Good Friday: No Longer A Lebanese Holiday!

In a shocking move, the Lebanese government has removed Good Friday from the list of official Lebanese holidays. We now have the commemoration of Hariri's assassination as an official holiday, but not the death of Jesus Christ.

It is outrageous of the Lebanese government to remove the most sacred Christian Holy Day from the list of recognized official holidays. What is most outrageous, however, is that none of the Christian members of the "majority" opposed the move.

It is unclear whether this move is a pure act of Sunni bigotry against their Christian allies, or a calculated act to weaken the government. I am sure Syria, Iran and Hizballa are thanking Allah for this senseless act of stupidity that will weaken Christian support for the government and affect the outcome of the upcoming partial parliamentary elections to replace MP's Gemayel and Eido.

It is time for the Christian leaders of the majority to pressure the Saniora government to reverse this decision.

In the long term, this is a clear indication that the Lebanese Christians need a new leadership if they are planning to remain relevant in the country of the Cedars.

Note that the government's decision was later reversed after much protest from a wide spectrum of Christian leaderships.

UNIFIL Attack, Hizablla's First Step ToTake Back Control Of The Border

The attack against the Spanish contingent of the UNIFIL was expected. The Lebanese authorities have been warning of such plots. I even expected attacks against UNIFIL shortly after their deployment.

The purpose of the attack is obvious. Iran wants to reinforce its leverage against Israel (and the West) by being able to wage war against the Jewish State on two fronts, one in the South in Gaza, the other in the North, in South Lebanon. Hamas has now a free hand to arm itself and attack Israel after routing the PLO from Gaza. Hizballa is about to do the same by expelling UNIFIL from South Lebanon through a series of bloody terrorist attacks.

Hizballa's responsibility in this incident is unquestionable, even though the actual perpetrators might have been members of some pro-Syrian Palestinian group. El Khiyam is a Hizballa bastion and nothing happens there without the knowledge of Iran's proxy in Lebanon.

I expect more such attacks against UNIFIL, culminating in a very bloody operation similar to the one that caused the Marines and French paratroopers to abandon their mission in Lebanon or the one that forced the UN out of Iraq.

I do hope that UNIFIL takes the appropriate measures to reinforce its positions and intensify its patrols to prevent such attacks in the future, and prove the UN's resolve in performing its mission in Lebanon despite heavy losses.

This Summer is shaping up to be a difficult one for Lebanon, and the Saniora government may not survive the Syro-Iranian onslaught without serious help from the West, the UN and moderate Arab nations.

Elias El Murr's Premature Statement

The Lebanese Defense Minister's surprising statement, announcing the end of military activities in Nahr El Bared, is reminiscent of President Bush's now infamous victory announcement regarding Iraq.

And while Bush did not predict the intensity of the Iraqi insurrection against US forces, El Murr must know that the cleanup in Nahr El Bared is far from complete.

And if El Murr is counting on the other militias in the camp to surrender the Fatah El Islam terrorists, I believe he will be sorely disappointed. There is no substitute to the Army cleaning up the Palestinian "camp"; any alternatives will have disastrous consequences on the stability of Lebanon and the morale of the Lebanese Army.

Deal or Victory in Nahr El Bared?

The Lebanese Defense Minister, Elias El Murr, declared a short while ago the end of military operation in Nahr El Bared, indicating that all Fath El Islam positions were destroyed.

Is this really the end of Fah El Islam or is this announcement the result of an under the table deal?

The following facts make the Defense Minister's declaration suspect:

• The latest information on the military operations that were available earlier today indicate that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) were still mopping up terrorist positions in the "New Camp" and had not entered the "Old Camp" yet.
  
  
• Syria declared it is threatening to shut its border with Lebanon. This is a typical Syrian move when it needs to pressure Lebanon into submission. In the absence of a peace treaty with Israel, Lebanon will remain hostage to using Syria as its only land passageway.
  
  
• In a shocking reversal, El Murr declared that the government had no proof of a relationship between Syria and Fath El Islam.
  
  
• The Palestinian mediators who have been trying to negotiate a cease-fire in the "camp" stated that Fath El Islam was declaring a cease-fire.

