LEBANON’S DILEMMA – A revolving identity crisis

On September 1, 1920 French General Henri Gouraud proclaimed from the porch of the Pine Residence in Beirut the creation and independence of the state of Greater Lebanon under the colonial mandate of the League of Nations represented by France. France also received Syria which it separated from Lebanon, while Britain was awarded Palestine, Transjordan and Iraq.

This series of five articles was originally written in January and February this year by Ghassan Kadi. We are publishing it today on the occasion of the centenary of Lebanon to enlighten readers on the historical role played by French colonialism in the sectarian divide-and-rule strategy of the Levant (Greater Syria) and the internal forces in motion at that time and their role today. France and Britain together separated the region into Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Transjordan and Iraq by secret agreement (Sykes-Picot) during World War I, which they received following the war with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey and Germany as “trustee”. The series also brings out the character of the internal institutions established in Lebanon on September 1, 1920 by the armed forces of France.

THE ANGRY ARAB: The blast (and the failed system) that shook Lebanon

The key question after the Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut revolves around the role of the Lebanese Army command, which is the sole authority with direct control over the security and safety of the port, and its surroundings | AS’AD ABUKHALIL

Devastation in Beirut | http://mehrnews.com/xSMehdi Shojaeian/Wikimedia Commons

Those who are superstitious may think that Lebanon has been recently cursed: successive disasters, catastrophes and crises have afflicted the small country uninterruptedly for several consecutive years.

Lebanon’s future: Lebanon’s Mutasarrifate Take II

Ghassan Kadi’s thoughts about the crisis facing Lebanon

(August 10) – Most of the current instability in the Levant and the whole Middle East is inadvertently and inadvertently a result of the obsession about Israel’s security; both from the Israeli as well as the American sides. That said, many of the region’s problems are deep-rooted and go back to times before Israel was created and before America had any influence.

Saudi Arabia: The second Saud dynasty

During the evening of November 3, Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MBS) launched his “Night of the Long Knives” – a virtual coup d’état. It included the house arrest of 11 princes and four ministers and scores of other former government lackeys in political, security, and business spheres, not to overlook the freezing of up to 1,700 bank accounts worth $800 billion. This coup has serious regional and international implications.The next day, a missile headed toward Riyadh from Yemen, which the Saudis quickly called an act of war. The visiting prime minister of Lebanon, Saad Hariri, was placed under house arrest and forced to resign in a letter reportedly dictated by his hosts blaming Iran and the resistance organization Hezbollah for threatening the security of Lebanon; the Saudis called on expatriates to evacuate. In parallel, Israel launched new air strikes against Syria and the Trump regime escalated its offensive against Iran;  the US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley later in the week called for sanctions against Tehran, citing Saudi “evidence”. Iran has dismissed the claims as baseless, pointing to the Saudi air, sea and land blockade on Yemen as preventing any such weapons supply.

US fifth column: Pretext for regime change in Argentina?

The Politicization of the AMIA Investigation

A fifth column exists in Argentina. It should be noted that some of the individuals involved in this case are leftover elements from the period of the military dictatorship in Argentina that collaborated closely with the US.

By Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya*

History has a strange way of replicating itself. Argentina has been going through a process similar to the post-1999 years, after Boris Yeltsin stepped down and Vladimir Putin took his place in the Kremlin as the president of the Russian Federation. While it has been struggling to throw off the foreign yoke, the Argentine federal government in Buenos Aires has been consolidating its economic and political power.

Whodunit: Argentine prosecutor mysteriously dies as CIA steps up efforts to topple President Kirchner

By NIL NIKANDROV*

(Jan. 31) – Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman was found shot dead on 18 January, a pistol by his side. He had been hours away from outlining his accusations against President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner at a congressional hearing. The prosecutor was to deliver a report on the investigation of Argentina’s worst terrorist attack – a bombing in 1994 that killed 85 people and left dozens wounded at a Jewish community centre. The Argentine special services and the prosecutor’s office first traced it to Iran, then the «Syrian trace» emerged, dirty cops from Buenos Aires were also on the list of suspects. Iran immediately denied its involvement.

Word. US State Dept. spokesperson on Israel’s right to launch wars at will

“MS. PSAKI: Well, we will have a statement on this that may be going out during the briefing, in my name. So if it does, I’m happy to reiterate that, but you should have that in your inboxes soon. We support Israel’s legitimate right to self-defense and continue to urge all parties to respect the blue line between Israel and Lebanon, as prescribed by UNSCR 1701. We also, of course, condemn the act of violence and will be watching the situation closely.

