Related: Syria the Cornerstone of Neo-Con Plan
How interesting. Here we are at the dawn of 2013, nearly 12 years later, and Iraq has been done (even though it is now a loss); Somalia has been shattered; Libya, check; Syria, in the process; Lebanon, in the process; and Iran is last on the list and where this is all pointing.
So who do you think is behind the bleeding of the war into neighbor Lebanon?
"More than 30 Syrians abducted inside Lebanon" by Damien Cave and Dalal Mawad | New York Times, August 16, 2012
BEIRUT — Spillover from the Syrian conflict hit Lebanon in a frightening new way Wednesday with a mass abduction of more than 30 Syrians inside Lebanese territory, which their captors called revenge for the kidnapping of a relative inside Syria.
Members of a powerful Lebanese Shi’ite family who captured the Syrians, displayed in a video shown on Lebanese television, threatened to cause havoc in the streets and go on an extended kidnapping spree inside Lebanon until their family member, taken hostage by Syrian rebels, was set free.
I see. It was "our" terrorists that stirred it all up -- as usual.
‘‘The next few hours and next few days will determine what will happen,’’ one masked captor said outside a family property in a Shi’ite suburb of Beirut. Another member of the family that captured the Syrians, Hatem al-Mikdad, brother of the Lebanese hostage in Syria, said if he was not released soon, ‘‘we will kill all of them.’’
I see. It was "our" terrorists that stirred it all up -- as usual.
‘‘The next few hours and next few days will determine what will happen,’’ one masked captor said outside a family property in a Shi’ite suburb of Beirut. Another member of the family that captured the Syrians, Hatem al-Mikdad, brother of the Lebanese hostage in Syria, said if he was not released soon, ‘‘we will kill all of them.’’
Anxiety quickly spread through Lebanon about possible instability, and extra security precautions were taken in Beirut. By Wednesday afternoon, according to Lebanese officials, additional guards had been assigned to the embassies of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, the main allies of the Syrian insurgency. Saudi Arabia and Qatar advised their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately.
While the circumstances of the kidnappings were in dispute, the events reflected Lebanon’s vulnerability to violence reverberating from Syria....
In dispute, huh?
In dispute, huh?
The hostages were members of the Free Syrian Army, the main armed group fighting Assad....
The kidnappings in Lebanon came as fighting inside Syria was punctuated by shellings and clashes in several cities. The day in Damascus began with a large blast.
The article is from last August, but it may as well have been yesterday.
The article is from last August, but it may as well have been yesterday.
Explosives hidden in a diesel tanker truck detonated behind a hotel used by the dwindling UN mission in Damascus, which is scheduled to leave in less than a week unless its mandate is extended. The hotel is situated near a Syrian military depot.
Juliette Touma, a spokeswoman for the UN mission, confirmed the explosion, near the Dama Rose hotel, where the mission members stay, but said none of them were hurt.
A rebel brigade in Damascus took responsibility for the bombing, saying it had targeted the military complex, not the hotel....
Where is the condemnations from the West, 'eh? I guess when it's "our" guys, well, you know....
Where is the condemnations from the West, 'eh? I guess when it's "our" guys, well, you know....
"Car bombing leaves Lebanon in fear of civil war" by Bassem Mroue and Elizabeth A. Kennedy By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY | Associated Press, October 21, 2012
BEIRUT — Lebanese protesters erected flaming roadblocks and gunmen roamed the streets Saturday in a city on edge after the assassination of a top security official in a powerful car bomb the prime minister linked to the civil war in neighboring Syria.
The crisis raised a terrifying specter for Lebanese who fear their country could easily plunge back into cycles of violence and reprisal that have haunted it for decades.
The explosion Friday in the heart of Beirut’s Christian area killed eight people, including the country’s intelligence chief, Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan. It was the deadliest bombing in Beirut in four years.
Absolute stench of western or Israeli intelligence.
