Category Archives: Lebanon

Arab Revolutions, Espionage, Hezbollah, Israel, Lebanon

Faces of Hezbollah: Syria and the Nuclear Briefcase……

      

 Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter         

“Hezbollah forces will remain in Syria fighting alongside the troops of Syrian President Bashar Assad for the foreseeable future, the leader of the Lebanese group said Thursday. “As long as the reasons are present, we are staying” in Syria, Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s general secretary, said in a speech to supporters here marking the Shiite Muslim holiday of Ashura…………”

See the photo up there? I bet every Western and Arab, and maybe some Asian and other intelligence services are poring over these guys standing around Hassan Nasrallah. I bet even NGOs, AIPAC, the NRA, and the Tea Party are poring over the photo, trying to identify the persons. Especially the man with the gun, but maybe more so the man with the ominous-looking brief case.
Actually there is no need: the fact that they showed the photo means that Hezbollah knows that these guys are already known to diligent foreign intelligence services. Or maybe they are just in a playful mood, teasing the foreign spooks. About the brief case: could it be Nasrallah’s laptop and iPad? His own Lebanese version of the “nuclear” briefcase (oh, oh: now Ben Netanyahu will start screaming wolf and that Lebanon has also gone nuclear).

That photo was taken during Nasrallah’s recent speech this week. It was inevitable that he would decide to stay in Syria, given all the new proxy ‘rebel’ armies being formed and financed to the north (Turkey), south (Jordan) and east (Iraq). All financed by the rebellious and revolutionary democratic regimes of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, humorless Jordan, and assorted Western mercenary groups. Hezbollah has already taken a big hit in its popularity among Arabs for being involved in Syria. Only another victory against another foolish Israeli attack, like the invasion of 2006, could change that.

Cheers
mhg

[email protected]

Hezbollah, Israel, Lebanon, Terrorism

Hezbollah Closer to Taking over Middle East, Threaten the Western World………

      

 Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter      

“U.S.-designated terror group Hezbollah is expanding networks and deployment of fighters from Lebanon to the entire Middle East as part of its deepening alliance with Iran, say analysts. The latest sign comes in Syria, where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has justified intervention as a battle he says is part of a region-wide war of Sunni Muslims against Shiite Muslims……………”

Holy Guacamole! Hezbollah deploying fighters, the Wehrmacht of God, all over the Middle East? All exposed in USA Today! Interesting part citing unnamed “analysts” who gave their insight about Hezbollah. Here is my take, the final word on the Party of Allah:

  • It is true that Hezbollah is an exclusively Shi’a party (with many Christian, Sunni and other political allies) and that its men are fighting on Bashar al-Assad’s side in Syria. It is a sectarian party, but so are almost all other Arab political parties these days, even those that claim to be secular.
  • It is also true that Hezbollah closely follows the Iranian line in regional politics. I am beginning to suspect that Hassan Nasrallah is an admirer of both Ali Khamenei and the theocracy.
  • Hezbollah is not involved in murdering professors and scientists inside Iran, those are almost certainly Israeli acts. They are considered acts of terrorism by everyone and everywhere except by American media and in Washington. This sets a bad example for us wild Muslims to see our more civilized neighbors get away with terrorism and murder.
  • Hezbollah operations are usually restricted to the area around Lebanon. Syria is part of the area around Lebanon: weapons and fighters and shells cross the Lebanese border at will. Nevertheless, there are still the accusations about the terrorist act at the Jewish Center in Buenos Aires some years ago.
  • It is probably an exaggeration what some Gulf potentates and the Salafis claim that Hezbollah is planning to take over Fujairah and Qatif and the rest of the Middle East. Just as it was not true a few years ago that Hezbollah was fighting in Iraq. There are no local Hezbollah militias outside Lebanon, not even in Riyadh. As far as I know.
  • Hezbollah did, however fight the Israeli occupation forces in South Lebanon and defeated them, forcing them out, twice. The only Arab force to ever do that. Unforgivable.
  • It is also not true that Hezbollah has plans to colonize Latin America as a prelude to invading NAFTA countries through Mexico. A nightmare of otherwise nearly almost somewhat sane Texas Congressmen.
  • There have been allegations, mainly by Israeli officials and anonymous Western “officials” that Hezbollah was involved in terrorist attacks in Europe, especially the attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria. Bulgarians are not so sure.
  • It is also true, however, that a Lebanese man was arrested at a Shawarma (or was it Falafel) joint in New York a couple of years ago while trying to ship used pistols to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
  • Speaking of used pistols: Lebanon is known to bristle with automatic weapons, missiles, and drones, many of them in the arsenals of Hezbollah. A pistol in Lebanon is considered a wuss’s weapon. Pistols are girlie weapons in Lebanon. They prefer car bombs over there, if the recent murderous history, before and after the Hariri assassination, is any guide.

