Party Time!
Yalla, it's "Party" time. Come and join in the celebrations.
If you really want to get into the "party" mood, you really need to read my post "Celebrate", only then can you truly appreciate the "party".
The Lebanese Army guy - Michel Sleiman (a Maronite Christian - like Aoun from the so-called "opposition") was voted in today as the new President.
Three items on his agenda. a) The arms of the "Resistance" (the Hezb party) b) The enquiry Tribunal for R.Hariri's murder and c)"Restoring diplomatic ties" with Syria.
I can already tell you that item (b) will be left on the back burner. Clearly Syria had something to do with it. And since the restoring of diplomatic ties is on the agenda, who will tread in murky waters ? No one.
Huge celebrations in Beirut today. All the Arab foreign ministers were present under the guidance of Qatar. Present were FM's from Syria - Al-Muallam, Mottaki from Iran, Amr Mousa, and a representative for Saudi Arabia amongst others...
There is one thing I don't really understand, or maybe I do now.
For 18 months, the Hariri camp has accepted that M.Sleiman becomes president. It was the Shiite parties of N.Berri (Amal) and the Hezb who kept delaying the elections for over a year. I even heard one of S.Hariri's speeches during the last bout of violence, where he fully accepted M.Sleiman as president. So what has changed ?
Obviously what changed were the two items on the agenda. Normalisation with Syria and the Arms of the Hezb to be kept intact.
M.Sleiman has an "interesting" C.V. He first joined the Lebanese secret services in 1973, then the army where he was promoted in the 1990's when Syria was in full control of Lebanon.
In any event, the Lebanese people, thirsty for some "stability" have approved of him and according to the media, are totally ecstatic at the prospects.
In parallel....
Two important piece of news from Syria.
- A high ranking Syrian army officer by the name of Turkomani is in Iran, reassuring the Iranians - who FEIGNED great "shock" at the news of the Syrian-Israeli peace negotiations - reassuring them that the strategic relation between Syria and Iran which has been going on for 3 decades will "NEVER be compromised."
Furthermore, Syria is in the process of signing a new elaborate defense treaty with Iran.
From the Iranian side, the head of the Iranian Quds Brigades, by the name of Jaafari assured his Syrian counterpart, that their mutual cooperation will be sustained, maintained and further developed, "NO MATTER WHAT."
- Syria on the other hand "warned" Israel today that it will "never compromise its relationship with Iran." and was willing to continue in the "bilateral peace talks."
From the Israeli side...
- Olmert is acquiescent to the Syrian terms, and even some Israelis in the Defense department, stated that "even though we are attached to the Golan heights - we can live without them." Olmert added that he "preferred these talks with Syria to remain secret" i.e bilateral talks in Turkey away from too much publicity.
- The other piece of news from Israel, is that the main negotiator in these secret talks is an Israeli of Iranian origins living in Turkey. I actually heard that on the radio. Then realizing the political blunder of such a piece of news, the news presenter cut the information very promptly. I wonder why ?!
Of course you can already guess what these Israeli-Syrian-Iranian statements mean, don't you ?
Iran is basically saying to Syria - OK go ahead, we trust you darling.
Israel is saying - OK, we go ahead - the game is nearly over.
Meanwhile in Iraq...
The American army says that "Al-Qaeda" is nearly finished BUT that it, nonetheless remains a real threat.
In Mosul, thousands have been detained, in what Pepe Escobar, in a moment of rare lucidity even though he is still praising the Drillers of Muqtada Al-Sadr, calls it and rightly so "a mini pogrom against the Sunnis" of Mosul conducted by the Kurds and the Iranian-Shia government of al-Maliki. And from my own sources, I heard that the Mahdi drillers have joined the Maliki bandwagon in Mosul.
Now for the ironic news...
Sarkozy has congratulated the new Lebanese government and Bush is very happy with the outcome... Hey, I thought Syria and Iran were part of the axis of Evil, no ?
Again, I reiterate firmly and loudly what I said in my post "Celebrate."
This "party" would have not been possible, if Iraq was not destroyed and handed over to Iran by America.
As it turns out, the only "evil" on this axis was Iraq.
