tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-315462272024-03-07T01:06:36.680-08:00Integral Politics in the Middle EastElza S. MaaloufI strongly believe that meaningful change in the Muslim world and the Middle East will take hold when Pragmatists — and not just moderates — are chosen to lead. In a predominantly tribal world Pragmatists can lead, moderates just follow. My work is based on the principles and processes of Large Scale Psychology that design the emergence of healthy cultures.Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-90498631377872846032011-03-29T23:15:00.000-07:002011-03-30T05:08:02.344-07:00Syrians Break the Barrier of Fear: Is Assad Capable of Enacting Major Change?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLlgrwSgowyYDrKjHwcf1qDqJ7_n2oqyG0UnhvulHwYN4uL8oZc_yVKrKIGEH1zNltvzziJJAo4qYBYLte982WpPbarBK8XjQvjm7KvQS9oXf1ZoG47s2N0aISNn4iX1bjHDk/s1600/4s+syr5a+059.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLlgrwSgowyYDrKjHwcf1qDqJ7_n2oqyG0UnhvulHwYN4uL8oZc_yVKrKIGEH1zNltvzziJJAo4qYBYLte982WpPbarBK8XjQvjm7KvQS9oXf1ZoG47s2N0aISNn4iX1bjHDk/s320/4s+syr5a+059.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589754696575639394" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" id="internal-source-marker_0.8690874086981534" > “May you rise with the sun to a new Coup D’etat”. This was a common greeting he</span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" id="internal-source-marker_0.8690874086981534" >ard on the streets of Damascus during the 1950’s and 60’s. Although politically satirical, this phrase symbolized the frailty of institutions of a fledgling Syrian republic before Hafez Assad became President. Forty years on and the Assad family like no other in the region is poised to leave its indelible mark on a power base that stretches from Iran to the East and Gaza and Lebanon to the West. Today Assad the son under pressure from the uprising in many cities in Syria announced the lifting o</span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" id="internal-source-marker_0.8690874086981534" >f emergency laws that have been in place since 1962. Will he be successful in implementing the changes needed before it's too late? Syrians who lived in paralyzing fear for more th</span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" id="internal-source-marker_0.8690874086981534" >an four decades might have reached the point of no return.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >On a recent visit to Syria while working on an EU project, I met with the now ousted governor of Daraa, Faisal Koulthum who was a high ranking official in the Baath Party. A professor with two PhD degrees from the West, Koulthoum represented the promise of the new leadership under Bashar Assad. I wondered wh</span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >y such an important Baath party figure so close to the president could be appointed to a remote area like Daraa? I suspect now that Assad wanted a loyal ally with a common vision for reform to lead that region. Obviously the problems were beyond poverty in a drought-stri</span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >cken region, it was more of a political power struggle for leadership between the Old Guard of Assad the father and the educated class of the son.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >The uprising that started in the impoverished city of Daraa on March 20th unexpectedly crept into the psyche of freedom loving Syrians all throughout the country and has the potential of toppling the regime and tipping the delicate balance of power from Iran to Israel. Political observers in the West who might have been skeptical of whether real change will come to the whole region, held their collective breath until Syrian youths took to the streets of this drought stricken farming Governate of Daraa. World Leaders who have been very vocal about Libya and Egypt have been unusually silent about Syria. What does the political world know about Syria that the rest of us don’t know? Would a strong condemnation from the West and the Arab League trigger the awakening of the powerful Shia </span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >Crescent --Iran, Syria and Hezbollah -- and would such an awakening trigger a region-wide conflict? </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >Syria is one of four major </span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >sphere-of-influence</span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" > nations in the Arab world. Morocco, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are the other regional powers to which Arab masses gravitate. All the remaining Arab countries are considered </span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >client- nations</span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" > according to Soheil Kash, author of </span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >In The Beginning was the Objection: An Introduction to Arab political thought. </span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >These four power centers were the ones who manipulated the Arab street and influenced Western interference in the region. Now, it is these four power poles the are leading change in the Arab World. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia announced $40 Billion of economic stimulus to quell any potential uprising. King Muhammad VI of Morocco responded to the demonstrations with a timetable for constitutional reforms. In Egypt the political tug of war between the military establishment and the reformists which include the Muslim Brotherhood leave the country with an uncertain political future. In the last week the wind of change has broken down the door to Syria. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >“Our political evolution will be different” tells me an aid to the Governor of Daraa. “ Hafez Assad brought stability to Syria by oppressing the people and enriching the Baath Leadership. The son is trying his hand in reform with</span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >out the political and military clout that his father had.”</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >Syria’s regional dominance started when Assad the father came into power in 1970 through a bloodless coup and after the death of Jamal Abdel Nasser the most charismatic politician in modern day Middle East. Assad immediately aligned himself with the Russians to reach strategic parity with Israel which was an ally of the other superpower, the US. His initial ambition had the potential to develop Syria politically and economically, but as things evolved he failed to deliver on his promises. This failure steered much internal unrest but the shell of social secularism he created kept the Alawite minority in top positions of the Baath party. The military became the sole tool that Assad used to make his local and regional presence known from crushing the uprising in Hama to the meddling in Lebanon’s civil war and helping Iran cement Hizbollah’s role as the front line resistance against Israel. These policies stayed in place until Bashar Assad came to power in June 2000. The son was hailed as the reformer, but was unable to break the barriers to the network of</span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" > high corruption and the economic monopolies that his father’s inner circle had created. Bashar coundn’t even deliver on his promise to eliminate the notorious Mazze jail -- the thought of which still sends shivers down the spine of every Syrian and Lebanese political descendant. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >Mohammad, a Syrian archaeologist working on the restoration of one of the most preserved Roman coliseum outside Italy was very outspoken about the current regime. We met when I was in Daraa working on a development project with the EU. Mohammad caught the freedom bug while studying in Italy and he frequently joked about the number of times the Syrian Mukhabarat (secret service) picked him up and hauled him to jail in the middle of the night only to be let go a few days later after his mother begged local authorities for his release. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >Criticizing the regime was off limits. Even though Bashar Assad set out to be more progressive than his father, he had to adjust</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-n3AZy7NrnT6_4FapcHtP7UjkqfHmbXhSYdYN1hB42gGCtI2a9GHDsG5EUFSktPdqIJmwoV0JITJOzMBxV023eFedXxK3LhQC86hvzkEZ0045d8Qjr2vU-SOMIljAnci4Zku6/s1600/4s+syr5a+049.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-n3AZy7NrnT6_4FapcHtP7UjkqfHmbXhSYdYN1hB42gGCtI2a9GHDsG5EUFSktPdqIJmwoV0JITJOzMBxV023eFedXxK3LhQC86hvzkEZ0045d8Qjr2vU-SOMIljAnci4Zku6/s320/4s+syr5a+049.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589753887574357266" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" > his vision to how much he can do in light of the opposition from the old guard. Many Syrians I met praised him and his educated wife Asma for their approach on Syria’s transition to modernity. Bashar implemented mandatory education for all young people, brought computers to schools and community centers, renovated libraries and more recently opened up the banking system and started the first stock exchange in Syria. While all these changes were happening, they were not met by corresponding inclusion of opposition parties and political reforms that would enable their long-term viability. During a recent interview with al-Arabiya TV network a high ranking supporter of Assad’s reforms was pressed by the interviewer about the lack of progress on the reforms that were promised by the President. When he was pushed to change his standard answer, the truth about what was preventing real change from taking place came out of his mouth in a barrage of repetitive phrases “it is the Old Guard...its the Old Guard..” </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >Based on my past work in Syria and the study of its value-systems, religions, power structures, and the dynamics of polarity, the chances of the country falling into a sectarian civil war are high. The most pressing issue is the possible defection of powerful Sunni generals who now have orders to shoot at their Sunni brothers.Should this happen the Alawite high command of the Syrian Army could seek the help of Iran and Hezbollah turning an internal conflict into a regional one. In such complex situation the fall of the regime in Syria has far reaching ramifications between the Sunni and Shia crescent and the potential of tipping the balance of power in the region. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >In this still unfolding dynamic two scenarios could emerge: the first one would call on Assad to prove worthy of leading his people by immediately curtailing the power of the old guard in any way possible; introduce a specific timetable for reforms and lift emergency laws that have been in effect for 48 years. In this scenario Assad would need to bring the opposition leaders in Syria and abroad to the table, and establish structures and milestones to be achieved by a Syria-specific formula for power sharing. The second scenario, sees the failure of Assad to embark on real reforms where the old guard continues their monopoly over the country’s institutions and economy leading to a prolonged civil war with rippling effects in the region. This will play well into the hands of the Iranian regime that has been pumping billions into Syria. Iran will not sit quietly watching its investment into the Shia crescent go to waste.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >The Western world's reluctance to interfere in the affairs of Syria might be well justified right now. However, the US and its allies have to have a systemic strategy that can meet the different scenarios and outcomes of the Syrian uprising.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >While in Bosra Al-Sham a village on the outskirts of Daraa, I met many promising high school girls who had a good understanding of what their generation needs to do to help build Syrian society. Learning English was on the top of their list tells me Dalia a young woman who teaches at the girl’s school where most courses are taught in Arabic. Growing up in such a poor region learning English is a ticket out of poverty as it will provide a tool to communicate with tourists and to connect with the world on the Internet. Throughout my travels in Syria, I did not meet a young Syrian who does not exhibit a sense of nationalistic pride.In spite of the political conflicts that seem to hover as a dark cloud over their ambitious minds, they still keep their resolve to build Syria to a 21st century standard.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >Tomorrow, Bashar Assad will speak to Syrians, in what his spokesperson called “A very important speech.” How important would this speech be to the heroic Syrian activists who risked their lives --many of them were jailed for several years-- to afford their fellow Syrians freedom of speech, the right to have an attorney defend you before they throw in jail, and the right to have descent jobs. What kind of vision Assad will present to the nation to move it to the 21st century, and what is his time line to implement reform and awaken the capacities that are waiting to burst in young Syrians?</span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;font-family:Arial;font-size:11pt;" ></span>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-15940854876332820072011-03-27T12:40:00.000-07:002017-09-28T09:28:27.083-07:00Arab-Style Democracy: The Answer to the Post Dictatorship Era<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">This article appeared first in the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elza-s-maalouf/arabstyle-democracy-the-a_b_833093.html">Huffington Post</a> on March 8,2011</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">When the twenty-six year old college graduate, Mohammed Bouazizi, set himself on fire in Tunis, he sparked a revolution that was more than 40 years in the making. Sadly, he did not live to see the change. “Revolutions do not cause change they confirm the change which has already happened,” wrote Dr. Don Beck, a complex systems strategist. Typically, this happens more to societies, which are already changing, as the raised expectations put pressure on existing leaders and structures, like the geologic tectonic shifts that will rise to the surface as earthquakes.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">As a once second generation Arab Nationalist who now works on emergence and geopolitical reform in Arab cultures, I have longed for this day to come. Since the end of colonial rule we in the Middle East have taken several shots at defining ourselves and our nations. We haphazardly embraced Marxism and Socialism, copying ideas that did not fit our cultural values. My generation believed that the roadmap to democracy in our region should not come from bloodshed but rather from building capacities in Arab people and institutions in the culture. Unfortunately, our political --clannish leaders who were embroiled in the history of the region were not interested in making our vision a reality. We were defeated. Our aspirations were crushed as we left our homeland in droves se</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">eking opportunities in other parts of the world. For those who couldn't leave they watched </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">the oppression fester for years as it took the lives and the freedom of hundreds of thousands of people.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">For the Arab world, this is just the beginning. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">To help shape the newly liberated Middle East, we must look at what type of institutions must be created to harness the dreams of the people demonstrating on the streets and co-design for their emergence. Unfortunately, because of the effects of past repression and the historic absence of democratic institutions, the Arab street lacks the depth of political maturity required to create a full picture of democracy with viable and sustainable institutions. The Arab street never had effective leaders who concerned themselves with building the foundations for democracy. From Nasser to Assad to Saddam Hussein, leadership in the last fifty years in the region has lacked vision and capacities. It has too often relied on the rhetoric of empty promises. These men were leading as paternal leaders with impassioned speeches rather than pragmatists with a developmental road map for their countries. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">This revolution is one that is toppling the old patriarchy and has little chance of succ</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTs_rZk6R8rgtj9e-5H0Xy5yxXOm843_9ha15AEZUlfIuNYXAK5FjCK8RvdLp_woOq3742ymDign991cS-e0tXJpRVcC86bl-Z9cEPOkOal8WRahyphenhypheniWsrsmASmBtfJAQQwA1dT/s1600/Fatah21-08+056.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588849658699881234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTs_rZk6R8rgtj9e-5H0Xy5yxXOm843_9ha15AEZUlfIuNYXAK5FjCK8RvdLp_woOq3742ymDign991cS-e0tXJpRVcC86bl-Z9cEPOkOal8WRahyphenhypheniWsrsmASmBtfJAQQwA1dT/s320/Fatah21-08+056.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 240px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">eeding if women are not given a voice as an equal partner in society. “Arab women will no doubt change the world” tells me Dr. Jean Houston, one of the founders of the Human Potential Movement who consults with the UN and advises on our projects in the Middle East.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">It has been my experience through num</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">erous projects I start in the Arab world that women emerge as natural leaders in these projects, their community and beyond. They are the power that is moving the Arab world forward, and are creating their own version of feminism that does not look anything like the Western feminist revolution. Theirs is one that empowers their daughters to get the best education and gain the autonomy needed to be a true partner in Nation building. In doing so they have been fostering and practicing their own brand of Arab and Islamic feminism that fits the value-systems within their cultures. