One of These Things Is Not Like the Other

You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!

Hat Tip(s): Registan, Andrew Sullivan

Veiled Threat

I don't know why this surprises me, but it does. That picture above is of British soldier Faye Turney, recently captured by the Iranian government. It turns out -- what a coincidence! -- that Turner is a good, modest Muslim from the veil covering her hair. Forcibly veiling other Muslims has a sort of demented, internal logic to it. But when the Iranians start veiling foreign Christians, they decend into the realm of parody.

Oh, and in other news, the Iranians say that Turner recently confessed to entering Iranian territory! Why anyone should believe anything the Iranians say at this point remains, of course, an open question.

May Chidiac at AUB

May Chidiac spoke at AUB today. I have a lot to say about her visit, and would have more to say if her remarks hadn't been in Arabic. Nevertheless, there are some aspects that one doesn't exactly need a translator to understand.

First, a little background. Chidiac is a television journalist who was the victim of a terrorist attack on September 25, 2005. She was targeted because of her outspoken criticism of Syria's involvement in Lebanon's internal politics. Her program on the Lebanese Broadcast Corporation the day of the attempted assassination discussed Syria's possible involvement in the killing of Prime Minister Hariri. Chidiac was not the only journalist targeted for their anti-Syrian stance -- Samir Kassir and Gebran Tueni paid for their beliefs with their lives. As for Chidiac, she lost a leg and a hand in the explosion, and spent 10 months recuperating in a Paris hospital.

Needless to say, Chidiac's speech was unlike any university lecture that I've ever been to. She was greeted by a standing ovation, and her words were interrupted every few minutes by applause. National pride ran high -- before she began, everyone stood and most sang the Lebanese national anthem. At one point, when reciting the names of the politicians and journalists targeted in the terrorist campaign by pro-Syrian forces in 2005, Chidiac broke in tears. The whole event felt like a highly charged political rally, rather than a dry, factual lecture.

And you know what? Chidiac deserves every round of applause that she received. Lebanon's journalists were tremendously courageous to tell the truth about Syria in 2005 -- at a time when the government was still run by Syria, and its intelligence services had carte blanche to run wile throughout the country. It would have been easy to hide behind a dishonest veneer of objectivity; to downplay or ignore Syrian's role in Hariri's assassination. But many of them didn't, and their speaking truth to power made it easier for regular citizens to oppose the Syrian regime. I'll give May Chidiac a standing ovation any day.

The Weak Will Probably Not Inherit the Earth

I was flipping through my big book of George Orwell's collected essays today, and came across his description of Herman Melville. "Whoever is not queasy in the presence of strength will always love Melville," writes Orwell:

"Melville was, it is clear, a man as proud as Lucifer, raging against the gods like his own Ahab...More important than his strength, he had -- what is implied in real strength -- passionate sensitiveness; to him seas were deeper and skies vaster than to other men, and similarly beauty was more actual and pain and humiliation more agonizing."

And then, a little earlier today, I came across this passage from a letter by D.H. Lawrence. It caught my eye for, well, obvious reasons. Lawrence is explaining how he would annihilate society's outcasts:

"If I had my way, I would build a lethal chamber as big as the Crystal Palace, with a military band playing softly, and a Cinematograph working brightly; then I'd go out in the back streets and main streets and bring them in, all the sick, the halt and the maimed; I would lead them gently, and they would smile me a weary thanks; and the band would softly bubble out the 'Hallelujah Chorus'."

Now, this is obviously very sick and demented and awful and pretty much every other adjective you can think of. But that's not what I want to write about. Owell's description of Melville and the Lawrence quote share a similar perspective. It is essentially elitist, contemptuous of weakness and glorifying strength and action. This is a fundamentally better attitude for a writer than today's sentimental hacks, who spend their time agonizing about minutia and finding excuses for every weakness. And it is why writers like Toni Morrison or David Sadaris will never be worthy to do so much as clean Melville's shoes.

Protesters Released

Oops, forgot to mention that the Egyptians rounded up by the police were released -- in the desert. Here's what happened:

"The detainees, according to a phone interview with Droubi, were not allowed to leave the car, and were given food only once at 4am. They even had to urinate inside the prison truck in empty Koshari boxes and bottles, courtsey of Mubarak’s police.

The prison trucks started cruising in the afternoon again, and dropped each detainee off in a different location out in the desert, starting from 2:40pm, according to lawyer Rajia Omran."

You stay classy, Hosni Mubarak.

Cairo Protests

Read this post by The Egyptian Sandmonkey. Now. This is the part of the post where I usually would post some sort of quote to give you a taste of what the post says, but that's rather impossible in this case. It's about a protest to the constitutional referendums that Mubarak is currently pushing through.

While we're on the topic, it turns out that barely any Egyptians "voted" in the "referendum" on the "amendments." Sorry, it's just so hard to write that sentence pretending that any of those words were being used in their proper sense. AP reports that a "trickle" of people showed up at the polling stations. Well gee, it's almost as if they think the whole thing is not worth their time. They've redefined "one person, one vote," in Egypt. It means that one person has the only vote.

(Photo by Amr Abdallah)

Always Look On the Bright Side Of Life

Feeling down about hopes for peace in the Middle East? About political deadlock in Lebanon? Maybe it's the war in Iraq, the Bush Administration, or the Democratic takeover of Congress that's got you feeling blue. Cheer up! We've never had it so good. This article explains that mankind is richer, healthier, and freer than at any point in its history.

"Equally important, the world is more literate and better educated than ever. People are freer politically, economically, and socially to pursue their well-being as they see fit. More people choose their own rulers, and have freedom of expression. They are more likely to live under rule of law, and less likely to be arbitrarily deprived of life, limb, and property."

We will now return you to our regular scheduled program of complaints and pessimism.

Culture Clash

The Minnesota Star-Tribune has published a series of articles about the culture clash between Minnesotans and its (mostly Somali) Muslim immigrants. It's going to be interesting to see if America can offer a better solution than Western Europe's lame attempts at "tolerance" through a dilution of its liberal principles.

