Dear Josh,

This is a very much awaited & necessary post. Too often your posts & comments come across as apologetic of the Syrian regime and gloating about the current mess Lebanon is in. (On that note, I do find it quite interesting that “SYRIAcomment” spends an extraordinary amount of space on the domestic politics of one of Syria’s neighbors – Lebanon – but not on others: Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Israel …)

I hope that you & Michael Young can end this feud soon. I think that this bickering is quite silly. On the other hand, it seems that it takes quite a direct attack on you to lure you out, state where you stand and actually engage in a conversation/debate. I wish that was more often the case. It is sad that your blog has developed from an interactive forum to a place where you (& others) post articles but where it has become impossible to have discussions on issues that seem to cross the red lines of contemporary Syrian pride. A case in point is your recent post on the Kurdish students in Damascus, whose opinions were derided by the majority of commenters as treasonous.

Similar, anytime a criticism or even just questioning of Syrian politics pops up, it is immediately “countered” by pointing out that other countries are in worse shape etc.pp. That’s not the way to have a conversation/debate about a country. If the site is called “SYRIAcomment” then one should be able to comment about SYRIA without having to preface it with “While acknowledging that other countries have problems, too, …”

The “But who’s the REAL terrorist???” approach was already wrong when Yasir Arafat used it.

Again, I appreciate your work but deplore the fact that critical debate outside some self-appointed red lines has, for all intents and purposes, become impossible. No wonder that the commentorship has declined and is now made up only of “the usual suspects”.

I am very much looking forward to continue reading the good, substantive posts.

Cheers,

–MSK

http://www.aqoul.com
http://www.niqash.org

MSK said:

“This is a very much awaited & necessary post. Too often your posts & comments come across as apologetic of the Syrian regime and gloating about the current mess Lebanon is in.”

Agreed. Three cheers for Michael Young.

It was not very tactful on the part of Michael Young to use the opinion pages of The Daily Star to settle his personal scores and I must say I find your rebuttal persuasive on the Michel Kilo affair. The Syrian regime did not need any help to know Kilo’s whereabouts.

Young used a despicable method to smear you and he has no lessons to give to the Syrian regime in terms of ethics. He would have made a perfect mukhabarat officer.

Michael Young used the familiar Karl Rove and George Bush techniques : evade the main issue, lie shamelessly, and act as the school yard bully.

What he’s trying to do to you is similar to what they did to Valerie Plame.

This type of thuggish behaviour is not surprising on the part of Young, who is a right wing fanatic in disguise. And you should have had the courage to insist : he IS Sectarian.

He calls you the “foreign informant”, which is ironic considering Young is the epitome of the “native informer”.

In a country like Lebanon, hired pens and oriental orientalists are a dime a dozen.

I am sad for The Daily Star. It is time Jamil Mroue takes action. Otherwise, The Daily Star is going to become a right wing rag.

Dear MSK,
With all due respect to your repeated intellectual and positive contributions here, I am perplexed by your last one. Specifically, you mentioning that commentators “…whose opinions were derided by the majority of commenters [sic] as treasonous,” seems to indicate that you are sounding some displeasure with those opinions and you’d like something done about it. It is the latter part that I am having an issue with. Specifically, what are you requesting that should be done? Censorship? Recruitment of opposing minds? Carrot and stick moderation by Joshua or others? Low grades for sub-standard comments?
You mention that comments often are “..not the way to have a conversation/debate about a country.” Should we subscribe to a pre-defined, authoritative way of discussing relevant subjects then? Whose definition should we follow in discussing, or what about those who refuse to subscribe to the cast?
Your words indicate that you’d want a more disciplined and structured approach for the discussions. If so, blogs are the worst place for such a structured environment. While I support the removing and suppression of any remarks that are bigoted or racist in nature, this forum, in my opinion, is a free flow of information and inflammations. Let it be that way. All unhappy people should either write back to present their alternate views or find an alternate forum. Insinuating that “this is not the way to discuss” sounds dangerously dogmatic.

Regards,
FP

What is it with Dr. Landis that keeps him regurgitating? Why does he even regurgitate the same lie? He even contradicts himself by denying that in his previous post he claimed the Shia of Lebanon are TREATED as slaves. That is exactly what you said Dr. Landis and you keep denying and confirming your redears’ belief that you are an outright and cheap liar. I pointed this out to you in a previous post. I also pointed out to you that Lebanon’s problems cannot be solved according to your wishes and to Syria’s wishes of giving the Lebanese Shia who count far less than Lebanese Sunnis more power. What is it with you that makes you such a pathetic and nonsensical half academic? Why do you force us to repost the same reply as a means to point out your continued regurgitation? Don’t you have anything better to do with your miserable life? Here is what I’ve replied to your latest contradictions at the time of your fiasco:

“Gibran said: (March 12th, 2007, 4:06 pm / #)

Dr Landis,
Please allow me with all humility to welcome you to your own blog. I feel obliged to do so because we, the underprivileged, non-academic, slave-like class, feel lonely when you post your article and leave us alone to our bewilderment.
Now, let’s set protocol aside. The title of your last article was a sensational: Counting Lebanon’s Shia as Slaves: Why the Lebanon Deal is Obstructed?

You go on to state in your article half way through:

“What is wrong with the “consociational” system that is held up as the epitome of Lebanese democracy and power-sharing? Quite simply, it treats Shiites like slaves. In pre-civil war America, black slaves were counted as half a white person. In Lebanon they are accorded the same political weight. Although Shiites are estimated to make up some 40% of the population, the Taif Accords, Lebanon’s constitutional arrangement, permit the Shiites only 22% of the seats in parliament.”

Now you descend upon us all of a sudden, and enlighten us with a turn-about-face execuse worse than the original blunder : “I wrote that Lebanese Shiites are counted like slaves, I carefully denied that they are treated like slaves.” Well Dr, Landis your are contradicting yourself. This is exactly what you said in your last arrticle. Should we zoom in on it? Here it is:
“Quite simply, it treats Shiites like slaves. In pre-civil war America, black slaves were counted as half a white person.” You said “treats”.
Now we’ll repeat once again at the risk of being called repetitive. But there is merit to repetition as claimed by some famous Arab saying which is not very appropriate for this discussion.
The Lebanese Shia at most make up %30 of Lebanon’s population. Sunnis outnumber the Shia according to most recent independent and scientific studies as well as Lebanese government estimates based on its records. The Shia of Lebanon hold the second highest authority in the country. In addition they are accorded equal number of MP’s as the Sunnis. The Shia had representation in the Government of Mr. Seniora until they decided to quit their posts at the behest of their patrons in Damascus and Tehran for the sole purpose of obstructing justice in the case of forming the International Tribunal. These ministers are welcome back to the fold of the legitimate government with no questions asked anytime they feel they can put their Lebanese loyalty ahead of their loyalty to their foreign despotic masters.
If the Lebanese political system is in need of reformation, the proper venue would be the Lebanese parliament where the elected representatives of Lebanon can sit down and intelligently debate the issues at hand. It can never happen by unemployed gangsters paid by Hezbollah and Tehran camping in downtown Beirut. The particularties of the Lebanese political system necessitate the utmost repect for the unwritten code of balancing the sharing of political power among the two major Religions as well as among the constituting sects. Any tampering with this code will radically transform Lebanon, and would even nullify its raison d’etre. Lebanon has a message to the region as well as to the whole world. It is, despite the ills of its sectarian political landscape, the beacon of light where all faiths can co-exist in a political framework without fear of being in danger of annihilation at the hand of a competing faith.
Regarding the end of the Lebanese civil, It has ENDED in 1989. The latest crisis is nothing more than a desperate attempt by a Syrian regime that can not come to grips with its defeat in Lebanon.
Now Dr. Landis, may I humbly ask you to do something better with your distinctive credentials and life bedsides this petty lonely place called Lebanon? We have been around for few thousand years. We appreciate your concerns. But we have more than enough qualified Lebanese who understand the country very, very very well. If we need your advise or help, rest assured we will not feel ashamed to ask for it.”

Actually, this post is mendacious, and transparent at that. Just compare what Young said, and how Landis tries to weasel out of it, and can’t. It’s very obvious.

I have now lived in Syria for close to five years and until I came accross Syria Comment I did not have the faintest idea of what was going on.
I am very grateful to Josh to have had the courage to tackle subjects which were until he came rather off limits.
After his arrival I thought that surely he would go to jail or be expelled.
I have absolutely no doubt that he only wishes the best for Syrians.
I am neither for nor against the regime; it is a matter for Syrians to decide but of course I would love to see Kilo freed.

G,
Actually, if you are looking for the truth, fairness, and transparency why don’t you stick to Fox News, the Weekly Standard, and the Al Mustqbal news and analysis outlets? You don’t even need to use your brain there. This blog is just to regurgitate (boy, does that word fascinate a misfit blogger or what!) the idea of stopping the reckless incompetence of the neocon Likudists before they get many more people killed.

Assad confirms secret Syrian-Israel talks in recent years

Landis is quite good at double-speak. But Young is clearly the better acedemic.

Across the Bay piles it on:

http://beirut2bayside.blogspot.com/2007/03/red-herring-alert.html

G:

And what a pathetic reply on the part of “Anton Afendi”. So Kilo got arrested and Dr. Landis has sources saying that Kilo was one of the travelers to meet the MB Chief. So?

Look at this childish “attack”, by Michael Young directed at Dr. Landis:

‘Consider Landis’ oblique, but very clear message in a PBS interview last November. It merits being quoted in full: “Syria is demanding a number of things….’

This message is Syria’s message and NOT Dr. Landis’. Dr. Landis is stating what Syria is asking, from a geostrategic perspective, and not what Dr. Landis is demanding. So now stating the demand of someone makes one a supporter of that demand? Michael Young seems to have difficulty separating the person who states a message from the content of a message.

‘Then again, at a Brookings Institution conference Landis once famously remarked that the late prime minister had “died.”‘

So? What’s the context? None given. So now I guess one doesn’t die when one gets assassinated!

I can not beleive that we are wasting time responding to a Michael Young. Whoever fancies his narrow-minded, intellectuaaaaaal hatered and self-promoting views should go to his webpage and pick up the nuggets of wisdom right there.
See you when this fiasco is over.
Quickly , I hpoe.

Dr. Landis,
We all appreciate your effort to enlighten the truth. We have no doubt about your honestly of trying to bring the west to understand the complexity of the Middles East. When I compare your simple apartment and not having a car instead taking taxi in Damascus while Michael Young is driving his luxurious car that he “inherited”, brings a very valid question, which is: who is working independent and who is not? It is very rare to find someone like you writing about the Middle East in such a mutual way. People who read your lines as an apologist for the Syrian ruling party are pro-war in the Middle East . They want to change the Syrian regime regardless of the disaster that might be similar to that in Iraq today. Their hatred to the Syrians as well as Assad blinded them from seeing the big picture of the Middle East . I very often see Young smart in his way of twisting events and trying to show only the bad side of the story, especially when it comes to Syria , but this time I felt he really made himself not readable anymore by taking Dr. Landis note’s personally. I wish he was bigger than this
Thank you Dr. Landis for all your “not paid” time, in order to make us understand what is going on.

Picking Apart the Mythology:

“I have never believed that the Asad regime was particularly brittle or its survival threatened by Western isolation. On the contrary, I have consistently maintained that the use of military violence in Iraq or economic sanctions against Syria in an effort to starve it into compliance would neither bear fruit nor advance democracy in the region, a goal that both Michael and I share.”

And having dozens of visits to Damascus by Warren Christopher and Madeline Albright (as well as an Israel withdrawl from Lebanon) doesn’t “bear fruit” either. Actually, what it does do is bring thousands of missiles closer to Israel.

“Iraq is a human disaster; the Palestinian issue is more hopeless than ever; Lebanon is immobilized by its endless standoff and threatened by the constant escalation of extremist rhetoric and militias…”

Not much has changed in 30 years.

“The regime offers stability and security in exchange for submission of the populace.”

Arafat and Saddam used to say the same thing. This is the common “thread” for despotic leaders. “I need to curtail your freedoms so you can survive and I can get rich”. This is no different than the thugs you pay to insure your parked car doesn’t get a brick thrown through the front windshield.

“We are now witnessing the reversal of the tentative democratic advances that were achieved in the wake of 9-11. The Economist recently ran an article cataloging the long and desultory list of crackdowns, imprisonments, and authoritarian retrenchments in Egypt, Bahrain, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and many other countries of the region. The reason for the strengthening of authoritarianism in the Middle East is simple. Dictators and monarchs of the Middle East are exploiting the fears of their people to strengthen themselves.”

Oh, right, before 9-11 there weren’t any “crackdowns” and “imprisonments”. Please!

“The rise of extremism, threat of instability, and hatred of America — all of which have been immeasurably increased by the Bush administration’s violent policies…”

I heard the same story when Clinton was president, when Bush Sr. was president, when Reagen was president and when Carter was president. Gee, America must REALLY be hated by now (except for Michael Young)!