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Dr. Suleiman, a charismatic woman in her 40s, is the former psychologist of the Dubai Police Department who acquiesces women’s role in Arab culture: “We now have two generations of women who obtained advanced degrees from Western countries and came back home and yet we’re still veiled by society and not by the veils on our heads. We are working to change this unhealthy attitude towards women, and will not rest till our daughters have the same rights and social standing that our sons.” Demanding equal rights for women has to be an integral component of the new Arab identity that is being shaped, and must be recognized under the law and enforced by authorities. Adding this evolutionary piece will serve as the catalyst for this monumental change. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">With such an explosion of repressed potential, how can the Arab world prepare for true democracy? What will be the ideal form of governing that works for the Middle East? And how can we in the First World understand and support the emergence of Arab-Style Democracies?</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">The crucial insight here is that one style of democracy does not fit all. The Myth that Western democracy, if given the chance, can spread throughout the Middle East has proven to be a false doctrine. We need not look further than the Western coalition’s experience in Iraq and Afghanistan to recognize the failure of this thinking. Tom Barnett in his book <i>The Pentagon’s New Map</i> states that Arab-style democracies will resemble more those of India, Malaysia or Singapore rather than Western Europe or the US.<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Ayman, a young Egyptian national who holds a business degree looks and sounds much like the protesters in Tahrir Square. He says that there has to be a system for the older people to retire with a pension that honors their past contribution. This will be the only way for the younger educated generation to have careers and participate in the socio-political development of their country. He is one of millions of Egyptians who couldn’t find work</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"> in Egypt and settled for being a waiter at a Kuwaiti restaurant. We’ve seen many intelligent men and woman like him demonstrating in Tunisia, Bahrain and Libya who are well aware of the processes and the themes of democracy but lacked the comprehensive view of what it takes to build a viable nation.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Maysa, a Gen Y activist for Palestinian women in the West Bank reiterates the view about Arab patriarchy providing her pragmatic solution “to the Palestinian people, Arafat was the father figure. To the Arab street, Nasser was the father. But, now it’s time to move on. We must build civil and government institutions that lead to nation building.” From where will the determination and leadership emerge to accomplish this monumental task? Would a benevolent autocrat provide that interim role that will support the establishment of structures and systems that will lay down the foundation for this Arab-styl</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">e democracy? </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">“The pathway from tribalism to democracy has to pass through autocracy” wrote professor Clare W. Graves, founder of psychology at the large scale. In these tumultuous times can the intelligence of the masses elect a benevolent autocratic leader without him becoming another Qaddafi or Mubarak? A benevolent autocrat is someone who recognizes the frailty of the infant stages of democracy and has the best interest of his/her people in mind and has their respect. Someone who has the power to quell the disruption caused by zealots and extremists, while promoting robust institutions and development prone societies. This is where the West has to rise up to the challenge and balance its interests with those of the Arab street. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">If the West aggressively focuses on creating innovations in green technologies, then the Middle East will be relieved of an exploitative economic relationship and left with no choice but to focus on developing its most underutilized resource and that is women and GenY. This has to be coupled simultaneously with a layered and culturally fit development program that addresses the most nagging issues in the Middle East. In a town hall meeting with young Fatah leaders in Bethlehem, I asked the audience to come up with a future vision for Palestine and the Arab world. In compelling Arab emotional outburst, they all said they want to have world class hospitals and universities where Westerners choose to come. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Democracy Arab-style is one where everyone is equal under the law-- women, men and children regardless of their riches or political or tribal affiliations. This has to spread and be enforced at a systemic level. New governments along with the private sector have to embark on robust and fully integrated development programs that go beyond the reach of a typical World Bank strategy. These programs cannot stop at ad-hoc projects that build the infrastructure of highways, power and sewer systems without building the supporting societal and civil structures that can sustain nations. Since religions plays a crucial role in the Middle Eastern identity, religious institutions have to be regulated to preach tolerance and supported, as they play a vital role in society. Schools have to become institutions that build autonomous individuals not followers of clan leaders. This should happen in quality public schools that are available to the masses. Financial pressure on parents has to be alleviated by creating good paying jobs that fit their capacities. This list is merely the beginning of the changes that are needed to establish the new Arab nationalism within the unique boundaries of each Arab nation. The Arab league has to come out of the shadow of dictators and become a functional body that includes a trade organization to benefit the region’s human and natural resources.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">The values of the industrial age are just emerging in the Middle East under the umbrella of the age of technology and knowledge. Arab cultures have no choice but to advance in this global world, this has to be a systemic, holistic approach that will ensure the future of Arab Gen Y and stop the brain drain from the region. This is the time where the Arab intelligence can empower individuality, a quality that has long been the catalyst that helped the developed world thrive.</span><span style="font-family: "; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
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<img align="left" height="137" hspace="9" src="file:///Users/elzamaalouf/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_image002.png" width="101" /><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Elza S. Maalouf</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> is an Lebanese-American futurist and cultural development specialist focusing her work on cultural and political reform in the Arab world. She is the President of the Center for Human Emergence Middle East a think tank that emphasizes the scientific understanding of cultures. </span><a href="http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> One of foremost experts on the Memetics of the region, Elza is the co-founder of the Build Palestine Initiative a movement that started in 2005 and calls on Palestinians to build capacities, institutions and infrastructure through the framework of Natural Design ©. She has worked extensively with women and girls in Syria, Palestine, Kuwait and many parts of the Arab world to help them realize their fullest potential and become agents for change in the region. She can be reached at emaalouf@CHE-Mideast.org</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
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Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-49204595144057418882010-09-14T21:56:00.000-07:002010-09-15T09:50:23.040-07:00Breaking the Cycle of Failed Peace Negotiations<span style="font-size:100%;">Tuesday, September 14, 2010<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Breaking the Cycle of Failed Negotiations</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" > This post was initially intended to be on the Build Palestine Initiative blog of our sister website for the</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <a href="http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/">Center for Emergence Middle </a><a href="http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/">East </a><br /><br /></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> 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mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in; font-style: italic;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >We are experiencing technical difficulties with the blog section on the website, but wanted to inform followers of our work of this important upcoming event.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >For many reasons US Middle East policy has failed to make lasting peace a reality. Early on in his administration, President Obama sent a message to the world that things will be different. By granting his first media interview to Al-Arabia Network based in Dubai and delivering a powerful speech in Cairo to the Muslim world he set the tone for things to be different. But, how much beneath the tactical surface would policy makers need to go in order to achieve a different, sustainable outcome. At the Washington summit this past August with President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu, Secretary Clinton and President Obama set a one year deadline for both parties to come up with a workable peace treaty. 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mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >These are questions that Dr. Don Beck, Said Dawlabani and I will be discussing during Peace Week this coming Wednesday September 15, at 5:00 PM (PST)</span><span style="font-size:100%;">. <a href="http://peaceweek.info/feature/Elza-Maalouf">Click here for details and to sign up.</a><br /><br /></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> 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style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <ol><li><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" > Are the two parties ready to step fully into these negotiations, or is this Washington's own timing leading to mid-term elections? </span></li><li><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" > It is true that Prime Minister Fayyad is doing a good job with making sure that Palestinian security forces in the West Bank are well trained, but is that enough for Israel to pull back its 10,000 troops? </span></li><li><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >With all right wing opposition in Israel opposing the settlement freeze, can the Palestinians trust that Israel has good intentions at the table? </span></li><li><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" > Most importantly, are all parties, including the US, looking at these negotiations from a Natural Design perspective? 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{mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >The truth is, whoever is at the negotiations table does not represent the full spectrum of value-systems and mindsets of their respective cultures. Why isn't there a bottom-up referendum on the future of their respective countries? Who's really addressing what the moderates in both countries are looking for? This is something that the Center for Human Emergence Middle East has been deeply involved in for the last five years. We have uncovered and informed, through our field-tested framework, the thinking of over 200,000 in Palestine who are of the mindset that in order for negotiations to be successful and have collective support, the negotiators must be informed by real-time data from the trenches of the culture.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Below is a reposting from a year ago of our call for a "Design Conference" and not a "Peace Conference". Not much has changed in calling for the building blocks that form the foundation for a lasting peace.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-size:100%;"><img src="http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/images/Israel-Palestine-Map-big.gif" alt="Israel Palestine Regional Map" style="margin-left: 10px;" width="300" align="right" height="225" /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><h2><span style="font-weight: bold; text-transform: uppercase; color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >Design Conference</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> for Palestine/Israel<br />To Break the Cycle of Failed "Peace Negotiations"</span></h2><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> 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<w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Cambria","serif";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is a collision of “tectonic plates” — deep values system codes — that have created a logjam. It is this underlying logjam that generates continual surface-level blockages that erupt in conflict. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >We propose a problem-solving methodology with the power, precision, and complexity to create a scaffold for human groupings to construct the unique economic and political structures that support the healthy evolution of those groupings.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >We need to see the patterns as through a prism — where all the various colors of worldviews are made visible, each with a different “tint” on the world. The goal is to understand the needs of all the mind-sets, so as to begin to craft “full-spectrum” solutions which are fundamentally different from those that a single perspective would offer. This would:</span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Develop the capacity to uncover the deeper dynamics within each society, as well as between societies. </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Craft decisions and measure priorities not against the past, nor based on who is responsible for what. </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Avoid the typical problem resolution systems such as majority rule, rule by the elite or by the wealthy, or rule by the so-called experts, or those that have military strength.</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Defuse the ideologies that produce “us vs. them”.</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Avoid raising expectations which can be faulted.</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Focus on who the people are who live in the region and what their resources are.</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Design a strategy to mesh people, geography, and resources together into a workable solution for all who live in that region.</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Draw upon all of the solutions which are currently available (as well as many that haven’t been thought of yet) to create a scaffolding of solutions for the whole region.</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Generate solutions that involve the whole region: Israel, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, and the other players who have influence in the conflict.</span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >"The issue is less about democracy, rather the question is to design the best structures for meeting the needs of the people as they develop through the stages that are most natural to them; open, adaptive systems appropriate to their life conditions."</span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span> <p><br /></p>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-30381226042532369872009-11-30T11:37:00.000-08:002009-12-01T22:38:23.822-08:00Emerging Patterns in the Middle East-Published in Integral Leadership ReviewA previously posted blog was expanded into an article published in<a href="http://integralleadershipreview.com/archives/2009-10/2009-10-11-article-maalouf.php"> Integral Leadership Review</a>, the leading publication in the new field of Integral studies.<br /><br />This article is an attempt to provide an analysis of patterns of dissonance, societal downshifts and emergence in the Middle East, with a focus on Lebanon and Iran. <a href="http://integralleadershipreview.com/archives/2009-10/2009-10-11-article-maalouf.php">http://integralleadershipreview.com/archives/2009-10/2009-10-11-article-maalouf.php</a><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /><br />Emerging Patterns in the Middle East: The Thirty Year Itch for Lebanon and Iran</span><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Elza S. Maalouf</p> <p class="MsoNormal">My first year of Law School in Lebanon, was a year to remember. I recall the heated political discussions I had with Shia students and professors alike over many long hours ranging from discussing the merits of Marxism to laws on women’s rights in Lebanon and the role religion plays in law. These same students who I played tennis with would return the following year with the trademark Islamist beard and buttoned-up white shirt and refused to shake my hand or establish any eye contact. It was in that academic setting that I witnessed the birth of the Hezbollah movement created and financed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. This new generation of educated Shia was empowered by Khomieni’s Islamic revolution and the hope of shaping Lebanon’s national identity into a “just” model of an Islamic Emirate. Many years have passed since and the model for both countries is now going through unprecedented challenges.</p> <p style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" class="MsoNormal">The Search For National Identity</p> <p class="MsoNormal">On March 14th, 2005 one million Lebanese citizens gathered in Beirut’s Martyr Square, the symbol of Lebanon's 1943 Independence from France. They were protesting against the presence of Syrian forces in Lebanon. The Cedar Revolution, as it was called, ended the 30 year Syrian occupation of Lebanon which started in 1975 when Syrian Forces entered Lebanon as peacekeepers to protect the Christians and crush the Palestinian dominance in Beirut. Two years later, the Syrians managed to reignite the sectarian civil war by siding with the Palestinians when it served their regional interests then turned around and bombed them again when they felt they were out of control. In the absence of strong Lebanese leaders, the Syrians dominated every aspect of Lebanese life for 30 years. The one million Lebanese of the March 14th Cedar Rebellion were not only rejecting the Syrian occupation of their country, but also one of the worst economic conditions in the Middle East, which was brought about by one of the highest levels of corruption in the world. This was orchestrated by Lebanese power lords under the protection of their masters in Damascus.