The piece focuses on Muslim immigrants who accept jobs in the States, but refuse to do parts of their job that conflict with their religion. There is the supermarket checkout clerk who refuses to scan bacon: "I'm going to say 'no' and stick to my religion and not change who I am for $7 an hour," says the girl. Muslim cabbies at the airport refuse to pick up people that are carrying alcohol.

The government response, of course, has included both carrots and sticks. Check out this example of accomodation:

"Minneapolis Community and Technical College is poised to become the state's first public school to install a foot-washing basin to help the school's 500 Muslim students perform pre-prayer rituals. 'We want to be welcoming,' MCTC President Phil Davis said, noting a student was hurt trying to wash in a regular sink."

Just for a second, imagine what would happen if a similar attempt at religious "tolerance" was placed in a public school for, say, Catholics. The ACLU would be up in arms, screaming about the church-state divide, and politically correct liberals nationwide would be moaning about our descent into theocracy. But these are Muslims, and so we're going to treat them differently -- and it's going to give a lot of supposedly open-minded liberals a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

Time and Ebb

Strangely, Nabokov wrote the short story "Time and Ebb" in 1945, when he was 46 years old. The story is an old man's reminisces of his long-lost childhood in the World War II period, and contains not a line of dialogue. This seems an odd topic for a middle-aged writer at the peak of his talents to traffic in, but we forgive him. And the reason we forgive him are passages like this:

"And so I shall tiptoe away, taking leave of my childhood at its most typical point, in its most plastic posture: arrested by a deep drone that vibrates and gathers in volume overhead, stock-still, oblivious of the meek bicycle it straddles, one foot on the pedal, the toe of the other touching the asphalted earth, eyes, chin, and ribs lifted to the naked sky where a warplane comes with unearthly speed which only the expanse of its medium renders unhurried as ventral view changes to rear view, and wings and hum dissolve in the distance. Admirable monsters, great flying machines, they have gone, they have vanished like that flock of swans which passed with a mighty swish of multitudinous wings one spring night above Knights Lake in Maine, from the unknown into the unknown: swans of a species never determined by science, never seen before, never seen since -- and then nothing but a lone star remained in the sky, like an asterisk to an undiscovered footnote."

Is John Zogby Batman?

Imagine the broad strokes of most comic book plots: Bad Guys surprise Superhero while he's in his alter-ego as a mild-mannered citizen, and abduct the Pretty Girlfriend. Superhero rushes off, changes into his costume. Superhero beats up the Bad Guys, rescues the Pretty Girlfriend, people yell "Who was that masked man?" etc etc.

Now, I know what you're thinking: that sounds exactly like the life of American pollster John Zogby! Well, you're absolutely right.

Zogby gave a lecture earlier this week at American University of Beirut. He is of Lebanese descent, and still maintains close emotional (and business) ties to the Middle East. "It is home," he said of Beirut. His polling firm, Zogby International, does a lot of research in the region. They work in close association with his brother James Zogby, who is the head of The Arab American Institute.

At the same time, it is no secret that public opinion in the United States has not been overwhelmingly positive towards Arab causes. This has been especially true since 9/11, but American support of Israel goes back to the 1940s. I'm not sure Zogby's professional reputation could survive him making a full-throated declaration of his beliefs. As such, he has to walk an interesting line between his professional role as American pollster and election wizard, and his identity as an Arab man and supporter of Arab causes. He has to switch between his superhero costume of American public opinion guru, and his alter-ego as an Arab man.

Zogby's solution to his problem is to let his research speak for itself, trying to gently nudge American policymakers to adopt a more pro-Arab position. His lecture was titled "Love, Hate, Envy or Respect: Recent Trends in Arab and American Public Opinion." Essentially, his conclusion was that Arabs and Americans aren't getting along right now because of American policy, not because of any underlying cultural clash. "Good will can be resuscitated," Zogby said, if only American policy would change.

Still, at times, Zogby The Pollster seems to give way to Zogby The Arab Activist. "I have my profession, I have to maintain the purity of my profession," he said, "but I won't shut up." He explained why American public opinion did not support Arab causes by blaming a hazy "high-intensity crowd." In response, two women in the audience yelled, "Who? Name them!" "Say it -- AIPAC!" Zogby finally banged the table and said firmly, "AIPAC."

But, after all, this is Beirut. When he meets with clients in Manhattan and Georgetown, you can be sure that Zogby does his best to keep his identity secret.

Static

Okay, if you're unlike me and dying for political news today, it's all arranged in neat little bullet points to your left. Enjoy. However, I don't have any great desire to comment on these issues at length. The line between "news" and "long-running historical fact" is notoriously blurred. It is only the unique and questionable skill of headline writers that keeps newspaper readers from realizing that they have been reading the same newspaper article for the past two years.

Running with this thought for a few sentences more, let me suggest some alternate headlines for the news today. "US: Friend of Israel, Not of Hezbolah." "Lebanon: Still A Mess" "Robert Fisk: Not A Huge Fan of America"

Anyway, check out the contestants forYoutube's Best Video Awards. I know you have no intention of being productive on Friday, so just give in. Earthgoat pointed me towards this entry, where a man takes a picture of himself in the same way for over six and a half years. He then merges them together in a movie, so you can see the gradual changes in his appearance. Do you think, at some point, he regretted the dopey expression he chose? I vote yes.

Hizbullah's Dangerous Game

Al-Hayat is a Saudi-owned paper, so I have some questions about this story which purports to show growing discontent at Hizbullah among Southern Lebanese. Nevertheless, the storyline goes like this: those Lebanese most affected by the war with Israel are getting impatient with Hizbullah's political battles in Beirut, and want them to come home and help them rebuild. Here's a translated segment of the article:

"Last July, Um Qasim was putting the food on the table when a young man from the resistance came in to tell the family that they had to leave the town. The news about Hezbollah kidnapping two Israeli soldiers had just rocked Israel and Lebanon. The preliminary reports pointed to a heavy Israeli response. Um Qasim didn't pay any heed to the young man's talk. The family didn't leave their house in Bin Jbeil. In a single day in the aggression, she lost two sons and a house. Back then she said that her two children died 'for the sake of the Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah.' But seven months later after this personal loss, new questions entered Um Qasim's and other southerners' dictionaries: was it necessary for Hezbollah to capture two Israeli soldiers?