I am absolutely excited by this civil and healthy debate and pondering between Dr.Landis and Mr. Young. The commentators are not obligated to take side. No need for anyone to attack one of the two parties in this thoughtful deliberation, otherwise we will defeat its intended purpose. This is an exciting learning experience for all of us.
For us to read and witness this kind of debate between two distinguished intellectuals will greatly help us on this board, we should commend both Dr. Landis and Mr. Young for the healthy and excellent debut.

Michael Young’s attack on Landis undermines Young’s own credibility. His attack on Syria Comment shows he has little tolerance for different views than his own. Certainly this blog, like the internet itself, has blurred traditional lines for academics, journalists, policy makers and all of us. Academics teach, conduct research and write based upon their research. And it’s not a very transparent process, at least not until an academic publishes his work. The internet however offers the opportunity to give a blow-by-blow account of political events as they transpire. Typically, that’s the job of a news organization. But, with the Middle East, Americans in particular also need analysis. And isn’t that just what Landis is doing? So what if he gets some things wrong … who is really to say what is right and wrong when we are in the midst of dynamic political events? Young has been wrong in the past — the Assad regime has not crumbled. Sure, Assad is on his way out if you take a long enough view; after all, he will eventually die if nothing else of old age. But that’s not what Young is getting at, is it. He thinks that the Assad regime is ready to crumble as a result of recent political events. But, by all accounts, the regime has been strengthened. This could change. But Young has not proven that he is right. He’s merely expressed his informed opinion. in addition, his accusations did not prove that Landis informed the Syrian government about Kilo. In reference to Lebanon’s treatment of Shittes, the context of Landis’s statement — which I read the day he wrote it and understood it in this same context — is that Shiites are not “counted” equally with the votes of Sunnis and Christians. As for the analogy to votes accorded to blacks in America, well, I’m sure that Landis was trying to make a point and did not engage in a thorough historical analysis of the subject, nor did I expect him to do so. But if you know anything about America and where Landis is from, you know that it was states like Oklahoma that gave blacks their full rights first, so maybe he has a more informed opinion about it than others. In other words, he was not making a point that one would expect of an academic in a piece published in an academic journal, but instead an observation based upon his own experience that any one could make. Disagree with it if you will, but it doesn’t undermine his acadmic credibility. His academic credibility rests on his published work on the Syrian opposition. I read that too, and found it to be a good piece of work.

The point is that Syria Comment has provided the best information and debate on Syria than any other media today; particularly here in America where there is no news, discussion or debate on Syria whatsoever, except the occassional piece parroting America’s position that Syria is a rogue state; or sanctions imposed by the neocons in Congress and the White House, which are never covered in the media or subject to public debate. And Young too benefits from this new media, participates in the hybrid-world of journalism, academia and analysis, and would not have the audience he has without it.

So maybe next time he has an issue with Landis he can act like a professional about it and address the issues and forget the personal attacks. Some people on this blog, including Landis, seem to hold Young in high esteem. But he appeared to me like an ideological crank in his attacks on Landis and this blog.

Bravo Atassi !

But I will “attack” Michael Young anyway : )

First My friend MSK,

Please understand that those of us who know (or maybe think we know) how Syria works and what is good or bad for Syria, will not sound like the mainstream opinions you read elsewhere .. because Saudi Arabia and the United States own the mainstream media… I know you do not fully subscribe to their points of view, but you are influenced too much by it … we will not be anywhere near what you consider to be the right position… we can not be always calm and detached because unlike you we are Syrian… when Walid Jumblatt calls for US invasion of Syria, when the Saudis want to steer Syria’s regional policies in a way that makes them the daddy of Syria and Lebanon, when new Kurdish illegal immigrants ask for Syrian citizenship while knowing they want to cut a piece out of Syria, then we, Syrian readers, do have strong opinions.

But we never made you or anyone not welcome. Did I ever ask Akbar Palace to leave this forum? do I attack him and call him a Zionist? no, I joke with him and you and all those who differ from my point of view. I really do not understand why you want to make us look like harsh or unreasonable patriotic Syrians.

Can we have our opinions here expressed freely or do you want us to stick to the high journalistic standards of the Hariri owned media’s line of “mainstream” thinking?

For example, you posed some questions regarding my positions on the Kurdish issue. I replied to you with facts (my family comes from that area). You don’t seem to like facts, since you still simplified my response to “most commentators regarded Kurdish dissidents as treasonous”… that is not fair … how would you like it if after you write a long comment here we simply say “MSK, you are just a westerner who knows nothing” and we ignored everything you wrote?

I will try one more time. Here is my comments on Syrian Kurds again, please try to help me if I am not well informed on the issue … you seemed to imply that perhaps Syria includes some stolen Kurdish lands (Qamishli)…

Alex said: (March 15th, 2007, 4:32 pm / #)

More on Aljazeereh (North Eastern Syria) that some Kurds today claim part of historic Kurdistan:

Historically, this area has been where Arab nomadic tribes of Shammar, Jubour, Baggara, Tay, and others have been grazing their herds and was not urbanized until Christians fleeing the massacres committed mostly by Kurds in Turkey, settled in northern Syria.

The major towns of the area: Hassakai, Qamishli, Derbasyieh were founded and inhabited since the 1920s by these Christians.

There were a few small villages along the border with Turkey that had mixed Kurdish and Syriac Christian populations, such as Qubur al-beed ???? ????? (today alqa7tanyieh).

The percentage of Kurdish population in the area was in the region of 5-10%.

Today, Kurds living in this region come mostly from those who fled Turkish attacks on their population in the 6o-’s, 70’s and 80’s. Hence their lack of loyalty to Syria. This differentiates them from Kurds who live in damascus for centuries and have been Arabized and have produced several prime ministers as I indicated earlier: Ayoubi (in the 70’s), Miro (from Aleppo) and others

Legalizing the status of kurdish refugees and illegal immigrants is a humanitarian issue that is to some degree similar to the United States’ problems with Mexican illegal immigrants and Europe’s with African and Middle Eastern illegal immigrants whose situation have not been properly addressed even though they do not have the political and security implications of Syria’s Kurdish illegal immigrants.

There is no “Kurdistan” in Syria.

Miro is not from aleppo.

Alex,

And who is loyal ,al asad familly ?

And if “academic” is the magic word, then try this gentleman’s blog who is still avoiding the real issue and hiding behind a discussion of “Academic integrity” and how the stupid Landis lacks it.

Samir,

I remember you corrected me last time, thanks.

Above, I was just copying my note as is from last post.

Was Miro the mayor of Aleppo? I think that’s why I originally thought he was also “from Aleppo”.

As for your second question, We will not know of course what the picture will be like few years from now. But the way things are today, I understand most of their regional policy decisions … they make sense, yes.

Internal policies… a mixture between the good the bad and the ugly.

Come on guys for God’s sake! Why “must” we be civil in our approach to things like this Michael Young. Why do we have to “force” ourselves in the name of open debate to act in a superficially civilzed manner to someone who does not know the ABCs of civility or coolheaded debate or reason. And I am not throwing baseless accusations.

Do you want to know how wicked, yellow, and opportunistic Michael Young is? Do you?

I will just give one big small example: The cheap, opportunistic, unaccademic and unmanly SHOT HE TOOK at LANDIS when he ACCUSED him of “betraying” and “helping” the Syrian authoreties “arrest and increminate” Michel Killo…!!!!!! The “FORIGNE INFORMANT”, he labeled him.

If that is not CHEAP? What is?

Do you think Michael Young HONESTLY thought that Joshua committed such an act? No sir. He did not.

He just thought that he had found an opportunity to take a shot at Landis and he did.

Cheap Shot, by a Cheap one-track mind. That is what it was. No more, no less. So let us cut out the crap and call things by their real name.

You still want to be nice to him. At your own risk and own self conviction! His likes are why Lebanon is Where it is today.

Alex,
I knew you would. You would not waste this kind of opportunity
Stephen
You are right, Young was wrong, I was wrong too, and maybe Assad himself was wrong and surprised on the fact that his regime has not crumbled yet.
The political events transpired on the ground when Young assumed that Assad is on his way, also lead many distinguished analysts to agree and predict dire scenarios for the Assad regime….

Ausamaa
You should in the name of healthy debates. Just keep in mind; you would not have opposing sides if everyone agrees for the sake of agreeing. For me personally, I deeply respect both Dr. Landis, and Mr. Young. No one is perfect “other then my good friend Prefect” ? ..

Atassi,

You want to be civilized? your choice! I can not be in such matters! To me, rape is rape. And it does help much if the rapist had a deprived childhood. I will have pitty, but I will not have sympathy and understanding!

Earlier you said:They “assumed”! Was it they “assumed” as in scientific, accademic, reason-based presumptions? or had they actually “wished” and “promoted” and furiously “campgained” for the same while lavishing in their dark chauvenistic pit in waiting and expectation of the same? And gone wild when it did not happen?

In your honest, informed and unbaiased opinion: Is Michael Young an anti-Assad mind, or is he anti-Syrian people? And anti-half the Lebanese people as well?

You tell me!

That’s right, Prefect is almost perfect.

Atassi … tell me please what do you respect in Mr. young?

I am impressed by his skills. I do not respect him much though. I see him as yet another Lebanese who could not get closure on his need to see Syria punished for its occupation of Lebanon. He is dangerous as he still until today insist to be blind and to throw information out there to confuse others in Washington about how they should see the Middle East. His verbal skills (like Jumblatt’s) are good tools to mislead those in Washington who do not understand a thing about the Middle East into believing that the story of Lebanon and Syria is really an extension of Busgh’s Good/Evil generalizations … Lebanon being always good (March 14th side only) and Syria and its allies only represent evil.

So Michael is not very respectable in that sense. Sorry.

Same goes for the brilliant Saudi writers in Asharq Al-awsat … they are always advising the sister Syria on how it should stop doing certain things and how it should do other things their way … basically they want Syria to not play anything but a supporting role to Saudi Arabia.

So between the Saudis and the Lebanese “respectable” opinion writers, we are in trouble .. because the Bush administration is too stupid to understand their real motivations when they advice on Syria.

Alex,

Mind you, I think the US Administration know exactly what such charecters are and where they are coming from. It just chooses to use them while there is a need for them!

They only manage to fool themselves and suck up to other people who see right through them.

Alex,
According to your knowledge of the nature of asad regime…
How do u foresee asad familly regime end?

Violent End or Peaceful transition or other?

Too, too, too early to tell !

Dear KSM, I don’t think I have posted anything, “gloating about the current mess Lebanon.” I certainly don’t take pleasure in Lebanon’s difficulties, many of which have been exacerbated by Syria. I was brought up in Lebanon and worked there for a few years after graduating from college. I have visited it many times since. Many of my fondest memories and closest friends are from periods I spent in Lebanon.

If my site reflects some of the bitter relations that now characterize Syrian-Lebanese relations, it is because people are angry on both sides and do not conceal this anger in their comments.

I also hope that that the feud will end.

One commenter remarked that Michael drives a nice car and suggests that he takes money from an unknown source. I don’t believe this. Michael Young has been a constant defender of the Lebanon he believes in. He reported from Lebanon throughout the most difficult times, never leaving, and always using his sharp wit and well polished prose to take on Lebanon’s most difficult issues. I don’t believe he is guided by anything but his conscience and convictions. He could be making much more money elsewhere. I am sure he has had plenty of opportunities to do so.

Kurds: I have written regularly, if not often, about the Kurdish question in Syria, almost always highlighting the unfair way that a substantial number have been denied citizenship. I think it lamentable. It undermines the willingness of many Kurds to feel a sense of belonging to the Syrian state.

Should I not have published the interviews with Kurdish students, who were preparing to demonstrate in commemoration of the 2004 intifada? I know Abdulla Ghadawi (a pseudonym) who sent me the article unsolicited. I consider him dependable. The students he interviewed are not a scientific cross section of Kurds in Syria, they were preparing to demonstrate in memory of the intifada, as I explained.

I do not think it does a disservice to Kurds or Syria to publish their remarks, freely expressed. I think your objections are misplaced. Some of the comments the post elicited attacked the Kurds for being unpatriotic, others attacked the Syrian government for treating them shabbily and provoking their negative feelings about the state. But overall the exercise ended up produced a number of educated observations from people from the region itself. How many times does that happen in the Syrian press or elsewhere? I am sure you know as well as I do that both opinions are prevalent among Syrians. Better to hear them than hide them. There is too much censorship in Syria. I do not try to emulate this on Syria Comment.

Why Lebanon and not more Iraq or Palestine? Lebanon has been the story these last few weeks or months with questions about getting a vote for the Hariri tribunal, power-sharing deals and whether Syria should be negotiated with. We will get back to Iraq, Palestine, Turkey and other subjects. There are only so many things I can do in a day. I have a full-time job and often travel for talks and conferences. My family wants me to go out a play. On Thursday I leave to give a talk in Florida, etc. Already today, three people have sent me articles they hope to get posted, books they have written and want me to push and discuss. It is not always easy to make the right or best decisions about how to do all this.

