“Let the screamers scream as they want, we will preserve a strong Lebanon and we will not accept a weak Lebanon anymore".
It is precisely the issue of a strong Lebanon that prompted Sfeir to criticize Hezbollah, a group which has been undermining the Lebanese sovereignty and independence by acting as a state within a state and making war decisions without consulting with the Lebanese government.
Qassem used the occasion of an educational ceremony in Haret Horeik on Friday to attack Sfeir. Qassem said: "The Resistance accomplished a liberation in 2002 and a victory in 2006, where would Lebanon be without its resistance, army, and people, who stood shoulder by shoulder to combat Israel bravely and sternly?"
No one in Lebanon criticizes Hezbollah for what it did in 2002. Following the 2002 liberation Hezbollah was the most popular organization in Lebanon and the Arab world .
The 2006 war is a completely different story . It was a unilateral war that Hezbollah initiated when it kidnapped 2 Israeli soldiers without consulting anyone in the government or the army . The 2006 war did not serve Lebanon’s interest in any shape or form , on the contrary it resulted in the death of over 1200 Lebanese , in the wounding of over 5000 more, Lebanon's infrastructure was totally devastated … most the bridges and roads were totally destroyed, in addition over 120,000 housing units were damaged and over 1 million Lebanese became homeless ….the damages were estimated by the UN at 15.3 billion US dollars . Despite all this devastation , at the end of the war Hezbollah declared “Devine victory “.
The question is how does this make Lebanon stronger and what victory did Lebanon accomplish from the 2006 war ? Following the war, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah himself publicly acknowledged that had he known Israeli response would have been so disproportional he may not have kidnapped the 2 soldiers.
In other words the war was a very poor judgment on the part of Nasrallah …it was a terrible gamble …yes he gambled the whole country so that at the end he can claim that his organization survived without any concern for what really happened to Lebanon
Sfeir , who is considered Lebanon’s conscious spoke for the majority of the Lebanese when he criticized Hezbollah’s behavior saying that Hezbollah doesn’t care about Lebanon as much as it cares about Iran . It is no secret that Iran has been using and continues to use Hezbollah to spread its political influence in the region and to gain advantage in its negotiations with the west over its nuclear installations…The issue of Hezbollah’s cells in Egypt, Yemen and Iraq are in the news almost daily
Sfeir in his criticism was also referring to the day after 2006 war when Hezbollah occupied downtown Beirut for nearly 2 years to bring down the government . Hezbollah failed in bringing down the government but succeeded in devastating the businesses in downtown Beirut sending many into bankruptcies resulting in tens of thousands of lost jobs . Sfeir was also referring to May 2008 when Hezbollah pointed its so called “resistance arms” against the Lebanese citizens in Beirut and occupied the Sunni part of the capital. Sfeir was also talking about how Hezbollah tried in May 2008 to use its so called “resistance arms” to occupy the Druze strongholds of Mount Lebanon but failed after suffering many casualties including( reportedly) the son of Sheikh Qassem.
Sfeir in his criticism was talking about how Hezbollah is bullying and intimidating the Lebanese because its is the only organization that is armed in Lebanon and it is using the arms for political gains. Despite the fact that Hezbollah-led opposition lost the elections in June 2009 , it is using its ally General Michel Aoun to set impossible conditions for joining the government . Without Hezbollah arms Aoun would have been powerless and couldn't of course set any conditions
In a typical democracy the winning majority forms the government either on its own or may invite the losers to join in but the terms are always set by the winners and not the losers . This is what Sfeir was talking about . In Lebanon because of Hezbollah arms the losers become the winners and the winners become the losers
Hezbollah has to recognize that it is no more the party of 2002 and can no longer hide behind its martyrs . Since 2006 the martyrs have lost their lives because of Hezbollah’s behavior and the poor judgment of its leaders and not because they fought for their country . These are the hard facts that Hezbollah leaders have to understand.
Its about time that Hezbollah should take criticism seriously to help it change its behavior and should learn lessons from the Cedar Revolution.
The majority of the Lebanese are fed up with Hezbollah’s behavior just like they were fed up with Syria's behavior and therefore Sfeir spoke for most of us
Saturday
9:20 pm US State Secretary Clinton meets with Israeli FM Lieberman ahead of meetings with Defense Minister Barak and PM Netanyahu, Haaretz reports
7:07 Clinton arrives in Israel amid troubled peace process
5:35 The US House of Representatives is expected to vote Tuesday on a resolution calling on President Barack Obama to reject the UN's Goldstone commission report, which accuses Israel and the Hamas movement of war crimes in the Gaza conflict.
5:30pm Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon told Channel 10 in an interview on Saturday that Israel is still operating its intelligence networks in Lebanon:“We might stop our intelligence activities only when Hezbollah is disarmed and our Northern border becomes peaceful,” he said
5:25pm Papal Ambassador Gabriele Cascia stressed after meeting Roman Catholic Patriarch Gregarious III Laham that Lebanon has an important place in the heart of the Pope who is always praying for peace in Lebanon.
4:40pm MP Jumblatt met with French Ambassador Denis Pietton, to discuss various political issues. Jumblatt also met with a French delegation from Ile-de-France region over cooperation in developmental projects between Ile-de-France and the Shouf region of Mt Lebanon.
