May

5

Hezballah Training Iraqi Militias Near Tehran

Filed Under Terrorism, Lead Story, Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, News | 1 Comment

There’s an article in the NYT today in which American interrogators have issued a report to the Iraqi government claiming that Hezballah has been training Iraqi militias inside Iran. This information is said to have come from interrogations of four Shiite militia members detained late last year, yet the report raises more questions than it does to address concerns of Iranian involvement in Iraq. As the article notes, this is not a fresh accusation by any means, and similar reports have been published by the Times itself. From today’s report:

There has been debate among experts about the extent to which Iran is responsible for instability in Iraq. But President Bush and other American officials, in public castigations of Iran, have said that Iran has been consistently meddlesome in Iraq and that the Iranians have long sought to arm and train Iraqi militias, which the American military has called “special groups.”

In a possible effort to be less obtrusive, it appears that Iran is now bringing small groups of Iraqi Shiite militants to camps in Iran, where they are taught how to do their own training, American officials say.

The militants then return to Iraq to teach comrades how to fire rockets and mortars, fight as snipers or assemble explosively formed penetrators, a particularly lethal type of roadside bomb made of Iranian components, according to American officials. The officials describe this approach as “training the trainers.”

The training, the Americans say, is carried out at several camps near Tehran that are overseen by the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Command, and the instruction is carried out by militants from Hezbollah, which has long been supported by the Quds Force. American officials say the Hezbollah militants perform several important roles for the Iranians.

To some, this is just another piece of evidence of Iranian meddling in Iraqi affairs. If you continue reading the article, it goes on to list some of the roles Hezballah plays for the Iranians, such as allowing Arabs to be trained by other Arabs, apparently facilitating some level of trust. However, Iran’s involvement in Iraq has been long known, and the roles it has played in training, arming, and financing militias has always been suspect. I read this report in a different context.

Hezballah, an illegal militia created and funded by foreigners, has not only been able to dwarf Lebanon’s armed forces in power and capability, but is making a run to position itself as the legitimate coercive force of the country. It has had the capacity to start and fight a war on behalf of its country, with no input from the elected government, and now “controls” significant areas of Lebanon to which it allows and denies access, even to the nation’s army. The training of foreign fighters by Hezballah only underscores the point that the battle for Lebanese sovereignty is a primary issue in dealing with the creeping Iranian hegemony in the region. This issue should not be perceived as secondary to Iran’s nuclear development or their standoff with the West, but is in fact critical to the resolution of these issues. Any discussions with Iran should place Iran’s interference in Lebanese affairs as a priority.

Mar

25

Nasrallah Makes Another Speech

Filed Under links, Iran, Lebanon, Politics, War | Leave a Comment

Hezbollah’s secretary general and Khamenei protege Hassan Nasrallah delivered a speech via video link in Beirut this Monday, which has been described as his “most moderate” speech to date.  That’s probably in reference to his comments on Lebanon’s domestic troubles and promising to strive for a comprimise in the country’s battle of politcal wills.  His message to Israel though, not so moderate:

Nasrallah said the elimination of Israel was possible since following its withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000 and its “defeat” in the 2006 summer war, the “myth” of its “invincible” army had been shattered.

“Can Israel be eliminated? Yes and a thousand yeses, Israel can be eliminated,” he said.

“I want to remind you that an Israeli war is no longer a picnic. An Israeli war has become very costly because there is in Lebanon the strength, will and education of the resistance as well as the blood of the resistance’s martyrs,” he said, drawing cheers from the crowd, who gathered at a rebuilt complex destroyed during the Second Lebanon War.

Nasrallah added that UN-mediated negotiations with Israel for a prisoner swap were continuing.

“Although the Israelis have killed the pillar of the resistance, we did not halt the negotiations on a prisoner exchange,” he said, disclosing that meetings were recently held with UN mediators.

“We will not stop the negotiations … because we want to achieve one of the aspirations of martyr Imad Mughniyeh, that is, to see our prisoner brothers free among their parents and loved ones,” Nasrallah said.

The speech marked the end of a 40 day mourning period for terror-hero Imad Mugniyeh, whose martyrdom Hezbollah has embraced with passion.  He did seek to calm fears of a civil war as other leaders have regularly been doing:

In his speech on Monday, Nasrallah went out of his way to reiterate that his party was irrevocably committed to a political solution to the impasse. The sayyed has made this point before, but given the preponderance of armed might at his disposal, it is important for him to repeat this pledge at every opportunity - and especially when tensions are high. Given Nasrallah’s reputation as a man of his word, this has already served to soothe a widespread sense of foreboding that the failure of the upcoming Arab League summit would presage a new and more dangerous phase of the contest.

Mar

9

Pressuring Syria

Filed Under Syria, links, Terrorism, U.S, Lebanon, News | Leave a Comment

While North Korea and Iran continue to make nice with the Assad regime, pressure has been issued in the form of creating a watchlist of ships who stop at Syrian ports.  The decision signals what most believe to be a reaction to Syria’s meddling in Lebanon:

The decision, which could put pressure on businesses trading or shipping through Syria, was a further blow to long strained ties that had held out brief hopes of improvement last November when the United States courted Syria for the launch of new Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.

Syria was placed on a so-called “Port Security Advisory List” amid “concerns about the connections between Syria and international terrorist organizations,” the State Department’s deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters.

The move allows the Coast Guard “to impose some additional port security measures to ships traveling to or arriving in US ports that have previously been either departing from Syria or have called on Syrian ports,” he said.

Casey added he understood the measures would affect any ship that has visited Syria during its last five ports of call, but referred reporters to the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for further information.

