For how long, Are we dead-set on being so blind to our Lebanese National Interests ?

For how long, Are we dead-set on being so blind to our Lebanese National Interests ?

For how long are we inclined to repeating the same mistakes, over and over again....? For how long are we going to be electing the same politi"CIA"ns over and over again...?

The boldest and most courageous move ever entertained by a Christian Maronite Leader, was taken by Mr. Elie Hobeika in the early part of the odious years of civil wars and wars of the foreigners on Lebanon, the 1980s. This great challenge was done with our heads high and our honor intact as a nation, coming after the tragic experience of the previous 15 years of atrociously violent events, which shook the Republic to its core, jolted the people to entertain the most divisive policies in our history, and pushed hundreds of thousands of our people into immigrating in search for work, studies, and livelihoods for decades.
http://wiredlebanon.blogspot.com/2009/01/lebanese-civil-war-and-tripartite.html
Mr. Hobeika presented the Lebanese Christians and all Lebanese, with a bold alternative to wars and occupations of our land, and presented a balanced alternative to Taef and its tragic imbalances which we discovered over the years, an alternative which was supposed to be revised and rewritten in parliament prior to its endorsement by the legislature, with a possibility to amend any and all of its articles, a tripartite agreement which preserved and protected the powers of the President of the Republic, while making executive powers more balanced within the same Republic, tending towards a modern form of government for all, with an ultimate aim of eliminating the sectarian formulas all together over time, with a modern civil system of government which would place the right man or woman in the right job, based on merit alone, and a one man one vote form of elections,after giving the millions of Christians living overseas, the right to vote if they so chose...[ In Brazil alone, there are about 8 Million Lebanese Christians who would be eligible to vote in Lebanon, should they chose to do so...] creating real national harmony among all citizens of a great nation: Lebanon.

Unfortunately, some Christians' choice was to fight this democratic alternative to wars, by declaring a real war on the messenger, killing this bold initiative dead in its tracks in January 1986, because these same Christians chose to follow the foreign invader's choice to kill this agreement, I.E., the American administration of Ronald Reagan, despite strenuous efforts by Mr. Hobeika to garner the widest support possible to the Tripartite agreement prior to embarking on this course of action, benefiting from the valuable expertise of the likes of Mr. Khalil Abou-Hamad, Fouad Boutros, and many many more legal experts, diplomats, clergy, the civil society at large, the various factions engaged in battle,and the elites, all of whom endorsed enthusiastically this bold agreement to end the fighting for ever, and embark in meaningful reforms, with a distant aim of eliminating the sectarian formula for good...!

That's why the only way to scuttle this valiant effort was to kill the messenger, demonize the messenger for decades....as they still do today...and push further and further any possibility of real reforms in Lebanon. That's what the puppets and stooges of CIA, Samir Geagea, and Amine Gemayel, with direct operational help from Oliver North...at the US Embassy in Awkar...could do back in 1986...which cannot be done today...hopefully!? because Amine Gemayel, Samir Geagea and Walid Joumblatt are all three, USA's CIA assets still...but the real balance of power of the people has shifted dramatically in favor of reforms, because the constituencies have learned from past mistakes, thanks in large part to Mr. Elie Hobeika's splendid contributions within the body politic, which greatly helps Michel Aoun today, and thanks to a wider access to information...and greater youth participation in politics...and a genuine admiration of the valiant Lebanese Resistance...

The Christian Lebanese would have been well served, had they accepted this bold initiative, acted on it in a positive way, integrated its understandings within the democratic system of Government, the Parliament and the executive branch, it would have spared them and the Nation great sufferings and more turmoil which we embarked upon right after the scuttling of this balanced Tripartite agreement, negotiated by Mr. Hobeika and his advisers in 1985, after being told point blank by all foreign powers during that time of tumultuous wars on our soil, that we should fend for our selves, as Christians and as Lebanese, because the great powers had other urgent matters to attend to... after being thrown out of Beirut by force in 1983 for the multinational forces, and 1985 for the Israeli occupation forces, pushed out of the greater Beirut areas and all the way south to Tyre, by the tremendously successful Resistance of the Lebanese Shi'ite forces, and ultimately out of Lebanon in 2000.

Had the Christians accepted and helped implement the Tripartite Accords of 1985, it would have spared us the tragedy of the 3 years of endless wars between 1986-1989 Aoun - Geagea wars, Geagea - Amine Gemayel's wars on and off, and the great collapse of our economy and our national currency...only to be crushed by the Taef accords, imposed on us by the Saudis and the Americans, with a lot of shameful bribes to all who attended the Taef talks in Taef, under the auspices of the Hariri clan... and we all know what happened next....

