligence and law enforcement services during the
Clinton-Gore years. One guy uses his home computer for storing top secret
documents; another high-tech guru guy can't figure out how to save and
retrieve his e-mail, and the guy in charge of everything is having phone sex
over an open line with one of his employees," said Brown.

"On the other hand, the Europeans, including the Russians, have been much
more focused on the nuts and bolts of practical systems to process the
information they scoop up. The stories linking German intelligence and the
L&H scandal got very little play here but were widely noted in the European
software community," said Brown.

"Except for a few Germans and an occasional Pole, nobody can match the
Russians in designing and developing algorithms. We may have some of the
world's greatest programmers, but the Russians and Europeans do a better job
of matching up linguists and area experts with their programmers," noted
Brown.

The discovery of a major spy ring inside the United States is straining the
already tense relations with Israel. Although, Israel denied any involvement
with the penetration of the U.S. wiretap system, the CIA and FBI are
investigating the direct government ties to the former Israeli military and
intelligence officials now being held by the Justice Department.

Israeli Company Provides U.S. Wiretaps

One company reported to be under investigation is Comverse Infosys, a
subsidiary of an Israeli-run private telecommunications firm. Comverse
provides almost all the wiretapping equipment and software for U.S. law
enforcement.

Custom computers and software made by Comverse are tied into the U.S. phone
network in order to intercept, record and store wiretapped calls, and at the
same time transmit them to investigators.

The penetration of Comverse reportedly allowed criminals to wiretap law
enforcement communications in reverse and foil authorized wiretaps with
advance warning. One major drug bust operation planned by the Los Angeles
police was foiled by what now appear to be reverse wiretaps placed on law
enforcement phones by the criminal spy ring.

Flawed laws Led to Compromise

Several U.S. privacy and security advocates contend the fault actually lies
in the CALEA legislation passed by Congress that allowed the spy ring to
operate so effectively. Lisa Dean, vice president for technology policy at
Free Congress Foundation, delivered a scathing critique of the breach of the
U.S. law enforcement wiretap system.

"We are exercising our 'I told you so' rights on this," said Dean.

"From the beginning, both the political right and left warned Congress and
the FBI that they were making a huge mistake by implementing CALEA. That it
would jeopardize the security of private communications, whether it's
between a mother and her son or between government officials. The statement
just issued by law enforcement agencies has confirmed our worst fears,"
concluded Dean.

"How many more 9/11s do we have to suffer?" asked Brad Jansen, deputy
director for technology policy at the Free Congress Foundation.

"The CALEA form of massive surveillance is a poor substitute for real law
enforcement and intelligence work. It is an after-the-fact method of crime
fighting. It is not designed to prevent crime. Massive wiretapping does not
equal security. Instead, we have elected to jeopardize our national security
in exchange for poor law enforcement," said Jansen.

"For example, FINCEN monitoring of all money transactions did not detect
al-Qaeda, nor did it find Mohamed Atta before he boarded his last flight. It
was an ATM receipt left in his rental car that led the FBI to the bin Laden
bank accounts," noted Jansen.

U.S. National Security Compromised

"The CALEA approach is the same approach law enforcement has been pushing
for a number of years. It's the same approach that was used to push
Carnivore, Magic Lantern, FINCEN and even the failed Clipper project. This
approach leads to a compromise in national security and in personal security
for the American public," said Jansen.

"In addition, there is always government abuse of these kinds of systems,"
stated Jansen. "Law enforcement on all levels does a very poor job in
policing itself. We need to hold our police and government officials to the
highest standards."

"This also hurts the U.S. economy when the whole world knows that our
communication systems are not secure. We cannot compete with inferior
products when other countries are exporting secure software and hardware.
New Zealand, India and Chile already offer security products that actually
provide real security," stated Jansen.

"The current mentality of law enforcement is what failed to protect us from
9/11. CALEA wiretaps will not protect us from terror attacks in the future.
The system does not provide better intelligence information. It actually
leads to less security and more crime. We get the worst of both worlds,"
concluded Jansen.

Story by Charles R. Smith (NewsMax.com)


http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/12/18/224826.shtml

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/61.html

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Watch/listen to his testimony - (it's not quite 6 mins).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdk4dIXqs7s

the full text of his testimony:
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/05/12/1136/

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



The Apostasy.

* The apostle Paul, in his second letter to the Thessalonians, foretold
the great apostasy which would result in the establishment of the papal
power. He declared that the day of Christ should not come, "except there
come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of
perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God,
or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,
showing himself that he is God." [2 THESS. 2:3, 4, 7.] And furthermore, the
apostle warns his brethren that "the mystery of iniquity doth already work."
[2 THESS. 2:3, 4, 7.] Even at that early date he saw, creeping into the
church, errors that would prepare the way for the development of the papacy.
{GC88 49.1}

Little by little, at first in stealth and silence, and then more openly
as it increased in strength and gained control of the minds of men, the
mystery of iniquity carried forward its deceptive and blasphemous work.
Almost imperceptibly the customs of heathenism found their way into the
Christian church. The spirit of compromise and conformity was restrained for
a time by the fierce persecutions which the church endured under paganism.
But as persecution ceased, and Christianity entered the courts and palaces
of kings, she laid aside the humble simplicity of Christ and his apostles
for the pomp and pride of pagan priests and rulers; and in place of the
requirements of God, she substituted human theories and traditions. The
nominal

50
conversion of Constantine, in the early part of the fourth century, caused
great rejoicing; and the world, cloaked with a form of righteousness, walked
into the church. Now the work of corruption rapidly progressed. Paganism,
while appearing to be vanquished, became the conqueror. Her spirit
controlled the church. Her doctrines, ceremonies, and superstitions were
incorporated into the faith and worship of the professed followers of
Christ. {GC88 49.2}

This compromise between paganism and Christianity resulted in the
development of the "man of sin" foretold in prophecy as opposing and
exalting himself above God. That gigantic system of false religion is a
masterpiece of Satan's power,--a monument of his efforts to seat himself
upon the throne to rule the earth according to his will. {GC88 50.1}

Satan once endeavored to form a compromise with Christ. He came to the
Son of God in the wilderness of temptation, and, showing him all the
kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, offered to give all into his
hands if he would but acknowledge the supremacy of the prince of darkness.
Christ rebuked the presumptuous tempter, and forced him to depart. But Satan
meets with greater success in presenting the same temptations to man. To
secure worldly gains and honors, the church was led to seek the favor and
support of the great men of earth, and having thus rejected Christ, she was
induced to yield allegiance to the representative of Satan,--the bishop of
Rome. {GC88 50.2}

It is one of the leading doctrines of Romanism that the pope is the
visible head of the universal church of Christ, invested with supreme
authority over bishops and pastors in all parts of the world. More than
this, the pope has arrogated the very titles of Deity. He styles himself
"Lord God the Pope," assumes infallibility, and demands that all men pay him
homage. Thus the same claim urged by Satan in the wilderness of temptation
is still urged by him through the Church of Rome, and vast numbers are ready
to yield him homage.

51
{GC88 50.3}

But those who fear and reverence God meet this Heaven-daring assumption
as Christ met the solicitations of the wily foe: "Thou shalt worship the
Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." [LUKE 4:8.] God has never
given a hint in his Word that he has appointed any man to be the head of the
church. The doctrine of papal supremacy is directly opposed to the teachings
of the Scriptures. The pope can have no power over Christ's church except by
usurpation. {GC88 51.1}

Romanists have persisted in bringing against Protestants the charge of
heresy, and willful separation from the true church. But these accusations
apply rather to themselves. They are the ones who laid down the banner of
Christ, and departed from "the faith which was once delivered unto the
saints." [JUDE 3.] {GC88 51.2}

Satan well knew that the Holy Scriptures would enable men to discern
his deceptions and withstand his power. It was by the Word that even the
Saviour of the world had resisted his attacks. At every assault, Christ
presented the shield of eternal truth, saying, "It is written." To every
suggestion of the adversary, he opposed the wisdom and power of the Word. In
order for Satan to maintain his sway over men, and establish the authority
of the papal usurper, he must keep them in ignorance of the Scriptures. The
Bible would exalt God, and place finite men in their true position;
therefore its sacred truths must be concealed and suppressed. This logic was
adopted by the Roman Church. For hundreds of years the circulation of the
Bible was prohibited. The people were forbidden to read it or to have it in
their houses, and unprincipled priests and prelates interpreted its
teachings to sustain their pretensions. Thus the pope came to be almost
universally acknowledged as the vicegerent of God on earth, endowed with
authority over Church and State. {GC88 51.3}

The detector of error having been removed, Satan worked according to
his will. Prophecy had declared that the

52
papacy was to "think to change times and laws." [DAN. 7:25.] This work it
was not slow to attempt. To afford converts from heathenism a substitute for
the worship of idols, and thus to promote their nominal acceptance of
Christianity, the adoration of images and relics was gradually introduced
into the Christian worship. The decree of a general council [SECOND COUNCIL
OF NICE, A.D. 787.] finally established this system of idolatry. To complete
the sacrilegious work, Rome presumed to expunge from the law of God the
second commandment, forbidding image worship, and to divide the tenth
commandment, in order to preserve the number. {GC88 51.4}

The spirit of concession to paganism opened the way for a still further
disregard of Heaven's authority. Satan tampered with the fourth commandment
also, and essayed to set aside the ancient Sabbath, the day which God had
blessed and sanctified, [GEN. 2:2, 3.] and in its stead to exalt the
festival observed by the heathen as "the venerable day of the sun." This
change was not at first attempted openly. In the first centuries the true
Sabbath had been kept by all Christians. They were jealous for the honor of
God, and, believing that his law is immutable, they zealously guarded the
sacredness of its precepts. But with great subtlety, Satan worked through
his agents to bring about his object. That the attention of the people might
be called to the Sunday, it was made a festival in honor of the resurrection
of Christ. Religious services were held upon it; yet it was regarded as a
day of recreation, the Sabbath being still sacredly observed. {GC88 52.1}

To prepare the way for the work which he designed to accomplish, Satan
had led the Jews, before the advent of Christ, to load down the Sabbath with
the most rigorous exactions, making its observance a burden. Now, taking
advantage of the false light in which he had thus caused it to be regarded,
he cast contempt upon it as a Jewish institution. While Christians continued
to observe the Sunday

53
as a joyous festival, he led them, in order to show their hatred of Judaism,
to make the Sabbath a fast, a day of sadness and gloom. {GC88 52.2}

In the early part of the fourth century, the emperor Constantine issued
a decree making Sunday a public festival throughout the Roman Empire. [SEE
APPENDIX, NOTE 1.] The day of the sun was reverenced by his pagan subjects,
and was honored by Christians; it was the emperor's policy to unite the
conflicting interests of heathenism and Christianity. He was urged to do
this by the bishops of the church, who, inspired by ambition, and thirst for
power, perceived that if the same day was observed by both Christians and
the heathen, it would promote the nominal acceptance of Christianity by
pagans, and thus advance the power and glory of the church. But while
Christians were gradually led to regard Sunday as possessing a degree of
sacredness, they still held the true Sabbath as the holy of the Lord, and
observed it in obedience to the fourth commandment. {GC88 53.1}

The arch-deceiver had not completed his work. He was resolved to gather
the Christian world under his banner, and to exercise his power through his
vicegerent, the proud pontiff who claimed to be the representative of
Christ. Through half-converted pagans, ambitious prelates, and world-loving
churchmen, he accomplished his purpose. Vast councils were held, from time
to time, in which the dignitaries of the church were convened from all the
world. In nearly every council the Sabbath which God had instituted was
pressed down a little lower, while the Sunday was correspondingly exalted.
Thus the pagan festival came finally to be honored as a divine institution,
while the Bible Sabbath was pronounced a relic of Judaism, and its observers
were declared to be accursed. {GC88 53.2}

The great apostate had succeeded in exalting himself "above all that is
called God, or that is worshiped." [2 THESS. 2:4.] He had dared to change
the only precept of the divine law that unmistakably points all mankind to
the true and living

54
God. In the fourth commandment, God is revealed as the Creator of the
heavens and the earth, and is thereby distinguished from all false gods. It
was as a memorial of the work of creation that the seventh day was
sanctified as a rest-day for man. It was designed to keep the living God
ever before the minds of men as the source of being and the object of
reverence and worship. Satan strives to turn men from their allegiance to
God, and from rendering obedience to his law; therefore he directs his
efforts especially against that commandment which points to God as the
Creator. {GC88 53.3}

Protestants now urge that the resurrection of Christ on Sunday made it
the Christian Sabbath. But Scripture evidence is lacking. No such honor was
given to the day by Christ or his apostles. The observance of Sunday as a
Christian institution had its origin in that "mystery of lawlessness" [2
THESS. 2:7, REVISED VERSION.] which, even in Paul's day, had begun its work.
Where and when did the Lord adopt this child of the papacy? What valid
reason can be given for a change which the Scriptures do not sanction? {GC88
54.1}

In the sixth century the papacy had become firmly established. Its seat
of power was fixed in the imperial city, and the bishop of Rome was declared
to be the head over the entire church. Paganism had given place to the
papacy. The dragon had given to the beast "his power, and his seat, and
great authority." [REV. 13:2; SEE APPENDIX, NOTE 2.] And now began the 1260
years of papal oppression foretold in the prophecies of Daniel and the
Revelation. [DAN. 7:25; REV. 13:5-7.] Christians were forced to choose,
either to yield their integrity and accept the papal ceremonies and worship,
or to wear away their lives in dungeons or suffer death by the rack, the
fagot, or the headsman's ax. Now were fulfilled the words of Jesus, "Ye
shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends;
and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated
of all men for my name's sake." [LUKE 21:16, 17.]

55
Persecution opened upon the faithful with greater fury than ever before, and
the world became a vast battle-field. For hundreds of years the church of
Christ found refuge in seclusion and obscurity. Thus says the prophet: "The
woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that
they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days."
[REV. 12:6.] {GC88 54.2}

The accession of the Roman Church to power marked the beginning of the
Dark Ages. As her power increased, the darkness deepened. Faith was
transferred from Christ, the true foundation, to the pope of Rome. Instead
of trusting in the Son of God for forgiveness of sins and for eternal
salvation, the people looked to the pope, and to the priests and prelates to
whom he delegated authority. They were taught that the pope was their
earthly mediator, and that none could approach God except through him, and,
further, that he stood in the place of God to them, and was therefore to be
implicitly obeyed. A deviation from his requirements was sufficient cause
for the severest punishment to be visited upon the bodies and souls of the
offenders. Thus the minds of the people were turned away from God to
fallible, erring, and cruel men, nay more, to the prince of darkness
himself, who exercised his power through them. Sin was disguised in a garb
of sanctity. When the Scriptures are suppressed, and man comes to regard
himself as supreme, we need look only for fraud, deception, and debasing
iniquity. With the elevation of human laws and traditions, was manifest the
corruption that ever results from setting aside the law of God. {GC88 55.1}

Those were days of peril for the church of Christ. The faithful
standard-bearers were few indeed. Though the truth was not left without
witnesses, yet at times it seemed that error and superstition would wholly
prevail, and true religion would be banished from the earth. The gospel was
lost sight of, but the forms of religion were multiplied, and the people
were burdened with rigorous exactions.

