Where were these "excellent articles" when Israel was savaging Lebanon? Have you already forgotten Liz Cheney and her dad's silence on that? Actually, I was wrong. They were not silent. They encouraged it.
And now the same people who brought you the wonderful analysis of Iraq are writing "excellent articles" about Syria.
Good job.
I will only direct you to the comments section under the same article in the WaPost to see what US readers think of the credibility of Dick Cheney's squashy bundle of neo-connery.
Never seems to fail: some Lebanese chew the vomit Western cultures themselves spew. Michael Young must be giddy to have been cited by the inhabitants of Mordor.
To the brilliant minds of Yaman and ali.
It would be better for you to actually address the substance of the piece instead of trying to sound smart (and failing miserably) by talking about everything but the substance of the piece.
No Tony habibi, you're the one who is missing the "substance" of our brilliant posts: Someone without credibility, as Yaman pointed above in reference to Liz and daddy's hawkish stances regarding the July war, and their ever-biased positions on the Palestine issue, has no business pretending to care about Lebanon and its people.
This is all about what is perceived to be good for the US and Israel’s geo-strategic interests. If Syria dropped its hostility to the US’s ME policy tomorrow, Liz, mini-neocon Cheney and co. will drop you, Hariri, and all of Lebanon like a rotting plate of hummus.
If you don’t fathom that much, then your own brilliance must tap a different power source.
Your mental faculties are amazing. Presented with a very clear statement about the substance of the piece you respond by... not talking about the substance of the piece and trying once again to sound smart, and fail miserably as you did the first time.
Tony,
So I visited your homepage, and your glaring intellect is self-evident.
You’d feel right at home in Dick Cheney’s hiding bunker.
What amazes me about people like you is the fuzzy tickle you must feel conjuring visions of how foreigners can exact violence against your own countrymen. But then again, you are emblematic of the most banal, self-deceived, and contradictory Lebanese Maronites who associate more with invading, plundering foreign forces, simply because they are Western, than the very people who live next door to them and who share their language, culture, history…
The only substance I see in Liz neo-con baby’s piece is its hypocrisy. How much more do we need to repeat it to you? As they say 3enna bil-balad, “3al tekrar byefham lehmar.” Liz Cheney does not care about you, your sect, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, or anyone else. If you go to sleep thinking that Liz truly believes the fallen politicians in Lebanon are really like America’s founding fathers, or that she is truly enraged and saddened thinking about their murder, then I have a couple of cedars to sell you.
The funny thing is I know you know this, but it matters not to you. What is important here is that your narrow, sectarian interests align currently with her hypocritical position. So you try to sell it. Go ahead, have a party. Enjoy your union while you’re at it, this will not last long. The ME is littered with your likes, thrown to the dogs as soon as their benefit had run out.
If Dick Cheney attacked the Devil, would one defend the devil?
Whether the neo-cons are hypocrites or evil is beside the point; Saddam was a dictator, and we're blessed to be rid of him. Bashar is a dictator, and Nasrallah's protecting him.
Ali,
Inhabitants of Mordor? Tap a different source of power? Take it easy on the Lord of the Rings and fantasy talk mate.
Makes you sound childish, unless you are a child in which case I apologise.
Best,
HB
I love it how it never fails with idiots. Once they dig themselves a hole, and someone points it out, all they do is dig deeper, as if to prove just how stupid they are. Case in point.
What amazes me about people like you is the fuzzy tickle you must feel conjuring visions of how foreigners can exact violence against your own countrymen.
We tell this buffoon, instead of trying to make yourself look intelligent (and failing miserably) by taking ad hominem swipes, as opposed to addressing substance, he comes with this idiotic response, about what "people like me" (about whim he knows nothing) MUST FEEL (again, substance is thrown aside and instead we are handed an ASSERTION about my INNER FEELINGS! Do you speak to the dead too, ali? Cause very clearly your abilities are so superior.) about "foreigners" killing "my countrymen"! Brilliant! Both idiotic AND primordial!
But then again, you are emblematic of the most banal, self-deceived, and contradictory Lebanese Maronites who associate more with invading, plundering foreign forces, simply because they are Western, than the very people who live next door to them and who share their language, culture, history…
Not satisfied with his blazing show of idiocy, ali returns with a coup de grace to cement to the world just how much of a moron he really is.
After asserting knowledge of how I (or rather "people like me") "must feel" (and by now any talk of substance is well behind him, in fact it never was in sight for him), he now hands us the verdict of what "people like me" (of whom he knows diddly squat, but substance isn't his forte) are "emblematic" of! New levels of idiocy with every turn!
And what are "people like me" "emblematic of"?! self-deceived, and contradictory Lebanese Maronites.
Mmmm yeeeess... so deeep. Only, um, one problem. I'm not Maronite. I thought, though, since, um, you knew my "inner feelings" and "people like me" you'd at least know that. But hten again, you can't fault an idiot for being, er, an idiot.