I do the best I can and count on the many good commenters to keep me on the straight and narrow and to fill in the gaps I cannot fill in.

Most importantly, Syria Comment is fun. I keeps me engaged, has introduced me to a world of interesting people, many of whom have also become friends, and hopefully produces a bit of light and entertainment for those interested in things Syrian.

Best, Joshua

Alex,
None of the objects you claimed to be “stupid” in you’re latest’s reply are in fact REAL “stupid”.
I am inclined to believe that the other “opinions” are stupid. Otherwise, we are one too
Aussama,
Michael Young can be classified as an anti-Assad mind, and possibly anything that controlled by the regime…

And Gibran, You are right to observe that I misused “treat” one time in my article. I am sorry for that. It was a mistake, admittedly. You point out that I wrote:

“Quite simply, it treats Shiites like slaves. In pre-civil war America, black slaves were counted as half a white person.” You said “treats”.

The next lines read:

The defenders of Taif will scoff at this analogy between Lebanese Shiites and American slaves. They will say, “But we don’t treat Shiites as slaves. They can vote and they are allocated the third most powerful political office in the land: the Speaker of the Parliament. All true, I admit, but this doesn’t obscure the simple fact that Shiites are accorded only half the political worth of other human beings in Lebanon.

I think the point is clear. I know Shiites are not treated like slaves. They are not counted accurately. You have aptly pointed out that if voter registration tallies are a reflection of actual population numbers the counting is not terribly wrong. I responded by suggesting that voter registration statistics cannot be used as a census. Why would anyone want to use it as a census anyway, when censuses are easy to take?

I probably cannot convince you that I do not wish harm to Lebanon. Of all Middle East countries, Lebanon is in the best position to teach the region about the benefits of a democratic system. It has the most hope of getting the rights and protection of minority communities right. Why not get it right, then?

I bet that if Lebanon does resolve the present dispute over representation, Syrian influence and meddling will diminish as Lebanese experience how consensus and solidarity will help them more than turning to foreign parties, which must always calculate their own interests first.

Atassi

I do not beleive that was an answer!

Do you Honestly see Michael Young as a mere anti-Assad, or as an anti-Syria person?

Oh Atassi,

just forget it. It is not worth it.

Mr. Young’s political opinions closely match those of a significant portion of the Lebanese population. He speaks for the many Lebanese who consider the past Syrian role in their country as excessive. Through the power of his fine writing skills, he has been able to use the forum of his newspaper to influence public opinion and speak for the many Lebanese who share his opinion. While some on this forum are making it sound like he is a loner, a hawk and a Lebanese Neocon, the fact is that many people in his country agree with him.

The Syrians on this forum seem to be shocked and disturbed to see that Mr. Young could not care less about Syria and what may happen to it should its present leadership lose power. Moreover, the Syrian readers also feel that Mr. Young and his supporters are also interested in revenge and in pay back time. I would suspect that Mr. Young and his supporters would argue that it is “deterrence” and not revenge that they are really interested in.

Whether it is revenge or future deterrence, the fact of the matter is that the interests of some of the Lebanese people (represented by Mr. Young) seems to be inversely correlated with the interests of a large portion of the Syrian people. The latter group is apparently very concerned about law and order and national security. To the shock of many Lebanese, they don’t seem to care about their so-called oppressive regime and are willing to tolerate its tactics.

This exchange between Dr. Landis and Mr. Young pits these two camps against each other. Regrettably, Mr. Young and the many Lebanese do not want to understand the logic behind the way many of the Syrians think. Conversely, many of the Syrian commentators refuse to understand the reasons that caused many Lebanese to feel the way they do about Syria and its leaders.

Dr. Landis has been repeatedly accused of being a baathist and a regime agent. First, agents of foreign governments get paid rather handsomely. I am led to believe that Dr. Landis is an exception to this rule and based on a few email exchanges with him, I did not get the feeling that he is about to retire in the South of France soon. Second, this rush to label people is totally unwarranted and childish. I have first made contact with Dr. Landis in October of 2005. Throughout this period, I found him to be very passionate about Syria and the region. I also found him to be very tolerant of those who have opinions different than his. Being a US academic, his political views are consistently more liberal in their leanings. His international political leanings seem to support the “realist” school of thought. He is married to a Syrian and has clearly fallen in love with its history, culture and its people. When Dr. Landis opines or write a political column, I think that he embodies most of what I described above in a rather consistent manner. Many of us may not agree with him on a number of issues. But, just because you see the world from a different perspective does not mean that you have the right to label people and accuse them of being a regime agent/supporter/apologist.
This nonesense must stop.

This forum can only prosper and expand when people are free to express their many different political opinions. But, this does not mean that they will get a free pass from the other commentators when they present their point of view. Defending a personal opinion is not easy at times. There are a number of tenacious, persistent and formidable commentators here that many of us have to know and argue with. I think that this is the strength of this forum.

Abdallah Al Ahmar told me that Miro is from Aleppo,but he is a good friend of him so he lived in TEL,(a city where Ahmar is from) because of friendship between them, Miro is not from TEL( TEL MNEEN), I like for someone like Samir or Alex to verify.

Miro has nothing to do with Aleppo. He is from a village near Damascus

Ehsani, i agree with you almost completely this time.

The reason I keep concentrating on the Lebanese and Saudi approaches to Syria is because I do understand them. And I do understand their psychology. It does not matter what they THINK they are motivated by. What counts is their unfiltered true motivations … in the case of Mr. Young and many Lebanese (not all of course) it is revenge .. nothing justifies revenge .. especially that Syria manages to escape their best attempts to convince the Americans to invade Syria (Junblatt and others), it is Lebanon which is paying the price for their seeking revenge from Syria … they love Lebanon? they need to love Syria .. or else they are fools. Don’t complicate things beyond that.

The Saudis think they care for Syria and they care for Arab unity, and for whatever ..that is all at the conscious level. What they are mostly concerned with in reality is their greed for more power .. after having more money than they can spend (with oil prices the past few years) some of their princes understandably had enough satisfaction out of money .. now power is the area they need to grow into … and Syria is stopping them. They want to play a bigger regional role in Lebanon, Palestine, AND Syria … they want Syria (After Hafez) to be their playground.

All their old stupid excuses for criticizing Syria (Not a democracy, allowing Iran a role in the Middle East, hosting Khald Mashaal in Damscaus ..were the same things they are by now guilty of … but they still criticize Damascsus heavily.

I learned when I listen to people who do not make sense that they are either lying to me or to themselves. In the case of Mr. Young, he is lying to himself… he is not the refined human being he sees in the mirror .. he is a backward Midle Easterner who does not knwo how to tame his need for revenge .. no matter how much he sweetens his inner needs through his impeccable english writing skills.

Oh wow, Alex can read the “unfiltered true motivations” of entire peoples!! Wow, how impressive! Can you speak to the dead too?

Why bother with anything then, when you can read people’s minds and intentions and their subconscious and “true motivations”?! You are well beyond possessing the truth! You are well beyond the “divine” rhetoric of Hezbollah. You are privy to know the “true motivations” of two peoples!

Just like a true Stalinist!

This blog, and most specifically Alex, is so Orwellian, it’s not even funny.

Commissar Alex, Goodnight Tovaraich!

he is a backward Midle Easterner who does not knwo how to tame his need for revenge

Racism, anyone? Racism? Or is this just Alex’s way to get a cheap dig at the Lebanese? But of course, he seeks no “revenge” by it!

G,

As our Egyptian brothers say:

Da’nto elli Betgeebu el kalam lenafseeko !

Alex,

Thats a cheap shot at middle easterners, calling them backwards and lumping them with Mr. Young.

G, Ausamaa explained to you in a very precise way why it is relatively easy to read the true motivators of You, Gibran, Michael Young, Anton Effendi… they are not all identical, but there is this major urge to see Syria humiliated and punished … even when Lebanon is the one that is getting punished.

Syrian, … sorry : )

By the way G, there is nothing racist about what I said .. I am a Middle Easterner, remember? … but my father actually went out of his way to explain to me the dangers of hate and anger and foolish pride .. and revenge. You think the Lebanese civil war or Iraq today would have been as bloody if “middle Easterners” did not get drawn so easily to revenge?

Josh you are nothing but a baathist coward and a big fraud. You pretend to defend someone like Kilo while piling up the excuses to keep him in Jail. You have no dignity what so ever and you pretend to be an honest decent analyst while avoiding to tackle any issue that might upset the regime like destroying old Damascus.

All your Syrian regular contributors, regardless of what they write are just cowards like you, so enjoy each other company and the big juicy checks or big favors from the Syrian Mukhabarat.

I agree with Ehsani, I found Dr. Landis to be an extremely conscientious person who shares with the rest of us a deep love for a part of the world that is full of diversity, intrigue, and history. I know that Dr. Landis is above the cliché of regime sympathizer, apologist, or whatever fashionable labels the miserable G’s happened to learn from the doorsteps of the Zionist neocons.

I also read and respect Michael Young’s reports and opinions, who is another misguided Lebanese indoctrinated at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIC) – having similar militaristic opinions as Eliot Cohen, Paul Woolfowitz, and Fuad Ajamai who serve as blackboards, desks, and toilets at that school. Nothing against that school in particular, as it houses many other decent names, but some of its fixtures are in desperate need of repair. Reading Mr. Young’s opinions and support for military adventurism, one cannot but find his neoconic undertones right out from page 1 from the insane, reckless, and dangerous writings of these academic scholars. Mind you that none of them had ever served in a combat and none has an idea about the agony or the suffering resulting from reckless wars.

The current exchange between Dr. Landis and Mr. Young notwithstanding, it is clear that Michael Young supports the use of force and American military intervention to wipe out American and Israel’s enemies (aka, authoritarian regimes). I would have been taken the same position, being a proud and patriotic American, had it not been for the colossal failures and monumental mistakes these neoconservative ideologues have committed – causing the loss of lives of many Americans and non-Americans worldwide. This line of thinking – using shock and awe to deliver complete capitulation – has crashed and fizzled three years ago in Iraq. It did not work then, it is not working now, and it will never work. Someone should look at Israel’s use of force for the past 50 years. Are they safer now? Today, Israel is not safer, Lebanon is not safer, Syria is not safer, and certainly the rest of the world is not safer.

Young and company need to come to their senses and away from the tenets, as Eliot Cohen put it in 2001, that the “overthrow of the first theocratic revolutionary Muslim state and its replacement by a moderate or secular government … would be no less important a victory in this war than the annihilation of [Osama] bin Laden” is not an accomplishable task. The evidence overwhelmingly stands against such a deadly ideological adventure. Young, through his intelligence and experience, should be the first one to reject military adventures in the area – having lived there and having the unique opportunity to physically touch a Crusader castle in the region and feel its pulse.

Joshua, many of my American, Syrian, and Lebanese family and friends deeply appreciate your candor, commitment, and knowledge of that part of the world.

Ehsani;
As far as Mr.Joshua Landis, I agree with you completely,
alex is a nice person,and he sometime make me smile, he never commit himself 100%, he _almost_ completely agree with you.

“All your Syrian regular contributors, regardless of what they write are just cowards like you, so enjoy each other company and the big juicy checks or big favors from the Syrian Mukhabarat.”

Fares,

Thank you. I do consider myself a “regular Syrian contributor”. I must be the only one who is not getting the big juicy checks or those big favors.
Perhaps the other “regular Syrian contributors” can put in a good word for me.

Just because you champion a good cause, it does not mean that you can be so condescending to others.

Ford Prefect,

I think that the brief article below best describes why people like yourself talk with such disdain about the so-called Neocon. school of thought. I find the quote below truly amazing:

LONDON (AP)–The U.S.’ former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton said Friday that Iraq was in a state of civil war – a view that contrasts with U.S. and U.K. official statements.

“I think it’s obviously a civil war, this the sort of thing that emerges when
dictatorships fall over countries that are artificial (in construction, like
Iraq) – after all created after World War I,” Bolton said.
“This isn’t anything that the United States was ever going to resolve, or ever could resolve. This is a matter for the Iraqis and this is a moment of
testing for them,” Bolton said.

“We can see what’s going on in this country. They have to decide if they are going to have this level of violence continue or whether they’re going to operate in a democratic and peaceful way to resolve their differences,” Bolton said.

Alex,

Are the Lebanese the only people looking for revenge. Isn’t it revenge and retaliation that makes up the politics of our region’s modern history?

Alex and Josh new slogans…we admire Kilo, he is the best respected oppostion but keep him in jail, we don’t mind. Whatever it takes for Asad to be happy and secure. FU

Fares,

You must apologize to Dr. Landis about your last comment before I will answer your fair charge against me.