This is the lesson which should be taught for generations to come in our universities, schools and public service corridors of the hopefully secular Republic....to come, one day... which Mr. Elie Hobeika wanted wholeheartedly, ever since he embarked on the most difficult Endeavor, ever to be faced by a Politician in our history, having drawn all the conclusions from the war years of endless deadlocked policies, fought by howitzers and 155 MM mortars, 230 MM mortars and Grad missiles in the midst of our cities, towns and Villages over 15 years.... This is where Mr. Hobeika came from, he came from 15 years of sleepless nights... not knowing whether the morning will bring a complete overrun of our Christian areas by force of arms... because the language of Politics, reason and Parliamentary debates had all but ceased to exist.... and something had to be done to get out of this doldrums, hence the bold action of a courageous Leader Mr. Elie Hobeika in 1985, with the Tripartite accords. http://ddc.aub.edu.lb/projects/pspa/conflict-resolution.html

This is why it is so important to understand that particular time in our history, the choices we made then..., brought about the demise of a greatly timed initiative, which would have saved lives, treasure and material things, properties.... etc. and spared us from a decade of wars in 86-89 and in 2004-2008....and a 15 years of imbalance in the Republic... because of continuous bickering, occupations and mismanagement to say the least, which added fuel to the fires of the Sectarian bigots, and brought about Aoun, Geagea and Amine Gemayel all over again....and the same stooges on the other side of the isle...still being manipulated by the same powers, hell-bent on divide and conquer policies of the 1900s....all over again.

If we continue to be blind to those factual issues of the 1980s... we will never learn how to be selective in our choice of Leadership, and we will be for ever dominated by the same reproductive system of feudal politicians, sectarian politics and never ending wars every decade or two...? Now, back to the future, with more of the same....? or more of the very same ? until we erase the sectarian system all together from the Republic, we will be doing more and more rewinds every 20 or so years. Is this what the Lebanese really want for their children, and their children's children? Back to Aoun, Geagea, Amine Gemayel, Walid Joumblatt, Nabih Berri, The Hariristan Clan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, USA, Israel, France, The Vatican, Egypt, and all the rest.... how boring...? are we dead set on being so blind to our Lebanese national Interests ?

Separate visits by two major Lebanese Christian leaders to Iran in the past two months could provide a major indicator of the direction that the wider Lebanese Christian community will take in the future...? I doubt it though...!!!
The first visit was made by General Michel Aoun, the leader of the liberal faction, which adopted a strongly supportive position regarding the Hezbollah-led Lebanese resistance... which is a very good policy, should it translate into a complete overhaul of the sectarian political system for good and for ever....?

The second visitor was the president of the Lebanese republic, Michel Suleiman, who is a traditional CIA Christian Maronite. Despite the fact that he visited Tehran as a president, by visiting Tehran’s military industrial complex and fueling rumors of a possible military purchase, he offered an indication of a breakthrough in Lebanese Maronite culture showing more openness towards other countries in the region....which is fine in of itself, but far from being sufficient if it does not translate into a complete overhaul of the sectarian system for good.

As we must always look to history when we need to understand the present, let me explain two apparently contradictory factors in the history of the Lebanese Christians, in particular the Lebanese Maronites who form the majority of the country’s Christians and who played a major role in the creation of modern Lebanon, particularly during the period of the patriarch Areeda in the First World War...

The first fact is that Lebanese Christians (and the Christians of historical Syria) played a major role in the birth of the Arab national movement, which began in the days of Boutros Al-Bustany and Naseef Al-Yazegi in the 19th century. In this period, they revived and modernized the Arabic language which was the platform on which pan-Arab thinking was based, as well as playing a crucial role in awakening Arabs to the dangers of the Zionist movement as early as the very beginning of Zionism (George Antonius, Najeeb Nasser). The second fact is the skeptical tendency of Lebanese Maronite Christians towards their Arab and Muslim surroundings

Though it is beyond the aim of this article to cast much light on the history of these two factors, one cannot help but point out briefly that both were the product of the Ottoman period. During this era (though varying from period to period) Christians found themselves dealt with as second-class citizens which made some of them look for protection from the Western forces which were ready to help within the framework of Julius Caesar’s famous principle, dividing to influence during the Ottoman period and dividing and ruling in the post-Ottoman period. The Lebanese Maronites’ leading role in reviving Arabism in a secular form arose not only from their early contact with Western culture but was also a self-defense mechanism conceived to contribute towards making a state for all Lebanon’s citizens.

