By: Elias Bejjani*
In the aftermath of the Turkish flotilla fiasco and the extensive world media coverage that followed the confrontational bloody incident portraying the alleged theatrical Turkish heroism in standing up to the Israelis, the two notorious rogue and terrorist countries, Syria and Iran, who falsely and deceptively claim to be the actual custodians of the Palestinian cause, pulled the rug from under the feet of the Turkish Government. Their initial overt reactions were to publicly hail the Turkish heroism in a bid to maintain their so called "resistance image", while in reality and covertly they were so threatened, angry, envious and somewhat confused.
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), out of arrogance, bravado, while camouflaging deceitfulness, and out of a mere show off, bragging and camouflaging plotting mind, offered to militarily guard all ships heading to the Gaza Strip, while Tehran's mullahs started immediately announcing plans to send humanitarian aid ships to Gaza and challenge the Israeli marine blockade.
At the same time, they instructed their terrorist proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, to flood the media with fabricated threats against Israel and to sponsor flotillas from Lebanon as soon as possible in a bid to gradually discredit all the praise that the Turks had garnered.
Hezbollah's scheme in this flotillas charade is to hide behind a ship that carries only women. Hezbollah's security apparatus assigned the task to Mrs. Samar Al Hajj, wife of Ahmad Al Hajj, one of four retired pro-Syrian Lebanese high ranking security officers accused of planning and executing the assassination of late Lebanese Prime Minister Raffic Hariri and committing horrible atrocities during Syria's occupation of Lebanon. Meanwhile, the close relation of Mrs. Hajj and her husband with both Syria and Hezbollah is well known all over Lebanon.
Mrs. Hajj with other females tagged falsely as volunteers all loyal to Hezbollah started a Hezbollah master minded campaign with the aim to sail on the "Mariam" ship to Gaza Strip with diapers, milk, medical supplies as they declared. Mrs. Hajj and her female group told "The Times" earlier this week that they all represent themselves, are without political affiliations and include adherents to all the world’s main religions, including Judaism.
Hezbollah, using its Taqiyya doctrine, publicly denied any role in any Gaza-bound aid missions, and said in a statement: “We do not want Israel to use the party’s participation as an excuse to attack the boats, but we praise all initiatives aiming to lift Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip”.
The Lebanese government that is fully manipulated by Hezbollah stated that it could not give permission to any ship to head to Israel, because she is an enemy, but will allow the ship to sail to any other friendly country, including Cyprus.
Cyprus responded by refusing to take any part in this Iranian-Syrian ship fashion charade and reiterated its previous decision, not to allow any ship to head to the Gaza Strip via its ports. Reliable sources in Beirut said that Hezbollah was fully behind the mission and carried all its expenses.
The Syrian Baathist leadership in fear of any potential Israeli military reprisal sent one of its civil ships that is owned by a close relative of President Bachar Al Assad to the Lebanese Tripoli Port and gave it the camouflaging name "Naji Al Ali".
The Syrian intelligence service instructed its Lebanese and Palestinian mercenaries in Lebanon to carry out the mission and deny any ties with Syria. The ownership of this Syrian ship was confirmed by numerous Lebanese and Arab dailies.
Through many top notch officials, including civil and military, Israel warned the Lebanese government, Syria and Iran and all those who explicitly or deviously encouraged adopted, covered, protected, financed, or participated in any of these so called aid ship missions that she would use all appropriate measures to preserve her sovereignty and the safety of her people. In a statement after a meeting of the Israeli mini-cabinet, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said, “The Lebanese government is responsible for preventing these ships from carrying arms, military materials, weapons, ammunition and explosives". Israel said she would intercept Lebanese and Iranian ships that tried to break the Israeli siege of the Palestinian territory.
This solid and clear-cut Israeli stance delivered the needed message and all those hypocrites in Syria, Iran and Lebanon re-calculated and re-evaluated their theatrical follies. They felt the Israeli heat and backed off. One might wonder why they changed their challenging and bellicose positions, lowered the tone of their empty threats and muffled their funny and childish bragging? The answer is simple: power and seriousness.
The first response of submission came from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Iran. The mullahs decided to scrap plans to send an aid ship to the Gaza Strip following the Israeli warnings, the Iranian Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported on Friday. This change of tone came after the Iranian Red Crescent earlier in June decided to plan an aid shipment to Gaza. IRNA quoted the International Conference for Supporting the Palestinian Intifada’s Secretary General Hussein Sheikh al-Islam as saying that the sailing of the aid ship was canceled to prevent giving Israel a pretext to attack it. The aid would now be sent to Gaza via another route, he said, without elaborating.
This sudden change of all Iranian plans shows with no doubt that Iran, Syria and Hezbollah are not genuine at all in their support to the Palestinians in Gaza or in any other country. They are using the Palestinian cause as a pretense for their actual schemes of expansionism, terrorism and destabilization of peace and stability in the whole Middle East. In reality, the Palestinian cause is mere merchandise for them, no more no less. They are greedy and opportunistic merchants who are always ready to sell and buy when it is convenient and the price is right. When they have no morals, mercy, affection or any human motives towards their own people how could they be different with the Palestinians or other people.
Above all and most importantly the Iranian mood change came as a result of the forceful and deterrent language that the Israelis used. In fact, this is the core and essence that led to the sudden "stance change" in Syria, Iran and Lebanon. In reality, this is the only language that they comprehend and the only language that must be used when communicating with them.
Hopefully the free world countries, especially the USA, and the European countries, will learn from this Israeli-Iranian scenario and stop appeasing and cajoling Syria, Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and all other terrorist and radical groups.
In conclusion, the only language that rogue countries and organizations know and understand is the language of strength and force. All other means are futile and a complete - and an existentially dangerous- waste of time.