The government declared a national day of mourning for the victims Saturday, but protesters burned tires and set up roadblocks in anger....
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Saturday linked the bombing to Hassan’s high-profile investigation this summer that uncovered what authorities called a plot by Syria to provoke chaos in Lebanon with bombings and assassinations.
‘‘I don’t want to prejudge the investigation, but....,’’ Mikati said.
I will: Lebanon Out of the Loop
Follow the links.
Mikati, who opponents say is too close to Syria and the Shi’ite militant group Hezbollah, offered to resign after the attack, but was asked by President Michel Suleiman to stay.
Hassan’s inquiry led to the arrest of former Information Minister Michel Samaha, one of Assad’s most loyal allies in Lebanon. Samaha, who is in custody, is accused of plotting attacks in Lebanon at Syria’s behest. Indicted in absentia in the August sweep was Syrian Brigadier General Ali Mamlouk, one of Assad’s highest aides.
Syria has powerful allies here, including Hezbollah, which dominates the government.
I think we can all see what agenda is at work here.
For much of the past 30 years, Lebanese have lived under Syrian military and political domination.
Damascus’ hold on Lebanon began to slip in 2005, when former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in truck bomb along Beirut’s Mediterranean waterfront. Syria denied having any role. But broad public outrage in Lebanon forced Syria to withdraw its troops from the country.
And who benefited?
The killings of anti-Syrian figures continued for years, however, and Assad has managed to maintain influence in Lebanon through Hezbollah and other allies.
Now, as the Syrian civil war rages just across the border, Lebanon increasingly is being sucked in....
The bombing raised fears that the crisis could unleash Lebanon’s sectarian tensions, a dire scenario for a country that endured a devastating civil war of its own from 1975 to 1990.
Sectarianism a cover story for terrorism.
The Syrian unrest has already enflamed tensions here. Many of Lebanon’s Sunni Muslims have backed Syria’s mainly Sunni rebels, while Shi’ite Muslims have tended to back Assad.
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The Syrian unrest has already enflamed tensions here. Many of Lebanon’s Sunni Muslims have backed Syria’s mainly Sunni rebels, while Shi’ite Muslims have tended to back Assad.
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"In Lebanon on Monday, troops launched a major security operation to open all roads and force gunmen off the streets, trying to contain an outburst of violence set off by the assassination of Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan, a top intelligence official who was a powerful opponent of Syria. Lebanese tanks and armored personnel carriers rolled into the streets of Beirut and the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli to stop a night of gunfights.
Lebanese opponents of Syria have blamed the regime in Damascus for Hassan’s killing in a Beirut car bombing on Friday. With Lebanon already deeply divided over the civil war next door, the assassination has threatened to renew the kind of sectarian strife that raged there for decades."
"Lebanese troops move to clear protesters from streets" by David D. Kirkpatrick | New York Times, October 23, 2012
BEIRUT — The Lebanese military moved forcefully Monday to quell simmering sectarian tensions around the country stoked by a Beirut bombing last week that assassinated a top security official, deploying troops in the areas worst affected and issuing a statement demanding that politicians work to calm their supporters.
‘‘Tension in some areas is increasing to unprecedented levels,’’ read part of a statement issued by Lebanon’s armed forces. ‘‘We are appealing to all leaders from all political factions to be aware about expressing their positions and trying to incite popular opinion.’’
In certain areas where armed protesters had exchanged gunfire with the military overnight, including a southern Beirut quarter adjacent to the main airport road, the army dispatched armored patrols and sought to detain those suspected of fomenting the violence.
Soldiers also moved to separate combatants in two neighborhoods in the northern city of Tripoli where sectarian tensions have repeatedly descended into exchanges of gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades since the uprising in neighboring Syria began in March 2011.
Around the country, the military forces dismantled checkpoints that armed protesters were using to try to identify their sectarian rivals.
