The Lebanese Christians have been subjected to a deluge of misleading propaganda, leading them to believe that their new savior is General Aoun, who alone is leading the charge to have the Syria Accountability Act passed through the U.S. Congress. Nothing can be further than the truth, as he is the impediment to liberating Lebanon from the yoke of Syria, and he is used by the Syrians as a Judas goat to lead those seeking liberation to further destruction.
The Syria Accountability Act probably will be approved by President Bush and that is a problem for the Lebanese resistance forces, for it only offers sanctions, at best, against Syria. Saddam Hussein withstood those sanctions for about ten years and so will Syria if they are applied. One can be certain that Iran will financially support Syria under these circumstances as yet another blow against the West.
Bush will not attack Syria, as it will politically destroy him, because both the U.S. Congress and the U.S. electorate will not accept another war nor accept yet another staggering cost in terms of American lives and American money. Bush, if a U.S.-led war began, would also be facing a hostile world, and would be alienating the oil producing states, as well as alienating the United Nations. He would also be in the position of supporting an additional hot war, beyond the U.S. problems in Afghanistan and Iraq. One can be certain that Bush is not about to attempt political suicide.
The deception of the Christian Lebanese is that there is the possibility of the U.S. attacking Syria and freeing Lebanon from its Syrian yoke. This will never happen.
The present difficulties the U.S. faces with Syria are politically devastating to the present U.S. administration, as the American public is very aware of Syria's role in exacerbating the events in Iraq. Bush has attempted diplomacy with Syria and is reluctant to enter into any confrontation with it. For this reason, he has postponed the Syria Accountability Act twice, in defiance of the U.S. Congress. This bill originated with Congressman Jim Saxton and has seen some minor revisions, but the substance is the same as in the original bill.
Curiously, Aoun is drawn to Congressman Engle, a Democratic Jewish congressman from the New York City region. The conundrum is why would Congressman Engle and a few, very few, other well-known figures support Aoun and simultaneously say they support Israel? That is a moral dilemma that they must reconcile themselves.
Recently, the U.S. Congress held hearings on the act and the only witness was John Bolton, who spoke out vociferously against Syria. Some of his testimony was given in secret session and is not available. Amazingly, the ex-General Aoun claims credit for the Act and many news sources stated that he gave testimony to the U.S. Congress during the recent hearings. He did not; he spoke before a sub-committee only.
The riddle lies in what Aoun is attempting to accomplish, how he approaches the problem, as well as his non-stated solution to the U.S. Congress. The General has repeated many times in the foreign and Arab media that he wants Syria out of Lebanon, while he politically criticizes any positive role Israel may have in Lebanon. After that, he wants to reach an accommodation with Syria as a neighboring, brotherly state. And therein lies the problem, as his aversion, indeed hostility, to Israel is well known and restated frequently in the press.
The General's solution would further destabilize the Levant and add to the present friction between Israel and Lebanon. His solution is not an acceptable solution and would add to the present problems faced by Lebanese Christians, as they are predictably pulled into fighting the aging General's war against Israel.
Aoun is not the solution; Aoun is the problem.
Any solution must take into consideration the present reality in the U.S. and the U.S. relationship with Israel. The U.S. will only go as far as voicing its displeasure with Syria, most likely pass the Syria Accountability Act - for domestic reasons only - but the U.S. will not venture into any hot war with Syria. Yet, that is the only solution that will free Lebanon.
Nonetheless, the U.S. has an alternative answer in Israel, as Israel is close to war with Syria and its minions, such as Hizballah. In the last few days, the U.S. has signaled its support for Israel in the latter?s attack on Syria and by vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israel. It could have abstained.
Israel, while acting in coordination with the U.S., seeks peace for itself and understands that the future must include an economic partnership with both Lebanon and Syria and a total peace between these neighboring countries. For Aoun to assume that Israel would allow a harmful and hostile leader such as himself to assume a leadership role in Lebanon enters the world of fantasy, for Israel will not reach any accommodation with him. He is despised in Israel, and for numerous reasons. Israel has no reason to squander its resources to implement yet another antagonistic state to its north.
For these reasons and many more, the Government of Free Lebanon in Exile and the Lebanese Foundation for Peace have been strenuously working in the political arena, along with other Lebanese opposition groups, to prepare the groundwork for a free Lebanese State. We have offices in Jerusalem and Washington and are constantly in touch with substantive members of those governments who are friendly to our cause.
The first thing for the freedom fighters in Lebanon to understand is that victory has a price and needs a winning approach. Empty bills that have no meaning for Lebanon are to be avoided at all costs, as they may be considered a substitute for the only solution that will free Lebanon and preempt a winning strategy. Additionally, ask why does the Lebanese and Syrian press push a discredited General to the forefront of the opposition? The answer is that they are presenting a false idol, a faux opposition leader, in order to divert public opinion away from the true dynamics of the opposition and, by doing so, weaken the forces of the Lebanese resistance overseas and domestically.