Elias Bejjani
Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator
Email phoenicia@hotmail.com
Web sites http://www.10452lccc.com & http://www.clhrf.com
Mailing phoenicia group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenicia/
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The Faith and Hope of the Lebanese Will Defeat Hezbollah
By: Elias Bejjani*
Lebanon's Maronite Patriarch Mar Nasrallah Sfeir ended an official visit to France last week in which he loudly told the French officials and the whole world that "Hezbollah has its own army and receives weapons and financial help from its neighbors". He stressed the fact that no independent and sovereign country can maintain its territorial integrity, governance, justice and order when it has two armies and too many mini states stronger than the state itself.
His Beatitude is the conscience of Lebanon and the guardian of its glory. He stands tall like her cedars and refuses to bend or succumb to threats made by Syria, Iran or their terrorist proxy, Hezbollah. His patriotic and moral stances are as solid as Lebanon's high mountains and transparent as her beautiful skies. His stances inspire the majority of the Lebanese people and keep their dream of a free and peaceful country alive.
As the Lebanese saying goes: "always expect hardships and persecution when witnessing loudly for the truth and always be ready to be lonely when walking the righteous path, for few are those who are courageous enough to witness for the truth or choose righteous paths". His Beatitude, because of his clear stances, has been the target of many media attacks by Hezbollah and other Syrian-Iranian Lebanese mercenaries. These attacks have never affected his pro-Lebanon stances and, by God's grace, they will never do so.
The above saying portrays authentically the current stance of the patriotic Lebanese who defend daringly their beloved country by struggling to protect Lebanon's blessed soil, resisting to preserve its deeply-rooted 7,000-year history, and advocating for a decent life for their people. They are fighting for a life of dignity and freedom in which they can democratically elect their own officials without oppression or persecution, and freely choose their own leaders who represent their hopes and aspirations.
Sadly, although the Syrian occupation army officially left Lebanon in 2005, the country is still occupied. Hezbollah, the terrorist militia that Syria and Iran founded and nurtured during the Syrian occupation era of Lebanon, is now the actual occupier. Lebanon's officials in all levels of government and in all parts of the country are either Hezbollah's men or were handpicked by its leadership.
Lebanon, under Hezbollah's hegemony, has become a state ripped of its sovereignty, freedoms, and independence, alongside an apparent moral collapse of officials leading at all levels of government. This is an era of Lebanon's history where opportunism and egotism have pushed aside the values of patriotism. Instead of transparency, darkness is rampant in Lebanon and standards of right and wrong have been turned on their heads. Like whores preaching about chastity, traitors preach about patriotism and thieves lecture endlessly about trust and safety.
Despite this bitter and painful reality and because of courageous figures like the Maronite Patriarch Mar Nasrallah Sfeir, the Lebanese are solidifying their faith and holding dear to the hope of their country's resurrection. They are enduring the hardships inflicted on them without losing hope and at the same time strengthening their quest for liberty and freedom. They despise the regime's puppet officials and mercenary dignitaries who side with every tyrant and flatter anyone who happens to be in power.
History tells us that demise, humiliation and defeat is the ultimate fate of tyrants and occupiers no matter how powerful they might be for a time. In this context, the fate of Hezbollah, which falsely alleges to be a resistance movement, will not be any different. This Iranian-Syrian proxy will sooner or later be defeated and Lebanon will be victorious as it has been for the past 7,000 years. The rock carvings at Nahr Al-Kalb are a vivid example of the fate that awaits every occupier who foolishly believes that Lebanon can be tamed and that her people are easy prey.
The Lebanese factions, leaders, clergymen and individuals who believe they are winners because of the power given to them by the Syria, Iran and Hezbollah at the expense of their fellow Lebanese should wake up. They should recognize that they are day-dreaming and committing a crime against themselves, against their own people and against their own country. They must know that the sword they are using to slaughter their own people will soon slaughter them.
These Lebanese ought to understand that any humiliation, marginalization, oppression or pain that is inflicted on any one Lebanese faction will negatively affect all the other factions. They should realize that the eighteen different communities that make up Lebanese society are like the organs of one body, and what affects one organ affects the rest of the body.
They should be aware that the occupier is using the vicious colonialist strategy of "divide and conquer" and has already succeeded in splitting most of the political parties, many families, and even some religious denominations. Hezbollah will remain strong only if the Lebanese allow it to be so, and will be weak if the Lebanese are united against its terrorism with one heart and one goal.
The Lebanese factions should not allow Hezbollah, Iran or Syria to play on their differences or take advantage of their vulnerabilities. When dealing with each other they should remember that they are not saints, but ordinary humans with both weaknesses and strengths. They should remember that their greatness lies in preaching and practicing tolerance and acceptance of each other.
The Lebanese ought to know that the silent majority of our people are patriotic and believe in one united, strong, pluralistic, multi-cultural and independent Lebanon, whereas the collaborators are always ready to side with foreign powers and change their skins like a chameleon.
Hezbollah and its local puppets are deluding themselves if they think they can succeed forever in dividing the Lebanese people and exercise hegemony over their government. Their delusions will remain delusions and will never become a reality because:
Lebanon is love and doubters do not understand love,
Lebanon is intelligence and intelligence is persecuted by the ignorant,
Lebanon is justice and justice is a slap on the criminal's face,
Lebanon is peace and peace is a thorn in the terrorist's side,
Lebanon is a live conscience and conscience is agony and torture for the murderer,
Lebanon is history and transients do not relate to it,
Lebanon is holiness and sinners fear holiness,
Lebanon is an identity and a message, and thieves envy both,
Lebanon is openness and transparency, and both are opposite to isolation,
Lebanon is tolerance and tolerance is the enemy of hateful fundamentalism,
Lebanon is forgiveness and forgiveness alienates the advocates of vengeance.
Lebanon above all is her people and their authentic quest for the truth.
All those who fight the truth will be defeated sooner or later.
Elias Bejjani
Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator
Email phoenicia@hotmail.com
Web sites http://www.10452lccc.com & http://www.clhrf.com
Mailing phoenicia group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenicia/
Lebanon's Maronite Patriarch Mar Nasrallah Sfeir ended an official visit to France last week in which he loudly told the French officials and the whole world that "Hezbollah has its own army and receives weapons and financial help from its neighbors". He stressed the fact that no independent and sovereign country can maintain its territorial integrity, governance, justice and order when it has two armies and too many mini states stronger than the state itself.