56
{GC88 55.2}

They were taught not only to look to the pope as their mediator, but to
trust to works of their own to atone for sin. Long pilgrimages, acts of
penance, the worship of relics, the erection of churches, shrines, and
altars, the payment of large sums to the church,--these and many similar
acts were enjoined to appease the wrath of God or to secure his favor; as if
God were like men, to be angered at trifles, or pacified by gifts or acts of
penance! {GC88 56.1}

Notwithstanding that vice prevailed, even among the leaders of the
Romish Church, her influence seemed steadily to increase. About the close of
the eighth century, papists put forth the claim that in the first ages of
the church the bishops of Rome had possessed the same spiritual power which
they now assumed. To establish this claim, some means must be employed to
give it a show of authority; and this was readily suggested by the father of
lies. Ancient writings were forged by monks. Decrees of councils before
unheard of were discovered, establishing the universal supremacy of the pope
from the earliest times. And a church that had rejected the truth, greedily
accepted these deceptions. {GC88 56.2}

The few faithful builders upon the true foundation [1 COR. 3:10, 11.]
were perplexed and hindered, as the rubbish of false doctrine obstructed the
work. Like the builders upon the wall of Jerusalem in Nehemiah's day, some
were ready to say, "The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and
there is much rubbish, so that we are not able to build." [NEH. 4:10.]
Wearied with the constant struggle against persecution, fraud, iniquity, and
every other obstacle that Satan could devise to hinder their progress, some
who had been faithful builders became disheartened; and for the sake of
peace and security for their property and their lives they turned away from
the true foundation. Others, undaunted by the opposition of their enemies,
fearlessly declared, "Be not ye afraid of them; remember the Lord, which is
great and terrible; [NEH. 4:14.] and they

57
proceeded with the work, every one with his sword girded by his side. [EPH.
6:17.] {GC88 56.3}

The same spirit of hatred and opposition to the truth has inspired the
enemies of God in every age, and the same vigilance and fidelity have been
required in his servants. The words of Christ to the first disciples are
applicable to his followers to the close of time: "What I say unto you I say
unto all, Watch." [MARK 13:37.] {GC88 57.1}

The darkness seemed to grow more dense. Image worship became more
general. Candles were burned before images, and prayers were offered to
them. The most absurd and superstitious customs prevailed. The minds of men
were so completely controlled by superstition that reason itself seemed to
have lost her sway. While priests and bishops were themselves
pleasure-loving, sensual, and corrupt, it could only be expected that the
people who looked to them for guidance would be sunken in ignorance and
vice. {GC88 57.2}

Another step in papal assumption was taken, when, in the eleventh
century, Pope Gregory VII. proclaimed the perfection of the Romish Church.
Among the propositions which he put forth, was one declaring that the church
had never erred, nor would it ever err, according to the Scriptures. But the
Scripture proofs did not accompany the assertion. The proud pontiff next
claimed the power to depose emperors, and declared that no sentence which he
pronounced could be reversed by any one, but that it was his prerogative to
reverse the decisions of all others. {GC88 57.3}

A striking illustration of the tyrannical character of this advocate of
infallibility was given in his treatment of the German emperor, Henry IV.
For presuming to disregard the pope's authority, this monarch was declared
to be excommunicated and dethroned. Terrified by the desertion and threats
of his own princes, who were encouraged in rebellion against him by the
papal mandate, Henry felt the necessity of making his peace with Rome. In
company

58
with his wife and a faithful servant, he crossed the Alps in midwinter, that
he might humble himself before the pope. Upon reaching the castle whither
Gregory had withdrawn, he was conducted, without his guards, into an outer
court, and there, in the severe cold of winter, with uncovered head and
naked feet, and in a miserable dress, he awaited the pope's permission to
come into his presence. Not until he had continued three days fasting and
making confession, did the pontiff condescend to grant him pardon. Even then
it was only upon condition that the emperor should await the sanction of the
pope before resuming the insignia or exercising the power of royalty. And
Gregory, elated with his triumph, boasted that it was his duty "to pull down
the pride of kings." {GC88 57.4}

How striking the contrast between the overbearing pride of this haughty
pontiff and the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who represents himself as
pleading at the door of the heart for admittance, that he may come in to
bring pardon and peace, and who taught his disciples, "Whosoever will be
chief among you, let him be your servant." {GC88 58.1}

The advancing centuries witnessed a constant increase of error in the
doctrines put forth from Rome. Even before the establishment of the papacy,
the teachings of heathen philosophers had received attention and exerted an
influence in the church. Many who professed conversion still clung to the
tenets of their pagan philosophy, and not only continued its study
themselves, but urged it upon others as a means of extending their influence
among the heathen. Serious errors were thus introduced into the Christian
faith. Prominent among these was the belief in man's natural immortality and
his consciousness in death. This doctrine laid the foundation upon which
Rome established the invocation of saints and the adoration of the virgin
Mary. From this sprung also the heresy of eternal torment for the finally
impenitent, which was early incorporated into the papal faith. {GC88 58.2}

Then the way was prepared for the introduction of still

59
another invention of paganism, which Rome named purgatory, and employed to
terrify the credulous and superstitious multitudes. By this heresy is
affirmed the existence of a place of torment, in which the souls of such as
have not merited eternal damnation are to suffer punishment for their sins,
and from which, when freed from impurity, they are admitted to Heaven. {GC88
58.3}

Still another fabrication was needed to enable Rome to profit by the
fears and the vices of her adherents. This was supplied by the doctrine of
indulgences. Full remission of sins, past, present, and future, and release
from all the pains and penalties incurred, were promised to all who would
enlist in the pontiff's wars to extend his temporal dominion, to punish his
enemies, or to exterminate those who dared deny his spiritual supremacy. The
people were also taught that by the payment of money to the church they
might free themselves from sin, and also release the souls of their deceased
friends who were confined in the tormenting flames. By such means did Rome
fill her coffers, and sustain the magnificence, luxury, and vice of the
pretended representatives of Him who had not where to lay his head. {GC88
59.1}

The scriptural ordinance of the Lord's supper had been supplanted by
the idolatrous sacrifice of the mass. Papist priests pretended, by their
senseless mummery, to convert the simple bread and wine into the actual body
and blood of Christ. With blasphemous presumption, they openly claimed the
power of "creating God, the Creator of all things." All Christians were
required, on pain of death, to avow their faith in this horrible,
Heaven-insulting heresy. Multitudes who refused were given to the flames.
{GC88 59.2}

In the thirteenth century was established that most terrible of all the
engines of the papacy,--the Inquisition. The prince of darkness wrought with
the leaders of the papal hierarchy. In their secret councils, Satan and his
angels controlled the minds of evil men, while unseen in the midst stood an
angel of God, taking the fearful record of their iniquitous decrees, and
writing the history of deeds too

60
horrible to appear to human eyes. "Babylon the great" was "drunken with the
blood of the saints." The mangled forms of millions of martyrs cried to God
for vengeance upon that apostate power. {GC88 59.3}

Popery had become the world's despot. Kings and emperors bowed to the
decrees of the Roman pontiff. The destinies of men, both for time and for
eternity, seemed under his control. For hundreds of years the doctrines of
Rome had been extensively and implicitly received, its rites reverently
performed, its festivals generally observed. Its clergy were honored and
liberally sustained. Never since has the Roman Church attained to greater
dignity, magnificence, or power. {GC88 60.1}

The noontide of the papacy was the world's moral midnight. The Holy
Scriptures were almost unknown, not only to the people, but to the priests.
Like the Pharisees of old, the papist leaders hated the light which would
reveal their sins. God's law, the standard of righteousness, having been
removed, they exercised power without limit, and practiced vice without
restraint. Fraud, avarice, and profligacy prevailed. Men shrank from no
crime by which they could gain wealth or position. The palaces of popes and
prelates were scenes of the vilest debauchery. Some of the reigning pontiffs
were guilty of crimes so revolting that secular rulers endeavored to depose
these dignitaries of the church as monsters too vile to be tolerated. For
centuries Europe had made no progress in learning, arts, or civilization. A
moral and intellectual paralysis had fallen upon Christendom. {GC88 60.2}

The condition of the world under the Romish power presented a fearful
and striking fulfillment of the words of the prophet Hosea: "My people are
destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge, I
will also reject thee; . . . seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God,
I will also forget thy children." "There is no truth, nor mercy, nor
knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and
stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth
blood." [HOSEA 4:6, 1, 2.] Such were the results of banishing the Word of
God. {GC88 60.3}


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++




http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/05/forum_features_.html#more




Forum Features Larry Johnson & Patrick Lang

[This transcript appears in the May 25, 2007 issue of Executive
Intelligence Review. ]

Cheney's Impeachable Crimes Highlighted at UDC Forum

On May 7, a group of leading U.S. intelligence and military veterans
joined investigative authors Peter Eisner and Knut Royce in a forum at
the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), that provided, among
many revelations, dramatic new evidence as to why Vice President Dick
Cheney should be impeached for "high crimes and misdemeanors."
Originally convened as a book-signing forum for Eisner and Royce's new
book, The Italian Letter: How the Bush Administration Used a Fake
Letter To Build the Case for War in Iraq (see review), an invaluable
documentary account of the Bush Administration lies that led the
country to war against Iraq, the authors decided to open the event to
a panel of leading retired intelligence officers, to comment on the
just-released memoirs of retired CIA Director George Tenet.

The event, which drew over 100 students, faculty, and community
activists, provided one of the most damning indictments of the Bush-
Cheney Administration's manipulation of intelligence and other crimes.
The panelists who joined Eisner and Royce-former CIA officers Larry
Johnson and Mel Goodman; retired Defense Intelligence Agency Middle
East chief Col. W. Patrick Lang; and former chief of staff to
Secretary of State Colin Powell, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson-presented
such a significant amount of previously unknown documentation about
the crimes of Bush and Cheney, that EIR has decided, as a public
service, to publish an only slightly edited transcript of the entire
event.

After a brief introduction by Dr. Bill Pollard, president of the
University of the District of Columbia, the forum began with an
introduction by Eisner, who served as the moderator for the panel
discussion.

Bush's '16 Words'

Eisner: We originally had thought that this was going to be a more
traditional book event, about The Italian Letter, which is the book
that Knut Royce and I have written, which talks about, especially, the
effort by the Bush Administration to sell the war in Iraq to the
American people and to Congress, focusing especially on evidence
about uranium supposedly having been purchased in Africa, and having
been sold to Iraq, which became known as-that claim became known as
the "16 words," President Bush's 16 words in the [2003] State of the
Union message.

And we thought that that event, those 16 words, would encapsulate the
story of leading the United States to war, and how we got to that
moment.

So we took a narrow approach toward telling the story of the march
toward war, by just focusing on that one event, from the first day at
least, if not earlier, the first days after 9/11, to the U.S. invasion
of Iraq in 2003. The difference today was, that we decided to put
together very suddenly, and quickly, a panel that could go beyond that
as well, and deal with the issues surrounding the recent release of
George Tenet's book [At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA],
his memoir of his time as Director of the CIA, and his version of the
lead-up to war in Iraq. And we're delighted, and thrilled, to bring
together a panel that rarely has just come together, such an eminent
panel, to say the least, and some of them have spoken to each other,
known each other for years, but hadn't even met....

First, let me introduce Larry Johnson, who was an intelligence officer
with the CIA from 1985 to 1989; served in the State Department's
Office of Counter-Terrorism from 1989 to 1993; and who now provides
consulting services and helps the U.S. train military forces carrying
out counterterrorism missions.

Next, let me introduce to you, Col. Larry Wilkerson, the Pamela
Harriman Visiting Professor of Government at the College of William
and Mary. And he raced back from the College of William and Mary,
today, where he was giving finals, to join us here at this panel. We
very much appreciate that. He, of course, was the former Chief of
Staff to the Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Next, we have Mel Goodman, a 24-year veteran as a CIA analyst on the
Soviet Union, 18 years on the faculty of the National War College,
currently senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, and
adjunct professor of government at Johns Hopkins University, the
author of six books on international relations. The latest is The
Failure of Intelligence: The Decline and Fall of the CIA.

And last and not at all least, among our special guests, Pat Lang, who
was head of the Middle East section with the Defense Intelligence
Agency, for seven years.

My colleague is to his immediate left, Knut Royce. Knut, besides being
my friend for decades, is an eminent investigative reporter, has held
a share of at least three Pulitzer Prizes over the years; and it's a
pleasure to have worked with him to write this book.

What we're going to do is, start with Knut. And this will more or
less, in my concept, make a link between what he and I have done,
again, focusing on the uranium story, and also comparing that uranium
story to the larger story of what George Tenet has been saying. From
there, I'm going to ask our guests to speak a bit toward those points,
and as we move along, ask them some questions. And then finally, we'll
open it up to the floor, as well.

So, I want to ask Knut to start.


Royce: You know, as we look at what George Tenet has written about,
how do we compare what we see there, compared to what we found in the
course of our investigation?

George Tenet devotes about half of his book to Iraq. He starts out, he
starts carrying on, we're in Iraq ... It's a pretty apologetic tack
and there are some obvious contrasts between what he writes about and
what we write about....

Although Tenet does have some very interesting political tidbits in
there, they don't make a book. Tenet is apologetic. There are several
passages where he admits the CIA really screwed up-especially on the
weapons of mass destruction part-but nowhere does he mention the key
center at CIA for analyzing and publishing reports, and briefing
policy-makers on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. This was
critical. The largest center at CIA is called WINPAC, and that's the
Weapons Intelligence and Non-Proliferation and Arms Control division.
He mentions WINPAC-they're the ones who put together, who were
responsible for collating and analyzing the intelligence-in this book,
he mentions WINPAC just once.

We devote at least a chapter, and probably more than that, because
WINPAC was such a key player in the bogus information that came out.
We devote at least a chapter, and actually more than that, to WINPAC,
and the head of WINPAC at the time, Alan Foley.

Foley's a fascinating character, and one of the persons we interviewed
to get a sense of Foley, is sitting here on the panel, Mel Goodman.
Foley, we describe as somebody who, later in his career, decided that
fighting wasn't worth it. That-no, it wasn't worth it. He never fought
anything....


Goodman: He's a careerist.


Royce: He is a careerist.

But we mention in the book, when he was asked by the Administration,
and when he was asked later on by the Senate Intelligence Committee,
which was conducting an investigation of what had gone wrong, he told
them he actually believed that Iraq had indeed tried to buy uranium
from Niger, from Africa. That was a key point. Because without uranium
from Africa, there was no mushroom cloud, and that was the main pitch
of the Administration.

However, he told Mel, before the war started-Mel asked him: "So, what
do you think we're going to find in Iraq?" And Foley said, "Little, if
anything, of weapons of mass destruction." So, here was a guy who
would tell people different stories at different times.

Again, WINPAC was the key agency, the key division within CIA, and
Tenet only mentions WINPAC once, and Foley twice, by name, and that's
only because he had to reach-. At one point, when everything was
falling apart after Ambassador Joe Wilson had published his letter in
the New York Times, that he thought the Administration knew there was
no [evidence] that Iraq had tried to purchase uranium, he tried to get
ahold of-and then the CIA and the White House had to get their story
straight, on whose fault was it that there was no uranium, and that
Iraq hadn't tried to get uranium. He had to try to track down Foley,
because it was Foley who had discussed the whole issue, the 16 words
that went into the State of the Union address in 2003. It was Foley
and Bob Joseph at the National Security Council....

At any rate, he mentions him. He tried to get ahold of him before he
wrote a paper basically taking the blame for having screwed up.

Again, that's the main highlight I wanted to touch on.

'Mushroom Clouds on the Horizon'

Eisner: What I'd like to do is just, ask Pat Lang, and some of the
other folks, a diverse number of types of questions. Question: From
your perspective, between 9/11 and the U.S. invasion of Iraq, what did
you hear, and what was received from your sources, about changes,
since the National Intelligence Estimate of 1998.

Let's start from square one, which we did in our book. The United
States invaded Iraq because President Bush, the Bush Administration,
said that there was a clear and present danger for the United States,
if there's no action now. If the United States does not invade Iraq
now, mushroom clouds may be on the horizon.

So, Pat Lang, first. What was your take on weapons of mass
destruction?


Lang: Well, I had the advantage of being around in DIA in the first
Gulf War, and for several years thereafter, before I left to go into
business, and I knew, with great certainty, having participated, along
with my friends and companions out at CIA, in the total destruction of
the Iraq nuclear program, to the point that-I won't say how we did
that, but it was a very thorough job. And that went on for a couple
years, and it wasn't any doubt at all, that it was just wreckage, and
the only thing left were a bunch of people, maybe 5,000 scientists,
engineers, technicians, who were very smart folks who had nothing to
work with. And we knew that was just gone.

And then, if you talk about the biological weapons program, that was
never more than research, in my opinion. It was research... Every Arab
country plays around with biological warfare research. It's kind of a
prestige item. It shows "we're big people," you know that "we're doing
that kind of stuff."

And then there was the chemical weapons thing. Well, you know, people
are frightened of chemical weapons with good reason. In this room
here, some sarin would wipe us all out easily. But this is not really
a strategic weapon. In fact, this is really a battlefield tactical
weapon. Even the most persistent kinds are not persistent for a very
great period of time. And it isn't the kind of thing you can threaten
the life of a great country with, really. It's harassment basically.
Even a real job in the subway in Tokyo, but you know, including in the
subway in New York City; yet this is not something which threatens the
life of the United States.

So, people started talking about how this guy had these weapons
programs, I knew for a fact that the BW [biological weapons] thing,
and the chemical thing, even though I'd been away for a few years-I'd
been hanging around the Middle East all that time, since I left-and I
knew very well that these things did not fill the bill for the
terrible, terrible threat that was being portrayed. And the nuclear
program, we'd smashed it up so totally that I didn't see how they
could be doing more than maybe trying, after '98-that's when the
inspectors left. And after they'd left, maybe they were trying to
resume some kind of furtive thing. But this is a big enterprise,
making nuclear weapons. This is not something you do in your garage.
And you have to have an awful lot of equipment, and people, and stuff.

So, my impression was, when I started to listen to this, and the
drumbeat got higher and higher, and heavier and heavier all the time,
that there's something really screwy about this. There's something
here that doesn't add up. In fact, in terms of what the realities
could possibly be, what they could be doing.

So, I became increasingly suspicious as time went along after 9/11.
Here we kept hearing this more and more and more. And then it became
increasingly clear after a while, that the intelligence was being
driven, the analysis of information and the evaluation of the
information, was being driven by policy, rather than being a free-
standing object intended to limit policy, which is the way I always
did it. (People always thought I was pretty limited anyway.)

And, in fact, I thought there was something very basically wrong. But
I'll shut up there, because other people will have other things to
say, and I could go on for a couple hours.

The CIA Caved In to the Administration

Goodman: Well, let me make three points, to join what Pat was saying.

Number One, you have to realize that the best source of intelligence
that the CIA had, was the fact that they had operational people on the
United Nations inspector teams. They had a significant number in every
round of inspection. And they were there to collect intelligence, not
only in terms of WMD, but on Saddam Hussein, and on a variety of Iraqi
chiefs.

When the UN inspectors left, and tried to get back in after Desert
Fox, the Clinton bombing attack on Iraq in 1998, Saddam Hussein said
no. What that meant was the CIA lost the very best intelligence
collection, the clandestine collection that it had. The reason why
this is important, is, they went from 1998, when they had some
collection, and were very cautious about what they said about
chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons-and if you look at all of
their intelligence throughout the '90s, up to '98, they were extremely
cautious-they went in 2002, all of a sudden, with no additional
collection, the CIA claims they have high confidence-and Tenet talks
about high confidence in this book.

So, I knew that was nonsense. They had no reason to be confident, and
they had no reason to claim that they had any specific information,
because for four years, they had nothing.

The second point that's important-and remember I was at the War
College then, so I still had all the clearances I had when I was at
the CIA-I called up NSA colleagues from times past when I worked on
the Soviet Union, and I basically asked them, without telling me
anything in terms of sources and methods, what were they picking up
that would give them any indication that Iraq was working on either
chemical weapons, biological weapons, or nuclear weapons?

