I've been reading "Mémoires d'otages," the account of Christian Chesnot (of Radio France) and Georges Malbrunot (of Le Figaro) on their captivity in Iraq, so Florence Aubenas and Hussein Hanoun have been very much on my mind. Today, finally some good news: Florence and Hussein are free after 157 days and back with their respective families and colleagues.



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Strange times, and strange timings. In the midst of renewed accusations by the US that Syrian "intelligence" officers remain in Lebanon (along with many more American, French, British, and the list is long), and – surprise - a renewed UN inquiry to determine the facts, Syrian television last night announced that the hideout of an Islamist group by the name of "Sham Organization for Jihad and Tawhid" was raided after a "meticulous security pursuit" which lasted for months. We had just happened to switch to the Syrian satellite channel, and the pictures of the two killed men weren't pretty.

I am reluctant to link to the execrably bad wires from SANA, but it is the only official Syrian explanation I have found so far in English. However, you might find that Al Jazeera and AFP do a better job.

On the subject of SANA, I recently asked Mehdi Dakhlallah (Minister of Information), in my professional capacity and as a frustrated Syrian citizen, to please please please take it offline until they employ people who can write properly and a little more convincingly. He told me he couldn't do anything about it! (He also advised me not to read Israeli newspapers, after I had mentioned an interesting piece in Haaretz, but that's another story I might write about one day.)

On the much more serious subject of the supposed hit list, reports are that "Terje Roed-Larsen will issue an ultimatum to Damascus, the deadline of which is any new political assassination in Lebanon," according to a diplomat at the UN. If you're cynical about everyone involved in this criminal mess, you would probably think that this is the best weapon for anyone wanting to badly hurt Syria. Well, isn't it? Then again, of course, the Syrians of late have been hurting themselves the most.

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With so much general Syria-bashing and a lot of criticism of the regime (the latter especially by us Syrians, I have to say), it is always a pleasure to find the odd piece talking about the nicer things. And as a Damascene, I'm delighted when my native city is discovered, even if only through the tourist trail and with a slight, but completely inoffensive, orientalist approach.

Read this light piece by Lee Smith in The New York Times, as he explains why "the allure of Damascus shouldn't be hard to comprehend."

In April, Robert Mighall, in his much nicer piece in The Independent, also rising above the politics, had followed the road to Damascus and was converted, writing that "Damascus seems almost designed to stimulate the sense." Indeed.

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It's all over and done with, but was it really worth waiting for? Are the disappointed ones raining on anyone's parade in Syria? In the end, no big decisions were taken, but a lot of "recommendations" were thoughtfully drafted by the over 1,200 party delegates to help run the government run the country. How considerate of them.

Calling this "reform," however, would be stretching things a bit.

The emergency law in place since 1963 will be "modified" (it remains to be clarified how) and some parties will be allowed, as long as they are not based on religious, sectarian or regional basis. (But isn't the Baath party a regional one?) No "Christian Democrats" or their Muslim equivalent, in other words.

There is a brand new, reduced regional command with nine new comrades, including a woman (apparently one area where there are no glass ceiling issues). As for the proposals regarding media laws (including a "higher council" whose bearing I am simply dreading), it remains to be seen how exactly that will help Syria's communication problems. What was needed was a completely new approach, not more of the same.

The real political and economic reforms which have been promised and talked about ad nauseam since the last party conference will have to wait. Or so the Baath thinks.

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38 years ago today, on June 8 1967, day 4 of the brutal attack launched by Israel simultaneously on Egypt, Syria and Jordan, Israeli jets bombed the USS Liberty for 75 minutes, killing 34 Americans and wounding 173.

Miraculously, the ship didn't sink and managed to send out an SOS. American planes flying to its rescue (and said to be carrying nuclear bombs meant for Cairo) were recalled when it turned out that Israel, and not Egypt, was the aggressor.

Many Americans, including survivors of the attack on USS Liberty, still want to know why this affair was covered up; some have wondered whether it wasn't really the US and Israel conspiring to sink the ship and blame it on Egypt, thus enabling America to enter the war on Israel's side. An acclaimed BBC documentary, Dead in the Water, brought the usual Israeli accusations when it was first broadcast, but the questions it asks remain there.

Daniel Wood, one of USS Liberty's surviving sailors, recalls how Israeli reconnaissance planes had buzzed overhead for hours before the attack. He still doesn't understand why the Navy recalled its fighters and left the Liberty defenseless, when the United States Sixth Fleet was nearby with two aircraft carriers, and American jets were 15 minutes away.

On Friday June 10, a Report of War Crimes brief will be filed on behalf of the USS Liberty Veterans' Association,to push for the official inquiry that should have been carried out 38 years ago, hoping the mystery will finally be revealed.

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Ramzy Baroud's grandfather told him that being a Palestinian was a blessing.

“You cannot be entrusted to defend a more virtuous cause than the cause of Palestine, unless Allah has blessed you greatly.“

These amazing words are even more meaningful when you learn that they stem from a Palestinian refugee who was forced at gunpoint to haul his family away and flee Beit Daras, spending the rest of his life in a refugee camp – first in a tent for many years, and then in a mud house provided by the UN, where he died. Until his last breath, Grandpa listened to his battered radio, waiting for the day he would hear the announcement that Palestinian refugees were allowed to go home.