His Beatitude is the conscience of Lebanon and the guardian of its glory. He stands tall like her cedars and refuses to bend or succumb to threats made by Syria, Iran or their terrorist proxy, Hezbollah. His patriotic and moral stances are as solid as Lebanon's high mountains and transparent as her beautiful skies. His stances inspire the majority of the Lebanese people and keep their dream of a free and peaceful country alive.
As the Lebanese saying goes: "always expect hardships and persecution when witnessing loudly for the truth and always be ready to be lonely when walking the righteous path, for few are those who are courageous enough to witness for the truth or choose righteous paths". His Beatitude, because of his clear stances, has been the target of many media attacks by Hezbollah and other Syrian-Iranian Lebanese mercenaries. These attacks have never affected his pro-Lebanon stances and, by God's grace, they will never do so.
The above saying portrays authentically the current stance of the patriotic Lebanese who defend daringly their beloved country by struggling to protect Lebanon's blessed soil, resisting to preserve its deeply-rooted 7,000-year history, and advocating for a decent life for their people. They are fighting for a life of dignity and freedom in which they can democratically elect their own officials without oppression or persecution, and freely choose their own leaders who represent their hopes and aspirations.
Sadly, although the Syrian occupation army officially left Lebanon in 2005, the country is still occupied. Hezbollah, the terrorist militia that Syria and Iran founded and nurtured during the Syrian occupation era of Lebanon, is now the actual occupier. Lebanon's officials in all levels of government and in all parts of the country are either Hezbollah's men or were handpicked by its leadership.
Lebanon, under Hezbollah's hegemony, has become a state ripped of its sovereignty, freedoms, and independence, alongside an apparent moral collapse of officials leading at all levels of government. This is an era of Lebanon's history where opportunism and egotism have pushed aside the values of patriotism. Instead of transparency, darkness is rampant in Lebanon and standards of right and wrong have been turned on their heads. Like whores preaching about chastity, traitors preach about patriotism and thieves lecture endlessly about trust and safety.
Despite this bitter and painful reality and because of courageous figures like the Maronite Patriarch Mar Nasrallah Sfeir, the Lebanese are solidifying their faith and holding dear to the hope of their country's resurrection. They are enduring the hardships inflicted on them without losing hope and at the same time strengthening their quest for liberty and freedom. They despise the regime's puppet officials and mercenary dignitaries who side with every tyrant and flatter anyone who happens to be in power.
History tells us that demise, humiliation and defeat is the ultimate fate of tyrants and occupiers no matter how powerful they might be for a time. In this context, the fate of Hezbollah, which falsely alleges to be a resistance movement, will not be any different. This Iranian-Syrian proxy will sooner or later be defeated and Lebanon will be victorious as it has been for the past 7,000 years. The rock carvings at Nahr Al-Kalb are a vivid example of the fate that awaits every occupier who foolishly believes that Lebanon can be tamed and that her people are easy prey.
The Lebanese factions, leaders, clergymen and individuals who believe they are winners because of the power given to them by the Syria, Iran and Hezbollah at the expense of their fellow Lebanese should wake up. They should recognize that they are day-dreaming and committing a crime against themselves, against their own people and against their own country. They must know that the sword they are using to slaughter their own people will soon slaughter them.
These Lebanese ought to understand that any humiliation, marginalization, oppression or pain that is inflicted on any one Lebanese faction will negatively affect all the other factions. They should realize that the eighteen different communities that make up Lebanese society are like the organs of one body, and what affects one organ affects the rest of the body.
They should be aware that the occupier is using the vicious colonialist strategy of "divide and conquer" and has already succeeded in splitting most of the political parties, many families, and even some religious denominations. Hezbollah will remain strong only if the Lebanese allow it to be so, and will be weak if the Lebanese are united against its terrorism with one heart and one goal.
The Lebanese factions should not allow Hezbollah, Iran or Syria to play on their differences or take advantage of their vulnerabilities. When dealing with each other they should remember that they are not saints, but ordinary humans with both weaknesses and strengths. They should remember that their greatness lies in preaching and practicing tolerance and acceptance of each other.
The Lebanese ought to know that the silent majority of our people are patriotic and believe in one united, strong, pluralistic, multi-cultural and independent Lebanon, whereas the collaborators are always ready to side with foreign powers and change their skins like a chameleon.
Hezbollah and its local puppets are deluding themselves if they think they can succeed forever in dividing the Lebanese people and exercise hegemony over their government. Their delusions will remain delusions and will never become a reality because:
Lebanon is love and doubters do not understand love,
Lebanon is intelligence and intelligence is persecuted by the ignorant,
Lebanon is justice and justice is a slap on the criminal's face,
Lebanon is peace and peace is a thorn in the terrorist's side,
Lebanon is a live conscience and conscience is agony and torture for the murderer,
Lebanon is history and transients do not relate to it,
Lebanon is holiness and sinners fear holiness,
Lebanon is an identity and a message, and thieves envy both,
Lebanon is openness and transparency, and both are opposite to isolation,
Lebanon is tolerance and tolerance is the enemy of hateful fundamentalism,
Lebanon is forgiveness and forgiveness alienates the advocates of vengeance.
Lebanon above all is her people and their authentic quest for the truth.
All those who fight the truth will be defeated sooner or later.
Elias Bejjani
Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator
Email phoenicia@hotmail.com
Web sites http://www.10452lccc.com & http://www.clhrf.com
Mailing phoenicia group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenicia/
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Iran's threats & Arab states' al-taqiyya stances
By: Elias Bejjani *
In spite of the actual odious Iranian military, religious, economic, territorial, cultural and existential threats, and the ongoing abhorrent internal interferences in their domestic affairs on all levels and domains, the rulers and officials of the majority of the Arab states that Iran is aggressively and openly targeting in its evil contrivance of expansionism, denominational and hegemony schemes, are in general not yet publicly and officially addressing these serious, fatal Iranian problems or dealing with them appropriately.