The pan-Arab thinker Constantine Zurich, who came from a Syrian Christian orthodox background, has emphasized the importance of modernizing and democratizing the Arab world, arguing that doing so would reduce the traditional concerns regarding the creation of a state for all its citizens on an equal footing. He summarized this point in asserting that the majority must ensure that the minority feels secure, while the minority must not look outside the country for help and protection.

In the light of this history, General Aoun’s visit to Tehran was important because it represents a new Lebanese Christian approach towards the region, demonstrating that Arab Christians are a fully-integrated part of the Arab Orient and that all Arabs would lose out if Arab Christians were marginalized. However the new Christian outlook proceeds from the Vatican directive issued during the period of the late Pope John Paul II, calling on Lebanese Christians to interact with their surroundings.

Yet while this open attitude is a move towards returning the Lebanese Christians to their historical role as pioneers in Arab progress, a skeptical tendency has reappeared among other Christians in the country. At a meeting held by the Phalange party on its 72nd anniversary, Amine Gemayel, the Lebanese "CIA" President between 1982 and 1988, known as a selfish Maronite puppet of CIA, called for the establishment of federation in Lebanon, an idea which might have surprised many observers less had it come, for instance, from the criminal of the Lebanese forces "proxy CIA Militia" Samir Geagea, who is known to hold a more radical right wing selfish stance.

It is obvious that while the 8th of March Christians have chosen to follow the Vatican’s guidance and resume the liberal traditions of their 19th century forbearers, another faction has chosen to stick with the old-fashioned skepticism which has cost the country’s Christians and the Lebanese generally so much blood and suffering previously, especially during the civil war of 1975-1989, and the 2000-2008.

The question of which group will have the upper hand in the future is difficult to answer. There is increasing evidence, however, that the progressive, open faction is getting stronger, which is good, and fine in of itself, but far from being sufficient if it does not translate into a complete overhaul of the sectarian system for good. This week, General Aoun begins a historic visit to Syria, the country which he declared war against in 1988. Aoun considers his visit to Syria important due to the historical bonds that link the two peoples; Saint Maron, the founder of the Maronite sect, was, after all, a Syrian whose followers moved to the mountains of Lebanon. During his visit, General Aoun is scheduled to meet with members of the Maronite and other Christian communities in Aleppo and Damascus, meaning in the view of some in the Lebanese media that he is behaving as if he were the leader of the Arab Orient’s Christians. He has denied this, but did not conceal his concern for the Christians across the region as being an integral part of it, rather than connected to “the crusaders or the French in the region,” in his own words.

It is certain that this argument is highly unlikely to convince those politicians who are still prisoners of the past and thus unable to search sincerely for a better political formula to resolve Syrian-Lebanese relations. Indeed, criticism of Aoun’s Syrian visit came quickly from the 14th of March Christians who still hold the same old hostile position towards Syria. What will Lebanese Christians’ choices be...?

However, apart from the daily politics and amid the talk about a dialogue between cultures the Lebanese and the Arab Christians, as the previous Phalange Party skunk of CIA Karim Bakradouni said, can play an important role in creating real dialogue between the East and the West....

Yet this cannot happen without the adoption of a stronger Arab and Muslim position in condemning the murders of Iraqi Christians and without providing the Arab Christians with all the support needed to help them assuming their illuminating role in the Arab Orient. A strongly supportive Arab position would certainly weaken the skeptical voices among some Lebanese Christians who still believe that their security comes from outside the region...., because that's what they are told by their CIA/MOSSAD patrons and handlers....exactly as they were told in 1985-86 when they scuttled the Tripartite accords, negotiated brilliantly by Mr. Elie Hobeika, and timed valiantly to take advantage of a moment in History...when that is possible for a courageous Leader to make a brilliant choice for his nation...., but that was not to be , because no hand can clap on its own...., and when "Betrayals" are the norm for the puppets...who say one thing during daytime...only to renege and fight to the death at night... killing hundreds of innocent young men on barren walls from your co- religionists...with the blessing of Nasrallah Sfeir. Although the Lebanese Christians’ choice is first and foremost the responsibility of their constituencies, it is also crucially related to the availability of greater choice in the region; more democracy and more progress towards creating a secular state for all citizens would no doubt empower Lebanese Christians, who view themselves as Arabs who would defend the Arab causes, with a modern secular form of government being foremost among these.