Bravo Jumblatt, but where are your allies?

Walid Jumblatt, the chameleon of Lebanese politics, says he has a secret document that shows Hezbollah is setting up telecommunications networks across Lebanon and is observing Beirut’s International Airport. “By observing the airport, they could be preparing for sabotage, the kidnapping or the assassination of any figure, whether Lebanese or not,” Jumblatt said in a press conference while hinting at Hezbollah. Jumblatt also said that Hezbollah is importing weapons from Iran through the Beirut airport, and has called for expelling the Iranian Ambassador from Beirut.

That is all fine and dandy. We love those revelations, except they are not new. We knew them all along for close to 28 years now, including 25 years during which Jumblatt supported Hezbollah's "resistance" and was a staunch ally of the Syrian occupiers. We all know that Hezbollah smuggles weapons from Syria across the Lebanese-Syrian border and is financed by Tehran. Hezbollah controls so-called "security zones" where the government cannot enter.

But Jumblatt is an ally of the Siniora government and a top member of the so-called March 14 Cedars Revolution, and there are so many things that the Lebanese government can do to counter Hezbollah, but which it refuses to do. For one it should officially rescind its official Ministerial Statement which contains an endorsement of Hezbollah's "resistance" platform. Prime Minister Siniora only yesterday was still calling for "special relations" between Lebanon and Syria, a euphemism for granting Syria rights and privileges to interfere in Lebanese affairs and which transcend the boundaries of what normal relations should be between two sovereign nations.

Such "special relations" was the term that Siniora himself and his former master Rafik Hariri, as well as Jumblatt, used to use to justify their support for the Syrian occupation and Hezbollah's violation of every law in Lebanon. The March 14 Cedars Revolution bunch of corrupt cronies speak with both sides of their mouth: One day they demand exchanging embassies between Lebanon and Syria, and the next they demand that "special relations" be granted to Syria. "Special relations", again in the doublespeak of the Syrian occupation, meant that Syria did not have to ask permission to send its troops, kidnap innocent Lebanese, bomb Lebanese cities, etc. ...All of that was very "special" when Jumblatt, Hariri, and Siniora were in bed with Hassan Nasrallah, kissing the ass of Bashar Assad, a mere 3 years ago.

The Lebanese government - and Mr. Jumblatt - should ask their ally, the United States, to run monitoring flights over the Lebanese-Syria border. They should ask their allies, and their own banks, to interdict the transfer of money to Hezbollah through Lebanese banks which are supporters of the Hariri business empire.

Siniora and Jumblatt know that it is their past actions and positions that have brought us to the marsh of scum where we stand today. They - and their patron the United States - have allowed Hezbollah and Syria to build their empire in Lebanon after supporting them and their rape of Lebanon for close to 30 years. So we cannot reasonably expect the Siniora government to ask for "serious" military assistance to the Lebanese army so it can counter and stand up to Hezbollah, because the United States does not want the Lebanese army to become strong. The United States wants Lebanon to continue to be the arena for settling its own scores with its enemies elsewhere, in complete disregard for the 40-year long suffering of the country and the people of Lebanon.

In fact, we cannot demand that the world community support a really strong Lebanese government and army because over the years and decades, Hezbollah has infiltrated the Lebanese army and the security services through military and security appointments made under the Syrian occupation. In fact, General Michel Suleiman - the prime "consensus" candidate for the presidency in Lebanon, endorsed (all of a sudden, one might add) by the US and the March 14 degenrates, was appointed to head the army at the same time as a number of pro-Syrian generals and high ranking officers. To name but one, Major General Wafic Jezzini, Director General of General Security who probably in the least knows who was behind all the assassinations of Lebanese politicians, journalists, and military leaders, is a Hezbollah operative who did jail time once for smuggling hashish.

So what does Jumblatt and Siniora want? If they want to stand up to Syria, then they ought to do it well and not just for show. Lebanon cannot keep playing the virgin prostitute, or the whore with high moral standards. We cannot be with Syria and against Syria at the same time. We cannot be against Syria and Hezbollah and also be against peace with Israel. We cannot demand the normalization of relations with Syria, and be against a normalization with Israel, because Syria has caused hundreds of times more casualties, deaths and damages to Lebanon than Israel has. We cannot demand the delineation of borders with the outlaw regime in Syria which never recognized Lebanon's right to wexist as a sovereign nation, and be against settling the stupid dispute over the Shebaa Farms with Israel with whom we have a standing Truce Agreement since 1949 over an internationally-recognized borders.

The United States for its part cannot demand only that Syria cease interfering in Lebanese affairs. It should pressure its degenerate allies of March 14 and the Siniora government to come clean on uncoupling Lebanon from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which requires the permanent pacification of the Lebanese-Israeli border. It should force the Siniora government to purge the military institutions and the Lebanese administration of all pro-Hezbollah pro-Syrian cronies, then provide all the military support to the Lebanese army so it can stand up to Hezbollah and exert real effective control over Lebanese territory. It should force the Siniora government to dispatch fully armed brigades to the Syrian-Lebanese border (a mere 200 Km long) to interdict all weapons and criminals from crossing it.

Enough doublespeak and deceit.

Hanibaal