Sadly, like the ostrich, these rulers and officials have been hiding their heads in the sand, consciously denying the seriousness of the imminent Iranian danger, and scared to unveil courageously the vicious Iranian plot that aims to destabilize, disintegrate and topple their regimes in a bid to erect on its ruins the Persian Empire.
Because of fear of confrontation they have been handling the problem in a double standard and taqiyya* (dissimulation) mentality. Their overt stances are exactly the opposite of the covert ones. Overtly they cajole and appease the Iranian mullahs and officials while covertly they appeal to the Western countries and beg them to protect their regimes and to attack Iran militarily and topple its mullahs' regime as was the situation with Iraq's Saddam regime.
Meanwhile, Iran's intelligence and its notorious Revolutionary Guards have successfully infiltrated many fragile and poor communities in numerous Arab states, recruited from them sleeping terrorist cells, and armed militias. They bought through bribery and fanaticism high standing Arab officials, politicians, political parties, clergy, and fully controlled tens of educational, health, and social services.
Iran annually spends billions of dollars on its both armed proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza, and on many other terrorist and fundamental armed organizations in Yemen, Iraq and other Arab states. Iran and Syria openly encourage, instigate, fund, guide, train, and organize and use all the terrorist groups in the Middle East that advocate for havoc, jihad, intolerance, sectarianism and hatred.
Iran alleges that all the Arabian Gulf countries are Persian and not Arabic, and occupies since 1971 three Islands in the Arabian Gulf that belong to the Arab Emirates (Abu Musa, Tunb, and Lesser Tunb). Recently, sleeping Iranian intelligence and terrorist cells were uncovered and arrested in Kuwait, as well as in Bahrain, Iraq, Egypt, and Yemen.
Iran through its two armed proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, controls both Lebanon and Gaza Strip. Hezbollah, the Iranian army in Lebanon, has grown to become not only a threat to Lebanon, but also to the peace, stability and order in the whole Middle East. Meanwhile, Iran is blatantly interfering in Iraqi internal affairs and badly destabilizing its peace and democracy.
Despite all these obvious Iranian threats, plots, and dangers, the majority of Arab rulers and officials are still keeping a blind eye on the whole fiasco and hold on to al-taqiyya attitudes and stances.
In this context of the Arabic dissimulation not even one Arab country openly and officially supported UN Resolution 1929 that was issued on June 09/10 by the UN Security Council against Iran over its nuclear program. On the country, some of them either attacked the resolution or claimed that such an approach was not appropriate.
Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit instead of hailing UN Resolution 1929 and extending Egypt's utmost gratitude to the countries that voted to pass it, rhetorically claimed that sanctions should not be the only option to deal with the Iranian nuclear case and that sanctions did not serve the peaceful means for solving the crisis with Iran. According to him, previous sanctions against Iran have always led to more tensions and more confrontations. Aboul Gheit stressed the importance of continuing diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful solution for Iran's nuclear crisis.
This blurred and lukewarm Egyptian stance is harmful for both Egypt and the Middle East countries who look on Egypt, the biggest Arab country, as a leading power that is expected to face bravely Iran's schemes, take clear stances against its nuclear ambitions and help deter its interferences and violence that lately targeted and hit Egypt itself through a Hezbollah terrorist cell. What is ironic here is that most observers are under the impression that covertly Egypt supports the sanctions and encourages the Western countries to attack Iran militarily, while overtly do and say the opposite.
Saudi Arabia, the richest and most influential Arab country, is also resorting to dissimulation in regard to Iran. According to a report The Times newspaper published on June 12/10, Saudi Arabia has conducted tests to stand down its air defenses to allow Israeli jets to use its airspace in a bombing raid on Iran's nuclear facilities. "The Saudis have given their permission for the Israelis to pass over and they will look the other way," a U.S. defense source in the area told the paper. "They have already done tests to make sure their own jets aren't scrambled and no one gets shot down. This has all been done with the agreement of the (U.S.) State Department." Israel, which regards Iran as its principal threat, has refused to rule out using military action to prevent Tehran developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is aimed solely at power generation.
The Times said Riyadh, which views Iran as a regional threat, had agreed to allow Israel to use a narrow corridor of its airspace in the north of the country to shorten the distance in the event of any bombing raid on Iran. A source in Saudi Arabia said the arrangement was common knowledge within defense circles in the kingdom. "We all know this. “We will let them (the Israelis) through and see nothing," the source told The Times. (AFP). Sadly, the Saudis immediately stated that the report is fake and fabricated instead of saying loudly, yes we will help in deterring Iran and in curbing its worldwide threats. Again this dissimulated lukewarm Saudi stance is harmful for the Saudis themselves and for all the Arab countries.
There are no justifications whatsoever for the two biggest, most powerful and influential Arab countries, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, not taking loud, courageous and clear cut stances against Iran's expansionism, hegemony, sickening plots and ambitions. The painful reality that these leaders should not ignore under any given circumstances lies in the solid fact that all the Arab countries and not only Israel will be Iran's main targets.
The more the Arab leaders procrastinate, hesitate, depend on other powers to protect them, turn their heads to the other side or put them in the sand and keep on handling the actual Iranian threats with double standard, fear and taqiyya stances, the more Iran is going to become blatant, violent and aggressive.
If the Arab states really want to safeguard their people, sovereignty, riches, stability, peace, independence and prosperity they ought to take definite stances against Iran and join all the other regional and world powers who are adamant to contain Iran's recklessness, pull out its teeth of harm and to curb all its unjustified military ambitions.
Arab countries need to wake up, stop resorting to taqiyya stances, and smarten up so that they could differentiate their real friends from their enemies. Iran definitely is not among their friends.
NB: *"Taqiyya" literally means: "Concealing or disguising one's beliefs, convictions, ideas, feelings, opinions, and/or strategies at a time of eminent danger, whether now or later in time, to save oneself from physical and/or mental injury." A one-word translation would be "Dissimulation."
