Posted on 01/02/2006 9:57:49 PM PST by winner3000
...Beirut is where the taboos in the region--against alcohol, dating, sex, scandalous clothing, homosexuality, body modification, free speech and dissident politics--break down. Its culture is liberal and tolerant, even anarchic and libertarian. The state barely exists. The city's pleasures are physical and decadent. Beirut is where American and European tourists used to go to loosen up, gamble, drink booze and pick up women--and that was in the 1950s. Today it is where Saudis and other Gulf Arabs like to vacation because they can do, think, wear, and say whatever they want. Last month the Economist Intelligence Unit's Index of Political Freedom ranked Lebanon the freest Arab country, followed by Morocco...
What makes this place unique is that the Lebanese political system is nearly incapable of producing dictatorship....By tradition, the president is always a Christian, the prime minister a Sunni, and the speaker of Parliament a Shiite...
This country would not be even a ramshackle sort-of democracy if the people who live here had not demanded that much for themselves. The March 14 revolt, in which almost one in three Lebanese demonstrated in Martyr's Square for freedom and independence, reverberated powerfully throughout the Middle East...
Oppressed Arabs need an inspiring country of their own that they can look up to. And right now, they have one. Lebanon is not just a country with an elected government. It seduces the region with its culture as well. Beirut has more in common with raucous freewheeling precommunist Hong Kong than with drab Amman, Damascus and Cairo. The nightclubs, the shopping, the restaurants, the bookstores, the intellectual cafés--these things are all world-class in Beirut. The sight of Lebanon's famously beautiful unveiled Arab women makes a lasting impression on men who travel here from neighboring countries...
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
I'd rather enjoy the Mediterranean in Lebanon than in France. Many others go there in the winter to ski.
The Lebanese people absolutely love President Bush for helping Lebanon throw away the Syrian shackles.
Lebanon in the 50's was known as the Riveria of the Middle East, a wonderful vacation spot, in a beautiful land. It was a Christian Nation, as was the intention at its start as it was created out of the vast lands of Palestine to give a home to the Christians. Syria was created to give a home to the Moslems and Israel as a home for the Jews.
Indeed it is a model, a model of how the Muslims violated the treatys of their lands, invaded the Christian lands and slaughtered wholesale the Christians. It is not the model of a UN mandated Peace, with the Iranian Hizbullah terrorist army camped right beside and in some cases IN the UN "observation" camps as they shell the Jews from the Christians land, and blow up the Christians in their own capital city.
It is a model that we should be spending a lot more time studying and doing something about instead of ignoring and pretending there is peace there.
Is Syria really gone?
Ping to Chrome Dome
Big suprise that as soon as Arafat arrived in Lebannon, civil war breaks out, and the place gets turns into a something that looks like the gaza strip.
Big shocker.
I "vacationed" there in 1983. What is the security like today, for a Westerner to wander around on both sides of the Green Line?
As the article says Syria is officially gone, but after almost 30 years of occupation, that's plenty of time for them to leave some pretty nasty elements (secret police) in Lebanon. For the longest time nothing could be done in Lebanon without their blessing, so some people still feel either loyalty to them or fear from them.
Given all that, every assassination they perpetrate unites the Lebanese more and more against them. However, the Syrians find themselves in quite a pickle as their whole economy was based on pillaging Lebanon. The cashflow to Syria has slowed since they left and their currency has already reflected that as it's been decreasing in value.
Stick to the waterfront tourist areas in Beirut and watch your back.
The south is filled with shiite hizbollah thugs. The bakaa valley and areas bording Syria should be stayed away from.
Westerners have been visiting Lebanon since the early 90's. I have not heard of any kidnappings since the 80's. However, just like anywhere, it's much better to know someone there who could advise you about places to see. Since almost everybody can speak English, that's an advantage.
If you are ever there, apart from the beauty of the country, you've got to try the food...and the fruits! Unfortunately, American agriculture techniques have rendered many fruits virtually tasteless. Fruits over there are more delicious than the finest of deserts. I am not joking!
Sounds like "Lebanon the Model" is about right! But the overthrow of the Syrian domination of Lebanon was undoubtedly affected by the Bush move in Iraq; surely Saddam would have given his fellow Baathist in Syria support instead of the challenge on his western frontier.Lebanon and an independent democratic republic in Iraq will undoubtedly be diplomatically cordial and mutually supportive. Perhaps Lebanon can be helpful to the Christians of Iraq, who are reportedly under persecution . . .
While the Lebanese are happy to see the Syrians go, Syria's puppet Lahoud is still president. Syria had to change the Lebanese Constitution to allow him to stay in power. He has to go.
Lebanon may indeed end up being a magnet to Christians throughout the Middle East. If Syria's regime collapses and the Sunnis take over power, Syria's Christians may need to flee to Lebanon.
thank you for the informative posts
I have done five missions to Beirut for a NGO during the last three years. The progress towards a real democracy was unreal. I was there when it all fell apart and have been in frequent contact with my colleagues. The damage done is immense, but Hizbollah has lost face for starting this debacle. You won't hear that on CNN. The country has been set back at least ten years, if not more. And I'm talking about the civilized portion, not Hizbollah-controlled southern Lebanon.
If the war indirectly leads to Hezbollah disarming and joining only the political process, most Lebanese would say it was worth it. The way that the Shiite population was helped by the rest of the Lebanese may go a long way to decreasing their feelings of non-belonging. We can only hope.
I know I speak for many Lebanese when I thank you and your colleagues for everything you have done and continue to do for Lebanon. I was living there when the Marines barracks were destroyed. Most Lebanese were as devastated by this event as Americans were. Many tears were shed for these brave souls, the best of the best. Many were then angry on their behalf, the way they received orders not to shoot until shot upon (Congress was fighting Reagan the way Democrats are now fighting Bush. Some things never change). You're one of the few people who see how a lot of people throughout the world see the United States as their only hope from oppression.
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