Sectarian tensions that have long simmered beneath the surface in Lebanon surged into the open after a large bombing in Beirut on Friday that killed eight people including Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan, the head of the country’s internal security, who was viewed as an opponent of Syria’s president, Bashar Assad, and supporter of the armed insurgents trying to topple him. Assad’s government, which has a history of meddling in Lebanese politics, was widely blamed for the bombing despite its denials.
When you understand who is really behind these things you realize they have no problem sacrificing one of their own.
General Hisham Jabber, a retired military spokesman, said the army, worried about the potential for destabilization, had issued the statement to warn the political class not to exploit the situation.
The army appeared to be showing more resolve in intervening to nip any escalation in the bud.
Emotional attacks on the Hezbollah-dominated government during the funeral orations Sunday inspired mourners to try to storm the offices of the prime minister. Opposition leaders later appealed for calm and the demonstrators largely dispersed.
Although the civil war in Syria next door deepened tensions between Lebanon’s Sunni and Shi’ite communities, Lebanon has largely avoided any intensification over the past 19 months that might reignite the civil war that damaged this country from 1975 to 1990.
Well, SOMEONE is trying as hard as hell to change that, cui bono?
The ambassadors of Britain, the United States, Russia, China, and France and the UN special coordinator for Lebanon met with President Michel Suleiman on Monday to express support for the efforts to keep the civil war in Syria from spilling into Lebanon.
HA!
In Washington, a State Department spokesman, Mark Toner, said an FBI team was headed to Lebanon to assist the Lebanese government with an investigation into the Friday bombing, which destroyed a street in the heart of Christian east Beirut and was one of the worst attacks here in years.
How are those framing fascists going to help, and why are they even going? It's supposed to be a DOMESTIC agency, not a foreign or global one!
Toner also said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a telephone call to Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Sunday, had assured him of ‘‘our firm commitment to Lebanon’s stability, its independence, its sovereignty, and its security.’’
HMMMMMMMMM!
Officials fear the assassination of Hassan and the fighting in Syria could upend a fragile political balance in Lebanon, where decades of sectarian fighting has been linked to political and military domination by Damascus.
And if you are looking to establish hegemony over the region with some sort of neo-con plan, it is exactly what you want.
The massive explosion that killed Hassan injured dozens of civilians in the predominantly Christian neighborhood of Achrafieh. One of them was Jennifer Shedid, a 10-year-old girl who lay in a hospital Monday with more than 300 stitches in her body. Her head was shaved and her face was swollen.
Doctors quoted by the AP said Jennifer moved her fingers and started talking Monday for the first time after undergoing several operations to remove the glass from her body and stitch her wounds.
I notice she didn't get as much attention as the Pakistan girl.
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BEIRUT — The Lebanese military moved forcefully Monday to quell simmering sectarian tensions around the country stoked by a Beirut bombing last week that assassinated a top security official, deploying troops in the areas worst affected and issuing a statement demanding that politicians work to calm their supporters.
The army appeared to be showing more resolve in intervening to nip any escalation in the bud.
Doctors quoted by the AP said Jennifer moved her fingers and started talking Monday for the first time after undergoing several operations to remove the glass from her body and stitch her wounds.
I notice she didn't get as much attention as the Pakistan girl.
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"Death in Lebanon stirs push for Hezbollah to quit power" by Bassem Mroue | Associated Press, October 25, 2012
CUI BONO?
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s main opposition bloc stepped up pressure Wednesday on the Hezbollah-dominated government to resign after blaming the Shi’ite militant group’s ally Syria for a car bomb that killed a top intelligence officer.
The anti-Syrian opposition alliance said Lebanon’s rival groups cannot hold a national dialogue until the government led by Hezbollah and its allies steps down....
Readers, we've seen this script before.
The United States also waded into the debate, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton making a thinly veiled jab at Hezbollah, which the United States considers a terrorist organization.
Pfffft!
Clinton told reporters in Washington that the Lebanese must choose their own government, but that ‘‘the Lebanese people deserve so much better.’’
