Ahmed Al-Jarallah latest op-ed in Kuwait’s Arab Times reinforces the point we have been making all along:
Surrender or eradication
IN the Sixties the late Lebanese President Charles Al-Helo used to welcome Lebanese journalists to the Republic Palace saying “welcome to Lebanon, your second home.” Today the opposite is happening in Lebanon. Journalists have become martyrs by sacrificing their lives to defend the freedom of their country while some officials and politicians, who follow the instructions of Syria and Iran, are grabbing top posts and accumulating wealth. These officials and politicians consider Lebanon their second, third and fourth home. We say this because the Lebanese opposition is dealing with Fatah Al-Islam, which is a clone of the Syrian regime, as if all the terrorist acts and assassinations being committed by this group are happening somewhere in Latin America and not in their homeland.
In a healthy democracy the opposition is supposed to monitor the governing majority in the interest of the nation and to defend its independence. But the opposition in Lebanon has been content with remaining passive and issuing empty statements, which make us doubt their loyalty and patriotism. During the last summer, when Israel launched a war on Lebanon, Hezbollah described the government of Fouad Al-Siniyora as the official resistance of Lebanon. Now, how will the Lebanese government describe Hezbollah as Lebanese resistance, which is being fought by the Lebanese army to defend the sovereignty of Lebanon? The whole world is closely watching the Lebanese government which is fighting terrorism. There is no other way to get rid of these murderous gangs but to root them out of Lebanon and expose their plans. There can be no other solution, settlement or negotiations with these gangs. They have to either surrender or be eliminated once and for all.
The Lebanese government is committed to reveal all the details of this game, such as from where and how these gangs came, their objectives, and who do they want to kidnap whether it is diplomats or Americans, French, Italians or the British. Who brought them from Iraq and placed them in Al-Biqaa? Which Arab official ordered the activation of these sleeping cells in the name of Fatah Al-Islam? Al-Siniyora’s government should take a firm stand to close all the gaps and seal the security wall in the face of Syria and Iran.
This will pave the way for the creation of an international tribunal to try the assassins of former Lebanese Prime Minister the late Rafik Al-Hariri. It will also lead to the disclosure of all facts on who is harboring terrorists and supporting such organizations before sending them to Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon and GCC states. Al-Siniyora’s government should complete this patriotic task to the end to help the people of Lebanon rebuild the infrastructure of their country and improve its economy, especially since they have learnt a bitter lesson and didn’t fall for this conspiracy.
The choice is clear, if the pro-Syrian groups are not destroyed then they will grow stronger and bolder… there seems to be no alternative as to what the proper course must be for Lebanon to regain sovereignty over its own land and rid itself of all foreign influence.
Blacksmiths of Lebanon reports that:
After a week of running battles, sporadic gunfights, car bombs, artillery barrages, and incessant assaults on our country’s sovereignty and national instutitutions, the government announced yesterday that they would give the Fatah al Islam terrorists holed up in the Nahr el Bared Refugee Camp until the middle of the upcoming week to surrender or die
There is no question that if the Fatah Al-Islam terrorists do not surrender there will be a bloody battle, there is no question that innocent civilian blood will flow and there is no doubt that for any legitimate government to make a decision that will endanger civilians is not easy. it is a heart breaking decision that must be agonized over and over. Having said that, however, to tell Fatah al-Islam they have even one day, let alone four days, before they surrender or else invites a fight. Not only are they using the time to entrench their positions, not only are they getting reinforcements both in equipment and men, but they are already busy setting up their human shields (innocent men, women, and children). While Fuad Saniora’s government gets ready for a fight, so is Fatah-Al-Islam. Because the Lebanese Forces, hesitated, because they did not finish off the job, the civilian toll (after four days) may be considerably higher than it would have been had the army finished the job without taking a break. To decide on all out assault on the terrorists holed in this Palestinian refugee camp, knowing full well that civilians will be hurt, is not easy as I already said above but true leadership has responsibilities and chief among is taking hard, often unpopular decisions. The alternative to decisive action is further, worse, bloodshed.
But removing the immediate threat and making sure the threat never surfaces again, requires more than brute force. As the Editor-in Chief of the Arab Times said above, the Lebanese government must be: committed to reveal all the details of this game, such as from where and how these gangs came, their objectives, and who do they want to kidnap whether it is diplomats or Americans, French, Italians or the British. Who brought them from Iraq and placed them in Al-Biqaa? Which Arab official ordered the activation of these sleeping cells in the name of Fatah Al-Islam? Al-Siniyora’s government should take a firm stand to close all the gaps and seal the security wall in the face of Syria and Iran.This will pave the way for the creation of an international tribunal to try the assassins of former Lebanese Prime Minister the late Rafik Al-Hariri. It will also lead to the disclosure of all facts on who is harboring terrorists and supporting such organizations before sending them to Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon and GCC states. Al-Siniyora’s government should complete this patriotic task to the end to help the people of Lebanon rebuild the infrastructure of their country and improve its economy, especially since they have learnt a bitter lesson and didn’t fall for this conspiracy. By saving Lebanon from chaos, from further bloodshed, they will also save the rest of the Middle East from these beasts, by saving the Middle East they will also make it harder for the same creatures to attack the West.
Chaim