A quick description cannot possibly do justice to this wonderful piece. Please read it in full and share the dreams of millions of homeless, destitute Palestinian refugees all over the world.

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Our shock at Samir Kassir's murder hasn't abated yet, but we are already mourning the brutal murder of yet another Arab journalist. The body of 32-year old Daif Al Ghazal, a critic of the Libyan regime who was kidnapped on May 21st, was found, barely recognizable, in Benghazi a few days ago. Reporters Sans Frontières note that "the autopsy report referred to many signs of torture. Most of his fingers had been severed, and the body had multiple bruises and stab wounds. He had been finished off by a shot to the head."

Is the FBI also going to send investigators to determine who Al Ghazal's assassins were and how they planned and executed his horrific death? Will the UN demand an inquiry? Or does Libya's newly-found status as "Western-friendly" – if not quite democratic – absolve it from scrutiny on human rights issues?

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While we wait for another memorable quote from the Baath party conference, and given the non-events so far (Khaddam's resignation has been known for weeks), here are some other hot issues.

Flashback to October 5, 2003, when Israel violated Syrian sovereignty and bombed a site mere miles from Damascus, claiming it was a training camp for Palestinian groups. The official Syrian response to this shocking aggression had echoed the one given in April 2001, when Israel had bombed a Syrian radar in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, killing 3 Syrian soldiers. In short, Syria reserved the right to retaliate, as foreign ministry spokesperson Bushra Kanafani told a news conference. How reassuring for Syrians.

As if that wasn't meek enough, the Syrian government had publicly dissociated itself from the statement of Ambassador Mohsen Bilal, Syria's representative to Spain, who was man enough to say what every Syrian was thinking: namely, that if Israel attacks, "of course the people of Syria and the government of Syria and the army will react to defend ourselves."

Normal reaction, right? Not for the Syrian government, which apparently gave Bilal a real dressing down for this completely adequate response, and which immediately stated that this had merely been the ambassador's "personal understanding." Syrian official rhetoric is lately unbelievably challenging when it serves absolutely no purpose or is counterproductive (such as with the invasion of Iraq) and astonishingly weak when everyone expects it to be strong (like with this incident with Israel).


Fast forward to last week, when Israel accused Syria of test-firing three Scud missiles, one of which broke over southern Turkey – a fact confirmed by Turkish officials. So what's the big deal? Is Syria working on its reserved right of retaliation? Nothing of the sort. Is it simply making some noise to be noticed? Why else do military exercises so close to the Turkish border? Whatever the cause, is there any reason for Syria to have to justify having an army which (technically) is there to defend the country?

While vaguely stating that it’s normal for a state to possess defense potential, Syrian Information Minister Mehdi Dakhlallah devoted a lot of energy to denounce Israeli claims his country is developing new weapons and had test-fired Scud missiles, calling the accusations "an expression of Israel's hostile intentions."

I would imagine that most Syrians would have two things to say to this. With regard to Israel's intentions, well, duh. But with regard to the missiles (and probably surprised to learn that these Scuds actually still - sort of - work), well, be a man, Minister! Be man enough to state loud and clear what any country in this situation would say, with its land, the Golan Heights, illegally occupied for 38 years this very week, (and from which UNSC Resolution 242 demands Israel's withdrawal) and furthermore illegally annexed by Israel in 1981, which the Security Council condemns in Resolution 497.

Syrians would probably say: be man enough to say that being under constant fear of attack, you are obliged to have a few measly weapons with which to try to defend yourself against the nuclear powers that threaten you, and that the right to self-defense does not apply only to Israel.

But maybe Syrians need to wait for Ambassador Bilal to say this. When it comes to defending itself from Israeli aggression, alas, even verbally, the rest of the Syrian government mostly seems to be walking on egg shells.

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Has anyone noticed that Robert Fisk is writing stranger and stranger things every day? After a number of questionable recent pieces on Lebanon, he seems to tread on thin ice with his account of the movie Kingdom of Heaven, which he watched with "the Muslims of Beirut."

Fisk describes the reactions to the scene where Salaheddin Al Ayoubi (I just hate the "Saladin" version of the name) enters Jerusalem and picks up a crucifix from the floor to place it on an altar. Relating how people in the theater rose to their feet and clapped, he writes: "They wanted Islam to be merciful as well as strong."

I thought Islam was merciful regardless of whether they wanted it to be or not. But I digress.

As I read the article and the repeated references to the "Muslims" (and not the Lebanese, or the Beirutis), I wondered where he could have possibly seen the movie. It wasn't until the last paragraph that Fisk obliges, mentioning Dunes. If it's the Dunes in Verdun, the only Dunes I know in Beirut, I have to wonder how he reached the conclusion that the audience was entirely Muslim. And even if it wasn't the Dunes I know, it's a strange and rather confident assertion. Did Fisk ask every single person in the audience his or her religion? Did they show ostentatious signs (to borrow from the French) of their religiosity? Were all the girls wearing head scarves? Or did they all just "look" Muslim? Or is it possible that Christians in Beirut might have also clapped at scenes of magnanimity from a great commander, and at signs of respect for their religion?

