The Brad Pitt of Lebanon. Does he not look like Brad Pitt? I am serious. LBC-TV (on the talk show, Bikul Jur'ah) aired a report on Tuesday in which it said that Samir Ja`ja` and his wife are the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie of Lebanon.

"“The Bush doctrine, on the surface of it, was about the spread of democracy … but I think in reality, the Bush doctrine has been translated into the eruption of civil wars in places as far away as Sudan, Somalia, Lebanon, Palestine, Afghanistan, [and] Iraq,” AbuKhalil said. “[McCain and Obama] are not going to end the empire but they’re going to make, in some ways more dangerous, the empire be more intelligently run and managed than it is now.”"

Adonis has another collection of his vapid ramblings. Let me summarize: I like democracy. Oh, yeah.

"You may have noticed this supererogatory relish in Hitchens' rhetoric before. Here is another sample, regarding cluster bombs:

If you're actually certain that you're hitting only a concentration of enemy troops . . . then it's pretty good because those steel pellets will go straight through somebody and out the other side and through somebody else. And if they're bearing a Koran over their heart, it'll go straight through that, too. So they won't be able to say, "Ah, I was bearing a Koran over my heart and guess what, the missile stopped halfway through." No way, 'cause it'll go straight through that as well. They'll be dead, in other words." (thanks May)

This is Lebanon: intra-sectarian fight at a sports event. (One team is supported by Hariri and the other is by Muhammad Safadi).

Anti-Semites for Israel: "“I want to take a moment to discuss with you a good man, evangelical pastor John Hagee,” Brog said to the audience. Before Brog could finish the sentence, the crowd broke into a lengthy round of applause, ending in a standing ovation." (thanks Laleh)

This is classic: "Mr. Crocker said the talks on how many American troops will remain in Iraq, and for how long, will go beyond mere numbers of soldiers and touch on “the broad parameters of the overall bilateral relationship in every field: political, diplomatic, economic, cultural, the whole totality of the relationship. One guideline, he said, “is full respect for Iraqi sovereignty.”"

"U.S. Not Seeking Permanent Iraq Bases, Ambassador Says." True. U.S. Seeking Eternal Iraq bases, Angry Arab says.

"McCain: Don't call me Bush". Angry Arab: O.K. I shall call you George W.

"From a personal point of view, I can only say that I admire your friendship and your commitment, and your emotions as they were expressed in such a powerful manner in your visit to the state of Israel. You are loved, you and Laura, very much. And part of my mission is to make you feel this way. Thank you very much."

This explains how New York Times foreign correspondents operate: "I was accompanied by Anwar J. Ali, a journalist working for The Times in Iraq. She acted as my interpreter, and also made the first contact with women. She would approach them, on the streets and in shops, while I hung a few feet back with my video equipment tucked inside a bag. Anwar would explain who we were and ask permission to film an interview."

Don't you like this headline: "Explosions and Shootings Disrupt Relative Calm in Iraq." This is like saying: Wild sex interrupts the virgin vow of a person.

Prince Turki: My daddy supported the Muslim Brotherhood for...humanitarian reasons. (thanks Ziad)

Rami Khouri: slow down a bit. Cyprus is the only democracy in the Middle East. "But when Israel - the only democracy in the Middle East, America's eternal ally, and the bastion of the epic modern struggle against fascism, totalitarianism, Nazism, communism and terrorism..." And when did Israel struggle against fascism and totalitarianism? In fact, Israel has had the best of relations with some of the most horrific regimes of the post-WWII regimes. And Israel had the best of ties withh one of the worst communist regimes--that of Romania. (thanks Kifah)

Today, I heard Abbas Zaki (the Dahlan ambassador in Lebanon) say that "Abu Mazen condemns Obama." I bet he does. I did not expect anything else from the tool of Bush. In fact, Dahlan gangsters are chanting in Ramallah: Four more years...for Bush.