This is not only uncalled for but it is downright uncivilized. How dare you refer to someone’s wife this way when you happen to disagree with their politics? Can you imagine if we all start shooting our mouths like this against everyone who disagrees with us?

I am sure that you will not take my advice though.
I was prepared to answer your comment about me though.

Read the clarification Ehasani. But I still think Landis Marriage explains how he has been behaving lately, or ever since last July

Thanks Ehsani,
Appalling indeed. Only if Bolton had the courage and the human dignity to tell this startling discovery of his before he and the rest of the failed ideologues embarked on their reckless war in Iraq while their sons and daughters are out of harms way.

This Bolton, who was lavishly honored in New City by the very people in Lebanon who are calling for the international tribunal, had this to say about the International Criminal Court (ICC) in an article published in the National Interest Journal:

Signing the ICC charter would make the “president, the cabinet officers who comprise the National Security Council, and other senior civilian and military leaders responsible for our defense and foreign policy … the potential targets of the politically unaccountable Prosecutor in Rome.”

How interesting for him to now press for the same thing he adamantly opposed. This ape-decedent’s hypocrisy is now being infused to our democracy-lovers in the Middle East.

Fares,

Poor Michel Kilo .. not only is he paying the price for something he is not personally responsible for, but he has YOU a his self-appointed lawyer.

G,

Fares just demonstrated to you what I meant by filtering their true opinions and needs and motivations … first he insulted Joshua’s wife, her religion and people from Oklahoma in general .. then he came back with a more politically correct statement.

Trust me it shows in Fares, Michael Young, Tony Badran, Junblatt … all those democracy fighters who can not tolerate any opinion that does not support their urge to take revenge from Syria.

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Fares Says: “Clarification, I respect our brothers the Alawites and I have nothing agaisnt them. I meant a bitch in a sense of beign well connected to the regime and somehow working for them.”

You shouldn’t hurry with clarificatiosn before reading the excellent study of Daniel Pipes with regards to this group of people.

Fares,
While you get yourself some primitive education in civilization to cleanse away your bloody history of ethnic cleansing, butchery, ID-based killings, Karantina, and Sabra and Shatila, why don’t you also invest in an English tutor and a spell checker?

FP, who talked to you and who are you to accuse me of things that other people did??? I am not Lebanese and I was never involved in any act of Civil War in Syria or Lebanon. But you are the one who is starting to show what you stand for: purely a Christian hater.

Fares,
OK, keep the comments about the tutor and the spell checker as a free, no obligation gifts and return the rest for a full refund.

FP, I think you get my ideas in any language even mispelled, I know how to express myself pretty well so keep your advise to yourself.

WOW: woke up this morning to all this:

Joshua said:

“And Gibran, You are right to observe that I misused “treat” one time in my article. I am sorry for that. It was a mistake, admittedly. You point out that I wrote:”

“Quite simply, it treats Shiites like slaves. In pre-civil war America, black slaves were counted as half a white person.” You said “treats”.

In an earlier thread , imade the comment that Joshua’s use f the term is highly provocative and irresponsible; especially for an academic.

Josh in that thread repeats that he did not say that the shiites are slaves, but the imputation and the grammar implied in the thread THat the Shiites are Slaves.

This has been a rather unfortunate debate but i am glad that it is a debate we all had to have, also i am glad that Joshua has stated his position regarding……

Lebanon
The Oppostion in Syria
The Syrian regime

“I probably cannot convince you that I do not wish harm to Lebanon. Of all Middle East countries, Lebanon is in the best position to teach the region about the benefits of a democratic system. It has the most hope of getting the rights and protection of minority communities right. Why not get it right, then?

I have been reading this blog since the Death of Ghazi Kenaan, and sometimes i felt that sometimes that Josh was less than impartial regarding certain issues especially the Syrian/Lebanese arena. But his position is now in the open. I am glad that he responded to M Young, and glad that i posted his response a few days ago.

“There are only so many things I can do in a day. I have a full-time job and often travel for talks and conferences. My family wants me to go out a play. On Thursday I leave to give a talk in Florida, etc. Already today, three people have sent me articles they hope to get posted, books they have written and want me to push and discuss. It is not always easy to make the right or best decisions about how to do all this.”

Given, the hectic life we all lead, this underlying statement by Josh leads me to believe that he did not know the full implications of his title post ” Why the Shiites are treated as slaves”

Commentators: This is the debate that we all had to have, I would stake my life on the fact that if the politicians in the middle east with all sincerity had debates like we do on this site then they would go a long way to fixing up the mess in their back yards.

Fares, chill dude. I really meant it when I said keep the gifts.

Its OK Fares … you have no idea how to read anything you do not agree with… anger clouds your vision.

and Alex your Assad love clouds your logic

and I thought you cared about the Iraqi Museum, why don’t you write something about the plans to destroy parts of Old Damascus and voice your objection to such plans and post it in Syria Comments, since you have access, or in your creative Syria site…but it is too sensitive I guess and the boss won’t be happy. Sorry I am still thinking about revenge and I am still very angry so don’t take me seriously

http://freesyria.wordpress.com/2007/03/19/the-old-damascus-uprising/

oh and was I in bed with the neocons when I wrote the post below or was I not passionate enough for you. I am against injustice wherever it happens specially when it affects my life or the countries or areas that I care about

http://freesyria.wordpress.com/2007/03/19/stop-this-dirty-war/

I’ve tried posting an article by a Lebanese blogger who responds to Landis’s article on Shi’a as slaves. I’ve tried a number of times, but my comment won’t show up.

Por que?

Please see note from Michael Young here:

http://beirut2bayside.blogspot.com/

JOSH says in a reply to one of my posts:

“I bet that if Lebanon does resolve the present dispute over representation, Syrian influence and meddling will diminish as Lebanese experience how consensus and solidarity will help them more than turning to foreign parties, which must always calculate their own interests first.”

Sorry, JOSH you have not changed your approach and neither have you changed your presumptions.
Your statement depends on a very big assumption which is that of so-called equitable representation. Lebanon is now equally represented by all its constituent sects. Any meddling with this representation will upset the very basis upon which the country is built. YOU CANNOT OVERLOOK THE UNWRITTEN CODE AGREED UPON IN 1942 ON THE EVE OF INDEPENDENCE OF LEBANON BY ALL MAJOR SECTS. ANY MEDDLING WITH THIS CODE WILL LEAD TO CIVIL WAR. SYRIA MUST IMMEDIATELY REFRAIN FROM SUCH MEDDLING SPECIFICALLY IN ORDER TO AVOID SUCH OUTCOME.
The Shia are given the second highest authority in the country and not the third as you mistakenly purport (is this Tabler quote or rather misquote?)
So the point is simple. Stop proposing unworkable solutions to Lebanon that are only meant to save the neck of a criminal regime. This is how the people of Lebanon see it at the moment. The Shia have become the black sheep for serving a criminal regime at the expense of attaining justice for crimes of political assassination. It is time for the Bashar regime to come out in front of the world and answer to all the accusations leveled against it. It is a shame on such coward regime to continue to use the Shia of Lebanon the way they have used them in the summer as fuel to their own war and again now as a shield to scuttle the long awaited justice for the victims of the regime.

Thanks DR Landis , good and intelegent respose ,
Anybody who loves the US Understands that the path that the US took in the last four years was not succesfull and made America less safe with many enemies , I beleive that the success of the US wll only hapen when the US recognise exactly what DR landis said , The US should move to correct the injustice in Palestine , The Golan and Lebanon,Doing so will improve the US stature in the Midleast and that can be done only with Syria’s help , DR Landis seems to know that ,MR young and the others do not want the US to succeed , they want to move the Midleast toward conflict and radicalism.

7aka Badri

And to make sure the community does not feel humiliated and defeated, which could cause a disastrous sectarian backlash, it’s time to leave a door open toward implementation of reforms that in some fashion recognize Shiite numbers.

Taif was designed to build a post-war state. It should be re-tooled to bring
the Shiite community back into the Lebanese fold

Independent Lebanon was not always kind to the Shiites

From Michael Young

MY and AE need to reread the quote they keep referring to and try to see where the quotation marks were. In that article Josh was not attributing the words to Tabler, simply the idea that there was a meeting in Morocco.

Quoting Young
…Patrick Laurent. He recently admitted that the EU had “tried everything [with Syria], as did many others, employing both gentle means and pressure.” To no avail

Notice how the [to no avail] is outside the quote. The man never said it? Wonder what he really said?

Fares;

I read your blog some times, but have never commented on it, and i dont know you as an individual, so please what i am about to tell you pleae take on board.

Please cool your passions!

I think your earlier statement lacks decorum, and as an arab you must surely know the consequences of what you said and implied , as a womans role in an arabic household is sacred and beyond re proach as a mother, wife , and partner.

Please let your anger cool,

No one wants to experience what the Iraqis are living through. The silent majority throughout the Middle East is acquiescing to the sad argument that they are not prepared for democracy.

For those in Washington who consider the terrorism Iraqis experience is mostly state-sponsored, your words are gold! You have immeasurably strengthened the argument for removing troublesome regimes regardless of the consequences, because a country with its head cut off and kept in a state of anarchy will be far less able to make trouble elsewhere. The moral responsibility for creating such anarchy is small, because the perceived benefit to neighboring democratic countries is great.

Thank you for your contribution.

Five Israeli reasons for rejecting a Syrian peace deal:
1) A deal with Syria will not achieve any strategic Israeli objective on other fronts. Israeli experts view Syria as a non-effective satellite of Iran that (Syria) can do little on its own or to influence Iran. In other words, the Israelis view Syria just like everybody else: a Province in need of central authority – Iran in this case. Israelis also believe a Syrian deal will not solve the crux of the ME problem as perceived by the Arab world as well as the rest of the world. The crux of the problem is the Palestinian issue.
2) This reason is considered secondary but it lists US objections to such action; i.e. seeking a deal with Syria.
3) Israeli experts believe that a deal with the current Syrian regime is useless because it may lead to the overthrow of the regime.
4) Experts believe this is the most important reason. It relates to security issues in case the Golan is to be returned to Syria. Military experts believe the Golan is essential to Israeli security particularly in keeping Syrian missiles from getting deployed on the strategic hills.
5) This reason relates to general Israeli public mood that got accustomed to the idea that the Golan is part of Israel, particularly in the context of water resources as well as the need for additional agricultural land and natural reserves.

???? ????? ????????? ???? ????? ?? ?????: ????? ?????? ????? ????????? ??????? ?????
??????? – ???? ????? ?????? – 21/03/07//

????? ?????? ????? ????? ????????? ??????????? ????? ?????????? ???????? ?? ?????? ?? «???? ????? ?????? ???????» ?«???? ?????? ???? ????? ????????» ?????? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ?????????? ??????? ?? ???????? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ???? ?? «?? ????? ????????? ?? ??????? ????????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ????????? ??????? ??? ???????»? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??? ??? ??? ??????? ???? ???????? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ????.

?????? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???? «???? ???? ???????? ????????????» ????? (????) ??????? ?? ????? ????? ?? «??? ???? ????? ????» ?? ????? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ??? ??? ???? ????? ?????? «??? ???? ??????? ???????? ?????? ????????. ?????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ?????? ????????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?? ??? ?????».

????? ?? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ??????????? «?? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ???????????» ??? ??????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ????????? ????? ???? ??????????? «?? ????? ??? ??????? ?????». ??? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ???????? ??? ???? ?????? (?????) 1967 ?? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ??????????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ????????????. ??? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ????? «????? ?????» ?? ?? ??????? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ???????? ?? ??? ????? ??? «??? ????». ???? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????? «???? ?? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ?????????? ?????? ?????? ????». ???? ??????? ??? ??????? ?????? «???? ??? ?????? ?????????? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ???? ????????».

??? ????? ??????? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ????????. ?? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ??????? ?????? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ????????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ????? ????????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ????.

?????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ? «?????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ???????????? ???? ???… ????? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ??????? ???????? ??? ?????. ??? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ???????».

?????? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ???????? ???????. ?? ?? ?? ????? ???? ?? ???? ?? ????? ???????. ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ????? ??? ???????? ??????? ?? ????? ???????????? «????? ?? ?? ????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ?? ????? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ??????». ??? ???? ????? ?????????? ?? ??????? ????? «????? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ????» ??? ???? ?????? ???????? ??? ??????? ??????? ????? ??? ????. ???? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? «???? ?????? ???????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??? ?????… ??? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? (???????? ?? ???????) ??? ???? ????? ??????? ???????».

?????? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??? «??? ?????» ?? ?????? ?????????? ???? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ???????? ??? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ?? «???? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ???????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ??????»… ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? «???????? ?? ?? ??????? (??????? ????? 1967) ????? ??????» ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ????? ??? ????? ??? ??????? ?????? ??.

Fares,
you are sounding insane and out of control when you resort to personal insults and especially vicious language towards a person (J’s spouse) who has nothing to do with anything.
VERY CRUDE and distasteful.

what happened here??!!!
why everybody is in a bad mood!!
when are we going to learn how to control our temper ?
I wonder how could someone get angry while he/she is posting a comment in a blog!! what would happen if it was face-to-face then?