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"If the Baath party wasn't there, we would have to invent it."

Dr. Buthaina Shaaban
Spokesperson for the Baath Party conference and Syrian Minister for Expatriates

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For once, all praise to The New York Times (une fois n'est pas coutume!) for having finally published a true representative of Syria's civil society, a respected, courageous man who was imprisoned for 16 years and who is still active in his struggle to bring reform to Syria.

(And what a change from the lousy Washington Times' constant peddling of the completely unconvincing and unrepresentative Farid Ghadry.)

Reprinted in Monday's edition of the International Herald Tribune, Yassin al-Haj Saleh, in his op-ed "Don't rush the revolution," advocates a gradual change in Syria, even though he believes (as I have stated in my own article mentioned below) that the regime is stronger than many feel.

"Since it completed its Lebanon withdrawal, the Assad government has partly regained its composure. And the stronger it feels, the fewer concessions it will make to its own people and the less willing it will be to engage in much needed political and economic reform."

Therefore, little change is to be expected from the Regional Command's big meeting this week.

"The president will probably use this congress to remove many of his father's associates, but he cannot do so without entering into a Faustian bargain - namely committing himself to Syria's archaic one-party system, to the omnipotent and omnipresent security services, to a continued state monopoly over all news media and, most important, to a ruling political elite that continues to hoard Syria's national wealth. These interests, not the members of the "old guard," are the most unyielding obstacles to reform."

But al-Haj Saleh stresses that the last thing Syrians want is outside intervention, especially after the catastrophic outcome of Iraq's invasion. Therefore, he suggests other ways to gently push Syria towards change:

"Rather, when it comes to outside pressure, an approach based on multilateral efforts by the global powers and international organizations is preferable: financial penalties directed against the businesses and foreign assets of the Syrian elites who have helped themselves to public money; constant moral demands from the international community for domestic political and economic change; and, most important, progress in negotiations with Israel."

The author concludes that while it is not known how long the present situation will prevail, he does know that "in the end, the regime will have to answer to 18 million Syrians, most of whom want to see freedom, justice and the rule of law." Hear hear.

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Those familiar with Arabic movies or plays understand the knowing chuckles at the appearance of signs claiming "Al shurta fi khidmet al sha'ab" (the police is at the service of the people). It doesn't always quite work out that way, including in Syria, but it is the expression that came to mind as I watched a Syrian official defend his government's aptitude for crime solving.

Had the situation not been so tragic, I would have probably laughed when I heard Elias Murad, the editor of the riveting Syrian newspaper and mouthpiece of the regime, Al Baath, wonder why people didn't trust the Syrian police and judiciary. On Dubai television to answer the questions of veteran journalist Hamdi Kandil on Friday, Murad pretended to be surprised at respected Syrian human rights activist Haytham Manna's request for an independent investigation on the affair of Sheikh Khaznawi.

This was in response to the incredible story, as told by Syrian officials and subsequently recounted on television by the "culprits," of the kidnapping, murder and burial of Sheikh Khaznawi. Get this: they lured him into a flat in broad daylight in the middle of Damascus, then drugged him, then took him by car all the way up to Aleppo, then murdered him there, and THEN drove all the way to Deir-Ezzor to bury him. For all their planning, however, they were "caught," confessed, and proceeded to very calmly (a bit too calmly for my taste) explain to the Public Attorney and to TV audiences how this all happened. A "simple" criminal act, apparently.

For some reason, Manna and many people are not convinced, especially when they say there are clear signs of torture on the victim. Inevitably, his family and followers protested and clashes erupted during Sheikh Khaznawi's funeral.

As usual, this makes the Syrian regime very edgy and more arrests of human rights activists have been made.

Is it any wonder that Syrians have low expectations for the party conference?

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Be still my beating heart: tomorrow, on June 6, the 10th conference of the Regional Command of the Baath Party will meet in Damascus, for the first time in five years. There's been a lot of buzz about this meeting, mostly by the party itself and the regime; I for one fail to see what all the fuss is about.

In the past few days, Syrian media has lectured us incessantly, dutifully explaining to the doubters the strong democratic foundations of the Baath Party and the National Progressive Front. (Seriously.) Amongst others, we are to be granted municipal elections in 2007; do they expect us to say thank you and shout hurrah? This is just scraping the surface of what needs to be done.

As for the supposed "resignations" of a few key figures in the regime, let's not get too excited either. It is rumoured that we may get a new foreign affairs minister, but the main candidate is a lot less masterly than required. How all these translate into "change" is beyond me.

My own take on the situation in Syria can be found in my last article, published in The World Today; to put it mildly, I am not optimistic.

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Many tributes have been paid to Samir Kassir, expressing indignation and fury after his cowardly assassination. I can only add my own outrage to these voices, and my concern for the future of my region.

