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From: SL
Date: 09 May 1999
Time: 23:46:08
Remote Name: 209.79.169.164
Remote User:
I don't believe you can eliminate the Israeli/Syrian presence from Lebanon by engaging in fruitless emotional outbursts, personal attacks on the Israelis and the Syrians, and calling people various names. This tendency to personalize the issues in highly emotional terms only means that you are not serious about eliminating all foreign presence from Lebanon. If we are serious about Lebanon's sovereignty, we need to have a consensus that the Israeli occupation of southern lebanon is Lebanon's first priority; secondly, we need a tactical alliance with Syria in eliminating Israel's presence; thirdly, once Israel is out of Lebanon, the Lebanese government should demand the redeployment of Syrian troops to the international borders; fourthly, we should have normal relations with Syria, including the exchange of ambassadors, and a mutual recognition of each nation's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In my opinion, the above analysis represents an idealistic scenario on how to achieve our objective of eliminating Lebanon from all foreign troops. In reality, the outcome of such withdrawals will only take place in the context of an overall settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict; I do not see any isolated withdrawals by either the Israelis or the Syrians barring any such comprehensive settlement.
Finally, I hope the participants will take seriously the ssnp's condition for participation in this forum, by engaging in a constructive debate instead of name calling and finger pointing.