Kobani: Germany’s priorities, Turkey and the Bandar Plan to subvert Syria

Contradictions within NATO bloc intensify at the expense of the Kurdish and Syrian people

Syrian Kurdish refugees attempting to cross border into Turkey

german-foreign-policy.com, BERLIN/ANKARA/RIYADH (Oct. 9) – The German Chancellor is raising strong accusations against Turkey. One should “be able to expect from a NATO member country “ that it “will set the right priorities” and ultimately give precedence to the struggle against IS, Angela Merkel said yesterday (Wednesday), in reference to the catastrophic situation in the North Syrian border town of Kobani.

Globalizing Gaza

How the Zionists attempt to raise violence, anarchy and chaos to the level of authority and provide it with a legal justification called “lawfare.” JEFF HALPER

Operation Protective Edge was not merely a military assault on a primarily civilian population.

As in its previous “operations” (Cast Lead in 2008-9 and Pillar of Defense in 2012), it was also part of an ongoing assault on international humanitarian law (IHL) by a highly coordinated team of Israeli lawyers, military officers, PR people and politicians, led by (no less) a philosopher of ethics. It is an effort not only to get Israel off the hook for massive violations of human rights and international law, but to help other governments overcome similar constraints when they embark as well on “asymmetrical warfare,” “counterinsurgency” and “counter-terrorism” against peoples resisting domination. It is a campaign that Israel calls “lawfare” and had better be taken seriously by us all.

Mocking the Israeli terrorist army

It can be said that one of the biggest achievements of Hizbullah is not only in the military realm but it is also in the realm of psychological warfare. Hizbullah so undermined the image of the “invincible” army and turned it into the incompetent, cowardly army that young Arabs now circulate images and videos of Israeli army terrorists looking like idiots (terrorist idiots, to be more accurate). This is one example.  I am so happy that I lived to the day when Arabs mock this terrorist army in addition to detesting it. (Thanks to Prof As’ad AbuKhalil, The Angry Arab News Service)

Syria: The US ambassador speaketh, the agents obey

The imperial pro-consul gives his party instructions on what to do at Geneva 2.

Robert S. Ford arrived in Damascus as the US Ambassador to Syria on January 27, 2011. Ford played a central role in laying the groundwork for the development of an armed insurgency directed against as the government of Bashar al Assad which began 2 months later. He was one of the main organizers of the Syrian Opposition. Ford was instrumental in starting the war in Syria and founding the Free Syrian Army, of which several leaders have resigned. Ford was a protégé of John Negroponte, who organized death squads in El Salvador in the 1970s and in Iraq while ambassador there in 2004-05.

al-Manar (Jan. 19) – THE US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford ordered the foreign-backed opposition figures to take part in the international peace conference Geneva 2, noting that there are many changes in the Saudi policy regarding the Syrian crisis.

Quoting an official in the executive committee in the so-called “Syrian National Coalition” (SNC), Nidal Hamade said that Ford had called for an urgent meeting for the SNC figures in Istanbul, Turkey noting that the US envoy had threatened to cut funds for anyone who will not attend the meeting.

A despicable legacy within an unworthy cause – The death of Ariel Sharon

By NATHAN J FREEMAN

AFTER spending eight years in a coma, Israeli general and former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon died on January 11, 2014. The very large numbers of people who suffered greatly under his aegis recall his brutal legacy with continued demands for justice. Meanwhile the world of darkest reaction has invented the term “warrior-statesman” to praise the man who will, in fact, go down in history as the murderer he was. Besides other crimes, Sharon is best known to the world’s people as the Butcher of Beirut for his role in enabling the slaughter of Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp during September 16 to 18, 1982.

An exposé of Israeli war crimes in Lebanon: impunity

One Norwegian officer left Lebanon with a typed report on torture taped to his chest, ROBERT FISK recounts in a commentary on Odd Karsten Tveit’s latest book, Goodbye Lebanon: Israel’s First Defeat.

Understand the bigger picture of Syria: history with an agenda

“Many of you can see through the eyes of the media you chose to follow about the crisis in Syria. Many of you believe the over-rated propaganda that hundreds of channels or papers place out there meant to sway public opinion. But to understand the truth of a situation, you must first study the history of the situation. There lays the truth and lies in what is known as a media war. Understanding how Syria rose, and what she is going through right now is the most vital tool to fight with fact, not fiction.” | Three articles by GHASSAN KADI*

Windsor Peace Coalition discusses interference in Lebanon

“There is no occupation of Lebanon by Syria. This is a bi-lateral arrangement between the two sovereign governments.”

On April 13, the anniversary of the beginning of the civil war in Lebanon, the Windsor Peace Coalition met to discuss the roots of the current situation in Lebanon in order to take a stand on current developments. Discussion began with a brief presentation of the interventionist roles various big powers, particularly the US, France, England and Israel have played following World War I to divide the Lebanese people on religious and ethnic lines to serve their empire building interests.