"A 14-year-old girl from Beitar Illite was taken to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem after an unknown person spilled acid on her face, legs and stomach, causing light burn wounds. The act has been attributed to a representative of the so-called 'modesty guard' in this town where religious and secular residents are increasingly at bitter odds." (thanks Olivia)

The Arabic press is sometimes ahead of the Western media. Amer had written about the US security (for occupation) treaty two days before the report in the Independent: "Al-Hayat, today, published several reports on the upcoming Iraqi-US “security treaty” organizing future American military and political presence in Iraq. The London-based, Saudi-financed, pro-US newspaper admitted that “a majority of Shi’as and Sunnis” reject the arrangement, which is seen by most Iraqis as a perpetuation of the US occupation of their country. In many ways, the treaty – “negotiated” by the Maliki government – is regarded by the Iraqi populace as a rubber stamp for US occupation by a government lacking independence. Ironically, the treaty was originally promoted by Maliki and the ruling team in Iraq as a step towards regaining Iraqi sovereignty, but with growing popular discontent, even ‘Abd al-‘Azeez al-Hakeem, a major ally of the US in Iraq, is trying to distance himself from its articles. Al-Hayat showcased a recent statement by the Shi’a I'tilaf bloc (currently composed of al-Hakeem’s SIIC and al-Maliki’s Da’wa) rejecting “articles in the treaty that affect Iraqi sovereignty.” In a major shift of positions, al-Hayat reported, al-Hakeem announced that “the I'tilaf rejects a long-term treaty with America,” which leaves the question: who sponsored the treaty – on the Iraqi side – in the first place? With news of the upcoming treaty leaked into the Arab press since late 2007, opponents of the Iraqi government, namely the Sadrist Current, have mobilized their popular bases around the rejection of the long-term arrangement, which allegedly allows the US to maintain “over 400 bases” in Iraq and allows foreign troops to engage in military operations without the permission of the Iraqi government. Al-Hayat said that thousands of Sadrists marched again in Baghdad, this Friday, to protest the treaty, and with the provincial elections approaching, the pro-US team in Iraq has seemingly decided to distance itself from the treaty as well. Evidence: after months of silence on the prospective treaty, al-Hayat published several reports (on the same day) quoting al-Hakeem, al-I'tilaf and the Najaf Marja’iya attacking the treaty and announcing that “a consensus among the Political Council of National Security and the United Iraqi Alliance (I'tilaf)” rejects “many articles in the treaty.” The paper also published statements by the representative of Ayatollah Sistani expressing the Marja’iya’s opposition to “any treaty that would tie the hands of future generations (of Iraqis).” In what would constitute a political scandal in most countries, an SIIC leader told al-Hayat that al-Hakeem’s newfound protests against the treaty “do not represent a shifting of positions,” because “honestly, we did not see the draft of the treaty until a few days ago.” The posture of al-Hakeem, the I'tilaf and Sistani come amid broad Iraqi protests involving, aside from the Sadrist Current, the “Political Council of the Iraqi Resistance” (grouping non-al-Qa'ida insurgent factions) attacking the treaty and the politicians who negotiated it. Tariq al-Hashimi, a leader in the Islamic Party, also joined the ranks of Iraqi officials attacking articles “breaching the sovereignty of Iraq” adding that such arrangements are considered “a red line” by his party. This concerted campaign against the treaty by pro-US politicians could be seen by many analysts as a (US-approved) abandonment of the arrangement, at least in its original form, due to the popular discontent, which could be translated into electoral defeats for pro-US parties in the upcoming elections."
And this: "Conspiratorial-minded observers may view these defiant statements as a cynical dance aiming at the ratification of the treaty after a symbolic “battle;” which would prevent the painting of the current Iraqi government as a willing puppet of the US occupation. London-based al-Hayat discussed the details of the prospective treaty, clarifying the points of contention between the Iraqi and the American sides. According to the paper, the treaty draft grants the US several permanent bases, complete control over the Iraqi airspace (up to an altitude of 29,000 feet,) unfettered right of passage on Iraqi soil and Iraqi territorial waters, in addition to the right of arresting any Iraqi considered to be a threat to US forces; and finally, the right to launch “anti-terrorism” campaigns without the prior approval of the Iraqi government. According to al-Hayat, the Iraqi side prefers a “Turkish-style” arrangement, whereby US bases would be temporary and renewed on a yearly basis, with the US forces allowed to leave these bases only after the approval of the Iraqi government. The Iraqis also want to restrict the US Air Force to specific airways that are mutually agreed upon, and that the US Army finances its operations in Iraq solely through the Iraqi Central Bank. An unnamed Iraqi official who spoke to the paper added that the current draft does not include a US commitment to “the protection of the democratic regime in Iraq from internal and external threats,” and allows the US forces to define the concept of “terrorism” freely, which would, in effect, grant the US a free hand in using its military in the country. "
PS Juan Cole also had written about it.