Joshua.,
I really liked your rebuttal to Young and your qualifiers about your personal respect for those journalists and thinkers whom you disagree with. As well, the content is excellent.
I also appreciate Ehsani2’s description and perspective on you, which is very fair and true, in my opinion.

Somebody,
Please give me a translation of Ausamaa’s quotation…….do tell!

“As our Egyptian brothers say:

Da’nto elli Betgeebu el kalam lenafseeko ! ”

thanks

Zenobia, I tell you what is distasful! first Josh removed my comments which means they are partly true and second accusing someone who is in jail (Michel Kilo) for the wrong reasons of meeting the head of the muslim brothers (Bayanouni) in Morroco which could be true or not (irrelevant) when there is a fucking death sentence law 49 in Syria when you communicate with Muslim brothers or you are part of them. That’s what I call distorted crude journalism.

Just because you think you are an expert on Syrian politics (meaning Josh) does not give you the right to distribute life threatening accusations. You got it now why I am angry I hope!!!

I have deleted Fares’ comments with personal insults and inappropriate language. This is the policy of SC.

Josh I don’t mind you deleting my comments. But is the policy of SC to falsely accuse prisoners of allegations??? and pretend that you are impartial. You are really rendering yourself irrelevant and losing your neutrality.

Stands and applauds!

Lets get some sanity back into the place , policy or not?

Faris,

If I was you, I will BEG the blog administrator to REMOVE my comments. If anyone is deleting your comments, believe me, they are doing you a great service.

For someone operating a blog claiming to promot and defend liberties and free thought, you have just inflicted upon yourself a serious injury.

oh I just read this farcical tale by a pitiable man called Michael Young:

He starts his notes to Tony Badran as folows:

“I tried posting this in the comments section of Josh Landis’ site several hours ago, but evidently he didn’t let it through. It’s no big deal.”

How silly can you be? … is he trying to score an imaginary point by insinuating again that Joshua does not allow comments he does not like on his blog??

Dear Michael: please email your comments in the future to me and I will personally make sure that Joshua “will let it through”

Joshua I know you are trying hard, but I think sooner or later you will realize that there is no need to continue treating Michael Young with respect… remember how you tried for a while to continue respecting his other friend Tony Badran?

And for those of you (Enlightened?) who might think that I am too harsh on Mr. Young. If you heard his original comments (by email) to Joshua you will understand … let’s just say that Fares would have approved of the language and tone used.

I just remembered the one time I exchanged comments with Tony Badran (Young’s unofficial blogger, somehow)on Ammar Abdulhamid’s blog … I remained polite after numerous comments. But tony eventually started to lose his temper and he started to call me beautiful names …also just like the other democracy advocate Mr. Fares here.

And Ammar eventually saved his friend Tony by removing those stupid comments.

Fares,

Unlike you, I take some time to think before I make up my mind. I am thinking and reading and communicating with experts on the issue you raised.

If you noticed, i already posted a couple of comments on Ammar’s blog that tell you my initial opinion. I’ll see what I should do and how I can do it. Your advice is usually bad … you think I should put up a page on my site and start calling the regime names (thieves, bastards ..) right?

Wrong. Do not wait for me to write an angry post on the subject. but that does not mean I did nothing useful. You understand?

Alex, my ex-friend, a lot of people have posted on the subject. It does not need an angry post…just one that asks the authorities to reconsider since we live in democratic societies that really care about a wise opinion like yours or MR Aussama who thinks he can attack anyone and thinks he is so perfect.

ALEX YOU ARE MR PERFECTION AND I CAN’t wait to keep reading your awesome opinion on things.

I just hope that someone gets in prison one day and will see your reaction.

then Landis can say, oh yah he told me he met khaddam or Bayanouni and the regime is so dumb that they did not arrest me or not check my passport….

of course you take your time…you need to get the approval first and things that you are allowed to say or not say. You need directions or clues on how to stay loyal and not damage your reputation of a regime western face.

You are really helping your country and I appreciate your services…in fact a statue will be erected for you someday.

Fares, I think since you are so disappointed in me, perhaps you want to write me an email instead of forcing everyone here to read endless comments about Alex.

There is a difference between being angry because a family member is in Jail on bogus charges (which is understandable), and between expressing this anger in the most negative ways… when you associate yourself with Michel Kilo on all the Syrian blogs, please try to remain a likable person at least. And if things do not go your way, if you read opinions not to your liking, ignore it.. just do not call everyone names.

Israel will simulate its reaction to a massive Syrian chemical weapons attack … hmm. This will be the largest such exercise since the establishment of the state of Israel, it will involve the largest 132 cities and towns.

Why?

??????? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ???? 5000 ????? ??????
???????? 2007-03-21

???? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ????? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ???????? ????? ??????? ??????????? ?? ??? ????????? ???? ????? ????? ????? 132 ????? ?????, ?? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ?? 1948.

???? ????????? ??? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ???????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ???????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ???????.

According to this An-Nahar article, former American intelligence officers confirmed that Sunni extremists in Lebanon are recently receiving serious funding from Saudis other other Gulf nations… among those recipients are “Fateh Al-Islam” who were accused by the Lebanese interior minister lately of being behind the recent bombings of the two buses in Ain Alq.

And of course at the time, the March 14th group automatically accused Syria of ordering the operation.

?????? ????????? ???????? ??????:
??????? ?????? ?????? ?????????
??? ?????????? ?????? ?? ?????

???? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ????????? ???? ?????? ??????? ????????? ?????? ????????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ???????.
???? ?????? ????????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ??”??? ????”. ????? ????? ????????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ??? ?? ???? ???????? ?????? ??????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ????????.
????? ????? ????????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ???: “???? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ?????”.
???? ???? ????????? ???????? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???????. ????? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ??????? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ?????????. ??????? ????? ?? ????? ????? ????????? ?? ???? ?????? ???????? ??????? ???? ???? ????????. ??? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ?????????.
??? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ?????? ?????. ??? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ???????????.
???? ?????? ????????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? “???? ???????” ???? ????? ????? ???????? ????????? ????? ????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ????? “??????? ” ??????? ?????? ?? ????.
?????? ?? ??????? ????? ???? ??? ????? “??? ???????”? ???? ????? ?????? ????????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ????? ?? ????.

Fares

Now, please take this as calmly as you can. I believe that you genuinely want to see more democracy and free speech in Syria and the region. However, you have a tendency to slur and insult your political opponents. You and I have disputed, for instance, the worth of Hizbullah. Nothing wrong with disputes. But when you leapt to calling Hizbullah supporters ‘thugs’ you showed undemocratic tendencies. On this latest posting you have excelled yourself, or rather undermined yourself. Slurs and insults are the enemies of rational, democratic, free discussion. Sectarianism (your comments on Josh’s wife) is obviously the greatest enemy of democracy in our region.

I know you’re angry. Take deep breaths, and keep doing the good work.

Michael Young does not seem to be able to allow the truth to get in the way of setlling personal scores, especially with those people who are intellectually his superiors.

Alex asks as if he has no clue:

“Israel will simulate its reaction to a massive Syrian chemical weapons attack … hmm. This will be the largest such exercise since the establishment of the state of Israel, it will involve the largest 132 cities and towns.

Why?”

Here’s your answer Alex:

“The exercise was initiated by the army’s homefront corps in the wake of last summer’s war in Lebanon and Iran’s calls for the destruction of the Jewish state and its controversial nuclear programme.”

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070226160328.pk8emye9&show_article=1

Akbar,

Thanks, but .. what is the REAL reason?

: )

The most exciting event in coming days is the arab summit which will take place in Saudi Arabia, the sad thing that media will have no access to the detail of this summit, I dont know what saudi arabia is up to, is it interested in palestine, lebanon, iran, one thing for sure, saudi arabia rule in middle east have been chanding dramaticlly and is started to have a voice.
Dr. Landis “You are the best”

http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2007/03/this-upcoming-arab-summit-is-quite.html

This upcoming Arab summit is quite significant. Usually, these events are quite formal and rarely reach meaningful conclusions but this summit will officially crown House of Saud as the leader of the club of Arab regimes. The summit will basically be an occasion of official acclamation: instead of tribes offering loyalty and fealty, the US will use this summit to designate Saudi Arabia as the overall leader of Arab regimes. Even Syria and Sudan will go along. Bashshar just gave a pathetic interview to a Saudi newspaper in which he all but apologized to “his uncle” King `Abdullah. He paid more tributes to King `Abdullah than what you read in the Saudi press normally. ………

Alex, they are planing an attack on Iran , Syria and Lebanon.

Ammad, not only the media will not be allowed access to the details of the Summit in Saudi Arabia, women cannot drive there to enjoy the view of the gorgeous half-men attending, either. 😉

Alex,

I think the real political reasons for the Israeli excercise are:

1- Olmert, Peretz and Ashkanazi are aiming at lifting up the morale of the Israeli population and their Armed Forces from the depressing no-win situation they find themselves in.

2- It is a P.R. move (as ya3ni the IDF and MD are always preparing, being ready and being pro-active and so on..) ahead of the publishing of the Winograd Committee findings which I think will be so damaging to their Ego, which is why it is being delayed once and again.

Good, actualy excellent, now they are acting a lot like the Arabs used to act after each defeat(s)!!

I do not believe that they are really as misguided and adventurous as to be preparing for action against Syria or Lebanon. Not yet anyway!

An insightful analysis of the situation Israel manuvered itself in can be found at:
http://www.d-n-i.net/fcs/kolko_israel_last_chance.html

I have just one comment on Michael Young’s article in the Daily Star..

As someone who has done considerable research on media ethics and dynamics of media firms (both new and traditional), I was truly appalled by Young’s article in the Daily Star. To think that Young is exploiting his employer’s media space, authority and financial resources (being on the Daily Star’s payroll) to publish such personal attacks on Dr. Landis’ academic credibility and to direct those baseless accusations at him is -to say the least- unethical from a journalistic point of view. The fact that the Daily Star published such opinion without fact-checking is another indication of how low the Lebanese media is going down to.

I know that the Daily Star is not The New Yorker (that do fact-checking even on pieces submitted by people such as Seymor Hersh), but I thought that this news paper is supposedly not just not another blog. If I was the Daily Star’s editor I would definitely make Young submit his sources and references supporting his accusations and I would do fact-checking on them, if only to avoid legal implications.

This brings to mind a story told to me by a journalist friend of mine who used to work in the Daily Star until the war on Iraq: After a visit by the American ambassador in Beirut to Daily Star’s offices just after the war, 19 writers, journalists and freelancers had their services terminated by the Daily Star. Not surprisingly, they were journalists who regularly scrutinized the neo cons plans and comments in the region. Also not surprisingly, people with similar mindsets such as Michael Young were provided with more and more space in the pages of the Daily Star.

Personally, if I was in Joshua Landis’ shoes, I would press charges immediately. An academic’s credibility is his main asset. This cheap defamation by Young (while common among the Lebanese -and non-Lebanese- neo cons) should not be tolerated in my humble opinion. The fact that Young is promoting himself as a democracy champion makes his personal attacks on Josh even more ironic!

I have to commend Dr. Landis for his amazing civilized responses and tolerance to such personal attacks. This only proves that he has more concrete stand in terms of factuality and academic credibility. As for my opinion regarding Landis’ and Young’s political positions, it has been expressed eloquently in the comments posted -to my amusement- by both Ehsani2 and Alex.

Alex,

I’ve had a similar experience, more than once, of posting a comment here that just won’t appear. I don’t get it. It tends to happen when a post is fresh, and little or no comments have yet been posted. But when there’s lots of comments already posted, I never have a problem posting.

Anyone have an explanation?

“”women cannot drive there to enjoy the view of the gorgeous half-men attending, either””
Can you name some of the half-men ?
and some of the FULL-Men ?

correction

Alex,

I think the real political reasons for the Israeli excercise are:

1- Olmert, Peretz and Ashkanazi are aiming at lifting up the morale of the Israeli population and their Armed Forces from the depressing no-win situation they find themselves in.

2- It is a P.R. move (as ya3ni the IDF and MD are always preparing, being ready and being pro-active and so on..) ahead of the publishing of the Winograd Committee findings which I think will be so damaging to their Ego, which is why it is being delayed once and again.

Good, actualy excellent, now they are acting a lot like the Arabs used to act after each defeat(s)!!

I do not believe that they are really as misguided and adventurous as to be preparing for action against Syria or Lebanon. Not yet anyway!

An insightful analysis of the situation Israel manuvered itself in can be found at:
http://www.d-n-i.net/fcs/kolko_israel_last_chance.htm

“Joshua said: (March 21st, 2007, 5:20 am / #)

I have deleted Fares’ comments with personal insults and inappropriate language. This is the policy of SC.”*

*but I’ll leave the anti-semitic insults just where they are.