2:50pm Caretaker PM Fouad Siniora phoned Hamas Political Bureau Head Khalid Mishal and discussed with him the need to rush and support efforts to conclude Palestinian reconciliation.
2:35pm Caretaker PM Fouad Siniora met with ISF chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi who informed Saniora about the security situations in the country.
1 :55 pm Baghdad bombings’ suspect kills policeman during questioning
1:50pm Al-Arabiya: Yemenese rebel group Houthi’s second leader Abdullah al-Razami killed
1:48pm Seven people were arrested in Tyre and Baalbeck for stealing cars
1 :42 pm A Renault Cleo car was stolen by an armed person after he forced its driver to take him from Nahr el Kalb to Khaldeh and another Range Rover car was stolen in Tareek el Jadeedah
1;40 pm - Senior Iranian lawmakers rejected on Saturday a UN-backed plan to ship much of the country's uranium abroad for further enrichment, raising further doubts about the likelihood Tehran will finally approve the deal.
1;30 pm A presidential run-off election planned for Nov. 7 seemed headed for collapse Saturday, with the main challenger to President Hamid Karzai, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, widely expected to pull out of the race.
1:09 pm Palestinian president Abbas told visiting US secretary of State Hillary Clinton: No peace talks with the Israelis without before a total settlement freeze
1:06pm President Michel Suleiman hoped reform would be launched in all fields after the formation of the cabinet to consolidate the trust of the Lebanese in their state.
1;02 pm BBC :The fourth storm in a month to hit the Philippines has lashed the eastern coastal province of Quezon, bringing heavy rain and winds to the region.
1:00pm LF leader Samir Geagea during a dinner hosted by LF lawyers on Friday night: The problem with the other team is that their Lebanon is border less and has no history or policy.
12:36pm FPM MP Salim Salhab told Future News: There are many cabinet proposals. Patriarch Sfeir has the right to express himself and adopt the stance that he wants. But I wasn’t convinced about his latest stances.
12:32pm FPM MP Ibrahim Kenaan told OTV: The Change and Reform bloc gave all formulas and solutions possible. It has been agreed on either rotating portfolios or keeping seats the way they were in the previous cabinet.
12:30pm The office of MP Khodr Habib in Tripoli was robbed on Friday night. Internal security forces opened an investigation into the incident to find the culprits.
11:33 MP Anwar al-Khalil told LBC: Speaker Nabih Berri made several proposals to facilitate cabinet formation. He added: There is “full agreement” on forming a national-unity government based on the 15-10-5 formula.
11:30 FPM Minister Mario Aoun told LBC: March 14 Christians, particularly Geagea, don’t want the cabinet to be formed.
10:49 Minister Elie Marouni told Future News: Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir is the nation’s conscience. He has the right to say whatever he wants. The obstacles facing cabinet formation are MP Michel Aoun and his allies.
10:47 MP Oqab Saqr told al Asharq radio: The March 14 forces are afraid of the intention of the other team over cabinet formation. The coalition is wondering why the government wasn’t formed until now and eventually whether it is going to be formed or not.
10:45 Minister Khaled Qabbani to Sawt al-Mada: Trust is essential in building social life. How about political life?
9:30 al-Liwaa newspaper : Arab diplomatic sources said the formation of the Lebanese cabinet goes behind the distribution of portfolios or negotiations among officials. Tehran, according to the sources, is playing the "trade-off game" in its nuclear negotiations with the west by using its allies in the opposition, including Hezbollah and MP Michel Aoun.
8:47 Minister Tareq Mitri told VOL: Disagreement over the cabinet is not only internal.
08:44 al Balad: Franjieh is ready to give up his ministry if it is a Ministry of State in favor of Aoun to allow him to name one of his supporters
08:42 al Balad: General Aoun has rejected the Telecommunications ministry without Basil
08:28 UNFIL’s Bouziane: the situation on both sides of the border in the south is normal
08:22 Salloukh told al Sharq al Awsat : Israel is preparing reasons to justify another war on Lebanon
8: 00 As Safir and al-Liwaa newspapers : Fadi Ghassan Ibrahim, known as Sikamo, a top Fatah al-Islam official was arrested at dawn yesterday just outside the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh by the Lebanese army intelligence. Both newspapers described Ibrahim as a "hefty catch."
07:34 Hariri sources: for us awarding the ministry of telecommunications to Bassil is like the return of Siniora as PM for the March 8
Friday
11:50 pm Reuters :Somali pirates have demanded a $7 million ransom for a British couple captured on their yacht in the Indian Ocean, according to a phone call from a man purporting to be a member of the gang broadcast by the BBC on Friday.
9;21 pm Hezbollah's Sheikh Naim Qassem lashed out at Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir without naming him, saying "the Resistance is Lebanon's strength and we will not renounce it … let the screamers scream as they want, we will preserve a strong Lebanon and we will not accept a weak Lebanon anymore".
08;10 pm AFP : Iran wants more talks on how to procure nuclear fuel for a Tehran reactor before giving a final reply to a UN-drafted deal that was initially expected a week ago, the state IRNA news agency said on Friday
8:00pm The US federal stimulus program has saved or created nearly 650000 jobs through aid to states, infrastructure projects and federal contracts, the Obama administration claimed on Friday