Just last week, I wrote how sad it was that regimes fear intellectuals more than they fear those who mean the country real harm. Journalists, thinkers and writers are often a casualty of war and of oppression, and their silencing in various degrees of brutality (by stopping their voice from being heard or read, through bans, harassment, jailing, torture, and all too often murder) has not been condemned strongly enough by democracies – especially when the latter are the culprits. The freedom of expression supposedly enjoyed in the US and in Israel comes to a screeching halt when facing various aspects of occupation, and many courageous journalists have died from – amongst others - Israeli and American bombs and bullets. I have already mentioned several in this blog, victims from all nationalities of occupation in Palestine and in Iraq.

In the Arab world, such violent measures are sadly the rule rather than the exception. With frustratingly little means available to fight these flagrant abuses of human rights, the least we can all do is continue to condemn them, and continue to encourage those who dare to speak out. The more cowards resort to violence, the more they prove their fear of our words, and the mightier the power of our pens.

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My latest article on Syria was delivered a couple of weeks ago but will only come out next week; that's the problem with magazines - a lot of things can happen before publication. In my case, however, there's nothing that I need to take back or amend, fortunately for the timeliness of the piece, and unfortunately for Syria.

As I've often said elsewhere, the so-called reforms promised by the Syrian regime (which speaks of a "great leap" forward with the 10th conference of the regional command of the Baath party, due to take place from June 6 to 9) are going to be minimal and mostly cosmetic - anything to maintain the status quo. The ridiculously limited economic "reforms" being considered are made not out of concern for the dire straits in which many Syrians find themselves, but in order to comply with the demands of the EU Association Agreement.

The real issues are not even on the table. Even if they were, where would one start? Removing the state of emergency law, in place since 1963? The reform of the judiciary (for no justice can ever arise when the integrity of most judges is for sale, whether they like it or not)? The fate of thousands of prisoners of conscience (some missing since decades)? The return of the freedom of expression and of the press that Syrians saw flourish before the military coups and countercoups that preceded the arrival of the Baath on March 8 1963? The punishment of corruption, especially by those closest to the regime?

It is easier to choose where to start than to know where it will end, and more useful to define the issues before setting on the course. For one thing, there is no such thing as an old guard and a new guard; there is only the guard. And the guard is guarding the assets it has acquired over the past decades from all those who would rather spread Syria's riches amongst the people. The "new" elements people talk about are mostly those who work in state institutions (not to be confused with the regime) where they can pretend to be making a difference.


Tonight, on Al Jazeera's "The Opposite Direction" program dealing with the current situation in Syria, a typical spokesman for the regime made a complete fool of himself, as most of these Baathist dinosaurs usually do. What is more amusing, or rather more worrying, is that he seemed to think he was doing very well, accusing Syrian civil society activists of being worse than Americans and Israelis, and keeping a straight face while talking about the reforms. Yet it is not funny anymore. Especially when today, the only formal survivor of the Damascus Winter was silenced when 8 members from the only civil society forum still allowed to meet, that of Jamal Atassi, were arrested at dawn.

How sad it is when a regime fears its intellectuals more than those who mean the whole country real harm. I used to regularly attend numerous civil society gatherings in Damascus when I lived there, even before the Damascus Spring (including Economic Tuesdays and the Atassi forums), and can vouch for their value and for the participants' sincerity and patriotism.


That's not the only news coming from Syria today. Syria's ambassador to Washington, Imad Moustapha, announced to The New York Times that
Syria had severed all links with American military and intelligence agencies, the reasoning being that the Bush administration was doing everything to escalate the situation with Syria, no matter what Syria does. The Bush administration reacted with surprise at this announcement, being more accustomed to dictate the level of the relationship with Syria.

On the one hand, Imad Moustapha is right, even though he somewhat softened his remarks in a later interview (following a pattern that has become the only foreign policy Syria seems to have adopted: speak now, retract and rephrase later). No matter what Syria does, the US will find something else to complain about. In fact, I have frequently argued that Syria has given too many concessions on the international front without proper consideration and without getting anything in return. Many Syrians are fed up by the double standards constantly exercised by the US and by the constant pressure applied unreasonably on Syria, when the regime has done practically everything it could (sometimes immediately, others eventually) to satisfy American demands. Official Syrian rhetoric is often a lot tougher than the regime's actual position, after all.

On the other hand, what could Syria possibly gain with such a statement? As Richard Boucher immediately reacted, making comments like this is probably a step in the wrong direction – at least as far as relations with the US are concerned. But relations were headed south anyway: sanctions (which only affect the people) had just been renewed, as had numerous accusations about Syrian involvement in everything that's going wrong in the Middle East.

Is this Syria's way of catching Bush's attention, and reminding him that he still needs Syrian help? Or will Syria really stop supplying the US with intelligence and assistance in its "war on terror" (including torture) as it has since September 11?

When the country is facing extreme foreign pressure, most Syrians (like most people) become even more patriotic than usual. But will current American pressure, which will no doubt be further fuelled by these recent Syrian statements, be enough to ward off internal demands, for the moment? It wouldn't be the first time the regime depended on it. Judging by the mood in Syria recently, however, most people are in no mood to be taught (or sold, to follow the Arabic expression) patriotism, and insist on seeing real change – for a change.

