Lebanon announces unity government

[bemildred]

Lebanon has announced a new 30-member national unity government, seven weeks after an agreement brokered by Qatar brought the country back from the brink of civil war.

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Mohammad Chatah, a close adivser to Siniora, was named as finance minister while Mohammad Fneish, a Hezbollah official, was named labour minister.

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The opposition was granted 11 of the cabinet's 30 seats.

Siniora said: "This government has two main tasks - regaining confidence in the Lebanese political system ... and securing the holding of a transparent parliamentary election."

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/07/200871113315982408.html

[bemildred]

1. Lebanon's president wants diplomatic ties with Syria, exchange of ambassadors

PARIS: Lebanon's president says he wants to establish diplomatic ties with Syria and to visit Damascus.

Michel Suleiman says Lebanon "wants an exchange of ambassadors and diplomatic relations with Syria."

He says he is satisfied with relations with Syria and that a visit to the country is "still on the agenda."

Suleiman was speaking to reporters Saturday before talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad at the French president's palace.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/12/europe/EU-France-Lebanon-Syria.php

[azurnoir]

2. Here's hoping that Lebanon

is stabilizing and that nothing happens to destabilize it, again

The European Union has welcomed the formation of a government of national unity in Lebanon. Damascus announced the 30-member lineup on Friday, July 11.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3478863,00.html

Meanwhile to the south

At the same time, the regular Paratroops Brigade in the Golan practiced a "Lebanese scenario": They landed helicopters in difficult mountainous terrain, contended with a simulated artillery barrage and pressed on to their missions. Armored Corps personnel worked on a scenario that included a clash with a conventional army, one that bore more than a little similarity to the Syrian army, notwithstanding the fact that the two countries have been holding indirect peace talks in Turkey in recent months. The two brigades also grappled with a scenario involving the launch of steep-trajectory rockets, a task the army belatedly identified during the Second Lebanon War as a primary objective.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1001006.html

side note: I always find the choice of spellings of the new installed Lebanese Presidents last name interesting depending on the publication- Michel Sleiman vs Michel Suleiman

[bemildred]

3. I think this represents a diminution of external meddling, for the time being anyway.

The Lebanese are steering their own boat for a change. And that may augur well for some return to civil order in Lebanon. It would also seem that the distribution of political power in Lebanon is more in line with the "facts on the ground", and thus less likely to lead to struggles over power, for the time being again. Of course this is all speculation.

Edit: and it does seem to represent the thwarting of recent US/Israeli policy WRT Lebanese politics, hence further evidence of the decline in US influence in the Middle East. Probably makes Little Assad feel much more comfortable too. This seems like a good time to notice that Little Assad is still the boss of Syria too, he seems to have more staying power than was expected when he inherited the Syrian state.

[Sezu]

4. What, no "meanwhile in the north?"

I assume you HAVE heard.

http://blacksmithsoflebanon.blogspot.com/2008/07/army-intelligence-corroborates.html

[azurnoir]

6. Do have a credible source?

Or just an anti-unity blog? The commnents speak for themselves.

[Sezu]

7. Man is THAT laughable. I guess the answer has to be

that I will NEVER have a source credible to YOU. And I find that way amusing.

lol

[azurnoir]

9. a news publication will do

ya' know like jpost, maan, haaretz or arutz sheva even

[Sezu]

11. At the link, there were TWO local news sources

linked to. If there was someway for me to click them for you, I would.

lol

http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=50668


http://www.metimes.com/International/2008/06/30/the_lebanese_powder_keg/7506/

[azurnoir]

12. NowLebanon is the source cited in your article

also the dates are in early May when fighting was going on.

and some choice tidbits from the ME times article

UNIFIL is not the only foreign force that Hezbollah could strike. Indeed, Hezbollah has been indirectly targeting the U.S. forces in Iraq. A senior Hezbollah official was recently arrested in Sadr City and dozens of Hezbollah operatives are allegedly training Shiite and Sunni radical groups in Iraq.

This veiled war could explain why according to analyst Elizabeth Picard the U.S. administration recently asked Israel to hit hard at Hezbollah during the May crisis. Hezbollah could also decide to strike at U.S. interests in the United States, Canada, South America, Africa or Europe.

To add to the already potentially explosive cocktail, the well-informed Jane's revealed that Syrian troops are deployed in Lebanon. With so many players present in that small country, the likelihood of a new armed conflict is growing by the day. Lebanon could end up being the next stage of the war between the West and radical Islam.

So Hezbollah is plannimg on taking out UNFIL and US forces in Iraq, in their spare time attacking the US and Canada, perhaps and oh for good measure Syria has troops in Lebanon.

Oh yes KOS also cites your BlackSmiths of Lebanon article, guess that makes it true , we all know about KOS's even handed approach to the ME

[Sezu]

13. Set up all the strawmen you like, It won't change the fact

that Hezbollah continues to attack its own countrymen in a bid for..........(fill in the blank of your choice.)And the army, as usual, rolls in after the fact and "calms things down," with nary a mention of any rollback of Hezbollah thuggery.

[azurnoir]

14. Nope doesn't change the fact that

like it or not Hezbollah is once again part of the Lebanese government.

The difference here is that the stuff you are citing is/was part of the well documented internal strife within Lebanon and Israel's actions are practice for making war on another country.

[bemildred]

5. Syria, Lebanon To Open Embassies In Each Other's Country-Sarkozy

PARIS (AFP)--Syria and Lebanon have agreed to open embassies in each country's capital, marking a key step toward establishing diplomatic relations, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Saturday.

The decision was announced after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held a first meeting with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman following his election in May that ended Lebanon's political crisis.

Sarkozy called the development "historic progress."

It's noticeable that Sarkozy seems anxious to "fill the void" in the former French "area of influence" too.

NASDAQ

[Sezu]

8. Great to hear. Syria has always been called the

sister state by Seniora and others.

[LeftishBrit]

10. I hope that this results in some peace

There has been too much war and violence in Lebanon over the years.