*Elias Bejjani
Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator
Email phoenicia@hotmail.com
Web sites http://www.10452lccc.com & http://www.clhrf.com
Mailing phoenicia group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenicia/
In spite of the actual odious Iranian military, religious, economic, territorial, cultural and existential threats, and the ongoing abhorrent internal interferences in their domestic affairs on all levels and domains, the rulers and officials of the majority of the Arab states that Iran is aggressively and openly targeting in its evil contrivance of expansionism, denominational and hegemony schemes, are in general not yet publicly and officially addressing these serious, fatal Iranian problems or dealing with them appropriately.
Sadly, like the ostrich, these rulers and officials have been hiding their heads in the sand, consciously denying the seriousness of the imminent Iranian danger, and scared to unveil courageously the vicious Iranian plot that aims to destabilize, disintegrate and topple their regimes in a bid to erect on its ruins the Persian Empire.
Because of fear of confrontation they have been handling the problem in a double standard and taqiyya* (dissimulation) mentality. Their overt stances are exactly the opposite of the covert ones. Overtly they cajole and appease the Iranian mullahs and officials while covertly they appeal to the Western countries and beg them to protect their regimes and to attack Iran militarily and topple its mullahs' regime as was the situation with Iraq's Saddam regime.
Meanwhile, Iran's intelligence and its notorious Revolutionary Guards have successfully infiltrated many fragile and poor communities in numerous Arab states, recruited from them sleeping terrorist cells, and armed militias. They bought through bribery and fanaticism high standing Arab officials, politicians, political parties, clergy, and fully controlled tens of educational, health, and social services.
Iran annually spends billions of dollars on its both armed proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza, and on many other terrorist and fundamental armed organizations in Yemen, Iraq and other Arab states. Iran and Syria openly encourage, instigate, fund, guide, train, and organize and use all the terrorist groups in the Middle East that advocate for havoc, jihad, intolerance, sectarianism and hatred.
Iran alleges that all the Arabian Gulf countries are Persian and not Arabic, and occupies since 1971 three Islands in the Arabian Gulf that belong to the Arab Emirates (Abu Musa, Tunb, and Lesser Tunb). Recently, sleeping Iranian intelligence and terrorist cells were uncovered and arrested in Kuwait, as well as in Bahrain, Iraq, Egypt, and Yemen.
Iran through its two armed proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, controls both Lebanon and Gaza Strip. Hezbollah, the Iranian army in Lebanon, has grown to become not only a threat to Lebanon, but also to the peace, stability and order in the whole Middle East. Meanwhile, Iran is blatantly interfering in Iraqi internal affairs and badly destabilizing its peace and democracy.
Despite all these obvious Iranian threats, plots, and dangers, the majority of Arab rulers and officials are still keeping a blind eye on the whole fiasco and hold on to al-taqiyya attitudes and stances.
In this context of the Arabic dissimulation not even one Arab country openly and officially supported UN Resolution 1929 that was issued on June 09/10 by the UN Security Council against Iran over its nuclear program. On the country, some of them either attacked the resolution or claimed that such an approach was not appropriate.
Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit instead of hailing UN Resolution 1929 and extending Egypt's utmost gratitude to the countries that voted to pass it, rhetorically claimed that sanctions should not be the only option to deal with the Iranian nuclear case and that sanctions did not serve the peaceful means for solving the crisis with Iran. According to him, previous sanctions against Iran have always led to more tensions and more confrontations. Aboul Gheit stressed the importance of continuing diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful solution for Iran's nuclear crisis.
This blurred and lukewarm Egyptian stance is harmful for both Egypt and the Middle East countries who look on Egypt, the biggest Arab country, as a leading power that is expected to face bravely Iran's schemes, take clear stances against its nuclear ambitions and help deter its interferences and violence that lately targeted and hit Egypt itself through a Hezbollah terrorist cell. What is ironic here is that most observers are under the impression that covertly Egypt supports the sanctions and encourages the Western countries to attack Iran militarily, while overtly do and say the opposite.
Saudi Arabia, the richest and most influential Arab country, is also resorting to dissimulation in regard to Iran. According to a report The Times newspaper published on June 12/10, Saudi Arabia has conducted tests to stand down its air defenses to allow Israeli jets to use its airspace in a bombing raid on Iran's nuclear facilities. "The Saudis have given their permission for the Israelis to pass over and they will look the other way," a U.S. defense source in the area told the paper. "They have already done tests to make sure their own jets aren't scrambled and no one gets shot down. This has all been done with the agreement of the (U.S.) State Department." Israel, which regards Iran as its principal threat, has refused to rule out using military action to prevent Tehran developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is aimed solely at power generation.
The Times said Riyadh, which views Iran as a regional threat, had agreed to allow Israel to use a narrow corridor of its airspace in the north of the country to shorten the distance in the event of any bombing raid on Iran. A source in Saudi Arabia said the arrangement was common knowledge within defense circles in the kingdom. "We all know this. “We will let them (the Israelis) through and see nothing," the source told The Times. (AFP). Sadly, the Saudis immediately stated that the report is fake and fabricated instead of saying loudly, yes we will help in deterring Iran and in curbing its worldwide threats. Again this dissimulated lukewarm Saudi stance is harmful for the Saudis themselves and for all the Arab countries.
There are no justifications whatsoever for the two biggest, most powerful and influential Arab countries, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, not taking loud, courageous and clear cut stances against Iran's expansionism, hegemony, sickening plots and ambitions. The painful reality that these leaders should not ignore under any given circumstances lies in the solid fact that all the Arab countries and not only Israel will be Iran's main targets.
The more the Arab leaders procrastinate, hesitate, depend on other powers to protect them, turn their heads to the other side or put them in the sand and keep on handling the actual Iranian threats with double standard, fear and taqiyya stances, the more Iran is going to become blatant, violent and aggressive.
If the Arab states really want to safeguard their people, sovereignty, riches, stability, peace, independence and prosperity they ought to take definite stances against Iran and join all the other regional and world powers who are adamant to contain Iran's recklessness, pull out its teeth of harm and to curb all its unjustified military ambitions.