Cheers
mhg

[email protected]

Arab Revolutions, Corruption, Lebanon, Syria

Surprise, Surprise: Embezzlement in Lebanon………

      

 Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter      

“The head of Lebanon’s governmental aid body, through which millions of dollars are funnelled, and his wife have been arrested on embezzlement charges, judicial sources said on Monday. The criminal investigation against High Relief Council (HRC) Secretary General Ibrahim Bashir comes as Lebanon appeals for direct aid to help it provide for more than 800,000 Syrian refugees who have flooded into the small Mediterranean state to escape civil war. Bashir has denied media reports that he embezzled $10 million of public funds…………..”

I don’t know. He denies it, but would you admit to stealing $10 million from Syrian refugees? Some people arrapently strongly suspect that he, they, did it. I know, just because he looks it doesn’t mean that they did it. Anyway, just take a peek at the photo. What do you think? Of course this might have been just  “a bad-picture day” for him.
Still a man or/and a woman is innocent until proven guilty, etc, etc. That might apply even to a prince. But stealing from the poor Syrian refugees? Probably the most vulnerable people in the Middle East now?

Cheers
mhg

[email protected]

Arab Revolutions, Lebanon, Syria

Syrian Rebels Revive the Regional Kidnap Industry……………

      

 Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter      

“Two Turkish Airlines pilots have been kidnapped in Beirut, in an ambush that Lebanese officials believe is linked to the capture of nine Lebanese Shia pilgrims in northern Syria 15 months ago. In response, Ankara called on its citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid travelling there, and launched an urgent round of contacts with Lebanese leaders who said they had no immediate leads as to who was responsible. The pilot, Murat Akpinar. and co-pilot, Murat Agca, were seized by six gunmen at 3.30am on Friday, less than one mile from Rariq Hariri airport in Beirut’s southern suburbs. They had been travelling to a hotel in the city in an airline-owned van after flying from Istanbul …………….”

“Syrian rebels have pushed deep into the coastal Alawite stronghold for the first time, seizing a string of villages in a campaign which, locals have warned, threatens to open the area up to full-blown sectarian war. “We are still finding people who were killed in their homes, and bodies left in bushes,” said Sheikh Mohammed Reda Hatem, an Alawite religious leader in Latakia. “Until now 150 Alawites from the villages have been kidnapped. There are women and children among them. We have lost all contact with them.”……………..”

Lebanese Shi’as. Iranian Shi’as, Christians, Alawites, 2 bishops, 2 other priests, many others. An Italian Jesuit priest activist Paolo Dall’Oglio was kidnapped this past week by his rebel hosts in Al Riqa region.
It is very likely some of the Lebanese clans who have had their members kidnapped by Syrian rebel groups along the Turkish border are using the kidnapped Turkish pilots as bargaining chips.
Suddenly kidnappers are doing a brisk business in Lebanon and Syria, but probably not enough to offset the crashing tourist industry..
Cheers
mhg

[email protected]

Arab Revolutions, Lebanon, MENA, Saudi Arabia

Saudi-Lebanese Media Calling for the Liberation of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Gaza, and Iran…………..