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And what a lot of noise he makes while he's there. Seeing, or rather hearing Sharon addressing AIPAC today was like listening to a rock star serenading his groupies. Condoleezza Rice had a good reception at AIPAC yesterday, but it was no match for the one given to the Bulldozer, whose popularity somehow manages to increase with every trip to the US.

Sharon reminded his audience of the usual official Israeli positions, stressing again (for the benefit of those who still claim there is a "peace process") that Israeli settlements in the West Bank (illegal under international law, of course) will remain an integral part of Israel – with territorial contiguity to boost – and that no Palestinian refugees will ever be allowed entry into Israel.

It was mostly all said before, except for this pearl which Sharon shared in a previous meeting: "Without hurting the Arab world, it must be established that their agreements, declarations, and speeches are not worth the paper they were printed on.”

He didn't say Arab leaders, or presidents, or dictators, or kings … or even some in the Arab world – he said the Arab world. Just as Mahmoud Abbas was getting ready to cross the Atlantic. As confidence-building measures go, this says it all.

And now, Mr. Abbas goes to Washington, although a lot of people are beginning to wonder what good that will do him, or the Palestinian people. A few days ago, Ashraf Fahim openly asked in The Daily Star why the Palestinian Authority was continuing to negotiate with Israel, when the latter continues to expand illegal settlements in the West Bank to the point where it will be impossible to establish a truly sovereign Palestinian state, with the encouragement of the Bush administration.

I do not agree with Fahim's suggestion that the PA should consider reversing its recognition of Israel, just because Israel has effectively reneged on recognition of Palestinian rights. On the contrary, Palestinians should continue to demand their rights as given to them by international law, and by numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions – all of which recognize the rights of all the parties involved in the conflict.

Without hurting the present dealmakers, it must be established that these rights will really not be worth the paper they were printed on if the international community does not get seriously involved and stops the far from honest brokers from committing further injustices.

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I always discover something new when I read William Dalrymple. Today I learned in The Guardian about Tipu Sultan of Mysore, a man whose story will sound very familiar to us all when explained and put into context by Dalrymple.

To believe British sources for long, Tipu was "a fanatical Muslim despot resisting the West". There were calls for regime change, and we have, of course, been here before, explains Dalrymple. Then, and now, it was best to simply remove any hostile Muslim regime that presumed to resist the West – or Britain, in those days.

When the British decided to remove Tipu Sultan in 1798, Henry Dundas (the minister overseeing the East India Company) and Richard Wellesley (governor general) first began a vilification campaign to justify to the British public a policy whose outcome had already been decided in secret. Tipu was portrayed as a monster, opening the way "for a lucrative conquest and the installation of a more pliable regime that would, in the words of Wellesley, allow the British to give the impression they were handing the country back to its rightful owners while in reality maintaining firm control."

Sounding more and more familiar? The author concludes the fascinating essay, which is well worth reading, with the following thought:

"The whole episode is a sobering reminder of the degree to which old-style imperialism has made a comeback under Bush and Blair. There is nothing new about the neocons. Not only are westerners again playing their old game of installing puppet regimes, propped up by western garrisons, for their own political and economic ends but, more alarmingly, the intellectual attitudes that buttressed and sustained such imperial adventures remain intact."

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Instead of jumping straight into the more depressing events of the last few weeks, and into the interesting events of the coming few weeks, I thought this light item would put us back on track.

The following passage is taken from a recent informative article in Haaretz. Let's see if you can guess to what it refers (don't peak):

"Possessed of almost a Jewish soul, displaying loyal Zionism and always hanging around with the guys, reporting for reserve duty and eternally present at barbecues - it is, in short, a true Israeli and a native to boot (a sabra, one could say, and risk engaging in hidden advertising). At the same time, it must not deny its origins and must therefore be authentic and draw on local, traditional, deeply rooted folklore, having been here for generations (an Arab or a Palestinian, one could say, and risk being excessively political - or lacking PC)."


OK, do you give up?

It's hummus!

I wonder whether the old expression can be adapted to "having your hummus and eating it too."

Which brings to mind "let them eat hummus." And they are.

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A lot can happen in 40 days, and has indeed happened in the region, since the last time I manifested myself here. Many thanks to all the people who emailed me and contacted me through the website, wondering about my silence; all is well, albeit way too busy for my taste.

3 weeks in the Middle East in April (mostly work, alas), including a good portion in Syria (about which there is so much to say), and two further weeks writing practically non-stop to meet several deadlines (a big paper, articles and a project I can't wait to finish) are the reason for this self-imposed blogging ban. Things are still busy, but I will make an effort to get back to speed, especially to keep up with those who apparently have way too much time on their own hands, and who are rather fixated on what others write and say. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

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On April 9, 1948, members of the Jewish terrorist groups Irgun and Stern Gang massacred over 200 Palestinians in the village of Deir Yassin. Right after the crime, they began broadcasting the details of their actions to other Palestinian villages, whose terrified inhabitants fled in haste.