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">This past June in Iran, one million Iranians gathered in Tehran’s Freedom Square to protest the 'sham' elections and demand their voices be heard. "Tehran Rising" is happening 30 years after Ayatollah Khomeini and a number of visionary young leaders who rejected the Shah’s elitist rule in 1979 and established the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mir Ali Mousavi had a role to play in that revolution, and a bloody one at that. His supporters, more so than Mousavi himself, currently are not fighting the principles of the revolution; they are fighting the collapse of Iran’s economy, corruption, and incompetency in government.</p> <p style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" class="MsoNormal">Memetic Side View of Both Cultures</p> <p class="MsoNormal">As I looked, through my developmental lenses, at both events and the cultures that produced them, the patterns of emergence that are unique to that part of the world in the 21st century were becoming clear. Beirut, Tehran, Baghdad, Kabul, and Cairo were some of the most progressive capital cities in the region at the dawn of the 20th Century. Those cities were compared to Paris in culture, modernity and uniqueness. However, such notions of freedom and progress were almost exclusive to the capital cities, and rarely spread to the rest of the country. Inhabitants of these capitals had access to Western education and progressive schools of thought while their compatriots lagged behind in the darkness of tribal norms and feudal dominance. A split cultural personality, we may say. That tension between modernity centered in the capitals. The strong hold of tribalism, poverty and illiteracy in the rest of the country created a large gap that eventually ended up being the primary cause of each culture's downshift.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In Clare W. Graves “Emergent Cyclic Double-Helix Model of Adult Biopsychosocial Systems" theory that forms the basis for Dr. Beck’s Spiral Dynamics, the Double Helix gives us the key to evolution in cultures—as life conditions change, biopsychosocial systems within people and cultures have the potential to change to find solutions to their existential problems. Naturally, when people find solutions to their problems they create new ones, a process Graves elegantly called "the never ending quest." Let's explore the particular case study of Lebanon and Iran.</p> <p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" class="MsoNormal">THE PATTERNS:<br /> </p> <blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">1. Asymmetry within the Culture:</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>Tehran and Beirut became beacons of (closed loop) progress that stayed within the confines of the city, and communicated outward with the Western world. This was a complete disconnect from the rest of the country. Anybody who sought a progressive life moved into the respective cities, rather than having a strong central government with long-term development plans that bring progress to rural areas. That caused a gap in values between what was seen as elite, and the rest of the country.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Skipping Stages of Development:</span> </span>the principles of cultural development are similar to human development. Cultures cannot skip a stage; there are rites of passage that contribute to building cultural capacities similar to human capacities. In this case, in absence of institutions (public and private) that are in charge of designing and implementing long term developmental strategies for the whole country the rural country side would remain set back in time. This phenomenon left a gaping hole that invited extremist ideological groups to take control of neglected areas. Imagine France moving abruptly from monarchy to a capitalistic society ruled by an economic elite without going through the Revolution of "Liberty, Fraternity, Equality" that established the basis for a representative form of government where citizens are equal under the law. A principle that is still missing in the whole Middle East including Israel.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">3. Extremists Brand of Islam became the Answer:</span> Marxist brand of nationalism that was spread by Egypt's Nasser in the 1950s to bridge the gap between the haves and have-nots, was transformed into an Islamist brand of nationalism in both Lebanon and Iran. Khomeini's Islamic revolution gained ground with the disadvantaged in Iran, especially the ambitious young generation that supported the needed change with vengeance. The same happened in Lebanon. Actually, Hezbollah's previous name was The Disadvantaged, "Al Mahroumeen." Young Shia men and women were the disenfranchised majority in Lebanon, neglected by the government and especially by their own Shia oligarchs.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Divided Loyalties:</span> </span>In both countries, while one million people asked to break away from extremist ideology, another million took to the streets in support of the extremists. Contrary to what the West thinks, these are not paid demonstrators. They have shared values and shared interests with the leaders of extremist movements. In part, they wish to preserve their jobs in cultures where there are few jobs and in another they do support the continued search for national identity that’s not defined by Western influence.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">5. Corruption:</span> In Lebanon's case, the Syrian regime transformed a state, already ravaged with corruption and Barteel (primitive form of bribery) into a restriction-free zone for its illegal activities from drug trafficking to money laundering and out-right stealing through their Lebanese agents like Hezbollah and its Sunni and Christian cohorts. In Iran, the promise of an egalitarian Islamic Republic (Marxist style) turned into a repressive and incompetent regime where bureaucrats were replaced by the regime's cronies who lacked the skills needed to perform critical government functions. The regime guaranteed loyal following by supporters by continuing these hiring practices that eventually took hold of most government institutions. As a result, Ahmedinejad was elected by a high percentage of Iranians to counteract the Aytullahs turned oligarchs like Rafsanjani and politicians like Mousavi.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">6. Lack of Opportunities: </span>In a 2007 report UNICEF gave this grim account of Lebanon's dire situation: "Lebanese youth below the age of 25 years, who constitute more than half of the population, suffer from weak integration in the social environment and from the economic crisis. They are faced by unemployment due to lack of jobs, difficulty of getting into the work cycle and difficulty of securing a house or a place to live." The same goes for Iran where more than half of the population is under 25, suffering the wrath of an incompetent government, high unemployment rates and rampant poverty.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">7. The Wisdom of the Crowd Surpassed that of their Leaders: </span>The discontent with the extremists suppression reached critical mass and empowered the reform crowds in both countries to lead their leaders; not the other way around. Mousavi and March 14th leaders became mere symbols of forward progress. They now have to implement the changes dictated by the collective intelligence.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">8. Dissonance:</span> Social tension and unrest is the critical wave through which the evolutionary pulse becomes alive. What is happening now in Iran and still going on behind the scenes in Lebanon is the dissonance needed for emergence to happen. Since the start of the unrest in Iran Ayatollah Khamenei blamed it all on Israeli and American spies, and refuses to surrender to the will of the people. These tactics have proven successful in a region ravaged by internal dysfunction and a distrusting image of Western interference as Ahmadinajad gets sworn in for a second term. In Lebanon, the Hezbollah coalition after being defeated politically is now mobilizing its military, PR and Intelligence machine to keep holding Lebanon hostage. Their propagandist argument is that the Lebanese military is not ready to defend the country against the “Zionist Enemy.”</p> </blockquote> <p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" class="MsoNormal">Conditions for Change</p> <p class="MsoNormal">These patterns have taken 30 years to unfold in Iran and Lebanon. Do I expect that every country in the Middle East will take 30 years to emerge? Of course not. Do I expect immediate change to take hold just because Bush is gone? Of course not. Are we seeing signs of an evolutionary change? Absolutely. Graves-Beck theory sites the following six conditions for change:</p> <p class="MsoNormal">• POTENTIAL in the brain syndicate of the culture</p> <p class="MsoNormal">• SOLUTIONS for problems at present level</p> <p class="MsoNormal">• DISSONANCE about conditions & future</p> <p class="MsoNormal">• BARRIERS to change identified & managed</p> <p class="MsoNormal">• INSIGHT into alternative forms & means</p> <p class="MsoNormal">• CONSOLIDATION & SUPPORT in transition</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Strong aspects of these conditions are present in both cultures. Change will not only affect Lebanon and Iran, but will culminate in a tipping point that will trigger change in the region. Over the decades, many factors influenced the underlying codes that cause change starting in recent history with the Israel/Palestine conflict, dictatorships, Marxism, the Cold War, Western interference, oil and many other factors. To the dismay of many, I have to give George Bush credit for focusing on what he called 'democracy' in the Middle East. Bush’s approach did not have a systemic strategy, but aimed at securing (not controlling) the oil reserve in the region. His hawkish Wild West-style philosophy created more dissonance, which is as I mentioned before is a critical condition for change. The pragmatists in the Middle East snatched the opportunity to distance themselves from the “American enemy” and raise their voices either against him or against their country’s oppressive regimes.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNormal">How the US can Play a Sustainable Role</p> <p class="MsoNormal">As President Obama is now trying to give legitimacy to American interference in the region, he is seen as both, friendly and weak. His speech in Egypt termed historic by Western media, received mixed reviews in the Muslim world. Extremists adopted a wait-and-see attitude while progressives found many good points in his call for mutual respect and promise of no meddling. These same progressive thinking academic and community leaders were also critical of his constant reference to his Muslim background and quoting the Quran when the issues of extremism, poverty and oppression are not only about Islam, but are part and parcel of US support of repressive regimes. The hope speech ran aground in a region facing insurmountable challenges that first world countries can’t even fathom. Millions of Egyptian children on the streets of Cairo go to sleep hungry every night while their leaders continue to squander billions in US aid. The same is repeated throughout the Muslim world with only a few exceptions.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">US policy cannot afford to be hawkish like Bush was on one end or idealistic like the Obama Administration is being on the other. It has to strike a balance—in actions on the ground and not in rhetoric—between pressuring the authoritarian regimes to reform and withholding both financial and military aid. A deeper US commitment will require a shift from the current paradigm of what is best for us to what is best for a globally interwoven world that takes into consideration the Memetic contours and patterns of emergence in the region.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><hr><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Elza S. Maalouf </span>is an Arab-American futurist and cultural development specialist focusing her work on cultural, business and political reform in the Arab world. As one of the foremost futurists and expert in Memetics of the Middle East, Elza was named one of today’s brightest minds. She is co-founder of the Center for Human Emergence Middle East, a think tank that emphasizes the scientific understanding of cultures through the prism of the "bio-psycho-social systems" framework of Clare W. Graves and his colleague and successor Dr. Don Beck. She has pioneered the Integral movement and the application of Spiral Dynamics integral in the Middle East. In her iPolitics blog, Maalouf examines Memetic patterns of emergence in the region and offers analysis of the anatomy of conflicts in the Muslim World.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Her firm<span style="font-style: italic;"> Integral Insights Consulting (IIC)</span> is advising business leaders on uniquely Arab integral design for business in the post-oil era with a focus on their most precious resource, their Gen Y.</p> <!--EndFragment-->Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-85794011708769689122009-07-13T11:46:00.000-07:002009-12-01T22:39:19.473-08:00"A Requiem for the Age of Oil:" Affecting Gen Y & Women in the Muslim WorldIn their series <a href="http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/feature/futurists.asp">"Speaking to Futurists,"</a> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">EnlightenNext</span> asked Ray <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Kurzweil</span>, John Peterson, Patricia <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Aburdene</span>, Joel <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Garreau</span> and myself about <span style="font-style: italic;">" The biggest shift or shifts in the next few years."</span><br /><br />My topic was the Middle East and the Muslim world. Here's a snippet from the interview posted on <a href="http://www.enlightennext.org/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">EnlightenNext</span> </a>website:<br /><blockquote>“We’re entering a requiem for the age of oil,” says Lebanon-born cultural development expert <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Elza</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Maalouf</span>, “one that will no doubt push oil-rich countries to look for other ways to enrich themselves.” <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Maalouf</span>, who heads up the Center for Human Emergence—Middle East, has some cutting-edge ideas about just how these nations might go about doing that.<br /><br />In this interview with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">EnlightenNext</span> senior editor Elizabeth <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Debold</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Maalouf</span> outlines some of the most promising trends she sees emerging across the Muslim world. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Maalouf</span> is not your average <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">international</span> development consultant. A former lawyer and corporate executive with over a decade of experience in depth psychology and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">consciousness</span> studies, her specialty is finding practical, on-the-ground <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">applications</span> for the theoretical framework of cultural evolution known as Spiral Dynamics. She says that the future of the Middle East will be decided by how much these oil-rich nations support the development of their most valuable resource: their own people. Drawing on her work in countries across the region like Syria, Palestine, and Qatar, she explains why she thinks that expanding the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">opportunities</span> for women and the rising generation of young people (the vast majority of the population) is the biggest challenge and opportunity for Muslim countries as they transition into the twenty-first-century, globally connected world.<br /></blockquote><br />You can hear the whole interview <a href="http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/unbound/media.asp?id=268">here...</a><br /><br />During the early days of the Iran <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">GenY</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Internet</span> revolution (June, July 09), Joel <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Pitney</span> quoted my interview on his <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">EnlightenNext</span> blog confirming what I said about Muslim youths read more...<br /><br />Here's my comment on<a href="http://blog.enlightennext.org/?p=1763"> Joel's blog post:<br /></a><br /><blockquote>Dear Joel,<br /><br />Thank you for initiating this timely debate. What is happening in Iran is a clear <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">manifestation</span> of the sea change taking place in the Muslim world which is triggered by countless <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Memetic</span> factors that have converged to add complexity to the ‘habitat’ of the culture. This phenomenon is in turn activating more complexity in the “<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">biospychosocial</span> systems” of that culture. In an era where <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">technological</span> complexity is surpassing brain complexity, emergence of cultures is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">exponentially</span> accelerated. In the case of Iran as you mentioned, Gen Y is maximizing its use of the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Internet</span> and IT, and no longer accepts the Mullah’s narrow definition of worldview. Iranian women are maximizing the use of what I call <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">IMT</span> - Innovations in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Memetic</span> Technology-. These are the skills that read the cultural DNA and provide the appropriate support through culturally-fit solutions.