The Lebanese press should have been banned from Qatar. Lebanese politicians should have been banned from calling the Lebanese press from their Qatar hotel rooms.
Negotiations are occuring in Qatar, and in negotiations the participating parties use strategies and tactics to win concessions. Inflaming Lebanese civilians and using the biased and propaganda spinning Lebanese media to effect the outsome of negotiations is only harmful to Lebanon, and a useless ploy against the other negotiating parties who all have media outlets of their own.
Politics is Lebanon's national drama, and all I've heard over the last few days are people commenting on the different tactics in Doha, and deciding to take some action in Beirut based on what they hear on the radio. It is ridiculous.
Minute by minute accounts don't matter. Keep it secret, and let some aide to Elie Skaff make a million dollars publishing a behind-the-scenes account of the events in a book published this August.
The blame game shouldn't happen in the middle of negotiations. Of course, one side will be mad at one point, and the other side will counter and make an entirely different group angry. That's what happens during negotiations. In the rest of the world, there is no Syria to step in and decide when it's time to stop debating. It is not acceptable to leave the office of the president vacant.
The point of negotiations is to figure out a way to live and work together. If that is not possible, then start figuring out a way for us not to have to live together, but do not come back without a decision that leaves us civilians in sectarian jeopardy. Do not fail to agree on something and then sacrifice our lives for your tribunals, "Divine" weapons, ministries of theft, presidencies you think belong only to you, and the foreign overlords who give you money and weapons.
Monday, May 19, 2008
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7 comments:
The last paragraph brings the point home quite accurately. How do we relay this paragraph to the Doha Sheraton?
Hey here's an idea. Israel and Lebanon sign a peace deal. All that would be required of Lebanon would be not to shoot at us nor let anyone else do so from her soil. In return, Israel would allow unlimited transit of Lebanese goods through our soil for no price and develop weapons for the Lebanese army. Israel would give Lebanon first priority on any solution to the Pali refugee problem.
Perhaps we could even ferry them to Gaza.
It would be nice if we could visit each other's countries and have cultural ties but I guess the Lebanese are too prejudiced and afraid of Arab backlash (despite Egypt, Morocco and Jordan).
We would probably even give you Har Dov even though it was never yours.
What is your e-mail address? I can't find a link to e-mail you.
Thanks,
Doug
very interesting points of view.
Adam is right.
Lebanon can take the wind out of Hezbollah's sails by signing a peace agreement with Israel. It would remove the justification for Hezbollah's existence.
Jordon was smart. They did this. They don't have an armed Hezbollah in their country. Egypt too. Yet both of them have borders with Israel.
But it might be too late. Now that that have allowed Hezbollah to control the country, it won't let them do what they need to remove this parasite.
Syria and Israel are currently debating in Turkey about the Golan heights (and there are signs that Israel would be ready to give it back for cheap). That could end the problem of the Chebaa farms earlier than expected and finish the last Hizbollah pretext to keep its weapons. I am sure Nasrallah will find some new pathetic excuse to ignore his obligations, but it is worth hoping for it.
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