      

 Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter      

“Acting US Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo, who chairs the Security Council for the current month, and British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant spoke in strong terms and presented the kinds of violations of UN Security Council resolutions Iran had committed. Yet they did not put forward any measures, draft resolutions, or additional steps regarding such serious violations of resolutions issued under Chapter VII of the UN Charter –out of fear of the dual veto, according to Washington and London. This is in itself horrifying because it means that Moscow, Tehran, Beijing, Damascus, and Hezbollah have succeeded at subjecting the United States and Britain and frightening them through the Russian-Chinese veto. To be sure, it is unconvincing for the Obama administration to suffice itself with mere rhetoric, stating, as did DiCarlo, that there was a “steady of flow of Iranian arms, military support, advisors, and training to groups in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, Iraq and beyond” and that “[the Security] Council must tackle with renewed urgency [the issue of such] Iranian military assistance”. Thus, without practical steps to follow such an important discourse, the implicit American decision seems to be to submit to the de facto situation, in order to avoid confrontation with Iran, or with Russia and China…………………”

This chick writes for Saudi daily Al-Hayat, the newspaper of Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al-Saud. She is often unhappy, nay pissed, with the Western powers for not doing the exact bidding of her Al Saud masters (I get pissed with them because I often think they do the Al-Saud prince’s bidding). She is especially pissed with Western powers for not invading and liberating Syria now, for not re-invading and re-liberating Iraq, not invading and liberating Lebanon, and especially for not invading and liberating Iran from itself and its history. Nobody mentions the liberation of Egypt anymore, assuming that Egypt has already been re-liberated from the Muslim Brotherhood and is in the camp of the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi and UAE media have many Lebanese writers. I wouldn’t be surprised if Saad Hariri or Fouad Saniora start a regular column in al-Hayat or Asharq Alawsat (the latter owned by Crown prince Salman). The goal? You got it: to get the West to invade and liberate Syria, Lebanon, Iraq (again), Gaza, and Iran.

Cheers
mhg

[email protected]

Lebanon, Syria, Terrorism

Hariri Blames Israeli Allies for Beirut Bombing, FSA Aims at Lebanon as it Loses Syria……….

      

 Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter      

“Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri blamed Israel Tuesday for the “terrorist explosion” that rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs and accused the country of trying to provoke Sunni-Shiite strife in Lebanon. “[The blast] requires the highest level of awareness and vigilance in the face of dangers that surround the country and the entire region, especially while facing attempts by the Israeli enemy to push [Lebanon] to strife by organizing terrorist attacks, as happened today,” Hariri said in a statement. “After of terrible criminal scene that Beirut’s southern suburbs witnessed, the Lebanese can only express indignation and condemnation of the crime that targeted one of the most populated neighborhoods,” the statement said. A car bomb explosion ripped through the Beirut’s southern suburb neighborhood of Bir al-Abed, a pro-Hezbollah area, wounded dozens of people……………”

Mr. Hariri, ensconced in a mansion in Paris or Riyadh, is using a bit of deception here, trying to stave of the expected criticism from Hezbollah and its Christian allies. Most likely the bombers were Salafi allies of the Hariri-Saudi March 14 right-wing movement. The Salafi creations of the March 14 bloc. Or their Syrian allies of the Free Syrian Salafi Army across the border who had threatened to attack inside Lebanon. But this only disrupts things in Lebanon, it does not change the dynamics on the ground in Syria. The FSA needs to win on Syrian soil not disrupt Lebanese politics.

This report has come out now: “The group, named the Special Forces 313 Brigade, uses the black, red, green and white colors of the flag of the Syrian opposition, and Islamic terminology………….”
Cheers
mhg

[email protected]

Arab Revolutions, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Syria, US Foreign Policy

Syrian FSA On a Hot Streak: Accuses Hezbollah of Using Chemical & Nuclear Weapons…………

      

 Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter      

“The major organization of Syrian rebels, the Free Syrian Army, announced Wednesday that forces affiliated with Bashar Assad’s regime and Hezbollah fighters employed chemical weapons in battles at the outskirts of Damascus, according to Alarabiya network. Assad’s forces are continuing to shell a number of towns and areas within Syria using a range of munitions, especially chemical warfare which, this time around, hit the town of Zamalka, outside of Damascus………………”

The Free Syrian Salafi Army (FSA) must have gotten its hands on a cache of chemical weapons, and they have been putting it to good use. John McCain may believe them again, may have suggested to the FSA to try this method again to get the Obama administration to invade Lebanon as well as Syria. After all, the same WMD “evidence” cooked up between the FSA, France, and Britain got a nervous Obama to put one foot through the Syrian door. It might work in Lebanon as well, since the Saudi-funded Salafi proxies don’t seem to be getting much traction in Beirut so far.
 