So do the American people. I'm so glad she's gone.
Lebanon’s two largest political coalitions have lined up on opposite sides of Syria’s civil war. Hezbollah and its partners who dominate the government have stood by Assad’s regime, while the Sunni-led opposition backs the rebels seeking to topple the government. Assad and many in his inner circle are Alawites — an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam and a minority in Syria — while the rebels come mostly from the country’s Sunni majority.
Hassan was the latest of some dozen anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians and security forces to be killed since February 2005 when former prime minister Rafik Hariri was killed in a truck bomb in Beirut. Hariri at the time was distancing himself from Syria, which dominated Lebanon for decades.
Yeah, turns out it is an open secret that Mossad did that one. Syrian troops withdrew, and then Israel launched an assault on Lebanon in 2006. What a series of coincidences, huh?
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Now, how can pressure be applied to Hezbollah to get it to quit?
"As Lebanon heats up, more fears over how Sunnis will respond" by Liz Sly | Washington Post, November 04, 2012
BEIRUT — Faded portraits of the mainstream Sunni leader Saad Hariri, left over from the last crisis that engulfed Lebanon, are gradually being eclipsed by a newer symbol, the black flag inscribed with the Islamic creed that is often linked to Al Qaeda....
Good thing Hezbollah is there. The enemy of my enemy is my.... hey, wait a minute.
Analysts say much of the blame for the disaffection lies with Hariri, a wealthy businessman who assumed leadership of the Sunni community after his father, Rafik, was assassinated in 2005 in a massive bombing on Beirut’s seafront also blamed by Sunnis on Syria. He lives in Paris for his safety and for the sake of Lebanon, his supporters say, a decision vindicated by the death of Hassan.
Hariri’s absence has eroded his authority, however, leaving a vacuum that even his aides fret will open the door to a far more radical interpretation of what it means to be Sunni in multi-sectarian Lebanon.
Yeah, send in the terrorists.
Yeah, send in the terrorists.
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There is your answer as to how they will respond.
France vows to aid Lebanon with stability
As if their introduction will help the fray? Don't you guys have your hands full in Mali?
"A top Israeli military official said Hezbollah has an arsenal far larger and more sophisticated than it possessed during a monthlong war in 2006, when it fired thousands of rockets at Israel.
Also see: One-Day Wonder: Lebanon's Cluster F***
Yeah, Israeli war crimes don't seem to matter to the world community.
The official said Israel remains worried that Syrian arsenals of chemical weapons might be raided by militants including Hezbollah, which is also backed by the Syrian regime.
Actually, I'm tired of war-criminal, flase-flagging, terrorist Israel and their whining.
At present the government in Syria, which borders both Israel and Lebanon, appears to be maintaining control over its chemical weapons arsenals, he added."
Good thing the Russians are guarding them.
Related: Lebanese fighters reported killed inside Syria
So it goes the other way, too?
"Syrian civil war spills over into Lebanon" by Bassem Mroue | Associated Press, December 06, 2012
TRIPOLI, Lebanon — The families of Lebanese men killed in Syria last week say their relatives were more interested in nice clothes and vacations than fighting a civil war. Yet Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime branded them foreign jihadists — and their deaths set off three days of new spillover violence.
Who goes on vacation in the middle of a war zone?
Who goes on vacation in the middle of a war zone?
In Brussels, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton reiterated concerns that ‘‘an increasingly desperate Assad regime might turn to chemical weapons’’ or lose control of them to militant groups.
BEIRUT — Syria’s civil war spilled over into neighboring Lebanon once again on Sunday, with gun battles in the northern city of Tripoli between supporters and opponents of President Bashar Assad’s regime that left four dead.
The fighting between pro- and anti-Assad gunmen flared as bodies of three Lebanese — who were killed after crossing into Syria to fight in the civil war — were brought back home for burial. In addition to the four killed, 12 people were wounded in the gunfights.
