Solde w Akbar!

Do you guys remember that show back in the day on MTV (Lebanese one) where Mireille Mazraani (at least I think that's what her name was) would be screaming solde w akbar all the time?

Well it seems that the Lebanese judiciary has gotten on board that ship.

Check out this news clip from LBC reporting on the judiciary seeking the death penalty for a bunch of arrested terrorists.

These are the guys that had been arrested for involvement in the Tripoli van bombing that killed a dozen or so Lebanese Army personnel.

This is what they have been accused of/what they have admitted to:

• Tripoli bombing
• Francois El Hajj assassination
• Wissam Eid assassination
• UNIFIL bombing in the south
• Involvement in the assassination of Pierre Gemayel, or at least owning the weapon used
• Possible involvement in the Damascus bombing
• Planning the assassination of Ashraf Rifi

Does it seem a bit odd that these guys are pretty much responsible for almost every single little bombing/assassination that happened in the past couple years in Lebanon AND Syria?

Is the government putting the blame on a group/bunch of people to avoid blaming somebody else because of whatever political and security reasons?

Basically, is there a cover-up going on that someone should make a bigger fuss about?

And does it not seem odd that not a single politician in Lebanon has said anything about this? Or even praised the judiciary and the security services for their excellent investigative techniques (read as detainee abuse), which is pretty much what they do all the time in similar incidents?

This does not smell right to me!

BG

If I ever think of marrying a woman from Maarakeh, stop me

That is of course not me talking in the title. It is actually Timur Goksel speaking at a conference at the American University of Beirut (AUB). He used to be the chief spokesperson to the UNIFIL (the UN military force tasked with keeping the peace in southern Lebanon). I personally love this guy. I grew up watching him on TV. He came on practically every night during the nightly news sections, given that there were security incidents almost every night in the south when I was growing up and I've also followed his news closely since his retirement from his post at UNIFIL. He usually does interviews and TV appearances every once in a while.

On a side note: I don't know if my fascination with this guy is due to my fascination with press conferences in general and the process of Q & A. I've basically dreamt of having press conferences since I was a little kid. I have always imagined situations where I stand in front of so many microphones to answer tons of questions with smart, quick, crude, crass and often acerbic responses.

But anyway, back to subject.

His most recent gig was as a speaker at a conference at AUB. You can find the Daily Star's report HERE.

What is most intriguing in that story is Goksel's amazement as to how the UNIFIL or any other policing force in the south was unable to detect or discover Hizballah activities when it came to underground tunnel building. I have to say, I find that equally amazing. Where does all the dirt go, asks Goksel. He goes on to say that the UNIFIL force has never been able to find all the dirt dug up from these tunnels. Kids eat dirt all the time, I wonder if Hizballah supporters' kids have a higher incidence of kidney stones??!! Nah, just kidding.

The best line comes when he is describing a battle with the Israelis in a town called Maarakeh. Apparently women in that town came out of their houses and starting attacking Israeli tanks with pots and pans! Way to go women power! Ahem, ahem LZ. (In case you haven't figured this one out yet, LZ is my fellow co-blogger La Zaytouni, who is in Paaaareee for now and whom I miss daily.)

Here's your line: The strength of the women and their determination impressed him. "I said if I ever think of marrying a woman from Maarakeh, stop me.

Given his description, boy am I glad I don't have that problem.

BG

What country?

A series of security breaches have happened in Lebanon recently that pose a serious threat to the government's legitimacy as an effective protector of the state and it's people. There was the abduction of an engineer that works for MEA a couple weeks ago or so followed by the murder of another MEA employee, this time a pilot. All sources in Lebanon argue that both incidents are unrelated. However, of note, is the fact that they all happened in and around areas occupied/controlled by armed/security forces of Hezballah. A couple days ago, a yet unidentified armed group, sent a few rockets towards Israel. A few actually landed in Lebanon and never made it across the border. Again, this happened in Hezballah areas and under the jurisdiction/watchful eyes of the UNIFIL force, originally there to prevent this same exact kind of activities.

Equally important but on a different security scale is the hand grenades that have been launched at a few March 14th offices including the LF and Phalanges offices. These might have more of an election relevance rather than a security/resistance/let's pick a fight type attacks.

The most serious affront to state security happened with the attack on the police officer in Beirut's suburb. According to various sources, his and his driver's weapons were confiscated along with their Jeep. If police officers can't even protect their own, how the hell are they going to protects citizens?

you can find a video about the officer attack at the following link (in arabic):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg2RqI-8Ekw

All these are of course dangerous situations that might easily spiral out of control.
The south Lebanon situation can easily become very dangerous given that Netanyahu is back.
The situations occurring in and around Hezballah areas have become way too common, and the government needs to assert itself and kick some serious ass.
As for the LF and Phalange situations, I think they fall into pre-election campaigning, Lebanese style, and are not much of a serious security issue, an unacceptable one nonetheless.

BG