Arab countries need to wake up, stop resorting to taqiyya stances, and smarten up so that they could differentiate their real friends from their enemies. Iran definitely is not among their friends.
NB: *"Taqiyya" literally means: "Concealing or disguising one's beliefs, convictions, ideas, feelings, opinions, and/or strategies at a time of eminent danger, whether now or later in time, to save oneself from physical and/or mental injury." A one-word translation would be "Dissimulation."
*Elias Bejjani
Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator
Email phoenicia@hotmail.com
Web sites http://www.10452lccc.com & http://www.clhrf.com
Mailing phoenicia group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenicia/
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Iran & Turkey are the actual threat to the Arabs
In his recent rhetorical salvo with the State of Israel in the aftermath of the maritime Flotilla confrontation, Turkish Prime Minister, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has proved par excellence his supremacy over Iranian and Arab leaders and their intelligence and media linguistic experts in the venomous usage of fabricated, misleading, camouflaged, deceptive and demagogical slogans. In his theatrical, emotional, religious speeches and statements, he appealed to the Islamic world, Arabs and Palestinians, and evilly resorted to all tactics and strategies of bragging, hatred, stirring of instincts, fundamentalism and hostilities.
Mr. Erdogan cunningly and with malice endeavored to portray himself and his country as guardians for the Palestinian liberation cause and as holy angels whom heaven has sent to work on lifting the sea blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza strip.
In his hysterical anti-Israel rampage he did not only viciously attack Israel and defend the Palestinians, but he also boldly and stupidly humiliated and insulted the Arabs when he said in one of his fiery bragging statements: "Israel must know that Turkey is not like other countries, and definitely not a tribe". What he was saying loudly and clearly is that he is not an Arab, but Turkish and Turkey is not like the Arab countries".
What the whole world, and specially the Arabs, should know is that the Turkish government does not actually care about the Palestinians or about their cause, and historically Turkey never did. Erdogan and his government are trying to sell the Arab countries and people mere rhetorical merchandise that the Arabs sadly emotionally and religiously cherish.
This recent aggressive Turkish rhetorical maneuvers have been taking place through a forged theatrical show of hostilities and hatred against Israel and a deceitful support to the Palestinian cause. It is just an empty rhetoric that the Turks are smartly abusing as a vehicle to get into the Arab countries and have more power as a pretext to their expansion, hegemony and covert ploys for domination.
The Turks cannot deliver anything that they are offering, advocating for or bragging about. Their rhetoric is void of any actual context and has no credibility at all. Meanwhile, Iran has been playing the same game and using the same rhetoric, but also combined with force and terrorism through its two armed proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas.
Both Iran and Turkey share the same anti-Arab and anti-Israel schemes of expansionism and a persistent quest for power and domination. They are fighting their battles through different means and ways to gain more power and more control in the Arab countries and have a piece of the Arab oil cake.
Both countries believe that the USA is now weak and will get weaker after withdrawing from Iraq and that its withdrawal will leave a power vacuum in the region which both countries are working on very hard to fill. They are using the Israeli hostility tag and the bogus support for the Palestinians as a camouflage for their vicious schemes. Sadly, the Arabs love and cherish these two tags and have a weak spot for them.
In reality and actuality, both Iran and Turkey, and not Israel, have become the actual and lethal threat to the Arab countries and their natural resources, particularly the oil.
They are the real enemies that the Arab countries, especially the Arabian Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, should focus on seriously and work united to face and deter with no hesitation, dhimmitude or fear whatsoever.
Ironically, the moderate Arab countries are not yet openly standing together to stop and abort the Iranian and Turkish invasion attempts. Unless these countries unite, declare their intentions of confrontation and take all measures required for the confrontation, Iran and Turkey will gradually conquer their countries and resurrect both the dead Ottoman and the Persian empires.
The whole world by now knows for a fact that the so called “Freedom Fleet" was a mere jihadist mission and not a mission of peace. It was fully orchestrated jointly by Turkey and Iran in a bid to serve their anti-Arab and anti-Israel plots and plans. Both countries couldn’t care less about the Palestinians and about their cause, but they are deviously abusing them as a mere vehicle of deception and camouflage.
Unfortunately, the Arabs love day dreaming and imaginary heroism. Without a doubt, the Flotilla confrontation played on the Arabs' wishful thinking and blurred their vision to see the actual hidden Turkish and Iranian agenda of hostility and expansionism.
Turkey’s deceitful Flotilla propaganda escapade was successful in selling the Arabs and fanatical Muslims a false grandiose feeling of heroism, while Iran was successful at the same time in temporarily diverting the world focus away from its nuclear activities.
In conclusion, Iran and Turkey, and not Israel, are the actual threat to the Arab countries. The time has come for all free world countries, especially the US Obama administration, Arab world, and Europe to start speaking to the rogue countries and organizations, including Turkey, using the only language that they know and understand, the language of strength and force. All other means are futile and a complete - and an existentially dangerous- waste of time.
*Elias Bejjani
Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator
Email phoenicia@hotmail.com or lccc.bejjani@gmail.com
Web sites http://www.10452lccc.com & http://www.clhrf.com
Mailing phoenicia group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenicia/
Mr. Erdogan cunningly and with malice endeavored to portray himself and his country as guardians for the Palestinian liberation cause and as holy angels whom heaven has sent to work on lifting the sea blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza strip.
In his hysterical anti-Israel rampage he did not only viciously attack Israel and defend the Palestinians, but he also boldly and stupidly humiliated and insulted the Arabs when he said in one of his fiery bragging statements: "Israel must know that Turkey is not like other countries, and definitely not a tribe". What he was saying loudly and clearly is that he is not an Arab, but Turkish and Turkey is not like the Arab countries".
What the whole world, and specially the Arabs, should know is that the Turkish government does not actually care about the Palestinians or about their cause, and historically Turkey never did. Erdogan and his government are trying to sell the Arab countries and people mere rhetorical merchandise that the Arabs sadly emotionally and religiously cherish.
