On World AIDS Day

Today, December 1st, is World AIDS Day, a day of action and raising awareness about this brutal epidemic. On this day, I pray that the leaders of the world unite their power and resources to find a cure. I pray that we unite to erase the ignorance that is so prevalent in this world regarding this disease. I pray that the leaders of the world stop funding wars, buying F-16's and building nuclear weapons, and instead address the problems that we humans around the world agree are more important than this sickening greed for money and power.

Let's wipe out this ignorance and wipe out this disease, one by one, let's educate ourselves.


[technorati tags: AIDS, HIV, war]

Israel's Political and Military Defeat

Over the past month, Israel has suffered an embarrassing military and diplomatic defeat in its war against Lebanon and Hezbollah. For the first time in decades, an Arab and Muslim force has been able to stand up to one of the strongest militaries in the world. There will be a new Middle East, but not the one Condolezza Rice had in mind a few weeks ago.

The changes made to the American-French resolution that was passed today were a result of the diplomatic pressure by the Arab delegation that was sent to the Council last week. The compromises made also came as Israel and the US realized that this war cannot be won by Israel without causing serious risks of severe instability in various autocratic countries in the region.

A brief look at UNSC resolution 1701 shows the significant changes and additions that were made to put an end to Israel’s aggression against Lebanon. The new resolution includes a call on Israel to withdraw completely from Southern Lebanon as well as from the occupied Sheba’a Farms. A prisoner exchange between Lebanon and Israel is also to be arranged according to the resolution.

Israel has suffered huge losses on the military front, losses it hasn’t suffered for decades. The IOF was forced to call in more than 30,000 reservists to help with the war on Lebanon and maintain the occupation of Palestinian territories. More than 1.5 million Israelis are hunkered down in shelters while thousands of others have already decided to pack up and leave the country. New opinion polls show that only 20% of the Israeli public believes that their military will win the war. Public support for Prime Minister Olmert and War minister Peretz has declined dramatically over the course of the war. This has resulted in Olmert accepting resolution 1701 and asking his government to do the same. The Israeli government and military want to put an end to a war they cannot win except by cowardly dropping US-made smart bombs on shelters full of civilians. When it comes to on the ground battles against Hezbollah fighters, the weakness of the IOF is obvious. In the international arena, Israel is clearly alone, except for its partners in the US. Even in the States, many have begun to question their governments unrelenting support to a government bent on destroying Lebanon and any other Arab country it can put its hands on.

The unanimous agreement on resolution 1701 proves that Arab countries do have some leverage with the US and in the UN. One wonders, however, if the same power will be used to end the suffering of the Palestinian people. This war will definitely have an impact on the course of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, although one has to remember that many Arab countries as well as Europe and the US have interests in Lebanon that are not existent in the Occupied Palestinian territories.

The dramatic shift between power among Arab countries was also highlighted during the diplomatic efforts that were taken to end this war. While Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan began with a condemnation of Hezbollah and its “uncalculated adventures”, resolution 1701 passed with the help of the Emarati and Qatari officials who went to the UN to ask the US and France to place more pressure on Israel to end its aggression and withdraw its troops. While the former three Arab countries appear to have more weight and power in the region, the opinions of the leaders which were in clear opposition with that of their constituents have questioned their ability to remain among the movers and shakers in the region. The strong reaction of the Arab street to the Israeli aggression as well as their to their leaders’ condemnation of the resistance was a wake up call for Arab autocrats who began to restate their opinions and review their political strategies fearing an even stronger reaction that could result in destabilizing their positions of power domestically and regionally.

The war has also proven that Israel should not be dealt with diplomatically. Israel is a country founded on war and established by military occupation. It does not understand the language of diplomacy; rather, it only understands the language of Katyusha rockets and military body bags. When Israel suffers a military defeat, it is then forced to accept political concessions. This is exactly why countless attempts to forge peace treaties and accords with the Palestinians have ultimately failed as Israel continued its aggression and occupation against a weakened population despite international condemnation. It is also why Israel continually disregards international law and dozens of Security Council resolutions mostly regarding the Occupied Palestinian Territories. As long as it is not losing its young military men and its Merkavas, Israel will continue to disregard any calls from the international community to stop its state sponsored terror machine.