The half-men attending that I was referring to are the journalists who are not tall enough to enjoy the full view and access all the stories – as Ammad indicated. You didn’t think I was talking about Arab leaders, did you? You and your little dirty mind, Atassi. I like your line of thinking, though. 😉

Michael Young is more than welcome to post on Syria Comment. I did not find any sign of his having tried to post. Probably what happened is that first time posters must have their comment approved. Michael may have posted at night, while I was asleep. He would have gotten an email back, explaining that his post was waiting for moderation, at which point he decided to post elsewhere and withdrew his comment. This would explain why there is no trace.

Once an email address is approved for the first time, there should never be a wait for a comment to be posted or approval necessary.

K., I do not know why you would find it sometimes difficult to comment when a post is new. If so, it would have to be a bug in Word Press’ software.

Do let me know if you have a problem in the future.

Fares, if you want an issue raised on Syria Comment, such as government plans to replace buildings in the Old City, which is causing a stir, I will usually be happy to oblige. But coming to the site calling my wife names, insulting me and then ordering me to raise the issue you want on threat of being called a Baathist, just isn’t a good method of rallying support for a cause. It is likely to get me angry and assures that I will not work with you because I will be in a snit. Organizing requires a modicum of diplomacy.

I received Razan Zaytounie’s email two days ago, explaining the need to protest government plans to demolish a section of the old city. I was planning to add it to a future post when I had finished responding to Young. Your impolite orders do not serve your cause.

Here is Razan’s note:
petition to save Old Damascus
in Arabic and Engilsh
help to save Old Damascus http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/damascus/
sign it or send it to friends
best wishes
Razan

Best, Joshua

Personally, if I was in Joshua Landis’ shoes, I would press charges immediately.

Oh please! I’d love to see that! And then see Landis lose and pay for all the legal fees.

But here’s why Landis won’t and can’t take your ridiculous, amateurish advice. It’s Landis who could be sued for the stunt he pulled with the Kilo thing.

So, take your “outrage” Idaf, and well…

No Comment! For Syria it is not, but it is OK for Jordan I guess!

Article in Elaph site today:

?????? ???? ???? ????????? ?????? ?????? ????????
GMT 12:00:00 2007 ???????? 21 ????
? ????? ????

?????? ????? ?? ???? ????????? 15% ?? ?????
?????? ???? ???? ????????? ?????? ?????? ????????

??? ??????????? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ????
???????: ??? ?????? ????? ?????????
????? ???? ?? ????: ??? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ???? “?????” ???? ???? ????????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ????? ??????? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ????????? ??? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? 15 ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? 5 ?????? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ??? 192 ????? ?65 ????? ????? ?60 ????? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ???????? ????????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ??????.

??????? ??????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ????????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ??? ??? 1948 ??? ??? ???? ???????? ??????????? ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ??? ??? ???? ????????? ???? ???????? ???? ???? ????????? ?????? ?????. ??? ???? ??????? ??? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????????.

??? ???? ??????? ???????? ???? ??? ????????? ?? ???? ???????? ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? “?????” ???? ????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ?? ????. ????? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ????? 28 ???? ?? ???? ?? ?????? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ??????? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??? ????? ????? ???.

????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ?? ????????? ?????????? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ???????? ????? 15 ????? ?????. ????? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ????????? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ???????? ??????? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????? ???????? ????????? ???????? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ????????? ???????? ??? ??????. ????? ????? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ???????? ??? ???? ????????? ????????? ??? ?????? ????????.

???? ????? ??? ???? ????
??? ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ????????? ??????? ??? ???????? ???? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ??. ????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ???????? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ????? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ???? ??????? ?? ??????. ??????? ????? ????? ???????? ?????? ?? ????????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ??????? ??? ?? ??????? ???????? ??????. ?????? ???? ??? ????????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ????? ???? ???????? ???????.

?? ?????? ???? ??????? ???????? ?????? ????? ????? ????????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ??????? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ????????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ???????? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ????????? ???? ?? ??????.

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???? ??? ????????? ????????? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ???????? ??????? ????? ???????? ????? ?? ??? ????? 700 ??? ????? “?? ???? ??? ????? ????? ????? ?? ???????? ????? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ??????”. ???? “????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ??? 900 ??? ??? ??? ???????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ???????”. ????? “?? ???? ?????? ?? ???????? ??? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ?????” ????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?? ????? 250 ??? ?? ??? ???????? ??? ???? ?????”.

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???????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ???????? ?????? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?? 192 ???? ????? ???????.
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?? ????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ????? ???????? ?? ??????? ???????? ????? ????????? ?????? “??????? ???????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ??????? ???????. ??? ??? ??????? – ?? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ???? – ?? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ???????? ???? ????? 15 ?? ????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ????.”

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???? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ????? ??? ????????? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? “?? ?? ??” ???? ????????? ????? ??????? ???? ???? ???? “???? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ??????? ???? ??????? ???.”

????? ????”????? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ??????. ???? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ????????? ?????? ??????. ?????? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ????????? ??? ???? ????? ???.” ????? “??? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ????????? ???????? ?? ??? ??? ????????? ????????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ??????” ????. ?????? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ????????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ????. ???? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ???.

????? ??????? ??? ??? ????? ???? ???????? ??????? ??????? ????????? ????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ??????? 60 ????? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ??????. ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ??????? 7000 ????? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ????? ???.

????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ?????? ????????? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ???. ???? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ???????? ???????? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ????.

????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ???????? ?? ?????? ?? ????????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ?????. ????? “?? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ????????? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ??????”.
??????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ????? ??????? ???? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ( ??????) ??? 2005 ???? ????????? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ????. ????? ???? ?? ???????? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????????.. ?????? ??? ???? ????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ????????? ???????.

??? ???? ???????? ??????? ????? ??????? ????? ???????? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ???????? ????????? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ???.

????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ????
???? ?? ??? ???? ???????? ?? ???????? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ???????? ??????? ????? ???????? ?????? ????? ??????? ????????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????. ???????? ??? ????? ??? ???????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ??????? ????????? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ???. ???? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ??????? ????? ???????? ????????? ??? ???????.

????? ?????? ????? ???????? ????????? ??????? ??????? ????????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ???????? ????????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ????? (???????) ????????? ?????? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ????????? ??? ??? ???????? ??????? ??????? ???? ???????? ???????? ?? ??????.

??? ?????? ????? ???????? ????????? ????????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ???????? ????????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? (110 ?? ???? ??? ?????) ?? ???? (??????) ?? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ????????? ??????? ?? ??????.

????? ???????? ??????? ??? ?? ??? ???????? ????????? ??????? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ??????????? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ?????. ?????? ??? 40 ? 50 ??? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ???: ????? ??????? ? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????. ???? ?????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ????? 20 ??? ???? ?? ????? ???? ???? 7000 ?? ???????? ???????.

??????? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ???????? ????????? ?????? ????? ??????? ???????. ???? ??? ?? ???????? ??????? ????? ???? 18 ????? ????? ??? ???????? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ??? 7000 ???? ?????. ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ????? 7000 ???????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?????? ???????? ????? ????????? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ???????? ?????????! ?? ??? 5000 ????? ???????? ???? ???? 250 ??? ??? ???????? ??????? ?? ???? 50 ??? ???? ?????? ????????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ?????????? ?????? ???????? ????? ???? ??? ?? ?????.

First of all, I’d like to express my appreciation for Professor Landis and his site. When I read it, I feel I am getting a real understanding of what is actually going on in Syria—as opposed to the comments, where I seem to get more of what various people wish was happening in Syria. As an outsider to Lebanese politics and media, I was pretty shocked by Michael Young’s attack on Josh. Maybe Mr. Young is frustrated with the progress of his favored cause—confrontation and regime change in Syria—and feels the need to marginalize Josh and his arguments with a accusation that goes beyond polarizing. I would like to offer the comment that Lebanon, to me, looks more brittle than Syria. Absent the distraction of a regional campaign directed against Syria that would put Hezbollah on the defensive, it is hard to see how long Lebanon can cling to the Taif Accord and deny Lebanese Shi’ites a new census and a readjustment of their political representation. Maybe this concern about an internal Lebanese crisis accounts for Mr. Young’s vitriol against Josh who, as a “realist” (as opposed to “regime changer”), would deny Mr. Young the external crisis that might allow the current power structure in Lebanon to persist.

what a difference a day makes. 80 new comments in just one day? It was shocking to go through all of them but I am glad to see that Josh is on top of it.

Fares – you’re lucky cause if it was up to me and I had seen it earlier, you would have been banned completely. Cause you are nothing but an attention loving drama-queen. though I’m sure you would have whined about it being some sort of oppression.

Akbar Palace – where are the anti-Semitic comments you’re talking about? we usually delete the few we come across every once and a while.

Here is a brand new (as opposed to 1-day old) interview that Bashar gave to a newspaper from Oman (Alwatan)

Sorry, no English translation

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???? ??? ???? ????? ????? ??? ????? ??????. ???? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ?????: (??? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????????? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ???????)? ???????? ????? ????? ????? ???????? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ??? ?? ??? ????. ???? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ??????. ??????? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ???????? ???? ?? ????. ??????? ?? ?? ???? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ??? ?????????? ???? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ???????? ?? ??? ???? ???????? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ??????? ??? ???????? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ?????????? ?? ??? ???????? ?? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ????? ????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ???? ????? ????????. ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????! ????? ??. ??? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ????????? ????? ???????. ???? ?? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??? ?? ????????? ?? ??? ???? ???????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ???????? ???????? ??? ????? ???? ?? ??? ???. ??? ???? ??? ??? ????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ??????.
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????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ????????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ?????. ??? ???? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ?? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ????????? ?????????? ??????? ????? ???? ????????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ??????? ??? ???? ???????? ??????? ????????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ????? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ??????? ????????. ?????? ?? ???? ??????? ???????? ???? ???? ??? ?????????? ????? ??? ??????? ???????? ???? ?? ??????? ????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ?? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ???????? ??????? ??? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????????? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ????. ??? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ????????? ??? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ????? ???????? ?? ??????? ???????? ??? ???????? ????? ????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ????????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ???????? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???????.
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??? ??????? ?????? ????? ???????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ???? 11 ?????? ???? ????? ???????? ???????? ???? ??? ??? ???????? ???????? ????? ?? ??? ???????? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ????? ??????.
?????? ??? ??? ????????? ???? ?????? ??????? ??????? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ??????? ????????? ?? ??? ??????? ????? ??????.
???? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ??? ???????. ???? ???? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ??????.
????? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ???????? ????? ??? ????? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??????. ???? ????? ???? ????? ?? ?? ??? ???????? ?? ??? ????????? ??????????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ???? ??? ????. ???? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ????? ??? ???? ??? ??? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ????????? ??? ?????? ??? ?????? ??? ????.
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?? ??????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ?? ????? ??????. ??? ????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ????????? ????? ????? ????? ???????? ??? ??? ?????? ?????. ???? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ????????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ??????.
* ????? ??? ????? ??????.
** ????? ?????? ???.

I agree with you Innocent_Criminal .. I would recommend This “Fares” be banned unless he write an apology to Dr. Landis.

No Don’t ban Fares .. he will go everywhere and write about it, and “they” will believe him, because they always believe these things.. just throw in it “Syrian moukhabarat agent” or something and everyone will love you.

Besides, I think it is over.

Josh,
I for one would love to see Michael Young participate on this blog. Therefore, here is another open invitation from a liberal American extended to him to come and debate us, fair and square. In particular, I would like to know whether he is true to his Alma Mata advocating the use of the US and Israeli military forces to install democracy in Syria; or he is for something else, like insurgent/special forces type of shock and awe. If there is a third option, I would of course appreciate to know it as well. This is at the core of all issues.

Brammertz confirms motives behind assassination are political. It looks like Brammertz has excluded other possibilities:

???? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???? ??????? ???????? ?????? ???? ??????? ???????? 21-3-2007 ?? ????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ????????.

???? ??????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ?? “?????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ???????? ???? ???????? ???????? ????????” ?????? ???????.

???? “??????? ???? ???? ??? ????” ??????? ??? ?????? ???????, ???? ??????? “???? (???? ??????) ?????? ??? 1559 ?????? ????? ?????? ???????? ???? ???? ????????? ??? ??????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????????? ????????? ???? ???? ???????? ?????????? ????????? ?? ????/???? 2005”.

???? ??????? ???? “?? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ???????”.

????? ?? ?????? ???????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ???????? ???????? ????? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ??????? ???????? ?? ????? ??????.

??? ??????? ??????? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ??????, ????? ?????? ??? “????? ????” ?? ????????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ?????/?????? ??? ???? ??????? ?????????.

In the meantime Bashar keeps regurgitating/barking to France 2 about his refusal to try Syrians outside Syria – obviously seeking desperately to kiss Chiraques’ ass in order to save his neck:

????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ?????

??? ???? ???? “????? 2” ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???? ??????? ???????? ?????? ???? ???????.

???? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ???? “????? 2” ?????? “?? ??? ???? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ??????”.

????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ???????? ????? ????? ??? ???????? “??? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ????? ????. ?? ?????? ?? ???????”.

??? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ?? “??? ??? ????? ???????” ?? ???? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????.

???? ???? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?? “??? ???????? ???????? ???????? ??????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ???”. ????? “???? ????? ???? ??????? ????????? ?? ??????? ?????, ?? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ??????”. ????? ????? ??? ?? ??? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ??? 2004.