Israel Shamir writes that the massacre of Deir Yassin is special for three reasons:

”One, it is well documented and witnessed. Other Jewish guerilla groups, including the Hagana and Palmach, Jewish scouts, Red Cross representatives and the British police of Jerusalem left complete records of the event. It was just one of many massacres of Palestinians by the Jews during the war of 1948, but none received as much attention. This is probably due to the fact that Jerusalem, the seat of the British Mandate in Palestine, was just around the corner.

Second, Deir Yassin had dire consequences, beyond its own tragic fate. The horror of the massacre facilitated the mass flight from nearby Palestinian villages and gave the Jews full control over the western approaches to Jerusalem. The flight was a prudent and rational choice for the civilian population. As I write this, my TV glares with the image of Macedonian peasants fleeing a war zone. My mother's family escaped from a burning Minsk on 22 of June, 1941, and survived. My father's family remained and perished. After the war my parents could return like other war refugees. The Palestinians, however, have not been allowed to come back, until this very day.

Three, the careers of the murderers. The commanders of the Etzel and Lehi gangs, Menahem Begin and Isaac Shamir eventually became Israeli prime ministers. None of them expressed any remorse, and Menahem Begin lived the last days of his life with a panoramic view of Deir Yassin from his house. No Nuremberg judges, no vengeance, no penitence, just a path of roses all the way to a Nobel Peace prize. Menahem Begin was proud of the operation, and in his letter to killers he congratulated them for fulfilling their national duty. "You are creators of Israel's history', he wrote. Isaac Shamir was also pleased that is helped to achieve his dream: to expel the nochrim (non-Jews) from the Jewish state.”





Palestine's victims must never be forgotten.

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“The essence of civilization is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak.” George W. Bush

(Not an April Fool’s joke.)

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2 years of “liberation,” 9 months of “sovereignty” and 2 months of “democracy” later, Iraq is not doing well. For one thing, if this is how long it’s taking the Iraqi parliament to agree on a government, a speaker, and a president and prime minister, how long is it going to take them to agree on a constitution? It certainly doesn't look like any kind of agreement will be reached by August, after which the document should have been presented for a national referendum.

To summarize the last few weeks very crudely, the Shias and the Kurds each want control over the oil ministry (assuming they can get the Americans away from it that is) which may also determine control over oil-rich Kirkuk. And neither side has been able to impose on the other its choice for speaker of the parliament. As for the position of prime minister, it doesn't look like it's a done deal yet either.

In the meantime, as we approach the two-year anniversary of Iraq’s invasion, security is appalling. I wouldn’t even know which article to link here to illustrate the seriousness of the situation, but recent and terrifying examples abound on the Internet. The epidemic of killings, car bombs and kidnappings continues, over 10,000 prisoners are being held in jail by the US and there seems to be no end in sight. In addition, basic infrastructure and standards of living remain terribly lacking, and malnutrition in children has doubled since the invasion.

There is more and more talk about religion becoming a heavy (and dividing) factor in Iraq, with most Shia politicians making no secret of their wish to impose their own interpretation of Shari’a on the whole of Iraq. Most women have already taken to wearing a scarf and dressing more modestly, just to avoid trouble. One of the main contenders for the post of prime minister, Ibrahim Jaafari, had no qualms about the position of many in his alliance: in an interview he recently gave Der Spiegel, he confirmed that Iraq should become an Islamic state.

In fact, some Shia militants have already taken the law into their own hands, as was reported by a number of journalists. An innocent picnic turned into a nightmare when students were beaten to death by members of Al Mahdi Army for having committed the crime of listening to music. Anthony Shadid of the Washington Post describes the shocking events in much detail.

Even the British are beginning to show signs of nervousness, as exemplified by yesterday’s inexplicable raid on the house of MP Mansour Abdulrazzaq Mansour, one of their closest allies in Basra, smashing his car windows, computers to the ground, and taking $260,000 (don’t ask).

Dare anyone venture to guess what the third anniversary of the invasion will bring?

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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon -- in spectacular fashion and with both overt and tacit support from Washington -- is fast imposing a blueprint for Israel's permanent borders that would extend beyond the 1967 frontiers the Palestinians say should frame their future state.

If that’s what the Associated Press is saying, imagine how Palestinians are seeing this. But AP forgets to mention that the 1967 borders are not just what “the Palestinians say should frame their future state” but indeed what international law says, beginning with UNSC Resolution 242 which demands that Israel withdraws from territories occupied in the 1967 war.

AP, and other media as well, describes how two parliamentary votes this week cleared the final hurdles to Sharon's plan to vacate the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements this summer. The government also plans to expand the West Bank's largest Jewish settlement, vowing to encompass it and others on the Israeli side of a massive separation barrier.

The piece also quotes Haaretz writer Yoel Marcus, who says: “With Sharon's bold and single-minded efforts to create permanent borders for Israel, he is imposing on this country its most important national agenda since the (1967) Six-Day War."

This apparently does not really bother the US, as we already know from Bush’s statements about “facts on the ground.” Accordingly, Secretary of State Rice first tentatively claimed Sharon’s policy was “at odds” with US policy (which AP considers to be her sharpest criticism of Israel yet); she later refused to repeat this “criticism,” preferring to reaffirm American support for Israeli settlements. Speaking to Israel Radio, she confirmed that “the changes on the ground, the existing major Israeli population centers will have to be taken into account in any final status negotiation.” What a big surprise.