While most of the world has seen and understood what Israel is doing to millions of innocent people, the question remains if and when the United States will realize that its blind support to Israel is only causing more instability in the region and danger to its own people and its position as the superpower of the world.

[technorati tags: Israel, Lebanon, Hizbollah, US, UN, Olmert]

On Lebanon and the World

The small town of Mirwaheen in Southern Lebanon was one of the targets of Israel’s state sponsored terror machine a few days ago. The IOF gave the people of this small town two hours to evacuate and warned that they will begin attacking it at 10 AM Lebanon time. As the inhabitants began fleeing the town, Israel fired rockets at a van carrying families heading for safety. The death toll rose to 23, with many others injured. Why, Israel, do you give people warnings to flee when you will target them anyway? Are you going to do the same tomorrow to all of southern Lebanon? Is this part of your psychological war against innocent civilians? You of course do not realize that these individuals are considered internally displaced persons (IDPs) and are subject to international protections against refugees and IDPs. You wouldn’t know this because your not one to give any regard to international laws that are put in place to make this world safer. You create your own laws, your own norms. You place no value on any human being who is not an Israeli Jew.

This is the everyday story of Israel’s unrelenting war on the people of Lebanon, as it has been before on Palestine and continues to this minute. This is the story of Israel’s destruction of Lebanon’s infrastructure, its villages and towns, its history and its people. It is the story of a country still recovering from a civil war instigated by Israel. Today, the Jewish state has pushed Lebanon back another forty years without any regrets or considerations for the laws set by the international community.

Lebanon. The country that only one year ago was the center of the Bush administration’s agenda, which sought to “liberate” it from Syrian “occupation” and “influence”. This is the Lebanon that Christians the world over cry out to when there is the slightest indication that its indigenous Christian population is being persecuted by Muslims. Where are the Christians of the world crying out now for their Lebanese brethren? Where are Bush’s evangelical conservatives who cry wolf every time Copts in Egypt are harmed? Where are the Muslims in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Syria who are ready to burn embassies and effigies when they are angered by a despicable cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad? Why isn’t this anger as visible as it was a few months ago over the cartoon fiasco? Where is the international community? Where is Bush and de Villepin's support for Lebanese independence? Where where where is the world?!

Eight days have already passed, and I am already beginning to sense that the news of the Israeli atrocities in Lebanon is getting old for some people. Some are already becoming “used to” and “desensitized” to the mass murder and statistics of casualties. The numbers in the hundreds are becoming normal. The first days it was a shock. Over the next week, people will forget. They will push the frustration and sadness and anger to the back of their minds, and worry about their own problems. They will return to their everyday lives as Arabs and Muslims in the Middle East, and continue living under oppressive regimes. They will not realize that this is the first time a force in the Middle East has been able to counter Israeli aggression with some real results.

In conversations with my father and grandfather over the past few days we have recalled past Arab defeats against Israel. We remembered the six day war in which various Arab nations succumbed to the loss of large portions of their land without much of a fight. Today, after eight days, Israel doesn’t dare step foot into Lebanon. It is cowardly attacking innocents by air and sea, afraid to risk the lives of their soldiers who would much rather shoot and bomb from a distance.

Israel is a cowardly rogue state, and no country is willing to stop its murderous machine. While the world has its eyes set on Lebanon, Israel continues its persecution of the Palestinian people, taking the lives of more than 14 people in just one day. Fifty here, twenty there, a few bridges here, a couple homes there, Israel is keeping itself busy these days.

In the Arab world, a few thousand people have come out to protest Israeli aggression. Against the will of their people, some Arab leaders have shown their true loyalties as they directly and indirectly insulted and condemned the Lebanese resistance against Israeli aggression. An Arab summit cannot even be held yet because not enough leaders have agreed to attend.

In the US, congressmen loyal to the Israeli lobby also showed their true colors as they rushed to support H.R. 921 declaring Israel's right to defend itself and continue its oppression against Lebanon and Palestine. Senator Hillary Clinton also ran to support the Israeli cause giving a fiery speech at a New York rally supporting the Israeli bombardment and siege of Lebanon and Gaza.

