Fausta's blog

Very few people understand Lebanon as well as Michael Totten, who loves the country. Here's his article in Commentary:
Lebanon’s Third Civil War

The first war was a short one. Sunni Arab Nationalists in thrall to Egyptian dictator Gamal Abdel Nasser wanted to attach Lebanon to the United Arab Republic – a brief union of Egypt and Syria. An even larger bloc of Maronite Christians resisted. A nation cannot hold itself together when a large percentage of its population – roughly a third – wish to be annexed by foreign powers.

The second war was a long one. This time, Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Liberation Organization formed a state-within-a-state in West Beirut and South Lebanon and used it as a launching pad for terrorist attacks against Israel. Again, Lebanon’s Christians resisted, as did Lebanon’s Shias. The second civil war was actually a series of wars that were merely triggered by that first fatal schism.

The third civil war resembles both the first and the second. With Iranian money and weapons, Hezbollah has built its own state-within-a-state in South Lebanon and South Beirut which is used as a base to wage war against Israel. Hezbollah also wishes to violently yank Lebanon from its current pro-Western alignment into the Syrian-Iranian axis. Roughly one-fourth of the population supports this agenda. No country on earth can withstand that kind of geopolitical tectonic pressure. For more than a year members of Hezbollah have tried unsuccessfully to topple the elected government with a minimal use of force, but their patience is at an end and they have turned to war.

Michael concludes,

There may be lulls in the violence, but there will be no real peace in Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed or destroyed.

Hezbollah is not going to disarm.

Yid With Lid thanks France for Hezbollah's takeover of Lebanon.

We talked about Lebanon in last Friday's podcast - and we're not optimistic.



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Labels: Israel, Lebanon, Michael Totten, Middle East.

Following up on the Imad Mughniyah news, TIME is posting a story with a Hezbollah Media Office/AP byline. At least we know who sent it. The son of a bitch is referred to as a "militant", of course, a "freedom fighter" whose "misdeeds" granted him such a "mythical status that sometimes it was not always certain if he really existed at all".

He existed, alright, and he killed hundreds of people.

During the Mughniyeh funeral Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah says he's ready for "open war with Israel":

He insisted: "The blood of Imad Mughniyeh will make them [Israel] withdraw from existence."

Not that Nasrallah was all that conciliatory towards Israel to begin with.

Nasrallah's accusations are just one of the many conspiracy theories going around the Mughniyeh explosion: Siggy's posting about All Kinds Of Certainty,

It was inevitable and certain the assassination of Imad Mugniyah would spawn some terric conspiracy theories. In the latest iteration of the Arab world addition/obsessions, Hamas is now being accused with the assassination of Imad Mugniyah. Why? Because Hamas wants a relationship with United States and the assassination of a terror bigwig(pig) like Mugniyah is just the kind of gift Hamas believes would do the trick.

Then there's the childhood trauma theory (which, as to be expected, is blamed on the Jews) and some more speculation on Syria, too.

But one thing is clear, whoever did it, did mankind a favor. Even the French agree.

UPDATE
Hezbollah Mourners Shout "Death to America! Death to Israel!" at Mughniyeh's Funeral



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Labels: Hamas, Lebanon, terrorism

From Belmont Club,

Imad Muganiyeh, known to Americans as the man who killed Navy diver Robert Stethem; the man who tortured and killed CIA station chief William Francis Buckley, and possible mastermind of the 1983 Marine Barracks bombing in Beirut died in car bomb explosion in a posh suburb of Damascus.

Mughniyeh is also believed to have been behind the 1992 bombing of Israel's embassy in Argentina in which 29 people were killed, and the blast at a Buenos Aires Jewish center two years later that killed 95.

Recently Argentina has been investigating the 1994 explosion, which is the largest terrorist attack ever staged in Latin America against a Jewish group.

Wretchard points out that Mughniyeh's demise came on the anniversary of Rafik Hariri's death.

Coincidence? Not at all. To the contrary: this is a message, loud and clear. As Wretchard said,

...one of the things Hezbollah might reflect upon as they regard the charred and mangled corpse of Mughniyeh is that while one can evade payment for a time, the repo man always comes in the end.

The Guardian has a Profile: Imad Mughniyeh. The (London) Times asserts that "His death is a huge blow to the Iranian-backed militant group, given Mughniyeh's years of experience and organisational skills."