Now, the background of that was, I knew from my Soviet experience,
there was no way that Iraq, or any other country, could be moving
things around without certain circuits pulsing, that NSA [the National
Security Agency] had access to, particularly in the Middle East. NSA
knew there was nothing in terms of nuclear weapons.

So, if NSA says there was nothing-and I consider NSA a very fine
professional outfit, and in some ways, it's the most professional
outfit in the intelligence community-it was clear to me that there was
nothing there.

Then, the third thing that's very important, and gets to the heart of
the corruption of the tradecraft of the CIA-and this is what I blame
Tenet for, as much as anything else: Not only did they politicize the
intelligence, but they didn't honor any of the basic tradecraft of how
you go about doing intelligence analysis. The fact of the matter is,
the CIA had made a decision-I think they made it in August/September
of 2002-basically to cave in to the Administration and to give them
what they wanted.

The White House, according to the Downing Street memo, had decided to
fuse the issues of terrorism and WMD, to make a case for war, and
[then head of British MI6 Richard] Dearlove, the author of that memo,
has said that the agency was fixing its intelligence to that policy.
And the clearest indication of that was the very good intelligence the
CIA was collecting on the fact that Iraq had nothing. And that was
intelligence from Saddam Hussein's son-in-law, remember, who defected,
went out to Jordan in the middle of the 1990s, somewhere around '94 or
'95; he was debriefed by the Jordanians, and debriefed by the CIA, and
he told them, since he was the head of the Iraqi military mobilization
department, he was responsible for destroying a lot of the chemical
and biological stocks and missiles-they didn't have a nuclear program
after '91-and he told them all of this.

The CIA didn't put any of this information in its finished
intelligence products.

Number two, the CIA was doing a very good job in recruiting a former
foreign minister of Iraq by the name of Sabri, until the White House
said, lay off of Sabri, we don't want his information any more. As
Tyler Drumheller says in his very useful book, this isn't about WMD
any more, this is about regime change. Well, Sabri was telling us
everything we needed to know about what Iraq did not have.

And also the CIA had a very curious character who I'm not going to get
into by the name of Charlie Allen, who's now over at the Department of
Homeland Security, who was very controversial at CIA, but he came up
with something very interesting in the 2002 period. It was Charlie
Allen's idea to go around the country, to find Iraqi-Americans who had
relatives in Iraq who worked in the weapons area, who were scientists,
engineers, technicians. Send them back to Baghdad and Iraq, before the
war started, to see what they could find out from family members, who
had access. These people came back, and they reported, and they said,
"All of these programs have been shut down."

And again, the CIA had never printed any of this material in the
President's daily brief, in the National Intelligence Estimates, in
any kind of intelligence assessment.

So, what the CIA did, and it's a violation of the Holy Grail-I mean,
this is the worst possible thing you can do, they ignored all of the
intelligence that you could argue, you could make one series of
assumptions from, and they trumped up the intelligence that for the
most part was single source, or primary source. And any good
investigator or reporter-Knut is one of the best investigative
reporters, and he'll tell you that you don't go into print with one
source-and that's exactly what the CIA did. They found the source that
told them what they needed to know. And when I testified against Bob
Gates in 1991, when he was confirmed as CIA Director, I said the CIA
and Gates and Bill Casey were guilty of judge-shopping in the
courthouse. That's what exactly what George Tenet did. It's what John
McLaughlin did. It's what Paul Pillar did, it's what Robert Walpole
did, and it's what Alan Foley did. And it's totally unconscionable,
and it needs to be corrected.

Throwing a 'Curveball' at Powell

Wilkerson: I come at this from a very different perspective, because
for some 35-36 years, I've been an intelligence user, not an
intelligence officer. Tactical-operational and strategic level in the
military, principally the strategic level at the State Department. And
like the other members of the panel, I could probably talk forever,
but I'm going to focus on George Tenet. Because I have grave concerns
about what he's written in his book, and what I saw him say on "60
Minutes," and other interviews that I've witnessed, over the last few
days.

I also have grave concerns about John McLaughlin, the DDCI, his
deputy, because I spent five of the most intimate days of my life, and
five nights, without sleeping, as did my team, staring into George
Tenet's, and John McLaughlin's, and Robert Walpole's, and Larry
Gershwin's, and other people's faces, at Langley.

And while I agree with my panel members up here, and I think I'm going
to hear the same thing over here, and Carl Ford, who is assistant
secretary for intelligence research at the State Department, and for
whom I have a great deal of respect, that this was one colossal
intelligence failure, my concern is even deeper than that. And my
concern has grown, and grown, as I have been able to do some research
since I left the State Department, and listened to people like this,
and others-investigative reporters, and so forth.

And here's where my concern focuses: Either George Tenet is lying
through his teeth, or Tyler Drumheller is lying through his teeth-the
chief of the European division for CIA-with regard to one of the most
important pillars of Secretary Powell's presentation at the United
Nations: the mobile biological laboratories. One of the things
Secretary Powell and I told Mr. Tenet and Mr. McLaughlin at the outset
of our frenetic five or six days, trying to get ready for the UN, was
"multiple sources." We will not take anything and put it in this
presentation, unless there are multiple, independently corroborated
sources for the items we're putting in the testimony. That was the
going-in position.

Now, I learn, I think-although George has again put some doubt in my
mind-that there was a single source for the mobile biological
laboratories; that his codename was Curveball; and that there were
several, some very key, dissents as to this individual's testimony,
during or before the preparation of the Secretary of State. None of
that, ladies and gentlemen, none of that was revealed to the Secretary
of State, or to me, or to any member of my team, by either John
McLaughlin or George Tenet.

So, that's my first area of concern: Who's lying? This isn't an
intelligence matter. This is worse, far worse. This isn't just cherry-
picking, or political spin on intelligence. This is plain-out outright
falsehood to the Secretary of State.

The second point is even more dramatic. Secretary Powell, on my advice
and others', was getting ready to whittle the terrorism portion of his
presentation, from 25 pages that had been given us by the CIA, down to
about 5; and then, about the third day, we were going to eliminate it
altogether, because frankly, it stunk.

At the moment that we were having this discussion, about whether or
not we were going to include anything about Saddam's contacts with
terrorist groups and so forth, a dramatic thing occurred. All of a
sudden, we were told that a high-level al-Qaeda operative-I was never
told his name, I'm not sure that the Secretary was either, you'd have
to ask him-had been interrogated; and that that high-level al-Qaeda
operative had revealed that there was major training going on by the
Mukhabarat in Iraq-Saddam Hussein's people-of al-Qaeda operatives in
how to use chemical and biological weapons. This was quite a
revelation, and, as you can imagine, changed the Secretary's mind
about how much he was going to include about contacts between al-Qaeda
and Iraq in his presentation.

I have subsequently learned, once again-as best as I can tell from
numerous sources-that this information was gained from a Libyan al-
Qaeda operative named al-Libi; that it was gained under torture, or
near-torture, waterboarding and other. It was gained in Egypt, and no
U.S. personnel were even present when this interrogation was going on.
Nonetheless, the moment the information came forth, if indeed it did
come forth, it was hurried to the appropriate authorities, and was
given to the Secretary of State, and created quite a dramatic moment
in Langley.

I have subsequently learned that the DIA dissented, very quickly, on
this information. I was told that a "computer glitch" kept us from
seeing that dissent. I'm also told that even as we were in Langley,
and in New York, preparing the Secretary for his presentation, that al-
Libi himself recanted the entire confession-which you might say, "aw,
who'd believe al-Libi?" Nonetheless, it should have been known, and it
should have been delivered to the Secretary of State, that this had
happened, not to mention the DIA dissent.

So, we went ahead with two central pillars of his presentation at the
United Nations, essentially based on information that I have every
reason to believe now, was known to be unreliable, and even false, by
the DCI George Tenet, and the DDCI John McLaughlin. And yet, I never
heard a single word of doubt on their part, as to these two pillars of
the presentation.

Quite the contrary. I heard words to the effect of "slam dunk." As you
know, George Tenet is a real basketball fan, and so he uses terms like
that a lot. And I heard those kinds of terms, or similar phraseology,
a number of times, with regard to these kinds of points. Because
Secretary Powell was very skeptical about some of this stuff. After
all, we'd started out with a 48-page script handed to him by Scooter
Libby, chief of staff to the Vice President, which we had, within
eight hours of arriving at Langley, completely debunked and thrown
out, and turned to the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate, in
lieu of that script, because that script was so full of holes, and
uncorroborated.

So, we were highly skeptical as to what we were going to take, and
what we weren't going to take, and the Secretary laid down the law.
And as far as I'm concerned, the DCI and the DDCI, at a minimum, had a
responsibility to be as honest as possible with him, in following his
dictates. And I am increasingly of a mind that they didn't, and they
knew they weren't.

'The Books Were Cooked'

Johnson: Cooking the books is something I personally became acquainted
with back in 1986, as a new analyst at the Central Intelligence
Agency. I became the Honduran analyst, and Honduras was important in
the context of U.S. policy in Central America, because Honduras was
the aircraft carrier base for Contra forces attacking the Sandinista
government. And, being caught in that position, and learning how
intelligence analysis and politics at the White House, particularly in
terms of what the White House and the President want to say, it was an
important, let's say, it was a formative experience.

I recall sitting in a morning meeting, where Bob Vickers, who was the
morning officer for Latin America at the time, and as I referred to
the Contras, he stopped me. He said, "You have to refer to them as the
Democratic National Resistance." And I said, "But the President calls
them the Contras!" And his response was, "Yes, but he's the
President." And that insight, how we start playing with words, where
you can no longer describe something for what it is, and you have to
make up euphemisms and other things, is one of the, if you will,
warning signs, or the canary in the mineshaft singing, that the oxygen
is running out quickly.

In the lead-up to the war, I was constantly bouncing things off of Pat
[Lang], because, apart from his tenure with the Defense Intelligence
Agency, he set up the Arabic program over at West Point, and he had
basically trained every colonel, most of the Arabist colonels that are
running around the U.S. Army today, and had spent a lot of time out in
the field, and was a combat officer. So, he had a broad base of
experience. It struck us at the time, we talked on several occasions
and said, "they must have something else."

And I recall during my time at State Department, when there was a
terrorist attack. And we put together a brief-that was the Tiny Star,
it was a maritime attack off the coast of Israel-we put together a
briefing team of NSA and CIA analysts who went around with a State
Department official to brief friends and foes in the Middle East, and
around the Mediterranean about, "here's the goods that we've got on
'em," and at that time, people said, "Okay, yeah, you got it."

So, I was proceeding on the assumption. "Surely, they've got something
they're not telling us." I would like to say I was one of those who,
before the war started, said this is a crock. I didn't. However, I did
get fired from the Fox News network as a news analyst for having the
audacity in November of 2002 to say, that if we went into Iraq, it
would be a diversion in the war on terror. And in January of 2003, I
put together a paper-this was in my pre-blog days. I'm convinced, if
I'd known more about blogs then, and there were more blogs active, we
might have stopped the war.

But, I wrote this paper. It was detailing Iraq's involvement, or lack
thereof, in terrorism. And I gave it to Jerry Bremer, L. Paul Bremer,
and my old boss at State Department, Morris Busby. Both Jerry and Buzz
had been coordinators of counterterrorism, and the thrust of the paper
was this: It is true that Iraq is a state sponsor of terrorism, or
was. But when you broke out and looked at what those acts were, Iraq
was not responsible for any mass-casualty attacks. Iraq's targets were
Israel and Iran, with the UN inspectors to a lesser extent. And it was
not terribly effective in using terrorism, and the last known attack
of its involvement against U.S. targets, was in February of 1993, when
they tried to blow up former President Bush-I think it was '95; no, '93
-in Kuwait.

And I wish I would have saved the e-mail back from Jerry, but he
basically came back and said, "Hey! You're barking up the wrong tree
here. Nobody's interested in the facts. We're going to war."

Our friendship, you'll be surprised to know, has evaporated in the
light of his excellent, and not-so-excellent, adventures in Iraq.

In May of 2003, I got an e-mail from one of my former colleagues. Now
George Tenet has tried to run away from the letter that several of us
drafted decrying his book, and calling upon him to give back the
proceeds, at least some of the proceeds, from his advance, to the
soldiers, and the families of soldiers, who were killed or wounded in
Iraq. Because in my view, and our view, the man has blood on his
hands. He had a chance, if he would have spoken up, he could have
stopped this rush to war. He chose to remain silent, but not just
remain silent, he chose to be an active participant in a deception
that was carried out, not only against other U.S. government
officials, but against the American people.

And it's not a matter of my word against his. The evidence is quite
clear.

In May of 2003, I got a note from one of my former colleagues in the
CIA. A senior person. And this person said, "the books were cooked."
And I went, "Uh oh." And so at that point, I started looking back, and
pushing into other areas, and it became clear, that this was a
deception that was being carried out on the people of the United
States. So, if you haven't bought George Tenet's book, let me put in a
plug: Don't buy it. Don't give the bastard a dime. If you need to read
it, you can probably borrow Mel [Goodman]'s copy, or go to the
library. But for this man to now pretend-"Look, I had doubts from the
beginning"-and he said nothing.

Mel's point, and Pat I know would endorse this, because as
intelligence professionals, your responsibility is not to take sides
in an issue; your responsibility is to tell what you know, it's to
tell what you don't know, and it's to give policy-makers at least a
range of options about other, be it different circumstances and
assumptions-what's the likely outcome.

But George Tenet has now admitted that in saying "slam dunk," he was
signing on as the chief cheerleader for the Bush-for-war team. And he
was going to help lead the cheers to the American people. And if that
doesn't disqualify him for public service ever again in the United
States, I don't know what does.

A Corruption of the Process

Lang: I have a couple points I'd like to make. As I started to say
earlier, you know, at the strategic level one of the main functions of
intelligence production, analysis production, is to reduce policy
options from the level of fantasy, to that of extreme reality. In
order for that to work, the intelligence function has to have-its
products have to be respected, and they have to be given due weight by
policy-makers, the decision-makers, as to what you're actually going
to do.

This is also true of the military, by the way, at a different kind of
level.

But in fact, a problem arose in this Administration, which is inherent
in any administration, but it really got out of hand in this one, in
my opinion. I'm more or less retired now, so I can get to do just the
things that I feel like doing, pretty much. So I spend a lot of time
on things like academic panels, seminars, and boards of academic
people, things like that, foundations boards, you know. And I get to
associate with a lot of young fellows who were big-time staffers in
the first term of the Bush Administration, and now, a lot have
returned to academia, and I listened to what they say. And one of
things that's very noticeable here, that amongst these guys, there is
almost universally a great disdain for the functioning of
intelligence. As far as they're concerned, what the function of the
intelligence community, is to gather raw information, repeat it to
them, so that they apply to it their understanding of history, and
what the nature of history is, and where it's going, so as to say what
the meaning of that information is.

Of course, I always resist that pretty strongly, and it gets fairly
heated at times. But in fact, the belief is, amongst folks like this,
that the old sweats in the intelligence community, the guys who apply
the tradecraft of analysis, as Mel says, are really people who are
kind of second- or third-rate people. Nothing like as grand as the
guys who've got two or three degrees from Ivy League universities or
Stanford, or someplace like that. And really, what you need to do is
you feed the stuff up-give us the raw data, and we'll tell you what it
means, we'll tell you what it means in every case.

And that is a terrible corruption of the process of decision-making in
foreign policy, I think. Because if you do that, and you no longer
have an independent brake on the fantasies and the option generation
of the decision-makers, of their staffs-nobody tells them, this is a
crock, which is what they need to be told if it's a crock: that it's a
crock. So that tends to go down the drain in situations like this, and
it certainly did in this case, I think.

The other thing I would like to make an observation about, is the fact
that most analysts in the community are people of some integrity,
varying integrity-and of course, there are always outright careerists,
as Mel would say. I know a few. But in fact, most people would like to
do the right thing. And they study very hard, and I think, as Ruskin
said, that the life's so short, the craft's so long to learn. Well,
it's just exactly like that. So, in fact, they want to do the right
thing.

But when they go up to tell the policy-maker, "Hey, this is a crock,
you're full of it," right? Then this guy is going to push back,
because, as I said before, he and his kids-and they usually are kids-.

And so, when that happens, and it always happens-it happened a lot at
the beginning of this administration; because my old friends,
colleagues, and subordinates used to come to me and say, "These guys
beating the bejesus out of us up at the Office of the Secretary of
Defense, and won't listen to us. They just say we're wrong, we're
stupid, they imply that we're stupid." And when that happens, then the
leaders of the analysts, the working-level analysts, have to go back
to the leadership, the real leadership, George Tenet, the Vice Admiral
Jacoby over in DIA, this one, that one there, and say: "Boss, you've
got to stand up for me. You got to back us up. Because the very thing
we do in life, is at stake here. And if you don't do that, then we'll
all be dead. We will all, as somebody said, 'have drunk the kool-aid.'
"

And, in fact, that didn't happen. So, I don't give a damn about George
Tenet, personally. I hope he collects his royalties, and lives to be
miserable with them. But in fact, the problem is that it doesn't seem
that this process has ended, in fact. If you look around right now, as
to what the Administration is broadcasting, and there are a million
little signals everywhere about Syria and Iran-what you see is a
similar case being made against these places, by innuendo, half-truth,
exaggeration, refusal to interact with people who tell them the truth,
or even offer to cooperate, and things like that. The same kind of
case is being built. The underpinnings are the same.