But ali is not satisfied with being an idiot. He's a bigot too. Not only does like to talk in terms of "people like" and "emblematic of" (when his knowledge is very clearly equivalent to that of a headless chicken), he also likes to tell us the essence of those treacherous Maronites!! Brilliant!
But he's not done. Not happy with evading the issue once, nay twice, he returns for the trifecta (in line with the folk saying he quotes, and with which he seems very familiar, about repetition and donkeys):
The only substance I see in Liz neo-con baby’s piece is its hypocrisy. How much more do we need to repeat it to you? As they say 3enna bil-balad, “3al tekrar byefham lehmar.” Liz Cheney does not care about you, your sect, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, or anyone else. If you go to sleep thinking that Liz truly believes the fallen politicians in Lebanon are really like America’s founding fathers, or th
The only substance I see in Liz neo-con baby’s piece is its hypocrisy. How much more do we need to repeat it to you? As they say 3enna bil-balad, “3al tekrar byefham lehmar.” Liz Cheney does not care about you, your sect, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, or anyone else. If you go to sleep thinking that Liz truly believes the fallen politicians in Lebanon are really like America’s founding fathers, or that she is truly enraged and saddened thinking about their murder, then I have a couple of cedars to sell you.
It must be difficult being an idiot. None of this matters. Let's see if this hmar gets it this time. I know ali you're an expert on knowing what people "must feel" but us normal human beings 1- don't claim that, 2- nor is is it relevant in this case. I couldn't care less what Liz Cheney's "inner feelings" and "intentions" are. It'ss the substance of her article and the claims that I am interested in. But then again, I'm talking to an idiot...
The funny thing is I know you know this, but it matters not to you.
Oh wait! Stop the presses! Ali knows what I "must feel" AND what I know! Ali, you're a wiz! The wonderful wizard of stupid town. Yes, that is "funny"! It's outright hilarious!
What is important here is that your narrow, sectarian interests align currently with her hypocritical position. So you try to sell it.
Well, before you talk about my "sectarian interests" it would help if you actually knew what my sect was (and you don't) instead of just, well... just being your idiot self.
And which sectarian interest is that? Cause the people she lists are Sunni, Protestant, Orthodox, Maronite, and there's one she missed who's Druze.
And I'm "selling" what exactly?! But speaking of selling, here's a career advice for you. Bottle your penetrating "genius" and sell it. You'll make millions.
Go ahead, have a party. Enjoy your union while you’re at it, this will not last long. The ME is littered with your likes, thrown to the dogs as soon as their benefit had run out.
No party is more fun than listening to your idiotic ramblings as you make a total ass of yourself.
And that reference to "dogs" actually reminded of Faysal Mekdad calling Gebran Tueni, whom his boss had murdered (and whom some of my countrymen celebrated by passing out baklava), a "dog." So I guess you're referring to that.
Or maybe not, cause you're an idiot.
I don't know your country. I don't know what happened with Hariri. I don't defend Syria...and after several weeks of reading your blog, I wouldn't defend you. Frankly, I don't understand what you stand for.
I do think you hate and are full of hate. It strikes me that your hate is ugly and it reminds me of Israeli hate I see in Haaretz each day.
I wonder if this hate ends or if it just continues to waste lives and money and time? I suspect it does continue. Hate is the winner in the Middle East. Hate has won in Lebanon. All I hear is hate.
Rather than dealing with a few interesting questions, it seems more reasonable to stoke the hate for those with an interest in it...with a status from the hating. Those who do hate are lost I suppose. For those less inclined to hate, I wonder.
I wonder, as a somewhat disinterested observer, about the following:
1. What is feasible for a UN or any other tribunal to find out? Really, what can be discovered at this juncture? Who will constitute the UN tribunal? Who would trust? Americans? French? Indians? Japanese?
2. Within 100 km you have several mortal enemies. Can this ever end? When? How? Name your terms for peace. Reasonable terms. Can you? Israel will not end. Syria will not end. Lebanon will not be run by Christians again. Hezbullah will not dominate it. So now what?
3. What will Lebanon do if Syria makes peace with Israel?
4. What would you say if the British press succeeds in uncovering that the U.S. was fighting Hezbullah covertly and may be still?
What do you want Mustapha? Stop shouting slogans and try to find something worth building on.
Sarkozy? Chaney? Really?
What an absurd suggestion, Tony. As an academic, are you really asking people to ignore who the author of this article is, what her motives are, and who she represents, just because her line happens to coincide with your interests? So much for credibility. I don't know how comfortable I am taking the word of a woman who got her job because of her nepotistic father, who is also behind one of the craziest escapades in the Middle East in modern history, at face value. Maybe you are, but then again the entire world does not revolve around the faux democracy in Lebanon. Sorry.