This recent aggressive Turkish rhetorical maneuvers have been taking place through a forged theatrical show of hostilities and hatred against Israel and a deceitful support to the Palestinian cause. It is just an empty rhetoric that the Turks are smartly abusing as a vehicle to get into the Arab countries and have more power as a pretext to their expansion, hegemony and covert ploys for domination.
The Turks cannot deliver anything that they are offering, advocating for or bragging about. Their rhetoric is void of any actual context and has no credibility at all. Meanwhile, Iran has been playing the same game and using the same rhetoric, but also combined with force and terrorism through its two armed proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas.
Both Iran and Turkey share the same anti-Arab and anti-Israel schemes of expansionism and a persistent quest for power and domination. They are fighting their battles through different means and ways to gain more power and more control in the Arab countries and have a piece of the Arab oil cake.
Both countries believe that the USA is now weak and will get weaker after withdrawing from Iraq and that its withdrawal will leave a power vacuum in the region which both countries are working on very hard to fill. They are using the Israeli hostility tag and the bogus support for the Palestinians as a camouflage for their vicious schemes. Sadly, the Arabs love and cherish these two tags and have a weak spot for them.
In reality and actuality, both Iran and Turkey, and not Israel, have become the actual and lethal threat to the Arab countries and their natural resources, particularly the oil.
They are the real enemies that the Arab countries, especially the Arabian Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, should focus on seriously and work united to face and deter with no hesitation, dhimmitude or fear whatsoever.
Ironically, the moderate Arab countries are not yet openly standing together to stop and abort the Iranian and Turkish invasion attempts. Unless these countries unite, declare their intentions of confrontation and take all measures required for the confrontation, Iran and Turkey will gradually conquer their countries and resurrect both the dead Ottoman and the Persian empires.
The whole world by now knows for a fact that the so called “Freedom Fleet" was a mere jihadist mission and not a mission of peace. It was fully orchestrated jointly by Turkey and Iran in a bid to serve their anti-Arab and anti-Israel plots and plans. Both countries couldn’t care less about the Palestinians and about their cause, but they are deviously abusing them as a mere vehicle of deception and camouflage.
Unfortunately, the Arabs love day dreaming and imaginary heroism. Without a doubt, the Flotilla confrontation played on the Arabs' wishful thinking and blurred their vision to see the actual hidden Turkish and Iranian agenda of hostility and expansionism.
Turkey’s deceitful Flotilla propaganda escapade was successful in selling the Arabs and fanatical Muslims a false grandiose feeling of heroism, while Iran was successful at the same time in temporarily diverting the world focus away from its nuclear activities.
In conclusion, Iran and Turkey, and not Israel, are the actual threat to the Arab countries. The time has come for all free world countries, especially the US Obama administration, Arab world, and Europe to start speaking to the rogue countries and organizations, including Turkey, using the only language that they know and understand, the language of strength and force. All other means are futile and a complete - and an existentially dangerous- waste of time.
*Elias Bejjani
Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator
Email phoenicia@hotmail.com or lccc.bejjani@gmail.com
Web sites http://www.10452lccc.com & http://www.clhrf.com
Mailing phoenicia group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenicia/
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Flotilla: boisterous & violent condemnations
By: Elias Bejjani *
Monday’s Israeli commando raid on the "Freedom Fleet" (the flotilla of six ships) that was led by the Turkish vessel, Mavi Marmara, in international waters off of Israel while on its way to the besieged Palestinian Gaza strip has generated a worldwide series of condemnations, protests, angry releases, threats, and violence, as well very active diplomatic contacts and consultations on very high levels.
There is no doubt that the outcome of the Israeli raid was sad, unfortunate and bloody. Denouncement of the whole confrontation and of all the associated predisposing and precipitating factors that led to the clash is a must.. Meanwhile, such an incident should have not occurred and accordingly for the future, all required and needed measures that ensure similar accidents do not happen again should be taken. In reality, what happened has happened and nothing could reverse it.
Reason, logic, civilization, law, order and experience teach us that dealing with such a sad incident that has left nine dead and many others injured on both sides is not through impulsive and instinctive reactions, nor via chaotic acts of violent demonstrations, acts of terrorism, rhetorical instigations and spread of hatred which unfortunately erupted on the streets of certain countries, Iran, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Britain and many others.
Definitely all juvenile attempts to storm Israeli embassies are not an answer to any problem, nor will burning American and Israeli flags fulfill Ahmadinejad’s grandiose delusion of annihilating Israel and throwing her people into the sea. At the same time, all noisy, rowdy demonstrations and bouts of hysterical anger, agitation, insults and screaming do not offer a solution for any difficulty, while rhetorical and inflammatory releases and speeches will not bring back to life any of those who died in the unfortunate incident.
In our current civilized, free and democratic world of the 21st century the accused is innocent until found guilty in a court of law. We cannot accept or succumb to the cult of death and savagery, because we dearly honor the Charter of Human Rights, advocate tolerance, hail all civilizations, abide by law and order and tribute civil societies.
Based on worldwide acknowledged laws, rights, values and principles we call on all those countries, organizations, politicians, human rights activists, clergy and individuals who are genuinely honest and sincere in their quest to learn the truth about the (“Freedom Fleet”) flotilla incident to demand an immediate, comprehensive and extensive international investigation (tribunal) under United Nations supervision in which Israel and may be Turkey or other concerned countries would actively participate in a bid to find out what actually happened on the ship during the confrontations, identify those responsible and then leave international law take its course to enforce justice.
Sadly, Western countries known as the free world of freedoms and democracy are not exerting any kind of pressure on many of their Arab and Islamic country allies and friends to act with prudence, calmness, respect law and order, or to put an end to their evil tactics of demagogy, incitement of hatred, exploitation of tragedies, infringements of rights, abuse of inflammatory statements and keeping a blind eye on the issuing of religious decrees (Fatwas) that call for discrimination and murder.
Absurdly, many free world countries are bowing to terrorism and terrorists and acting in the same shameful manner the rogue and dictatorial countries and organizations do. Ridiculously, the education of peace, law and order is retreating, while the perverse indoctrination of death, violence and savagery is invading many free world countries societies and governments.