Now the FSA, while on a hot streak, can be bold enough to go for the gold: they can claim that they have evidence of Iranian use of nuclear weapons in Syria. If the Western due diligence of the Sarin claim is any indication, it just might work. McCain and much of the mainstream media will back them up, especially if M. Hollande and Mr. Cameron vouch for the veracity of it, as they would. Tony Blair might also poke his head out out to help. The public in the West will hear a lot of talk, media noise, about “nuclear” and “Hezbollah” and will put the two together so that 1+1=5, with a little help from the media. Then we’d all have a beautiful expanded war.
Yeeehaawwww……. (that was Mr. McCain yelling, not me)
Cheers
mhg

[email protected]

Arab Revolutions, GCC, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Syria

GCC Cuts Livelihood of Lebanese Shi’as and Waits for Godot, Desecrating ‘Allah’……….

      

 Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter      

“Members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah who are residing in Gulf Cooperation Council states will pay the price for the Shiite movement’s military role in Syria against freedom fighters.
A GCC statement, citing a ministerial council decision, said the measures will affect Hezbollah members’ “residency permits, and financial and commercial transactions.” The statement urged the Lebanese government to “assume its responsibilities toward the behavior of Hezbollah and its illegal and inhumane practices in Syria and the region.” The six-member bloc strongly condemned the flagrant intervention of Hezbollah in Syria and its participation in shedding the blood of Syrian people. The statement came after the Saudi Cabinet condemned Hezbollah’s “blatant intervention” ……………” Arab News (Saudi)

“The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) took another step. It decided to hit where it hurts, threatening Lebanese Shia by cutting off their livelihoods and forbidding them from working in the GCC under the pretext that they support Hezbollah. The GCC hopes this will lead to a popular campaign by the Lebanese Shia to pressure Hezbollah and force it to withdraw from the Syrian war and stop supporting the regime. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) took another step. It decided to hit where it hurts, threatening Lebanese Shia by cutting off their livelihoodsThe GCC also hopes that the step will increase the pressure on the Lebanese state in general (which, coincidentally, parallels Israeli thinking in all of its wars against Hezbollah in Lebanon). The GCC and their sponsors also hope for an anti-Hezbollah revolution to erupt in Lebanon…………….”

This probably means that Lebanese Shi’as will be targeted for collective punishment; they almost certainly use “Hezbollah” to mean Lebanese Shi’as. A way to use economics to apply sectarian political pressure on Lebanon. Persian Gulf states often tend to inflict collective punishment (I call them dumb punishment) during crises. Hezbollah defeats their favorite Salafi militias of the FSA and expatriate Lebanese Shi’as pay the price.
The ruling shaikhs of the UAE have been doing it for a couple of years, summarily expelling Lebanese Shi’a families long in the country (90% of UAE residents are temporary foreigners, including laborers and imported mercenaries anyway). Bahrain’s regime of course probably does not allow any Shi’as in to start with, and would love to get rid of its own majority Shi’as (it also imports thousands of foreign mercenaries to keep them repressed). A few tribal Salafis in Kuwait staged a “camera” burning of a Hezbollah banner, perhaps not realizing they also burnt the name “Allah”, something they always advise others never to do.
The GCC are also telling their citizens to stay out of Lebanon for security reasons (as if Bahrain and Qatif are very secure). Lebanon is the closest affordable summer retreat for tens of thousands of Gulf citizens. That would hurt both GCC citizens and Lebanon.
The joke is what is said here that: “Lebanon is urged to curb Hezbollah for its inhumane practices in the region”. Imagine the tribal potentates accusing anybody else of ‘inhumane’ practices. Choppers of heads, crucifixions, home raids, tortures, etc. That is like Saudi Arabia and Qatar complaining that Syria is undemocratic (probably true, but…….).

