Supporters of Hezbollah-backed strike bid to topple Saniora government

[wisteria]

From MSNBC,


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16765115/

“The opposition is attempting a coup by force ... This is not a strike. This is military action, a true aggression and I’m afraid this could develop into clashes between citizens,” Fatfat, the youth and sports minister, told Al-Arabiya.

From Senator Kerry,

"Lost in the shadows of Iraq, the struggle to save the fragile democracy born of the Cedar Revolution has reached a moment of truth. If America does not act now, this key front in the broader struggle between moderates and extremists for the future of the Arab world will be lost -- and the consequences will long be felt throughout the region. The radicals' ambitions for overthrow move from Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in Lebanon to President Mahmound Abbas in Ramallah to Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki in Iraq. They are determined to achieve a clean sweep."


http://www.johnkerry.com/news/articles/newsarticle.html?id=109





Senator Kerry saw this coming. He warned us of this. Where is f*king Bush,were are all of our other supposed leaders? Lebanon's democracy is fading fast.

Somedays, I just can't take it anymore. The ignorance and the incompetence, the lies.

[blm]

1. Put up in GD - I would bet most people have missed this, thanks to our crappy media.

.Bush won't fucking bring the parties together and TALK in any official way. Every other country is following Bush's lead - be stubborn and act aggressively instead of diplomatic talks to air and bridge differences.

Use a catchier subject line - Another Bush failure to promote diplomacy - Big trouble in Lebanon.

Or something like that.

[wisteria]

3. Done. But some idiot thinks this is good and calls it a non-violent protest

and a positive development. :banghead:

[blm]

9. I can't seem to find it.

.

[Mass]

10. Actually, I think the criticisms have a point.

Not only this one, but the one concerning quoting the Gemayel family as an example. Though it seems that they are fully involved in trying to get an unity governement, their past is less than glorious (as is the case for many people in Lebanon).

One of the difficulties is that Lebanon has to make peace by uniting people who have blood on their hands. It is unfortunately the case in a civil war. Some people on GD cannot understand that.

[beachmom]

2. Sub story -- how the press BLEW it. We need to scare up that

video of David Gregory cutting off Kerry who was sounding the alarm about this, and for Gregory it was all about '08.

This is bad. Very bad.

[wisteria]

4. Thanks for the tip. I added the video. n/t

[Mass]

5. It is more complicated that Newsweek makes it look.

and actually very sad.

First, as I was saying in a previous thread, Hezbollah is allied with the Christian Right Wing of General Aoun, so, we should not make that an issue of Hezbollah only.

Secondly, it is a strike, not a coup, whatever this Lebanese minister wants to call it. They did not topple the government. They are protesting. It seems it has become a little more violent than the average European protest, but general strike protests are fairly common in Europe as well.

What they want is clear: that Siniora leaves AND that anticipated elections begin (something that is fairly current in an Occidental parliamentarian democracy.).

It is not a pleasant situation as, on one side, the people who protest have REAL problems that need to be fixed, and on the other side, the Siniora government is unable to do anything because of the fact that very few people are helping them.

It is also important to know that they is an economic conference in Paris to help Lebanon. I wonder whether there are American representatives.


(I am looking for English speaking sources to post, as the only source I have is Le Monde.)

[Mass]

6. More here.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L22775528.htm

Interesting as this is a lot more reasonnable.

This story is in the middle of a classic dispute between Lebanese factions, where each faction one after the other has been the bad guy.

There was a relative balance since last year after Syria left (and after all, life was not that bad under Syrian protectorate, probably). The coalition collapsed after the war between Israel and Hezbollah, where the Lebanese government had to sit powerless and see a large part of his country destroyed.

After that, the absence of support from foreign countries except Iran to rebuild the country has deeply weakened the governement.

I am no expert, but I have been hearing of the problem in Lebanon since I was a child, and this is only one more shaking in this beautiful country.

[wisteria]

7. Thanks, obviously a lot more to the story than MSNBC is reporting.

And, Rice will be in Paris for the conference. Why oh, why do I keep relying on our press to get things right.

[fedupinBushcountry]

8. Kerry's op-ed

January 4, 2007

A crucial time for saving Lebanon's fragile democracy

The Boston Globe
John F. Kerry




http://www.johnkerry.com/news/articles/newsarticle.html?id=109

[karynnj]

11. Kerry's Lebanon op-ed was the most prominent thing I saw on this

The only one else I heard was Dodd. Mr and Mrs strong on National security and Foreign Poicy were silent - to my knowledge.