New Axis Formed: Syria and Iran

[face]

the vanunu comment was just meant to be a joke...like "what would jesus do?"

on the other hand, IF israel really doesn't have a weapons program, isn't that in itself a major destabilizing force in the region?

[davetlv]

Obviously the joke went over my head a little. . . .

Just as i want my country to be safe and secure in its borders living in peace with ALL our neighbours, I also want to see a world free from nuclear arms. I guess one dream at a time hey face!

[face]

Obviously the joke went over my head a little. . . .

Just as i want my country to be safe and secure in its borders living in peace with ALL our neighbours, I also want to see a world free from nuclear arms. I guess one dream at a time hey face!

yeah, no worries mate.

unfortunately the borders are a major stumbling block to peace in the region.

and i agree, i just wished everyone would play fair. i don't think anyone wants to use nuclear weapons...

but yeah, one dream at a time.

meanwhile, major demonstrations in beirut...

[mixu]

There goes my trip to Beirut in May...

Lebanon's pro-Syrian government quits
By Roula Khalaf in Beirut
Published: February 28 2005 17:09 | Last updated: March 1 2005 00:33

Lebanon's pro-Syrian government abruptly resigned on Monday, bowing to the demands of thousands of demonstrators who hold it and its Syrian patrons responsible for the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, the country's former prime minister.

The unexpected move followed a dramatic day of public protest in Martyrs' Square near Hariri's burial site in Beirut and a stormy parliamentary session in which opposition leaders lined up to denounce the government, some suggesting it had masterminded the assassination.

US officials hailed Beirut's ?cedar revolution?, as Omar Karameh, the prime minister who had refused to step down since the murder on February 14, announced his government's resignation ?out of concern that it does not become an obstacle to the good of the country?.

Lebanon's popular rising has been taken by Washington as a fresh sign of Middle East democratisation. It comes after elections in Iraq and the occupied Palestinian territories, and Egypt's weekend announcement that it would allow other candidates to challenge its president this year. Scott McClellan, White House spokesman, said: ?I think that you're seeing across the world, most notably in the Middle East, that democracy and freedom are on the march.?

Mr Karameh's resignation came after some 25,000 banner-waving protesters defied a government ban on demonstrations and marched to Martyrs' Square.

Security forces set up roadblocks to limit the flow of young Lebanese streaming into Beirut but closer to the site of the protest sympathetic army officers allowed small crowds through. The resignation leaves the country facing political uncertainty and could be the beginning of an opposition struggle against Syrian dominance.

The opposition, which includes Christian and Muslim MPs, wants a credible, non-partisan government to prepare for legislative elections expected in the spring and has also demanded the immediate resignation of top security chiefs. One former Hariri aide said: ?The resignation of the government is the first step in a very long march. We want the real government to fall.?

But Emile Lahoud, the Lebanese president who will consult parliament on a new government, is Syria's strongest ally and is likely to want a new cabinet in line with his objectives.

?For the first time in the country's history the people have brought down the government,? said Ahmed Fatfat, an MP who was a Hariri supporter. ?Those who killed Hariri did not know what they accomplished they broke the fear barrier.?

The Lebanese opposition has blamed Syria and the pro-Syrian government for the assassination, although Damascus has vehemently denied the charge.

Speaking to Lebanese TV at the weekend, Paul Wolfowitz, US deputy secretary of defence, hailed the opposition's courage, comparing the events to last year's peaceful change in Ukraine and in the Philippines in 1987. A senior state department official also likened the demonstrations to Georgia's ?rose revolution?, Ukraine's ?orange revolution? and what the US styles the ?purple revolution? in Iraq.

?In Lebanon we see growing momentum for a cedar revolution unifying that nation to the cause of true democracy,? said Paula Dobriansky, under-secretary of state for global affairs.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/0ea47c2a-89...00e2511c8.html

[face]

There goes my trip to Beirut in May...

Lebanon's pro-Syrian government quits
By Roula Khalaf in Beirut
Published: February 28 2005 17:09 | Last updated: March 1 2005 00:33

Lebanon's pro-Syrian government abruptly resigned on Monday, bowing to the demands of thousands of demonstrators who hold it and its Syrian patrons responsible for the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, the country's former prime minister.

The unexpected move followed a dramatic day of public protest in Martyrs' Square near Hariri's burial site in Beirut and a stormy parliamentary session in which opposition leaders lined up to denounce the government, some suggesting it had masterminded the assassination.

US officials hailed Beirut's ?cedar revolution?, as Omar Karameh, the prime minister who had refused to step down since the murder on February 14, announced his government's resignation ?out of concern that it does not become an obstacle to the good of the country?.

Lebanon's popular rising has been taken by Washington as a fresh sign of Middle East democratisation. It comes after elections in Iraq and the occupied Palestinian territories, and Egypt's weekend announcement that it would allow other candidates to challenge its president this year. Scott McClellan, White House spokesman, said: ?I think that you're seeing across the world, most notably in the Middle East, that democracy and freedom are on the march.?

Mr Karameh's resignation came after some 25,000 banner-waving protesters defied a government ban on demonstrations and marched to Martyrs' Square.

Security forces set up roadblocks to limit the flow of young Lebanese streaming into Beirut but closer to the site of the protest sympathetic army officers allowed small crowds through. The resignation leaves the country facing political uncertainty and could be the beginning of an opposition struggle against Syrian dominance.

The opposition, which includes Christian and Muslim MPs, wants a credible, non-partisan government to prepare for legislative elections expected in the spring and has also demanded the immediate resignation of top security chiefs. One former Hariri aide said: ?The resignation of the government is the first step in a very long march. We want the real government to fall.?

But Emile Lahoud, the Lebanese president who will consult parliament on a new government, is Syria's strongest ally and is likely to want a new cabinet in line with his objectives.

?For the first time in the country's history the people have brought down the government,? said Ahmed Fatfat, an MP who was a Hariri supporter. ?Those who killed Hariri did not know what they accomplished they broke the fear barrier.?

The Lebanese opposition has blamed Syria and the pro-Syrian government for the assassination, although Damascus has vehemently denied the charge.

Speaking to Lebanese TV at the weekend, Paul Wolfowitz, US deputy secretary of defence, hailed the opposition's courage, comparing the events to last year's peaceful change in Ukraine and in the Philippines in 1987. A senior state department official also likened the demonstrations to Georgia's ?rose revolution?, Ukraine's ?orange revolution? and what the US styles the ?purple revolution? in Iraq.

?In Lebanon we see growing momentum for a cedar revolution unifying that nation to the cause of true democracy,? said Paula Dobriansky, under-secretary of state for global affairs.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/0ea47c2a-89...00e2511c8.html

why go to beirut anyway? unless you're a journalist or diplomat...

beirut might as well be in western europe. i wouldn't recommend it out of all the cities in the middle east. though, i wouldn't entirely reject visiting the place myself if the opportunity were to arise.

[brakada]

why go to beirut anyway? unless you're a journalist or diplomat...

ever heard Digger's set from Beirut??? :P

[face]

Re: New Axis Formed: Syria and Iran

yeah they got some crazy clubs there from what i hear. as i said, it might as well be in western europe.

but, they are having elections in april, therefore who knows what might be going down come may. =)