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This is a long and comprehensive piece on Rafik Hariri’s relationship with Syria, by Sami Moubayed, which I haven’t had a chance to post before.

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It’s not often these two words come together when it comes to the Arab-Israeli conflict. But at the start of a World Cup qualifying match tonight between France and Israel, Israeli fans booed La Marseilleise.

That’s because Fabien Barthez, the famous French goalkeeper, dared to criticize Israel’s actions in the Occupied Palestinian territories last week, saying he didn’t understand why anyone would want to play in Israel, with all the suffering in the world. “I don’t like it at all. I am speaking as a father and not as a soccer player,” he explained.

That didn't go down well in Israel, of course, and he had to change his mind (like many critics do under pressure) and fly to Tel Aviv to play the match, even amidst fears for his safety. At least, he refused to retract on his words, saying "Je ne reviens pas sur mes propos" upon arrival to the hotel.

In the meantime, posters of “Barthez the Nazi” giving a stiff-armed salute against the background of a swastika flag had already found their way to some websites.

Barthez will be retiring after the World Cup next year, so his fans have very little time to chant "Allez les bleus!" while he's around. At least, on the occasion of Palestinian Land Day today, many can say Allez Barthez.

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In US media, thankfully, some people are still paying attention to events in Palestine. While many are watching out for "freedom on the march," Pat Oliphant has seen Sharon sowing his seeds.




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Is it just me, or is this getting difficult to point out facts, let alone criticize any American or Israeli actions? And I’m talking about Arab media.

Check this interesting phenomenon and judge for yourself. I wrote an article for Bitter Lemons on Thursday, titled Syria’s stake in Lebanon.

Today, it is published in The Daily Star, where I have often written before, under the title Redemption is nigh for Lebanon and Syria.

At first glance, the two pieces are identical. However, on closer look, you will find an interesting sub-sentence missing from the Daily Star edition, which I have marked in bold as follows:

“Even allowing for the Taif Agreement, no political analyst would seriously argue that a Syrian withdrawal could have been strategically possible before May 2000, when Israel ended its 22-year occupation of Lebanon (but has since then continued flexing its muscles with daily violations of Lebanese air space as reminders of its might)."

I’m sure the Opinion Editor decided he needed the space. Which is surely why he also removed the seemingly innocent words (also in bold below) which could have been understood as being an overly sarcastic reference to claims made by some parties in Lebanon that Syria was out to unleash hell:

"Likewise, allegations that Syria intends to ignite civil strife as it withdraws, in après moi, le déluge mode, are dangerous; Syria needs a stable and peaceful Lebanon, especially when instability in Iraq still has the potential to overflow."

Ah, the constraints of space! This comes a couple of days after Asharq Alawsat, also surely for reasons of space constraints, decided to remove practically every single criticism, or even plain reference to facts, regarding American pressure on Syria, in my analysis on US-Syrian relations.

I don’t know why the US complains about Arab media, really. Criticism of certain Arab states’ actions or attitudes is more than welcome, apparently, but criticism of the US and Israel is getting off limits these days.

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If Egypt is “oum eddounia” (the mother of the world), then Ahmad Zaki is one of its most talented sons. However, it is not just Egypt, but the whole Arab world which mourns today the passing of this wonderful human being and actor who embodied characters both close to its heart (such as Nasser and lastly Abdel Halim) or close to its real life (from struggling employees to corrupt officials).

In the movie "Nasser 56" which came out in the summer of 1996, 40 years after Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal and was consequently attacked simultaneously by Britain, France and Israel in the Suez War, Zaki’s performance and his faithful embodiment of the Egyptian leader roused the passion of crowds in Cairo and in every Arab city. It was one of his most memorable roles, but by no means the only one where he displayed his amazing capacities and charisma.

As fate would have it, Zaki was working on what would be his last film, "Halim" (the story of one of the Arab world’s most beloved singers, Abdel Halim Hafez) when he was diagnosed with cancer, the ruthless illness which also took Abdel Halim’s life.

The great Ahmad Zaki, a real Arab superstar, passed away on Sunday at the age of 56. May God rest his soul in peace.



Ahmad Zaki in Nasser 56

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For some reason, this story came to mind when I was thinking about the much more serious events of the last weeks. Go figure.

In August 2003, many people in the Arab world were engrossed in a frenzy of excitement as the first Superstar program (the local version of Britain’s original Pop Idol, or the US’s American Idol) was coming to an end. The last three contestants were Melhem Zein from Lebanon, Ruwaida Atieh from Syria, and Diana Carazon from Jordan. In the penultimate show, Melhem Zein was voted out – and fans went beserk.

People in the audience started throwing chairs at each other, protesters chanted ridiculous pledges in front of Hariri’s Future Television Network (which made the show) as if Zein was a leader – you know, the whole “with our soul, with our blood, bla bla bla.”