And it was considered "evil" by Israel, the U.S and Iran because and I repeat -- Saddam Hussein was the only true anti-Imperialist, anti-Zionist, Arab leader around.
What more proof do you need ?
Yalla, tell me now, would you like to join the "Party" and "celebrate" with us ?
Painting: Iraqi female artist, Wasma'a Al-Agha.
Comments
If thousands of people, in the State of South Dakota for example..were planning to snuffout Little W, the US government would be on them in a heartbeat.
Cheney would probably just urinate on himself after hearing the news.
So true, you got it right. If any group would try to stage a coup or some assissinatio attempt, they would be wiped out in no time in the US.
Why go that far - two buildings down and see the results !
12,000 Iraqi Kurd troops plus 9,000 mostly Kurd police are using the Americans to perform their slow motion ethnic cleansing of Sunni Arabs while the Americans - with only 1,900 soldiers on the ground - spin it as a success for the "war on terror".
.....
The battle for Kirkuk and Mosul holds its own riddle; its outcome will determine how a knocked out Iraq will eventually perish, partitioned among Sunni Arabs, Shi'ites and Kurds.
Who will profit from it? Ayman el-Amir, writing last year in Egypt's al-Ahram Weekly, has come to as good a conclusion as any. The winner, according to him, will be Israel. Low-intensity civil war is already on - in fact multiplying itself into Shi'ite-Shi'ite civil war, such as in Basra, or Sunni Arab-Kurdish civil war, such as the battle for Kirkuk and Mosul.
Israel would like nothing better than a proxy war in Iraq pitting Iran and its Arab allies against Sunni Arab US allies. Meanwhile, writes al-Amir, "Israel would build a political-military-economic alliance with a semi-independent Kurdistan Regional Government, with oil wealth that would be considerably enhanced by the prospect of taking over Arab Kirkuk and Mosul." Israeli interests - not to mention strategic intelligence - are already deeply entrenched in Iraqi Kurdistan. Kurdish leaders have already demonstrated an extraordinary mobility to always strike deals with the best-positioned bidder - or with any player capable of advancing the utmost Kurdish dream, independence. As for a US-Israeli-greater Kurdistan alliance, that may still be Washington's way to achieve its own dream of a new, greater Middle East.
annie
The piece that struck me was this para -
"Israel's offer also includes the return of the remains of 10 Hezbollah gunmen but would not include the return of Palestinian prisoners originally demanded by Hezbollah."
One can clearly see the game - It looks good the Hezb demanding the return of Palestinian prisoners, but settle on getting 10 dead Hezb bodies back. Truth is Israel and the Hezb would have worked out this agreement between them anyway. But doesn't it look good for the Hezb- 'Look how we tried to help you'. What a joke.
If one were truly committed to getting the Palestinian prisoners out of Israel no way would this piece of nonsense be accepted.
Any Palestinian worth their salt can surely see through this fiasco.
Would appreciate your comments on this.
And keep that crystal clear truth flowing through Layla. It is very much lapped up. In solidarity
Ayman el-Amir's, warning of Kurdish and Israeli collusion strongly represents a cover for warning Iraqis if they do not accept Iran ruling Iraq then US/Israel will get with the Kurds and be the winner in the ME.
To me, this article from "Al Ahram Weekly" represents their line on Iraq at that time. Perhaps it still has not changed its position on this matter. But there are many obvious holes in the article. Firstly the big issue of the US/Israel declining dollar. Which could represent the decline of King George and Queen Israel's empire.
One also has to consider the economic resource war being played out in the world at present for control of infrastructure and supply of gas and oil.
There is also the issue of Turkey in relation to the Kurds.I do not see the Kurdish population enjoying the peace they once had under President Saddam Hussein in their sovereign country of Iraqi; compared to their present situation where their criminal Kurdish leaders have bumptiously,arrogantly and
illegally declared this sovereign area of Iraq now theirs (for the time being of course). The outcome of this issue is still unsure.
If Israel were to dominate the ME, then it will be because the Arab Nations have failed to unite against US/Israel/Iran. Not because the Kurds and US/Israel have colluded.