Ahmadinejad in Lebanon
By RANNIE AMIRI
CounterPunch
".....One Lebanese aptly stated the reasons behind the hero’s welcome accorded to Ahmadinejad:
“We love Ahmadinejad because he helps the poor and he helped us rebuild after the 2006 war with Israel … Iran helped us more than Arab states did.”
Israel’s July 2006 war against Lebanon killed 1,200 Lebanese (mostly civilians), and decimated homes and infrastructure in southern Lebanon and the dahiyeh. During the Israeli assault, Saudi clerics of the Wahabi school said Muslims should not support Hezbollah because they are Shia (and issued fatwas to that end) while regional powerbrokers like Egypt and Jordan remained conspicuously silent throughout the 34-day offensive.
In “Spider Webs - The Story of the Second Lebanon War” (2008, published in English as “34 Days: Israel, Hezbollah, and the War in Lebanon”) Haaretz correspondents Amos Haren and Avi Issacharoff write:
“For the first time, we reveal … that moderate Arab states and the people close to the Lebanese government have conveyed messages to the Israeli government via different sides demanding Israel continue the war until Hezbollah was completely crushed.”
Iran helped rebuild homes devastated by Israel in 2006, as did Qatar. When the (Sunni) emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani recently visited the south, he too was given an enthusiastic welcome.
Although the Shia form a plurality in Lebanon, power has historically been in the hands of Christian and Sunni elites. Many of them, now in the March 14 Coalition, still blame the victims for the Israeli attack instead of the perpetrators. According to Haron and Issacharoff, they hoped Israel would achieve its military objectives even while their country burned.
The manner in which Ahmadinejad was warmly received should be seen in the above light. It was not about him, but rather about the Lebanese thanking those who had extended a helping hand when no other one was forthcoming. To those in March 14 and other Arab governments, it was a small shove back."
By RANNIE AMIRI
CounterPunch
".....One Lebanese aptly stated the reasons behind the hero’s welcome accorded to Ahmadinejad:
“We love Ahmadinejad because he helps the poor and he helped us rebuild after the 2006 war with Israel … Iran helped us more than Arab states did.”
Israel’s July 2006 war against Lebanon killed 1,200 Lebanese (mostly civilians), and decimated homes and infrastructure in southern Lebanon and the dahiyeh. During the Israeli assault, Saudi clerics of the Wahabi school said Muslims should not support Hezbollah because they are Shia (and issued fatwas to that end) while regional powerbrokers like Egypt and Jordan remained conspicuously silent throughout the 34-day offensive.
In “Spider Webs - The Story of the Second Lebanon War” (2008, published in English as “34 Days: Israel, Hezbollah, and the War in Lebanon”) Haaretz correspondents Amos Haren and Avi Issacharoff write:
“For the first time, we reveal … that moderate Arab states and the people close to the Lebanese government have conveyed messages to the Israeli government via different sides demanding Israel continue the war until Hezbollah was completely crushed.”
Iran helped rebuild homes devastated by Israel in 2006, as did Qatar. When the (Sunni) emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani recently visited the south, he too was given an enthusiastic welcome.
Although the Shia form a plurality in Lebanon, power has historically been in the hands of Christian and Sunni elites. Many of them, now in the March 14 Coalition, still blame the victims for the Israeli attack instead of the perpetrators. According to Haron and Issacharoff, they hoped Israel would achieve its military objectives even while their country burned.
The manner in which Ahmadinejad was warmly received should be seen in the above light. It was not about him, but rather about the Lebanese thanking those who had extended a helping hand when no other one was forthcoming. To those in March 14 and other Arab governments, it was a small shove back."
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