Also Sunday, nine Syrian judges and prosecutors defected to the opposition. It was the latest setback for the regime, which appears increasingly embattled with rebels making gains in northern Syria and near Damascus, the capital.
This was back in December?
Related: Syrian Rebels Strike Again
This was back in December?
Related: Syrian Rebels Strike Again
And now it is almost March?
The defecting judges posted a joint statement online urging others to join them and break ranks with Assad’s regime. There have been several high-level defections over the past year, including Assad’s former prime minister....
Portrayed as a good thing for the moment.
The defecting judges posted a joint statement online urging others to join them and break ranks with Assad’s regime. There have been several high-level defections over the past year, including Assad’s former prime minister....
Portrayed as a good thing for the moment.
In Washington, a senior State Department official said the United States remains willing to hold additional discussions in the weeks ahead, if it would help ‘‘advance the process of political transition that the people of Syria seek.’’
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani urged Assad to step down. With the rebels at the president’s doorstep in Damascus, he said, Assad knows the regime will fall. ‘‘But how much killing and destruction does he want before this inevitable outcome?’’ Hamad said after an Arab League meeting in the Qatari capital, Doha.
As much as the EUSraeli empire and its assets can dish out.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani urged Assad to step down. With the rebels at the president’s doorstep in Damascus, he said, Assad knows the regime will fall. ‘‘But how much killing and destruction does he want before this inevitable outcome?’’ Hamad said after an Arab League meeting in the Qatari capital, Doha.
As much as the EUSraeli empire and its assets can dish out.
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It's my Zionist-controlled, war-promoting press' take on what Nasrallah said. I wonder if they translated it properly.
"Syrian army unleashes offensive" by Barbara Surk | Associated Press, January 26, 2013
BEIRUT —In Lebanon, the leader of the Syria-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, said Friday in a speech that those who dream about ‘‘dramatic changes’’ taking place in Syria should let go of their fantasies.
‘‘Particularly those who were expecting the fall of Damascus,’’ he told supporters, adding that military, political, and international developments point to the futility of such dreams....
To whom could he be referring?
To whom could he be referring?
"Unrest shakes Syria’s lively art scene" by Babak Dehghanpisheh | Washington Post, November 22, 2012
BEIRUT — Before the unrest in Syria began last year, there was a lively art scene in Damascus, and many galleries showcased contemporary painters.
The departure of artists from Syria has caught the attention of gallery owners and collectors in Lebanon....
Many of the artists who have left Syria can’t go back — at least not now. One young Syrian man, who goes by the name Juan Zero, started his art career with formal training and began painting. But he drifted away from his classic training and began drawing blistering political cartoons, taking equal aim at the government of President Bashar Assad and the rebels.
Related: Carlos Latuff
I've never seen his name or work in my AmeriKan jewspaper.
Related: Carlos Latuff
I've never seen his name or work in my AmeriKan jewspaper.
He said he was arrested during one security sweep, but his interrogators didn’t find out about his work as Juan Zero. While in custody, he said he saw fellow detainees tortured. ‘‘I saw people getting hung by their feet for days on end until they couldn’t see anymore. I saw them putting the genitals of a person on fire,’’ he said. ‘‘It was random torture, unprofessional, unplanned.’’
Not as artful as AmeriKan or Israeli tormentors, 'eh?
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"Lebanese troops killed in border town; 3 tried to make arrest in hub of Syrian refugees" by Anne Barnard and Hwaida Saad | New York Times, February 02, 2013
BEIRUT — At least three Lebanese Army soldiers were killed Friday in a shootout as they tried to arrest a resident of a village that has become a hub of refugees and where Syrian rebel fighters often cross the border. Their target was also fatally shot.
Well, we can see on whose side Lebanon would be entering.
There were conflicting reports about the nature of the clash, in which security forces were ambushed as they pursued a wanted man, but the episode played into fears that the accelerating influx of Syrians could spread the conflict into Lebanon.