It's funny anyway, that you should talk about substance, when your blog basically is ad hominem repeated ad nauseam.
More ridiculous than your tired and unimaginative overuse of “idiot” to describe me (I counted 14 idiot and idiotic), is your nauseating line by line dissection of my earlier post to prove the one point: that I over-reached and generalized my opinion of you and what you stand for. So this is my sin, or did the reference to hmar prick your dignity terribly?
I have to admit, you are more thickheaded than I gave you credit for.
Let me spell it out for you, in the hope that for once some light may enter where your wanting comprehension has cast an impenetrable darkness: Mustafa, and you for that matter, referencing a neo-con, known for her hawkish work in the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs where she was in charge of regime-change in the ME (read Iran & Syria. Read again, all-hail Israel) is itself the objection both Yaman and I posted about. What Liz neocon Cheney wrote is irrelevant. Neocon Liz is part of the neocon community, a now-fallen and discredited group of over-zealous Zionists and shrill Evangelicals whose ideas, policies, treacherous and catastrophic execution of the illegal Iraq war, crushing of Palestinian rights, aiding and abetting of Israel’s war against Lebanon, support of torture, illegal snooping on citizens, and the trampling of Habeas Corpus in the US are well-documented facts.
Neocon Liz, “the US is facing an existential threat” has no credibility! Who the F**k cares what she writes about? That’s why I asked you look up the comments directly under her article to show you what the American people think of her integrity. When your views and policies have proven disastrous and have been discredited, what matters what you say now? The time to prove the substance of your arguments have come and gone. How many more wars do you have to wage, how many more nations do you have to destroy, and how many more people have to still die and more to suffer before you’re willing to concede that this neo-con community has lost its credibility?
Have you no shame, or at least a little reticence, trying to reference her article on your blog as evidence to support your pedantic views? The same goes for the amateurish Mustapha? Shall we ask the masterful Japanese fishing fleets for advice on how to save the Tuna populations?
Line by line, it would be too easy to show the false claims, innuendos, fake emotions, ethnocentricity, exaggerated and disingenuous analogies, hypocrisy and double-standards of this baby neo-con. I will not give her or you that satisfaction.
Finally, I could care less whether you’re a Maronite, Shii, Sunni, Druze, or whatever. My reference was not to a particular sect, but to a haughty and provincial state of mind that finds a core following amongst some of the Maronite community in Lebanon. Your sect is of no consequence to me. Self-loathing, incompetence and defective judgment where the self-interests of foreigners are justified by the natives themselves against the better interests of th
Finally, I could care less whether you’re a Maronite, Shii, Sunni, Druze, or whatever. My reference was not to a particular sect, but to a haughty and provincial state of mind that finds a core following amongst some of the Maronite community in Lebanon. Your sect is of no consequence to me. Self-loathing, incompetence and defective judgment where the self-interests of foreigners are justified by the natives themselves against the better interests of their country has no religion. This is a disease that needs to be purged. I am praying for your well-being.
ali,
Perhaps you're right. Perhaps liz is indeed a discredited figure for being part of a cabal that masterminded plans that ultimately led to mass killing of Arabs/Lebanese/muslims..etc
But does that mean that we should not read what she wrote?
The Economist, a capitalist publication par excellence, once wrote an article entitled "Castro was right."
They were referring to Castro's opinions on corn ethanol, but that's not the point. The point is: Even when your enemy writes something that has a level of truth in it, you have to give her credit for it. If you were a fair person that is.
Efendi,
On second thought-after making a cursory visit to some of your archival material from the July war, I will admit I have misjudged you.
You are more a neo-con than the neo-cons themselves. The repetitive citing of Kramer, Shencker, Ajami, Sharanski, Rubin, Haas…The list of the ugliest and most extreme SOBs on the planet is endless.
Could you bring yourself to once criticizing Israeli crimes in Lebanon or Palestine? Even the neocon administration had to (softly) repudiate Israel on its criminal misuse of cluster bombs. But not you?
Your singular obsession with Syria is comic. Any news that puts Syria in a good light seems to throw you off kilter. Pelosi’s visit rattles you. Talks about engaging Syria about Iraq and Lebanon sends you into a hysterical tailspin.
Get a life dude, you need a different variety of enemies. This is old.
You may be a “Ph.D. candidate in Ancient Near Eastern Studies with focus on Semitic Linguistics, Ancient Levantine history, religion, and ethnicity studies” but your evident moral impairment renders hollow all your learning . This is not about defending Syria, which is indefensible, but about fair and balanced analysis. Criticize Syria, but give Israel its due as well. Blast Hezbollah where they err, but do not spare March 14 when they deserve it. What about putting in a good word for Palestinian rights, and some deserved harsh criticism for US policy. Without this balance, and so long as you are on a thrilling witch hunt against a singular enemy, while white-washing the crimes of all the other players, your word and your integrity are as good as dead.
