The Marchian Invasion

By Bassem Hassan

“hajamo…hajamo…hajamo…”
“meen?”
“el barghash…”
From an old Lebanese radio add for an anti-mosquito spray.

To say that Lebanon today is divided, almost broken, between two camps is to most people the very definition of stating the obvious. But the beauty of the obvious- at least in Lebanon- is that it...well…isn’t!

Two camps, to be sure. Two sides with completely different ideological frameworks, political agendas and societal concepts. Two opposing forces with radically different ideas about the citizen, the state and the economy. Two poles pulling Lebanon in two different directions towards two alternative futures. It is vital that we not belittle or brush aside the differences between the two sides. For doing so implies that we look at the essence of the crisis that is Lebanon from a fundamentally flawed perspective, before we have even begun the process of critical analysis.

For one camp- and let us creatively call it Camp 1- what Lebanon needs today is a political identity stripped of the mythologies of the past and of the invented stories about about its geography, history and the sad interplay between the two. Camp 1 believes that this is the time for nation building through a process of true development; one that places the education, health, employment and well being of the citizen as the absolute top priority of the State. This is a camp that considers the citizen, from the newborn child to the aging adult as the building block of the socio-economic dynamic and, as such, desires to build a socio-economic framework- called the Lebanese Republic- whose cohesive vision can be best stated as: how do we as individual equal citizens work to ensure the well being of ourselves and- crucially- one another at the same time? It follows therefore that Camp 1defines Lebanon’s place in the world fundamentally in function of the answer to this question. Needless to say, Camp 1 is composed of people who have an unwavering belief in prosperity through equality all spheres of life.

Camp 2 is basically the mirror image of Camp 1. Its concept or, more accurately, concepts, of Lebanon are deeply rooted in fanatical mythologies, nonsensical historical narratives and a form of communitarian power structure which obliterates the freewill and social responsibility of the citizen. It is a camp for whom, indeed, the ‘citizen’ does not truly exit. It does not understand ideas like development and equality. It is, by definition, anti-progressive because its only interest is to re-create itself ad nauseum!

If you happen to be a Lebanese reading this article, then you have almost certainly guessed by now who Camp 1 and Camp 2 are: Camp 1 is yours whichever side of “Marchian” divide you happen to be on. And you know what? You’ve gotten it completely…wrong! For regardless of what sort of “Marchian” you happen to be, you, my sadly deluded friend, belong to Camp 2. Fortunately for you, however, you are in the vast majority…and you will win.

Alas, we progressive, leftist, secularist, enlightened, liberated and egalitarian earthlings will be defeated by the Marchian invasion. Our last hope is to be resurrected someday after you Marchians have finished destroying each other.

Istanbul, Saturday 23 February, 2008.

The “Gaza Holocaust” and the Israeli “Hot Winter”

By Bachir Habib

Picture: Associated Press

Do the calls for peaceful resolutions and accountability change anything in Middle East? Is anyone able to stop the cycle of violence hitting the Palestinians both internally and externally? Once again, Israel is violating the principles of proportionality and distinction in International Humanitarian Law. So what? May respond the Ministry of Defence, it has always been the case and so it will remain. We live in a time where Arab pressure is unrealistic if not surreal while the maximum we can expect from the United Nations is a weak call for both sides to end the hostilities.

Unfortunately, Israel chose the ideal timing to carry out its operation “Hot Winter” in Gaza. And neither the Arab regimes nor the allies of Hamas outside the Arab World succeeded or even tried hard to make Israel miss the chance of starting what the Israeli defense’s minister deputy proudly described as the “Gaza Holocaust”.

On one hand, Iran’s Ahmedinejad is busy paying a US protected visit to Iraq and calling from there to the withdrawal of American troops! Syria is busy dealing with two potentially embarrassing situations: First, denying the meeting held in Washington between its US ambassador Imad Mostafa and an Israeli official in Washington which resulted in a leak that suggests Syria is willing to resume peace talks with Israel. Secondly, fixing the damage done to its relations with other Arab states over its role in Lebanon and the Arab League Summit planned in Damascus late March.