And who would be benefiting from that?
The village, Aarsel, lies in the eastern Bekaa Valley, a mountainous region bordering Syria, and is a stronghold of support for the rebellion against the Syrian president, Bashar Assad. Syrian refugees who prefer to avoid areas of the Bekaa closely controlled by Hezbollah, an ally of Assad, have also crammed into the town....
Some reports, citing unnamed security sources, said that the soldiers were attacked by Syrian rebels, while residents said that villagers chased down and attacked plainclothes security personnel who arrived to arrest a Lebanese suspect without coordinating with local leaders.
The suspect, a resident of Aarsel, was identified as Khaled Hummayed.
Lebanon’s national news agency said that Hummayed was wanted for involvement in the kidnapping of Estonian tourists in the Bekaa in 2011.
Several Lebanese media outlets said that members of the Free Syrian Army, the loose-knit rebel coalition, attacked the soldiers, while Reuters reported that Hummayed was believed to be a member of a jihadist rebel group that has been active in Syria, Al Nusra Front, who traveled frequently in and out of the country.
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And about those Syrian defectors:
"Lebanese, Syrian officials indicted in bomb plot" Associated Press, February 21, 2013
BEIRUT — A Lebanese judge on Wednesday indicted three people, including a former Cabinet minister and a top Syrian intelligence general, in a bombing plot in Lebanon, a move that could raise tension in Lebanon over the civil war in neighboring Syria.
The National News Agency said the military investigative judge, Riad Abu Ghaida, demanded the death penalty for former information minister, Michel Samaha, Syrian Brigadier General Ali Mamlouk, and a Syrian colonel who was identified only by his first name, Adnan.
Mamlouk, who heads Syria’s powerful National Security Council, was accused of being involved with Samaha in plotting a wave of attacks in Lebanon at the behest of Syria. The August arrest of Samaha, a close aide to Syrian President Bashar Assad, was an embarrassing blow to Syria, which has long acted with impunity in Lebanon.
Lebanon, a country plagued by decades of strife, has been on edge since the deadly uprising against Assad began in March 2011. Lebanon and Syria share a complex web of political and sectarian ties and rivalries and there are fears in Lebanon that Syria’s civil war could spill across the border.
Lebanese are divided between those who support Assad and others who back the opposition. Clashes between pro- and anti-Syrian groups have left dozens of people dead during the past two years.
According to the indictment that was carried by the news agency, the former Lebanese information minister moved the explosives from Syria to Lebanon in his personal car after they were handed to him by the Syrian colonel.
The indictment said the former minister, Samaha, told the Syrian colonel and general that he would recruit people to carry out attacks in Lebanon’s northern region of Akkar targeting Syrian rebels and weapons smugglers to Syria. It said Mamlouk, the general, told Samaha that ‘‘hindering weapons smuggling into Syria and carrying out attacks against Syrian gunmen and smugglers is good for the Syrian regime.’’
Until they are "discovered." Then it becomes a cassus belli for intervention.
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And literally and figuratively above it all:
"Jets down drone in national airspace
JERUSALEM — Israel scrambled fighter jets to intercept a drone Saturday that crossed deep into Israeli airspace from the Mediterranean Sea, shooting the aircraft down over the country’s southern desert, the military said. The event marked the first time in at least six years that a hostile aircraft has penetrated Israel’s airspace, and Israeli officials said they were taking the incident seriously, raising the possibility of retaliatory action. It was not immediately clear who launched the drone, but suspicion quickly fell on the group Hezbollah. The Iranian-backed group is known to have sent drones into Israeli airspace on several occasions (AP)."
Related: Israeli planes menace Lebanese villages
Yeah, it's a violation of UN resolutions but the world community doesn't makes a fuss.
Hezbollah claims it sent drone over Israel
Did they?
And if they did, why would it be a problem when USrael's are scouring the planet?
Did they?
And if they did, why would it be a problem when USrael's are scouring the planet?