"A court martial on Wednesday acquitted a US Marine for his role in the deaths of 24 civilians in Haditha in Iraq in 2005, the sixth man to be exonerated in the affair, a military official said."

He has not heard of US wars: "Today, for much of the developed world, wars are history." (thanks Wally)

This is poetry in the Hariri family rag, Al-Mustaqbal. (thanks Amer)

"A secret deal being negotiated in Baghdad would perpetuate the American military occupation of Iraq indefinitely, regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election in November. The terms of the impending deal, details of which have been leaked to The Independent, are likely to have an explosive political effect in Iraq. Iraqi officials fear that the accord, under which US troops would occupy permanent bases, conduct military operations, arrest Iraqis and enjoy immunity from Iraqi law, will destabilise Iraq's position in the Middle East and lay the basis for unending conflict in their country."

Azmi Bisharah on Al-Jazeera. I watched `Azmi Bisharah on AlJazeera TV. I was rather disappointed. He made good criticisms of US and Israel but he went too far in his praise of the Qatari ruling dynasty. He also exaggerated the extent to which the US allows its puppets and clients room for maneuver. Let us face it: If the US did not really want the Doha conference to proceed, it would have been able to pressure Qatar to not hold it. Let us not forget that Doha saved the Hariri camp in some respect. I also did not like `Azmi's (odd) praise for Fu'ad Sanyurah. He said that Sanyurah does not use sectarian language. Now this got me thinking: it reminds me of some Nazis in the Nuremberg trial who told the court that they never spoke in anti-Semitic language. In fact, Hitler's favorite architect, Albert Speer, would always assert in his books and in interviews that he never said nasty things about the Jewish people. But it did not matter because he was part of the Nazi regime. Similarly, it does not really matter whether Sanyruah uses or does not use blatantly sectarian language, because he sat atop one of the most sectarian governments since the sinister regime of Amin Gemayyel. Sanyurah took sectarian mobilization to a new level when he invited the Sunni Mufti to the Serail to pray with him: no prime minister ever engaged in that kind of religio-sectarian demagoguery before. Sanyurah should not be merely judged on which words he uses: he should be judged on the Hariri movement to which he belongs. Furthermore, sectarian language is often spoken in codes in Lebanon. So when Sanyurah or his advisers or his ministers speak about "the humiliation of Beirut" the audience knows what they are referring to.

"Karzai: That was the best aspect of the Taliban. They did a lot wrong, but they also did a few things right. I wish I had the Taliban as my soldiers. I wish they were serving me and not people in Pakistan or others." (thanks Olivia)

Angry Arab Comments' Section is not officially tied to or endorsed by Angry Arab.

Can somebody tell Wikipedia that they are wrong: I do support the one secular state in Palestine.

"Saudi king: End Islamic extremism". Angry Arab: I agree. Overthrow the House of Saud.

