- Reportedly, 19th century Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz
once remarked: "Poor Mexico, So far from God, So close to the United
States." His proximity comment applies to Lebanon. Bordering Israel,
it experienced decades of belligerent interventions as early as 1954 when
Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion proposed supporting the establishment
of a Maronite-dominated Christian mini-state.
-
- In 1978, Israel attacked Lebanon and occupied the country
up to the Litani River before withdrawing under US pressure, letting UN
Blue Helmets (UNIFIL) replace its own forces.
-
- Earlier, during Lebanon's 1975-76 civil war, Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin reportedly spent $150 million equipping and training right-wing
Maronite Phalange fighters. In September 1982, during Israel's invasion,
they massacred thousands of Palestinian Sabra and Shatila camp residents,
an appalling atrocity Israeli forces permitted when Ariel Sharon was defense
minister.
-
- On June 6, 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon, slaughtering
around 18,000 Palestinians, then occupied South Lebanon until withdrawing
in May 2000. It still illegally holds Sheba Farms, the 14-square mile water-rich
land near Syria's Golan, also illegally occupied since 1967 as well as
Ghajar, a Lebanese village bordering Golan.
-
- In July 2006, Israel again attacked, killing over 1,000,
injuring thousands more, displacing about one-fourth of the country's four
million people, besides inflicting the same mass destruction it did to
Gaza during Cast Lead.
-
- Earlier in December 1968, Israeli forces attacked Beirut
International Airport, destroying 13 Middle East Airlines planes in response
to an alleged Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) attack
on an Israeli airliner in Athens.
-
- Later in 1993, Israel launched a week-long offensive
against Hezbollah, allegedly in response to rockets launched against an
Israeli village. During the operation, heavy Israeli bombing caused massive
destruction and displaced around 300,000 Lebanese. It was a prelude to
a similar 1996 attack, again against Hezbollah, during which up to 500,000
Lebanese were displaced.
-
- An early 2007 American University of Beirut study documented
6,672 Israeli terrorist acts against Lebanon and Palestine alone from 1967
- 2007, plus thousands more since then.
-
- "Poor Lebanon" indeed, its plight journalist
Robert Fisk described in his book, "Pity the Nation: The Abduction
of Lebanon." As Israel's northern neighbor, it's constantly under
threat, especially with Hezbollah a political force, well armed to react
in self-defense.
-
- Hezbollah Dissolves Lebanon's Government
-
- Lebanon's elected minority, Hezbollah pulled out in protest
on January 12, Al Jazeera headlining, "Lebanese government collapses,"
saying:
-
- "Lebanon's unity government collapsed after the
Hezbollah movement and its political allies resigned from the cabinet over
arguments stemming from a UN investigation into the assassination of Rafiq
al-Hariri, the former prime minister, in 2005."
-
- On January 12, ten ministers resigned (then an 11th)
after Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri (his son) reportedly refused to convene
a cabinet meeting to discuss Hezbollah's expected indictment by a UN-back
Special Tribunal's (STL) for the killing of his father, Rafik on February
14, 2005.
-
- Without earlier evidence, Hezbollah's rap sheet includes
the 1983 US Lebanon Embassy and Marine barracks bombings, highjackings,
hostage taking, rocket attacks against Israel, suicide bombings, and more,
charges the organization vehemently denies, saying it responds only in
self-defense against militants, not civilians, its leader Sayyad Hassan
Nasrallah stating:
-
- "Hezbollah remains on the US and Israel 'terrorism'
list for purely political reasons and to punish the organization for its
resistance to Israeli aggressions against Lebanon and (America's) plans
for the region."
-
- Expecting its members to be charged with assassinating
Hariri, he accused Israel of the crime, presenting visual and audio evidence.
It includes real time intercepted Israeli surveillance footage of routes
he used to be able to target his motorcade, Nasrallah saying:
-
- "We have definite information on the aerial movements
of the Israeli enemy the day Hariri was murdered. Hours before....an Israeli
drone was surveying the Sidon-Beirut-Junieh coastline as warplanes were
flying over Beirut. This video can be acquired by any investigative commission
to ensure it is correct. We are sure of this evidence, or else we would
not risk showing it."