On the other, Hezbollah, another ally who succeeded back in 2006 in easing the Israeli military operation on Gaza by opening the Lebanese front, finds itself in a very different posture and facing a number of problems. Imad Mughniyeh, described as Hezbollah’s military brain, “chief of staff” and architect of Hezbollah’s resistance during the 2006 July war was assassinated in the Syrian heartland just a few weeks before “Hot Winter”.

The Southern Lebanese front is more difficult to access for Hezbollah due to the implementation of Resolution 1701 and the presence of around Fifteen thousand UNIFIL troops south of the Litani River. The latest bad news for Hezbollah is the deployment of the American warship USS Cole in the Eastern Mediterranean, a military maneuver with a highly loaded American political message to the allies of Hamas.

This is the tragic political and military context in which the Gaza population is trapped. The result so far is 120 Palestinians, including many women and children, killed in just six days while the world sits still. Abu Mazen’s decision to suspend all contacts with Israel, and some NGO’s accusing the Jewish state of violating International War Conventions will unfortunately lead nowhere.

This intricate political and military context is not a coincidence; it is a puzzle where each and every political actor in the region fits and shares its part of responsibility in drawing that new framework:

Hamas failed to capitalize on the move to throw Fatah out of Gaza.

Iran is busy dealing with Iraq and the pressure on its nuclear program.

Syria has been hit twice in the past few months (The Israeli raid on its territory last September and the assassination of Mughniyeh in Damascus) without the hint of a response.

Hezbollah is still celebrating the Winograd commission report which confirms its claim that Israel was defeated in 2006.

Israel is comfortably operating its “Gaza Holocaust” …While the Arabs are still wondering whether they should hold a summit.

Let's talk about Sex!

By Joseph El-Khoury

And why not? After all we are a bit fed up of politics. Lebanon is a mess, Iraq is a mess, Palestine is a mess, Sudan is a mess, and our discussions seems to lead nowhere. So why not turn our attention to an issue on which we can actually have an impact at least in our immediate surroundings.

About a year ago, a column written by a British Psychoanalyst for a National newspaper following the foiling of a terror plot targeted at nightclubs and young women in skimpy outfits caught my attention. Muslim and Arab men she claims are not having enough sex. This frustration fuels their hatred of the west and its sexually liberated society. This amazing statement was not backed up by any scientific evidence of any kind. In my humble and neutral opinion whether a typical Pakistani male has less frequent or less satisfying sexual interactions than your average white Caucasian Anglo-Saxon remains to be shown.

Whatever the case, we can now reassure this lady, that Arab men are getting a healthy dose of sexual activity. Or at least showing enough interest in the subject .The Arabdemocracy team noticed that, following our publishing of a story which included ‘Sex’ in its title (Sex Trade: Iraqi girls who become prostitutes in Syria) our Site meter recorded a surge in referrals to the site through Google using search terms with sexual connotations. These ranged from ‘Sex in Kuwait’ to ’9 years old girls in Iraq’ passing through ‘Syrian Lesbians’ and ‘Lebanon sex film’ but also included a number of more exotic queries that we will not reveal out of decency.

I find this strangely refreshing. Not that I am condoning the exploitation of men and women' sexuality for financial gain but because it is expected and contradicts the myth circulated in official and religious circles as well as on the blogosphere that the interest in sex is specific to western society. Some might still argue that, even if Arab men are looking for excitement through accessing pornographic material on the net, this phenomenon can be ascribed to the corruption of Arab society by these same imported western values. Abu Nuwas and other historical figures would disagree. There never was a pure Arab society, free of sin, and there will never be. Humans are humans after all and whatever the bigots say Sex is a natural human behaviour that we should be able to discuss without shame and fear.

I am hoping that next time someone enters ‘sex’ as a search term that Arabic Google will lead them to this post instead.