UPDATE
Phillip Jacobson says Mossad did it, but I think Mughniyeh had enough enemies that one can't rule out anyone, including the Iranians themselves.
Update 2
If the Israel's Mossad got him, they killed a number of birds with one stone.
One more rat sent to Hell



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Labels: Argentina, Islamic Jihad, Lebanon, Shia

Gateway Pundit has today's must-read: Fireworks in Lebanon... Pro-Syrian President Steps Down

Some 2000 Anti-Lebanese-president and pro-government supporters, set fireworks dancing beating drums and shouting 'Lahoud out' as they gathered in a Sunni Muslim neighborhood celebrating the departure of president Emile Lahoud, in Beirut, Lebanon, Late Friday Nov. 23, 2007.

Go follow his links.

More at From Beirut to the Beltway

Labels: elections, Lebanon, Middle East

Students go on rampage in China

Hundreds of students have rioted against the police in central China.

Witnesses said the unrest, in the city of Zhengzhou in Henan province, was sparked on Wednesday after a student was beaten by police.

She had been selling items on the street, apparently without a license. There was an argument and reports say officials broke her front teeth.

At this point other students began to gather round and witnesses say hundreds clashed with police and burned cars.

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While the G8 guys fret about Global Warming, Cold snap prompts Peru emergency and April freeze hurts Kentucky farmers

Meanwhile the North Koreans are firing missiles and the Lebanese are bombing Palestinians and no one at the G8's complaining. Imagine if Israel was doing that...

Speaking of the G8, this would be a good picture for a caption contest:

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The Anchoress has an excellent discussion over immigration, and another one on Pres.Bush that are must-reads.
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Gerard has the Memo from Israel to Palestine (h/t Larwyn)
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PBS: EXCLUSION AND POLITICAL DISCRIMINATION
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Via Maria, Who is Nicolas Sarkozy? What to expect from France's new president, scion of one of the oldest Jewish families of Salonika, Greece
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In a lighter mode:
Separated at birth?

• Arrogance has to be earned. Tell me what you've done to earn yours - Dr House
• Believe fervently in miracles, so that you too can be plucked from the Sea of Stupidity - Siggy

On the other hand, has anyone seen Hugh Laurie and Siggy in the same place at the same time?

Labels: China, France, G8, George W. Bush, Israel, Lebanon, Nicolas Sakozy, Palestinians, TV

Israel army attacks deep in camp

The fighting has intensified over recent days and nights

The Israeli army is shelling militant positions deep within the besieged Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, as its operation to force a surrender continues.
The army says militants from the Fatah al-Islam group have been cleared from the edges of the Palestinian camp during heavy fighting since Friday.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert described the group as a "terrorist gang", and said there would be no negotiation.

A militant spokesman said they would fight to "the last drop of blood".

"We will not surrender," vowed Fatah al-Islam spokesman Abu Salim Taha.

No, the BBC was not talking about Israel and Olmert, it was talking about Lebanon and its PM, Fouad Siniora. But imagine the outcry if Israel had been defending itself.

Via Dr Sanity, Steve Huntley looks at the Double standard in Mideast

The rocket attacks are what preoccupies the Israelis these days. In only two weeks, Palestinian terrorists have fired more than 250 primitive Qassam rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, aiming principally for the town of Sderot. Two people have been killed. Others have been wounded, many temporarily evacuated and probably all of them traumatized by the terror of any moment being shattered by an incoming rocket.

Israel is constantly warned by the likes of the European Parliament not to react "disproportionately" to Palestinian violence, without anyone ever quite defining what would be proportionate.

Syria's Useful Idiots: Why are so many commentators denying the obvious about Lebanon? Michael Totten writes that Al Qaeda has moved into Lebanon---------------------------------------------------
For more insanities, Dr Sanity has the Carnival
l

Labels: Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, Palestinians, terrorism

Via Jihad Watch, Islamic militants, security forces battle in Lebanon. The AP calls them Islamic militants, the NYT calls them Islamists, and people are dying:

Eight civilians were killed by shelling today, according to Reuters, adding to the 22 Lebanese soldiers and 17 militants killed in the fierce fighting on Sunday.