In the commotion, the last two contestants fainted and were rushed out, and Future TV stopped the live broadcast.

Well, tough luck for Zein, you’d think. But no … to hear the rumours that week, you’d have believed the Syrian mukhabarat had cooked the whole story and rigged the voting (by eliminating votes in favor of Zein), forcing the elimination of Zein so that the Syrian contestant could win the contest. This seemed to make perfect sense to many otherwise rational people: Syria controled Lebanon, and therefore controled Superstar, and Lebanese leaders could do nothing about it. Zein had been a victim of Syrian domination.

When the last show finally started broadcasting live, conspiracy theories had made the rounds, which may have been a good thing considering that it took many people’s minds off the severe electricity cuts Lebanon was experiencing at the time. Meanwhile, Syria and Jordan were caught in a whirl of theories about who would win: the Jordanian (who – rumour had it – would be getting the votes of the entire Jordanian army, on the orders of its king) or the Syrian (who – rumour also had it – would have the support of the Syrian intelligence services). The Lebanese seemed to have no doubt that the Syrians, because of their advantage in Lebanon, would have the upper hand.

Tensions were high as the results were announced: the Jordanian candidate won with 52% of the votes. End of the conspiracy theory about Syria, right? Well, not quite. You see, apparently, Syria decided to “allow” the Jordanian girl to win, so that its interference in the voting wouldn’t be too noticed. Had the Syrian girl won, people said, it would have just been too obvious.

Therefore, the Jordanian’s victory proved Syrian involvement!

Moral of the story: in some cases, it’s damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.

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It’s getting hard to catch up on events (and non-events) in the Lebanon/Syria affair. Two bombs, several casualties and many demonstrations later, there is still no government in Beirut, and the opposition keeps changing its mind about what it wants. First it wanted an interim coalition government, but then it refused to participate in one. It wanted Lahoud’s resignation above all, but now the utmost priority is the elections. It initially screamed about Resolution 1559, but now it considers the Taef Accord to be the ceiling.

At least the tiresome war of rallies and counter-rallies is over for the time being, except of course for the exasperating parades taking place in a succession of Syrian cities, which only serve to point to an embarrassingly bad (and quite futile) PR effort from a party that probably couldn’t even preach to its own choir.

The message from Lebanon’s streets was clear: like everyone else, Lebanese are not entirely united behind a single political agenda, but the vast majority do agree on the basic premise of a Syrian withdrawal. Those who implied that Hezbollah’s manifestation was to support Syria’s presence weren’t listening to Nasrallah, whether in his first press conference and subsequent statements, or during the first Hezbollah-organized demonstration, when all he did was wave goodbye to Syria and thank it for its contribution to the pacification of Lebanon.

Hezbollah tried to make Syrians feel they were not all bad. Unfortunately, others in Lebanon continue with insults (through banners, emails, or text messages), some of which are downright racist. And, in many cases, people are actually adding injury to insult. According to Nasrallah, some 30 Syrians have been killed (with more reported since he made that statement last week).

I’m told that a friend of ours, a European diplomat posted in Damascus, took a day trip to Lebanon last week – in his car with clearly marked diplomatic plates – and was attacked by several Lebanese until he agreed to put a picture of Hariri in the car. One of our family friends went to Chtaura with his elderly mother, who waited in the car as he went into a bank; he had to rush out when a group of youngsters started to insult the frightened lady, banging on the car and kicking it. Thankfully, he was able to talk some sense into the young men, but how many similar situations are happening on a daily basis?

Violence against Syrians has been regular and completely unwarranted, targetting people who have absolutely nothing to do with the Syrian regime. Most Syrians have for a long time been opposed to its handling of Lebanon (don’t believe reports that everyone is upset by the departure from Lebanon – rather, many are upset by the mishandling in the last months and years).


The Bush administration has, for its part, reacted with dismay to some of these developments. Democracy is people power, according to the Americans – but that was without factoring in Hezbollah. Poor Bush: every time he begins to praise democratic foundations, he ends up having to recognize the people power of groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and SCIRI and Dawa – all of whom were (and partly still are) Islamic resistance organizations.

Hezbollah has been on the American list of terrorist organizations for a while now; lo and behold, after realizing that its secretary general could count on the support of a significant part of the population (roughly half, if one considers the demonstrations), the US now seems to imply that it might reconsider its classification of the group.

America is probably also quite surprised to see the Syrians initially retreat so quickly, having listened to a number of “experts” explain that the Syrian regime would fall if it had to leave Lebanon. Well, the Syrian people were never happy with the presence of their troops there, and they never felt they received anything in return apart from Lebanese resentment – which they can live without.

In the end, the country which recently sat on the Security Council and voted for Resolution 1441 on Iraq, which entertains diplomatic relations with the US, which cooperated heavily in the “war on terror” and in the Iraqi out-of-country voting program, and which repeats at every opportunity its wish to renew peace talks with Israel – that country is being threatened daily by the US. On the other hand, the organization that still calls for death to Israel could win U.S. backing for a role in Lebanon's political mainstream.

Some have said that Syria understands only force, not reasoning; the same possibly holds true for the US.

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Rime Allaf