<br />My work for the last 20 years in the Muslim world has been to interpret and document these <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">memetic</span> changes, while working in the field as a business consultant and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">socio</span>-political adviser. This is what allows me to uncover the deeper patterns of emergence rather than just trends and surface changes.<br />When I mentioned a “Requiem for the Age of Oil,” it was a reference to oil being the currency that rarely contributed to the development of human resources in those countries, and only <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">concentrated</span> the wealth in the hands of the few. The data is clear about peak oil, as most OPEC countries are facing higher costs for extracting every additional barrel, and after 9/11 the West woke up to the reality of the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">environmental</span> and national security <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">consequences</span> of its dependency on oil . I am talking here about ‘tipping points’ or phenomena that are <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">accelerating</span> change <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">dramatically</span> while keeping in mind that change in the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">developmental</span> stages of cultures might take decades.<br />The largest producers of oil like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">UAE</span> are now focused on building their <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">infrastructure</span>; from traditional <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">manufacturing</span> in Saudi Arabia to Ivy League type higher education in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">UAE</span>, Qatar and Kuwait. Currently the Persian Gulf is the home of the most ambitious government spending programs to fully develop a full range of industrial capacity with a focus on solar farms and green cities.<br />These measures towards self-reliance will drastically reduce the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">unemployment</span> rates and offer job <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">opportunities</span> to Gen Y and women in specific. These home grown 1st world type conditions will bring equality and educational standards that fit the unique contours of each culture, rather than a Western projection of what equality ‘should’ mean to emerging cultures.<br /><br />Since the brief interview in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">EnlightenNext</span> was subject specific, we <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">couldn</span>’t cover intricate details. You can read my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44">iPolitics</span> blog and a more detailed essay on the patterns of emergence in the Middle East with a comparative study of these patterns <a href="http://elzamaalouf-ipolitics.blogspot.com/2009/06/emerging-patterns-in-middle-east.html">in Iran and Lebanon</a></blockquote>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-22419857472600442802009-06-16T15:48:00.000-07:002009-06-16T22:03:37.283-07:00Obama Should Not Interfere Publicly in Iran's Elections<img src="file:///C:/Users/Elza/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-2.jpg" alt="" />I don't give President Obama high marks on several foreign policy issues, yet when it comes to his tempered response to the 'sham' elections in Iran, I fully support his stance.<br /><br />Even Obama's presidential contender who claims to have more foreign policy expertise got it wrong. In his interview with Gretta Van Susteren, McCain insisted that the president should make a forceful declaration against the disputed results of the Iran presidential elections. In his interview today on NBC he gave more details, <a href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/06/68157675/1">read here</a>.<br /><br />Here's why I disagree with Senator McCain.<br /><br />In the hotspots of the Muslim world, the <span style="font-style: italic;">us vs. them</span> is defined by extremists groups against pro-West groups. Progressives in Iran, Lebanon and Egypt are not seen by extremists as a product of the evolutionary pulse of the culture, rather as agents of the West. Cases in point:<br />When Condi Rice shook hands with the secular progressive Egyptian politician Ayman Nour, who led the Al Ghad party in opposing the dictatorship of President Husni Mubarak, demanding constitutional reform and respect for human rights, he was immediately vilified by the Muslim Brotherhood and considered an American agent. This was a huge set back for the secular reform movement in Egypt and consequently allowed more fundamentalism to spread.<br /><br />Again, when Secretary Rice visited the pro-Western Prime Minister Seniora in Lebanon during Israel's war on Hezbollah in 2006, Hezbollah used this event to cast PM Seniora and the pro-West coalition in the role of Zionist sympathizers. Something that enraged even pro-West Lebanese who were in shelters and came out in support of Hezbollah while their country was under heavy bombardment from Israel. Hence, winning Hezbollah the Arab street support beyond Lebanon's borders that they still enjoy today.<br /><br />For these reasons, and many others we've documented in Palestine, Iraq and elsewhere in the Muslim world, I believe that President Obama is doing the right thing. If he comes out in support of Mousavi and his Green movement, the whole movement will be treated like traitors. This will make the job of Ayatollah Khameini and Ahmedinejad so easy. They will concoct the evidence that Mousavi is an American agent. In addition, there is no doubt that the US is continuing its covert operations in Iran, through NGOs and other means. Why follow it with rehtoric that the Mullahs are anxiously awaiting to take advantage of.<br /><br />These are internal dynamics in Iran that have been percolating for more than 30 years. It is Iranian themselves that deserve credit for this "Tehran Rising." and no one else.<br /><br />This is where we should leave well alone and put the unclenched fist policy of this new administration to the test.<br /><br />What are your thoughts?Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-12769738893880445082009-05-23T13:57:00.000-07:002009-05-23T14:10:09.387-07:00The Wild Card that Could Delegitimize Hezbollah<a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,626412,00.html">Der-Spiegel</a> reported few hours ago that the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigating the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Hariri, believes that Hezbollah is behind this heinous act. We don't know why the tribunal has been keeping this information a secret, especially that this might positively influence the outcome of the June 7 parliamentary elections in Lebanon. In positive I mean that it might tip the scales in favor of the progressives, pro-West candidates and away from extremists.<br /><br /><h2>New Evidence Points to Hezbollah in Hariri Murder</h2> <p class="spAutorenzeile">By Erich Follath</p> <p class="spIntrotext"><strong>The United Nations special tribunal investigating the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri has reached surprising new conclusions -- and it is keeping them secret. According to information obtained by SPIEGEL, investigators now believe Hezbollah was behind the Hariri murder.</strong></p> <script type="text/javascript"> <!-- OAS_RICH('Middle2'); // --> </script> <p>It was an act of virtually Shakespearean dimensions, a family tragedy involving murder and suicide, contrived and real tears -- and a good deal of big-time politics.</p> <p> </p><div class="spArticleImageBox spAssetAlignleft" style="width: 180px;"> <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,grossbild-1531589-626412,00.html"><img src="http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,1531590,00.jpg" alt="The terror attack in Beirut on Valentine's Day, 2005: Intensive investigations in Lebanon are all pointing to Hezbollah and not Syria. " title="The terror attack in Beirut on Valentine's Day, 2005: Intensive investigations in Lebanon are all pointing to Hezbollah and not Syria. " border="0" width="180" height="180" hspace="0" /></a> <div style="background: rgb(246, 246, 246) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; width: 182px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; padding-bottom: 7px;"> <div align="right"><a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,grossbild-1531589-626412,00.html"><img src="http://www.spiegel.de/static/sys/v8/icons/ic_lupe.gif" title="Zoom" alt="Zoom" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; float: right;" align="right" border="0" /></a></div> <div class="spCredit" align="right">REUTERS</div> <p>The terror attack in Beirut on Valentine's Day, 2005: Intensive investigations in Lebanon are all pointing to Hezbollah and not Syria. </p> </div> </div>On February 14, 2005, Valentine's Day, at 12:56 p.m., a massive bomb exploded in front of the Hotel St. Georges in Beirut, just as the motorcade of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri passed by. The explosives ripped a crater two meters deep into the street, and the blast destroyed the local branch of Britain's HSBC Bank. Body parts were hurled as far as the roofs of surrounding buildings. Twenty-three people died in the explosion and ensuing inferno, including Hariri, his bodyguards and passersby...<a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,626412,00.html">Read more</a>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-35714572413563219482009-05-22T10:31:00.000-07:002009-05-22T19:19:26.048-07:00Biden's Lebanon SpeechReinforces the Lack of Foresight in US Foreign Policy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9hHrc6RKWOT2-qAWOdqZKlXe0Ef9aE8gj6_uLrBh8iJ8dandfS7zvqKQIbs4neo7d41DmCPEY7uHU4ZhagJZ0uNm3Eie96Vre9v0vGfpRUx2AOyFE1C87ewwpGIk-cPtXkEKG/s1600-h/biden-leb.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 244px; height: 177px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9hHrc6RKWOT2-qAWOdqZKlXe0Ef9aE8gj6_uLrBh8iJ8dandfS7zvqKQIbs4neo7d41DmCPEY7uHU4ZhagJZ0uNm3Eie96Vre9v0vGfpRUx2AOyFE1C87ewwpGIk-cPtXkEKG/s320/biden-leb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338719551617264466" border="0" /></a>Joe Biden was in Lebanon today following Secretary Clinton's visit to reassure the pro-Western government (March 14 Movement) that the US is their staunch supporter despite the deals the Obama administration is trying to cut with Syria and Iran. The March 14 Movement formed as a reaction to the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the 5 time Prime Minister. It is widely believed in Lebanon and in Sunni Arab countries that Syrian-Iranian intelligence are responsible for Hariri's assassination.<br /><br />The March 14th Movement fears that Obama will cave in to Syria's demands and grant the Syrians back the power they once had in running Lebanese internal affairs. To the Obama administration that's hell-bent on getting things done at neck-breaking speed, the thinking is that this move will accelerate the Arab Israeli peace process, and pry Syria out of Iran's tight grip. Knowing that Lebanon was the pawn thrown to the Syrians by Reagan in the place of the Golan Heights, the Lebanese are weary that Obama now is pursuing the same policy that will bring back the Syrians for another 30 years. Prying Syria from the hands of Iran is not only a far reaching and unattainable goal, but one that cannot be achieve since the West cannot offer Syria what it is getting from Iran: $1 Billion in subsidized Gas, the manufacturing of Syrian made cars and all the financing they need for supporting terrorism in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine. These activities will keep Syria the uncontested power of the Arab world that the West must deal with.The old Western economic incentive to walk away from terrorism model has lost its luster since China is already making better deals and investments in Syria than the US with its current stance.<br /><br />Speaking at the Presidential Palace in Beirut, Biden declared that "We will evaluate the shape of our assistance program based on the composition of the new government and the policies it advocates," a clear message to the Lebanese not to elect the Hezbollah led opposition.<br /><br />Since the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri , (a close friend of the Bush family and France's Jacque Chirac) the US military aid to Lebanon has exceeded $400 Million, and more than a Billion in infrastructure and humanitarian aid. The military aid was always a source of dilemma for US administartion: on one hand, having strong military might help keep militias at check. On another, most Lebanese who enlist in the military are Shia with loyalty and a soft spot for Hezbollah.<br /><br />Hezbollah criticized Biden's visit issuing the following statement "The high American interest in Lebanon raises strong suspicion as to the real reason behind it, especially since it has become a clear and detailed intervention in Lebanese affairs." This statement is coming from the same militia that gets its minute to minute instructions from Iran, and who's offices are adorned with pictures of Ayatollah Khamenei not the Lebanese President.<br /><br />What Biden and the US administration do not get is that their $1 Billion support to the Lebanese Government is surpassed by Billions of dollars from Iran that are going to maintain Hezbollah's military superiority, direct aid to Hezbollah supporters in the form of housing, education, jobs, healthcare and a well run system of micro-lending for the poor.<br /><br />For our US administration to be truly effective in its support of Lebanon, it needs to replace the vital services that are offered by Hezbollah, support the Lebanese government and pressure it to impose anti-corruption measurements (Lebanon rated high on corruption by <a href="http://transparency.org/">Transparency International</a>).<br /><br />Talking to pro-West Lebanese on the ground, they tell me that they don't trust that the US administration considers Lebanon a vital issue to US' interests in the region. "Look at Syria. It's run by a dictator and hasn't launched a missile at Israel since 1971 even though Israel occupies the strategic Syrian Golan Heights. We are afraid that the US would rather have another dictator in Lebanon, one leader to deal with, in this case Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah, " said Michael a lawyer in Beirut.<br /><br />Why should Americans and Europeans be interested in Lebanese politics? It is because Lebanon is a mirror, a proxy turf for the internal conflicts in the Muslim world: between Sunni and Shia, progressive Sunnis/Shia and Sunni/Shia Zealots, and the West looking purely towards its own self-interest.Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-24014446084944306962009-05-17T13:01:00.000-07:002009-05-19T19:00:24.934-07:00Kuwait Elections: A Win for Pragmatists, Not Just for Women<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDYH7agXhYGg255zDdT6laDYz9J503guOHkXCLtTOflZ8UQRB71VDY52URf5eH3cdclBla-3LBlXKKjFBk8_5iDkcvAsBK6ZfSHw-JVJJa1n1O0Ikl7238t3ugyDEwXT4WZceW/s1600-h/Kuwait-women_election.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337344028683587746" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 248px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDYH7agXhYGg255zDdT6laDYz9J503guOHkXCLtTOflZ8UQRB71VDY52URf5eH3cdclBla-3LBlXKKjFBk8_5iDkcvAsBK6ZfSHw-JVJJa1n1O0Ikl7238t3ugyDEwXT4WZceW/s320/Kuwait-women_election.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />As an Arab woman today, I am feeling elated about the four Kuwaiti women who won seats in the Parliament. This is an event that the whole region should be proud of. Four competent, well educated and accomplished women won on their own merit. One of the first <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">MPs</span></span> is the former Minister of Health <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Massuma</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">al</span></span>-Mubarak and the two University professors <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Salwa</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">al</span></span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Jassar</span></span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Aseel</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">al</span></span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Awadhi</span></span> in addition to economist <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Rula</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Dashti</span></span>.<br /><br />Informed by Kuwaitis on the ground, I have been following the events leading up to these elections and searching for the underlying codes that prompted the change to happen. This change included over the years a democratic participation of Bedouin tribes, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Shia</span></span> minority and Islamic extremist movements like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">HADS</span></span> (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Hizb</span></span> Al <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Dusturi</span></span> Al <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Islami</span></span>-Constitutional Islamic Party), <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Salafis</span></span> along with the original families of Kuwait who came from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Hijaz</span></span>, and now women. The leaders in Kuwait, influenced by Arab Nationalism (led by Jamal Abdel Nasser at the time) and Kuwaiti visionaries, recognized the change of the dynamics in Kuwaiti society and expanded the representative branch to include members of the new movements. Unlike the other frequently praised democracy of Lebanon which was influenced by the French colonialists -who supported the Maronites- and based purely on sectarianism. The Iranian-Syrian intra-secterian interference in Lebanon is keeping the sectarian parliamentary system in place, and in the process denying Lebanese their quest for a progressive nation.