Witnesses said that militants belonging to Fatah al-Islam fired rocket-propelled grenades as well as machine guns today at army posts on the camp perimeter, according to Reuters.

The continuing violence is one of the most significant challenges to the Lebanese army since the end of Lebanon's bloody civil war.
...
Many of the complex crosscurrents of Lebanon's politics have been visible in the crisis. The camp in Tripoli has been off limits to the Lebanese army under an agreement with the Palestinian leadership and Arab countries. On Sunday, Lebanese citizens, who hold the Palestinians responsible for sparking the civil war in 1975, cheered the army on the streets of Tripoli and outside the camp.

Syria, which Lebanon accuses of backing Fatah al-Islam, closed several border crossings in the area. And the fighting broke out as the United Nations Security Council took up a resolution to try suspects tied to the February 2005 assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri. Syria has been accused in previous investigations of ordering the killing, but vigorously denies any connection.
...
Fatah al-Islam has been a growing concern for security authorities in Lebanon and much of the region. Intelligence officials say that the group counts between 150 and 200 fighters in its ranks and that it subscribes to the fundamentalist precepts of Al Qaeda.

The group's leader, Shakir al-Abssi, is a fugitive Palestinian and former associate of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former leader of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia who was killed last year in Iraq. Both men were sentenced to death in absentia for the 2002 murder of an American diplomat, Lawrence Foley, in Jordan.

Christians are targeted

I haven't figured out why the BBC's using scare quotes, Lebanon clashes 'kill civilians' but the death toll is significantly higher than the AP report shows. Update: The WaPo states that 50 combatants were killed in the first day of fighting Sunday

Here are some Facts and figures on Palestinian refugees in Lebanon

Gateway Pundit posts that

One of the men killed in Sunday's fighting, Saddam El-Hajdib, was a suspect in a failed German train bombing a sign that Nahr al-Bared refugee camp had become a refuge for militants planning attacks outside of Lebanon.

A spokesman for the Lebanese government was interviewed by the BBCA newscast and blamed Syria for the bombing. Certainly the Lebanese media's clear about it: Lebanon media see Syria behind violence.

Michael Totten links to Why Syria, why now?

The Lebanese citizen says, "justice is a principle above all. Security on the other hand has its own logic; you kill this guy, you spare that guy..."

Yeah, but you don't understand, as Assad's court scribe Patrick Seale put it, "Syria cannot tolerate a hostile government in Lebanon"! So it must kill all politicians that it doesn't like! But hey, "it doesn't mean the end!"

Will Nancy don her scarf again and go ask her buddy to stop?

Via Pajamas Media, From Beirut to the Beltway, explains that even if the Lebanese army wins this one, the battle will not be over and that,

In other words, Hizbullah is siding against the Lebanese government and army by not even acknowledging Fatah al-Islam, or its sponsor, and blaming it on a US-Israeli conspiracy.

I'm sure Nancy can't wait to sink her teeth on that, too.

Meanwhile, you wouldn't know that Israel is under attack by reading the headlines.

Update Captain Ed asks,

And where is the UN in all of this? It's their refugee camp which has fostered these groups and allowed them to operate openly. Shouldn't the UN be disarming people in refugee camps? Or have they abandoned that mandate, as they have abandoned others?

Update 2: Welcome, EU Referendum readers. Please visit often, and if you have a chance, listen to my Blog Talk Radio podcasts, including my most recent ones on on Tony Blair, and on Israel

Labels: APDD, Lebanon, Middle East, Nancy Pelosi, Palestinians, Syria

Nancy Pelosi is Playing With Fire

All that Pelosi's trip can accomplish is to advertise American disunity to a terrorist-sponsoring nation in the Middle East while we are in a war there. That in turn can only embolden the Syrians to exploit the lack of unified resolve in Washington by stepping up their efforts to destabilize Iraq and the Middle East in general.

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My Blog Talk Radio guest Michael Fumento writes about Defeating Malaria with both High- and Low-Tech

Tren calls for a holistic approach in fighting the disease. That includes full rehabilitation of the use of the insecticide DDT.