My (very) inside source in the Somali peace talks sent me this (he/she does not want to be identified): "The fine and nice peoples of the Security Council left us today (I don't know if I have to cry or joyfully dance on the beaches)...They met separately the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and his self-proclaimed president Abdillahi Youssouf and the Islamist courts movement and the Allaince for the Re-liberation of Somalia. Abdillahi Youssouf asked only one thing and repeated that demand many times: that the Security Council should leave up the arms embargo concerning Somalia so he can buy more arms and go back doing what he does the best as a past warlord leader. And just for free provocation of the other side he added that he will never ask the Ethiopian occupation troops to leave Somalia but instead he will even ask more to come in the future. For their part the Islamist and the Alliance demanded the creation of an International criminal courts to judge all the past and present warlords of Somalia and others who did atrocities (the local and international media did not dare to ask if these peoples includes themselves in the hypothetical case of creation of such a tribunal)....Today, after a final pictures show within the vicinity of Kempinski, the 'honorables' guests of the Security Council met with the local and international press where they were all bragging how successful their mission was. And immediately after that, they headed to the airport and left for Sudan. Meanwhile, I just learned at that moment that Abdillahi Youssouf left Djibouti at 3h00am in the morning. A very smart move to avoid meeting others welcoming mortars at the Mogadisho airport I guess. An anecdote (not confirmed although): one of the security guard told me that he didn't sleep last night and he was quiet furious. When I asked him what happen, he told me that Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, the ousted head of the Alliance came in Djibouti with his 2 wifes (both of them are staying at the ImperialHotel). But during the lats couples of days, he took a third wife in Djibouti and he decided that last night he will go and past nightime with his djiboutian wife (how nice!). So approximately 10 guards were forced to go with him and stay on guard without sleeping around the house where he was having fun with his newly wed wife! This afternoon, at my surprise, both parties agreed to come togheter and participate at the same workshop. At first, I was kind of surprise and I was thinking that maybe this was a shifting moment specially from the Alliance part.... until I learned about the content of the workshop! This was a workshop organized and presented by the World Bank about the reconstruction of Somalia, by the same organization who was behind the economical destruction and deconstruction of the somali society!!! I was so angry and boilling man, you cannot imagine how furious I was! In his book '' The Globalization of Poverty – Impacts of the IMF and World Bank Reforms, (Penang, Malaysia: Zed Books, Ltd., 1997)'', Michel Chossudovsky says in p.101: The IMF-World Bank intervention in the early 1980s contributed to exacerbating the crisis of Somali agriculture. The economic reforms undermined the fragile exchange relationship between the "nomadic economy" and the "sedentary economy", - i.e. between pastoralists and small farmers characterized by money transactions as well as traditional barter. On his part, T. Craig Murphy reports in ''The Collapse of Somalia and Economic Considerations'' available at: "' The banana industry is one sector that Strutural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) focused on. As a result of IMF-World Bank adjustment, there was growth in this industry, an increase in exports, and increased profitability. Financial institutions often point to this data as an example of SAP success, but they fail to include the details of the banana industry's "success." Abdi Ismail Samataar ("Structural Adjustment as Development Strategy? Bananas, Boom, and Poverty in Somalia," Economic Geography -Vol. 69, No. 1, January 1993) investigates structural adjustment as a development strategy by using Somalia's banana industry in the Shabelle valley as a case study. Samataar shows that while SAPs did lead to growth in the banana industry, the primary beneficiaries were foreign investors (in this case the Italian company De Nadai) and growth came at the expense of employing child labor on the plantations. Samataar states, "Nearly 75 percent of earnings from [banana] exports were realized by overseas interests, depriving Somalia of an important source of capital for reinvestment. Furthermore, the profitability of banana production depended on the poverty of child labor." Samataar goes on to show how the banana industry in Somalia refutes the basic idea that SAP liberalization leads to development and that adjustment "deepens inequality and worsens the poverty of working people."

And these peoples, each one claiming to fight for the people of Somalia, came running to assist togheter and listen carefully to the senior expert guy from the Worlb Bank! Man, hypocrisy have no boundaries, neither faith... For people interested to know more about the ongoing discussion about Somalia, please find here the website of the Somali Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) & the Somali Reconstruction & Development Programme (RDP) conjointly run by the United Nations Development Groups (UNDG) and the World bank: I should leave the final word for today to the courageous U.S. Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff who said that: "The presence of the Ethiopian troops is a consequence of the intra-Somali conflict, and similarly their departure will be a consequence of reconciliation" I have to go and take some sleep, will keep you informed about this tragic circus show..."

Electronic Ali sent me this with the headline "The end of the Bush Doctrine in Palestine": "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Wednesday for renewed dialogue with the militant Islamic Hamas." You can add the change in the Hariri coalition toward the opposition's demands you see a pattern.

"The US military has awarded an $80 million contract to a prominent Saudi financier who has been indicted by the US Justice Department." (thanks A.)

People sometimes don't realize the extent to which American politics is covered in Arab media. Like the Obama speech before AIPAC is now widely covered in Arab media--not that Obama gives a hoot about his image in the Arab world.

