Bolton on Gemayel

The right man  at the right time.

BTW, Lori Lowenthal Marcus will be talking about whether and how John Bolton can remain our man at the UN on her radio show on WNWR today live 12 - 1:00 pm in the Philadelphia area on 1540 AM, and can be heard anywhere in the world through the Internet at www.zoaphilly.org, scroll down and click on “listen live.”

Please CLICK HERE AND SIGN THIS PETITION in support of nominating John R. Bolton as the Permanent U.S. Representative to the United Nations. We need more than 5,000 signatures right away. Help get 20,000 signatures

Bayefsky on Bolton here

Use the hyperlink below to send your 56 urgent and personalized Blast Fax messages to President Bush, Lincoln Chaffee and the Republican Members of the United States Senate. 

Tell them that if they hope to regain the majority in 2008 they need to send a clear message to the millions of Americans who voted for conservative government on Election Day.  And they can start right now by publicly taking Chafee to the proverbial whipping shed.

Demand that they force Chafee to stop his mindless obstruction of the Bolton nomination so that Bolton can get a fair up-or-down vote on the floor of the Senate.  And then, strip Chafee of his committee assignments and kick him out of the party -- good riddance to bad rubbish!

CLICK HERE NOW
 

SYRIAN MURDERING SCUM BLAME ISRAEL here

From the WSJ
The crisis with Hezbollah appeared timed to block the government from formally accepting creation of an international tribunal for the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Since the U.N. investigators on the case have made no secret their suspicions target Syria, it is widely held that Hezbollah, in quitting the government, was acting on Syria's behalf. Many fingers also pointed toward Damascus yesterday. But since all of this happens against the backdrop of international maneuvering over Iraq, the results, for Syria, may not correspond with yesterday's chorus of international condemnations. The assassination complicates the Iraq-policy debate in Washington, where James Baker and others seemed on the point of urging the White House to reach out to Iran and Syria, as The Wall Street Journal notes. And it comes as the Bush administration seems to seek even closer relations with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other Sunni Arab nations as it grapples with the growing influence of Shiite Iran and Hezbollah.

Pranay Gupte in the NY SUN
The assassination in Beirut of a prominent leader of Lebanon's anti-Syrian Christian community, Pierre Gemayel, deepened the country's sectarian crisis, and created a new opportunity for Hezbollah to transform the secular state into an Islamic theocratic one irrevocably opposed to the existence of Israel.

UPDATE: Assassins and Diplomacy here. Another murder in Beirut for Jim Baker to contemplate.

The murder also triggered new concern on the part of the Bush administration about a region that has already been burdened with uncertainty over the Iraq war, Syria's bellicosity toward America and its continuing support of global terrorism, and Iran's nuclear ambitions. The administration had backed Gemayel, citing him as representative of a new breed of Lebanese politicians who sought to eliminate the malevolent influence of Syria and Iran not only in Lebanon, but throughout the Middle East.

But new breed or not, Gemayel's family history and the complex sectarian politics of Lebanon – and of the Christians in particular – shaped his sensibilities about governance, and about the future of his Mediterranean nation of four million people. Those sensibilities revolved around a simple, central point: National sovereignty and unity.

For Gemayel, a scion of Lebanon's most illustrious Maronite family, that meant, first of all, no interference in the polity by outsiders such as Syria, which has traditional exercised hegemony in the region. It meant peace with Israel, a country with which Lebanon is still formally at war. Gemayel often said that Lebanon's puny resources were more urgently needed for economic development.

Economic growth was especially emphasized by him because Gemayel was minister of industry in the 24-member cabinet of Prime Minister Siniora, and, at 34, also the youngest member of the 128-seat unicameral parliament, known as the national assembly. Mr. Siniora had entrusted him with the task of economic reconstruction in the aftermath of the war against Israel that Hezbollah, a Shia militant group supported by neighboring Syria as well as Iran, precipitated last July.

His family history included a father – Amin – who served as Lebanon's president from 1982 to 1989, after his uncle – Bashir – was assassinated barely three weeks after being elected to the presidency. But Pierre Gemayel was perhaps most influenced by his namesake and grandfather, Pierre, the founder of Lebanon's Phalange Party. A fiery patriarch, the older Gemayel, who died of natural causes in 1984, could not countenance the venality of his country's politicians.

That venality resulted in craven acquiescence to Syria's domination of Lebanon during the civil war of 1975-1990. It also resulted in shadowy deals between Maronite factions and Lebanon's majority Shia and minority Sunni Muslims. It would be no hyperbole to suggest that those deals contributed to the rise of Hezbollah.

Comments

[DoctorDentons]

Folks this is off topic but I want to wish ALL who post here a joyous Thanksgiving and hope you are all with those that you love and that love you...I will be...if I start driving right now.

See Ya !
DBF RD

[singleton]

Your link http://www.ipetition.com/str-asp-PetitionID_2-end-%20SignPetition.htm to the petition gets a 404 error

[singleton]

It should be http://www.ipetition.com/str-asp-PetitionID_2-end-SignPetition.htm

[tazzerman2000]

DoctorDentons, I second that. To all, have a wonderful and peaceful Thanksgiving!

Regarding Lebanon, when are the people of Lebanon ever going to know peace? They're history is repleat with conquest, occupation, assasination and war.

When will the world ever wake up and realize that we DO in fact, have the power to stop this insanity?

[Richard Davis]

Doctor D - msg received loud and clear. Thanks and same to you and all your patients! DBF shipmate!

Don Singleton - thanks for the "Sign the Petition" link. I used it.

Bolton, he's THE most honest (straight talking) Man in the country. Maybe he'll take the job with no pay. Wouldn't put it past him.

[Rancher]

Amir Taheri at Gulf News explains from a military point of view why Iran coaxed Syria into assassinating Gamayel or else just ordered their agents or Hezbollah to carry it out. Go to my Blog for a synopsis. Also, Happy Thanksgiving to all the Pamelaphobes.

[turn]

Happy Thanksgiving, PamelaPHILES.

phobe=sfx frm Gr 'hater'

phile=sfx frm Gr 'lover'

phage=sfx frm Gr 'eater'

Turkeyphages

[Adam Stanhope]

Have you guys planned that bake sale yet?

I'll ask my Mom to make marshmellow rice crispy treats.

[Richard Davis]

AS - sarcasm noted. Glad you noticed our togetherness, block parties, good causes, we're there.

Great friendships and comaradarie, I experience it everyday with my neighbors, at the local pub, in my church, and at my job. Yeah, we plan things, raise money for this cause or that, bake sales, car washes, and all sorts of volunteer stuff to help people.

That you would mock that says a lot about you. How do your neighbors etc feel about you?