Dispatch from Beirut:
 

I had not revealed until now that I have a personal reason as well as a political/moral one for opposing the bombing of civilians in Lebanon, but my sister-in-law is currently in Beirut working w/ the refuge relief operation. My brother and his wife are relief workers based in India, actually my brother is the regional director of South Asia for CRS, the second biggest NGO relief org in the world after CARE. His wife works independently from him on separate projects, and they are frequently separated. They live an exciting life, but it is sometimes terrifying to watch from the outside as family members.

I just got off the phone w/ my brother in Dehli, he is in contact w/ her and getting up-to-the-minute reporting on life on the ground in Beirut. It has quieted down in the last couple days since the big apartment house bombing and attendant political fall-out, but the country has been hit hard as anyone who reads a paper knows. I made the remark that Beirut was a pretty nice place until 2 weeks ago, he kind of laughed and said that Dominique (his wife) says that "it's still pretty nice by our standards".:D Gives you an idea of the places where they usually work, ie. the Asian tsunami, Angola, Congo, etc.. (They were working the Africa beat for ~12 years until 2004). She is staying in a really nice hotel surrounded by journalists, many of whom she knows and know each other from previous assignments. Pool, big suite, etc... Nice weather.

I got a good primer on the history of Hezbolla and the Israeli army in Lebanon from him, not really an overtly political one but just a good background. Aside from all else, my brother is a political scientist of the first order. He met his wife 17 years ago at Stanford when both were Phd candidates in their school of government/PS. That program admits ~12 students per year from around the globe, (Dominique is French/Swiss), and my brother got a full fellowship, which means a free ride. "Condi" Rice was provost of near eastern studies at the time and was a close friend of theirs, it is a very small and close-knit department. They fell in love, got married and decided to both jetison a comfortable and secure life teaching in an Ivy league university or becoming diplomats and instead dropped out of the program to take a position in Haiti doing relief work. They have never looked back, and are the most professionally fulfilled people I have ever met, including a lot of 8-figure salaried actors and directors.

The only info I just got was the story of the trip from Damascus to Beirut and basically the panic of the people still there who are afraid of the war spreading, but I will keep the inside view/story coming as i get it. Call it a "Pelican exclusive". ;)

I have told my brother about this place and wish that he would check it out, but he is just too damn busy. He works with a fascinating collection of people, including one ex-Israeli army officer, and the info is really raw and unfiltered by media for the most part.

I asked him if he believes that Israel intentionally bombed the U.N. observers, he said,

"Yes, are you kidding? They've done it before, they hate the U.N. soldiers and vice-versa". Like it was no big deal, though. No mouth-foaming when he said it. I'm not religious, but if I was I'd be praying for my sister-in-law right now. If they kill her, I will not forgive. Never. :cool:

WOW! Keep the inside reporting coming. I find this much more accurate than CNN, and the rest of the BS mass media.

2 threads to subscribe too.

Thanks for the info and keep us posted.

Hope all stays well. Thanks so much for the post, and please keep them coming. I've been watching CNN, alJazeera, and kind of splitting the difference.

I hope no harm comes to them and will include them in my prayers but I have to add something about this subject:

People make choices and have to deal with the consequences.
If they decide to go to Lebanon, they are conciously accepting the risk that they may become a statistic of war.
Although tragic these people are not victims, they are participants.

I also do not believe the people of lebanon are completely innocent.
Hezbollah is part of their government and widely supported. Either they actively support the terrorists, or they passively support the terrorist cause.
Either way they directly or indirectly contributed to this war.
Your brother is quick to critisize the Iraelli military. What does he say about Hezbollah?

Re: Dispatch from Beirut:
 

Do tell.

Do your own learning, boy.

:D It would be nice to hear some first-hand information for once.. (Second-hand really until he posts). I too hope they are o.k....

I'm sorry, that was rude of me. I thought that you were just trying to bait me into another endless argument about Israel where no one's mind is changed, but if you were in fact being earnest, I sincerely apologize.

To tell the truth, I am no middle east scholar and do not have a deep understanding of the history of all of the various conflicts over there. Not many Americans are, and those that even have opinions usually fall into the American Israel lobby party line or are Arabs w/ similarly biased (one-sided) views. I've had it with both.