If Obama is elected president, I am sure that he would order the bombing of some Arab or Muslim country in the first year of his presidency to 1) prove that he really is not a Muslim after all; 2) to underline his patriotic and militaristic credential; 3) to prepare for his second term run; 4) and to receive a standing ovation as soon as he enter AIPAC's convention hall.

"He added: "The entire situation is abominable. I believe the ordinary Israeli citizens would not support this blockade if they knew what it really meant to ordinary people like themselves..." Oh, no. They would support the blockade and even call for tightening it.

We humiliate you but only to "liberate" you: "Sabieh said he supports Sadr's call against allowing any long-term U.S. troop presence in Iraq, which, like many of the protesters, Sabieh considers humiliating."

One of the grotesque scenes of the Lebanese media this week was the picture of a meeting between representatives of the Druze sectarian militia of Jumblat with representatives of the Shi`ite sectarian militia of Nabih Birri. They discussed sectarian solidarity, I am sure.

I am inconsolable. One of UAE's Shaykh Zayid's 345 sons has just died. Why? Why??? Why???

Any Arab who thinks that Obama will be good for Palestine deserves to have a shoe thrown at him/her--and you know the significance of shoes in Arab culture: ""I'll do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Everything," Obama told the pro-Israel lobby at a conference in Washington, only hours after securing his party's nomination. Later in the speech, which was frequently punctuated by the crowd's rapturous applause, he said: "I will always leave the threat of military action on the table to defend our security, and that of our ally Israel." The Illinois senator also vowed he would never compromise on Israel's security: "I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself in the united nations and around the world.""

"...said Crocker, who spoke in Arabic addressing the local press corps. "That came as a wish of the Iraqi government."" When you read this in a US publication, it means this: Crocker said: Ahlan Wa Sahlan and then switched to English.

"Bush's War on Civil Liberties"

"His old dog lay loyally -or listlessly- at his feet the whole time. He said that Nasrallah and Hezbollah are fascist organizations and drew tired comparisons to 1930s Germany. His position towards the opposition was uncompromising, though I personally wouldn't be surprised to see him back as a Hezbollah ally in a few years if the US does not continue its strategy of confrontation in the Middle East. He was very pessimistic overall, though it was not clear if this was due to the broader strategic situation or the very humiliating defeat he had recently been handed by Hezbollah. We met for two hours with Siniora, who seemed to be genuinely excited to see us but unfortunately proved to be very boring, lacking charisma or a sense of interactivity and choosing to lecture us about Lebanese history despite our protestations that we were familiar with it. He confirmed his technocrat image. In contrast to other March 14th figures he seemed quite optimistic and full of energy. He admitted that he personally had been against the two decisions that precipitated the crisis of the last few weeks, confirming reports that it had been Jumblatt behind them. Of all the orange juice served to us by the various figures we met, his was of the lowest quality. We later met Saad Hariri at his Qoreitem palace, who, when I asked why he did not take the premiership, replied that he could do much more outside the government. He somewhat gauchely added, "Siniora is me!" When asked, he said that he did not believe the US would strike Iran, but that there would be a war perhaps 5 years hence, much bloodier than that which could be had now. Another question centered on his role in SecurePlus, a private security company that effectively constituted a militia, which was routed a few weeks ago."" (thanks Laleh)

Puppets-in-conflict. Today, the spokesperson of the Iraqi puppet government said that there are differences between the US and the Iraqi puppet government over the security (read occupation) agreement. But the puppet foreign minister denied those differences on Al-Arabiya TV and he got mad at Al-Arabiya for even asking.

"Soldiers who abused Palestinians get 5.5 months in jail." They will also get...the Congressional Medal of Freedom. (thanks Maryam).

Saudi Arabia is hosting a conference on religious dialogue. The Saudi King stated that he wanted his former friend Bin Laden to preside but he could not locate him.

"The letter asked: “Did you ever go to an Afrikaner film festival in apartheid South Africa? Why Israel, then?” Reuters said a source in Mr. Godard’s office declined to comment but said he had canceled his visit for political reasons."

"Egypt, the State Department official said, has been playing a "constructive role," adding that Egypt has been making "more of an effort" when it comes to smuggling."

"Mr. McCain argued that Mr. Obama’s calls for withdrawing troops from Iraq could endanger Israel."