So I think you have to ask yourself, do we have better leadership now
in the intelligence community? Do we? I don't know. Maybe my friends
do.

A 'Cabal' in the Administration

Eisner: I have a question for everyone here. It's going to be moving
into a slightly different direction. As Colonel Wilkerson said, he has
a different position, has held a different position, was a customer of
intelligence during this whole period. He also was famously, I'm not
putting him on the spot, but he's famously known for saying, that
there was some form of cabal working in the Administration. When I am
asked the whys of this story, when I talk about the fact that the 16
words were well-known to be false before they were uttered by
President Bush, how the CIA almost, if not immediately after first
getting the information about nuclear weapons, didn't even investigate
very much, because many analysts discarded the information, because
Iraq didn't need uranium, because it already had it. Iraq had no
program to process uranium, because the act of obtaining uranium from
Africa, would have been very difficult. And beyond all those things,
the source for the information was highly questionable.

So, adding that to everything that's been said so far, people then
come to the question: Why? What was the superstructure? Who was
cooking the books?

You're talking about cooking the books, you're talking about the
hijacking of intelligence. Where did it come from? And why?

Dick Cheney's War

Goodman: I don't think that's a very difficult question to deal with.
I think the master of this war, and the one who outlined the strategy
for the war, and designed-and I agree with Larry [Johnson] that it was
just a classic case of agitprop: There was a propaganda campaign, and
we were taken in by it, and the press was taken in by it-but the chief
operator in all this, let's call him "Geppetto," was Dick Cheney. This
is Dick Cheney's war. It has always been Dick Cheney's war.

Now the one thing that Dick Cheney needed to sell this war, to market
his war, was nuclear reconstitution. And remember, I think it was
September the 8th, [2002], when all of the high-level members of the
Bush Administration went on national television with "smoking gun" and
the mushroom cloud. And what Joe Wilson was threatening, was to take
down the argument about nuclear reconstitution, when he said, "I'll
tell you what I found in Niger. I found nothing."

So, you had only two pins for nuclear reconstitution. It was Niger,
enriched uranium, and the phony 16 words; and you had the aluminum
tubes. And frankly, I'll pass the question to Larry, because people
feel that Tenet should have resigned. I've always thought that Colin
Powell should resign. Colin Powell is a hell of a lot more popular in
this country than George Bush. If Colin Powell had stood up, and said
what he thought, and told us what he knew, there would have been no
war.

George Tenet is an apparatchik. I'm not impressed with George Tenet.
He should never have been CIA Director. But how did Colin Powell, a
military officer, a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, get taken in by the
aluminum tubes, which was driven by a kid, a young kid engineer by the
name of Joe Turner, at the CIA, who stood up somehow to all of the PhD
scientists of the weapons labs, and Department of Energy, because
Foley wanted this argument out there to make the case for war. I think
Powell could have stopped this.

But that's why this was so important to Cheney. That's why they
desperately hounded Valerie Plame-and again, sorry Peter, but I'll go
after the Washington Post on this: I don't know why Fred Hiatt is so
convinced that Joe Wilson was lying about many of these issues. The
Washington Post owes Joe Wilson an apology. But Fred Hiatt continues
to write and sponsor op-eds and editorials about all of the misleading
advice that Joe Wilson gave the country. Joe Wilson was trying to get
in the way of this moving train, that was moving toward war in 2002.

So, there are still a lot of things that we don't know. But I think
the key element in the question: This was Cheney's war, this was
Cheney's issue, and he had to run with it. He couldn't allow it to be
compromised.


Wilkerson: I don't disagree with that. I think my previous comments
about a cabal between the two Secretaries of Defense-one, then a Vice
President, the other, another Secretary of Defense-you watch the body
language around these two men, you wouldn't know which one was which.
I didn't know whether Rumsfeld was running things, or Cheney was
running things. On any particular issue, you could take your pick.

But the Vice President, in my mind, is the person who ran this country
on a foreign policy perspective from 2001 to 2005, when I was at the
State Department.

On the issue of the aluminum tubes: It's far more complicated than
these people know. Another dramatic moment occurred: If you go back
and review the Secretary's presentation, then you will see that he,
himself, qualified his comment at the UN about the aluminum tubes,
because his mind was not clear on it.

When he was getting ready to toss it out completely, we suddenly got
another dramatic moment. This dramatic moment, I still can't say the
name of the country, but let's just say this-it was a well-respected
country, with one of the best intelligence services in the world-a
country suddenly reported to us that not only had it spun its
consignment of tubes-there were different consignments intercepted.
And they had spun them to 98,000 rpm, which means nothing to you, but
everything to someone that's looking at potential centrifuges, over an
extended period of time with no visible deterioration, etc., etc.,
etc. It was a very dramatic report. Not quite as dramatic as al-Libi,
but nonetheless dramatic.

And we inquired, including the Secretary-if I recall right, I have to
go back and check my notes-but I think Dr. Rice may have been there at
that time, too; I think she inquired, too, as you might suspect, "Can
we use this?" And Mr. Tenet, with Mr. McLaughlin sitting beside him,
nodding his head up and down, said "Well, we're going to have to check
with our counterparts, because their political authorities might not
allow us to use this." Duh! Damage was done! The Secretary had
suddenly made up his mind that, at least, he was going to leave it in
his presentation and qualify it, to express the fact that he knew
there was debate still going on about the aluminum tubes.

And, needless to say, the next morning, when Mr. Tenet came back and
said, reluctantly, the political authority would not allow that
intelligence service to let us use that information, because it had
been a commercial lab that had done this, and the bonds between this
commercial lab and this intelligence service were delicate, etc.,
etc., etc.-sort of like "sources and methods"-we couldn't use that in
the presentation specifically, but we didn't need to use it in the
presentation specifically. It convinced the Secretary that he ought to
leave that information, as has been said here, the only real
information that constituted any proof of an attempt to reconstitute a
nuclear program in Iraq.

And so, it was a litte bit more complex. Carl Ford [head the Bureau of
Intelligence and Research (INR) in the State Department from 2001
until 2003, reporting directly to Powell] and I have argued about this
a lot-it's a little more complex than even Carl knew. And if I fault
myself for anything, in this particular instance, it's not calling
Carl and getting him over there, and fighting in front of Tenet over
this issue. Carl had decided, that the Secretary had access to him, I
had access to him-which was true-and that we didn't need him or any of
his people over at the CIA. The Secretary passed every script past
him, called him, talked with him, and so forth. But I wish now, that
I'd brought Carl over to the CIA with me, because he would have given
me some intelligence professionalism to push back at McLaughlin and
Tenet, when we doubted something.

'A Finger in the Eye'

Johnson: "Poking a finger in the eye": That's one of the phrases you
learn as an analyst. The process of writing, whether it's for the
Presidential Daily Brief, or the National Intelligence Daily, is, you
start off in the morning, sort of like a newspaper reporter dealing
with breaking news; we offer up a story-line; the section chief
carries it forward to a morning meeting. At the morning meeting, the
division chief says, "Yeah, I think we'll go with that." Then the
division chief has to go upstairs and present it to an office chief.
So it's very much a bureaucratic function, and it's amazing that
anything gets done, but somehow in that process, you're able to turn
these pieces out.

So, anything that gets written like this, it's not just because
somebody is sitting there on their own saying, "Boy! I've got a great
idea for a story!" It is overseen, it is supervised; and in fact, my
understanding is, over the last seven years, they have actually added
layers of management review to the process. So the fact that someone
like this analyst Joe Turner, in WINPAC, was able to run amok, it was
not Joe Turner on his own: He was running amok with the witting
cooperation of senior CIA officials, with Jamie Miscik, the DDI, with
the people of Alan Foley who was in his chain of command. These people
participated in that, willingly. These are not ignorant, stupid
people.

One of the things you learn as an analyst early on, is, you have to
properly present the information about what you know, and properly
source it. And if you are faced with a situation in which you are
dealing with only one source, then, that doesn't quite carry the
weight of, say, three or four independent sources that corroborate one
another.

But the other thing, I'd like to bring this home to you, because
they're still saying it: George Tenet is out there saying, "Well,
everybody knew that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction." Most
people go, "Well, yeah, that's true." You gotta say, "Stop, right
there." Saying that, "Everybody in Virginia owns a firearm": Okay.
What's the nature of those firearms? If most of them are 19th-Century
or 18th-Century collectors' items, that's a far different problem than
saying, everybody's got an AK-47 or an automatic weapon, or a 50-
caliber Barrett rifle. What are those weapons? How are they used? And
this goes back to the point that Pat was making earlier: That it is
always the context of looking at Saddam, who used to have X amount of
weapons; a percentage of those were destroyed during the first Gulf
War; an additional percentage were destroyed in the subsequent
inspection period. And now, we're asked to believe that he's had this
many weapons destroyed through one fashion or another, but now poses a
greater threat? How does less become more? I've never understood it.

And one last observation on this "friends and family program" that
became the Bush Administration. Dick Cheney got his job in Washington,
in part-well, not in part-because of Don Rumsfeld. I know the man, and
the man's a good personal friend of mine, who was called by Don
Rumsfeld in 1972, and he said to my friend, "Hey, I've got this young
man, his name's Dick Cheney, and he needs a job." So, my friend gave
Dick Cheney a job for two years, and at the end of that two-year
period, Cheney walked in and said, "Hey, I've been offered the Chief
of Staff job at the White House." So, this relationship between Rummy
and Cheney goes back 40 years. And when they bring up Paul Wolfowitz-
remember Wolfowitz was Under Secretary of Defense under Cheney. You
know, so when you start doing the wiring diagram relationships on
this, just like an anthropologist, you understand that you're dealing
with sort of an inbred tribe that would do a disservice to call it
"West Virginia inbreeding." [laughter]


Eisner: One other connection there, is that Colin Powell came into the
mix pretty close to that period, being brought into investigate the My
Lai incident, and is, I believe, widely recognized to have whitewashed
the My Lai incident, having said that it was an isolated case,
involving one person, one incident, and not anything broader than
that. And as a result of that report, he suddenly hopped over about
four levels of infantry officers, and found himself in the White
House.

The Crucial Role of Colin Powell

Wilkerson: I've got to say something here. I was out in Monterey,
California on Saturday at a conference, and Dr. Perry was in the
audience, and a host of other people. And I got asked a question, you
know, "Why didn't Colin Powell resign?" And I'll be very honest, as I
was honest with them: It would have lasted a month. It wouldn't have
any impact. It might have had a little bit of impact initially, maybe
a week's worth of impact, but then it would have faded. And he would
have been like any other Secretary of State, like [Cyrus] Vance or
whomever. We tend to think it would have been very powerful-it
wouldn't have done anything. In fact, Dick Cheney would have exulted
in his departure. And moved right out, just as ruthless, with the
vision that he has, as he had before.

Here's the key, I think, and if I ever write a book, this is what my
book is going to be about: You would not have liked at all, to have
seen the first Bush Administration without Colin Powell. We would not
have relations with Germany, France, or probably any NATO country.
Turkey would have told us to go to Hell long ago, not just taken a
very close vote on whether they were going to be with us in the Iraq
War-they'd have told us the strategic relationship was at an end.

We would have had a real mess. Colin Powell held [former German
Foreign Minister] Joschka Fischer's hand under the table; [former
French Foriegn Minister] Dominique de Villepin's hand under the table.
The French are the best counterterrorist people in the world. Donald
Rumsfeld is sticking his finger in their eyes in every conceivable way
he could, even to the nitty-gritty stuff, like telling the commandant
of the Marine Corps that he couldn't, for the 30th year in a row, go
and celebrate the birth of the Marine Corps with his French
counterpart. I mean, this was absurd! And every time something like
this happened, Colin Powell stepped in.

Let me tell you something even more serious: The Defense Department,
with Feith, Cambone, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, was dispatching a person to
Taiwan every week, essentially to tell the Taiwanese that the alliance
was back on. Essentially to tell Chen Shui-bian, whose entire power in
Taiwan rested on the independence movement, that independence was a
good thing. We dispatched either our AIT [American Institute in
Taiwan] representative, or someone from the State Department right
behind that guy, every time they sent somebody, to disabuse the entire
Taiwanese national security apparatus of what they'd been told by the
Defense Department.

This went on until George Bush weighed in, and told Rumsfeld to cease
and desist, told him multiple times to re-establish military-to-
military relations with China, one time in a raised voice that even
surprised Dr. Rice. And he fired the wife of Larry Di Rita, Therese
Shaheen, who was the Taiwan rep here in Roslyn, Virginia. Because she
went out, after the President finally rebuked Chen Shui-bian,
publicly, she went out and said the President of the United States
didn't really mean what he said.

And so, Colin Powell had the U.S.-China relationship, with, I will
admit, strong backing from the President on occasion, in his hand, the
whole time, too: from the EP3-F8 collision in April 2001, till the
time he left the State Department. So, let me say again: You would not
have liked to have seen the first Bush Administration, without the
balanced voice of Colin Powell.

Cheney: 'Truly Delusional'


Eisner: Let me ask a question about Dick Cheney: Pat Lang might have
one of the closer relationships with Dick Cheney over time; how has he
changed, and why is he doing what he's doing, to the degree that you
can analyze it?

Lang: Well, I contemplated this issue a lot. When I was the head
Middle East/South Asia guy in the period of the first Gulf War, I used
to brief the man quite a lot, and he was not an inspiring student or
pupil, but he wasn't an offensive one. You know, he would listen
politely and impassively, and ask an occasional question. But he
didn't challenge anything you said, he didn't-he just asked for an
elaboration of points occasionally. And so, I thought he was a
reasonably balanced kind of guy.

And then all of a sudden, in this Administration, starting in 2000,
you have this guy who is increasingly revealed as somebody who is
really destiny-driven or something, by some sort of deep-seated
animosity toward Iraq, especially, and has signed up to the historical
theorizations of a lot of people like Wolfowitz, and Feith, and people
like that. And the change-over is quite striking. You see, there
either was a change-over there, or I just missed it completely the
first time around. And a lot of people told me that. A lot of people
who knew him in earlier days, say that they do not, in fact, recognize
the man. Who was it who said famously, "I no longer know Dick Cheney?"

[From the audience: "Brent Scowcroft."]


Lang: Scowcroft. And I remember I briefed him the morning that he went
to Saudi Arabia, under Bandar's supervision, I guess, to persuade the
King to let us in the Kingdom after the Iraqis had invaded Kuwait. And
he listened, listened, listened, and he talked, he looked at all the
pictures and everything, you know, he asked a couple of questions;
then, "Thank you very much," and left the room. And this is not-it
doesn't add up to the guy who's encouraged all these analysts to be
driven to the wall so that they had to fall back on their own
resources of courage, or roll over and play dead, in the run-up to the
Gulf War, and I think that that's a puzzlement. And I don't quite
understand the man at all.


Q: You described Cheney as delusional. Do you still believe he's
delusional?


Lang: Yeah. The evidence of Cheney number 2, or Cheney version 22, or
whatever it is-is that this man, I think, this man is truly delusional
in a lot of ways, and he doesn't in fact have a good grip on reality,
and is easily captive of various fantasies proposed to him about the
nature of reality and history, what the Middle East is all about, and
things like that. He seems to be very, very minimal in some ways, and
it fits in with a pattern of rigidity in his thinking, which is-I
think delusional would be still be my word.

Bring In 'Team B'

Goodman: Let me just tell one anecdote, because it shows there's been
no change whatsoever in Cheney on policy or intelligence matters, and
it also points to what Larry was talking about in terms of the
inbreeding, and the Cheney-Rumsfeld relationship, which was incredibly
tight, until I think Rumsfeld lost interest in this war, which was why
he was forced to resign-it had nothing to do with the election, as far
as I'm concerned.

In the mid-1970s, when Cheney was Chief of Staff for [President
Gerald] Ford, and Rumsfeld was Secretary of Defense, they wanted to go
after the CIA then. It was their idea to put together a "Team B" of
troglodytes: people like Paul Wolfowitz, Gen. Danny Graham, Bill Van
Cleave, people who were well-known as neo-conservatives, before we
used the term neo-conservative. He wanted to send this group out to
the CIA, but CIA Director Bill Colby, who I worked for for a short
period of time, wouldn't let them in the building. Bill Colby was
forced to resign.

And in comes George Herbert Walker Bush, where Rumsfeld wanted to put
Bush in, because he thought Bush was a lightweight; but there's a
chance that Bush could become nominated as a Republican candidate for
President, something that Rumsfeld thought he deserved as the smartest
person in all of Washington. And of course, they go back to the CIA,
and George Herbert Walker Bush, says, "Yeah, bring in Team B."

So, they bring in these troglodytes to try to push CIA analysis on the
Soviet Union to the right, at the very time, we're getting very
sensitive information, including very sensitive intercepted
information from NSA, about the efforts the Soviets now want to make
to try to move toward arms control and détente. And this was '77, when-
I don't want to get into the Kremlinology-the important Brezhnev
speech at Tula, and they were starting to cut back on the growth in
defense spending.

So, the point I want to make, is, Cheney and Rumsfeld have never
wanted the kind of intelligence organization that Harry Truman wanted
to put together, and did put together, in 1947, in the National
Security Act: that is, an independent agency providing intelligence,
with the bark on, that was outside of the policy process; that would
hopefully be as objective and balanced as you could make it, and not
wedded to any specific policy. They wanted to end that role for the
CIA, and intelligence in general, and intelligence would serve the
same function that every other policy instrument serves: It would be
part and parcel of the White House.

And just as this group now has politicized every agency in government,
from what I can tell-every regulatory agency, every key domestic
agency, the whole national security process has been militarized and
politicized under this regime: This, to me, is what this cabal is all
about. It's very serious. It won't easily be reversed. It has caused
incredible mischief and problems for American national security
policy.


