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'PROTECTION'

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L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon

WikiLeaks Makes 'Complete Mockery' of 'American Colossus'

 

"This is a one-time occurrence and for goodness sake, Lebanon is extricating itself rather honorably from this gigantic unpacking of dirty laundry - even if Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri had to deny in Paris having urged Washington to take severe action against Tehran."

 

By Issa Goraieb

 

Translated By Mary Kenney

 

December 1, 2010

 

Lebanon - L'Orient Le Jour - Original Article (French)

WikiLeaks strikes again: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei meets Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in Tehran, just after news appeared that Hariri had suggested to the U.S. that Iraq was the wrong war, but that Iran was the right one.  

BBC NEWS VIDEO: Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri warns that the Middle East is 'heading for disaster', Nov. 2, 00:04:21RealVideo

Plunged into crisis by a series of press revelations that led the Party of God [Hezbullah] to launch a ferocious campaign against the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, our country is no longer alone in suffering this type of media indiscretion.

 

[Editor's Note: The U.S. diplomatic cables disclosed by WikiLeaks revealed, among other things, that two years ago Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri suggested that the United States attacks Iran, and that Saudi Arabia sought to create an Arab force to 'destroy' Iran-friendly Hezbullah in Lebanon. Meanwhile, the U.N. tribunal investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is reportedly ready to implicate members of Hezbullah in the killing.]

 

The WikiLeaks affair has made a complete mockery of the American colossus, the top secret documents of which were stolen en masse from its archives, only to clog up the Web. So today, accessible to everyone, are the misjudgments that led to more than one U.S.-enabled diplomatic-military escapade. A number of State Department officials are embarrassed at having made uncharitable comments about foreign leaders - some regarding state secrets that aren't limited to the Libyan president's unhealthy obsession with his buxom Ukrainian nurse. Several heads of state have been greatly embarrassed by the disclosure of their recommendations or requests, not always of a peaceful nature, which were made to the sole superpower. There is the case, for example, of Saudi King Abdullah pressing Washington to "sever the head of the serpent," and deal a decisive blow to Iran before it equips itself with nuclear arms.

 

This is a one-time occurrence and for goodness sake, Lebanon is extricating itself rather honorably from this gigantic unpacking of dirty laundry - even if Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri had to deny in Paris yesterday of having urged Washington to take severe action against Tehran. And out of the U.S. laundry basket, Hariri's predecessor, Fuad Siniora, the opposition's bête noire, emerges in fact as an ardent patriot, fiercely defending the country's sovereignty and strongly opposing any definitive assimilation of Palestinian refugees living on its territory. He also seems perfectly aware of the false promises of stabilization that Damascus is so fond of making, advising his American counterparts to refrain from making any premature concessions that would very likely be free of charge.

 

To return to the leaks that more directly and seriously affect Lebanon, anyone who watched the most recent documentary by Canadian Public Broadcasting [click here to watch] about the Hariri investigation, couldn't help but be moved by the recollection, mentioned in the introduction and finale of the broadcast, of Captain Wissam Eid. Sifting through hundreds of thousands of telephone communications made at the time of the attack of February 14, 2005, it was this young police officer, extraordinarily gifted in cybernetics, who outwitted foreign specialists that were called to the rescue by investigators, and succeeded in locating and grouping, in successive stages, the suspicious calls that led to the execution of the attack.

 

Captain Wissam Eid: A witness to the murder of former Lebanese Prime

Minister Rafik Hariri, he almost single-handedly put together the details

of the crime. He was then assassinated. Watch the CBC documentary by

clicking the photo or clicking here.

 

Eid was well aware that his discovery would cost him his life. Most poignantly, he had prepared himself for this terrible prospect without ever abandoning his investigation. In regard to allegations that the Lebanese telecom records he uncovered are worthless because, for the purpose of manipulating them, Israel would likely have succeeded in infecting them long ago, we've already said in this column that such accusations are incredible affronts to the intelligence of the people. In addition, it's shameful that last week, the Telecom minister offered his personal but unconvincing support for the veracity of these records. That this same prattle was theatrically repeated on Sunday by Hezbullah Chief Hassan Nasrallah seems like an additional insult to the memory and martyrdom of Captain Eid, and obviously does nothing to strengthen the moral tenor of such extravagant pleas. 

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

 

Another source of dissatisfaction for Nasrallah would be the subtle denial by his own sponsors and protectors [in Tehran] regarding Prime Minister Saad Hariri's current foreign tour, which Nasrallah has characterized as a pure waste of time [video above]. A fruitful and even historic visit, Iranian leaders contradicted Nasrallah, even if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei saw fit to urge the prime minister to try and move closer to the Hezbullah leader. In truth, it would have been more appreciated if Khamenei would have publicly encouraged the Hezbullah militia to take even a tiny step toward legality, the state and the primacy of its institutions. 

 

igor@lorient-lejour.com.lb

 

Please Read a Personal Appeal from

Worldmeets.US Founder William Kern

 

SEE ALSO ON THIS:

Jornal De Neóocios, Portugal: More than We Wanted to Know. Or Maybe Not!

DNA, France: The WikiLeaks Disclosures: A Journalist's Ambivalence

Global Times, China: WikiLeaks Poses Greater Risk to West's 'Enemies'

FAZ, Germany: Ahmadinejad's Chief-of-Staff Calls WikiLeaks Cables 'Lies'

Al-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Saudis Ask: Who Benefitted from WikiLeaks Disclosure?

Guardian, U.K.: Cables Portray Saudi Arabia as a Cash Machine for Terrorists

El País, Spain: Cables Expose Nuance of U.S. Displeasure with Spain Government

El País, Spain: Thanks to WikiLeaks' Disclosure, Classical Diplomacy is Dead

Guardian, U.K.: Saudi Arabia Urges U.S. Attack on Iran

Hurriyet, Turkey: Erdogan Needs 'Anger Management' Over U.S. Cables

Saudi Gazette, Saudi Arabia: WikiLeaks Reveals 'Feeling, Flawed' Human Beings

Frontier Post, Pakistan: WikiLeaks Reveals 'America's Dark Face' to the World

The Nation: WikiLeaks' Release: An Invaluable Exposure of American Hypocrisy

Buenos Aires Herald, Argentina: Without Hypocrisy, Global Ties Would Be Chaos

Kayhan, Iran: WikiLeaks Release a 'U.S. Plot to Sow Discord'

El Universal, Mexico: WikiLeaks and Mexico's Battle Against Drug Trafficking

Toronto Star, Canada: WikiLeaks Dump Reveals Seamy Side of Diplomacy

Guardian, U.K.: WikiLeaks Cables, Day 3: Summary of Today's Key Points

Guardian, U.K.: Leaked Cables Reveal China is 'Ready to Abandon' North Korea

Hurriyet, Turkey: American Cables Prove Turkish Claims on Missile Defense False

The Nation, Pakistan: WikiLeaks: An Invaluable Exposure of American Hypocrisy

Kayhan, Iran: WikiLeaks Revelations a 'U.S. Intelligence Operation': Ahmadinejad

Novosti, Russia: 'Russia Will be Guided by Actions, Not Leaked Secrets'

Guardian, U.K.: Job of Media is Not to Protect Powerful from Embarrassment

ANSA, Italy: WikiLeaks: 'No Wild Parties' Says Berlusconi

 

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[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US December 9, 3:59pm]

 







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