?????? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ??????? ???????? ?????? ???? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ??????/???? 2005.

Gibran, I admire your objective analytical skills.

Always brilliant.

Alex, I have quite few admirers besides you. So, I’m sorry you came in late.
I’m sure your sudden admiration is related to some event I may not be aware of. Not that I really care!

Good thinking reflected by the civilized approach form my friend FP, in today’s world politics, it’s always wiser to learn about your adversary and engage them in a useful debate …

Fares wont be banned. If Josh, the man on the receiving end of Fares’s retardation and owner of this blog, didn’t do it, who am I to do it?

on a totally different note, did you guys discuss reports of France urging Israel to invade syria? i might have missed it otherwise more info is here http://www.jnewswire.com/article/1822

And here is the latest from europe which is not positive coming directly after Solana’s visit. http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/news/article_1280999.php/Belgian_foreign_minister_says_Syria_is_not_helping_Lebanon_crisis

Here is the latest from the purveyor of democracy to Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon:

“Prevailing in Iraq is not going to be easy. … Four years after this
war began, the fight is difficult, but it can be won. It will be won
if we have the courage and resolve to see it through.”
– President Bush, March 2007.

“…In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.”
– President Bush, May 2003.

So did we prevail or did we not?

IC,

I doubt the Syrians will make any promises to the Belgian foreign minister (What can Belgium really do for them anyway?)

The Syrians have also said they do not oppose the formation of a non-politicized tribunal but any Syrian implicated will be tried in Syrian courts first. Assad simply repeated what he has been saying for a couple of years.

They will stick to that line, its convenient, not too combative and not too comitted either which leaves plenty of room for negotiations.

Dr Landis for this site to have worth surly you have to let the other side have their say? I note that their are only two comentators who have forwarded their opinion – why? Is this censorship?

Akbar complains (as usual) about anti-Semitic comments when ever somebody mentions Israel. Naturally Israel’s “chemical attack” rehearsal is as political as if Arab countries would organize a country (continent) wide rehearsal against Israel’s attack with atomic (chemical and biological) weapons. Actually I think Arab countries should do that to highlight the nuclear weapons which already exist in the area.

Commenting critically Israel’s actions is hardly anti-Semitic. Even saying that more than half of Israeli Jews think that the way to get rich is through deceit and corruption is not anti-Semitic. Why – because that is a result of a poll just published in Israeli media which makes it a fact. Source. Israeli news and polls are hardly anti-Semitic or are they Akbar?

Seems that many of these “ultra-Lebanese” blog commentators have the same attitude as the present US regime. You are either on our side or against us. No other options. Sadly these commentators do not follow in their actions the other corner stone of US foreign policy – We do not speak to you. – or write comments in this cas. Shouting regime change and calling the Syrian president with bad names is hardly very intelligent especially when we can see where it brought Iraq.

Professor Landis I thank you for giving a good “window” to see what happens “around” Syria. Like professor Cole it seems that also you have some times to encounter heavy critics. If your work would not be noticed, there would be no critics and personal attacks.

Lebanese-Israeli coordination seems to be on track:

UNIFIL, Lebanese and Israeli armies hold ‘constructive’ talks
By Mohammed Zaatari
Daily Star staff
Thursday, March 22, 2007
NAQOURA: A tripartite meeting of representatives from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Lebanese and Israeli armies was held Wednesday at the force’s headquarters in Naqoura, a month after the last meeting, which was described at the time as an “utter failure.”
UNIFIL spokesperson Liam Mac Dowell said Wednesday’s meeting was “positive and constructive,” and added that the parties had agreed to hold meetings “once per month.”
The three sides discussed the implementation of Resolution 1701, which ended the summer 2006 war with Israel, a statement issued by UNIFIL said.
One issue on the agenda was “full respect” for the Blue Line, which UNIFIL has been re-marking after some markers were knocked over or destroyed during the summer war. Attendees also conferred on the status of the village of Ghajar, with a view to expediting the withdrawal of the Israeli Army from the village.

Parties agreed on having UNIFIL’s coordination and liaison arrangements “promoted and fortified,” in order to improve its ability to enhance security in its area of operations.
UNIFIL commander Major General Graziano expressed his satisfaction with the progress.
“The meeting was held in a constructive atmosphere,” he said. “It was a productive meeting, and I look forward to the coordination arrangements contributing to an improved level of confidence on the ground.”

On the other hand the Lebanese army will soon be in a position to chase arms smugglers from Syria to Lebanon into their deathbeds – Thanks to America, of course

Feltman says military aid has begun to arrive

Daily Star staff
Thursday, March 22, 2007
BEIRUT: US Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman said Tuesday that US aid for the Lebanese Army had begun to trickle in and that more aid is expected to arrive in the next few weeks. “Aid and equipment have started to get delivered to the army, and the Lebanese will start perceiving the change real soon,” Feltman said.
Feltman said that the administration of US President George W. Bush was collaborating with Congress to equip the army in order to ensure that pledges made during Defense Minister Elias Murr’s visit to the United States early in March were “ratified and fulfilled.”
Feltman spoke following a meeting with Murr at the latter’s residence in Rabieh.
“I discussed with Minister Murr the positive outcomes of his visit to Washington,” the US ambassador said.
Feltman said Murr had “successfully” explained to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Minister Robert Gates the “crucial” role that the army played in preserving “stability and prosperity” of the Lebanese.
“I am particularly glad that through the Congress, the US was able to help both the defense minister and the army fulfill their roles and duties and better serve the Lebanese,” Feltman said.

Murr’s talks in Washington with top US officials revolved around military as well as political concerns.
He was expected to visit the United States in late 2006, but the summer 2006 war with Israel prevented him from doing so.
The army had previously compiled “a list of needs” that Murr shared with the US administration during his visit to the United States.
Lebanese Army chief General Michel Suleiman had briefed several US officials who had visited him about shortages in artillery and other equipment that affect the military’s ability to properly carry out its international respobsilities.
The US government has also provided various other forms of security assistance to Lebanon, including vehicles and riot gear for the Internal Security Forces. – The Daily Star

Bashar’s regime is in a severe state of halucination:

????? ???????? ????????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ?????????? ???????? ????? ????? ???????? “???????” ????? ?????? ????????

???? ????: ????? ?????? ??? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ??????

???????? – ?????? 22 ???? 2007 – ????? 2565 – ???? ??????? – ???? 2

???? ?????

???? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ???????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ??????? “?????? ???????”.
????? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ????????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ????????? ???????.
????? ??? ?? ???????? ????????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ????????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ?? ????????? ??????? ??? ????? ???????? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ?? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ??? “????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ????????? ???????? ??? ??????? ?? ?? ??????”? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?? ?? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ????????? ???? ??? ????? ????? ?????: “?? ?? ??????? ????”.
????? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ??? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ???????? ????? ???? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ??????.
????? ???????? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ???????? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?????????? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ?????????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??? ??????? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ?? ?? “???????” ?? ??? ????? ???????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ????? “??????? ?????????”.
????? ?? ??????? ????????? ???? ???????? ????? ?????????? ???????? ???? ???? ???????? ???????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ???????? ?? ??? ????.
????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ?? ???????? ??????? ? ???????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ???????? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? “????? ??????” ????????? ???? ?????? ????? ?????????? ??????? ????? ???????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ????????? ??? ????? ???? ?? ?? ????? ??? “?????? ??????” ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ??? “?? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ???????? ??????? ?????????”.
????????? ?? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ???????.
??? ??? ??????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ?????:
?????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ?????.. ???????.
??????? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ?????????? ??????? “????? ????????? ???????” ????? “??? ???????” ???? ??? ???????? ?? ???? ????? “????” ?????? ?? “??? ?????????” ???????? ?????????? ???????.
??????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ?????.
?????? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ????? “???????” ????????? ????? ?? ????? ?? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????????? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ???????? ????? ??? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??????? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ??????? ???????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ????????? ??? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ?????? ?????????? ???? “?????? ??????” ???????.
??? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? “???????” ?????? ?? ????? ??? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?????? ?????????? ??????:
?????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ???????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ???????? ????????? ??????? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ????? “???? ?????????”. ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ????? ?? ???? ???????? ????????? ????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ????????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ??? ???? ????? ???? ?? ????? ???????.
??????? ?? ??????? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ???????? ????? ???????? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ??????.
??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ????? ? ??? ????????? ?? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ????? ? ?? ???? ????? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ?? ??????? ????????? ?? ??????? ?????? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ????? ??????.
???? ?????? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ????????? ???????? ?? ????? “?????” ?????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ???????? ?? ????? ???????????? ?? ??????? ?? ????????????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ?????.

I just started a poll pn my blog where people can vote on whether or not Josh is a “regime apologist”. Ain’t democracy great?

On the other hand Brammertz is seeking the formation of the Tribunal. Whereas Belgium Foreign Minister confirms Syria’s subversive role in Lebanon as a desperate attempt to avoid the courts formation:

???? ???????? ???? ??? ??????? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ??? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ??????? “?? ?????? ???????? ??????? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ???????”? ?????? ??? ??? “????? ???? ????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ???????”? ??????? ????? ?? “???????? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ?????? 1559 ???????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??????? ???????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ????”.
???? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ??????? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ???????? ???? ?? ??????? ??????? ???????? ???????? ??? “???? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????????”? ??? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????? ????? “????? ???”.
?? ???? ???? ??? ???? ???????? ???????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ????????? ??????????? ?? ????? “?? ???? ???????? ?? ??? ?????? ?????????? ???? ????? ??????? ???????”.
???? ??? ????? ???????? “??? ???????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ???????? ?? ???? ??????? ????? ??”? ?????? “??? ??? ???????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ???????. ???? ?? ????? ?????”? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? 6 ?? ??????? ?????? “??? ?? ????? ???? ??? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????? ??????”? ???? ??? ????? ??? ??? ??? ??? “??? ????? ????? ??? ??????? ??????”? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ??? “?? ????? ?????? ???? ?????”.

???? ?????
??? ???????? ????? ???? ????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ???????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ?? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ????????? ??????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ????? ??????.
???? ???? ???? ??????? ????????? ?? ??????? ??????? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ?? ??????? ????????? ??? ????? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ????????? ??????? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ???.

???? ??? ??? ????? ??????????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???????? ??? “??????????? ??????????” ???? ??????? ?????? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ??????? “??? ??? ?? ?? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ???????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ??? ?? ???????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ????”.

It is amazing to me how the people who come to Syria to have her do something for them forget the first principle of business ,( give something then ask for something ) , they will be embarrassed into giving back ,apparently they keep coming with demands even though they know that they lost their war to isolate Syria, For Lebanon , the only hope for them is the fact that Syrians have a big heart and they will forgive the insults for the sake of Arab ism.

Josh , Thank you , I think this spell check worked .

Syria’s ‘engagers’ can’t ignore Brammertz
By Michael Young
Daily Star staff
Thursday, March 22, 2007

Why is it that in the matter of Syria, the Europeans are such gluttons for punishment? Last week, the European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, traveled to Damascus to “engage” the regime of President Bashar Assad and deliver a message that the key to Syria’s salvation was a change in its behavior toward Lebanon. The Syrian response came almost immediately: Nothing has changed or will change in Lebanon, whether with respect to the Hariri tribunal or Lebanese sovereignty.

The EU “dialogue” with Syria comes at a complicated moment. The Assad regime has felt a whiff of fresh oxygen through various recent foreign offers to talk. Last week the United States organized a conference in Baghdad on Iraq’s future at which the Syrians were invited. The Arab summit is coming, and some optimists still think that they can reconcile the Syrian and Saudi leaders. And the EU, keen to do something, even something futile, recently decided to turn the page with Syria. However, when the French balked, the consensus was to send Solana as sole European representative – to preserve EU unity and prevent the kind of amateurishness that surrounded the Belgian foreign minister’s visit to Damascus earlier this month, during which the Syrians denied they would hand suspects over to the Hariri tribunal. The minister, Karel de Gucht, expressed “disappointment” with the Syrian position – a word that will clutter the European lexicon on Syria in the months to come. Assad also told Solana he was not interested in concluding an association agreement with the EU, denying the Europeans more leverage over Damascus.

The Europeans, but also the Americans and Arabs, must be much clearer on where discussions with Syria are going, because the implications of engagement have just become much starker. In his latest report, the United Nations investigator Serge Brammertz all but confirmed that Syria was involved in Rafik Hariri’s assassination. After explaining the political context affecting relations between Hariri on the one hand and Syria and its local allies on the other in the period leading up to the former prime minister’s murder, investigators wrote, in paragraph 63 of their report: “[A] working hypothesis is that the initial decision to kill Hariri was taken before the later attempts at rapprochement [between him and Syria and other Lebanese officials] got underway and most likely before early January 2005. This leads to a possible situation in the last weeks before his murder in which two tracks, not necessarily linked, were running in parallel. On one track, Hariri was engaged in rapprochement initiatives and on the other, preparations for his assassination were underway.”