Lang: Give me another shot at this, will you? I'd like to revisit what
I said, for just a minute here, thinking about that. When Wolfowitz
was Undersecretary of Defense for Policy under Cheney, in the early
'90s, working for him, of course, there were two deputy-deputies, were
Scooter Libby and Zalmay Khalilzad. Khalilzad had the portfolio for
strategy formulation, and that intersected with my job-even if they
had to talk to me about it, if they didn't want to have a mess and an
argument all the time.

So, Zalmay Khalilzad drafted a policy statement to go into some sort
of defense document-I forget what it was-and it essentially said that
the United States should use its power to benevolently dominate the
world, and not hang back from use of force if necessary. And we had
several interesting dust-ups about that, because they kept saying if
DIA would support this, in its aspects with regard to the real
situation in the world, among others, I kept saying no.

And this culminated one day, in a nasty scene in the dining hall in
the Army-Navy Club, downtown, in which Khalilzad got more and more
angry with me and finally yelled at me, so that every head in the room
turned around, and says, "The problem with you native Americans, is"-
and he didn't mean an Indian, either-"the problem with you native
Americans is that you don't understand your responsibility in the use
of power." And then, shortly after that, the Army General Staff leaked
the documents in the Washington Post and the scheme came to an end.


Goodman: Actually, the L.A. Times as I recalled, the L.A. Times, the
New York Times, and the Washington Post always felt that Scowcroft was
responsible for that. It was a document, a defense policy review, from
'91 to '92.


Wilkerson: I'd like to just say one thing here, as an academic: In
1963, in fact, Dec. 22, 1963, Harry Truman had an op-ed in the
Washington Post-go Google it, you can find it; go read it, I recommend
it to you-Harry Truman was accusing the CIA of being a beast,
something he didn't recognize, something he had not created, in 1963.
And who could blame him? A 1953 coup run by Kermit Roosevelt and Allen
Dulles, under John Foster Dulles, that overthrew the first
democratically elected Persian government, in Iran, and put us where
we are today; '54, coup in Guatemala. Need I say more? Harry, in '63,
was not happy with the CIA.

Dialogue with the Audience

Eisner: Let me see if there's questions from the floor. Yes.


Question: Yes, my name is Michele Steinberg with EIR magazine: I cover
U.S. policy in the Middle East. There's a very famous quote, beside
"slam dunk" which is, I think, from Secretary Powell. It's: "You break
it, you own it." And the thing that's broken more, in my mind, than
Iraq, is the United States of America. And right now, there is a
Congressional resolution on the table, H.R. 333: Rep. [Dennis]
Kucinich, Rep. [Janice] Schakowsky from Illinois, Rep. William Clay
from Missouri-and it's about impeachment. And it's not about
impeachment of Bush, it's about impeachment of Dick Cheney, and the
documentation which is about-oh, I'd say about 60 or 70 items long-is
on many of the issues that are addressed today, like the mushroom
clouds, aluminum tubes, all of that.

Now, I wish that all of you folks were sworn-in witnesses before the
U.S. Congress right now, but inasmuch as Colonel Lang mentioned
something that is happening now, Syria and Iran, disinformation,
cooking the books, etc., would you say that this is appropriate to get
this kind of investigation going right now?


Wilkerson: I think that's an excellent question. I think our Founding
Fathers would be appalled, that in some 200-plus years, we never used
that clause they put in our Constitution, except fecklessly, and in
one case, successfully. The Articles of Impeachment that threatened
Richard Nixon certainly were the reason he decided to resign. I
believe, if you asked Hamilton, Madison, Monroe, even Washington, they
would probably say, "Yeah, probably about every 30 years, they'll take
somebody out." And if you look at Clinton, and the peccadilloes for
which they brought impeachment proceedings against him, as compared
with the "high crimes and misdemeanors"-and that's a direct quote from
Article II of the Constitution-with regard to Cheney and Bush, I think
there's a helluva lot better case, with regard to Cheney and Bush.

Is it going to happen? I think it's a political impossibility right
now, and it's a political impossibility, partly because of what you
just said: Our political process, not just the Federal bureaucracy,
but our political process is broken. And somehow, we as Americans have
allowed that to happen. And I don't know what you think about it, but
I'm damned mad about it, and I'm doing everything I can, across the
country, to tell people that I believe this; to tell them how I think
the Federal bureaucracy needs to be repaired-including the Congress of
the United States; its committee relationship with the Executive
branch is absurd, it's an anachronism. The Congress needs to be
reformed, the Executive branch needs to be reformed.

But the big problem we're confronted with is going to come to bear
again, very shortly: it's this insane process where you have less than
50% of Americans electing our President. And if you think about that,
that means one in four, actually elect him or her. And this insane
process of primaries, and factions, as Washington called it-not
parties; he called it "factions"-who go out there and appeal to their
extremes, and are successful in doing so! We have to do something
about that, and the only people who can do something about that, are
us.


Goodman: Just one quick point, because I agree with Larry so strongly:
[Rep.] John Conyers has been saying for the last couple of years, and
his [Judiciary] committee has written a wonderful report about the
Constitutional crisis: We face a Constitutional crisis! The Congress
doesn't work, oversight doesn't worked. The media didn't do its job
leading up to the war. The courts won't deal with national security
issues. The FBI is abusing National Security Letters. A general at NSA
approved warrantless eavesdropping, the CIA is still torturing and
abusing-and Tenet, one of the most disgusting and offensive charades
he went into was that nonsense about "we don't talk about it, and we
don't do it," when he referred to enhanced interrogation techniques.
Of course they do it! You had two CIA directors violating the charter
of the CIA, engaging in policy advocacy-both Goss and General Hayden,
asking for exemptions. I'm not a big fan of John McCain, but on this
issue, he is the leading authority, and he's totally right! And it's
got to be stopped!

'The British Have Learned...'

Jeff Stein (Congressional Quarterly): Colonel Wilkerson, I'd like to
hear you talk a little bit about your view of the uranium documents
escapade from the vantage point of the State Department. In
particular, do you think the SISMI, the Italian agents, were taking
off on their own, busting into the embassy, the Niger Embassy and get
these stamps and so on, to help fabricate these documents? Is there a
possibility in your mind? Did you discuss it at the State Department,
that [former Italian Prime Minister Silvio] Berlusconi might have put
this in motion?


Wilkerson: No, not in so many words, but I think there were a lot of
suspicions, especially around Rich Armitage's office. If you know Rich
at all, you know he's got his fingers in everything clandestine. And
thinking about it, and was on the phone with John [McLaughlin] or
George [Tenet] almost every day, multiple times. And probably had his
fingers stuck in things, as well as Carl Ford did, and maybe even
better.

But I think the fact that it got said, the way it's said, that "the
British have learned," threw everybody off for a few minutes, maybe a
day or two. And you also have to remember, that until I insisted with
the White House cabinet secretary, that foreign policy speeches come
over to the State Department-we weren't even seeing the speeches. And
after those words appeared, my insistence was finally complied with.
And even then, I had to call the Under Secretaries and Assistant
Secretaries and other experts into my office, sit them down on my
couch, and let them read the speech in my presence, and then I had to
consolidate their comments and send them over to the White House.
That's how hard it was to get a speech out of the White House that the
Secretary of State could look at. That might mind-boggle you, but
that's the way it was.

So, I don't remember any specific discussion. I do know there was a
lot of doubt and wonderment, as to how this was happening. Because
INR, and others in the State Department had already discounted that
information.

For one reason, we knew the French controlled Niger, in terms of the
nuclear. And we knew the French were talking to us, and we were
talking to the French, despite Rumsfeld. And so, how could you get
that much out, without the French knowing about it? And they were
absolutely cold on it. So.


Royce: Could I comment? The French, by the way, the Administration has
insisted to this day, keeps insisting, that we weren't the only ones
who screwed up on weapons of mass destruction, that all the major
Western intelligence services also did.

The French did not. The French intelligence service never believed
that Saddam, Iraq, was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, and it
passed its intelligence on to CIA, very clearly. That never got into
any of the reporting, that we've been aware of. The French didn't
believe it. The Italians didn't believe it. And Berlusconi, while he's
a very a good friend of Bush, didn't really believe that Iraq had
weapons of mass destruction. SISMI, as an organization, didn't believe
it, either.

So, it's kind of hard, given that, to believe that Berlusconi somehow,
as a favor to his good friend G.W., ordered SISMI, the Italian
intelligence service, to come up with this phony story of uranium.
That's where it stands.


Lang: If you've ever been in the business of conducting liaison or
relationships with a bunch of intelligence services-you know, with the
exception of the French and maybe one or two others-most of these
outfits are fairly bush league organizations, in fact. They have very,
very limited means of collection; they may have some particular
mission in Africa, or someplace where they had colonial possessions
once or something like this, but they don't have anything like the
kind of availability of information and things like that the U.S.
intelligence community has. And the heads of these organizations are
under tremendous pressure from the heads of their governments, to play
up, to "be as good as the Americans, to give me something that I can
argue with, like I'm one of the big guys." So, the pressure to go
along with American positions, on the part of a lot of these services,
is-and then look who the boss, the head of the countries-is
tremendous. Of course, the French don't give a damn about that, which
is one of their strong callings, in my opinion.

The Rose Garden Speech


Johnson: There was one nugget that did come out of Tenet, that we
noticed, and someone had asked me about it previously, which was: We
thought that the first time that Tenet dealt with pulling a reference
to uranium and nukes out of President Bush's speech, was the Oct. 7
speech that President Bush gave in Cincinnati. But Tenet speaks about
a Rose Garden speech on Sept. 26, 2002, which would have been two days
after the British white paper came out, mentioning this for the first
time. And interestingly enough, Condoleezza Rice apparently recognized
at that moment, that the material was questionable enough that it
should be pulled out of the speech. So the question would then be,
what's the track of the White House knowing whether or not there was a
question about uranium and nukes in Iraq?


Goodman: Well, here I think you have to give the CIA a certain amount
of credit: The White House knew, almost from the beginning, that these
documents were fabrications, they were forgeries, and could not be
used. When Condoleezza Rice said, and I remember she said it on
television, "Maybe someone lower down the chain knew, but no one told
me": That was a lie. And the person who told her was Jamie Miscik, who
was the deputy director for intelligence, and she reported back to
Tenet and McLaughlin that she had that conversation. So, Tenet wrote
letters and memos to Hadley that he conveniently forgot about, but
then I think in May, he suddenly remembered, "Yes, I do remember those
memos from the CIA."

The point that I always make is, up until around the first or second
week in October, the CIA in some areas, was playing it straight. But I
think once Tenet was convinced that this administration was going to
war, regardless, and you weren't going to stop it, he had to face the
fact, "Am I going to play this game honestly? Am I going to tell truth
to power? Or do I want to put on my suit and tie every morning, and be
an important person in Washington?" And he decided on the latter
course: He wanted to be part of the team. And there's a certain
jocularity about this book and a sophomoric bent in this book, that is
almost-and I apologize for buying it [laughter], but I just couldn't
resist....

It's what's so appalling about George Tenet. I mean, he is just, to
me, a low-breed apparatchik. But on the issue of this fabrication, the
White House knew everything they needed to know, and when Foley was on
the phone, more than once or twice with Bob Joseph at the NSC, working
out this language, all Foley wanted was a sentence in that State of
the Union that pinned it on something other than the CIA or the
intelligence community. Whoever came up with the formulation, "the
British have learned," which got Foley off the hook-but he stupidly
did not tell his boss; George Tenet did not know about any of these
negotiations, Foley really dropped the ball. But Jamie Miscik was
running this, and now, the number 3 man at the CIA, Mike Morrell, who
handled the October episode over the Cincinnati speech, and handled it
well, and made sure there was follow-up and policy process to get that
language out of the speech.

But basically, the White House knew what they were doing, but that was
the case for war: It was a nuclear case. It was to scare the hell out
of us, because of our frail nature in the wake of 9/11. They took
advantage of us. But I agree with Larry: It's the American people.


Eisner: Well, again there, when you say the White House knew-I'm asked
that question-who in the White House knew? Are we talking Rice?


Speaker: Rice knew, Hadley knew, Cheney knew, Powell knew. Powell, I
believe, called the NCS and told them what to do about this, in
addition to the CIA telling them. I assume that Bush knew. If he
didn't know, then someone failed him. And I think Rice was a disaster
as the National Security Advisor anyway. She only has two jobs: One is
to keep her President informed of all the various policy options and
what you need to know about an option; and then two, to make sure that
the policy agencies then follow up with any decisions a President
makes. She couldn't do either one! So, now she's Secretary of State.

Someone in Cheney's Office...


Johnson: Yeah, back to this "knowing," and put some of the activity
into context: I bring to the experience of having worked in the office
of the CIA Operations Center and knowing how the paper's generated and
forwarded to principals: When Dick Cheney saw that reference in a
Defense Intelligence Agency report, to the possibility of Iraq buying
uranium from Niger, and queried his briefer, we now know, basically-I
was in Valerie Wilson's training class, by the way, at CIA-we now know
from her testimony before Congress, that that very same day, somebody
in Cheney's office-and it had to be Libby; if it wasn't Libby, it was
Hadley-somebody called out and got a junior case officer in Valerie's
office on the phone, and said, "Hey! We really need this information!"

So, on the question of any information dealing with Iraq, uranium,
Niger, that was on the radar screen for top-level officials. It's not
like we were talking, "What was banana production in Costa Rica?" Or,
"How many diamonds came out of Liberia?" You know, this was something
that was at the very top of their issue. It was at the White House
Situation Room there, it was at the top; the CIA Operations Center
there was at the top, because when you're sitting there as a watch
officer, when you see these topics come across your screen, you hit
the "print" button, and you make sure that certain critical documents
are available for the principals the next day.

That's why I'm certain Dick Cheney saw Joe Wilson's report. Because
the White House Situation Room hit the "print" button. Dick Cheney
didn't like Joe Wilson's report that was generated based upon his
trip, because it didn't support the notions that they wanted. But the
knowledge at the White House level, just the way the bureaucracy
works, there is no way in Hell, that these people were not being
briefed on a regular basis on anything that had to do with Iraq
acquiring uranium, and the possibility of reconstituting the nuclear
program-no way.


Eisner: Is there any trail that could show that, in any possible way?


Wilkerson: I think there was another part to it, too, and I can't
confirm this. I wish I could. I think what happened, a lot of times,
is when Libby, John Hannah, two key players in the Vice President's
office, Hannah being sort of the pin and Libby being the orchestrator,
the hatchetman, if you will: When there was any debate over an
intelligence item, they call Feith's shop in the Defense Department.
Feith's shop was running an alternative intelligence operation. It was
kind of weird, because what they did, was produce, for example, that
48-page script that Libby handed to Secretary Powell to take to the
UN, or out to Langley, and then eventually to the UN. But whenever
they had a question over a particular item of intelligence, they got
confirmation, not from the intelligence analysts. They might check
with them, and see what happened. But they got their final
confirmation, and usually made the decision as to whether or not they
would run with a talking point, from Douglas Feith's shop, and from
Steve Cambone-not from the people at Langley.


Question: I'd like to ask a couple of questions. You've done a good
job of painting the culprits, identifying the culprits. But what were
their motivations to get up there? Why are we there? Was it to drum up
business for Halliburton? Was it oil? Was it Bush avenging his Daddy?
I mean, why are we there? That's Question #1.


Wilkerson: Let me take a shot at this, because this is what I'm
teaching right now. I usually can throw a heirarchy up on the board
for my students, and I say "Take a hit. And when you get through, I
want you to defend each one, and then I want you to put them in
priority." And what I throw up there, it depends on the individual
who's advising the President, and it depends on what the President
makes of that advice-but I throw up there everything from the military-
industrial-Congressional complex; have you seen what Lockheed's share
price is now? It went from $26 to about $98. Man, when war is
profitable, you have an influence!

I throw up oil. If you look at Paul Wolfowitz's comments in Vanity
Fair, you'll see that Paul Wolfowitz said, very candidly, "this is all
because Iraq is floating on a sea of oil." I throw up there,
"democracy and freedom," the neo-con mantra: "We're going to bring
utopian society to the world or die trying." And I throw up there
other things, like Bush's psychology. This is a naive, untutored, not-
steeped-in-foreign-policy President! With all these pachyderms around
you, who are steeped in something! They're particularly steeped in the
militarization of U.S. foreign policy. We elected a defense contractor
Vice President of the United States! And a former Secretary of
Defense! And a former Secretary of Defense as a Secretary as Defense!
And a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the Secretary of State:
Talk about militarizing America! That's what we did. And we got war.

The 'Doug Feith' Story


Lang: I decided, at the urging of my friends, to tell my Doug Feith
story. I've done this in print before, so I'm not shy about it.

In the first year of the Bush Administration, I had a friend who's an
old Army friend, who was working for Rumsfeld in hiring seniors over
there. And so he called me up one day, and he asked me, I think you'd
make a wonderful Assistant Secretary of Defense for Whatchamacallit.
And I thought about that, and you know, I'm not a Republican.
Actually, I'm a helluva lot more conservative than these neo-cons,
that's for sure. So I thought, "that'd be interesting," so I said, "Go
ahead." So, he put my name in the hopper, and I ended up going around
the Stations of the Cross in the Pentagon, you know, you see all these
offices, all these people.

And I finally end up one day, in the penultimate moment of this, in
Doug Feith's office. And he was sitting there munching a sandwich
while he was talking to me (which I thought was remarkable in itself),
but he also had these briefing papers-they always had briefing papers,
you know-about me. He's looking at this stuff, and he says, "I've
heard of you. I heard of you." He says, "Is it really true that you
really know the Arabs this well, and that you speak Arabic this well?
Is that really true? Is that really true?"

