A Solution to the Lebanese Crisis

[AliArz]

To the Lebanese & Friends of Lebanon,

My deepest apologies for no longer being as present on the forums as I used to before. The circumstances has kept me busy and rolling.

But in times of durable free breaks, you know I would hang around with you all and discuss Lebanese politics.

I am back for a limited time, but I hope the following subject will be worthwhile to you.

The question is...

As of today, where do we stand on Lebanese democracy?

We know that the source of the Lebanese crisis is two-fold: foreign interference in Lebanese affairs are too visible, and Lebanese "leaders" are trapped in the same sectarian game that destroyed our country in the first place.

The same leaders who brought misery to our nation are called by foreign meddlers to come back and "rebuild Lebanon".

Lebanon has a democratic government again, this is good news.

But how can Lebanese citizens vote for fresh and new leaders?

Why is it that great Lebanese statespersons like Damianos Kattar are not chosen to govern our country?

What does it take so that the whole Lebanese population are no longer willing to support the same leaders that drove us into a "Civil War" (1975-1990)?

In my view, it is clear that a functioning democracy needs politically informed and educated citizens.

Otherwise, we will always fall into the never-ending cycle of zua'ma politics.

Wouldn't this be the first step to solving the Lebanese crisis?

Once the foreign meddlers are observing that the Lebanese citizens are no longer supporting the current zaims and the zua'ma system, then this will provide no choice but to replace them with new politicians under a non-zua'ma formula. By then, our country will become less vulnerable to foreign interference and more capable of serving the Lebanese people for the common good (like Kattar, he's a good Lebanese politician).

My analysis could be wrong.

But I like the challenge, and I ask you: what are your takes on this issue?

Your opinions are of utmost importance to all of us.

Looking forward,

Ali Arz

[syrian]

to get out of sectarianism, Lebanon needs an Obama...

someone who's young, doesnt necessarily look lebanese, promotes change, has a multi-religious background, has the gutts to stand tall, etc...

such a guy would immediatly be assassinated by the present mafias/parties...

[Greg Davis]

Ali arz

Is Lebanon really a counrty?
An independant sovreign state, whose inhabitants share common ideals, economy, defence, common law and foreign policy.
Which of the above is currently enforced in Lebanon for one to say we actually are a nation?
Rectifying the situation in Lebanon extends beyond the rivalry of war lords, to incorporate the arab- israeli conflict, and the Saudi-iranian conflict, the american-radical islamic tensions, the Sunni-Shiite rivalry, and the maronite-durzi rivalry, Sunni-Alawite tensions, the Zgharta-Bcharri rivalry, the Zgharta-tripoli tensions, The Aoun-Geagea rivalri, the Future-Hizbullah rivalry, the pro-syrian - anti-syrian divide, and the pro western-pro arab divide. And thats just the begining. If ever, all the above issues are resolved,
What do we do about creating a sustainable economy. Not an economy of handouts and accumulative debt but an economy that can sustain its ongoing expenditure and possible growth.
Last, but not least, the environment.
Countries all over the world are trying to preserve whatever fresh water they can due to glabal warming, but what do the lebanese do 'pollute it'.
Raw sewage pouring into the streams, rivers and water table.Solid waste stockpiled on shorelines and lets not forget the diesel powered power stations.
Lebanon's forests have been reduced to a trinkle in the last few decades. What was once a paradise has been reduced to barren land and desert.

Maintaining status quo is probably the easist way for 'politicians' to deal with the true problems lebanon is facing, and that is by ignoring the true problems and distracting the people with petty tribal rivalries.

[hannaalsayssa]

i think the saudi should come and take their supporters to their land,
this way things will cool down and the rest can mange and live together

and before some people strat jumping ape **** on me,
isn't that what the american offered us as solution back in 1975.. and we refused

so let us offer the other side and let them refuse

[morrison]

the solution to the lebanese crisis is to have less sick sectarian bastards which belongs to all religion like some people here

[Greg Davis]

Originally Posted by hannaalsayssa

i think the saudi should come and take their supporters to their land,
this way things will cool down and the rest can mange and live together

and before some people strat jumping ape **** on me,
isn't that what the american offered us as solution back in 1975.. and we refused

so let us offer the other side and let them refuse

I agree.