"Meanwhile, Ali spends his time moving along the roads after he lost his sound equipment and was not compensated by anyone. He said: 'the government doesn't know that there is a town called Bint Jbeil that suffered more than any other place during the war.' He adds expressing his anger towards the opposition and the loyalists: 'Not one of them visited us. We don't trust them. Some of the MPs of the opposition visited us then disappeared. Not one of them heeds our demands. The opposition and the loyalists are worse than each other.' Ali received 400$ as 'compensation for the shop' but he doesn't know who will rebuild the shops that were destroyed but he knows that 'even Hezbollah now has other concerns than the south. It is now busy with Beirut.'"

As the article is right to point out, the government missed (or couldn't take advantage of) an opportunity to subvert Hizbullah's patron-client relationship by helping Southern Lebanese rebuild after the war. Though the people in South Lebanon might not be enamored of Hizbullah any longer, the government hasn't exactly welcomed them with open arms. In the absence of another option, the support of the people in Southern Lebanon will probably, grudgingly, remain with Hizbullah.

The Writing Is On the (Toilet) Wall

Al-Arabiya had a nifty story on Tuesday about a new, radical media form developing outside the reach of censors in Algeria -- the walls of public toilets. Okay, it's probably not new, and I would want to see how much Algerian toilet writing differs from the stuff written on toilet stalls worldwide. Still, this might be one of those stories that's too good to check:

"The walls of some toilets in Algeria have become endless spaces and pages of revelation and harsh expressions and criticisms against living conditions and the decision makers, starting from President Bouteflika and ending with the smallest municipal official. Everything can be published in this innovative press for it is neither filtered nor dependent upon the guardian of the gate, an expression commonly used in the media to refer to the person who blocks all that is not printable...

...

"Dr. Abdul Nasser Jabi, a sociologist, said: "What is kept in the dark in the society is always oppressed...In the case of the toilets, two main topics are addressed: sex and politics. These are considered the two main oppressed topics in Arab societies, which is why some resort to the toilets to communicate with harsh and direct expressions that neither the newspapers, nor the satellite channels nor any other communication means can handle..."[emphasis mine]

The article also mentions that is generally homosexual relationships that are discussed on the toilet walls, because it's a subject that taboo in the mainstream Algerian press. When you think about it, toilet walls are the perfect medium to avoid censors -- they're seen by a large group of people, they're plentiful in urban areas, and it's socially impossible to monitor what citizens do when in a stall. Why start a blog, when you can just bounce between public toilets!
(Translation courtesy Mideastwire)

Fatah Al-Islam Explained...Sort Of

The New York Times ran a profile of the leader of Fatah-Al Islam last week, which I missed. Across The Bay's Anton Effendi wrote a response to the article. You might say that Anton has some complaints with its conclusions, if undertstatement is your thing.

The Times' article looks like one of those pieces that took a long time to put together, what with its interviewing of wanted international terrorists. It was conceived before the Lebanese government announced Fatah al-Islam's involvement in the Lebanon bus bombings, and it only mentions them in brackets. But the piece has larger, thematic problems than merely being behind the times. It explains Fatah al-Islam as an extension of Al Qaeda, while the dominant description sees them as an extension of Syria.

This is primarily what Anton Effendi takes issue with. He draws blood with this criticism: "Second, and perhaps most jaw-dropping, is the complete absence of all critical faculties in the face of the official's statement that Abssi served three years in jail on charges of plotting attacks inside Syria as a Jihadist, and then was simply released and the Syrians somehow lost track of him!"

Anyway, read both pieces. I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on Fatah al-Islam and its origins. I just read the news.

Where I Expose Myself As An Anti-Cameralist

I'm a huge fan of this post over at Beirut Spring, for reasons that are essentially nerdy.

It's about the political use of the picture above -- Saad Hariri receiving a medal of honor from French President Jacques Chirac. It was on the front pages of all the papers yesterday, but the opposing factions drew different messages from it.

A quick, barely factual sketch of these messages would look something like this. Pro-government: "The Europeans love us! Western powers are paying attention! We support egalite, liberte, fraternite!" Anti-government: "Saad Hariri is a puppet of France! He's not a true Arab! He's allying himself with a man that wants Israel to invade Syria!"

This leads into one of my more bizarre beliefs: political culture worldwide would be more just, and less irrational, if cameras had never been invented. Photography is inherently exploitative -- it's one glimpse into a scene, without the benefit of context or nuance. It is by far the easiest medium to convey the exact opposite of what is actually occurring. From an artistic standpoint, the effort required to create a photo is also pitifully low, creating entire armies of amateurs who make things even worse.

I told you it was bizarre.

Bashar Clears His Throat

As expected, Syria opposed the UN plan to have unarmed civilians monitor the Lebanon-Syria border to prevent weapons smuggling. Though experts believe that they have taken this position in order to continue rearming Hizbullah, Bashar al-Assad's government offers a more innocuous explanation of -- of -- well...

Nope, they couldn't think of anything. They just want to keep rearming Hizbullah. Sometimes, it's very hard to lie believably.

Walk Out

The Egyptian opposition to Hosni Mubarak is split many times over. The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood is the strongest force, but there are smaller forces across the political spectrum. Sometimes, they have less in common with each other than with the ruling Mubarak regime. That's why it's significant that they were able to come together to oppose Mubarak's latest constitutional changes.

The most important reform appears to be a provision that allows the government to sidestep the court system, for people suspected of terrorism. Somewhere, an angry American liberal is tapping out a sarcastic column comparing Bush's policy to Mubarak's. In any event, the fear of extrajudicial imprisonment is presumably something that can unite oppositions forces nationwide.

A Tragedy, In One Act

(Scene: Grand Serail. Beirut, Lebanon)

(Defense Minister ELIAS MURR is seated in a conference room. He nervously fiddles with a pocketwatch.)