And I said, "Yeah, that's really true."

He says, "That's too bad." [laughter]

That was the end of the interview. I'm not quite sure what he meant,
but you can work it out.


Speaker: Thank you. A lot of pieces of information, but it's largely
in response to the question the lady just had asked. It must have been
about three or four years, that I too kept saying "Why?" Because I had
come out of the former White House, you knew that White Houses don't
puff up overnight, and all of a sudden policy is made; that there is
history and research. And without it, you're going to be in a lot of
trouble with the Constitution and the country. And I would just like
to suggest that I have read most all of the books that were put out-
whether it was the CIA, what happened in Afghanistan, whether it was
Osama bin Laden; or all of the other ones.

There was one book that goes, not back to Truman, but far enough back,
that gives us an answer to her question why. And it isn't just energy,
and it isn't just oil, and it isn't just Halliburton. But if you read
American Theocracy by [Kevin] Phillips, you'll understand how we have,
literally, from our complacency, from our interest in our own personal
lives-you want to call it a cabal, of a whole set of believers,
ideological believers, that you don't do research, you don't look at
history, they know what the Bible taught them, and they were going to
take over this country. And they did it, with patience, and with
people who had been in government and knew where they were going. And
Dick Cheney is one of them, and Rumsfeld was another one, and all of
them. And they had a very gullible guy, in the name of George Bush,
who was Mr. Happy-Guy in college, and if they'd just let him be a CEO-
not a President-but a CEO, he could do what they wanted him to do, and
he would give them the responsibility.

And we do have a broken government: And until we realize how we got to
where we are, I believe that we will not be able to change.


Wilkerson: I think you're right, in many of your comments. I didn't
mention some of the other things I throw up for my students. One of
them, is, depending on if you believe Kevin, and I let them read some
of his books, especially the Financialization of America, which is
quite good. How many of you know we're in $42 trillion in corporate
and private debt, right now, for example? That's the largest debt in
human history. You can even do it in constant dollars, and it's still
the largest debt in human history, and we're talking Spain and the New
World, and gold and silver and so forth. So we're really walking down
a road that no one's ever been on before, and Kevin does a good job of
pointing that out.

The evangelical/Pentecostal population in America, which is part of
the radical religion right, is astounding. When I tell my students
about it, when I show them the polling data; when I show them how many
Americans believe in the inerrancy of the Bible; how many Americans
don't believe in evolution; how many Americans don't believe in
science, unless it's supported by God-theory. And I'm a Christian: But
my grandmother didn't teach me this version of Christianity.

You're stunned! By some accounts, and some polls, there's as many as
48 million Americans out there, who are actively, politically,
pursuing their agenda through people like Falwell, and Pat Robertson,
and so forth. And when I see Mitt Romney and John McCain and people
like that, go over and cater to these people, I understand why: It's
all about power-but it turns my stomach. I don't know about you. It
bothers me, because I don't see that as a reasonable, practical future
for this country.

But there are other influences on decision-making. But I come back to
the bottom line, which I always try to convince my students of: This
is the most colossally inept, and incompetent administration in
American history. And even with all these other influences, that's the
real bottom line.

9/11 Created the Opportunity


Question: I have a question. This question's for you, and you, sir:
How did the Bush Administration pull this whole thing off? How did
they sneak this by the press? It seems that everyone in Europe was
privy to information, that wasn't privy here? How did they pull it
off? These guys must be the most amazing people in the world.
Everything you're saying is true. I believe you. How did they pull it
off? How did the press not get wind of this? And how did they get into
this war?


Goodman: I mean, look, what you had take place-and I agree with Larry,
and what Larry said with reference to the incompetence of this
administration. On the one hand, they have carried out a covert
action, or-when I worked at the CIA, I participated in the Afghan Task
Force covert action to manipulate the press overseas, to help
accomplish foreign policy objectives, and in this case, the press
became both, in most cases, witting participants, and in some cases,
unwitting. But we saw that spectacle of Judith Miller, Michael Gordon,
being leaked information by the White House, and then the White House
fanning out very quickly with Condoleezza Rice and Dick Cheney, to
say, "Boy! Look what's in the press today!" Well, they knew how it got
in the press.

And the ultimate irony here, is, on the one hand, the Bush
Administration is very aggressive about leaking information which will
help make their case; at the same time, they are pressing more
aggressively than any administration in recent memory, in trying to
shut down the press from reporting anything that is critical, whether
it's the Sy Hersh articles about Abu Ghraib, or the Washington Post
pieces about the secret interrogation and the torture. And, in this
case, we've had press become witting participants in it.

9/11 created the opportunity: It opened the door. They took full
advantage of it. They used the fear factor to drive people forward,
and it worked.

It's not that there was nobody out there trying to raise the warning
voice. Anthony Zinni was quite clear. Scott Ritter was quite clear.
There were some members of Congress, that were speaking out. But
people, by and large, chose not to be informed, not to listen, and now
we're in this mess that everyone recognizes, "Boy, wish we hadn't
driven off the cliff." But we have.


Lang: You're probably not going to like this, and that's what I'm here
for. You know, one of the things I learned from the aftermath of 9/11,
and Mel kind of touched upon it, but I'll touch on it too, is the fact
that the American people are amazingly fearful, really. And the level
of abject terror and unreasoning fear toward these jihadi networks
that had been sent into this country, you know, it's astonishing!
Really, astonishing!

Like, a couple of days after 9/11, a friend of mine called me from
Chicago; he's a hugely rich guy. And he said to me, "Well, Pat," he
says, "you knew what kind of misspent life I've had." He said, "Now we
all live in your world." In other words, a world filled with fear and
danger, you see?

And I must say, that one thing that I've learned, is that people in
this country didn't handle this all that well. They were easy to
bulldoze after this. And this administration was set up to do it, and
if you look at it in the aftermath, it's pretty obvious they had a
deliberate campaign to manipulate where people were going. How many
people here saw Bill Moyers' piece on PBS about manipulating the
press? Well, anybody who hasn't should go find it. How the press was
manipulated in the run-up to the war, because he's got it just about
right, and it's very obvious, that if you've dealt a lot with the
media, as many of us have here in last several years, you saw that the
modern generation of journalists are not like the old guys. They're
not this guy, the fellow down at the other end of the table there
[Royce]. You know, they're not like them, who are well educated men of
the world. In fact, you know, you got a whole bunch of new, young
people who are working the field, who are communications graduates,
and journalism graduates, who are terrific on process, but zero on
content. And they can be told anything, if they're told by a
sufficiently highly prized source, and it's said over and over again.

And then, these news media are all really, large, corporate
structures. And you get down the ladder in someplace like this, what
goes on down there, that affects what happens in the news process, is
pretty astonishing stuff. There's great deal of pressure put on by
advertisers, things like this, to manipulate the content of the news,
things like this.

So basically, folks: You've been had. You've been had, in a big way.
And you'll probably be had again, actually.


Goodman: I would just say one other thing about the media: There was
another period in my lifetime, and there are others who can look at
it, you can look at the Indian wars from 1866 to 1890 and see how the
politics of fear were exploited to kill Indians, Native Americans. But
the period that we look at extensively is the McCarthy period, where
you had a man with the stature of Dwight Eisenhower, for example,
actually refusing to defend a man with the stature of George Marshall,
because he needed some Wisconsin votes. And Eisenhower said,
afterwards, when he'd been on the stand in Wisconsin with McCarthy,
that it was the most revolting moment in his entire life-when he had
to cater to McCarthy. And Truman actually had to change personnel
policies and ruin countless American lives, because of the fear of
communism, and the ideology of the Soviet Union. And after '49, when
they exploded the bomb, it got worse.

But we've had periods like this before. I'd just like to point out
that one of the agencies, the fourth estate in this case, that brought
McCarthy down, was Edward R. Murrow, and the kind of educated,
talented, intellectual, "I'm going to get you if you're abusing power"
press. And we just don't have that any more. We came to a peak, sort
of, with [Bob] Woodward and Watergate, and that sort of thing, but it
was more for entertainment purposes, and started sort of the
entertainment industry that the news has become, rather than for
"speak truth to power" purposes, and to keep the abuse of power from
plaguing people like you and me.

When our Founders set this whole thing up, you know, they set up
understanding that we're all evil people, and if we get too much
power, we'll all abuse it. And so, what they did, was, they designed a
system where we'd abuse the power, and you'd abuse the power, but we'd
check each other. And we've let that get all out of kilter.


Eisner: We're just about out of time. One more question. - Congress
Was AWOL -


Question: I would like to hear you guys, some elaboration on who in
this entire process has earned your respect? And I haven't also heard
as much talk as maybe I would like, about how Congress plays games
with the whole story?


Lang: My hero in this whole deal, is a guy you've probably never heard
of, Gen. [David] McKiernan. He was the ground force commander for the
preparation for the invasion of Iraq, and I visited him and his staff
in Kuwait, shortly before the invasion, got to talk to staff, I talked
to various people. And I would say [about] that guy: He fought
Rumsfeld and those dumbbells in the office of the Secretary of Defense
every day. Every day! All the time! Over what the troop list was going
to be for Iraq.

I went to see the famous John Hannah at OVP [Office of the Vice
President] one time, because somebody working there asked me to come
over and talk to him. And this guy, as we're sitting there, he says to
me, "Well, we're advised that all you need for this invasion is two
armored brigades." You know, I'm not a good soldier in the war, but I
know better than that. This is like 10,000 men, and 100 tanks or
something like this. And I just laughed, I thought it was a joke. And
then I saw it wasn't really a joke; they actually were thinking things
like that.

When I got over to Kuwait, McKiernan's staff told me how they fought
every day, for every piece of everything, because Rumsfeld-not only
did he not accept the previously existing contingency plan for Iraq,
which was a really well-done thing; but in fact, he rejected the
entire process of planning! Of systematic planning that the Army had
for generating a force properly sized for this. Instead, he said, "You
tell me what you want, and I'll tell how much of it you can have, and
when I'll give it to you."

Now, that's hard to run a war like this, on the basis like that, when
you've got to bring stuff 6 or 7,000 miles, to start. And McKiernan
and these guys, they fought that big fight all the way to the end, and
they managed to have a big enough force to do the job. And I nominate
McKiernan, as a hero.


Speaker: And the second part of your question was Congress, and
Congress was absent without leave. The seminal study, intelligence
study, about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction and what a bad guy
Saddam was and all that, was the October 2002 National Intelligence
Estimate. It was created at the insistence of Congress. Normally,
they're done at the insistence of the Executive. This one was unusual.
Tenet didn't want to have an NIE on Iraq, because, as he says in his
book, the administration just was bored about intelligence about Iraq.
But Congress ordered this. When it finally came out in October, before
Congress voted to authorize the war, six Senators and a handful of
Congressmen read the entire report. It's 90 pages.

Now, here, they're preparing to vote on whether or not the United
States goes to war. They don't bother to read the National
Intelligence Estimate.


Wilkerson: I have to say, that, when I first started speaking
publicly, the main issue was detainee abuse, and the corruption of
your Armed Forces in this process. And so I got up-close and personal
with a couple of people as we worked, as Colin Powell put a letter,
for example, on the desk of every Senator, as John McCain was finally
able to get that 99-0 vote, to essentially stop the Armed Forces from
doing this kind of thing. And I'd known him before, and I know him
well, now. I told him one day, I'm talking about Sen. Chuck Hagel,
who's the only Republican I know who's really a Republican; and I told
him, I said, "You know, we ought to bring out Kennedy's book again,
Profiles in Courage and make an addendum for you." So, he's my hero in
this.


Johnson: I think Carl Ford over at INR, standing up-they have a good
track record. They were the intelligence analysts who got it right
more often than not. But out in the media, John Landay and Warren
Strobel at Knight Ridder; Sy Hersh-they were it. It was a lonely
group.


Goodman: I can't provide names, but if I had to put a medal on one
group, it would be the military lawyers, the JAGs, the Judge Advocates
General. I think they stood up for principle, they stood up for
military ethics, they stood up for the Uniform Code of Military
Justice; and I would compare them to the CIA lawyers who've been
trying to get exemptions for torture and abuse, who've been pursuing
ways to allow secret prisons to take place for conducting the worst
fascist policy I've ever heard of: "extraordinary renditions," which
has involved turning innocent people over to countries that practice
torture. It's kind of interesting, in the Tenet book, we talk about,
and everyone believes, that al-Libi recanted, because he had been
tortured and abused, and he recanted when he got out of prison. Tenet
is probably the only person in the world, who doesn't believe in the
recantation.

So, to me, the JAGs have really represented the best of America.
They've understood what the Constitution is about, and they've
understood what the Founding Fathers wanted from this country. And I'm
sure there are some heroes on the Hill. Frankly, I'm not happy with
the Military Commissions Act of 2006. I think McCain and [Sen. John]
Warner and [Sen.] Lindsey Graham, in the end, caved in. I'm not
pleased with what they did with that bill. As always, we're continuing
to torture, to render, to use former Soviet Gulag institutions in East
Europe for our own CIA secret prisons: It means there's a disease in
this country. And we better find a way to treat it.


Eisner: I have three points to make, and then to thank everyone. One
is, that, in terms of nominating people, you've been-we've had the
rare opportunity to listen to the four gentlemen to my side, who
probably have about 100 years of intelligence and government
experience among them, if not more. And to be saying the things that
they're saying-you're hearing experience, you're hearing dedication to
careers, dedication to democracy, and positions that have not been
easily taken, and walking a road that's not been easy. But words that
need to be listened to, otherwise, to our peril.

So, I'd nominate them in answer to the question, and like to thank
them all very much for coming to join us.

And a shameless plug for the book that can be bought-The Italian Letter
-which attempts, in a nutshell, to tell you how we got to where we
are, by putting together a story of baked intelligence which led to 16
words that were known not to be true at all.

Thanks very much for coming. We thank the University of the District
of Columbia and the staff for helping us. And good night.

box QUOTES

So, people started talking about how this guy had these weapons
programs, I knew for a fact that the BW [biological weapons] thing,
and the chemical thing, ... did not fill the bill for the terrible,
terrible threat that was being portrayed. And the nuclear program,
we'd smashed it up so totally that I didn't see how they could be
doing more than maybe trying, after '98-that's when the inspectors
left.... But this is a big enterprise, making nuclear weapons. This is
not something you do in your garage.... -Pat Lang

I think our Founding Fathers would be appalled, that in some 200-plus
years, we never used that clause they put in our Constitution, except
fecklessly, and in one case, successfully. The Articles of Impeachment
that threatened Richard Nixon certainly were the reason he decided to
resign.... And if you look at Clinton, and the peccadilloes for which
they brought impeachment proceedings against him, as compared with the
"high crimes and misdemeanors"-and that's a direct quote from Article
II of the Constitution-with regard to Cheney and Bush, I think there's
a helluva lot better case, with regard to Cheney and Bush." -Lawrence
Wilkerson.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

LIBERTY ATTACK PART OF GRAND SCHEME?

Newly Uncovered Evidence Indicates Assault May Have Been Pre-Planned
‘Useful Disaster’


By Mark Glenn

This June 8, 2007, marks the 40-year anniversary of Israel’s bloody
attack on the USS Liberty, a lightly armed U.S. Navy ship sailing off
the coast of Egypt at the time.

Over the years, there have been numerous reports indicating that the
unprovoked assault caught the White House and the military by surprise.

New information, however, reveals that officials in various agencies in
the U.S. government played a key role in setting up the Liberty for the
purpose of drawing the Soviet Union into a fight in the Middle East and
ultimately igniting World War III.

For those who follow the intrigues and explosive events surrounding the
relationship between America and Israel over the last four decades it is
easy to “get into a rut” so to speak and blame every single catastrophic
event solely on the treachery of Israel. The tragedy though (and
certainly the hardest part to swallow by patriotic Americans who would
sooner take their own lives than betray their fellow countrymen) is that
there have been and are players on the American side of the equation
whose hands are just as dirty as those of their Israeli counterparts.

Whether it was the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the assassination of
JFK, the bombing of the twin towers in 1993, the bombing of the Murrah
Federal Building in 1995 or the events taking place on 9-11, the only
way these could have taken place is if elements within the U.S.
government cooperated with the planning, execution and subsequent
dissemination of propaganda in the aftermath of these operations.

Now, a new and terrible tale has surfaced indicating yet again that
elements of the U.S. government were involved at the highest level in
even more criminal acts against the very same American people whom it is
charged with protecting. The case in question involves the June 8, 1967,
attack on the USS Liberty by the air and naval forces of the state of
Israel during the height of the Arab-Israeli war that led to the deaths
of 34 American servicemen.

Long believed that players within the Johnson administration simply
assisted in the cover-up of the attack so as “not to embarrass”
America’s greatest ally, Israel, it now it appears that American
political, intelligence and military persons played a key role in
setting up the Liberty for the purpose of igniting WW III in what was
code-named “Operation Cyanide.”

It was a heady time, to be sure. The United States and the Soviet Union
were neck-deep in the Cold War, and by all appearances it seemed that a
shooting match between the two superpowers was inevitable.

The incident in question took place only a few short years after the
Cuban Missile Crisis and at a time when America seemed unable to stop
the spread of communism in Asia and other parts of the world.

In the Middle East, states such as Egypt, with dynamic, fiery and
recalcitrant leaders such as President Gamal Abdel Nasser, were forming
strong bonds with the Soviets for military and economic aid. Using the
same rationale that led to America inserting itself militarily into
Korea and Vietnam, it was believed that, if not stopped, the Soviets
would entrench themselves in the Middle East to the point that America’s
access to the oil of that region would be directly jeopardized and that,
just as the communists had predicted decades before, the West would be
conquered “without a shot being fired.”