I've been posting about why I favor the use of DDT for malaria for years now.
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Video: U.S. troops rescue kidnapped Iraqi man
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UCLA "Covering Lebanon" Conference: Media Criticism or Israel Bashing?
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86 RSC Members Sign Letter to President Bush Pledging to Sustain Veto on Pork-Corrupted War Spending Bill. Cassandra found one instance of Real Democrat Support For The Troops

Transparency takes a hit: With Democrats at the helm of Congress, the Congressional Reseach Service has decided it no longer needs to track the pork in spending bills.
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Maria sent me a link saying that Web MD's symptom checker just got better. I don't know what its symptoms were, but I tried that site once and ended up with symptoms for defective organs I wasn't born with.
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Jeremayakovka first blogbirthday's today. He's been discussing Cuba.

Here's my old post on Ricardo Arenas, originally posted on Oct. 11, 2004 (you might have to go to October archive and scroll down):

Saturday I wrote about The Motorcycle Diaries and its obsecene lyricism in idolizing a mass murderer. A commenter wrote,

Don't forget all the Gays he had killed

Carlos Eire's book deals with the subject (page 256),

He thinks about that cruel ritual he has witnessed so many times, when the guards strip all the prisoners naked and parade the most handsome in front of the newly arrived inmates to find out who among them is gay. He thinks about how anyone who gets aroused is taken away for a special mandatory "rehabilitation" program that includes the application of electrical currents to the genitals.

Reinaldo Arenas was one among many gay men who were sent to Cuban concentration camps. Arenas's work portrays Cuba as one big prison, "where sodomite hedonism is a clear protest against the cruel Castro regime". A Gay News review of Arenas's autobiography, Before Night Falls explains,

Gay men have indeed been persecuted in Cuba, but luckily things are a bit better these days. Authors add excusingly that Fidel Castro has done a lot of good for the Cubans as far as education and health-care are concerned. An important question is where the homophobia of Castro`s regime comes from. With nuances all authors point at traditional Latin-American machismo, though they also have to admit that socialism didn`t do much for the breaking down of male megalomania and hatred against gays.

The cowardice and half-heartedness of left wing, sometimes even homosexual Cuba adepts we`d better forget. Meanwhile it's beyond a doubt gays have been imprisoned en masse in the so called UMAP camps: the military units supporting the production. Jan Lumsden cautiously objects these camps weren`t for gays in the first place, but has to admit gays were its main population. All boys and men unfit for military service, arrested for homosexuality or considered unsocial in any other way, ended up in the UMAP camps where they carried on forced labour in for instance the sugar cane crop. The camps were in existence from 1965 till 1970. Since then queers who were dangerous to the state landed in jail again or in a regular work camp. The mass escape of maricones" during the Mariel exodus to the paradise of capitalism and decadence, North America, in 1980 was not accidental

For Arenas's prison experiences in his own words, go to Amazon click on the book icon with "Search Inside", and do a "Search inside this book" for keyword "prison".

Arenas, as many hundreds of other gay men and lesbians, suffered from Che's and Castro's revolution. Arenas's work, angry and hard-hitting, will endure, and he will be remembered. The names of those who died in the concentration camps are written on sand, washed by the tides.

Meanwhile, in Spain, it is business as usual when it comes to Cuba

Labels: books, Cuba, Democrats, Iraq, Lebanon, Michael Fumento, Nancy Pelosi, Republicans, science, Spain

UPDATE: I completed the post and the lecture is now posted in full
Gil Hoffman, chief political correspondent and analyst for the Jerusalem Post, was on campus yesterday afternoon and the subject of his lecture was Israel in the eyes of the foreign media.

The lecture, which coincided with Hans Blix's, was not promoted heavily and I wasn't the only person in the audience to learn about it at the last minute. Unlike the al-Jazeera lecture of April 13, 2005, this one was sparsely attended, with an audience of only 40 or so. He's a most interesting guy, and I decided to post nearly all my notes on the lecture.

Hoffman's main contact at his job is giving interviews with foreign media, such as CNN, BBC. Of them, mostly al-Jazeera is tremendously interested in what's going on in the country. When the Prime Minister gave a 45-minute long press conference regarding rape accusations, the local TV stations stopped after the first 20 minutes, but al-Jazeera carried the whole press conference. Having the al-Jazeera coverage not only in the conflict but in cultural and social events in the country shows the Arab world that Israel has more to offer than the conflict.

During the Barak years there was no foreign media spokesman, and the only on who spoke English detested Barak.

