Not even time for shopping!

Franklin Lamb
Beirut

Secretary of State Rice’s aircraft kept its engines warm and its fuselage surrounded by the US Secret Service and Lebanon’s Internal Security agents as she dashed into Beirut for less than 275 minutes en Route to Ireland yesterday. Her secret arrival here in Beirut avoided protesters which greeted Bush on the same day during his similar 275 minute touchdown in Ireland, both en route to Washington.

It is likely Ms. Rice’s last visit to Lebanon as US Secretary of State, but not her finale to the region which has averaged roughly one appearance every 9 weeks since assuming her current post. Rice, as with the Bush administration generally, remains hugely unpopular here in Lebanon based partly on her callous remarks during the 33 day July 2006 War: “It [the wanton Israeli killing and bombing] are the birth pangs of the new Middle East”; “it’s too early for a sustainable ceasefire”; “Israel is just exercising its right to self-defense and the United States supports that right”; and her work to delay a ceasefire during the fighting which directly contributed to more than 1,400 Lebanese killed, 4,500 wounded and massive destruction of Lebanon’s infrastructure as well as its economy and environment.

As she left for Ireland, Secretary Rice presumably had been briefed that to its great credit, Ireland’s judicial system last week acquitted the Raytheon 9 of all terrorism charges in a much anticipated and perhaps bellwether trial. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently I came upon some beautiful paintings by a brilliant Lebanese-American artist, poet, writer and teacher, Mohamad Bazzi on his blog. His vivid use of colour is particularly striking and evocative. Some of my favourites include his collaborative works in which he led a team of artists on murals, reproduced here with their very kind permission. As well as his blog, you can also check out his website.

The first is a stunner: Journeys and Distances.

The artists: Youssef Namy, Mohamad Bazzi, Imad Hassan and Radfan alQirsh. Nice work, shabab. The mural is also for sale for an enterprising art buyer or community group. See artist’s description below. Since I am thoroughly in love with it, I would love to have it hanging somewhere in Australia, but I think the shipping costs might be prohibitive. See the website for contact details if you are fortunate enough to be in a position to be interested in buying it.

Journeys and Distances (2005)

Read the rest of this entry »

Good news from Belfast via FL:

The Raytheon 9 have just this morning been acquitted of terrorism charges stemming from their courageous actions taken against the Raytheon Corp. in Derry, following the Massacre at Qana on July 30 when Israel used the Raytheon JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition). It was the Raytheon JDAM which guided the US MK-84 bombed to its target, a bomb shelter in the village, killing 27 and wounding 30 women and children and three elderly men. This news should soon be posted on their trial updates here.

(UPDATE: Apparently the judge has imposed an embargo on reporting his findings in order to give the prosecution leave to appeal, which they have until tomorrow morning to do.)

Franklin Lamb
Tent City, Beirut

“The agreement was not ideal for either party and I hope that it will serve as a launch pad for decent relations between the majority and the opposition. We will tackle the other issues in Beirut and there is no need to fear anything”.

— MP Michel Aoun, Hezbollah ally and leader of the Christian Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) following this morning’s Doha agreement

Lebanon will have General Michel Suleiman [pictured] as its new President, possibly within hours. But no later than Sunday May 25, in order to allow time for the international community to send representatives.

Suleiman had appeared to be closer to the government coalition when he was first nominated but he was recently criticized as being too close to the opposition when his troops did not intervene when gun battles broke out between the warring sides this month.

Some say events make the man. Others the obverse. Suleiman could be a much needed, honest, strong, independent leader that will endear him to Lebanon and the Arab cause and Nation. Read the rest of this entry »

You have seen his excellent articles, did you know about Franklin Lamb’s books? Last week I received a copy of Israel’s War in Lebanon (South End Press, 1984), which I am keen to read and will post a review here at some point. Coming across his earlier work is like only just discovering the past work of your favourite music band and working back chronologically and finding real treasures. The book, edited by Franklin, features a foreword by Seán MacBride, the IRA Irish statesman who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974.

Just before I take a blogging break, and prompted by a friend who commented that there was a dearth of information about Dr Franklin Lamb on the web, I thought I would point interested readers who wanted to learn more to Dr Lamb’s books, and can tell you that his forthcoming volume on Hezbollah is coming out in a matter of months. It should be most interesting particularly given recent events, and I understand it has been deliberately delayed for this purpose.

Franklin Lamb’s current book, The price we pay: a quarter-century of Israel’s use of American weapons against civilians in Lebanon (1978-2006), available from Amazon.co.uk and from US-based supplier LebanonBooks.com, has just been translated into Arabic. It is a thorough and indispensable account on the subject, and I will also endeavour to post a review.

WHO IS FRANKLIN LAMB?

It seems my dear friend and site contributor has excited a lot of interest in the webosphere since his dispatches have appeared across various alternative press sites. ‘Who is Franklin Lamb’ posts are sometimes in my page referrals, such as here and here. The comments thread on one of Franklin’s pieces posted at Tom Feeley’s Information Clearing House went ga-ga with anonymous trolls speculating about Franklin. Read the rest of this entry »

An unlikely-sounding film release — an animation about a massacre detailed from one who was on the side of the co-perpetrators — has been getting attention in Cannes. Waltz With Bashir is about the struggle of the filmmaker and former IDF soldier, Ari Folman, to come to terms with the gaps in his memory surrounding the part he played in the first Lebanese war and the 1982 massacre of thousands of unarmed Palestinian civilians in the West Beirut refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila.