This is the sad reality of the international community's reaction to Israel's aggression. This is how they responded to the calls of Lebanese mothers, to the cries of Palestinian children. If they had kept their mouths shut, we'd be better off.

Ahhh Beirut....Ahhh Gaza, hangin' there, but while you're at it, don't put your faith in the world. Put your faith in a higher force.

(please excuse my scattered thoughts as I have been trying to collect them in an organized fashion but to no avail. the long hours glued to the television have worn my eyes and my brain cells and i'm not sure how i even managed to put together this post.)

[technorati tags: Israel, IDF, Lebanon, Gaza, Palestine, Hezbollah, Bush,UN, Israeli Lobby, Hillary Clinton]

Speechless and Sleepless on Lebanon

I could not keep myself away from the non-stop news coverage of the Israeli attacks on Lebanon yesterday. I went home and continued to watch the news until 1:30 AM and decided to sleep on the couch while the tv was on so I could keep following everything by the minute. I woke up every hour to check the updates, until 6:00 AM when the sun came out and Israel decided to take a break from the bombings. How can one possibly sleep during a time like this?

The Lebanese border is only a couple hours away from where I am staying right now. People fleeing from the fighting will go to Syria then drive down to the Jordanian border and pass through Irbid on their way to Amman. Now that possibility is diminished as Israel has been destroying the highway connecting Beirut to Damascus, in addition to the Lebanese airport which is now crippled.

I am not shocked by Israel's scare & terror tactics. And I am not shocked that the US has yet again stood behind Israel as it "defends" itself. Nor am I surprised that Arab countries have yet to do anything other than issue some condemnations and schedule a meeting which will produce yet a few more condemnations.

What did surprise me last night, however, were the statements coming from the Saudi government which cast the blame on Hezbollah for what is taking place now. This I did not expect, although I probably should've because it doesn't seem that complicated. The Saudis are scared shitless (excuse my French) that an all out war might ensue in the next few weeks. They are definitely threatened by Iran's power, and feel that they no longer have any role in what goes on in the Middle East. Surely, they did not expect that everyone will sit around like them and watch Gazans being butchered?!

The Saudis did that for three whole weeks, while Gaza plunged into a humanitarian crisis as a result of Israel's invasion of the Strip. They stayed quiet, taking absolutely no action to defend the lives of their fellow Arab and Muslim brethren. And now, the most they could muster was a condemnation of Hezbollah's resistance against Israel and retaliation for its actions in the Gaza Strip?! SHAME SHAME SHAME!

The international community's reaction has been limited to some condemnations from Europe and Russia:

"Actions, which are contrary to international humanitarian law, can only aggravate the vicious circle of violence and retribution," the EU presidency said in a statement.

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, denounced Israel's attack on Lebanon and its operations against the occupied Palestinian territories.

"This is a disproportionate response to what has happened, and if both sides are going to drive each other into a tight corner, then I think that all this will develop in a very dramatic and tragic way," Interfax news agency reported him as saying.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy called Israel's bombardment of the Beirut airport "a disproportionate act of war", saying there was a risk of a regional war.

The UN Security Council will meet today to discuss the tensions in Lebanon. Let's wait and see if the US will use abuse its veto power yet again. Let's wait and see if the Arab foreign ministers' meeting will bring anything but useless statements and fake plans of action. Let's wait and see if the US will defend Lebanon, a country that it has championed over the past year as a beacon of democracy in the Middle East for pushing out the Syrian army. Let's wait and see if the Arab and Muslim world will come out in thousands to protest the attacks on Palestine and Lebanon and demand action by their puppet leaders.

Let's wait and see, dammit, if another Arab-Israeli war is on the horizon.

[technorati tags: Israel, IDF, Lebanon, Gaza, Palestine, Hezbollah, Bush,UN, Security Council]

U.S. Vetoes UN Condemnation of Israeli Assault on Gaza

Hot off the wire:

The United States cast the first U.N. Security Council veto in nearly two years Thursday, blocking an Arab-backed resolution that would have demanded Israel halt its military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The draft, sponsored by Qatar, accused Israel of a "disproportionate use of force" that endangered Palestinian civilians, and it demanded Israel withdraw its troops from Gaza. (AP)

Surprise, surprise!

[technorati tags: UN, Security Council, Gaza, Palestine, US, Israel]