(UNIFIL Commander CLAUDIO GRAZIANO enters the room. ELIAS MURR stands.)

Graziano: Mr. Murr, I know you want to help us implement the Security Council resolutions pertaining to Lebanon and Israel after last summer's war.

Murr: We sure do!

Graziano: -- and the rampant smuggling of weapons across the Syrian border to Hizbullah, which you have done nothing to stop, violates Resolution 1701. It's almost enough to make me question the righteous indignation with which you use United Nations resolutions to criticize Israel for its flyovers of Lebanon.

Murr: I'd just like to make a distinction --

Graziano: The UN is willing to deploy unarmed observers to the Syrian border to monitor the shipment of arms into Lebanon. Programs like this were successful in Bosnia, as a way to maintain the cease-fire. We don't even need to ask Syria, because the observers wouldn't be armed.

Murr: Well, that does seem to make sense --

(The conference door opens, and Syrian President BASHAR AL-ASSAD enters. MURR stutters, and falls silent.)

GRAZIANO: Israel is estimating that, if nothing is done to stop the smuggling, Hizbullah could restore its pre-war military capabilities by mid-May. If that happens, the chances for another war will rise.

Murr: I understand your point, but --

(BASHAR AL-ASSAD, standing in the corner, coughs.)

Graziano: Who are you looking at? What were you going to say?

Murr: Nothing.

"Weakest Link" Addendum

I decided to put that article on the non-aligned groups here, rather than try to find some interested American magazine, for a couple of reasons. First, speed: it's massively obnoxious to be finished with an article and then spend the next week or two finding it a home. Second, audience: the people who read this blog have a better sense of Lebanese politics than the average reader of an American political magazine. And, insofar as the current situation is an internal Lebanese problem (if such a thing exists), you people are more important. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

If I had known when I started writing that I was going to post the article here, I would have cut down on the background of Lebanon's problems. That's another problem about writing for an American audience -- you have to basically slip in a review of Lebanese history, from 1975 to present. It's massively annoying. I would have much rather talked about the psychological impact of the civil war on these non-aligned protesters, but there simply wasn't room if I wanted to write a concise article. Instead, I had to explain the confessional system. Yes, I know it's boring. I apologize.

Honestly, I think the article is mediocre. The problem was that I wanted to write about a huge issue -- the scattering of liberals across the political spectrum -- but my ostensible topic was one segment of Lebanon's liberals. I didn't talk to liberal-minded people in the FPM, or Future, or who had abandoned the political process entirely. The piece felt schizophrenic, constantly switching between flogging the non-aligned protests and explaining the larger Lebanese political scene.

Oh well. That's enough self-criticism for one day. Expect vicious, ad hominem attacks on some unsuspecting organization as a way to balance the books.

Spy Games

To the extent that politics is entertainment, which is considerable, the disappearance of Ali Reza Asgari is a great story. Asgari is an Iranian general and a former deputy defense minister. In February, Asgari took a trip to Istanbul, checked into a hotel, and -- vanished. Poof. The Iranian line is that Asgari was kidnapped. The Israel/American line is that he defected.

Whether Asgari's disappearing act was voluntary or involuntary matters for two reasons. First, if Asgari had a pre-planned intention to defect, he might have been able to get his hands on valuable documents and reports. The second reason relates to propaganda. Asgari hadn't been a central player for several years -- it's an open question if he has information on the current political battles. But, if he chose to leave, it would be a major embarassment for the Iranians. Michael Young gets it exactly right:

"It may be too soon to judge how big an information coup Asgari's escape will turn into, but it's already a massive political one. The moral of the story is that if the U.S. wants to deal with Iran successfully, it has to do so as much in the darker recesses of state interaction than from the top of aircraft carriers. The Iranians have always been remarkable builders of institutions. If you're going to erode their self-confidence, those institutions have to appear vulnerable. Whatever Asgari divulges, the real impact of his disappearance is that Iran can be penetrated.

Also, check out Michael Ledeen's comments. Enjoy the smoke and mirrors.

The Political Power of Blogs

American media nerds like to determine the power of blogs by looking at their ability to affect various US congressional races or sustain scandals. Instead, they should be looking to Egypt -- where Hosni Mubarak is threatened enough by anti-government bloggers to lock them up. Middle Eastern journalists are beginning to get the message:

"Another Al-Ahram columnist, 'Adel 'Abd Al-Sadeq, discussed the increasing impact of blogs on the political discourse, and the need to establish an institution to protect the bloggers' rights: "Thanks to their immensely wide distribution, blogs have become more than just a platform for [posting] news and analyses - the [bloggers] also follow the news, interpret them and respond to them...It is no longer possible for a restricted group of individuals to dictate public opinion, shape it and recruit it [for their purposes] - the blogs have [shattered] the monopoly on information that was [once] held by a few traditional players. Blogs constitute a new means for pressuring the government [regarding] its public policy and the transparency of its decisions...They have become a platform of political participation, and are used by people on the Internet to protest and to demonstrate against the government's policy...

...

"Blogs constitute an alternative media platform, and are no different from the written press. Consequently, there should be an organization, a legal association or a syndicate to defend the bloggers' interests and publication rights." [emphasis mine]

Check out the Egyptian bloggers who are courageous enough to continue writing, especially the Sandmonkey.

The Weakest Link

"I really want us to unite," says Walids Younes, a representative for "Loubnani W Bass." "For one Lebanon. To be Lebanese first. Believe in whatever you want to believe, but then be Lebanese."

What former President Amin Gemayel calls Lebanon's "Cold Civil War" began three months ago. Hizbullah and the Christian-supported Free Patriotic Movement set up a tent camp in downtown Beirut, trying to topple the Western-backed government. Tensions have occasionally flared into violence, causing casualties on both sides. Clashes at a local university grew into a full-fledged riot, raising the possibility of leaders losing control over their followers. The ideas of people like Walids Younes represent Lebanon's best chance at an enduring peace. It is a shame that their organizations fail to get that message out.