Folman asserts that this is a personal rather than political film, but hopes to convey that “war is useless”.

Waltz With Bashir Trailer 1m45s

Read the rest of this entry »

NB Just in (18 May) see also this subsequent Israeli intel connected DEBKAfile piece Israel’s Missed Boat in Lebanon:

Sunday night, May 11, the Israeli army was poised to strike Hizballah. The Shiite militia was winding up its takeover of West Beirut and battling pro-government forces in the North. When he opened the regular cabinet meeting Sunday, May 11, prime minister Ehud Olmert had already received the go-ahead from Washington for a military strike to halt the Hizballah advance. The message said that President George W. Bush would not call off his visit to Israel to attend its 60th anniversary celebrations and would arrive as planned Wednesday, May 14 - even if the Israeli army was still fighting in Lebanon and Hizballah struck back against Tel Aviv and Ben-Gurion airport. Read rest HERE

Franklin Lamb
Beirut

This week Israel’s Military Intelligence Chief Major General Amos Yadlin complained to the Israeli daily Haaretz that “Hezbollah proved that it was the strongest power in Lebanon… stronger than the Lebanese and if it had wanted to take the government it could have done it.” He said Hezbollah continued to pose a “significant” threat to Israel as its rockets could reach a large part of Israeli territory.

Yadlin was putting it mildly.

But what Intelligence Chief Yadlin did not reveal to the Israeli public was just how “significant” but also “immediate” the Hezbollah threat was on May 11. Nor was he willing to divulge the fact that he received information via US and French channels that if the planned attack on Lebanon’s capital went forward, that in the view of the US intelligence community Tel Aviv would be subject to “approximately 600 Hezbollah rockets in the first 24 hours in retaliation and at least that number on the following day”. Read the rest of this entry »

As the Siniora government today officially rescinds the two incriminating decisions about Hezbollah’s telecommunications network and the head of security of Beirut’s airport that sparked this month’s clashes, this Briefing on Beirut seminar at the New America Foundation takes stock of recent events.

Audio

See also video of the event below/ over the fold

Rami Khouri (pictured) is always worth listening to; he asks whether Beirut will follow Baghdad or Belfast and is optimistic that the Lebanese will move past the internal strife at this “historical moment of reckoning” to form a pluralistic society that can integrate Western and Arab ideals. Hisham Melhem represents the March 14-Hariri Inc view on Hezbollah’s intentions and is less optimistic, overstating Iran’s influence on Hezbollah. Nir Rosen (over)draws comparisons to Iraq on the Sunni-Shi’a conflict. Read the rest of this entry »

Street Notes 12 May 2008

Franklin Lamb
Choufeit, Lebanon

In the lower Chouf village of Choufeit with its panoramic view of Beirut’s closed airport (which will likely stay closed for 4 or 5 more days as a Hezbollah pressure point on the Bush administration to achieve a settlement that it views as fair and just), Dahiyeh, Sabra, Shatila and Burj Burajneh Palestinian Refugee Camps; Pentecost Sunday started in a somber mood for the few remaining Christians and dominant Druze population of this picturesque, rugged, hilly and ancient village.

The reason was that virtually the whole village was in attendance at a 9 a.m. memorial service for two supporters of the Druze Lebanese Democratic Party, 18 year old ____ and 22 year old _____ (names withheld at the request of family pending notification of family members living outside Lebanon) who were probably shot as they drove too fast through a newly setup check-point on May 10th. (The exact circumstances and who exactly was responsible are not clear given the myriad explanations one receives depending on who one talks to in this tight-knit village. Read the rest of this entry »

Beirut Street Notes: Hamra

Hezbollah eases up and Beirut opens its shutters

Franklin Lamb
Beirut

Saturday Afternoon May 10 2008 witnessed a pronounced easing of tension.

Is a solution at hand?

Based on a US Congressional source, the Siniora government is reportedly able, with US approval, to offer the following face-saving proposal to Hezbollah to end the current crisis:

1. Hezbollah can keep its landline optic telecommunication cables for use in its Resistance struggle against Israel. But they should be put under “State Control”. Translation: Hezbollah controls them exclusively same as now and no one else will touch them. But ‘officially’ they will be under ‘State’ control, i.e. not State control.

2. Concerning the other major issue regarding the head of Beirut Airport Security, General Wafiq Shouqair gets reassigned but Hezbollah gets to name his replacement. Translation: Wafiq stays in office, keeps his authority and puts his deputy’s name card slipped over his on the office nameplate. Read the rest of this entry »

A fair summation of the crisis and interviews with Nicholas Noe, Anwar Wazen and Mohsen Saleh from Al Jazeera’s Inside Story. Saleh is pro-Opposition, Brussels-based Wazen is obviously anti-Hezbollah. This is followed by Nasrallah’s address; a three minute highlights clip with English subtitles followed by a clip of the full speech which has a voice-over translation in English.

