Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Asharq Alawsat on the Hariri assassination and other matters of interest

Asharq Alawsat is a sources of Arab news and opinion that frequently meets with my Imperialist Neo-con approval, not to mention my World Arrogance, hegemonic, and bullying approval. Its point of view is not exactly friendly to Israel, but AA's writers, which have frequently included Amir Taheri, seem to have a firm grasp of the principle that shooting oneself in the foot is not always a glorious victory. Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed asks, "Did Hezbollah Murder Hariri?"
Two weeks ago, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, described the 7th of May as a glorious anniversary in the history of Lebanon. What is the anniversary, and what happened on the 7th of May that is worthy of celebration? It was on this day that the militias of Hezbollah attacked West Beirut, the Sunni districts, and burned, destroyed, and killed inhabitants of the district. This is the day he describes as glorious; it is a barbarous day, which is one of the worst that Lebanon has known since the end of the civil war.

What Hezbollah did on that day was not against foreign powers, or even against an armed Lebanese power, but it was a barbarous invasion of unarmed Lebanese citizens, who were different from Hezbollah politically and in creed, and who used to express their opinion - the same as Hezbollah - in parliament and through the other means of political life.

Therefore, the story of Der Spiegel magazine was neither surprising nor shocking in its report that a special group of Hezbollah was the one that carried out the complete operation of assassinating Rafik al-Hariri. [...]
Mshari Al-Zaydi also weighs in on this subject:
The nature of [political] parties and ideological groups that achieve their goals by using Tehran's slogans and calling for [religious] salvation is their belief in their own immortality and endurance. These groups believe they are last hope for salvation and that they alone possess solutions to the major problems. These are not parties that have the capacity for discussing differences in opinion or ideology especially in times when they are convinced of their own hegemony. They also do not doubt that they alone are in possession of the whole truth, and are convinced in their own duty of treating everybody as sheep.
Tariq Alhomayed examines "Hamas's Rationalism!":
. . . if the Americans, Europeans, and Russians want to know whether Hamas is truly rational and has accepted responsibility towards the Palestinians and their cause then this cannot be measured in words, or by the halting of rocket fire. The main test of whether Hamas is being honest and is truly committed [to this] can be seen with the success of inter-Palestinian dialogue, and setting right the outcomes of the Gaza coup which fragmented the Palestinian cause, and weakened its negotiating position otherwise this can only be described as [political] maneuvering, and an attempt to establish [political] authority.

If Hamas believes that resistance is a legitimate option, do not have faith in the peace process, and do not want to acknowledge the agreements made by the Palestinian Authority, then the question is; what does Hamas want to negotiate on?

What the Palestinians and the Arabs need is the foundation of the Palestinian state, if Hamas do not want to see the establishment of a Palestinian state, why do they not announce this? [...]
In a piece from last week, Diana Mukkaled comments on a proposed Israeli Ministry of Information:
It would appear to be the case that the infection has also spread to the Hebrew state.

Never before has this happened in the history of Israel; the Israeli cabinet has decided to establish a Ministry of Information in Israel for the first time since the state was founded in 1948. This is a major transition for the media in that country. [...]

Us Arab journalists, or at least some of us, always felt that the media in Israel is part of a more "advanced" system than our own and is supported by more liberal and democratic laws and systems than our own. In this way, an Israeli journalist can expose the actions carried out by his/her own state, condemn its violations and its officials, and try them in court, which has happened and is still happening in Israel. [...]
Don't neglect your Daf Yomi or anything, but read the rest of all of the above if you're so inclined.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

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