The Israeli military studied what happened in Jenin - where the fighting was reported as a massacre against the Palestinians, something that couldn't have been further from the truth. In fact, the troops had gone house-to-house to minimize casualties while trying to find terrorists. As there was no foreign media to do the reporting, the Palestinians got out a blood libel. From then on, the Israeli mililitary have made very effort possible to make sure the media go everywhere they go. No doubt this has improved how Israel comes across in the foreign media.

In contrast, last Summer there was a lot of media based in Jerusalem - and the media understood that it was Israel's international border that was being defended.

Israel faces four major threats:

Iran
Syria/Lebanon
Palestinians
Internal rifts inside Isr society that threaten to tear from within: Divides between rich poor, Askenazi/Spahardic, Right/Left, all thses issues divide israelis.

The most scary? Iran.
Nuclear weapons: having them at all because if Iran has them the entire country of Israel would be the way Northern Israel was last country within range last Summer: The whole country would have to go down south or underground. Who would want to live in such a country? Iran is also developing longer range missiles to reach Europe; the US has established an antimissile base in Poland. Additionally, Iran supports Chavez; Iran then talks about the Jewish state from Israel and in Florida.

However, Hoffman genuinely thinks things will be alright, as the issue's being handled discreetly at the highest levels. Olmert has been helping the country by networking with foreign powers ever since he was mayor of Jerusalem, and continues to this day, travelling to Russia China, Egypt London, US, and France, returning more optimistic after each visit.

A second reason for optimism: what is going on in American politcs. A lame duck President has to worry only about his place in history; if he saves the wold from nuclear destruction that will certainly earn him a place. The Democrat oposition now they alreay have the blue states and a way to gain red states is to prove they are tough. There's a stream of Dem candidates visiting Israel, plus they want the Republicans to deal with Iran before they go the White House.
Additionally, the previous UN Secretary General never understood the fundamentalism threat. Now Ban Ki-moon's trying to prevent North Korea from developing atomic weapons, but Iran is also a top priority.
Politics inside Iran: Ahmadinejad is losing the support of his people and there's anger against him. As mayor, he improved the conditions of Tehran but has now brought the world against Iran. The Iranians need outside assistance to feed their people. Israel is hopeful that sanctions will prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

What matters most is the politics in Israel. Used to be that generals were in charge, now Olmert is in charge but Israelis trust generals more. Hoffman said that in 62 days, Peretz (Minister of Defense) will be replaced, and the 2 leading candidates are miliary men. Israel needs a ough guy as Min of Def, as Nassralla head of Hizbollah, said last Summer that he wanted to test the weak leadership.

Ofense and defense
Defense: Israel has the Arrow Missile Defense System, which was tested again yesterday.
Ofense: Israel won't be acting alone but with the countries that Olmert visited this last year acting together. When an Israeli general said last year, "Sometimes the last resort is the only resort", it was the first time anyone had hinted at military option. In Iran they are scared of Israel, and the enemies are still scared of the Jewish state.

I'll continue on this post later today. Continuing:
The threat from Syria and Lebanon:
Hoffman went to the north during the bombing last Summer. Dodging missiles and living in shelters was terrible for Israel to endure. However, the media didn’t get to see any of the damage because Iraelis don't dwell in their victimhood. After suicide bombings they clean up immediately, and everything had been rebuilt immediately after the bombings from Lebanon. Israelis have resilience and morbid sense of humor.
They have to prepare for another war next Summer: those 4000 missiles that Hezbollah shot at Israel last year have already been replenished by Assad/Syria. Everybody in the military's been recalled for retraining. There will be pressure on Olmert to quit after results of investigation on what went wrong comes out.

Assad has three pictures in his office: his father's, Ahmadinejad's, and Nassarallah's.

The other threat are the Palestinians:
In the 14 months since they elected Hamas, Irsael had elected the government most willing to make accommodations that could have ended the conflict. Israel gave them two conditions: disarmament, and accepting the existence of Israel. Not a country in the world was supporting the Hamas government until last week, when Norway broke the boycott to spite Europe. At that time a suicide bomber was caught and a sniper attacked; Hamas claimed credit for that sniper, signaling that it’s not very smart to join Norway.