"Loubnani W Bass" is one of over a dozen groups unaffiliated with either political faction that have formed to protest the country's slow slide into violence. The well-funded groups have plastered Beirut with their billboards. Occasionally, the groups hold protests. Last month, Lebanese formed a human chain and marched slowly across a busy Beirut intersection. Soldiers watched impassively, perhaps a little bored, rifles slung casually over their shoulders. Last week, citizens made white handprints on a black sheet of construction paper. It was a way, "to leave your handprint of hope on this dark situation." The whole scene is inevitably very symbolic, idealistic, and easily ignored.

The people who make up these non-aligned groups are liberal, Westernized university students and professionals. The economic downturn caused by political instability resulted in some of them losing their jobs. If the economic climate does not improve soon, many of them will be forced to find work in the West, or the Gulf States. The desire to create an economically prosperous Lebanon is a common feature of their rhetoric. Fadi, a representative of the non-aligned group "11 March," describes his organization as "a group of businessmen, doctors, and students who want to live in this country." He denies that they are a political group, explaining, "We are people who [have] had enough of political conflict."

These people share ideological, as well as economic, ties. They believe strongly in the value of pluralism and democracy. In Lebanon, loyalty to one's religious sect is often stronger than loyalty to the nation. Liberals want to strengthen national identity, and remove the sectarian divisions enshrined in Lebanon's Constitution. For example, by law, Lebanon's President must be Christian, and the Prime Minister must be Sunni. Younes is "totally against" this system. "I want a country where you're judged by what you've achieved...disregarding [your] sect," he explains. While the mainstream parties fight to seize the most possible power for their clique, only Lebanon's liberals offer a way out of the bitter power struggles between the sects.

But the sad fact of Lebanese politics is that no political party currently reflects the interests of liberals. They are present in many organizations, and dominant in none of them. The non-aligned groups attempt to avoid this problem by endorsing neither political bloc. "Once you get into the political circles that presently exist, you'll be labeled," explains Younes. By remaining independent, these groups have prevented themselves from being associated with the illiberal policies of either faction. But they are also vulnerable to a whole new set of problems.

In order to maintain their independence, the non-aligned groups are notoriously vague when it comes to concrete political issues. Many of these professionals have made a career in marketing; very few seem to have made a career in substance. On their website, "11 March" summarizes its message as "one of pride and hope in lasting values, and perhaps above all, the virtue of patience coupled with determination." They limit their advocacy to calls for "compromise" and say they want to "give the people a voice." But nobody is opposed to these things in the abstract -- the conflict revolves around what compromise is reached, what the voice of the people says. By refusing to comment on the issues of the day, they relegate themselves to the fringes of the political debate.

There are good reasons for liberals to be skeptical of Lebanon's current leaders. Many politicians, on both sides of the political divide, were in power during Lebanon's catastrophic fifteen year civil war. The non-aligned groups are dubious that they can create a peaceful, pluralistic society. "We don't think we can properly work with these people," says Younes. "Someone who has been in and out of war for so long...I don't know how I can trust [them]." But by remaining agnostic on how to pull Lebanon out of this particular crisis, they have made themselves dependent on the politicians they despise.

Their skepticism includes the "liberal" government supported by the West, as well as the anti-government protesters. The government's closest allies have shady pasts, and a reputation for throwing gasoline on delicate situations. Samir Geagea, a key partner in the government's coalition, was convicted of assassinating the head of the Liberal National Party. At a massive rally, Walid Jumblatt, another ally, addressed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in this language: "you ape unknown to nature, you snake from which even the snakes have fled, you whale vomited by the ocean, you wild desert beast, you creature that is only half-man." He continued in that vein for quite some time.

Because Lebanon's liberals lack a true home, they are forced into the unenviable position of being ignored, or co-opted by the major parties. In the political battlefield -- and that is not a metaphor -- those who dream of a truly democratic, non-sectarian Lebanon are scattered across the spectrum. Some are allied with the government, and some camp outside in the anti-government tents. The non-aligned groups watch from a distance, as the situation deteriorates. And others simply walk away, leaving Lebanon for jobs abroad.

Walids Younes, and his non-aligned friends, like to talk about how Lebanese need to unite. But don't expect it to happen until liberals take their own advice.

Was the Republican Midterm Defeat Good For Conservative Art?

I hate to merge politics and art, but all the cool kids are talking about this article: "Why Don't Republicans Write Fiction?"

The writer begins with the unpersuasive idea that recent Republican victories have distracted them from literary pursuits: "They were making policy arguments, looking eagerly into the future. Baghdad, Tehran, and so on. Global capitalism was rolling over protectionism." But it's not policy analysts at the American Enterprise Institute who start scribbling fiction (at least, good fiction) when they are out of political power. It is people who have nothing to do with the day-to-day political battles. They should have just as much time to write fiction when the GOP is winning elections, as when they are losing.

The better argument is a larger point on disillusionment -- Republicans have recently supported a stupendously optimistic basket of ideas: America can democratize the world, government spending can help those in need, Democrats will renominate John Kerry, etc. But most great novelists write about the destruction of order, of being disillusioned by a previously dominant set of principles.

If you're really far too curious about the validity of this argument, you should pray for the complete ideological and electoral collapse of the current Republican Party. Then, hold your breath and wait for a new emerging set of conservative authors about a decade later. But I don't recommend that.

Geagea vs. Compromise

As I think I mentioned yesterday I don't have a great deal of interest in gossip-column style political journalism, where reporters anaylze Hariri or Berri's expressions to determine how far away Lebanon is from peace. Though some red carpet photo spread of all of Lebanon's leaders going to the Oscars would be pretty cool. "Sayyid Nasrallah, who are you wearing?" The possibilities are limitless.