Lets send all those with Loyalty to foreign nations/agendas over to the perspective countries they are so loyal to, and maybe, just maybe could lebanon possibly stand a chance

Saudia arabia, Iran, Syria and Israel

God Speed

[Dark Angel]

i think i have a better solution, and now that oil is going down, it should face less objection than when it was last proposed. my solution involves plenty of oil and a match.

burn it all to the ground, until we've got nothing left but cinders. or if that was too expensive, we can send a delegation to plea with God to resume raining down fire and sulfur, Sadom & Amora style.

as a final touch, i would strongly suggest spreading layers of salt all over the land once the burning is done, so that nothing will grow there ever again, but there are other alternatives as well, radio active elements with long half lives are a good substitute to salt though a bit more expensive.

[elias-aj]

I think that people in Lebanon are generally politically informed and there is not that lack of education.

What we need is to know what do the lebanese want. They all want democracy, a real and respected state, freedom. They all want to get rid of sectarianism and of the current "services" form of society.

Still when one analyze their conduct, the less one could say is that they're not consistent... which allows us to wonder if they really want all of those things. Although 99 % of the population loves to complain about this society, the lack of state, sectarianism etc.

May be are the lebanese afraid to change their society ?

Regarding the political leaders, I always considered that the political leaders are nothing but the product of the society itself. You can't reform a country or lead a revolution without the population support.

Unfortunately, 14Th March demonstration which gave us hope, was nothing but a flash in the pan as people chose right after this huge event to keep the former politicians in charge (= keep the status quo).

Our biggest challenge is to convince people not only that the society needs to be reformed, but that they need to behave accordingly. And to make the good choices.

[AliArz]

Originally Posted by syrian

to get out of sectarianism, Lebanon needs an Obama...

someone who's young, doesnt necessarily look lebanese, promotes change, has a multi-religious background, has the gutts to stand tall, etc...

such a guy would immediatly be assassinated by the present mafias/parties...

Syrian,

In many ways, you are correct.

Especially on the last line: the current Lebanese political elites would never accept fresh and new leaders of an Obama type, or another like Damianos Kattar, because once such public servants exist, then the current zaims would be out of work.

The best bet is to have a Lebanese population that no longer supports these elites. The political mentality in Lebanon has got to change.

Best regards,

Ali Arz

[AliArz]

Originally Posted by Greg Davis

Ali arz

Is Lebanon really a counrty?
An independant sovreign state, whose inhabitants share common ideals, economy, defence, common law and foreign policy.
Which of the above is currently enforced in Lebanon for one to say we actually are a nation?
Rectifying the situation in Lebanon extends beyond the rivalry of war lords, to incorporate the arab- israeli conflict, and the Saudi-iranian conflict, the american-radical islamic tensions, the Sunni-Shiite rivalry, and the maronite-durzi rivalry, Sunni-Alawite tensions, the Zgharta-Bcharri rivalry, the Zgharta-tripoli tensions, The Aoun-Geagea rivalri, the Future-Hizbullah rivalry, the pro-syrian - anti-syrian divide, and the pro western-pro arab divide. And thats just the begining. If ever, all the above issues are resolved,
What do we do about creating a sustainable economy. Not an economy of handouts and accumulative debt but an economy that can sustain its ongoing expenditure and possible growth.
Last, but not least, the environment.
Countries all over the world are trying to preserve whatever fresh water they can due to glabal warming, but what do the lebanese do 'pollute it'.
Raw sewage pouring into the streams, rivers and water table.Solid waste stockpiled on shorelines and lets not forget the diesel powered power stations.
Lebanon's forests have been reduced to a trinkle in the last few decades. What was once a paradise has been reduced to barren land and desert.

Maintaining status quo is probably the easist way for 'politicians' to deal with the true problems lebanon is facing, and that is by ignoring the true problems and distracting the people with petty tribal rivalries.

Greg Davis,

Lebanon has got a long way to go when it comes to many issues, but it isn't as bad as we may think it is!

Our environmental quality is much better than those of industrial countries, because we do not have large industries that pollutes the air...

But I know what you mean: advanced countries have people who try to do something about it, while in Lebanon, the NGOs cannot survive on its own.

The never-ending rivalries that you mentioned, is a historical fact that can have a large burden on the Lebanese people in the future. But would this block the possibility of a united Lebanon?

These problems can be fixed, only when our leaders are not agents for the outside, and more importantly, only when the Lebanese citizens stop lending their support to them.

But how can the mentality change?

Take good care,

Ali Arz