<br /><br />The women suffrage movement in Kuwait was not initiated by women only, it was supported and led by progressive men as well, who believed in equal participation in public service. It was so recent that they gained the right to vote, yet they historically played a central role in the development of the country.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">The Role of Women in Kuwaiti History</span><br /><br />A quick look back at the <a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/technologies.html">cultural codes</a> that led to creating a <a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/different-values-different-democracy-alan-tonkin.php">stratified democracy</a> in Kuwait, one that fits the value-systems of the state. Along with my readings on this Constitutional Monarchy Emirate to be precise), I was briefed on the critical role that women played in Kuwait since the inception of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Emirate</span>. Kuwaiti men were the early traders of the Arabian peninsula, trading Indian spices, pearls and dates from Iraq with Europe and India. Kuwaiti innovation in the building of ships allowed them to go farther than any traders in the region. Men spent more than 9 months away from home, and women had to be in charge of the extended family which lived together in an extended family compound. These women developed a very effective system to run the large household using humble means to keep the family properly fed, healthy and thriving. Kuwait became a Matriarchal based society out of necessity. With the discovery of oil in the early 50's , girls schools were built next to boys schools and fathers insisted on sending their daughters along with their sons to be educated in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. Today, many young Kuwaiti men and women are graduating from Ivy League schools and going back to their country to help run the affairs of their country and start successful businesses.<br /><br />Unlike in any other Emirate or Monarchy in the region, Kuwaiti women became business leaders and were appointed to high ranking positions in the public sector since Kuwait's independence in 1961. Today, Kuwaiti women enjoy equal pay in the private sector as well.<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">Of course, Kuwait has its long laundry list of problems starting with the "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Bedoun</span></span>" (In Arabic the word means "the ones without") In this case the ones without a Kuwaiti nationality, limited rights of foreign workers and the list goes on... An <a href="http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/young-arabs-blog/2008/03/guest-blogger-sula-al-naqeeb-is-new.html">article written by Next Generation Fellow Sula Al-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Naqueeb</span></span> at our Center for Human Emergence</a> explains further these complex issues in Kuwait.</blockquote>Women were only granted the right to vote in 2005 after a long struggle with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Islamists</span>' influence</span>. This right has long been denied to women for the fear that women in the Bedouin and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Islamist</span> communities will be forced by their husbands to vote for the candidate that the male in the family chooses. That will not be a true win to women's suffrage. In 2006 two women ran for parliament and failed. This 2009 election season each of these four women won by a landslide compared to their next opponent. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Islamists</span></span> lost 10 seats and only held on to 11 from the original 21. The seats held by Shiite <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">MPs</span></span> -- <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Shia</span></span> are 1/3 of the population -- increased from 5 to 9. Liberals won 8 seats gaining 1. Analysts say that this parliament might be dissolved if it shows any signs of adopting extremist views. The Emir has done this a few times before when <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Islamists</span></span> and few other <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">MPs</span></span> wanted to prosecute cabinet members on ungrounded basis in most cases, just to disrupt the democratic process and gain fame.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Islamist</span> Defeat</span><br /><br />The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Islamist</span></span> defeat marks a significant tipping point in the conflict between Muslim <span style="font-style: italic;">pragmatists/moderates</span> and the <span style="font-style: italic;">zealots</span> in the Middle East. A behind-the-scenes conflict has been brewing the last two years between Nationalists and Progressive Kuwaitis on one side and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Islamists</span></span> on the other (both Sunni and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Shia</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">extremists</span>). Here are some events that shifted power away from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">extemists</span></span>:<br /><br />When <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Imad</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">Mughnyia</span></span>, one of Hezbollah's notorious leaders, was assassinated in Syria, two Kuwaiti Shiite <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">MPs</span></span> organized a commemoration in Kuwait. This act <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">aggravated</span> most Kuwaitis since <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Mugghnia</span></span> and Hezbollah were responsible for hijacking a Kuwaiti airliner in 1984, and were setting up secret Hezbollah cells in Kuwait.<br /><br />Other Sunni-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">Islamists</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">MPs</span></span> sided with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">Hamas</span></span> during the Gaza/Israel war, and demanded that citizens not celebrate the Kuwaiti National day in alliance with Palestinians in Gaza. That would have been respected by all Kuwaitis, even though they have a bad history with the Palestinians who sided with Saddam Hussein during his invasion of Kuwait in 1990. However, what tipped the situation was that those same <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">Islamists</span></span> who <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">forbad</span></span> Kuwaitis from celebrating their national day in the streets, were secretly filmed dancing the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">Dabkeh</span> </span>(traditional Palestinian dance) with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">Hamas</span></span> supporters. (This was seen as hypocritical since <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">Islamists</span></span> shun any type of music or dance <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44">considerin</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZjMvi-PchXAWATLKOw3vAakes7JFIRXS3-9ywhmRwRDmwh8ao-T2ptbvbPyjR-4J_5P9HEFKDr4G0pffWFibCxiGc1SnWMRJNKfmlQN7P45KNBfOrgsTaqPJAvG4Ti3XDmvz/s1600-h/Islamists.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337344573176449266" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 230px; cursor: pointer; height: 165px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZjMvi-PchXAWATLKOw3vAakes7JFIRXS3-9ywhmRwRDmwh8ao-T2ptbvbPyjR-4J_5P9HEFKDr4G0pffWFibCxiGc1SnWMRJNKfmlQN7P45KNBfOrgsTaqPJAvG4Ti3XDmvz/s320/Islamists.jpg" border="0" /></a>g it <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45">haram</span></span> -- forbidden). Kuwaitis who saw this footage on Scope Satellite TV, called in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46">TV's</span></span> talk <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47">sho</span></span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48">ws</span></span> and expressed their anger at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_49"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_49">Islamists</span></span>. One woman suggested that all Kuwaitis take to the streets and their rooftops and shout "Allah Akbar" in objection to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_50"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_50">Islamists</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_51"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_51">hijaking</span></span> their country, an act they once performed in defiance of Saddam's invading forces. The next day many people did just that. This same act of defiance against the internal invasion of Kuwaiti freedoms eventually led to the unseating of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_52">extremist</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_53"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_52">MP's</span></span>.<br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Indigenous Exercise in Democracy</span><br /><br />Why am I mentioning these details? In a region in danger of falling prey to extreme ideologies spun by the likes of Al-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_54"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_53">Qaeda</span></span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_55"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_54">Hizbullah</span></span>, Syria, and Iran, and a failed attempt at democratization by the West, this <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_56">indigenous</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_57">exercise</span> in democracy is a model that could be fostered in other parts of the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_58">Middle</span> East and the Muslim <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_59">World</span> and a worthy lesson in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_60"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_55">Memetics</span></span> for the West.<br /><br />For a two week period before the elections, the Emir opened his palace to the people, asking them to share their suggestions for much-needed changes in the distribution of electoral regions. The Emir, like every ruler before him, kept an age old tradition in opening his palace, and visiting the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_61"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_56">Dywanyias</span></span> of the founding families of Kuwait. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_62"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_57">Dywanyia</span></span> is an added section to many homes in Kuwait where men gather to discuss politics, religion, social issues, poetry, and philosophy -- depending on the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_63">inclination</span> of the household. For the first time in recent history, women sought the all-male <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_64"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_58">Dywanyia</span></span> as one of their platforms to present their <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_65">agendas</span>. What <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_66">started</span> as a daring attempt by 2 women candidates in 2005 grew into a synergistic movement in 2009. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_67"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_59">Massuma</span></span> Al-Mubarak was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_68">surprised</span> to see that many <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_69"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_60">Dywanyias</span></span> took the initiative to organize events for her. In most other <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_70"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_61">Dywanyias</span></span> she had to ask. A patriotic <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_71">super-ordinate</span> goal prompted men to open their sacred <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_72"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_62">Dywanyias</span></span> to women!<br /><br />The Emir's public space and the changing roles of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_73"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_63">Dywanyias</span></span> are a great model of how Kuwait kept its tribal traditions and included them to serve the progress of the country.<br /><br />When I read in Western newspapers an open or underlying criticism of the fact that the Emir still appoints the cabinet, I cringe at the sheer ignorance of cultural codes that we so frequently miss in diagnosing young democracies. Kuwait's Parliament is one of the strongest democratic bodies in the Arab world, but when it is manipulated by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_74"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_64">Islamists</span></span> who have been gaining more power after the Iraq war, it becomes imperative for the ruler to have the last word. Moreover, this ruler has a system of accountability inside Kuwait represented by the heads of the different clans. Now who wouldn't want a democracy a la Kuwait in Afghanistan?Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-56816342314712636612009-05-15T14:46:00.000-07:002009-05-17T10:44:12.694-07:00June 7th Elections in Lebanon Threaten Christians' Existence in the Middle East<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdDhBngrV5IWgwcA1m0ho0xvAUupQLm_bRFAp7dWeUuF_oWKj1jYWiSB5CbNZuLSBKtVCqL8YnftkxxNCkWI0VdN9VajVmcZ1YzFaoGjE3O4JQQfuOzuarI0VuH5qi0NDigI9/s1600-h/lebanon.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 298px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdDhBngrV5IWgwcA1m0ho0xvAUupQLm_bRFAp7dWeUuF_oWKj1jYWiSB5CbNZuLSBKtVCqL8YnftkxxNCkWI0VdN9VajVmcZ1YzFaoGjE3O4JQQfuOzuarI0VuH5qi0NDigI9/s320/lebanon.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336574994924811698" border="0" /></a>That threat does not come from Islam!<br /><br />It is an existential threat that can jeopardize the progress that Muslim pragmatists (both, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Shia</span></span></span> and Sunni) have made in the Middle East. In this region of the world where Iran is trying to revive the Persian empire with a new ideology based on their brand of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Shiism</span></span></span>, power brokers like Hezbollah, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Hamas</span></span></span> and Syria are forming an unholy alliance that is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">guaranteed</span></span> to keep the region behind. On the surface, the message of this alliance appeals to many in the Arab world as the defender of Arab honor against the assault of what is surely <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">viewed</span> as the Zionists and their American sponsors. The disgruntled Arab street that is suppressed by archaic and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">dysfunctional</span></span> regimes, is looking for the next step beyond the stalemate of political corruption, high unemployment, poverty and illiteracy. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Ahmedinejad</span></span></span> has more supporters among Arabs than among Iranians. The Arab street that saw many US administrations siding with Israel and corrupt Arab regimes over many decades, see a hero in the president of Iran.<br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">In <a href="http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/technologies.html">Spiral Dynamics integral</a> <a href="http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/technologies.html"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Memetic</span></span></span></a> speak, the unhealthy Orange value system-(Enterprise) that represented the West's hunger for oil kept Red Arab regimes in power to control the flow of oil. Red-Power centered regimes oppressed their people, offered mediocre education, no jobs and beefed up their own Swiss bank account while the Arab masses in their respective countries lived in abject poverty. Hezbollah, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Hamas</span></span></span> and even <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Ahmedinejad</span></span></span> represent a much needed Blue value system that gives structure and a sense of purpose while at the same time providing the Red-Pride of identity. Regardless of what the West thinks of these rogue movements, they fill a vacuum that Arab regimes have created themselves by not addressing the needs of their own people while the West looked the other way.</blockquote>Politics <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKnTLErB6vCNVXpYdHbQS_jdhn07KBLWlsKzJDCuEfUe_cRTnAUtyXtl_hz88mjdQZyKEGJWYliayTeYoEGYaPdoHiaan4eWwz-_heK_XfhngJQbfYzvBrTIjFXzz3Vt3NXmt/s1600-h/Grand_Ayatollah_Ali_Khamenei,-795446.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 159px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKnTLErB6vCNVXpYdHbQS_jdhn07KBLWlsKzJDCuEfUe_cRTnAUtyXtl_hz88mjdQZyKEGJWYliayTeYoEGYaPdoHiaan4eWwz-_heK_XfhngJQbfYzvBrTIjFXzz3Vt3NXmt/s200/Grand_Ayatollah_Ali_Khamenei,-795446.