The 1989 Taif Accord which ended Lebanon's Civil War also ended Christian dominance of national politics and drastically reduced presidential powers, through which Christian hegemony was constitutionally expressed. [...]
IMHO,
This article is based on the presumption that the President is the one who forms the Cabinet.
If he was to do that, then he could begin that change, theoretically.
But he doesn't hold that power.
This has to come from the prime minister, or eventually from some parliamentary force willing to start some change.
Going back to the thread, I find the author's advice practical. President Suleiman must insist with the new prime minister that the cabinet formation includes only Technocrats. This would be our first shy-attempt for a political reform.
Quote:
Behind the scenes, Sleiman must influence the appointment of a more technocratic, and less political, cabinet of experts with vast international experience. This can help defuse political animosities, prevent a repeat of past crises and increase public morale, particularly among the young. Helping to ensure greater meritocracy in government can help overturn the prevailing popular cynicism toward politics. A common view in Lebanon is that nothing will change. Through results and efficiency, technocratic cabinet ministers can gain greater credibility. This can further increase their ability to influence the political process over time with public support.
How do you plan facing Israeli-American plans for the region, what are your assets, your points of strength, that is if you do find them contradicting your country's interests in the first place.
...
Suppose Hezbollah is disarmed and everyone's happy, how do you - excluding plans of submission and surrender - intend to prevent what's being cooked for us.
Would you please be more specific ?
What are the plans and cooking you are talking about ?
If it is "tawteen", i dont see how the arms would prevent it.
Are you planning on attacking israel ? freeing palestien "7ata elquds"?
If it is something on a bigger scale (regional), i dont see why lebanon should be envolved, unless (maybe) and until ALL arabs agree, which you and I know will never happen, EVER.
If it is something else, please specify so we can discuss.
Would you please be more specific ? What are the plans and cooking you are talking about ?
If it is "tawteen", i dont see how the arms would prevent it.
Are you planning on attacking israel ? freeing palestien "7ata elquds"?
If it is something on a bigger scale (regional), i dont see why lebanon should be envolved, unless (maybe) and until ALL arabs agree, which you and I know will never happen, EVER.
If it is something else, please specify so we can discuss.
Cute a smart*ss ..... or is it something else? .... well just in case you're serious about what you just said, in which case i'll be wasting my time replying to your post since you'd be a hopeless case anyway....
but then again there's no harm in trying or is there ???
so in order for you to see ...... you should go read about the last 50 years of our modern history.... trust me it won't be a waste of time... you might actually learn a thing or two.... ohh!!! listen if 50 years is too much for you make it 30 i think it will be enough .... well... for the moment at least ...
After you do this little tiny exercise, we'll put a little sticky golden star on your forehead and maybe then you can come back here and we can discuss....
Kids...you gotta love them
cheers !!!!
The Following User Says Thank You to December Rain For This Useful Post:
Cute a smart*ss ..... or is it something else? .... well just in case you're serious about what you just said, in which case i'll be wasting my time replying to your post since you'd be a hopeless case anyway....
but then again there's no harm in trying or is there ???
so in order for you to see ...... you should go read about the last 50 years of our modern history.... trust me it won't be a waste of time... you might actually learn a thing or two.... ohh!!! listen if 50 years is too much for you make it 30 i think it will be enough .... well... for the moment at least ...
After you do this little tiny exercise, we'll put a little sticky golden star on your forehead and maybe then you can come back here and we can discuss....
Kids...you gotta love them
cheers !!!!
Not as smart as you
anyway, i asked a simple question, why can't you give a direct answer instead of using personal attacks ?
I dont have the time to read that long and decipher what you think are the key points, so why don't you enligthen me ?
BTW, doesnt your beloved MOU say lebanon should not get involved in regional desputes ? or do you want to fight to liberate golan and quds ?
Not as smart as you
anyway, i asked a simple question, why can't you give a direct answer instead of using personal attacks ?
I dont have the time to read that long and decipher what you think are the key points, so why don't you enligthen me ?
BTW, doesnt your beloved MOU say lebanon should not get involved in regional desputes ? or do you want to fight to liberate golan and quds ?
So apparently ur serious about what's you've said...... so i'll just state a couple of point and i'm sure that once u read them ur memory will be refreshed.....
what was one of the main reasons of the lebanese civil war? : wasn't it the will of regional and international forces to make Lebanon the new home of the displaced palestinians ?? do u really think that Israel will welcome them back easily to whatever lands it gives them ?? so the tawteen is a "tabkha" now ur saying how can arms prevent it .... the simplest answer to that is:
the weapons are something that Israel wants... so u can use them to make some gains..... it would be stupid to give up a strong card that we possess without gaining anything out of it .... now, u or the 14 feb people might have a different opinion about that .... so it would be nice to discuss the different points of view : ohhhh i almost forgot !!! Sheikh Saad now wants to protect the weapons hence the arms issue is not open for debate !!!
concerning ur question about us wanting to free jerusalem etc..... as far as we are concerned here's what we want as stated in the MOU:
So u see noone mentioned jerusalem nor the Golan heights....... but the 14febs didn't even bother discussing the MOU they were only busy bashing FPM and now Sheikh Saad gave the weapons a "Carte Blanche" he doesn't even want to discuss them.... FPM didn't do that.... on the contrary we tried to put them in a certain Cadre or context.... we put bounds for the weapons.....
I just gave u one Tabkha but there are many .... but i will not go into details since it will be too much for this thread.....
u have a stuggle over power.....every super power wants to control the middle east for various reasons one of which is the classical "OIL" which is becoming more important since it will become a rare resource in the future.... the US and its allies mainly KSA want to control the region that's why KSA is so interested in Lebanon.... The Geostrategies of the Americans are directed towards surrounding and cornering china which is becoming scarier to them by the minute.... one way of doing that is by controlling resources... take a look at the map u'll see where the americans are present : middle east, Korea and japan and china is right in the middle, and now u have the Iranian problem ....
And we go back to Israel which is the historical ally of the USA which also has interests... they are now concerned in keeping the power balance to their side since it is a matter of existence to them ... they also occupy a part of our land.....
well this is just a small overview..... so u see we cannot be alienated from regional disputes at this stage.. in order to to do that we must solve our own problems with the regional powers then and only then we can stay aside..... how the hell do u expect lebanon to stay neutral..... if for example Israel issues a statement saying that the displaced palestinians will not return to their homeland......
everyone is meddling with our internal affairs for a reason..... and the sad thing is that most Lebanese leaders are happy with it.... FPM is demanding everyone to stick to a lebanese agenda..... for once be selfish and work for lebanon.... we should be involved in regional politics but only with Lebanon's interests in mind..... we should not care about anyone else's interests be it an arab state or a western state or whatever....
u cannot be detached from regional politics unless u solve all the stuck issues....and so far in my opinion the only people in lebanon who have been trying to work for solutions are FPM.... everyone else pushes things or puts them on hold depending on the regional or international clock or compass.....
Again these are very quick ideas that i wrote in a few minutes.... i advise u to read some modern lebanese history it will broaden ur horizon and u'll be able to understand much more.....
i recommend this Book:
Theodor Hanf, Coexistence in Wartime Lebanon: Decline of a State and Rise of a Nation (London: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, 1993)
Lebanon wont even have a chance to face any threat until we have a sovereign democracy. We cant have a sovereign democracy until all weapons are relinquished.
you seriously need to read some "History of Lebanon" books and articles.
5th July 2009
a smart*ss ..... or is it something else? .... well just in case you're serious about what you just said, in which case i'll be wasting my time replying to your post since you'd be a hopeless case anyway.... 