-
- He also said an Israeli spy "confess(ed) in front
of a camera that he had repeatedly tried to falsely convince Hariri that
(Hezbollah) intended to assassinate him." Though not a smoking gun,
this information warrants serious investigation, especially given Israel's
history of similar acts, inside and outside the region.
-
- According to Lebanese University Professor Hasan Jouni,
an international criminal law expert, Nasrallah's evidence is compelling,
saying:
-
- "Logically and legally, in this stage, any new finding
should be investigated by the general prosecutor. Sayyed Nasrallah submitted
tangible evidence of the Israeli potential role in Hariri's assassination."
It appears incriminating. "Furthermore, the previous investigations
which were circulated here and there should be revised."
-
- Antoine Airout, North Lebanon Bar Association head, agreed,
saying: "Sayyed Hasrallah's revelations are very serious and objective,"
especially given Israel's long-term interest in destroying Lebanon to seize
portions for itself, especially its water-rich south and offshore oil and
gas reserves. Blaming Hariri's assassination on Hezbollah furthers that
goal.
-
- In late July, Nasrallah further disclosed the arrest
of nearly 100 Israeli spies who'd infiltrated Lebanon's military and security
sectors, including Ret. Army Brig. General Fayez Karam, once head of its
antiterrorism/counterespionage units.
-
- For decades, Israel, with US encouragement, arms and
financing, pursued imperial wars, state terrorism, politically disruptive
acts, and assassinations of key figures like Hariri. Incriminating Hezbollah
will, in fact, divert blame from where it belongs.
-
- The dispute between the Hariri camp and Hezbollah paralyzed
Lebanon's government for months, raising concerns of sectarian violence
spinning out of control. Current friction pits Hezbollah against the so-called
March 14 coalition, composed of Sunni Muslim parties, Walid Jumblatt's
Druze party, and Phalangist Christian groups.
-
- The immediate trigger for dissolving the government stemmed
from failure by Syria (supporting Hezbollah) and Saudi Arabia (backing
the opposition) to negotiate a settlement, preventing a wrongful STL indictment.
Among other concerns is using "false witness" testimonies as
evidence to implicate Syria and a group four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals
for Hariri's assassination. In fact, a released WikiLeaks cable quoted
senior STL judge, Daniel Bellemare, admitting there's "no case"
against Syria. Nor against Hezbollah.
-
- Moreover, Druze leader Jumblatt told AFP that "Saad
Hariri was on the brink of making a major concession" to soften STL's
conclusions, "but occult forces (mainly Washington) prevented him
from doing so." Former Hezbollah Energy Minister Jibran Bassil agreed,
telling Lebanon's Daily Star:
-
- "The other side bowed to external, especially American
pressure, ignoring the advice and wishes of the Saudi and Syrian sides."
-
- Hezbollah Minister Mohammed Fneish said:
-
- "There was an Arab effort which we dealt with positively.
We even bargained on it. However, as a result of US interference and the
inability of the other side to deal with it, this effort reached a deadlock."
-
- Hezbollah emerged out of Israel's 1982 war. On January
25, 1995, the Annex to Clinton's Executive Order (EO) 12947 listed it as
a Specially Designated Terrorist (SDT). Then in 1997, the State Department
designated it a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), and on October 31,
2001, it was named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Bush's
EO 13224.
-
- In fact, Hezbollah is a legitimate resistance/political
organization, and was part of Lebanon's government until pulling out. Moreover,
in a country with no state-provided social services, it's offered an array
of its own, including medical care, education, micro-finance, reconstruction
after Israeli wars and frequent assaults, and other forms of charity.
-
- In 2006, it proved a formidable force against Israel's
aggression, holding its own against vaunted IDF forces, humiliated by their
inability to prevail, no matter how much destruction and slaughter they
inflicted.
-
- At Israel's urging, Washington declared Hezbollah a terrorist
organization like democratically elected Hamas, Palestine's democratically
elected government. Both are legitimate resistance/political organizations,
not terrorists, but whatever Israel wants, it gets.
-
- On June 7, 2009, Lebanon held parliamentary elections.