Mustapha, the example you raised is not legitimate. Just because person A is not credible on issue X does not mean their opinion on issue Y should be immediately discarded. But in this case, there is no issue Y. Liz Cheney is talking about precisely what she is not credible about: the Middle East.
Mustapha,
you cannot convince people that Liz Cheney may be right.
People set their minds to something, it is hard to dislodge, especially when emotions get in the way. Liz Cheney's article has its flaws with respect to Lebanon, but this is because it is targeted to an American audience, with an electoral perspective.
Overall, it is still a valid article, but those guys are too busy shooting the messenger to try and read the message.
If Liz Cheney said the sun rose in the East, some would deny it. I guess when some commenters are talking about foreign forces, they should specify. I guess Iranian and Syrian forces are not deemed foreign... Now as to the substance of the article, which is of course conveniently ignored: many prominent lebanese have been killed in the past three years, all have one thing in common, they were opponents of the syrian regime. whether Liz cheney or bo diddly writes that, it is still true. Of course lebanese should be wary of the motives of any foreign power, and of course this wariness should apply as well to syria and iran. Frankly, that is always what seems to be missing in this whole discussion. Alliance with the United States and france and Europe and basically the whole world ex. Syria and Iran is not the worst thing that could happen to lebanon, the worst thing is that lebanon falls completely back under Syria's sway and is used as a battlefield by Syria/Iran vs. Israel to the detriment of all lebanese. Eye on the ball guys. As an aside, to Ryan, I love your entry" I don't know your country" Ryan you should have stopped there buddy, hate bad, love and peace good, yes even we lebanese can get that, even those who do know the country. By the way Haaretz is bush league why not read jerusalem post if you want to get excitable. With Mustapha's permission I will sum up neatly what he stands for: A democratic, free market, lebanon, at peace with its neighbors, with the rule of law applying to all its territory, think the switzerland of the middle east. He also would like to see the investigations into the the political killings proceed, as a first step for imposing rule of law. Now with that baseline, it becomes hard to ally and support Hizbullah and its backers syria and iran whose interests are totally opposed to this.
Mustapha,
Liz Cheney et al. will light Lebanon on fire/sell it to the highest bidder if the time comes (Pelosi is no different, hence the terrible irony of M. Young's recent application for membership in the Jewish Republican Coalition). This squabbling, as I think you and Jeha have noted, has not a whit to do with Lebanon, but rather who gets to sit at the table and with what chips once the cards are dealt in what will be a truly dizzy game of regional diplomacy.
Only an extreme level of narcissism and unawareness of events in the region would allow someone to think that they have a "friend" in Liz Cheney or her faction. They have demonstrated they will tolerate the pointless slaughter of the Lebanese if it suits their domestic, regional and international political interests. And they will brag about it, afterward.
Getting the Syrians out of Lebanon and improving the Lebanese political system (different, but not totally unrelated issues) will require years and years of slow, tedious work that will largely escape the headlines of the western press. It will not come in an international show trial.
To my mind, it is beyond folly for the anti-Syrian coalition to go Chapter 7 as it puts them at the mercy of the Americans. I am still awaiting evidence from Jeha on a resolution being "all, but assured."
It is not so much that the Syrians, the Americans, the Iranians, the Israelis, the Saudis, etc. are enemies of Lebanon, it is that all will pursue their national interests without regard to its impact on Lebanon and the Lebanese. Stating the obvious, I know, but time is better spent finding commonalities with your fellow Lebanese than with this particular American political faction. They will be still be there long after the Americans have set their eyes elsewhere.
As an American, however, I must say I love the analogy to the "founding fathers," as sometimes I wonder if Hariri appreciated that the ejection of the British made George Washington the richest man in all of the United States.
Happy blogging.
Sorry, but I would like to add that I believe Hizbullah appreciates that Iran and Syria will also sell them out, if need be (I would say their strategy over the last 15 years reflects this reality). Perhaps the anti-Syrian coalition also knows that its international sponsors are completely unreliable, but I have my doubts.
Also, and importantly, I did not intend to accuse you personally of "unawareness" or "narcissism," but I do find some of that among those who find comfort in Cheney's op-ed.
This debate is supremely disheartening.
Let's take the debate further (or did Ali already go there), and not just refuse to engage with someone because of their political beliefs. Let's refuse to talk to people because of their religions, ethnicities, races, and sexual preferences, too.
Did you know that Andrew Sullivan is gay and has AIDS? We can't listen to him.
Bashar Assad is Alawite. He's a heretic, and we can't listen to him.
Jalal Talabani is a Kurd, and has strong relations with Lebanese Druze. He also has close relations with President Bush and neocons. Therefore, we cannot engage with him.
King Abdallah is fat. Enough said. No talking to him until he sheds the pounds.
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