Brammertz’s caveats notwithstanding, what the investigator is saying is quite obvious: Despite efforts to bridge the differences between Hariri and the Syrians, the assassination plot remained on course; therefore the Syrians and their Lebanese allies continue to be prime suspects in Hariri’s killing. Why would Brammertz bother to mention these two developments together if he didn’t have a strong suspicion that they were linked – though he mentions the possibility that perhaps they were not? And even then, his wording can be read to mean other things: for example, that those planning Hariri’s murder simply ignored the parallel reconciliation efforts; or perhaps that those engaged in such efforts were sincere, and were not trying to lull Hariri into a false sense of security in order to make his elimination easier. The latter point could be a significant one if we recall that in the weeks leading up to February 14, 2005, Hariri was meeting regularly with Hizbullah’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

The Syrians know the implications of the UN report, which is why the Assad regime seems to have taken a strategic decision to confront the international community, whatever the costs. Allowing the Hariri tribunal to go forward in any way, the Syrians plainly believe, will spell disaster. Better to reject everything and shift the tricky burden of creating the tribunal under Chapter VII of the UN Charter onto the Security Council’s shoulders. That’s what makes an Arab, European or American breakthrough with Syria unlikely; and it’s why we should expect no progress in Lebanon until the tribunal issue is resolved. The dialogue between parliamentarian Saad Hariri and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was a charade designed to satisfy the Saudis before the Arab League summit and calm the Lebanese street. On Tuesday, Berri feigned outrage with the majority’s behavior, partly to cover for the fact that neither Syria nor Hizbullah has given him any margin of maneuver to arrive at a mutually acceptable deal with Hariri. Nothing indicates we will soon emerge from the current crisis.

It is a good time to impose guiding principles for future European, American, and Arab engagement of Syria when it comes to Lebanon. The Bush administration in particular cannot afford to leave its Syria policy vague. The possibility of a strong electoral backlash against the administration’s behavior in the Middle East in two years’ time could mean that even the consensus on Lebanon in Washington will break down. Syria is hoping to outrun the international community, and the only way to avoid this is for the latter to unite around some basic tenets.

The first is a statement by the five permanent members of the Security Council affirming that the Hariri tribunal will be established, whatever the circumstances, even under Chapter VII if necessary. Failing to create the tribunal, the five must insist, would cast doubt on their own credibility. This line is generally accepted today, even if no state, including Lebanon, is eager to set up a tribunal under sole UN authority. But Syria is playing brinksmanship. A statement dashing Syrian hopes would help in this regard, and Russia is the best placed to deliver it.

A second guideline is to inform Syria that it can expect no serious exchanges on matters of concern to it until it meets several specific benchmarks. It must give its Lebanese allies the green light to vote in favor of the Hariri tribunal during the current session of Parliament; and it must offer guarantees that it will cease interfering in Lebanese affairs, arming Hizbullah, and using faux Al-Qaeda groups like Fatah al-Islam to advance its aims. These conditions are hardly onerous. After all, they are spelled out in Security Council resolutions starting with Resolution 1559, so concerned states would only be implementing international law.

A third guideline is to demand that Assad himself, or Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, unambiguously declare that Syria accepts the authority of the Hariri tribunal, supports its immediate establishment, and will agree to place any Syrian suspect at the tribunal’s disposal. And fourth, the permanent five in particular must reaffirm that there can be no negotiations with Syria over Lebanon that would, in one way or another, contradict prior Security Council resolutions and undermine Lebanese sovereignty. Any deliberations with Syria involving Lebanon must be largely limited to implementing Security Council resolutions.

Until such principles are formalized by the Arab states, the EU, the US, and Russia in their dealings with the Assad regime, Syria will continue to hold Lebanon hostage. It makes no sense for states to back an investigation into Hariri’s assassination while pretending that it’s business as usual with a regime that, once again, has been fingered as the prime suspect in the crime. The Syrians have been more consistent on that front than those wanting to talk to them. At least they make no pretence of appearing innocent. Assad has shown he won’t give anything up. Can the international community face down his challenge?

Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR.

“Can’t the international community make Michael’s day and punish the Syrians? … please?”

Don’t listen to president Carter, to James Baker, to the Irish foreign minister, to the Italian prime minister .. listen to this Lebanese journalist who does not mind throwing the Middle East straight into hell only in order to punish the Syrians for… whatever.

Not that it will make any difference, but I suggest that Joshua should officially invite him to discuss his long-held opinion on Syria and the way the west should deal with Syria. I think Ford Prefect suggested the same earlier today… after all Michael was saddened that his comments did not make it here after Joshua “evidently” did not want them to go through.

You seem to lack basic analytical skills Alex. That’s probably related to your problem with lack of comprehension observed previously.
You know, Michael is talking about implementing justice in a crime and it so happens that Syria is seemingly a prime suspect. Where is the fault of Michael Young in this affair?
You seem to confuse the implementation of justice with punishment and blame Michael Young for asking what every normal human being would ask for.
Alex, you are a patrhetic and ridiculous supporter of a criminal regime. Why don’t you come out in the open and demand the formation of the Tribunal for the purpose of implementing justice? Just like what every normal human being would do.

Gibran

Let’s start with the bigger crimes .. let’s rate them in order of significance (the ones which caused more dead innocent people first), then we will talk “justice”

Good night Gibran : )

Of all the horrific (e.g., 3 million children-killing cluster bombs are still in the South Lebanon) and internationally-condemned crimes that Israel and its lethal weapons brought upon Lebanon and its civilians for the past 30 years, this is now the only crime worth punishing? And this crime is also worth punishing even before the perpetrator has been identified? Have we gotten the horse before the cart here, democracy and liberty lovers?

Ford P,
how can you reason with the following logic:

wrong doing that implicates syria, its syria to blame (fair enough).
wrong doing that lacks evidence and requires investigation, its probably syria to blame.
wrong doing that clearly implicates someone else especially israel, then syria instigated it and should be to blame.
wrong doing that clearly implicates locals from within, then syria is their sponsor and is to blame.

evidence is not necessary any longer. they’re just an obstacle.
how can you tackle this argument when all you’ll be faced with is this twisted logic that doesn’t leave room for discourse. its like talking to a brick wall.

3antar,
I hear you. You don’t argue with bigots, racists, war mongers, and brick walls. You work diligently with open minded people to gather momentum to rid us of their reckless and dangerous people and policies. In the US, for example, we succeeded in correcting course back in November. The people spoke clearly to King George that when democracies do undertake self-defensive strikes, if they do, these strikes must not be based on manufactured evidence, lying to Congress and the American people, and certainly not based on Israel’s agenda. One inquiry after another, including Supreme Court decisions told the current Administration that the American people will not tolerate an erosion of their cherished liberties for long. And that has happened already. An administration that handled the Katrina disaster, and still is not cognizant of its colossal incompetence there, isn’t fit to tackle the any problem, let alone the Middle East problem.

And all over the Middle East, people are yearning for reform, for change, for liberty, and for getting rid of extremism that is further fueled by the extreme and reckless policies of this administration and Israel. Of course, the minute you start the discussion, “terrorism” and “anti-Semitism” are raised (and now simultaneously) as if these two are not an integral part of the overall problems that need a solution. And the people of the Middle East, as simple as they are, can tell the difference between love and hate. They can smell when the US is having their best interest in mind or its own. Syrian and Lebanese, for example, that the calls for democracy are one-sided and coming from left field. There are no genuine US feelings towards them here. People are simple, but they are not dumb.

From my end, the only hope for a fair and balanced solution is a true and genuine leadership from the US. This is coming in November 2008. Until then, remain in your seat with your seatbelt fastened, please.

FP, I agree with this statement “And the people of the Middle East, as simple as they are, can tell the difference between love and hate. They can smell when the US is having their best interest in mind or its own.”

I remember when President Carter lost to President Reagan, even simple uneducated Egyptians I used to meet were saddened because they somehow realized that president Reagan “will not be good to Egypt” like Carter was.

And it was true… Reagan did not know much about Egypt and did not give much attention to that country.

I think president Bush knows by now he is personally not trusted anymore by most Arabs. Neither his intentions nor his abilities.

But from now until 2008 what do we do with all those conflicts? 18 months is a long time.

* ????? ????? ??????? ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ????? ??? ????? “?????”

???? ????? ????? – ?????? 22 ????/ ???? 2007

???? – ????? ?????

??? ??? ????? ??? ???????? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ???????? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ?? ???????. ????? ??? ??? ?????????? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ?”??????” ?? ??????.

???? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ????? ???? ?? 10 ????/ ???? 2005? ?? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ??? ????? ?? ???????? (???? ??? ?????) ?? ????? ?? ??????/ ????? 2005. ????? ??????? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ????? ????? ??? ???? ?? ??? ?????. ???? ?????????? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ??????? ????????? ??? ?????? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ???????? ???????. ??? ?? ???????? ???????? ????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?? ??? ???????? ?????? ???????? ?? ???????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ????? ????????? ?? ?????? ?? 15 ????/ ?????? 2005 ????? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ???????.

???? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ???? ???? “??????? ??????? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ????? “????????” ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ????/???? 2005″.

??? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ??? ?? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ????????? ???? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ????? “????? ??????? ???????”? “???? ?? ??? ????????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ???????”.

????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ?????? “??? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ?? ????? ???????? ?? ??? ????? ????? ???????? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ?????”. ????? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? 1 ?????/?????? 2005 ?? ????????? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ???? ????? ??????? “???? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ??????????? ???????? ???????”. ????? ??????? ?? “??? ????????? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ?????? ?? ???????”.

??? ??? ????????? ??????? ????? ??? “???? ???? “????????”? ??? ?? ????????? ???????? – ???? ????? ????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??????? (????????? ????????)- ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ???????? ???????”. ??? “???? ????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????????? ????????? ?? ??? ???????? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ???????? ??? ??? ??? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???? ??????”.

????? ??????? ??? ?? “??? ????????? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ???????? ??????? ??????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ?????? ???? ???????? ???????- ??? ?? ????? ???????? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ???? “????? ??????? ???????”? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ????????? ??? ???? ????????? ?????? ?????? ?? 2 ?????/?????? 2005 ??? ?????? “???????????” ??? ????? ?????- ???? ?? ???? ??? ??? ????? ???????”.

???? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? ??? ??? “?? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????”? ??? “?? ???? ????? ????? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ??????? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ????? ?????” ?”?? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ??? ????”.

?????? ??????? ??? ?? “????? ???? ???? ????? “??????? ????????? ?????????” ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ???”. ??? ?? “???? ????? “???????”- ??? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ??? ????? ????????? ???? ??????? ???????? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ???????? ??? ??? ????? – ??? ???? ??? ??????? ??? ???????? ?? 29 ????/???? 2005 ?? ?? ??? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ??????? ??????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ??? ??? ?? “??????????” ???????? ?????? “??????? ????????? ?????????” ????? ????? ???? ????? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ???? ?? 10 ????/???? 2005 ????? ?????”.

“?????????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ????? ???????? ????? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ??????? ???????. ???? ??? ??????? ???? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ????????? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ????????? ??????? ???????? ?? ??? ?? ???? ????? ???????”.

“??? ????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ?????? ??? ??? ???????? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ???????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ?? ???????? ??? ?? ????? ????????? ????? ??????? ?????????? ?? ???? ?????? 16 ?? ??????? ???????? ??? 14 ????? 1969? ???? ???? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ???????? ??? ??? ??? ???????”.

???? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ?? ??????/ ????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ????? ????? “?????? ??? ???????”. ??? ??? ???? ???? ????? ????? ???????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ????? “??? ?????? ????????” ???? ???? ???????? ??????? ???????? ?? “??????? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ???????? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ????? ?????????”.

????? ??? ?? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ?? ???????? ??? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???????? ????????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ???. ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ??????? ??????. ??? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ???????. ??? ??????/???? ?????/???? 2005? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ??????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ??????? ????????. ??? “?????” ????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ???? ???????? ????????? ?? ???? ?? 10 ????/???? 2005.

???? ??? ??????? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ???????? ??????? ?? 12 ????/ ???? 2004 ???? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ???????? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ??????.

???? ??????

Michael Young is a neo-con shill and a scoundrel. It’s easy for him to be critical of Landis from his lofty perch in Lebanon where he writes bad fiction disguised as “editorials”.

Lebanon will take one more step towards normality when the likes of Young with his shrill (and wrong) editorials and his lapdog shills are gone from the scene.

But as long as he keeps writing his contemptuous screeds, he is only prolonging–and exacerbating–the turmoil in Lebanon.

Michael Young, please go.

And use your Arab name you sell out!

[…] Red Herring Alert Filed in: History Add comments The Oklahoma-based academic, Joshua Landis, tries to respond to the devastating take-down by Michael Young. […]

Thumbs up Landis. I respect your brave and consistent contribution over the years.

I second MSK’s sentiments on this post being a chance for us to see where you really stand on issues. Let me just say though that we are often too eager to know where writers “stand” and neglect to take any argument on its own merits. Does it really matter whether you support Syria’s current regime or are a die-hard pro-American before I can listen to what you have to say? Those who are prone to answer yes to this question are the narrow minded ones.

I certainly believe you have made an interesting contribution to the debate on important issues, even if some think your interest in Lebanon is suspicious. Though I may disagree with your views on Lebanon’s politics and what things in it need fixing, I respect your right to say your bit.

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