Lebanon's only effective hope is to join forces with Israel and the U.S. in dismantling the terror infrastructure deeply rooted in Syria and Lebanon, and in pushing the peace process into a new dynamic in the Middle East, by bringing stability to the region.
The Syria Accountability Act probably will be approved by President Bush and that is a problem for the Lebanese resistance forces, for it only offers sanctions, at best, against Syria. Saddam Hussein withstood those sanctions for about ten years and so will Syria if they are applied. One can be certain that Iran will financially support Syria under these circumstances as yet another blow against the West.
Bush will not attack Syria, as it will politically destroy him, because both the U.S. Congress and the U.S. electorate will not accept another war nor accept yet another staggering cost in terms of American lives and American money. Bush, if a U.S.-led war began, would also be facing a hostile world, and would be alienating the oil producing states, as well as alienating the United Nations. He would also be in the position of supporting an additional hot war, beyond the U.S. problems in Afghanistan and Iraq. One can be certain that Bush is not about to attempt political suicide.
The deception of the Christian Lebanese is that there is the possibility of the U.S. attacking Syria and freeing Lebanon from its Syrian yoke. This will never happen.
The present difficulties the U.S. faces with Syria are politically devastating to the present U.S. administration, as the American public is very aware of Syria's role in exacerbating the events in Iraq. Bush has attempted diplomacy with Syria and is reluctant to enter into any confrontation with it. For this reason, he has postponed the Syria Accountability Act twice, in defiance of the U.S. Congress. This bill originated with Congressman Jim Saxton and has seen some minor revisions, but the substance is the same as in the original bill.
Curiously, Aoun is drawn to Congressman Engle, a Democratic Jewish congressman from the New York City region. The conundrum is why would Congressman Engle and a few, very few, other well-known figures support Aoun and simultaneously say they support Israel? That is a moral dilemma that they must reconcile themselves.
Recently, the U.S. Congress held hearings on the act and the only witness was John Bolton, who spoke out vociferously against Syria. Some of his testimony was given in secret session and is not available. Amazingly, the ex-General Aoun claims credit for the Act and many news sources stated that he gave testimony to the U.S. Congress during the recent hearings. He did not; he spoke before a sub-committee only.
The riddle lies in what Aoun is attempting to accomplish, how he approaches the problem, as well as his non-stated solution to the U.S. Congress. The General has repeated many times in the foreign and Arab media that he wants Syria out of Lebanon, while he politically criticizes any positive role Israel may have in Lebanon. After that, he wants to reach an accommodation with Syria as a neighboring, brotherly state. And therein lies the problem, as his aversion, indeed hostility, to Israel is well known and restated frequently in the press.
The General's solution would further destabilize the Levant and add to the present friction between Israel and Lebanon. His solution is not an acceptable solution and would add to the present problems faced by Lebanese Christians, as they are predictably pulled into fighting the aging General's war against Israel.
Aoun is not the solution; Aoun is the problem.
Any solution must take into consideration the present reality in the U.S. and the U.S. relationship with Israel. The U.S. will only go as far as voicing its displeasure with Syria, most likely pass the Syria Accountability Act - for domestic reasons only - but the U.S. will not venture into any hot war with Syria. Yet, that is the only solution that will free Lebanon.
Nonetheless, the U.S. has an alternative answer in Israel, as Israel is close to war with Syria and its minions, such as Hizballah. In the last few days, the U.S. has signaled its support for Israel in the latter?s attack on Syria and by vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israel. It could have abstained.
Israel, while acting in coordination with the U.S., seeks peace for itself and understands that the future must include an economic partnership with both Lebanon and Syria and a total peace between these neighboring countries. For Aoun to assume that Israel would allow a harmful and hostile leader such as himself to assume a leadership role in Lebanon enters the world of fantasy, for Israel will not reach any accommodation with him. He is despised in Israel, and for numerous reasons. Israel has no reason to squander its resources to implement yet another antagonistic state to its north.
For these reasons and many more, the Government of Free Lebanon in Exile and the Lebanese Foundation for Peace have been strenuously working in the political arena, along with other Lebanese opposition groups, to prepare the groundwork for a free Lebanese State. We have offices in Jerusalem and Washington and are constantly in touch with substantive members of those governments who are friendly to our cause.
The first thing for the freedom fighters in Lebanon to understand is that victory has a price and needs a winning approach. Empty bills that have no meaning for Lebanon are to be avoided at all costs, as they may be considered a substitute for the only solution that will free Lebanon and preempt a winning strategy. Additionally, ask why does the Lebanese and Syrian press push a discredited General to the forefront of the opposition? The answer is that they are presenting a false idol, a faux opposition leader, in order to divert public opinion away from the true dynamics of the opposition and, by doing so, weaken the forces of the Lebanese resistance overseas and domestically.
Lebanon's only effective hope is to join forces with Israel and the U.S. in dismantling the terror infrastructure deeply rooted in Syria and Lebanon, and in pushing the peace process into a new dynamic in the Middle East, by bringing stability to the region.