He brought me up to speed, (quickly), on the recent history of Israel occupying Lebanon under Begin until mid-'90s, and how it did not end well for the Israelis. The moment they pulled out, after training the Lebanon defense forces that were supposed to protect the buffer zone in south Lebanon for over a decade, the Lebanon forces immediately folded up camp and ceded the area to Hezbollah. They defected en masse to Israel or blended back into the population and HB just literally took their positions. At first when Israel went in, in the late '70s, (is this right, doing this from memory?), the Israeli public and Army was gung-ho behind it like they are right now. Pretty soon that changed and by the end they were de-moralized because those pesky insurgents are not so easy to defeat. He compared it to our failed mission in Iraq, (does anyone still dispute this?), it is not easy to fight insurgents when they have the support of the native population. In fact, it's nearly impossible.

He also told me an interesting fact about Hasidic Jews and how they are resented by many in Israel because they beat one of the loudest drums for military action but are excused from mandatory service in the army for religious reasons(?) In other words, they are extreme right-wingers who scream for their countrymen (and women) to fight and die for a cause but do not fight themselves. Plus they are religious fanatics. Remind you of anyone we know? ;)

There will be peace there when military profits dwindle here
.

Here is an email I just received from her:

Hi Denny,

Thanks for your kind message - and rest reassured, I am not the type to
put
myself unduly in danger ! Our neighborhood in Beirut is quite safe
and I
have not been to southern Lebanon (though Caritas is very active
throughout
the country) or southern Beirut for that matter (it's empty of people).

People are getting very tired and worry that no acceptable cease-fire
will
be negotiated any time soon. They had just finally got out of the
previous
war's reconstruction process.... The bombing of the northern route
was
quite a shock indeed - first time mainly christian areas were targeted
(though there are other, more windy routes north through the mountains,
so
it's not that all links are closed). People are particularly
frustrated as
Lebanon is actually quite a developped, modern country - most
infrastructure
were rebuilt recently after the was of the 1980s - so the level of loss
is
particularly shocking. Also, many are worried at what the war will do
to
the fragile social fabric of the country....

All this to say, the situation of the country is not good - though I'm
keeping safe myself.
Thanks for your concern & take care yourself !
Dominique

Perhaps you could ask if the local populace supports Hezbollah and if the Lebonese government is doing/has done to stop them from firing rockets at Isreal.

Also, do they really expect to get some type of cease fire as long as Hezbollah continues to fire unguided rockets into population areas in Isreal (instead of attempting to engage the Israali military)?

Do they blame Israel or the terrorists (Hezbollah)...or thier own government?

since the Israeli's are dropping bombs on Lebanon, their firing rockets into Israel is justifiable self defense.

Quote:

Also, do they really expect to get some type of cease fire as long as Hezbollah continues to fire unguided rockets into population areas in Isreal (instead of attempting to engage the Israali military)?

Why should they attempt to engage a military brisling with US government suppolied weaponry that's most impervious to attack, when they can make those that partially fund the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, the Israelis themselves?

Quote:

Do they blame Israel or the terrorists (Hezbollah)...or thier own government?

You really haven't a clue about what's happening between Israel and Lebanon do you?

Speeder

I really am interested in the answer to these questions from your source in Lebanon, not in the the rural South Carolina version. Now if I had a question about emptying bedpans...........

I'd like to hear more from someone on the ground in Beirut as well, you should know it's very likely that you know a lot more about bedpans than I do, I've not emptied one in over fifteen years, if at all.

Then stop answering them yourself! Duh! I could get your version from Al Jazeera.

I will ask her those questions in my next email, but I can tell you that I'm guessing that no one has a lot of time for politics right now in Beirut. It's all about where the next gallon of clean drinking water or antibiotics are coming from.

Even though my brother and sister-in-law have their own views on world events and politics, you might be surprised at how matter-of-fact and pragmatic they are. They are constantly in war zones, (at least in Africa for the last 15 years), and have become somewhat immune to seeing the horrible behavior of groups of people and governments. Including Hezbollah, most definitely. The thing about HB that is odd is that they are like two different organizations, a provider of social services in south Lebanon, (good), and a militia that is a sworn enemy of Israel. (Bad). She is having to sit at tables w/ HB reps, (as are all of the other NGO figures in Lebanon right now), and it is a little awkward to say the least. We are not anti-semites/Jew-haters in my family and would prefer to never meet any.

I have to go right now to a social commitment, but I'll be back later. :cool:

Support for Hezbollah in Lebanon is 87%. Even among Lebaneese Christans, support is at 80.%

Thanks Rodeo. We can now add the New England viewpoint to the rural South version. Heck, Speeder...why even bother to ask someone that is actually there?

F lebanon and everyone in it. They deserve what they are getting and no crap about how peace loving they are will change my opinion. They started a war, they support a war and a war is what they will get. Tell your relatives to get the f out of the rat hole until they join the modern world.