There is no doubt that if inflammatory rhetoric, misleading statements, demagogy, lies, slander, cajoling, bragging, fanaticism, and provocation were weapons that could be used to invade other countries, many Arab and Islamic countries which are masters in these domains would have succeeded in occupying the whole world, and perhaps also invading all the stars and planets that fill the sky.
The huge number of inflammatory, provocative, instigative, hostile and angry statements released and speeches that were issued in the aftermath of the “Freedom Fleet” incident in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and other Arab countries, as well as in Turkey and Iran, solidly confirms that reason, a sense of responsibility, logic and law are all on vacation in these countries. The majority of these countries has never officially dealt with any problem with an intention to solve it, on the contrary, they intentionally pour oil on problems and make them worse so that the despotic rulers can hold on to authority. They lead their people into more intolerance, hatred, fanaticism, cults of death and rebellions on law and true education.
Truly most ridiculous and absurd were the speeches and statements issued by the Syrian regime and the leaders of both Iran and Hezbollah. These killers and terrorists par excellence miraculously turned into advocates of peace and human rights wearing angelic garments.
In conclusion all incidents, problems and conflicts including the "Flotilla" bloody confrontation should be handled within the framework of the law and the edification of peace and human rights. Accordingly, Israel has an obligation to provide all the answers needed, to see that justice prevails and that all those responsible for the sad incident are held accountable.
*Elias Bejjani
Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator
Email phoenicia@hotmail.com
Web sites http://www.10452lccc.com & http://www.clhrf.com
Mailing phoenicia group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenicia/
Monday’s Israeli commando raid on the "Freedom Fleet" (the flotilla of six ships) that was led by the Turkish vessel, Mavi Marmara, in international waters off of Israel while on its way to the besieged Palestinian Gaza strip has generated a worldwide series of condemnations, protests, angry releases, threats, and violence, as well very active diplomatic contacts and consultations on very high levels.
There is no doubt that the outcome of the Israeli raid was sad, unfortunate and bloody. Denouncement of the whole confrontation and of all the associated predisposing and precipitating factors that led to the clash is a must.. Meanwhile, such an incident should have not occurred and accordingly for the future, all required and needed measures that ensure similar accidents do not happen again should be taken. In reality, what happened has happened and nothing could reverse it.
Reason, logic, civilization, law, order and experience teach us that dealing with such a sad incident that has left nine dead and many others injured on both sides is not through impulsive and instinctive reactions, nor via chaotic acts of violent demonstrations, acts of terrorism, rhetorical instigations and spread of hatred which unfortunately erupted on the streets of certain countries, Iran, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Britain and many others.
Definitely all juvenile attempts to storm Israeli embassies are not an answer to any problem, nor will burning American and Israeli flags fulfill Ahmadinejad’s grandiose delusion of annihilating Israel and throwing her people into the sea. At the same time, all noisy, rowdy demonstrations and bouts of hysterical anger, agitation, insults and screaming do not offer a solution for any difficulty, while rhetorical and inflammatory releases and speeches will not bring back to life any of those who died in the unfortunate incident.
In our current civilized, free and democratic world of the 21st century the accused is innocent until found guilty in a court of law. We cannot accept or succumb to the cult of death and savagery, because we dearly honor the Charter of Human Rights, advocate tolerance, hail all civilizations, abide by law and order and tribute civil societies.
Based on worldwide acknowledged laws, rights, values and principles we call on all those countries, organizations, politicians, human rights activists, clergy and individuals who are genuinely honest and sincere in their quest to learn the truth about the (“Freedom Fleet”) flotilla incident to demand an immediate, comprehensive and extensive international investigation (tribunal) under United Nations supervision in which Israel and may be Turkey or other concerned countries would actively participate in a bid to find out what actually happened on the ship during the confrontations, identify those responsible and then leave international law take its course to enforce justice.
Sadly, Western countries known as the free world of freedoms and democracy are not exerting any kind of pressure on many of their Arab and Islamic country allies and friends to act with prudence, calmness, respect law and order, or to put an end to their evil tactics of demagogy, incitement of hatred, exploitation of tragedies, infringements of rights, abuse of inflammatory statements and keeping a blind eye on the issuing of religious decrees (Fatwas) that call for discrimination and murder.
Absurdly, many free world countries are bowing to terrorism and terrorists and acting in the same shameful manner the rogue and dictatorial countries and organizations do. Ridiculously, the education of peace, law and order is retreating, while the perverse indoctrination of death, violence and savagery is invading many free world countries societies and governments.
There is no doubt that if inflammatory rhetoric, misleading statements, demagogy, lies, slander, cajoling, bragging, fanaticism, and provocation were weapons that could be used to invade other countries, many Arab and Islamic countries which are masters in these domains would have succeeded in occupying the whole world, and perhaps also invading all the stars and planets that fill the sky.
The huge number of inflammatory, provocative, instigative, hostile and angry statements released and speeches that were issued in the aftermath of the “Freedom Fleet” incident in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and other Arab countries, as well as in Turkey and Iran, solidly confirms that reason, a sense of responsibility, logic and law are all on vacation in these countries. The majority of these countries has never officially dealt with any problem with an intention to solve it, on the contrary, they intentionally pour oil on problems and make them worse so that the despotic rulers can hold on to authority. They lead their people into more intolerance, hatred, fanaticism, cults of death and rebellions on law and true education.
Truly most ridiculous and absurd were the speeches and statements issued by the Syrian regime and the leaders of both Iran and Hezbollah. These killers and terrorists par excellence miraculously turned into advocates of peace and human rights wearing angelic garments.
In conclusion all incidents, problems and conflicts including the "Flotilla" bloody confrontation should be handled within the framework of the law and the edification of peace and human rights. Accordingly, Israel has an obligation to provide all the answers needed, to see that justice prevails and that all those responsible for the sad incident are held accountable.
*Elias Bejjani
Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator
Email phoenicia@hotmail.com
Web sites http://www.10452lccc.com & http://www.clhrf.com
Mailing phoenicia group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenicia/
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