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336575774512280722" border="0" /></a>in Lebanon is never local, it is always regional if not international. Lebanese democracy since its inception in 1943 was always a proxy field for the regions' feuds. Now that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Khamenei</span></span></span>, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Qum</span></span></span> spiritual leader of Iran, is aiming to establish <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Wilayat</span></span></span> Al <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Faquih</span></span></span>, or Islamic <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Imarat</span></span></span> in the region, he is achieving his aim through Hezbollah and the popularity of its leader <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Sheikh</span></span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Hassan</span></span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Nasrallah</span></span></span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Nasrallah</span></span></span> has an army of 50,000 soldiers ready to take over Lebanon at any minute. However, the Hezbollah leader who studied <span style="font-style: italic;">Sun </span><span style="font-style: italic;" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Tzu</span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;">' the Art of War</span> knows better than to attack his compatriots and loose his popularity. He masterfully formed an alliance with defeated leaders of Christian, Sunni and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Druze</span></span></span> clans who were rivals of March 14<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">th</span></span></span> movement, the pro-government, pro-West alliance. Hezbollah's new allies are lead by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Aoun">General Michel <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Aoun</span></span></span></a> the former head of the Lebanese Army who lived in exile for more than 10 years. By creating such alliance, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Nasrallah</span></span></span> was able to split the Christian leadership between loyalty to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Shia</span></span></span> crescent Hezbollah-Syria-Iran under <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Aoun</span></span></span>, and loyalty to a Lebanese identity and pro-Western movement under <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Sameer</span></span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Geagea</span></span></span>.<br /><br />With Christians facing discrimination in Egypt, and fleeing Iraq and the West Bank, the survival of Christian<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT40AopIuch6h0KtyNCaaZfuTM9iqp6ye4jEaoWZ2rUrIPZyI5lD4RbL9aWV731RCAyf0flMujtKlZyu_h3mQ0RybqRW-x4tr9FH3xVKWe7puSMEdIa4JEFQsnakyV6asuBUTN/s1600-h/Samir+Geagea.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 92px; height: 123px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT40AopIuch6h0KtyNCaaZfuTM9iqp6ye4jEaoWZ2rUrIPZyI5lD4RbL9aWV731RCAyf0flMujtKlZyu_h3mQ0RybqRW-x4tr9FH3xVKWe7puSMEdIa4JEFQsnakyV6asuBUTN/s320/Samir+Geagea.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336575167084159410" border="0" /></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">ity</span></span></span> in the Middle East relies on one man winning in this election- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samir_Geagea"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Samir</span></span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Geagea</span></span></span></a>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Geagea</span></span></span>, a fearsome Christian militia leader during the 17 year Lebanese war, went through a spiritual and philosophical transformation during his 11 years in prison. The pro-Syrian government at the time of his imprisonment offered him a seat in the cabinet or else he was to be prosecuted for his war crimes and go to jail. Since he was a staunch enemy of the Syrians who occupied Lebanon for more than 30 years he chose the latter.<br /><br />I myself was never a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Geagea</span></span></span> supporter, nor a supporter of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Aoun</span></span></span>. As a resident of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Bekaa</span></span></span>, I always felt that the Maronite militias of Beirut and Mount Lebanon did not care about the rest of the country. But this is 2009, and the fight is no longer among local parties and militias in Lebanon. It is the nuclear threat of Iran against peace and progress in the region. These regional and local dynamics that are directly destabilizing Lebanon's democracy and the role that progressive Christians and Muslims play in the development of the country and the whole Middle East.<br /><br /><span class="t13"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Nasrallah</span></span></span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">spe</span></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG4bmwLZHfSM0I45asICr7xWJdDQ7gahUEShfAuuKbjWkyB_H3IHefh8FP2Pb6OF_xdLPMNEuto7Pxw85TFRN66hyq4_90YIYwV5kJmDpFzRmADijZEaScUIE4GvFDshjJeaPZ/s1600-h/nasrallah.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG4bmwLZHfSM0I45asICr7xWJdDQ7gahUEShfAuuKbjWkyB_H3IHefh8FP2Pb6OF_xdLPMNEuto7Pxw85TFRN66hyq4_90YIYwV5kJmDpFzRmADijZEaScUIE4GvFDshjJeaPZ/s320/nasrallah.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336576021592120914" border="0" /></a><span class="t13"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">aking</span></span></span> at a university graduation ceremony in Beirut said </span><span class="t13">"I tell those who are betting on the [Hezbollah-led] opposition's failure during elections: The resistance that defeated Israel can govern a </span><span class="t13">country t</span><span class="t13">hat is 100 times larger than Lebanon." He was speaking of the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah where Israel destroyed Lebanon's infrastructure and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Nasrallah</span></span></span> sacrificed </span><span class="t13">the lives of 1000 Lebanese. With Hezbollah's ideology of death and power-god mindset, my brother in Lebanon warns me "prepare to wear a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">hijab</span></span></span> when you arrive to Beirut's airport next time, if Hezbollah wins."<br /><br />When we talk about elections Lebanon style, we are talking about bought elections. More than 10,000 Lebanese from the diaspora were issued plane tickets mostly by Hezbollah to go to Lebanon and vote for the opposition. A single "paid" vote can represent a full month's salary for some families. Paying for medical supplies, children's private school tuition, and providing a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">guarrantee</span></span></span> for employment is how you get votes in Lebanon. Of course, cash is always king and the candidate who shows the voter the most, wins. I couldn't help but laugh when I read that the envoy of the UN in Lebanon, Michael Williams, assured the only woman candidate from my t</span><span class="t13">own <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">Zahle</span></span></span> in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">Bekaa</span></span></span> valley-the hub of Hezbollah- that he will make sure the elections are fully <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">transparent</span></span></span>. The woman candidate herself , Magda <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">Breidi</span></span></span> a competent lawyer, is paying more than 1 million dollars to secure a seat in the Parliament.<br /><br />Former Secretary of State</span><span class="t13"> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">Madelein</span></span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">Albright</span></span></span></span><span class="t13">, visited the leaders of March 14<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44">th</span></span></span> last week to convey the support of the Obama administration, and promised to come back and monitor the elections. Secretary Clinton also made a stop in Lebanon on her way from Iraq to assure Prime Minister <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45">Seniora</span></span></span> the US' full cooperation with the pro-west movement.</span><br /><span class="t13"><br />My fear is that the hearts and minds of more than half of the Lebanese are with the opposition. Again, because they are not getting the services they need from their government in a country beaten down by years of wars and constant Syrian-Iranian interference.<br /></span><br /><span class="t13">Does our US administration understand the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_49"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46">Memetic</span></span></span> dynamics in Lebanon? Do they understand that voting is not based on principles in most cases, but based on which <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_50"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_49"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47">Zae'em</span></span></span> (Feudal lea</span><span class="t13"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_51"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_50"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48">der</span></span></span>) puts their son in school, helps them get the loan they need, secures <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_52"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_51"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_49">jo</span></span></span></span><span class="t13"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_53"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_52"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_50">bs</span></span></span> for their college <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_54">graduates</span></span><span class="t13"> and paves the roads they drive to their house...</span><span class="t13"><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Why should the world care about Lebanon in <a href="http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/technologies.html"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_55"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_53"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_51">memetic</span></span></span></a> speak or about the progressive Christians and Muslims? It is because Christian thinkers originally brought Blue-Nationalism to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levant">Levant area,</a> and now progressive Christians, Muslims and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_56"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_54"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_52">Druze</span></span></span> are the one who are keeping Blue-Nationalism and Orange-<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_57">Enterprise</span> alive!</blockquote>Time for the West to understand <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_58"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_55"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_53">Memetics</span></span></span> and start intervening in the region based on what the region needs <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_59">developmentally</span> to help it emerge. The <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_60">responsibility</span> lies squarely on the shoulders of Middle Easterners themselves, but the West must work with them systemically to pry the region out of the hands of these false prophets.<br /></span>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-44007549087613899552009-05-03T01:05:00.000-07:002009-05-07T20:58:39.703-07:00Natural Design principles for Madrasas in Pakistan and Afghanistan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGY52kJKL49qwNwAFLvQEhZJG-K9Yty3PhW7h0bxPDUr0CawEZS_LYTrNGdpSzTYwvhI1S1Zail0bp8fwWy64k3bfnMBTScKp2rUnefw3Rs4yTxmwVW6bLklIutvCoD-D4eEYu/s1600-h/madrassa.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGY52kJKL49qwNwAFLvQEhZJG-K9Yty3PhW7h0bxPDUr0CawEZS_LYTrNGdpSzTYwvhI1S1Zail0bp8fwWy64k3bfnMBTScKp2rUnefw3Rs4yTxmwVW6bLklIutvCoD-D4eEYu/s320/madrassa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332047516670085314" border="0" /></a>On today's <a href="http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/fareed.zakaria.gps/">Fareed Zakaria's show, GPS,</a> Secretary of Defense Robert Gates admitted that power alone will not achieve the US' goals in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. In the Secretary's<a href="http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1279"> speech to the National Defense University</a> he stressed that <em>"Our National Defense Strategy is BALANCE..."</em> Included in this strategy is counter-insurgency operation manuals, Special Forces and Navy programs and <em>"A variety of initiatives are underway that better integrate and coordinate U.S. military efforts with civilian agencies as well as engage the expertise of the private sector, including NGOs and academia."</em><br /><div><br />I did not expect the Secretary of Defense in his speech at NDU to go into details on how to integrate military and civilian efforts. This lack of specificity has been a theme with Clinton, Gates and even <a href="http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10269">Zoellick</a>, president of the World Bank. They all talk about integrated efforts, smart power and societal issues as a complementary part to their strategies, a kind of a by-product that they stumbled upon when their initial strategies did not work. These societally-fit and culturally-fit strategies should be an integral part of our defense, diplomacy and development strategies. In light of the failures we face — economic, political and military — the central theme of our Foreign policy has to change to include at its center a comprehensive understanding of the underlying codes of the cultures we operate in.</div><div><p style="font-family: georgia;">This is the basis of the value-based concept of <em>Innovations in Memetic Technologies</em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia;"> — </span>IMT<sup>®</sup> for short. I have been developing these value-based technologies throughout the years of my work in tribal and feudal cultures, from the early days of being a community organizer and attorney in the Middle East, and later framed by my work with <a href="http://www.spiraldynamics.net/">Dr. Don E. Beck</a> on his <a href="http://www.spiraldynamics.net/2008/12/large-scale-psychology-the-design-and-transformation-of-whole-societies.html">Large Scale Branch of Psychology.</a></p><p face="georgia"><br />One of the most effective tools we use in IMT<sup>®</sup> is based on the framework of Natural Design Principles <span style="font-style: italic;">(Graves-Beck) </span>which in its simplest form asks the following questions in order of importance:<br /></p><ol face="georgia"><br /><li>WHERE (Geo-Social Landscape) are these people we want to lead/teach/reform?</li><br /><li>WHAT is the overarching goal of this project or intervention?</li><br /><li>WHO are they? What are their capacities? Their Value-systems? their belief-systems? their history? religion? tribal loyalties etc....</li><br /><li>After assessing these essential element of our systemic strategies for change, we now decide on HOW to implement this change? and Change from WHAT to WHAT?<br /><br /></li></ol><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reforming Madrasas Based on these Principles:</span><br /><p face="georgia">Madrasas' Islamic education has been an important part of the educational system in Afghanistan and became increasingly important in Pakistan, especially after 9/11 as it became a fear-based defense of Islam against the "onslaught of the West." Madrasa literately means "school" in Arabic, but in the context of these two countries, it is translated in a strict adherence to the study of the Quran and to extreme teachings of Islam. A good Muslim is encouraged to memorize the Quran, and sadly the feudal tribes and strategic exploiters use such nobel purposes to manipulate students into their self-serving ideologies and to fulfill their dreams of a radicalized brand of Islamic Imarat.<br /><br />These Saudi-financed madrasas operated in poor areas where there was no access to education, and many of the Taliban were educated in these institutions that teach the Wahhabi brand of Islam. Wahhabism was initiated in Saudi Arabia to rid Islam of innovation and bring it back to a literal translation of the Quran. Initially, the Saudis used the Madrasas to counteract the Soviet spread in Afghanistan. A good idea at the time (maybe) that turned toxic and focused on extremism and hatred of the West. Unfortunately, neither the Saudis nor the successive US administrations at the time had social scientists or psychologists to help analyze how such institutions will affect future generations in tribal and feudal cultures.<br /></p>Now, with hundreds of books and volumes of research written about this subject, the issue we're facing is what to do about these madrasas:<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">Do we shut them down and restart the educational system with weak governments and weak security forces? if not, how can we deal with the new generation of Taliban that these madrasas are producing?</blockquote>Using the above stated steps, we start by looking at the <span style="font-style: italic;">Life Conditions </span>surrounding these madrasas: poor neglected areas with cult figures of Taliban giving a sense of identity and a sense of purpose to kids who know they would have amounted to nothing unless they belonged to a powerful clan like the Taliban. "Going to heaven and meeting the 72 virgins" is not the main attraction in many cases. It is unfortunately <i>money</i>. Making a living, supporting their parents and later their families, and having a status in the community are the biggest attractions to these young men. In a culture where the cast system is prevalent, having a status in society by any means is important. The governments in these countries, like in many developing countries are consumed by corruption and most politicians put self-interest ahead of National interest. Billions of dollars in aid over the years, have been re-directed to leaders personal bank accounts abroad, and donor countries always failed to avoid these pitfalls. (This is a very similar situation to Hezbollah's rise in Lebanon.)<br /><p face="georgia">Considering these facts and other external/Western factors that contributed to the rise of fundamentalism, it would be wise to keep the already existing madrasas and start with subtle changes led by religious authorities who are passionate Muslims, but not antagonistic to development and progress. The religious structure of madrasas and mosques can serve a great purpose in the lives of Pakistanis and Afghans if imbued with the right content of teachings.<br /></p><p face="georgia">I recommend the initial steps for change to be the following:<br /></p><blockquote face="georgia"><p face="georgia"></p><ul><li><b>Lincense the madrasa teachers.