Inside the Middle East - Blog
May 15, 2008
Peace Breaks Out In Lebanon?
Beirut, May 15, 2008. Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani, left, speaks during a join press conference with Arab league secretary Amr Moussa.

After a week of violence, an Arab League visit, headed by the Qatari Prime Minister, leads to an announcement: the Helzbollah-led opposition groups will reopen key roads (including the one to the airport.) Also, both sides have agreed to talk their grievances out in Doha, Qatar.

Passengers arrive on the first flight into Beirut International Airport. May 15, 2008. (Photo AP)

I remember Qatar taking part on the U.N. resolution that capped the end of the Hezbollah-Israel war two years ago. It's a tiny Gulf state, but it seems determined to act as a mediator in the Levant.

The Hezbollah-led opposition is even talking of lifting a sit-in that has paralyzed parts of Beirut for over a year.

Did last week's violence force an agreement? Will a Doha agreement replace the 1989 Taef accord that ended Lebanon's civil war?
This is a victory for the Lebanease people in general and a huge defeat for the USA, Isreal and their allies in the Lebanon.
The will of the people and their patients throughout the past 2 years have come to this end.
I believe that in Doha, a meaningful agreement will come out that is just for all the Lebanese.
I just hope that the polocies of this crazy Bush administration will end and that the Lebanese people will finally decide their fait by them selves.
CNN isn't accurate when portraying that the opposition is made of Hizbullah only.
For CNN information, the opposition is made of a substantial part of prominent Lebanese leaderships and citizens: Shiaas, Christians, Sunnis, Druze...

The taef agreement was an awful agreement in which Lebanon was given to Saudi Arabia. But it's a completely failed agreement and doesn't suit Lebanon. For example, in the taef if there's no president of republic, the prime minister handles power of the country and this simply CANNOT happen in Lebanon, where every faction of the society SHOULD be represented. The presidency is for Christians and should be represented by a a powerful Christian leader who represents the MAJORITY of christian citizens, and in Lebanon Michel Aoun is the only leader who is supported by the majority of Christians.
hizbullah opposition?

much rather a state within a state, not recognizing the government, not allowing elections of a new president, involved lebanon in a war which cost the country countless billions and destruction, violating every agreement in the history of their terror reign

opposition? terrorists of the worst kind, directed by the well known president of lebanon, the meadman from teheran
It requires not too much intelligence to distinguish a terrorist from another one:
Is a terrorist someone like Hizbullah who's defending his own country or another one like Israel and the US who attacked and destructed all Lebanon?

In the name of Democracy, this mad man in the white house is exercing the worst terrorism the earth has ever found, be it in Iraq, Lebanon or any other countries.
This is a huge loss for the good people of Lebanon. You have just given veto power to a murderous terrorist organization. Hizbullah will start wars at will, take over parts of the country if things are not going their way, and will and has killed directly or indirectly, innocent Lebanese. They blatantly started the 2nd Lebanon war, and did not care that their infrastructure was pummelled, and did not feel for the people in Lebanon who suffered. Then they shut down Beirut International airport, and will do so again at anytime, and some people on this talkback think this is a victory for Lebanon? All you have brought upon yourself is more violence, fascism, rule by the gun, and potential for another civil war. Hizbullah uses the international airport to smuggle in Iranian arms, which is why the disobedience when the government removed their member from chief of security there. They also keep tabs on all diplomats coming in and out of Beirut. This is no victory, this sets Lebanon back years...and has just planted the seed for more violence, war and destruction. If they did not allow Hizbullah to keep its "independent communication" system, or its "agent" to continue in the airport, this would begin to deligitimize hizbullah, and start the process of Democracy, and Justice and peace for all. The only people that lose here are the good people of Lebanon....no one will want to invest in a Country controlled by armed, murderous terrorists, and no heads of state will visit knowing Hizbullah has the airport completely wired and bugged.....Lebanon security forces (if you can call it that) should attack, arrest, or at least remove the weapons and stop the smuggling of Hizbullah, because the first thing they will do is not come after USA or Israel, but completely take over Lebanon with all its inhabitants as their hostages...The weakness of the Saniora government, and the naivety of letting Hizbullah have any power, will be Lebanon's downfall.
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