Watch Lebanon

Have you noticed the trouble brewing in Beirut today?

Hundreds of thousands of protestors, led by the pro-Syrian militant group Hezbollah and its allies, have gathered on the streets of Beirut demanding the resignation of the Western-backed Lebanese government.

The crowd of almost one million was met by thousands of combat troops, who have been deployed across the capital amid fears today’s events could spiral into violent clashes.

The unprecedented security measures also saw 16 armoured carriers patrolling Beirut, while armed police earlier sealed off the offices of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora with barbed wire and barricades.

Meanwhile, Siniora is trying his best to not only remain in power, but to look like he does in the face of this chaos.

Last night, Mr Siniora vowed that his government would not be brought down by the opposition. Addressing the nation in a televised speech, a defiant Prime Minister warned that “Lebanon’s independence is threatened and its democratic system is in danger…”

“We will not allow any coup against our democratic regime. We are determined to stay the course, as our government is legitimate and constitutional… and enjoys the confidence of parliament.”

His statement was echoed today by Walid Jumblatt, Druze leader and prominent anti-Syrian MP, who appealed to his supporters to stay calm.

That’s going to be very difficult. Hezbollah is determined to ramp up the threat and chaos.

Sheikh Naim Kassem, Hezbollah deputy chief, said that the campaign would continue until the cabinet fell. “This government will not take Lebanon to the abyss. We have several steps if this government does not respond but I tell them you will not be able to rule Lebanon with an American administration,” he told Hezbollah’s al-Manar television.

The “several steps” sounds sinister.

Bloomberg picks up the report.

The protest was the latest episode in a power struggle that pits Hezbollah and allies against the ruling coalition. The government claims Syria is nurturing the conflict in order to dominate the small Mediterranean country. The Nov. 21 assassination of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel provided an ominous backdrop to the conflict.

It’s ominous, alright. This is just the sort of chaos jihadists are trying to spread throughout the region, so they can step into the vacuum and take power.

The stand-off plays into intense regional rivalries. On the day of Gemayel’s death, President Bush accused Syria as well as Iran of fomenting “instability and violence” in Lebanon. Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad has set himself up as a counterweight to U.S. policies of democratizing the Middle East…

When he announced the protest plan on television yesterday, Hezbollah leader and Shiite cleric Hassan Nasrallah justified it in the name of competent government. Few yellow party flags flew, an indication that Hezbollah sought to make the protest a national rather than partisan affair.

Who is Nasrallah, and why should you care? My friend Carmen writes this about Nasrallah, and unrest:

He is the leader of the Hezbollah in Lebanon.  Hezbollah, as you may know, holds 30 seats in the Lebanese governent.  Now, this is quite a minority of seats in that government, but Nasrallah weilds great power among the Hezbollah faithful, and…Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. 
 
Nasrallah gained even more power and authority during the recent war between Hezbollah and Israel.  My guess is that conflict between Hezbollah and Israel was nothing more than a precursor to todays events.  It was, in my opinion, designed to give Nasrallah much more power than he previously had, and now he is using that power in an attempt to bring down a democratically elected government.
 
It is no secret that Hezbollah is funded and armed by both Iran and Syria.  There have also been whispers among the intel community that North Korea is also arming Hezbollah.  It is also no secret that a democratically elected government in the middle east is the last thing that Iran and Syria want in that region.  Just look what is happening in Iraq.  Iranian and Syrian fighters are pouring across the border in that country in an attempt to bring down that government as well.

The above is pretty well covered in the media, and well known to the political world. Here it gets into opinion:

Why is this important to us?  Because, this is part of the blueprint that radical Islam follows to bring down nations.  The plan is so simple really.  Tell the people what they want to hear.  Have your representatives elected to government.  Even a small bloc of seats will do.  Then, tear the country apart from the inside out.  It’s exactly what is going on in Iraq as well with Muqtada El Sadr and his cronies.  El Sadr is a radical who managed to wield just enough power to have a bloc of seats given to his party in the new Iraqi government, and now is doing everything he can to bring that government to its knees.

Why is this important to us?  Because it could happen here.  In fact, it may have already begun and we don’t even know it yet…

Carmen brings up the election recently of the first Muslim in Congress, Minnesota’s Keith Ellison, as merely a thought. It was hardly a blip on the national radar at the time. I mean, America is so diverse, we have a wide representation and free elections. Everyone has their opinions. Here’s how the New York Times saw it:

Keith Ellison wore his religion lightly on the campaign trail, mentioning it only when asked.

But Muslims across America, and even overseas, celebrated his election Tuesday as the first Muslim in Congress, representing Minnesota’s Fifth District in the House of Representatives, as a sign of acceptance and a welcome antidote to their faith’s sinister image.

“It’s a step forward; it gives the Muslims a little bit of a sense of belonging,” said Osama A. Siblani, the publisher of The Arab American News, a weekly in Dearborn, Mich., a state with one of the heaviest concentrations of Muslims. “It is also a signal to the rest of the world that America has nothing against Muslims. If we did, he wouldn’t have been elected.”

Good enough. Then it gets more interesting.

Mr. Ellison’s success was front-page news in several of the Arab world’s largest newspapers and high in the lineup on television news programs.

Here’s some reaction from other Muslims:

“Congress needs to reflect the diversity of America, and that means its vibrant religious diversity as well,” said Farhana Khera, the executive director of the National Association of Muslim Lawyers and a former senior Senate staff member. “It’s good to have diverse voices on the House floor, in committees and caucus meetings. It is good for the country to have different views aired, especially when the primary national issues relate to Islam and affect Muslims in this country and Muslims overseas.”

This has received a lot of attention worldwide.

Mr. Ellison’s victory was widely noted in the larger Muslim world. The day after the election, it was the third headline mentioned on Al Jazeera, the most popular satellite news channel in the Middle East, right after a report that 18 Palestinian civilians had been killed by Israeli artillery in the Gaza Strip and a report on the overall Democratic sweep in the elections.

Al Jazeera was very interested in the U.S. elections.

The news garnered a rich variety of comments from Arab readers on the Web site of Al Arabiya, a satellite news channel based in Dubai. “God willing in the next election, half of Congress will be from the rational Muslims,” wrote one reader, while another said, “May God make this the beginning of victory for Muslims on the very ground of the despots.”

That’s disconcerting…

Arab news reports highlighted the fact that Mr. Ellison would probably take the oath of office on the Koran, something which also upset Muslim-bashers in the blogosphere. Some suggested it meant he would pledge allegiance to Islamic law rather than to upholding the Constitution.

Why are people who question that possibility called “Muslim-bashers” by the NYT? That’s just gratuitous. 

Mr. Ellison said he had not really thought about the swearing-in ceremony and had tried to keep the campaign focused on issues rather than his religion.

Well, he’s thought about it now, and I heard the flap last evening on Fox News, on Hannity & Colmes. Ellison is planning to be sworn in taking the oath of office on the Koran instead of the Bible. There’s a little analysis in the news, and a lot of rhetoric in the blogosphere. I’m not linking to any of it here. But it’s something to watch.