Also, an unnamed Egyptian official has claimed that the recent developments in Gaza have served Syrian interests in diverting attention away from its actions in Lebanon:

According to Egyptian sources, the heads of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, currently based in Damascus, are the only ones authorized to make a decision regarding a cease-fire with Israel, and it is possible that the Syrian government is behind the failure of truce negotiations thus far. “All the evidence points to the fact that Syria wants to divert attention from Lebanon and point the spotlight on Gaza,” the Egyptian official said.

The current escalation [of violence] in the Palestinian arena serves the Syrian interests,” they said, explaining that the embarrassment caused by continuing violence in Gaza to Arab Leaders may prompt the Arab nations to send high-level representation to the upcoming Arab summit hosted by Syria later this month, after having threatened that state leaders will not attend if Syria continues to interfere in the political crisis in Lebanon.

The Egyptian accusations against Syria are directly linked to rising tensions in the Arab world currently. The absence of Arab leaders from the Arab summit will cause great embarrassment to Damascus, as the host country, and likely prevent the success of the summit.

The Egyptian officials added that they had frozen efforts to mediate a truce between Israel and the Palestinians until after the Arab summit at the end of March. They said that Suleiman, who is responsible for the mediation efforts, will accompany Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak this week to Poland and Dakar, which will prevent him from advancing truce negotiations.

Sep

20

Lebanon Loses Another MP

Filed Under Terrorism, Syria, Lebanon, Politics, War, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Another anti-Syrian MP as well.  And a few days before the Lebanese parliament is supposed to elect a new president.  I wonder who could be meddling in Lebanon’s affairs?

MP Antoine Ghanem was killed, along with four other people in a massive car bombing Wednesday in a busy, mainly-Christian neighborhood of Beirut, the latest in a spate of attacks against prominent anti-Syrian figures.

Lebanese newspapers said the assassination was a clear message ahead of a parliamentary session Tuesday to elect a president, amid a near total deadlock between the Western-backed majority and the pro-Damascus opposition.

“Antoine Ghanem, a bloody message for the majority and the presidential election,” said the front-page headline of the leading An Nahar newspaper.

World powers condemned the attack as a blatant bid to destabilize Lebanon ahead of the vote, but the country’s former power-broker Syria denied any involvement.

How is it that Lebanon is still considered sovereign? How many more politicians need to be murdered by foreign governments, or wars need to be started by an illegal militia which is stronger than the nation’s army before the world’s powers begin to discuss Lebanon as one of the key battlegrounds for regional influence in the Middle East?

Check out Beirut Beltway for updates.

The PM makes a statement: “Bomb won’t stop Lebanon poll”

Update: Antoine Ghanem has been buried. Lebanon grieves.

May

1

Erotic Art In Beirut

Filed Under Lebanon, News | Leave a Comment

A new exhibition in Beirut featuring paintings with an erotic theme has opened to mixed reactions, in a society where sex is still very much taboo:

Two women painters in Lebanon are pushing the boundaries with a new exhibition called “Erotika,” in which their depictions of female sexuality have sparked mixed reactions.

Using vivid colors, the pair are showing images of fetishism, homosexuality and even masturbation in a Beirut art show they hope will help to break taboos in the usually conservative Arab world. Artists Nayla Karam and Maria Sarkis are displaying their Warhol-like pop art in a joint exhibition at a Beirut gallery.

The end of the article offers reactions from people who visited the exhibit, which are interesting to read. This would never have taken place in another Arab country without starting a much bigger controversy:

The exhibition has triggered conflicting reactions among visitors.

Dana Dennawi, a 22-year-old student at the Arab University in Beirut, called the paintings “beautiful, without even a hint of vulgarity.”

“There is no harm in representing the different forms of sexual expression,” she said.

Leon Khanamirian, a 25-year-old banker, said that “in the Middle East, men are allowed to express their sexual fantasies in a vulgar manner, but when (women) artists paint sexuality, it suddenly becomes a scandal.”

Hassan Mekdad, 52, called the paintings shocking, however.

“The artists would have been killed if they lived in an Islamic neighborhood,” he said.

Abdallah Dadur, owner of the “Surface” gallery that is staging the exhibition, said he was “proud of these young people who are expressing themselves without any complexes.

“Once more, the Lebanese are at the forefront of moral freedoms in the Arab world.”(AFP)

Apr

16

Former Female Militant Fights For Peace

Filed Under Peace, Lebanon, War | Leave a Comment

Came across this article today, about a former female militant who fought for a Christian militia in Lebanon’s civil war of the late 70’s and 80’s. She’s all for peace now, but the article provides an interesting look into what armed conflict has meant to some in the region, and leaves hope for some sense of maturity and realization of the cost of war on society.

Jocelyne Khoweiry was 20 years old when she first carried arms during the 1975-90 civil war. Now 51, she is working forcefully for peace.

“In 1975 I was ready to die for my country. Today I want to live for its sake,” Khoweiry said on the 32nd anniversary of the outbreak of the 15-year civil war that killed more than 150,000 people.

Khoweiry, in a rare interview, said that she wanted to “relay a message of peace” at a time when many people fear that deeply divided Lebanon may plunge back into the devastating violence and chaos of civil war.

“I tell the young Lebanese of today war is not a game,” said Khoweiry, founder and director of the Pope John Paul II Center which provides social, psychological, and medical assistance for those in need. “When violence breaks out it becomes deaf. Nothing stops it.”

…

“After carrying arms, I thought repeatedly about becoming a nun. When you see so much violence and drama, you start asking questions about men, death, and God.”

In 2000 she founded the Pope John Paul II Center in Ghadir, a mountainous village in the Christian heartland northeast of Beirut, with the help of other “sisters in arms” who discarded their guns to become “messengers of hope and peace.”

The former militant insists that her military and spiritual endeavors have much in common.

“Military combat is also an ascetic, mystical experience: one sacrifices oneself in wars - just like in religion,” she said.