It has long been assumed that Israel’s deliberate attack on the USS
Liberty was just another of Israel’s made-to-order false flag operations
done simply for the purpose of dragging an unwilling America into a
Middle East war on the side of the Jewish state. However, new
information uncovered by former BBC investigative journalist Peter
Hounam reveals that the U.S. government—and more specifically the
administration of Lyndon Johnson—was not as much the unsuspecting victim
in all of this that Israel has claimed these last 40 years.

Based on relatively new evidence, the attack on the Liberty was actually
part of a much larger plan. The Liberty incident was just one domino in
a series that had as the ultimate goal a real live shooting war between
the United States and the Soviets. Had the Liberty been sunk with no
witnesses as planned, the world would be a much different place as a
result—and certainly not for the better.

The plan for that awful day in American history was to sink the
defenseless, unarmed American ship sailing in international waters off
the coast of Egypt. The Soviets and their Arab allies (in particular
Egypt) would then be blamed for the event.

As with the sinking of the USS Maine nearly 70 years earlier, the cry
would be “Remember the USS Liberty” and America’s “justifiable” response
to such a horrendous act would be the launching of nuclear weapons
against Egypt, an ally of the Soviet Union. Working in tandem with the
United States would be allies such as Israel, Great Britain and,
interestingly, Australia.

The end result would be a Middle East free of any Soviet presence,
leaving America and her ally Israel in possession of Arab oil for the
foreseeable future and in a better position to dictate terms to the
communists. In the minds of powerful men such as these—men who sit in
comfortable offices and expensive chairs and who do not have to answer
to anyone for their actions, the rationale for such an act was simple:
It is better for 300 U.S. sailors to die in the service of their country
than have the “free world” fall into the clutches of Soviet communism.

What prevented all of this from taking place was that—simply by the
grace of God—the Liberty did not sink, and the world was spared. Of
course, there is no official confirmation of Operation Cyanide. In fact
there is no mention of it at all. In various interviews that have been
conducted over the years, individuals from Secretary of Defense Robert
McNamara to Dean Rusk to Richard Helms to Mossad spy chief Rafael Eitan
have demonstrated great intellectual and verbal dexterity for men their
age when discussing various items. However, they clam up instantaneously
when Operation Cyanide is mentioned as if they were witnesses to an
organized crime hit and they feared for their lives.

However, the smaller players involved at the time have a different tale
to tell. Piecing together all the small parts that they individually
bring to the table fleshes out a picture that, although not crystal
clear, is clear enough to suggest that America was involved in the
murder of 34 young men on that day in a much deeper fashion than
previously thought.

For the sake of those men who died then, and for those who survived the
attack and who have endured the assault of lies that has been waged
against them these last 40 years, the truth concerning what took place
must be told.

In the opinion of many, exposure of the Liberty incident may very well
hold the key to freeing America from the bondage it suffers under men
such as those who have murdered not only American citizens, but our
traditional political system as well.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


http://nafeez.blogspot.com/


ANNEX: HK Notes and Diaries.
******************************


Hamas is a Palestinian group known both for charitable works benefiting the
Palestinian population and suicide attacks against Israeli targets. Hamas
was formed in 1987, after a Palestinian uprising began the year before. Some
claim that Israel indirectly supported and perhaps even directly funded
Hamas in its early years in order to divide the Palestinians politically.
For instance, a former senior CIA official will later claim that Israel's
support for Hamas "was a direct attempt to divide and dilute support for a
strong, secular PLO [Palestinian Liberation Organization] by using a
competing religious alternative." Hamas begins attacks on Israeli military
and civilan targets in 1989 and will begin suicide attacks on these targets
in April 1994. The US will not officially declare Hamas a terrorist
organization until 1995 (see January 1995). This means that funding Hamas is
not a crime in the US before that year, but knowingly participating in or
supporting a violent act overseas outside of the rules of war such as a
suicide bombing could still potentially result in criminal charges in the
US. [United Press International, 6/18/2002; Associated Press, 3/22/2004]
Mohammad Salah, a Palestinian-American living in Chicago as a used car
salesman, was reputedly trained by Hamas in terrorist techniques, including
the use of chemical weapons and poisons, in the late 1980s. Working on the
orders of high-level Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk, Salah leads a four day
Hamas training camp in the Chicago area in June 1990. According to one
trainee, the approximately twenty-five trainees study Hamas philosophy,
receive weapons training, and learn how to plant a car bomb. Two of the
trainees are ultimately selected to fly to Syria, where they undergo more
advanced training in making car bombs and throwing grenades. Ultimately,
they are sent into Israel to launch attacks. Similar training camps take
place in Kansas City and Wisconsin from 1989 through early 1991. Then, Salah
is told by Marzouk to change his focus from training to fundraising. In
early 1992, Salah receives about $800,000 from Saudi multimillionaire Yassin
al-Qadi, and he temporarily invests it in a BMI real estate scheme (see
1991). Between June 1991 and December 1992, Salah repeatedly travels to the
Middle East and spends more than $100,000 in direct support of Hamas
military activities. He attempts to spend the $800,000 that is still
invested in BMI, but BMI is unable to quickly liquidate the investment.
Marzouk sends Salah almost $1 million to spend. Salah goes to the West Bank
in January 1993 and begins dispersing that money, but he is arrested before
the end of the month. With Salah arrested, Hamas needs a new point man to
collect and transfer new money raised in the US. Jamil Sarsour, a grocery
store owner in Milwaukee, is chosen. It will be reported in 2003 that
Sarsour is still living openly in Milwaukee (see June 2-5, 2003) [Chicago
Tribune, 10/29/2001; LA Weekly, 8/2/2002; Federal News Service, 6/2/2003]

Mercy International USA's logo. [Source: Mercy International USA]The 1999
book Dollars for Terror will allege that in 1989, Mercy International, a
"subsidiary of the Muslim Brotherhood, was able to establish its
headquarters in the United States, in the state of Michigan, with the
assistance of the CIA. The Agency provided significant logistical and
financial support to this 'humanitarian' organization, enabling it to act
clandestinely in the various Balkan conflicts as well as within the Muslim
communities of several Russian republics." [Labeviere, 1999, pp. 364] Mercy
International will later be tied to al-Qaeda in a number of ways. For
instance, in the mid-1990s its Pakistan branch will be headed by Zahid
Shaikh Mohammed, brother of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (see
1988-Spring 1995). [Los Angeles Times, 9/1/2002] Its Kenya branch will be
tied to the 1998 US embassy bombing there. Its Philippine branch is tied to
Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, bin Laden's brother-in-law. [Burr and Collins, 2006,
pp. 128, 188-189] Branches of this charity in different countries have
slightly different names such as Mercy International-USA and Mercy
International Relief Agency, and it has been claimed that the US branch has
no connection with the terrorism-related branches. However, a 2003 article
will draw links between the US branch and other branches. [National Review,
9/4/2003]

Prior to this year, President George W. Bush is a failed oilman. Three
times, friends and investors have bailed him out to keep his business from
going bankrupt. However, in 1988, the same year his father becomes
president, some Saudis buy a portion of his small company, Harken, which has
never performed work outside of Texas. Later in the year, Harken wins a
contract in the Persian Gulf and starts doing well financially. These
transactions seem so suspicious that the Wall Street Journal in 1991 states
it "raises the question of. an effort to cozy up to a presidential son." Two
major investors in Bush's company during this time are Salem bin Laden and
Khalid bin Mahfouz. [Intelligence Newsletter, 3/2/2000; Salon, 11/19/2001]
Salem bin Laden is Osama's oldest brother; Khalid bin Mahfouz is a Saudi
banker with a 20 percent stake in BCCI. The bank will be shut down a few
years later and bin Mahfouz will have to pay a $225 million fine (while
admitting no wrongdoing) (see October 2001)).

Al-Qaeda bomber Ramzi Yousef is said to be recruited by the CIA, though
details are not known. Author Richard Labeviere reported without elaboration
in a 1999 book, "A classified FBI file indicates that [Yousef] was recruited
by the local branch of the CIA." [Labeviere, 1999, pp. 220-221] In 1995,
Newsday will report, "FBI officials also are considering a probe of whether
the CIA had any relationship with Yousef, who fought with the CIA-financed
mujaheddin in Afghanistan in the 1980s." [Newsday, 4/16/1995] But there
appears to be no further reporting on whether such a probe was conducted.
Yousef is believed to have masterminded a series of bombings in the early
1990s, including the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the planned Bojinka
attack, before being captured in 1995 (see February 7, 1995). If Yousef was
recruited by the CIA, it may have been in the late 1980s when the CIA
recruited and trained thousands of people around the world to fight in
Afghanistan (see 1986-1992). In the late 1980s, Yousef was studying
engineering at a Wales college, but he'd also joined the Muslim Brotherhood
while there. During a break from school in 1988, he went to one of bin
Laden's
training camps in Afghanistan and spent several months honing his
bomb-making skills. [Miller, Stone, and Mitchell, 2002, pp. 78]

The core of the future Philippine militant group Abu Sayyaf fights with bin
Laden in Afghanistan and its training there is paid for by the CIA and
Pakistani ISI. In 1986, the CIA agreed to support an ISI program of
recruiting radical Muslims from other countries, including the Philippines,
to fight in the Afghan war (see 1986). By one estimate, initially between
300 and 500 radical Muslims from the southern Philippines go to Afghanistan
to fight. [Strategic Studies Institute of the US Army War College,
/1/2005 ]

In 1987 or 1988, bin Laden dispatches his brother-in-law Mohammed Jamal
Khalifa to the Philippines to find more recruits willing to go to
Afghanistan. It is estimated he finds about 1,000 recruits. One of them is
Abdurajak Janjalani, who emerges as the leader of these recruits in
Afghanistan. When the Afghan war ends in 1989 most of them will return to
the Philippines and form the Abu Sayyaf group, still led by Janjalani (see
Early 1991). [Contemporary Southeast Asia, 12/1/2002; Manila Times,
2/1/2007] Journalist John Cooley will write in a book first published in
1999 that Abu Sayyaf will become "the most violent and radical Islamist
group in the Far East, using its CIA and ISI training to harass, attack, and
murder Christian priests, wealthy non-Muslim plantation-owners, and
merchants and local government in the southern Philippine island of
Mindanao." [Cooley, 2002, pp. 63] After having read Cooley's book and
gathering information from other sources, Senator Aquilino Pimentel,
President of the Philippine Senate, will say in a 2000 speech that the "CIA
has sired a monster" because it helped train this core of the Abu Sayyaf.
[Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel website, 7/31/2000]

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin forms Hamas as the military arm of his Islamic
Association, which had been licensed by Israel ten years earlier (see
1973-1978). According to Charles Freeman, a former US ambassador to Saudi
Arabia, "Israel started Hamas. It was a project of Shin Bet, which had a
feeling that they could use it to hem in the PLO." [CounterPunch, 1/18/2003;
Dreyfuss, 2005, pp. 191, 208] Anthony Cordesman, a Middle East analyst for
the Center for Strategic Studies, states that Israel "aided Hamas
directly-the Israelis wanted to use it as a counterbalance to the PLO." A
former senior CIA official speaking to UPI describes Israel's support for
Hamas as "a direct attempt to divide and dilute support for a strong,
secular PLO by using a competing religious alternative." Further, according
to an unnamed US government official, "the thinking on the part of some of
the right-wing Israeli establishment was that Hamas and the other groups, if
they gained control, would refuse to have anything to do with the peace
process and would torpedo any agreements put in place." Larry Johnson, a
counter-terrorism official at the State Department, states: "The Israelis
are their own worst enemies when it comes to fighting terrorism. They are
like a guy who sets fire to his hair and then tries to put it out by hitting
it with a hammer. They do more to incite and sustain terrorism than curb
it." [United Press International, 2/24/2001 Sources: Larry C. Johnson,
Unnamed former CIA official]

During a secret visit to Pakistan CIA Director William Casey commits the CIA
to support the ISI program of recruiting radical Muslims for the Afghan war
from other Muslim countries around the world. In addition to the Gulf
States, these include Turkey, the Philippines, and China. The ISI started
their recruitment of radicals from other countries in 1982 (see 1982). This
CIA cooperation is part of a joint CIA-ISI plan begun the year before to
expand the "Jihad" beyond Afghanistan (see March 1985). [Rashid, 2001, pp.
128-129]

The CIA, ISI, and bin Laden build the Khost tunnel complex in Afghanistan.
This will be a major target of bombing and fighting when the US attacks the
Taliban in 2001. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/23/2001; Hindu, 9/27/2001] It
will be reported in June 2001 that "bin Laden worked closely with Saudi,
Pakistani, and US intelligence services to recruit mujaheddin from many
Muslim countries," but this information has not been reported much since
9/11. [United Press International, 4/10/2004] A CIA spokesperson will later
claim, "For the record, you should know that the CIA never employed, paid,
or maintained any relationship whatsoever with bin Laden." [Ananova,
10/31/2001]

Quoting a French intelligence report posted by PBS Frontline, The New Yorker
reports, "During the nineteen-eighties, when the Reagan administration
secretly arranged for an estimated $34 million to be funneled through Saudi
Arabia to the Contras in Nicaragua, [Osama's eldest brother] Salem bin Laden
aided in this cause." [PBS Frontline, 2001; New Yorker, 11/5/2001]

Afghan opium production rises from 250 tons in 1982 to 2,000 tons in 1991,
coinciding with CIA support and funding of the mujaheddin. Alfred McCoy, a
professor of Southeast Asian history at the University of Wisconsin, says US
and Pakistani intelligence officials sanctioned the rebels' drug trafficking
because of their fierce opposition to the Soviets: "If their local allies
were involved in narcotics trafficking, it didn't trouble [the] CIA. They
were willing to keep working with people who were heavily involved in
narcotics." For instance, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a rebel leader who received
about half of all the CIA's covert weapons, was known to be a major heroin
trafficker. Charles Cogan, who directs the CIA's operation in Afghanistan,
later claims he was unaware of the drug trade: "We found out about it later
on." [Atlantic Monthly, 5/1996; Star-Tribune (Minneapolis), 9/30/2001]
Salem bin Laden, Osama's oldest brother, described by a French secret
intelligence report as one of two closest friends of Saudi Arabia's King
Fahd who often performs important missions for Saudi Arabia, is involved in
secret Paris meetings between US and Iranian emissaries this month,
according to a French report. Frontline, which published the French report,
notes that such meetings have never been confirmed. Rumors of these meetings
have been called the "October Surprise" and some have speculated that in
these meetings, George H. W. Bush negotiated a delay to the release of the
US hostages in Iran, thus helping Ronald Reagan and Bush win the 1980
Presidential election. All of this is highly speculative, but if the French
report is correct, it points to a long-standing connection of highly
improper behavior between the Bush and bin Laden families. [PBS Frontline,
2001]
Journalist Simon Reeve will claim in the 1999 book The New Jackals that US
officials directly met with bin Laden in Afghanistan in the 1980s. He will
write, "American emissaries are understood to have traveled to Pakistan for
meetings with mujaheddin leaders. [A former CIA official] even suggests the
US emissaries met directly with bin Laden, and that it was bin Laden, acting
on advice from his friends in Saudi intelligence, who first suggested the
mujaheddin should be given Stingers." [Reeve, 1999, pp. 167, 176] The CIA
begins supplying Stinger missiles to the mujaheddin in 1986 (see September
1986). After 9/11, the CIA will state, "Numerous comments in the media
recently have reiterated a widely circulated but incorrect notion that the
CIA once had a relationship with Osama bin Laden. For the record, you should
know that the CIA never employed, paid, or maintained any relationship
whatsoever with bin Laden." [US State Department, 1/14/2005]

Osama bin Laden begins providing financial, organizational, and engineering
aid for the mujaheddin in Afghanistan, with the advice and support of the
Saudi royal family. [New Yorker, 11/5/2001] Some, including Richard Clarke,
counterterrorism "tsar" during the Clinton and George W. Bush
administrations, believe he was handpicked for the job by Prince Turki
al-Faisal, head of Saudi Arabia's Secret Service. [New Yorker, 11/5/2001;
Sunday Times (London), 8/25/2002] The Pakistani ISI want a Saudi prince as a
public demonstration of the commitment of the Saudi royal family and as a
way to ensure royal funds for the anti-Soviet forces. The agency fails to
get royalty, but bin Laden, with his family's influential ties, is good
enough for the ISI. [Miami Herald, 9/24/2001] (Clarke will argue later that
the Saudis and other Muslim governments used the Afghan war in an attempt to
get rid of their own misfits and troublemakers.) This multinational force
later coalesces into al-Qaeda. [Clarke, 2004, pp. 52]

The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan. The Russians were initially invited in
by the Afghan government to deal with rising instability and army mutinies,
and they start crossing the border on December 8. But on December 26,
Russian troops storm the presidential palace, kill the country's leader,
Haizullah Amin, and the invitation turns into an invasion. [Blum, 1995, pp.
342] Later declassified high-level Russian documents will show that the
Russian leadership believed that Amin, who took power in a violent coup from
another pro-Soviet leader two months before, had secret contacts with the US
embassy and was probably a US agent. Further, one document from this month
claims that "the right wing Muslim opposition" has "practically established
their control in many provinces. using foreign support." [Cooley, 2002, pp.
8] It has been commonly believed that the invasion was unprovoked, but the
Russians will later be proven largely correct. In a 1998 interview, Zbigniew
Brzezinski, President Jimmy Carter's National Security Adviser, will reveal
that earlier in the year Carter authorized the CIA to destabilize the
government, provoking the Russians to invade (see July 3, 1979). [Le Nouvel
Observateur (Paris), 1/1998; Mirror, 1/29/2002] Further, CIA covert action
in the country actually began in 1978 (see 1978), if not earlier (see
1973-1979). The US and Saudi Arabia will give a huge amount of money
(estimates range up to $40 billion total for the war) to support the
mujaheddin guerrilla fighters opposing the Russians, and a decade-long war
will ensue. [Nation, 2/15/1999]

In the 1960s Osama bin Laden's brother Mahrous bin Laden joined a rebel
group opposed to the Saudi government. With his assistance, in 1979 the
rebels smuggle weapons into Mecca, Saudi Arabia, using trucks belonging to
the bin Laden family company. Five hundred rebels then seize the Grand
Mosque in Medina, Islam's holiest mosque in its holiest city. They try, but
fail, to overthrow the Saudi royal family. All the men who took part are
later beheaded except Mahrous. Eventually he is released from prison because
of the close ties between the bin Ladens and the Saudi royal family. Mahrous
apparently abandons the rebel cause and joins the family business. He is
eventually made a head of the Medina branch and a member of the board. He
will still hold these positions on 9/11. But a newspaper reports that "his
past [is] not forgiven and most important decisions in the [bin Laden family
business] are made without Mahrous' input." [Sunday Herald (Glasgow),
10/7/2001; New Yorker, 11/5/2001; Ha'aretz, 12/18/2002]

At some point in the late 1980s or early 1980s while bin Laden is still
finishing his university degree, he apparently visits the US. Author Peter
Bergen will later claim, "Undoubtedly, bin Laden took his son for medical
treatment to a western country and it's either the United States or the
United Kingdom. There's some kind of controversy about that." Khaled
Batarfi, a close childhood friend to bin Laden, will later recall more
specifically, "In Washington airport, Dulles Airport, people were surprised
at the way he dressed, his wife dressed. Some of them were even taking
photos and he was kind of joking about it. We were like in a zoo." [CNN,
8/23/2006] Apparently, this is bin Laden's only known visit to the US.

