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"Lebanon Pro-Syria PM to Stay: Parliament Speaker," Reuters, 1 April 2005, http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=633013 (from Roth Report).

After quitting, and coming back, and promising to quit again, Flip Flop Prime Minister Omar Karami is now vowing to stay on:

Lebanon's pro-Syrian prime minister will not step down and will try again to form a unity government to lead the country to elections due in May, the country's parliament speaker said on Friday.

"Those meeting have unanimously declared their refusal to give up on their demand for a government of national unity lead by Prime Minister Omar Karami," Nabih Berri told reporters after a meeting of pro-Syrian politicians.

In a move that threatened to delay the polls, Karami had said this week he would resign after failing to persuade anti-Syrian opposition figures to join a national unity cabinet.

Omar Karami? More like Prime Minister Senator John F. Karami.

"Lebanese PM to quit today," Times of Oman, 30 March 2005, http://www.timesofoman.com/newsdetails.asp?newsid=13276.

The Prime Minister of Lebanon is resigning today.

Lebanese Prime Minister Omar Karameh yesterday said he would stand down today after failing to form a national unity government, a decision likely to plunge the country into further political turmoil.
Karameh has been operating on a caretaker basis since resigning on February 28 in the face of protests sparked by the assassination of five-time premier Rafiq Hariri in a bomb blast.

..

Opposition spokesman Samir Frangieh welcomed the news and called for the swift formation of a “neutral” interim government composed of people “who enjoy public confidence” to see the country through to parliamentary elections due by the end of May.

If this sounds familiar... it is because it already happened



Hopefully this is a sign of clear progress. No word on new freedom chicks, so Marchand's link to Publius's old gallery will have to do for now.

Update: Jawa links to Debka. This is incredible. If true, it is still unbelievable.

DEBKAfile exclusive military sources report complete collapse of pro-Syrian political and intelligence structure in Lebanon and abrupt withdrawal of all Syrian commands including key figure military intelligence chief General Ghazaleh.

Lebanese secret service chief Gen. Raymond Azar has fled to Paris. Internal Security Forces head Gen. Ali al-Hajj about to quit.

New York Times has more coverage. Perhaps the Prime Minister will delay his resignation. But more important: there's an evil thug named Raymond? Raymond?!?

One of the most notable aspects of the Lebanese protests is the expressiveness of Lebanese women. Not only are these women attractive (hence the title of this post), they choose joy over tradition. Now, there is nothing wrong with either modesty nor flirtatiousness. Either is wrong only when it is enforced through the barrel of a gun, as in Saudi Arabia or France.

As blogged earlier, there's galleries of these chicks. Not even counting our Dominatrix Secretary of State, Bush is our greatest President, ever.

But would he be foolish enough to make a cop-drama starring Iyad Allawi and Ahmed Chalabi? Only time will tell.

"Roundup: Beirut awash with unprecedented anti-Syrian protests," Xinhua, 14 March 2005, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/14/content_2697719.htm.

Another day, another huge peaceful protest in Lebanon

Exactly one month after former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri was assassinated in a massive bombing attack, central Beirut was again awash with unprecedented anti-Syrian emotions.

Hundreds of thousands of people, Sunni, Maronite Christian and Druze alike, gathered in Martyrs Square in the capital center, brandishing red, white, green Lebanese flags and chanting anti-Syrian slogans.

"Syria Out!" and "Sovereignty, freedom, independence!" were heard echoing above the Mediterranean city and Hariri's posters seen waving in people's hands.

Angry Lebanese demanded an international investigation into Hariri's killing and a complete and swift Syrian pullout of its troops and intelligence forces, after a nearly 30-year military presence in its tiny neighbor.

Apart from the vast sea of opposition protesters in the square, steady flows of people could be seen pouring from all corners of the city, and all kinds of vehicles were bringing in large influx of people from across the country.

Estimates of the number of protesters varied from 1 million to 300,000.

It's a wonderful ride. The government resigns, hot babes protest, peaceful "terrorists" protest, now another peaceful protest.

I love Baghdad Rules.

Update NRO says one million two-hundred thousand

It is because of President Bush's destabilizing of the middle east that we see the current outpouring of youth and life from Lebanon.

He deserves our thanks and praise.

Update: One Free Korea links to further examples (twice!). Omar at Iraq the Model adds his thoughts, as well.

"Hezbollah Radio Advert," by Bryn Jones, Hamas Cinema Gaza Strip, http://pretentious.net/Muslimgauze/releases/hamas-cinema.htm, 7 February 2002.


Hoping that I have not yet bored all with posts on Bryn Jones, a/k/a Muslimgauze...

Muslimgauze's overt geopolitics and use of speech samples make his music completely unique. Also new under the sun is the incredible news out of Egypt and Lebanon. Multiparty elections in one, a popular protest forcing a government's resignation in the other. I couldn't help but listen to one song...

We are here. We will continue to be here. The first, this city, the first, the first, this is very important, this is the first Arab capital which the Israelis people are blockading.

We create a new people. Instead of being refugees subjects we to be fighters protesters. This very important. We were refugees subjects. Harmless. We became now fighters protesters. Freedom fighters protesters. The next stage...

Lebanese opposition demands 'independence uprising'," China Daily, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-02/19/content_417640.htm, 19 February 2005.

Not sure what to make of this, so without comment. Certainly hopeful, though.

ebanese opposition figures urged Lebanese to join what they called an independence uprising against Syria's grip on Lebanon on Friday, escalating a war of words after former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri's assassination.

Hariri's killing in Beirut on Monday sparked anti-Syrian fury among many Lebanese and renewed world pressure on Damascus to loosen its political grip and remove its troops from Lebanon.

The United States, which this week recalled its ambassador from Damascus in reaction to the bombing, warned Syria it must help investigate the assassination or face the possibility of further sanctions.

Lebanese Tourism Minister Farid al-Khazen resigned in another sign of the country's political turbulence, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad named his brother-in-law, Major-General Asef Shawkat, as head of military intelligence to replace retiring Major-General Hassan Khalil.

Khazen, a Maronite Christian, became the first minister to quit because of the assassination and said he had done so because the Syrian-backed government was unable to "remedy the dangerous situation in the country."

"There is no substitute for national dialogue on the basis of the Taif agreement," he said, referring to the deal that ended a 1975-1990 civil war and committed Syria to moving the troops it keeps in Lebanon to the eastern Bekaa Valley.

Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and figures from the disparate opposition movement blamed the government and its Syrian backers for Hariri's death and called for its resignation.

They urged Lebanese to back a peaceful "independence uprising" -- the first time they had used the term. It was not immediately clear what form of protest the uprising would take.