A deal that would allow the leaders of Fath El Islam to escape the Lebanese justice system would be a severe blow to the Lebanese Army who suffered 75 dead and more than 150 wounded in the fighting to eradicate the terrorists from Nahr El Bared. Such a deal would signal to other terrorist groups that the Lebanese government is weak, and lacks the resolve to control the country.

Finally, it is worth noting that Elias El Murr was, like his father, a staunch Syrian ally before the Cedars Revolution. He is also "President" Lahoud's brother-in-law.

Enough is Enough. The Army Needs to Finish Off the Vermin

The Lebanese Army needs to finish off the Fatah Al Islam vermin, whatever the political cost. Every building serving as a shelter to the vermin needs to be brought down. The Army needs to use flame throwers to cleanup the vermin remnants from the so called "camp".

And since the Palestinian camps cannot police themselves, they need to be disarmed by whatever means necessary. We have tolerated the cancer of Palestinian armed presence in Lebanon for too long. I think an overwhelming majority of Lebanese are finally united against the Palestinian arms in Lebanon.

If a Palestinian wants to carry weapons, they should be sent to Gaza to show their military prowess against the Israeli armed forces. And they are welcome to take their friends and relatives with them!

Where are Hizballa's weapons that are supposedly meant to defend Lebanon and its Army? Why is Hizballa still tacitly supporting the Palestinian miscreants in Lebanon? The answer is simple: Hizballa is not a Lebanese organization, but an Iranian one, with one purpose: extending the Iranian revolution to the Levant.

Why Is It Taking The Lebanese Army So Long?

There has been much speculation as to why it has taken the Lebanese Army so long to crush the Fatah Al Islam (FAI) fighters, knowing that there were initially as few as 300 of them.


Here are some of the reasons according to a retired Lebanese Army officer who is still well connected in Yarze:

• The FAI fighters are well dug-in and willing to fight to the end, rather than surrender. Further, they have nowhere to go, and their options are either to surrender or die fighting.
  
  
• The terrain is quite difficult, with narrow streets and tightly packed buildings filled with booby traps.
  
  
• The Army is trying hard to limit civilian casualties and limit the amount of destruction caused by the fighting. This is in big part in trying to prevent the fighting from spreading to the other Palestinian "camps" and to maintain the support of friendly Arab nations.
  
  
• The Army wants to limit the number of casualties in the ranks of its troops.
  
  
• The Army believes that time is on its side, at least to a certain extent and is willing to sacrifice time in order to attain the other objectives stated above.

With respect to the military supplies the Army has received from friendly nations, they do not provide it with a decisive advantage. Most of the supplies that were flown in consisted of body armor, helmets, rifles and ammunition. And while the 2 Gazelle gunships provided by the UAE are a good morale boost, they are only moderately effective in a dense urban setting.

Lebanese Army Puts Military Aid to Use

During the last 48 hours, Lebanese Army started putting to use the equipment it has received from Jordan, the UAE and the US. The most visible element of this aid are the two Gazelle helicopters that were delivered by the UAE, which still bear their original desert colors. The Lebanese Air Force did possess a number of Gazelles in the 80's, and it is therefore able to maintain and fly the helicopters without much lead time.


Other, less spectacular gear includes new US-style helmets, body armor and M4 rifles. The M4 is a shorter version of the M16 that is more convenient for troops riding in the cramped confines on an APC, and more practical for the close combat that is taking place in the narrow streets of the Palestinian "camp".

Nasrallah Shows His True Colors

By warning the Lebanese Army not to enter any Palestinian camps, Hizballa's Nasrallah shows his true colors and his real allegiance.

Nasrallah find himself in a position of indirectly defending a group that is responsible for many terrorist attacks in Lebanon that killed a number of innocent citizens, and promotes imposing an Islamic state in the country. Fatah Al Islam (FAI) is also a group controlled by Damascus, with the aim of creating chaos in Lebanon, in preparation for Syria to reclaim its control of its neighbor.

Why would Nasrallah take such a position, at a time where all the Lebanese are supportive of the Army? The answer is simple: He is obeying orders he received from his Iranian and Syrian masters.

It will be interesting to see how the Aounist camp will react to Hizballah position. The Aounists have, after all, been staunch supporters of the Army's actions in Tripoli.