Lebanese-Americans voting to back Israel

[bloom]

I don't know how they could do it - even if it did mean that they would lose the next election.

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House overwhelmingly backs Israel in vote

"I'm just sick in the stomach, to put it mildly," said Rep. Nick J. Rahall (news, bio, voting record) II, D-W.Va., who is of Lebanese descent.

Rahall joined other Arab-American lawmakers in drafting an alternative resolution that would have omitted language holding Lebanon responsible for Hezbollah's actions and called for restraint from all sides. Rahall said that proposal was "politely swept under the rug," a political reality he and others say reflects the influence Israel has in Congress.

"There's a lot (of lawmakers) that don't feel it's right ... but vote yes, and get it the heck out of here," Rahall said.

Rep. Darrell Issa (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif., who co-sponsored the alternative resolution and also is of Lebanese descent, agreed. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee lobby "throws in language that AIPAC wants. That isn't always the best thing for this body to endorse," Issa said.

Nevertheless, Rahall and Issa said they were considering voting in favor of the resolution. "I want to show support for Israel's right to defend itself," Issa said.

Another lawmaker with Lebanese roots, Rep. Charles Boustany Jr., R-La., said he too planned to vote in favor of the resolution despite holding deep reservations on its language regarding Lebanon. "I think it's a good resolution. But I think it's incomplete," he said."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060720/ap_on_go_co/us_mideast

[MadHound]

1. Hey, African American soldiers served in the Confederate Army

:shrug: People have reasons for their actions, we may not understand them, but hey:shrug:

Frankly I find it appalling that anybody voted for that POS resolution. Not suprising, but appalling none the less.

[jonnyblitz]

2. it's like they are endorsing crimes against humanity.

very Orwellian. nt

[geardaddy]

3. They may be Lebanese,

or of other Arab descent, but my guess is because they're Christian. There are no, and have never been any Muslims to server in Congress, as I understand it.

Edited for grammar.

[bloom]

5. Yeah - but even still

It does show that the society must be really split.


Like I think of going to these peace discussions and there will be a Palestinian Christian and a Palestinian Muslim and a Jewish Israeli woman.

And the point is that they see that people from different groups need to work together.

I suppose that Lebanon could be like the US - where the Republicans do not agree with us - and vice-versa. But if our country was being bombed - for a week - I would think that we might see ourselves on the same side. OTOH - the way things go around here - maybe not.

Esp. if we blamed different people for it. It would be like if the Republicans blamed us, for example - and we blamed the outside force.

[geardaddy]

6. Good point.

[MADem]

4. My Lebanese neighbors wants to crush the living shit out of Hizb'Allah

They want Israel to go in there and "kill every last one of the mother fuckers" (and yes, that is pretty much a quote). But they want them to do it QUICKLY, to mitigate the pain.

And then they want the US government and allies to help with reconstruction, prop up the government, police the border, clean up the army, and provide humanitarian services to the displaced and the poor.

Their religious orientation no doubt colors their perspective somewhat, but I can't say as I blame them. The shi'a militias are holding the rest of Lebanon hostage.

[bloom]

7. Are you saying

that they are Christians?


Has Hezbolla ever done anything to hurt any Lebanese - or is it just because some of them live there - they see Hezbolla as turning them into a target? I could almost see their point of view if the Israel bombing were targeted enough- to Hezbolla. It doesn't sound like it is. It's hard to believe that Lebanese wouldn't blame Israel - the people dropping the bombs.


I wonder where the money is going to come from to remake Lebanon?

[liberalpragmatist]

8. If you read the Lebanese blogs, the anger seems to cut two ways

The Lebanese blogs and papers are reporting that the non-Shias in Lebanon (and some Shias as well, but not the majority) are VERY anti-Hezbollah, because they see it as a foreign agent and one that has refused to handover its ministate in S. Lebanon. The other groups - the Sunnis, the Druze, and the Christians - also dislike Hezbollah's religious fundamentalism.

And most of the blogs do, in fact, report that the initial reaction of many of the non-Shia Lebanese was anger at Hezbollah for dragging them into war. The attitude on one war was that people were furious that Hezbollah declared war on Lebanon's behalf.

However, quite quickly, the blogs report that people turned furiously anti-Israel; there is still anger at Hezbollah, but right now their main attention is focused on Israel. And from the blogs, surprisingly, people are also quite furious at Syria; a surprising number of the blogs I read (and I have no how representative these are) want Israel to attack Syria (something which I think would be a bad idea on MANY levels); this could just be a natural response - "don't shoot us! Shoot them!" but it may not be as surprising considering how anti-Syria much of the population was.

A good Lebanese blog is this one: Lebanese Political Journal http://lebop.blogspot.com

This one's good too: http://beirutspring.blogspot.com

And Michael Totten is an American (slightly neo-Conish) writer who is currently not in Lebanon but has lived there extensively; he has written some very informative posts (despite being quite pro-Israel, he's quite upset at the current situation and the bombing of Beirut): http://www.michaeltotten.com

A list of other bloggers from the region (Lebanese, Israeli, and Palestinian) can be found here: http://truthlaidbear.com/mideastcrisis.php

And a GREAT Israeli blog (one that's quite balanced and has an ongoing dialogue with Lebanese bloggers) is Lisa Goldman's blog: http://ontheface.blogware.com/

[bloom]

10. Thanks

Those sound interesting.

[bloom]

12. I made a post out of Lebanese Political Journal http://lebop.blogspot.com

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1687340

[MADem]

11. Yes, they are Christians, and they fucking HATE the Hizzies.

The Hizzies are a three headed hydra. There is a political head, that gets involved in government. There's the social services head, that runs the widows and orphans funds, gives food and medicine and schooling to the poor (mostly shi'a) and plays the benevolent, paternalistic ward bosses. These two units aren't causing much trouble, and most people don't have issue with them, EXCEPT when the charitable wing is used to launder terror money, or missiles get hidden under shipments of grain.

But then, there's the Iran-funded, Syria-abetted third militia head of this thing--a military proxy of Iran. Their goal, their sole goal, in fact, is to FUCK WITH ISRAEL. And they get funded at a far greater rate than either the political or charitable ends of this bunch. Syria gives them a hand with logistics, but their big paydays come from Iran.

And by fucking with Israel, they ARE fucking with Lebanon. Most cosmopolitan Lebanese, even those who are making a life over here and not going back except to visit, know full well the Lebanese government is still nascent and weak, that they don't have the consolidated strength to stand up to the militia, and the militia can dictate terms to them, especially vis a vis what happens in the south. The army is infested with Hizzies, and is unreliable. Will the Army obey the government, or the militia heads who confer regularly with Iran?

They also know that the Hizzies PICKED this fight. They crossed the border, they murdered eight reservists, snatched two, and then started raining Iranian missiles and rockets on Haifa and points south. What is happening to Lebanon by Israel is a response to those provocations, each one alone egregious. And it's not like the world doesn't know Israel's attitude when you take one of theirs....remember Entebbe?

That's why they need a multinational force on the border, and sooner, rather than later. And a multinational rebuilding fund would be nice, too. We've already quietly poured a bundle in there; we'll have to do it again, I guess...

[EFerrari]

9. This is a story from the Authorized Propaganda bureau. Read

at your own risk.