The Q&A Session:
My question was, what is being done with reporters like Charles Enderlin, who uses stringers that make up reports out of whole cloth?
Israel has a problem with foreign reporters having to rely on stringers. While Israelis speak freely in a divided kind of way, on the Palestenian street people won't say anything out of fear from their lives. An organization in Israel has offered Arabic speakers to translate in the Palestinian areas.

2. How about the BBC's fairness?
BBC sometimes is not very fair to Israel.
Al-Jazeera has never interviewed him three-against-one, the Israeli against the Arab, the Palestinian and the Lebanese.
When they interviewed him in London, the first question was "is this a land-grab?", after the withdrawal from Gaza.
Israel is not given the benefit of the doubt. He tells them that the people of Israel want peace.

3. How important is the issue of recognition?
For Israel, it's very important that its enemies allow it to exist. "Don't kill us."

4. What is the difference between al-Jazeera, al-Arabiya, and the new all-Arabic BBC?
By allowing Israel's Arab-language spokespeople on Arab media, it is good for Israel because they see more Israelis as people and not enemies. As far as actual news, foreigneers and rich Arabs tend to watch al-Jazeera, but al-Arabiya's on TV screens throughtot arab world.
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Update, Wednesday March 28
On a related subject, BBC pays £200,000 to 'cover up report on anti-Israel bias'

The BBC has been accused of "shameful hypocrisy" over its decision to spend £200,000 blocking a freedom of information request about its reporting in the Middle East.
...
The corporation is fighting a landmark High Court action, which starts next week, in a bid to prevent the public finding out what is in the review, which is believed to be critical of the BBC's coverage in the region.

BBC bosses have faced repeated claims that is coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict has been skewed by a pro-Palestianian bias.

The corporation famously came under fire after middle-east correspondent Barbara Plett revealed that she had cried at the death of Yasser Arafat in 2004.

The BBC's decision to carry on pursuing the case, despite the fact than the Information Tribunal said it should make the report public, has sparked fury as it flies in the face of claims by BBC chiefs that it is trying to make the corporation more open and transparent.

Politicians have branded the BBC's decision to carry on spending money, hiring the one of the country's top public law barrister in the process, as "absolutely indefensible".

They claim its publication is clearly in the public interest.

The BBC's determination to bury the report has led to speculation that the report was damning in its assessment of the BBC's coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict that the BBC wants to keep it under wraps at all costs.

h/t The Anchoress

Labels: al-Jazeera, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, news, Syria

Gerard VanderLeun's Four Years In is today's must-read:

Four years in. An inch of time. Four years in and the foolish and credulous among us yearn to get out. Their feelings require it. The power of their Holy Gospel of "Imagine" compels them. Their overflowing pools of compassion for the enslavers of women, the killers of homosexuals, the beheaders of reporters, and the incinerators of men and women working quietly at their desks, rise and flood their minds until their eyes flow with crocodile tears while their mouths emit slogans made of cardboard. They believe the world is run on wishes and that they will always have three more.

-------------------------------------------While publically saying that Israel had gone too far, and privately urging Israel to attack Syria, Jacques Chirac again showed himself as the double-dealing coward he is.

No Pasaran has more on European tactics: When Going Too Far is Never Enough (h/t Larwyn)
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Via Maria, Victor Victorians. A lesson in real morality, Steyn on Wilbeforce.
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Today's word-of-the-day is ablution. Time to visit this blog.

Via Maria, Letter to God

Labels: Iraq, Jacques Chirac, Lebanon

Yesterday I posted about Chirac's statement that Iran's bomb would pose no danger. Today Maria sent this article:

France's Chirac Tries to Sabotage Iran Sanctions

French President Jacques Chirac is attempting to sabotage U.S.-led efforts to apply economic and diplomatic pressure on Iran, according to a report by the center-left French daily, Le Monde.

In a throwback to much-criticized behavior during the buildup to the Iraq war, Chirac planned to send his foreign minister on a secret trip to Tehran in late January, armed with a personal letter of assurances for Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the daily reported.

Chirac wanted "to send a message to the Iranian authorities that a channel of communication can be kept open despite the vote by the United Nations Security Council" to impose sanctions on Iran, the paper wrote.