But I digress. The line that Geagea and Jumblatt are the hard-liners in the 14 March Forces and are delaying any compromise seems to have some meat on its bones. Check out this translated newspaper article from As-Safir:

"The meeting lasted for more than 2 hours after which Al-Hariri exited and immediately went to Bzimmar to meet with Samir Geagea, the head of the Lebanese Forces, to convince him to accept the settlement which would give his political opponent on the Christian scene General Michel Aoun the lion's share in the Christian representation in the new government at the expense of some Christians in the 14th of March. Al-Hariri didn't hesitate in telling Geagea that he is prepared to give him from his own share to encourage him to enter into a settlement...The Lebanese Forces had announced earlier that any expansion of the government would push it to demand an equal share to that of General Aoun...It was reported that there those who advised Samir Geagea not to object to the settlement 'because it will not pass so easily so let him leave the objections to come from General Michel Aoun or the president so that they would appear in front of the Christian public opinion as those foiling the settlement'..."[emphasis mine]

That makes sense, at least superficially. The Lebanese Forces are a smaller Christian party than the Aounites. If a new government is formed including Aoun, he will have a larger base of support than Geagea. Also, Geagea probably benefits from the sharp distinction drawn between him and Aoun as the conflict drags on. As the pro-government Christian party, he stands to gain any of Aoun's supporters who become disenchanted with their leader's alliance with Hizbullah. Like any smaller group, Geagea tries to draw sharp distinctions with his larger competitor.

Of Arabic Vocabulary and International Perceptions

The word for "aunt" and "uncle" does not exist in Arabic, because that would be too easy. There are separate words for your maternal aunts and uncles, and their paternal counterparts.

In Lebanese, at least, one's paternal aunt is called 9amme, and one's maternal aunt is called khEle. Arabic is equally specific when talking about cousins. There's no word for that concept either. You say, "the daughter of my maternal uncle," or "the son of my paternal aunt."

As the notecards for this rather painful lesson were piling up, I was reminded of a conversation I eavesdropped on in southern Turkey. The speakers were Turks rather than Arabs, but I believe the larger regional point still applies. The man was explaining (in English, ironically) how Western children don't really love their parents; they just take their money and skip town.

The traditional Turkish/Arabic idea of a family is much closer knit than the Western idea. Accordingly, they have a nauseating number of words to describe their family relations. Speaking as someone who has taken their parents' money and skipped town, I tend to see these people as painfully cloistered and ignorant of the larger world. And I suspect they tend to see me as a lonely soul with no meaningful relationships.

This would be a rather ugly argument if it ever was made explicit. Thank God for modern etiquette and language differences.

300

I was going to respond meanly to Dana Stevens' review of 300, but Ross Douthat saved me the trouble. Rarely does a movie review make me want to go see a movie; Stevens' pan of the movie did just that. She seems to have some problem with the fact that a movie about an ancient Persian army invading Greece does not make the requisite politically correct nods to anti-war sentiment.

I bet the Persians didn't even negotiate a Security Council resolution.

Lebanon News Parodies Itself

Bombs are being found everywhere now -- even in a bag of potato chips. A man leaving a Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon hid 200 grams of TNT in his snack.

In other news, there isn't much to write about the "optimism" caused by the Hariri-Berri meetings. Most of the reports focus on the fact that the two sides are smiling at each other, rather than snarling. That's an improvement, but it's gossip column material rather than hard-hitting reporting. Though I did like this morsel:

"The two rival leaders combined the Arabic words for 'optimistic' and 'pessimistic' to form a new word, 'Tashaoulieh,' implying that things are at an 'in-between' stage."

I wonder how long they spent debating the creation of that word.

More Bad News From Iraq, Retroactively

If you haven't, for some masochistic reason, read enough bad news in Iraq to last you five lifetimes, check out this story. Most depressingly, this is the conclusion Freeman reaches regarding one of the only theoretical bright spots of post-invasion Iraq, the 2005 elections:

"The historic first elections of 2005, they say, have been disastrous for the country. Far from ushering in the Middle East's first secular, liberal state, as the West had hoped, they have allowed Islamist parties to take hold, encouraging Iraqis to identify as Sunnis or Shias and opening up 1,500-year-old religious tensions that might otherwise have lain dormant.

...

"The euphoria of polling day, he points out, eclipsed the fact that the elections were scarcely the informed, rational contest of policies that is supposed to characterise a democracy. Inexperienced in the ways of multiparty politics after decades of totalitarianism, millions of Iraqis voted for the Sunni and Shia religious parties simply because they thought they would go to hell if they didn't. 'My own brother told me that the imam in his local mosque told him to vote for the Twaffaq [a Sunni religious party] if he wanted to join Mohammed in the afterlife,' said Mr Mutlaq. 'And it was the same with the Shias. Their hands would shake with fear if they didn't mark the box for their religious parties.'"[emphasis mine]

Someday, a passage like this is going to be held up by an isolationist politician, as an argument against foreign intervention in some distant part of the war. Someday, a Georgetown professor will wave this article in front of his students. He'll say something like: See, democracy is not enough to bring stability -- the internal beliefs of the population must be prepared for it. And they will both be very hard to argue with.

Fighting Words

Haaretz: "[O]stensibly, all that separates Nasrallah from Allah is corroborated real-time information." It's bizarre to go from reading the Arab media to the Israeli media, where the line for "acceptable" political discourse is obviously much different.

Interestingly, Haaretz goes on to argue that Nasrallah is safer than Israeli rhetoric would suggest. Because of the failure of last summer's war, Israel's choices are limited between restraint, or full-blown war. I vote for the former.

Off the Beaten Track

Yes, I'm aware that I've been negligent in updating this weekend, and even more negligent in keeping you appraised of the minutiae of Lebanese politics. But the fact of the matter is, I don't want to write any more about politics this weekend. And this is my soap box, so you'll have to wait for a longer, predictable "Lebanon Inching Closer Towards Peace" post until tomorrow.

What I do want to write about is music. I think it was Eric Alterman who once wrote something to the effect that it is futile to try to convince people to change their political beliefs, so it's a much better use of one's time to introduce people to new music.

Anyway, I'm listening to Arcade Fire's new CD, "Neon Bible." People kept on telling me to listen to whatever their first CD was, and I kept on hating it. This is world's better. "Stadium Arcadium" is also entertaining. Also, The Shins' "Wincing the Night Away."

Please please, send along CD suggestions. You can have enough politics; you can never have enough music.