Though Hezbollah got the highest popular vote, the Hariri coalition won
a majority of seats. Under the country's confessional system, they're divided
equally between Christians and Muslims, even though the latter comprise
two-thirds of the population, and Shiites are 40%, mostly in Hezbollah's
controlled south.
-
- America and Israel view a Hezbollah-led government a
strategic threat. In 2009, conflict might have followed if it won. Both
Washington and Tel Aviv back a Hariri caretaker government, and following
Hezbollah's pullout, Haaretz Service, on January 13 headlined, "IDF
troops on alert following collapse of Lebanon government," saying:
-
- Forces "stationed in the north were on alert Thursday
over worries that the political turmoil....might spill over into renewed
violence on their shared border....A senior officer in Israel's northern
command said commanders were following events....very closely for any sign
Hezbollah might try to heat up the already jittery northern border to deflect
attention from the political turmoil."
-
- Hezbollah responds only to Israeli aggression. It remains
to be seen if IDF provocations follow. It's likely if Hezbollah wrests
control. However, Lebanon's Daily Star reports Hariri's March 8 Alliance
majority may name him prime minister.
-
- A later January 15 report said he seeks dialogue as the
only solution, while at the same time blaming Hezbollah and its allies
for the collapse of Saudi-Syrian efforts to reach a negotiated solution.
-
- It also said parliament is nearly evenly split with Walid
Jumblatt's 12 MPs holding decisive votes. On Saturday, he met with Hariri
before planned Damascus talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
-
- The Daily Star also reported that March 8 Alliance officials
may propose their candidate for prime minister and form a new cabinet without
March 14 representation. Akkar MP Hadi Hobeish, however, told March 8 factions
that naming its own candidate "will take the country into another
direction," suggesting a none too pleasant one.
-
- A January 12 White House statement condemned Hezbollah,
stating:
-
- "The efforts by the Hizbollah-led coalition to collapse
the Lebanese government only demonstrate their own fear and determination
to block the government's ability to conduct its business and advance the
aspirations of all of the Lebanese people."
-
- On January 14, US National Security Advisor Tom Donilon
said Hezbollah's intentions have been "laid bare." It will have
a hard time presenting itself as a "righteous resistance organization"
if it continues trying to undermine "international efforts to find
the truth."
-
- Of course, Washington and Israel consistently block it
in pursuit of their joint imperial agenda. Hezbollah and Hamas remain irritants
in the way.
-
- A Final Comment
-
- On January 14, longtime London Independent Beirut correspondent
Robert Fisk headlined, "Lebanon in limbo: a nation haunted by the
murder of Rafiq Hariti," saying:
-
- "Soldiers, soldiers everywhere. In the valleys,
on the mountains, in the streets of Beirut. I have never seen so many soldiers....They
are supposed to stop the country (from) sliding into civil war, I suppose."
-
- As early as January 17, "the Hague tribunal of the
United Nations will tell us that (Hezbollah members) killed....Rafiq Hariri."
America demands it. So does France, Britain and Israel to strike another
blow against its effective resistance.
-
- Until resolved, Lebanon has no government. On January
17, President Michel Suleiman will begin formal talks to reestablish one.
Fisk calls it "a frightened state," but sees no civil war. It
remains to be seen what comes next Tel Aviv and Washington. War seems unlikely,
but in a volatile part of the world, nothing can be discounted.
-
- On January 13, middle East analyst As'ad AbuKhalil said
he sees little hope in Lebanon for "logical conclusions: they never
do." As a result, "expect another lousy compromise to emerge....The
absence of a secular alternative ensures (it). We had a chance back in
1976, but (Syria) intervened and prevented the secular leftist outcome
of conflict."
-
- "But make no mistake. (Minority interests have)
many advantages: the biggest one being the sheer incompetence and ineptitude
(of the) Hariri" led March 14 Alliance. However, the real wild card
remains what Washington and Israel may do if things don't go their way.
Belligerence, not diplomacy, is their usual option. Lebanon has many scars
to prove it.
-
- Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at
<mailto:lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net>lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge
discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour
on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and
Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.
-
- http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
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