The Le Monde report in French, is available by subscription, but you can read about its findings here

Today's Le Monde editorial explains what the reasoning may be behind Chirac's move (my translation):

While, on one hand, trying to resolve the Lebanese crisis and, on the other hand, trying to protect the French soldiers in the UNIFIL forces in Southern Lebanon, Chirac had thought that it would be advantageous to integrate the Iranians in the regional play. Conversations started after the summer of 2006. Trips to Teheran by Philippe Douste-Blazy and by another emmisary were considered in January, later to be cancelled due to the perplexed, and even frankly hostile, reactions of France's various partners.

One thing is clear: "If Chirac is saying 'let's allow Iran to acquire the bomb' it's a catastrophic and disastrous solution."

Labels: France, Iran, Jacques Chirac, Lebanon, politics, UNIFIL

This week Sigmund, Carl and Alfred has been exploring some of the moral complexities that accepting Leftism presents in our modern world: start by reading Three Minutes to Midnight and Religious Progressives, The Judenrat And Another Generation In Denial

By accepting and ascribing to beliefs and ideologies of Leftism, 'religious progressives' have made a deal with the very devil that would destroy them. Disagree with a 'religious progressive,' and like their progressive masters, tolerance goes out the window because dissent cannot be tolerated- because the 'emperor has no clothes.'

Further exploring the issue, Neo-Neocon takes a look at "A Jewish veneer for the annihilation of Jews".

Francis Porretto looks at The Day And The Hour and Effective Political Argumentation and "Good Intentions"

Note how consistently liberals attack conservatives on their "motives." That's a rhetorical giveaway if ever there was one. "Intentions" are connotatively neutral; "motives" reek of sinister, even criminal associations. Note also how seldom Democrats argue about the comparative effects of their policy preferences versus those of the Right, where the logic and evidence favors us.

Yet it is the Right that keeps dropping the rhetorical ball. As conservative voters are rationally oriented, the conservative base is staunchly Republican. They won't defect unless Republican officeholders defect first, as appears to have occurred in the 109th Congress. When conservatives and Republican partisans argue for a strong national defense, free-market economics, limited-government constitutionalism, et cetera, they fail to reach the battlefield of the compassion-oriented voter. Therefore, they fail to extend their appeal beyond their base.

There's no comprehending this unless one accepts that the compassion-oriented voter isn't necessarily concerned with the results of the policies he favors. He might be more concerned with his own self-concept as a good person, or with remaining in the good graces of the social circle he prefers; both these things are known to influence political allegiances. In any case, he gravitates almost automatically toward the candidate or policy that reinforces his subconscious notions about compassion. For many, that means accepting a party's rhetoric at face value, rather than soberly assessing the consequences of its policy preferences.

Power-seekers cannot help but be aware of this, which is a complete explanation both for Democrats' posturings and for the rise of "compassionate conservatism" talk on the Right.

We are not talking about intellectual discussions on philosophy - we are talking about events affecting our lives. Read Michael Totten's "So This Is Our Victory", a devastating report from Lebanon,

"We have been screaming about this conflict for 30 years now," Henry said as he dealt himself a hand of Solitaire from a deck of cards in his pocket. "But no one ever listened to us. Not until September 11. Now you know how we feel all the time. You have to keep up the pressure. You can never let go, not for one day, one hour, not for one second. The minute you let go, Michael, they will fight back and get stronger. This is the problem with your foreign policy."

"Since 1975 we have been fighting for the free world," Said said. "We are on the front lines. Why doesn't the West understand this? America can withdraw from Iraq, you can go back to Oregon, but we are stuck here. We have to stay and live with what happens."

Read each word.

Labels: Hizballah, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East., terrorism

Michael Totten's back in Lebanon, and has a terrific report on Hezbollah's Putsch - Day One, with his own photos. As always, Michael does exceptionally good blogging and you must read the entire post. One thing is clear, Michael loves Lebanon and its people.

Mary joined Michael in Beirut, and she also has pictures.

Judith went to Israel and later met with Mary.

Three fascinating reports by three bloggers I've had the honor of meeting, and who I greatly admire.

Meanwhile Hezbullah has been handing out cash rewards based on the number of Jews killed and injured by 'Palestinian' Kassam rockets that are shot from the Gaza Strip

Labels: Israel, Lebanon, Middle East. Hizbollah