The CIA begins covert action against the Communist government in
Afghanistan, which is closely tied to the Soviet Union. Some time this year,
the CIA begins training militants in Pakistan and beaming radio propaganda
into Afghanistan. By April 1979, US officials are meeting with opponents of
the Afghan government to determine their needs. [Blum, 1995, pp. 344] Robert
Gates, who will become CIA Director in the early 1990s, will later recall
that in a meeting on March 30, 1979, Under Secretary of Defense Walter
Slocumbe wonders aloud whether there is "value in keeping the Afghan
insurgency going, 'sucking the Soviets into a Vietnamese quagmire.'" [Gates,
1996, pp. 145] In March 1979, there is a major revolt in Herat province, and
in June and August there are large scale army mutinies. [Cooley, 2002, pp.
5] President Carter will formally approve covert aid to opponents of the
government in July (see July 3, 1979), which will result in a Russian
invasion in December (see December 8, 1979).

In 1977 Zbigniew Brzezinski, as President Carter's National Security
Adviser, forms the Nationalities Working Group (NWG) dedicated to the idea
of weakening the Soviet Union by inflaming its ethnic tensions. The Islamic
populations are regarded as prime targets. Richard Pipes, the father of
Daniel Pipes, takes over the leadership of the NWG in 1981. Pipes predicts
that with the right encouragement Soviet Muslims will "explode into
genocidal fury" against Moscow. According to Richard Cottam, a former CIA
official who advised the Carter administration at the time, after the fall
of the Shah of Iran in 1978, Brzezinski favored a "de facto alliance with
the forces of Islamic resurgence, and with the Republic of Iran." [Dreyfuss,
2005, pp. 241, 251 - 256]


ISRAELIS vs ARABS
WHO ARE THE REAL TERRORISTS?
By: Hal Turner

North Bergen, NJ USA -- For years, we in America have supported Israel
both financially and militarily because we perceived they were the
innocent victims of hostile and violent neighbors. The US media has,
for years, provided extensive coverage of every incident involving
Arab-against-Israeli violence. From shootings, to car bombs to suicide
bombers, we in America have seen it all. Or have we?
Why would rational human beings, given a choice, choose to attack their
neighbors rather than live together in peace? More pertinent, why
would a rational human being choose to blow himself up rather than
live? The Israelis, the US media and our politicians would have us
believe that the Arabs are simply not rational. They routinely tell us
that Arabs are "religious fanatics" who "hate freedom" or "hate our way
of life" to quote George W. Bush. These arguments are fallacious and
intellectually bankrupt.
The reason for Arab against Israeli violence is simple: The Israelis
have been systematically repressing and brutalizing hundreds of
thousands of Arabs on a scale unparalleled since World War 2. I have
the proof.
Below are photographs of the victims of Israeli violence. They depict
brutal, violent death, horrific personal injury and devastation of
property which is simply unfathomable. ALL of it was perpetrated by
Israelis against Arabs. ALL of the victims are civilians.

As you view these pictures ask yourself this question: What would YOU
or YOUR LOVED ONES do in retaliation for these things?
DANGER: SEVENTY-SEVEN GRAPHIC PICTURES OF BRUTAL
VIOLENCE, DEATH AND INJURY.
NOT FOR VIEWING BY PERSONS WITH WEAK HEARTS!

http://www.halturnershow.com/IsraeliAtrocities.html


Genocide Advocated by The Talmud

Minor Tractates. Soferim 15, Rule 10. This is the saying of Rabbi

Simon ben Yohai: Tob shebe goyyim harog ("Even the best of the

Gentiles should all be killed").

This passage is not from the Soncino edition but is from the original

Hebrew of the Babylonian Talmud as quoted by the 1907 Jewish

Encyclopedia, published by Funk and Wagnalls and compiled by

Isidore Singer, under the entry, "Gentile," (p. 617).

This original Talmud passage has been concealed in translation.

The Jewish Encyclopedia states that, "...in the various versions the

reading has been altered, 'The best among the Egyptians' being

generally substituted." In the Soncino version: "the best of the

heathens" (Minor Tractates, Soferim 41a-b].

Israelis annually take part in a national pilgrimage to the grave of

Simon ben Yohai, to honor this rabbi who advocated the

extermination of non-Jews. (Jewish Press of June 9, 1989, p. 56B).

On Purim, Feb. 25, 1994, Israeli army officer Baruch Goldstein,

an orthodox Khazar from Brooklyn, massacred 40 Palestinian

civilians, including children, while they knelt in prayer in a mosque.

Goldstein was a disciple of the late Rabbi Kahane who has stated

that his view of Arabs as "dogs" is "from the Talmud." (Cf. CBS 60

Minutes, "Kahane").

Univ. of Jerusalem Prof. Ehud Sprinzak described Kahane and

Goldstein's philosophy: "They believe it's God's will that they commit

violence against 'goyim,' a Hebrew term for non-Jews." (NY Daily

News, Feb. 26, 1994, p. 5).

Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburg declared, "We have to recognize that Jewish

blood and the blood of a goy are not the same thing." (NY Times,

June 6, 1989, p.5).

Rabbi Yaacov Perrin says, "One million Arabs are not worth a

Jewish fingernail." (NY Daily News, Feb. 28, 1994, p.6).
------------------------------------



A Dangerous Appointment: Profile of Douglas Feith, Undersecretary of
Defense under Bush

------------------------- (April 18, 2001) Douglas J. Feith, the new
Undersecretary of Policy at the U.S. Department of Defense, believes
in "good" versus "darkness" duality. Defining Middle East conflict in
his absolute terms puts serious questions whether or not someone with
his views can fairly serve in his critical post asks James Zogby*.
Douglas J. Feith has been appointed Undersecretary of Policy at the
U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). This is one of the Pentagon's four
senior posts, charged with "all matters concerning the formulation of
national security and defense policy and the integration and oversight
of DOD policy and plans." Additionally, among his many areas of
responsibility according to the DOD, the undersecretary of policy has
the responsibility to:

- "Develop policy on the conduct of alliances and defense
relationships with foreign governments, their military establishments
and international organizations;

- "Develop, coordinate, and oversee the implementation of
international security strategy and policy...on issues...that relate to
foreign governments and their defense establishments; and

- "Provide oversight of all DOD activities related to international
technology transfer."

This is a powerful position with great influence. Feith's appointment
to this post is a matter of great concern.

Feith has had a long career in both government service and the private
sector. During the Reagan Administration he served as the White House
National Security Staff and in the Defense Department as Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Negotiations Policy. He also served
as Special Counsel to Richard Perle, then Assistant Secretary of
Defense.

Feith is an attorney with the Washington firm of Feith and Zell. His
own biography says that he specializes in "technology transfer, joint
ventures and foreign investment in the defense and aerospace
industries."

On the political front, Feith has been associated with the Cold War
"neo-conservative" school of thought. What is of concern here is the
extent to which Feith has transposed the neo-conservative worldview
onto the Middle East. As his fellow cold warriors defined the world in
ideological dualistic terms-the forces of absolute good confronting
the forces of absolute evil-Feith defines the Arab-Israeli conflict in
similar terms.

A prolific writer, Feith has left a long paper trail of anti-Arab
tracts and diatribes against those who challenge or seek to compromise
Israel's strength and as he defines it, "moral superiority" over the
Arabs.

As was the case in the Cold War battle against Communism, in Feith's
view, there can be no place for compromise between Israel and the
Arabs. Since he defines the Middle East conflict in absolute terms,
the only option for Israel is to confront its Arab enemies until they
are defeated, which, in his worldview, means when they submit and
accept Israel's legitimacy and sovereignty over all of mandatory
Palestine.

Since Israel represents the "good" and "our values," in Feith's view,
it is necessary for the United States to identify with Israel in its
struggle against the forces of "darkness," the Arabs. This means
providing Israel with superior military strength and political
support. It also means that the United States should never pressure
Israel either to surrender land or to compromise its hegemonic
position in the region.

Throughout his career, Feith has articulated views such as these.

In the late 1970s, for example, he criticized then President Jimmy
Carter's Camp David effort to bring about a "comprehensive peace"-a
concept he decried as false since it required Israel to weaken itself
by surrendering "Judea and Samaria" to the Arabs. Feith's logic was
that

- Arabs have no legal rights in Palestine;

- Palestinians are not a "national group as such" and, therefore, have
no special claim to Judea and Samaria;

- Jordan is the Palestinian state for the Arabs; and

- No pressure should be brought against Israel for building
settlements in Judea and Samaria, since it is their right to do so.

Operating from this framework, Feith argues that the notion that "the
core of the Arab-Israeli conflict is the issue of the stateless
Palestinians" is a clever Arab trap designed solely to weaken Israel
by threatening its relationship with the United States and its hold
over Judea and Samaria.

He, therefore, condemned the Carter Administration for its opposition
to Israel's settlement policy since, in his view, this "only
encouraged Arabs to believe that they could win benefits from the
United States by refusing to make concessions to Israel."

For Feith, Arab objections to Zionism were at the core of the
conflict. Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories would not
solve the conflict, only Arab acceptance of and submission to Israel
would end it. Summarizing his recommendations to the Carter
Administration, Feith suggested in a 1979 article that they, "(1)
abandon the view that Judea-Samaria is the crux of the Arab-Israeli
conflict, (2) acknowledge that the crux is really the Arab refusal to
accept a Jewish state in Palestine, (3) renounce quarreling over
Israel's rights in Judea-Samaria, which encourages Arab inflexibility
and damages valuable U.S.-Israeli ties, (4) confine itself to the role
of mediator, rather than party, to the Arab-Israeli conflict, and thus
(5) inform Damascus, Amman, the Palestinian Arabs, and Riyadh that if
they want an alteration in Jerusalem's policies they had best start
negotiating with Jerusalem, as Sadat has done, and quit relying on
Washington to 'deliver' the Israelis."

In the 1980s and 90s, Feith continued his criticism of any U.S. policy
that deviated from his view. He criticized the Bush Administration for
denying Israel loan guarantees and for pressuring the Shamir
government to come to the Madrid peace conference.

His advice to the Bush Administration in 1991 echoed his earlier
recommendations to the Carter White House. The U.S. government should,
he suggested, require the Arabs to:

- "Drop the slogan of 'land for peace,' which skeptical Israelis must
suspect is a program for dismantling Israel in stages, and simply
offer peace. That is, they could put forward an open, unqualified, non-
grudging and sincere acknowledgement that the Jewish people are
entitled to a state in a Jewish homeland;" and

- "Abandon the name game by which they apply the label 'Palestine'
only to the 20 percent of the British Mandate Palestine that lies west
of the Jordan River. So long as one's goal is the elimination of
Israel, one does well to pretend that the Kingdom of Jordan, which
occupies the other 80 percent of Mandate Palestine, is not a
Palestinian state. That makes it possible to propagandize that the
Jews control all the land and the Arabs of Palestine are
'stateless.'"

During the Clinton years, Feith continued to oppose any agreement
negotiated between the Israelis and Palestinians: Oslo, Hebron and
Wye.

At one point he defined Oslo as, "one-sided Israeli concessions,
inflated Palestinian expectations, broken Palestinian solemn
understandings, Palestinian violence...and American rewards for
Palestinian recalcitrance."

His objection to the Hebron and Wye understandings, however, is more
interesting because it was his ideological soul mate, then Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had agreed to them.

In 1996, Feith, together with Richard Perle wrote an advisory paper
for the newly elected Likud Prime Minister. In that piece, entitled "A
Clean Break: a New Strategy for Securing the Realm," they advised
Netanyahu to: "make a clean break from the peace process;" reassert
Israel's claim to its land by rejecting "land for peace" as the basis
of peace; strengthen Israel's defenses to better confront Syria and
Iraq; and forge a new and stronger relationship with the United States
based on self-reliance and mutual interest.

Feith was, therefore, deeply disappointed when Netanyahu appeared to
accept the basis of Oslo and sign two additional agreements with the
Palestinians that turned more land over to them. In a lengthy piece
written in 1997 "A Strategy for Israel," Feith returned to his neo-
conservative roots arguing that "land for peace" was a fabrication
designed to weaken Israel. Peace would only come when Arab and
specifically Palestinian society was transformed into a democratic,
law-abiding and peaceful one. Since Oslo had created unrealistic
expectations and rewarded bad Palestinian behavior, the only solution
for Israel was to repudiate Oslo and "reestablish an effective
security and intelligence policy in the areas under Palestinian
Authority control" (i.e. reoccupy the West Bank and Gaza). He went on
to note that "the price in blood would be high," but would be, a
necessary form of "detoxification-the only way out of Oslo's web."

Despite his apparent obsession with the Arab-Israel conflict, Feith
has written about a number of other Middle East-related topics. In all
cases, inspired by the same pro-Israel, anti-Arab Manichean
worldview.

He has written condemning U.S. politicians for estranging themselves
from Israel in order to accommodate Arab oil states. He has associated
himself with a controversial strategy paper that suggested, among
other options, that the U.S. might lead a Kuwait-style invasion and
war of liberation to oust Syria from Lebanon. And he has been one of
Washington's strongest advocates supporting the Iraq Liberation Act.

As disturbing as Feith's views may be, his political associations
cause even greater concern. In recent years, Feith has frequently been
featured in the activities of the Zionist Organization of America
(ZOA). Known for its virulent anti-Arab incitement, the ZOA regularly
attacks all Arab American political activity and demonizes politicians
who hire Arab Americans or even associate with community
organizations. The ZOA also frequently attacks American Jews whom they
feel are not in line with their extremist pro-Likud philosophy.

In just the past few years, Feith was the Guest of Honor at ZOA's
100th Anniversary Gala Banquet. He served as Master of Ceremony at two
other major ZOA functions and has been a frequent participant at ZOA
sponsored policy briefings on Capitol Hill supporting that
organization's anti-Palestinian legislative initiatives.

Feith's law practice in Washington sheds further light on the one-
sided nature of his work. His small law firm has one international
affiliate, in Israel. Over two-thirds of all their reported casework
involves representing Israeli interests. And, in light of Feith's new
appointment, one of these cases deserves some attention. As described
on the firm's website, Feith "represented a leading Israeli armaments
manufacturer in establishing joint ventures with leading U.S.
aerospace manufacturers for manufacture and sale of missile systems,
to the U.S. Department of Defense and worldwide."

Feith has long been a strong advocate for Israeli military technology.
In a 1992 article, he wrote that the U.S. should deepen its military
cooperation with Israel noting that, "Israel has a number of unique
military technologies that it behooves the U.S. armed forces to
acquire, such as unmanned aircraft and air-to ground missiles. With
shrinking U.S. defense budgets, it is less expensive for the Defense
Department to acquire these technologies from the Israelis than to pay
to have them reinvented."

He also observed in the same piece that, "It is in the interest of the
U.S. and Israel to remove needless impediments to technological
cooperation between them. Technologies in the hands of responsible,
friendly countries facing military threats, countries like Israel,
serve to deter aggression, enhance regional stability and perhaps also
promote peace thereby."

In the private sector, Feith is free to hold whatever views he wishes
to hold, associate with whomever he wishes to associate, and do
whatever legitimate business comes his way. But serious questions must
be asked whether or not someone with his views and associations can
fairly serve in a critical post at the Department of Defense. I, for
one, am terrified at the prospect. He is ideologue with an extreme
anti-Arab bias, and his role in the sensitive position of chief
architect of U.S. defense policy can, I believe, have grave
consequences for the United States and its relations with the entire
Arab world.

******************************************
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  • Arms & The MAN...Mossad never mentioned ounce, while its shadow is everywhere...
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