Writing About Lebanon Is Hard

I tried to think of the most blindingly obvious subject for this post that I could, and that's what I came up with. The ability to state the obvious is wildly underrated.

Anyway, the article is almost done. I'll finish it today, barring the horrible -- almost unmentionable -- possibility of it slipping out of my hands again like some wet fish that just won't die. It was painful to write over the past two days. The problem is that Lebanon is so complex, it's hard to write a concise description of a single group or event. This is especially true when writing for a foreign audience, who doesn't necessarily have a strong background in the country's politics.

The article keeps on trying to expand to encompass the whole breadth of Lebanese politics. It has a mind of its own -- it wants to talk about confessionalism, and then the government's activities since '05, then Geagea, then -- something else. It thinks: if I'm going to describe Lebanese liberals well, the reader is going to need to need to understand Lebanon's political landscape first. The problem is that you end up with a novel, not a magazine article.

Okay, I'm done anthropomorphizing a Microsoft Word document. More updates later today; I'm off to play some tennis, and take a little break.

Saturday Morning Sunset

I am one of those ridiculous people that jog along the Corniche in the afternoon. If I decide to leave at just the right moment, this is what I see near the end of my run. I thought you might appreciate it; I do.

(As a side note, I am a huge fan of the oxymoronic title of this post. Revel in it, please.)

Any Day Now...

So, I'm writing this article on the plight of liberals in Lebanon. How's it coming? I'll give you the same answer that I have people when they ask about my Arabic studies. Shway, shway (slowly, slowly). It is an evil, evil article that taunts me by keeping an interesting thesis just out of arm's reach, and when I finally think that I have it within my grasp it flits away and I am left with pages full of gibberish and disconnected paragraphs and mixed metaphors. Oh, and there's also the distinct possibility that the political deadlock could be resolved before I finish, thus destroying the immediate relevance of the piece. So that's always fun.

The latest developments in Lebanon's political saga is a meeting between Berri and Hariri. Nobody knows the specifics of the meeting, but the rhetoric is certainly more optimistic than it had been. In other news, Saniora suggested that Saudi Arabia appoint a "neutral" minister to the Lebanese government -- a development that should make any Lebanese nationalist break down in tears. But guys, if you could please just delay reaching a compromise for four or five more days...

The Long Line of Bodies Behind Jack Bauer

There is a site which counts all of the people Jack Bauer has killed! This is awesome.

My two favorite methods are kills in Season One and in Season Six: punch to the heart, and vampire bite, respectively. For inquiring minds, Jack Bauer's 100th kill was one of President David Palmer's Assassins, in Season Five, with an HK USP Compact (I guess that's a gun).

America's Fault

I feel bad for leaving you with naught but Oscars-blogging for 14 whole hours, so let's talk about some red-meat political issues, which often sound suspiciously like high-school gossip. This episode comes from the Saudi paper Asharq Al Awsat, which conducted an interview with resigned Hizbullah minister Muhammad Fneish. Now, who does Mr. Fneish blame for the extended deadlock and sporadic violence between Lebanon's internal faction? Why, it's that good old punching bag, the United States of America:

"Fneish confirmed to Asharq Al Awsat yesterday that the circumstances have become suitable for reaching a solution to the current crisis. But he admitted that this has not been translated yet into an agreement. He accused the United States of foiling the solution through some of its allies in Lebanon. He announced that the Future movement headed by MP Saad Al-Hariri bears the responsibility for pushing towards the solution.

...

There are two factions in the ruling team that do not want to return to their normal size and there is the main mass which has a real problem. It is on one hand confused because it is trying to go against this atmosphere which is linked to its relationship with other main factions while on the other hand it is taking a negative attitude towards solutions that might improve the situation in Lebanon. Thus it is putting itself in the column of those who are causing this country harm. But the real problem faced by this faction is that it has become a slave to the desires of its two allies because it got lost between its desire to reach a solution which it has started to accept as reasonable and between its internal calculations with these allies."[emphasis mine]

Yes, I am aware that the second paragraph is borderline incomprehensible. However, it is also very important. It has already been translated from Arabic to English, but let me translate it now from gibberish into something more coherent.

Saad al-Hariri's government has two smaller allies, Walid Jumblatt and Samir Geagea. Fneish is arguing that that these two are less willing to make concessions to end the deadlock than Hariri himself. They are relatively small parties but, given the current split, have an outsized importance to the pro-government forces. If the situation is resolved, their influence decreases. Fneish contends that they're also taking a hardline stance because America is giving orders to them to hold out. I've seen no evidence of that, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they're pressing for a hard line relative to the more accomodationist Hariri. They do have a deep-rooted suspicion of Hizbullah -- they don't believe that it can ever be a viable party in a pluralist, liberal society. Because of this, they're willing to fight it tooth-and-nail now.

Will the deadlock reach a resolution soon? I refer you to the tried-and-true Arabic trinity of delay, nicknamed IBM: Inshallah (if God wills it), Bukra (Tomorrow), and Maylaysh (Sorry). Right now, we're somewhere between Bukra and Maylaysh.

(Translation of Asharq Al Awsat article courtesy of Mideastwire.)

And Now For Something...Completely Different

Fair warning -- I've been thinking all morning about proper wording for the metaphor that I'm about to employ. It seems that whichever way I twist the words, it is the rhetorical equivalent of fitting a square block into a round hole. (Did I just use a metaphor to describe another metaphor?)

Anyway. I like politics, as I'm sure all of you know. And when you come to Lebanon, politics is all around you -- even more omnipresent than living on Capitol Hill. So, for a while, it's like a constant supply of chocolate. You learn about Article VII and what Christian village on Mount Lebanon Emile Lahoud is from (and who Emile Lahoud is), and a million other stupid details. And, after eating a steady diet of only chocolate for three months...you get sort of sick of it. You want some chicken -- though, if you were given the choice between chicken and chocolate in America, it would be no contest. Okay, I think you get the idea. What does the painful extended metaphor lead us to, you may ask? That's right: Oscars blogging.