Inside Story - Lebanon strike - 07 May 08 - Part 1 (12.52)

Read the rest of this entry »

Les Jeux Sont Fait

Day Three - The Chess Match: Nasrallah opens with a Knight
Next move: Bush

Street Notes and Findings from Beirut’s Hamra District: May 9, 2008

Franklin Lamb
Beirut

“Where did they come from?”, the desk clerk at the Royal Plaza Hotel in Rauche by the sea near Hamra wondered out loud. “I have been on duty all night and saw nothing. Suddenly they are everywhere!”

Of course this observer wondered the same thing. The time was around 8:30 am, having ducked into the Hotel to escape a flash shower before the sunny morning returned.

This observer left Haret Hreik neighborhood in Dahiyeh by motorcycle around 6:45 am this morning and headed toward the airport road near the Jnah/Ouzai round-about. Dahiyeh is quiet. Essentially normal. (Around 1 pm returning from Hamra I did notice that none of the Haret Hreik guys were playing football at the local athletic fields—it dawned on me where they were). Read the rest of this entry »

Lebanon on the Brink

Blindsided Hezbollah mulls its response

Franklin Lamb,
Outside Beirut’s closed Airport

“The question is no longer why, for the answer has become clear. However, what is the secret behind the timing of this? What is being prepared for the future stage and which coincides with US President George Bush’s tour of the region? Has internal dialogue gone without return, and if it takes place, then what is its agenda? What will Hezbollah and the opposition do to face the new challenges?”

– Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassim during a just completed May 8, 2008 interview

Hezbollah sources concede that they were taken by surprise and some were shocked by the intense, incendiary bombardment of the last few days by pro-government operatives. As Hezbollah studies ‘the situation’ and how to respond this beautiful spring Beirut morning, there is a real danger things may rapidly spiral out of control. Read the rest of this entry »

Public art for art’s sake can be a fun and participatory affair, creating a grassroots ‘collective effervescence’ in civil society. A great recent example is the Beirut installment of the global phenomenon of ‘Flash Mob’ public performances that occurred earlier this month, at City Mall, Dora. The flash mob involved a couple of hundred people converging on a city mall and freezing for 5 minutes, near the anniversary of the Lebanese Civil War.

The next one in Beirut:
Date: Sunday, June 22, 2008 | Time: 4:00pm - 8:00pm | Location: to be communicated | Contact lebmobbers @ gmail.com

LebMobbers (3 minutes)

As NowLebanon reports,

“This was just to have fun and to have positive vibes. Lebanon needs more positive vibes,” said the organizer in a phone interview with NOW Lebanon. “Today is the birthday of the civil war, and we wanted to give the media an opportunity to talk about something other than politics,” he added. … Read the rest of this entry »

Bush to Nasrallah:

An Offer Hezbollah Cannot Refuse?

Part V: Hezbollah’s part of the bargain

Franklin Lamb,
Dahiyeh

“Nobody can impose terms on us, or commit us to anything we do not believe in. Let me be clear: Israel won’t get through politics what it didn’t get through war, even if the UN resolu­tion gave this to Israel. What they couldn’t do through war, they want to do by peaceful means? It doesn’t work like that.”

—Hezbollah deputy secretary-general Naim Qassem, Al-Manar television, 15 August 2006

Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr (”just call me Joe–anything but Sue” as he does his Johnny Cash imitation) Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and twice Presidential Candidate, is a friendly, loquacious, decent and knowledgeable fellow. Having served on that Committee for nearly a quarter century and traveled widely, Biden thinks of himself as someone who can be confronted with ‘deal breakers’ at the negotiation table and work out mutually acceptable solutions. “I’m the real deal bridge builder!”, he sometimes kids with his devoted staff, as he shadow boxes and mimics his favorite boxer, Evander “the real deal” Holyfield. Read the rest of this entry »

Bush to Nasrallah:

An Offer Hezbollah cannot refuse?

Part IV: Bait, Hook and Switch: the US offer and the quid pro quo

Franklin Lamb
Dahiyeh

“Absolutely not! Without a credible deterrent force, there is no real Lebanese sovereignty. Israel came very close to getting nearly all it wanted with the 1983 May 17th agreement. Had Hezbollah not prevented this, Lebanon today would be colonized with near confederation status with Israel. The Bush administrations democracy and ’save the Christians’ crusade back-fired when each election resulted in Islamist victories while his war in Iraq and support for Israel is making refugees of a high percentage of Christians. It is now Hezbollah and its allies who are protecting the Christians and want free elections in the Middle East, not the Bush administration”.

– American student interviewed as part of a survey of 27 Lebanese institutions of higher education on whether Hezbollah should immediately disarm

Disarming Hezbollah: the Bush administration will not insist

As noted previously, the US government is not obsessed by Hezbollah’s deterrent capability. It appears prepared to back off from this issue and signal to Hezbollah that it can keep its weapons if they use them only in legitimate self defense against a foreign attack. Read the rest of this entry »