Cheers
mhg

[email protected]

Hezbollah, Lebanon, Syria, United Nations International Organizations

Shocking News: STL Hariri Tribunal is Still Alive, Barely!…………

         

 Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter      

“The first shock came when a leading Lebanese newspaper published a confidential list of 17 witnesses who may testify in the murder trial of a former prime minister — showing their names, passport pictures, dates of birth and where they work. A spokesman for the United Nations-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon quickly condemned the publication, in January, as a serious breach of court rules that put the lives of those named at risk. But the response of the newspaper, Al Akhbar, which is close to the militant movement Hezbollah, was defiant. A few days later it published a second confidential list, splashing the names, pictures and personal details of another 15 possible witnesses across two pages. ………….”

The STL Hariri tribunal has undermined itself, nay discredited itself, several times over the past few years. Mainly through shoddy procedures and changing the parties that are suspect and leaking information. Not to mention its blatant politicization. Blaming the Syrian regime in leaks when relations with the West and its allies were bad, then shifting the blame away from Syria when relations with the West improved, then shifting it again, through leaks. Right now they have settled on some Hezbollah operatives, but they may change that again if a bigger “villain” materializes (but not on the Korean Peninsula). All subject to the political winds of the time. At one time there were even leaks that they were considering some top Iranian mullahs (some Gulf media once mentioned Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a possible suspect). Too bad the Gangnam-Style guy, Psy, is Korean and the guys who started La Macarena are Spaniards. I believe they both ought to be charged and punished.


It is a wonder this incompetent seemingly political tribunal is still standing, barely. Most Lebanese, except for March 14 supporters, gave up on it a long time ago. Most Arabs outside Riyadh don’t give a damn anymore.


No need to repeat the litany here. I’ll just add links to previous posts on the topic:

Lebanon: Wissam Al Hassan and the Absent Paoli of The Godfather

Hariri STL to Investigate Sabra and Shatila Massacre

UN Lebanon Hariri Tribunal to Extend its Probe to Sabra & Shatila Massacres?

Chasing Hezbollah: Desperation Time in Washington and Riyadh?

Hariri now Claims Syria Killed his Father, Will STL Drop Hezbollah Charges?

Oh Oh Lockerbie, and STL of Lebanon, and Tony Blair, and the Fab Four

Hariri now Claims Syria Killed his Father, Will STL Drop Hezbollah Charges?

Cheers
mhg

[email protected]

Hezbollah, Lebanon

Hariri Ready to Lead Lebanon from Fouquet’s in Paris, Via a Palace in Riyadh…………

         

 Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter      

“On the eight anniversary of his father’s death, Saad Hariri delivered a speech via video link from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia remembering the man and his legacy. The head of Lebanon’s Future Movement called on the Lebanese people to ensure the country’s future as a civil state in the upcoming elections. He vowed allegiance to the principles of the Cedar revolution, an event which ended the 30 year Syrian occupation of Lebanon. “We will run in the parliamentary elections alongside our March 14 allies and the Lebanese who believe in a civil state,” he said in an address to a rally commemorating the death of Rafic Hariri, affectionately dubbed ‘Mr. Lebanon.’ Saad, who currently lives in France.. …………..”

I suspect anything is possible in the People’s Democratic Monarchy that is Lebanon. He aspires to become prime minister of (part of) Lebanon in absentia (just as he was for his last year in office a few years ago). As I suggested a few days ago, he can use Go-to-Meeting or Skype to run his Saudi cabinet in Beirut from the comfort of Paris. No need to do a “return from Elba thing: he will not get the same reception as Uncle Nappy did two centuries ago. Hell, he can be sitting at Fouquet’s while chairing the cabinet meeting. If he gets bored with Paris, he can always fly to Riyadh for a day or two. One look at the dour royal Wahhabi bosses and he’ll appreciate the charms of Paris and fly back in no time.
Maybe he ought to have attended that meeting two days ago in my hometown on the Gulf. He could have gotten some pointers from Ayad Allawi (briefly appointed by the US as prime minister of Iraq by mistake). Then there was Fouad Saniora, the would be liberator of Solidere, or was it Saudi Oger?
Cheers
mhg

[email protected]