That pretty woman to your right is Penelope Cruz (probably). I think she dated Tom Cruise for a while, but other than that I couldn't tell you anything else about her. Anyway, I have a question, and it revolves around the poofy dress. This seems like something that would be impossible to sit down in. And yet, whenever they cut to the crowd in the Oscars, they're sitting in relatively small seats, like in a movie theatre. What does poor Penelope do? Does the dress just billow around her like a Koosh Ball? Does the red carpet lead into a changing room, where the stars rip off their dresses and change into their watching-the-awards outfit?

These are things I must know.

Wrestling With Arabic, version XXLI

So, we've already discussed how Arabic nouns devised the "dual" form of plurality to frustrate me. What we haven't yet gone into is the nefariousness of the plural nouns themselves. You see, there doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason for how to modify a word to make it plural! In English, you almost always just add an "s!" Now, granted, that S is sometimes soft (ie: cats)and sometimes pronounced like a Z (ie: dogs), for reasons that the vast majority of native speakers would not be able to explain. But at least it's easy to spell.

Oh no, Arabic couldn't be that accomodating. Take the word (and now we delve into the dark world of transliteration) "binit" -- it means girl. The plural is "banEt." Which is fine, until you discover that the plural of "bEb" (door) is "bwEb." In the absence of a pattern, it seems I'm just going to have to memorize all of them.

In less traumatic news, optimism is fading regarding peace in Lebanon, and Cheney's former chief of staff was found guilty of lying to a grand jury.

Tick, Tick, Tick

Despite scattered, vague reports that a compromise to the political deadlock has been reached, nothing specific has come out of the opposing camps. Which, I suppose, is something that none of us should be too surprised with. "NO DEAL REACHED" hasn't exactly been an above-the-fold headline in Lebanon for some time.

However, Lebanon is closing in on more politically charged dates. The anti-government movement is called 8 March. In other words, Thursday. I assume that they have to do something -- one of the giant political rallies where the side calls its followers to the streets as a show of force could be an option. But if Nasrallah or Aoun use this opportunity to call Geagea a "whale vomited from the ocean," or whatever absurd phrase Jumblatt referred to Assad with, it could kill any fledgling peace initiative. And the fun doesn't stop there, folks. The pro-government forces celebrate their anniversary on March 14th, next Wednesday.

Hey, remember when massive demonstrations were a display of national unity, rather than a way for each side to flaunt its muscles among the populace? That was fun.

Just Another Tragedy

A depressingly common story from Southern Lebanon:

"For weeks Ali Nasser waited for the bomb-disposal team. But the arrival of spring left him no choice but to go to his fields, sown with hundreds of unexploded cluster bombs by the Israeli military last year. The alternative is to lose the tobacco crop which provides the means of feeding his 11 children each year, and which normally brings him 10 million Lebanese pounds ($6,580).

...

'But as time passes, the work becomes increasingly difficult. With the rain, the land moves, objects are displaced, often becoming buried in soil; and as vegetation grows, the cluster bombs become invisible,' [Col. Van Sluijs] said." [emphasis mine]

Most of these tiny bombs that are buried in the countryside of Southern Lebanon were dropped during the last days of the war. Someday, someone needs to explain to me why it is in Israel's interest to let loose these bombs, which act as a constant tax on Israel's reputation by disrupting the movement, economy, and simple peace of mind of Lebanese citizens -- while doing nothing to disrupt the real threat in the South.

If Israel was really serious about destroying Hizbullah's military dominance in South Lebanon, they wouldn't neglect the most important task in stopping any guerilla movement -- undermining its support among the population. If Israel was really serious, they wouldn't drop cluster bombs.

Piece Out

Check out this post, by a blogger calling himself "Sietske In Beirut." It's on the "piecing" of Beirut neighborhoods -- the spraypainting of political groups' logo on walls. It seems like the various factions have some talent with a spray can, at least. If only they had the same talent at making peace.

Peace At Hand?

The Daily Star is reporting rays of hope" in the Lebanese political deadlock, and politicians across the spectrum claim a solution has been reached. Here's what Geagea says:

"'The solution is based on two things, on forming a joint committee that will oversee the modifications to the international court [to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri] and the formation of a national consensus government of 19 + 10 + 1,' Geagea told the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation."

I hate to break up the party before it even begins, I really do. But there is approximately zero chance that this is a long-term solution, ending the fundamental differences between Lebanese, making Geagea and Nasrallah hug in the streets while bluebirds chirp above and sappy music plays in the background. Which is fine, because long-term solutions need to start with short-term compromises. Just let me reiterate what I said yesterday: the political landscape is in a dangerous place if Lebanese are putting their hope in a Saudi-Iran meeting to solve their problems for them.

P.S. The New York Times' bizarre headline for the Saudi-Iran talk? "Saudi-Iran Meeting Yields Little Substance." Oh. Don't try to get your Lebanon news from the Gray Lady.

Censorship With A Smile

When I wander outside of my usual circle in Beirut, I take my camera and snap pictures as I go. This is not a habit that has endeared me to the many sides of Beirut's political standoff. On Saturday when I was walking to the non-aligned protest, I ran astray of Beirut's armed forces. The picture that caused my temporary internment wasn't even of anything military -- there was a billboard which alternated between the Loubnani W Bass logo and a memorial to Rafiq Hariri. I thought it was an interesting juxtaposition of Beirut's past unity and current disunity, I thought the Loubnani W Bass logo is nifty, I was walking a long distance and wanted something to show for it...yadda yadda yadda. Suffice it to say, this wasn't a long-planned subversion of the state's national interest.

Anyway, it was enough for a soldier to rush across the street and grab me firmly around the side and walk me, in a half-hug, across the street to the impromptu military base. This probably should have been disconcerting, except that the soldier and his friend were smiling the entire time, and saying things like, "Hello! Don't worry!"

I was led into a trailer full of military roadmaps, where a young officer demanded that my photo be deleted. I didn't argue. It wasn't a particularly good photo anyway. But, if some armed group wants to get intel on the military's positions throughout Beirut, all they need to do is take an innocuous picture. After that, they'll get a full tour of the military's base, including passing glances at the military documents laid out on the officer's table.

After the office