</b> A program to license the teachers of madrasas with higher wages and cash bonus incentives. Licensing would mean that they adhere to a common curriculum that teaches the true spirit of Islam, and can be monitored by community leaders and the council of elders. Tribal communities hold a lot of respect to their elders, and reject outside interventions from police and government. (This would help honor the traditions of the tribes and clans while subtlly changing cultural implications and creating an open society)<br /><br /></li><li><b>Draw from the legacy of Muslim scientists and history.</b> Adding Math and Science to the exclusively religious content, based on the work of great Muslim scientists like Averos (Ibn Sina) and Al-Bayruni whose contribution to physics and mathematics give Muslims a lot of pride.<br /><br /></li><li><b>Add Music curricula for brain development.</b> Music should be an essential component of these schools: since the Taliban despise music, maybe religious chanting with the use of simple instruments can be a place to start.<br /><br /></li><li><b>Call on the grandmothers.</b> Kids at the age of 5 and 6 years old from these madrasas are now joining the Taliban, and are taught not speak to women; which makes it hard for women in those circles to have much influence. However, grandmothers are always respected and feared and, if well informed, they can positively influence the minds of these young boys.</li></ul><p></p> </blockquote><p face="georgia">A comprehensive plan should be designed for such change to happen, one that coalesces the efforts of our Defense Department, State Department, local governments, NGOs and local community programs. I have only touched on key points that might start the process. This is to show that we cannot keep throwing money at the Pakistani military (the US gave more than 10 Billion to the Pakistani army in the last 8 years), without having an equal strategy to change the <i>habitat </i>that is creating those extremist cells. That is the "balance" that needs to take place along with the military, counterinsurgency and economic strategies to help that region. If such coalescence takes root our entire Foreign policy will be redefined to be more effective, respectful and sustainable.<br /></p></div>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-80221864251154997082009-05-01T14:57:00.000-07:002009-05-03T17:16:44.280-07:00Hillary Clinton's 100 days in the Muslim World<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfVewlLom1pugrDOaUaqV6GfrBUjQNQk12QXOY4RvF7An2mVBsYKTiZeYLSePtGhSmzwdQcylFQ8Sb6gqwJ1CfNfFZjQon6EtuoW-ZU-GZCCEfw5kHQ2GF2BNqUOmKRJjDF_uy/s1600-h/clinton-pakistan-2009-2-24-TIM+SLOANAFPGetty+Images_large_image.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 209px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfVewlLom1pugrDOaUaqV6GfrBUjQNQk12QXOY4RvF7An2mVBsYKTiZeYLSePtGhSmzwdQcylFQ8Sb6gqwJ1CfNfFZjQon6EtuoW-ZU-GZCCEfw5kHQ2GF2BNqUOmKRJjDF_uy/s320/clinton-pakistan-2009-2-24-TIM+SLOANAFPGetty+Images_large_image.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331033088066727970" border="0" /></a>Secretary Clinton said,<span class="text"> "Foreign policy must be based on a marriage of principles and pragmatism, not rigid ideology. …We must use what has been called “smart power”: the full range of tools at our disposal – diplomatic, economic, military, political, legal, and cultural – picking the right tool, or combination of tools, for each situation. With smart power, diplomacy will be the vanguard of foreign policy.”<br /><br />I salute the Secretary for a well thought out concept of 'Smart Power' vs. hard power or soft power. She has no doubt started a new era of diplomacy that might go beyond what her husband was able to do with foreign policy. My hope is that will be a combination of both soft and hard, plus <span style="font-style: italic;">insightful power</span>. However, Clinton's definition of "smart power" misses the viewing lenses through which we want to design our diplomatic, economic, military....and cultural interventions.<br /><br />It is not enough to use principles and pragmatism, we need to use stratified strategies that are designed to meet the underlying codes that shaped each culture throughout history and the new elements that are shaping these codes now. This is what we call <a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/technologies.html">Integral strategies</a>: WHY do they think or behave this way? How are they incorporating 21st century technology with thousands of years of tribal traditions? It is not enough to use "the tools" that are available to us, but also to know HOW to Fit these tools, to help these people, living in those life conditions.<br /><br /></span><ul><li><span class="text">How can we help Afghanis and Pakistanis build an educational system that will not collide with the widely accepted Madrassas? <span style="font-style: italic;">(Check my blog tomorrow about this subject)</span></span></li><li><span class="text">What kind of modern indigenous architecture should we encourage NGOs and governments to use in building their new hospitals, schools and living quarters in these emerging countries? </span></li><li><span class="text">What is the role of women in these cultures? do we want to liberate them in our Western style? Or listen to the intelligences in the culture and help them design a system that suits their needs? My experience for many years working with bright Palestinian, Syrian and Muslim women from different countries, taught me that these bright women (who might not speak English) know exactly what is needed to move their culture to a better place. They can be the <span style="font-style: italic;">architects of development</span> of their own countries. Here's a example from Build Palestine Initiative, a grassroots movement I have been helping design in Palestine since 2005 that takes into account the integral principles and processes and the importance of starting with the codes that are shaping the culture. <a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/2008/02/sdi-training-for-palestinian-women.html">In this article and video </a>we show an example of the dangers we face when not designing for the culture, from costing our tax payers million of dollars to prolonging the effect of conflicts and not bearing results: here Palestinian women speak about the clash between USAID's idea of women's <span style="font-style: italic;">abstract</span> empowerment and our Palestinian women's idea of <span style="font-style: italic;">practical</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">sustainable </span>empowerment <a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/2008/02/sdi-training-for-palestinian-women.html">Click here for more..</a>.</span></li><li><span class="text">How can we coalesce the efforts of Gen Y leaders in the region while trying to support their efforts in changing their countries? Why should we help their governments and NGOs design a comprehensive plan to provide a 21st century education, 21st century jobs and encourage innovation. This is the kind of prideful endeavors that these young Muslim men and women are looking for.<br /></span></li></ul><span class="text"><br />In an ever increasing "Flat world" where more colliding value systems and mindsets are meeting at airports, in businesses and on the internet than ever before, and underlying <span style="font-style: italic;">clash of cultural memes and codes</span> is rising every minute and everyday, not and epic <span style="font-style: italic;">clash of civilizations</span>. My hope is that Secretary Clinton can widen her definition of 'Smart Power' to include the essential <span style="font-style: italic;">memetic elements </span>that will define the new paradigm of our foreign policy.<br /></span>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-23960260166956425782009-05-01T10:04:00.000-07:002009-05-01T12:28:02.105-07:00Obama's first 100 days in the Muslim World<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhg6_82rCdEERbKIhJ5GJkmhvMdHbDu4h9e3gdJGXaUkAy9oNTZH2eJTgl4Hn8mwyQoie4IkDjPLC94si3Gx9B7-8FKJtR1a1SplK6a6khGq9kL3EYaiTXNo95yFGEhpC_4HH/s1600-h/obama+mosque.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 110px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhg6_82rCdEERbKIhJ5GJkmhvMdHbDu4h9e3gdJGXaUkAy9oNTZH2eJTgl4Hn8mwyQoie4IkDjPLC94si3Gx9B7-8FKJtR1a1SplK6a6khGq9kL3EYaiTXNo95yFGEhpC_4HH/s320/obama+mosque.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330918306806870322" border="0" /></a>"United States of America is not at war with Islam" president Obama boldly declared in Ankara, Turkey and went on to visiting the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, one of the largest of its kind outside the Arab Peninsula.<br /><br />The president's strategy to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim world is off to a good start.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Here's the Good Start:</span><br /><br />In his inauguration speech the President stressed the use of"mutual respect," as a key phrase with a culture that has been feeling demonized for many internal and external reasons.<br /><br />The first interview he gave to and an international TV network, was with <a href="http://www.alarabiya.net/english/">Al-Arabiya</a> a moderate network (dare I say pragmatic) that counteracts the sensationalism and inflammatory reporting of <a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/">Al-Jazeera</a> (however, al-jazeera produces excellent documentaries on the Muslim world). Obama's interview was well received, and promised to "not only promote an American Agenda, but also to help develop the region." Leaders and pundits in the Arab world praised him, but had a wait-and-see attitude. His Nawruz address to Iran was a good conversation starter with the Iranian people, especially the majority that opposes Ahmedinejad's reckless statements and governing style.<br /><br />Realizing that Pakistan presents more of an explosive problem than Afghanistan, his administration along with the Japanese secured $ 5 Billion in commitments to Pakistan "to bolster the country's economy and help fight terror and Islamic radicalism" within the country.<br /><br />Closing Guitmo, was not only an ethical decision based on the Geneva convention and that "the US does not torture," but also a winning strategy against Al-Qaeda's propaganda machine.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Here's where more complexity is needed:</span><br /><br />His promise to pull out from Iraq in mid 2010 might be a clever message that might appease the fears of Iraqis and the Arab world, but is not a realistic strategy according to many generals in the Pentagon and in view of a weak Iraqi government and an escalating conflict between Iran and Israel. To most Iraqis this government is considered an American puppet and if history of Iraq tells anything, the power lords in Iraq will not rest until they are ruled by an iron fist. My hope is that any autocratic regime that will appear when the US leaves will be one that is more open to the West.<br /><br />Sending 18 or 20 Thousand more troops to Afghanistan without systemically addressing the complex underlying problem, will never produce the intended results. The build up in troops must be equally and systemically accompanied by efforts to strengthen the government and security forces while building the culturally-fit institutional, educational and economic infrastructure. Short of doing that, we will repeat the same mistakes that the Carter administration committed in that country.<br /><blockquote>In their testimony on the Hill, four veterans who served in Afghanistan and managed to establish good relationships with the tribes, complained about the rotation issue of the soldiers.<a href="http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/04/military_afghan_vets_042409w/"> Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Genevieve Chase,</a> who served as an intelligence soldier with the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan in 2006, said troops should be allowed to extend their tours, if requested.“In a culture where a man’s trust and respect is earned with time, loyalty and devotion to a cause, we rotate out units every six to 12 months,” she said.</blockquote><p>The other major issue for that country is that the Afghan security forces' loyalty is to their tribes and clans not to an almost non-existing nation; which makes it harder for our troops to train them. </p><p>Obama's administration does not yet have a comprehensive pl<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDMkZCBE_xCtLIDAaROEK78HEy5iZlgdIecjwdOZWpMhH552XchSHKrHApwx5CYkV0-i7FxfCmF7CM8is-fu-YlpFQG_mr0nKB88HHhJnk2TAxF95LsDEBH0SsdFMRLArGU988/s1600-h/taliban-pakistan_1236631c.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDMkZCBE_xCtLIDAaROEK78HEy5iZlgdIecjwdOZWpMhH552XchSHKrHApwx5CYkV0-i7FxfCmF7CM8is-fu-YlpFQG_mr0nKB88HHhJnk2TAxF95LsDEBH0SsdFMRLArGU988/s320/taliban-pakistan_1236631c.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330919723702737842" border="0" /></a>an on how to address the Swat Valley issue in Pakistan and now the spread of Taliban in the Punjab province - the most economically viable province in Pakistan with half of the Pakistani population living in it. I did not expect our president to find immidiate solutions to such a gynormic problem in the first 100 days of his presidency. However, I did expect to see a systemic framework that includes simultaneous strategies to help resolve this pressing challenge. (I will explain the difference between Systemic, strategic and tactical process in future blogs).</p><p><br /></p>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-86725776295323153142009-04-28T11:39:00.000-07:002009-04-28T14:06:29.206-07:00Calling on Muslims to Protest Against Those Who Hijacked IslamMany successful initiatives are led by Muslim visionaries all over the world to bring forth the true face of Islam as a religion and of Muslims as economists, educators, business people, journalists, inventors, mothers, fathers and just good abiding citizens. Efforts to reform Islam internally and reverse the stereotypes is gaining momentum, but not fast enough to counteract the violent mindsets that are destroying the Muslim culture from within. Unfortunately, Violence spreads much faster than pragmatism. The 24 hour news media feeds on such sensational stories, but will feature once a month a short segment about a positive projects led by a Muslim woman or man.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A story last week about another beaheading in a public square in Afghanistan motivated me to call on Muslims to protest against the hijackers of Islam from within.</span><br /><br />I was in Dubai when Muslims banded together and rose to the occasion to protest the Danish Cartoons which they considered blasphemous. Many of my Muslim Colleagues were deeply hurt and outraged and decided to write articles to educate the West on why this act would be offensive to their religious sensitivities. In case that didn't work, they studied strategies on how to boycott Danish products and send an economic message that the West will understand. I completely respected their thinking, since this was a pragmatic way to deal with a potentially danger situation.<br /><br />Alas, back then the pragmatists' voices disappeared and the flamethrowers fanned the violence and manipulated the masses leading narrow minded people in demonstrations and in burning of Western flags. An act of violent anger that never produces positive results; on the contrary it makes the Muslim world look like a monolithic entity of ignorance and barbaric reaction. Which is NOT a true depiction of reality.<br /><br />With the news of this beheading, I ask: Why don't the pragmatist in Islam rise against such inhuman act and create the strategies to counteract the unhealthy tribal values of Taliban and defend Islam?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRESmqoD4ScoACaqtR2xvJDsluR7N4euCKaJczcpwWgrpp9TNnH6hb3vdyQDJtZyZCAGCvxzs0WDtH0iOWSt8nsvhNz1BgIeaWITAOnhZjMv36RZ3LtoCXDI1AzN9SoVSX8ojs/s1600-h/afghan.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRESmqoD4ScoACaqtR2xvJDsluR7N4euCKaJczcpwWgrpp9TNnH6hb3vdyQDJtZyZCAGCvxzs0WDtH0iOWSt8nsvhNz1BgIeaWITAOnhZjMv36RZ3LtoCXDI1AzN9SoVSX8ojs/s320/afghan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329838826635687794" border="0" /></a>In the same spirit of defense of Islam that made the irrationals protest with violence, I am calling on the pragmatists to defend the spirit of Islam by demonstrating and protesting against the archaic treatment of women in the Taliban society. This story of Taliban executing an Afghan couple that eloped, brought back memories of beheadings in the public square that was practiced for more than a decade in Afghanistan...<br /><blockquote><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hvWEqwq3CrRvaQCmt21MfoYhjZJQD97IB6080">The AP reports <span style="font-style: italic;">"A Taliban firing squad killed a young couple in southwestern Afghanistan for trying to elope, shooting them with AK-47s in front of a crowd in a lawless, militant-controlled region, officials said Tuesday.The woman, 19-year-old Gul Pecha, and the man, 21-year-old Abdul Aziz, were accused by the militants of immoral acts, and a council of conservative clerics decided that the two should be killed, officials said."</span></a> Later the <span style="font-style: italic;">Telegraph</span> reported that the girl was 14, and the young man was 17 years old!</blockquote><br />Wouldn't you want to protest against such an inhuman act?<br /><br /><br />In the next few posts I will outline a MeshWork(TM) of solutions that will help in creating a Tipping Point for the emergence of the Muslim world. This MeshWorks is informed by systemic thinkers in the Muslim world, and designed according to the processes and principles of <a href="http://www.spiraldynamics.net/2008/12/large-scale-psychology-the-design-and-transformation-of-whole-societies.html">Large Scale Psychology.