Sa`d Hariri can navigate the web (by himself): And...Is Lebanon a homeland or a time bomb? I am in London now. It was a very busy trip for me. Not much time for schmoozing, or so it seems anyway. People in Lebanon are nervous, and they don't know why. They keep reassuring themselves: "the civil war cannot resume" they keep saying to nobody in particular. Maybe to themselves. Maybe they are airing their wishful thinking. They want so bad to believe that things will get better; that the lies that were spread in the Western media and Hariri propaganda (that the Lebanese people will be united once Syria leaves Lebanon) could be true afterall. They were just that: flat lies, funded by oil money and spread by ignorant and sinister media outlets. The US ambassador expressed his puzzelment at Lebanese development and his frustrationg with the Lebanese politicians that he is dealing with, in a meeting with a former Lebanese minister who told me that. Now the Lebanese are facing the reality: they are more disunited than ever, and sectarian segmentation draws the lines of combat, even in the Lebanese parliament, where the Sunni bloc, the Shi`ite bloc, the Christian bloc, and the Druze bloc all face one another and are now battling for the formation of a new cabinet that will probably supervise a deterioration of the security situation. The Lebanese president (Emile Lahhud) told me that the heads of all security agencies and departments have been appointed by the Hariri people. He added that the security agencies, due to the reshuffling and the restructurig, are not functioning, and that may lead to worsening of the security conditions. A former Lebanese minister told me that the Lebanese intelligence reports have been reporting for months the rejuvenation of the terrorism and subversion (they have other fancy names of course) arm of the Lebanese Forces militia. The notorious Israeli hand (and the master of car bombs and explosions under Samir Ja`ja`) Ghassan Tuma (who has been sheltered in the US for he is a wanted man in Lebanon) has been seen in...Cyprus, and some people report that he was even in Lebanon as of late. There are talks about the smuggling and the distribution of weapons. Hizbullah sources (and others) report that the thuggish head of the Hariri political arm (Salim Diyab) is distributing weapons among his men, but not their women (they are not feminists, of course). When I asked the Lebanese president about such reports he shrugged them off: "Those [he was referring to Hizbullah] who were not intimidated by Israel will not be intimidated by Salim Diyab]", he said. The Lebanese president is now bolstering his position by solidifying his alliance with Hizbullah and with the returning General `Awn. He will never resign: "Only a coward will resign," he told me. `Awn has some appeal among Shi`ites (the Lebanese pollster `Abduah Sa`d confirmed that from his recent polling--more on that later). Only a few days before leaving for Lebanon, a producer at AlJazeera's headquarters in Doha, Qatar called me and told me to not go to Lebanon. He said that it will not be safe for me. While in London for two days on my way to Lebanon, a few Lebanese on the streets of London stopped me and told me the same message. They said that it will not be safe. And while in Lebanon, on three occasions, strangers stopped me while waiting for a cab, and expressed concern that I was by myself with "no protection", as they put it. What do you say to that? I am no big shot, I told them. Well, I went, and made it, I guess. I am not a political operator in Lebanon, afterall, and have only the Hummus flag to wave anyway. When people (Hotel staff among others) stop me and ask for my opinions about the future of Lebanon, I of course could not but be candid with them. The stress with Syria will only increase. I know that the designated prime minister already has decided to go to Syria: but it is not certain that he will meet with Bashshar. The Syrian government will have a tough message to give him, I was told. They will link improvement of ties with changes in the Lebanese media coverage of Syria, I was told. I did not go to Syria; they gates of Damascus were closed in my face. A decent and competent Syrian diplomat had tried to help me to arrange for interviews in Damascus with Syrian officials for my upcoming book on the "Myths of the Lebanese "Revolution"." Not a single interview was obtained. I was told that my last comments on AlJazeera (in which I said that the Syrian president was wrong (when he had said "mistakes were made in Lebanon"), and that CRIMES against Lebanese, Syrians, and Palestinians were committed by the Syrian-Lebanese security order that was in place in Lebanon would make any appointment with me impossible. Was I surprised that I was not given access in Syria? Not really. A closed and oppressive regime is more closed than ever it seems, and shows signs of confusion and erratic diplomatic conduct. I met Syrians in Lebanon, and they were appreciative of my words regarding Lebanese racism (and attacks against) Syrians in Lebanon. I cannot believe that the US government (which has the political credibility that is equivalent to the feminist credibility of Mike Tyson) is now mouthing off about the delay of Syrian trucks at the borders between Lebanon and Syria. Despite my opposition to the Syrian government (and to every other Arab government for that matter) it can be maintained that this is a diplomatic course of action that governments do all the time. The US afterall has strangled Cuba, and imposed the most inhumane economic sanctions on Iraq, and now has some form of sanctions against well over a 100 countries in the world. And US officials (and obliging US journalists) think that US words carry any meanings here? And today the car of a Syrian lawyer who lives near Zahlah in Lebanon was set on fire. She was not hurt. It must be the work of Lebanese patriots, and such deeds do not result in a word of condemnation by the US government. But let us face it: the US government has very little in terms of means of influence in Lebanon. Aside from money and bribery, there is very little the government can do given the quagmire in Iraq. The US will only offer words and propaganda speeches, and cannot--given the mess in Iraq (which had been "liberated" by Bush as you may remember)--resort to a military "option" in Lebanon. Let us remember that the US remain one of the most unpopular sides in Lebanon. And the US will now try to do what it failed to do in Lebanon in 1982-84: to impose a new security regime that is aligned with Israel. This time the US will rely on a Muslim (Sunni) force (instead of the Maronite Gemayyel gang). The last attempt failed miserably and this one will fail too, I assure you. The US could not have a worse ally than Sa`d Hariri, who is now regarded as a well-tailored fool. I am told by somebody in the Hariri camp, that former Rafiq Hariri's aides, shake their heads after meeting him, and utter: "May God have mercy on Rafiq's soul." And the CNN man in Lebanon, Brent Sandler, is a mere (volunteer?) propagandist for the Hariri political Inc. He basically reports press releases written to him by Hariri family members, or so it seems to this innocent viewer. Did you see his lousy piece yesterday on CNN International? I could not believe my eyes? By what standards was that piece "journalism"? It must be by the standards of the Syrian newspaper Tishrin, no doubt. But Brent Sandler had serious reporting: he said--I am not making this up--that Sa`d Hariri can use a computer, even a laptop. And for those cynical few, he had actual footage of Sa`d Hariri navigating the web, by himself. Is that a sign of brilliance by a gifted son, or what? A person who was around the Hariri Residence during Rafiq's days, and during a visit by Iyad `Allawi (the former puppet prime minister/car bomber/former Saddam's henchman/embezzler-in-Yemen), Rafiq (who reportedly gave moral, technical, and financial assistance) to `Allawi's failed political campaign, led `Allawi to a meeting with none other than his son Sa`d to talk business (Sa`d and `Allawi talked about Hariri telecommunication business in Iraq--I am told). In other news, London did not overreact--not yet--to the horrific bombings in the city. I received after posting a comparison between the US reaction to Sep. 11 (and the wars that it led) with the UK's reaction (in favor of UK) so far, letters from Muslim organizations and media in London reminding me that there were reported harassment and attacks on Muslims. I read about that, and it is true. But still: the UK did not lash out in crazy wars of "liberation", and even the speeches by Bliar (and I am no fan of his whatever) were less crazy than those by Bush. But on my way out of the airport, I noticed that every single person who had his luggage inspected was either Pakistani looking or black. But: I also noticed that custom and security personnel in UK often include veiled women and bearded Pakistani (looking) men. You do not see that in the US.