</a>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-10323099717417888632009-04-28T11:04:00.000-07:002009-04-28T11:37:41.892-07:00My Interview about the Future of Middle East with EnlightenNext: WIE Unbound<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqZUL6cEIvWLr38rh5_BCJ7djy__SI3qyRodk0XMz98EtNinIKOAvaL-zHDPv9b2A933889a5UkehX7snhKSwbvhMmfQC4Pi8VIQcsXA03BFyxImLJMOQQjep9X6sQZoLgAprU/s1600-h/iran-saudi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 184px; height: 130px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqZUL6cEIvWLr38rh5_BCJ7djy__SI3qyRodk0XMz98EtNinIKOAvaL-zHDPv9b2A933889a5UkehX7snhKSwbvhMmfQC4Pi8VIQcsXA03BFyxImLJMOQQjep9X6sQZoLgAprU/s320/iran-saudi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329812401711495250" border="0" /></a><em>WIE Unbound</em> delivers fresh weekly audios, videos, and downloadable MP3s featuring the leading-edge visionaries, mystics, scientists, philosophers, and activists found in the pages of <em>EnlightenNext</em> magazine. <a href="http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/unbound/home.asp">http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/unbound/home.asp?ifr=hp-unb</a><br /><br />This interview was part of a several interviews with Futurists. <img src="file:///C:/Users/Elza/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.jpg" alt="" /><br /><h3>Speaking with Futurists: Part III –<br />The Future of the Middle East</h3>"In this interview with <em>EnlightenNext</em> senior editor Elizabeth Debold, Elza Maalouf outlines some of the most promising trends she sees emerging across the Muslim world." You can read part and listen to a part of the interview here: <a href="http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/unbound/media.asp?id=268">http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/unbound/media.asp?id=268</a><br /><img src="file:///C:/Users/Elza/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg" alt="" />Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-83386250393775388302008-12-14T09:23:00.000-08:002008-12-14T09:42:03.738-08:00S.O.S from Zimbabwe: Why isn't the world outraged?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0JGoAEYaa6B4Rf1mMuRhIi3S0HEy46MxSb0L9k5r-QpmTYCn7HPr9L7cC4-eP81K7ThosDcijJJHpKe5rsyG9gv7yuYRn6LKUrn2szlJy1LgU7ZRKuT6d8_zWg1e2945zzOxN/s1600-h/f_zimbabwe_l.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 261px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0JGoAEYaa6B4Rf1mMuRhIi3S0HEy46MxSb0L9k5r-QpmTYCn7HPr9L7cC4-eP81K7ThosDcijJJHpKe5rsyG9gv7yuYRn6LKUrn2szlJy1LgU7ZRKuT6d8_zWg1e2945zzOxN/s320/f_zimbabwe_l.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279701967523294290" border="0" /></a><br />I received this letter from Alan Tonkin, our colleague in South Africa who spent years working in Zimbabwe to help prevent this collapse. Allas, it takes a strong world community, and an effective UN to change things around.<br /><br />Please circulate this letter from John Winter to show the plight of the amazing people of Zimbabwe:<br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;color:black;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;color:black;" ><span style="font-size:180%;">Letter from Zimbabwe sent in by </span><i><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">John Winter</span><br /></span></i><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I reckon that these are the last days of TKM and ZPF. The darkest hour is</span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:blue;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:blue;" > </span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:black;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:black;" >always before dawn.<br /><br />We are all terrified at what they are going to destroy next........I mean they are actually ploughing down brick and mortar houses and one family with twin boys of 10 had no chance of salvaging anything when 100 riot police came in with AK47's and bulldozers and demolished their beautiful house - 5 bedrooms and pine ceilings - because it was 'too close to the airport', so we are feeling extremely insecure right now.<br /><br />You know - I am aware that this does not help you sleep at night, but if you do not know - how can you help? Even if you put us in your own mental ring of light and send your guardian angels to be with us - that is a help -but I feel so cut off from you all knowing I cannot tell you what's going on here simply because you will feel uncomfortable. There is no ways we can leave here so that is not an option.<br /><br />I ask that you all pray for us in the way that you know how, and let me know that you are thinking of us and sending out positive vibes... that's all. You can't just be in denial and pretend/believe it's not going on.<br /><br />To be frank with you, it's genocide in the making and if you do not believe me, read the Genocide Report by Amnesty International which says we are - IN level 7 - (level 8 is after it's happened and everyone is in denial).<br /><br />If you don't want me to tell you these things-how bad it is-then it means you have not dealt with your own fear, but it does not help me to think you are turning your back on our situation. We need you, please, to get the news OUT that we are all in a fearfully dangerous situation here. Too many people turn their backs and say - oh well, that's what happens in Africa <br /><br />This Government has GONE MAD and you need to help us publicize our plight---or how can we be rescued? It's a reality! The petrol queues are a reality, the pall of smoke all around our city is a reality, the thousands of homeless people sleeping outside in 0 Celsius with no food, water, shelter and bedding are a reality. Today a family approached me, brother of the gardener's wife with two small children. Their home was trashed and they will have to sleep outside. We already support 8 adult people and a child on this property, and electricity is going up next month by 250% as is water.<br /><br />How can I take on another family of 4 -----and yet how can I turn them away to sleep out in the open?<br /><br />I am not asking you for money or a ticket out of here - I am asking you to FACE the fact that we are in deep and terrible danger and want you please to pass on our news and pictures. So PLEASE don't just press the delete button! Help best in the way that you know how.<br /><br />Do face the reality of what is going on here and help us SEND OUT THE WORD.. The more people who know about it, the more chance we have of the United Nations coming to our aid. Please don't ignore or deny what's happening.<br />Some would like to be protected from the truth BUT then, if we are eliminated, how would you feel? 'If only we knew how bad it really was we could have helped in some way'.<br /><br />[I know we chose to stay here and that some feel we deserve what's coming to us]<br /><br />For now,--- we ourselves have food, shelter, a little fuel and a bit of money for the next meal - but what is going to happen next? Will they start on our houses? All property is going to belong to the State now. I want to send out my Title Deeds to one of you because if they get a hold of those, I can't fight for my rights.<br /><br />Censorship!----We no longer have SW radio [which told us everything that was happening] because the Government jammed it out of existence - we don't have any reporters, and no one is allowed to photograph. If we had reporters here, they would have an absolute field day. Even the pro-Government Herald has written that people are shocked, stunned, bewildered and blown mindless by the wanton destruction of many folks homes, which are supposed to be 'illegal' but for which a huge percentage actually do have licenses.<br /><br />Please! - do have some compassion and HELP by sending out the articles and personal reports so that something can/may be done.<br /><br />'I am one. I cannot do everything, ---but I can do something.. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. What I can do, I should do. And what I should do, by the grace of God,<br />I will do.'<br /><br />Edward Everett Hale<br /><br /><br />Please send this on to everyone in your address book. We send jokes out<br />without blinking an eyelid. We don't get told this on the news in South Africa , we only get told what they want us to hear. We all have a chance to do something, even though the something is by pressing forward to as many people as possible. Let's stop talking and let's start doing! There is power in prayer, there is also power in more people knowing about this than you in my address book. This is going to America , Dubai , Australia , France , South Africans all over South Africa , the UK . By forwarding this to all in my address book I have done something. The world needs to know what is going on.</span></span> <p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:12;"> </span></span></p>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-81750922556407844152008-08-26T15:14:00.000-07:002008-08-29T23:15:02.062-07:00Presenting Integral Politics Two Years Since My Last post<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Zjsb7HI0u_aZuRa3k3BGl-83m8i4KA_G3QEHBBH6JxH1MgD3iRBi6Edym58Ff-38gP1IUdWXnaMH9qzGrfh4B7CJzePdnGYz5q1Nr9IRIAEtvpL9btfuSBilQk51W3fPrIkI/s1600-h/Nafiz_DrBeck_Fatah.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Zjsb7HI0u_aZuRa3k3BGl-83m8i4KA_G3QEHBBH6JxH1MgD3iRBi6Edym58Ff-38gP1IUdWXnaMH9qzGrfh4B7CJzePdnGYz5q1Nr9IRIAEtvpL9btfuSBilQk51W3fPrIkI/s320/Nafiz_DrBeck_Fatah.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239427821967667698" border="0" /></a>I took time away from this blog after the Lebanon 2006 war. Meanwhile, I expanded the reach of the work the Center For Human Emergence Middle East which I had co-founded with Dr. Don Beck the prominent geo-political expert and the chief architect of South Africa's transition from apartheid . I am now leading the Integral Movement in the Middle East by continuing to work with Arab scholars, academics, political and business leaders. I am fully engaged in major and exciting initiatives all throughout the Middle East, from Palestine and Syria to Dubai and Kuwait...<br /><br />In the upcoming blogs I will offer integral analysis on the West's policies in the Middle East and will show the complex connectivity of these two worlds in the context of the shifting centers of power in the world.Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-1158413062387346742006-09-16T06:13:00.000-07:002006-09-17T03:51:51.216-07:00It Is Not Religion, It Is Culture and Value-SystemsI am in Kuwait on a business trip and here I have a chance to meet with Arabs from various countries especially Lebanese, Syrians, Palestinians and Jordanians who come to Kuwait and Dubai seeking better work opportunities.<br /><br />A chat with Nasser a 27 year old Lebanese waiter offered an amazing perspective about the messy situation in Lebanon. When meeting a fellow compatriot, Lebanese in general try first to identify the person's religion and their hometown in order to avoid any unsensitive comments and have a somehow normal conversation.<br /><br />I asked Nasser is his family was doing well after the war in Lebanon. He said that even though they lived in Southern Beirut, Al Dahie, their house stayed intact with some broken windows and very little damage. Well, that statement told me that Nasser is a Shiite and might be a Hezbollah supporter, and I needed to be sensitive in asking him about his opinion about the war and what kind of solution he sees out of this mess. Anyway, I am never interested in a heated debate with a complete strager, besides I am always interested in what people think and why they think this way.<br /><br />To prove the cultural developmental theories right and my assumptions wrong, Nasser was a Shiite but not a Hezbollah supporter. He said that many of the people who joined to the party were there for the check they get at the end of the month and for the power trip. A much smaller percentage of Hezbollah members are attracted to the ideology, according to Nasser.<br /><br />He felt that it is unfair for any party to keep Lebanon in turmoil and to deny a stable country with a booming economy that supports young Lebanese who have dreams of going back home and building businesses there. Even though he appreciates the money he makes working as waiter in Kuwait and that supports his family in Beirut, he feels cheated out of his dream to work in the fashion design industry and apply his college degree in a business he loves.<br /><br />When Nasser quoted Ziad Rahbani's socio-poltical satire, I knew I am able to ask more specific questions about his political affiliation. Ziad Rahbani is a world famous musician, a philosopher, a play writer and a socio-political critic and a genuis. A true patriotic he exposed many of my generation who listened to him religiously, to a world beyond rhetoric, Arabism and destructive resistance. I was pleasantly surprized to see that Nasser's generation is influenced by Ziad's words.<br /><br />Nasser is aware of the corruption in the Lebanese Government as well as in the opposition parties. In his opinion the International community should support the economy in Lebanon so that people like him go back to the country and become the new set of Leaders who can pull Lebanon out of a tribal-feudal system to a more structure nationalistic and capitalistic country.<br /><br />No, no more defining people by their religion or ethnicity. It is people's value-systems, beliefs, morals, aspirations that define how they think and why they think this way.Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-1157821363317241292006-09-09T09:50:00.000-07:002006-09-09T10:05:54.790-07:00The Power of Compassion!On October 26th, I will be speaking at the Common Bond Institute Conference on "Engaging The Other." The Conference is a conscious human exploration in who is "the Other" and how to truly engage every single human being in our global village.<br /><br />Isn't it about time we meet each other out beyond race, ethnicity, color, religion, age and economic status...Isn't it there where true solutions begin?!!<br /><br />Check out the conference website <a href="http://www.cbiworld.org">www.cbiworld.org</a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/409/2324/1600/ETO_ColorPoster1Pg8_25[1].1.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 496px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 507px" height="405" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/409/2324/400/ETO_ColorPoster1Pg8_25%5B1%5D.0.jpg" width="370" border="0" /></a>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-1157400432392055892006-09-04T13:03:00.000-07:002006-09-07T00:40:31.066-07:00A Tale of Two Men: A Lebanese & An Israeli"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us..." Charles Dickens' words rang true in Lebanon's mythic drama!<br /><br />A Lebanese and an Israeli - Khalil and Oren- had their hopes high in the spring of 2006 for their respective countries for different reasons. Now they both feel an ominous despair after their sense of safety and security was snatched away from them on July 12th.<br /><br />Khalil a Lebanese entrepreneur who decided to move back to Lebanon a year ago after spending 10 years in Canada and to start his new electronics sales business. He set up shop in Beirut and did not spare any expense on this new venture believing in the promising prospects of the country. This summer season was the most anticipated for all businesses in Beirut, Khalil stocked his shop with the latest gadgets from mp3 players to computers loaded with the latest software...<br /><br />Khalil's shop was completely destroyed in this war. He fled with his family on a ship to Cyprus and flew back to Canada with nothing but a couple suitcases...He really wanted to stay in his country and help rebuild its economy, he desperately wanted to believe in a new Lebanon. Sadly, on the plane back to Canada he told my friend that he will never set a foot back in Lebanon, the safety of his kids and securing their future overshadowed any patriotic sentiment he had left.<br /><br />Oren an Israeli computer engineer, was working on a peace initiative for Israel/Palestine. He believed that there will be no safe future for Israel unless the Palestinians are treated with dignity and empowered in a strong state of their own. He spent the spring of 2006 organizing meetings and seminars to foster a better understanding of the issues among Israelis and to work toward a comprehensive action-plan that supports an organic long term solution...<br /><br />The events in Lebanon exposed the cracks in the Israeli military and governmental agencies and deflated the bubble of safety that many Israelis like Oren thought they had. He believed that with Kadima, a newly created 'forward' party in power, there was a realistic possibility for a systemic solution and a way out of fear for both sides of the conflict. Now fear spread its wings again on the Israeli society, its army is demoralized and the right wing extremists are voicing their anger again. Oren continues in his endeavors to find the elusive peace with more unknowns then before.<br /><br />For a moment there the true winds of change were blowing in Khalil's and Oren's direction. However, these events declared loudly to everybody that the Middle East problem is a world problem not a regional one. The intricate internal challenges in Lebanon along with the blinded strategy of the Israeli government and the US administration's support for such a strategy, adding to a mix of Shia/Sunni divide with Iran trying to assert itself as a major power in the region and the Arab Sunnis waking up to that fact... a disastrous mix of ingredients that keeps the region and its people in constant turmoil.<br /><br />This is the TEST for the international community! With Europe on board now with the US, renewing the focus on peace in the region seems more tangible and maybe attainable?!Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-1157160102907384762006-09-01T16:07:00.000-07:002006-09-14T13:20:38.120-07:00Khaddam Reveals a Historic Fact That Explains Lebanon's 'Former' Scapegoat StatusFormer Syrian vice-president Abdul-Halim Khaddam, opened pandora's box of Syrian regime's secrets after fleeing the country fearing Bashar Assad's wrath. One of the few Sunnis who held a strong position in the Hafez Al-Assad regime for more than 35 years, Khaddam resigned from his office and left to Paris to form an opposition party and team up with the Muslim Brotherhood on a common goal to overthrow the current Assad regime.<br /><br />In an interview last week with journalist Ali Hamade on Future TV, Khaddam who was one of the major architect of the plot to widen sectarian differences in Lebanon and to sacrifice the PLO in Southern Lebanon, spoke as if he was the bearer of unity to the Lebanese people. However some of the points he revealed where worthy of pause. Khaddam said:<br /><br /><ul><li>After the October 1973 War Hafez Al-Assad decided not to enter into what Khaddam called a "traditional war" with Israel anymore. Assad gave his orders to the generals in Golan not to fire a single bullet in the direction of Israel and keep the status-quo in the occupied Syrian land.</li><li>Assad decided to make Israel "bleed" in Southern Lebanon and to strengthen and manipulate the already existing Lebanese and Palestinian resistance there to serve his regime's agenda.</li><li>After the humiliating defeat of the Arabs in October 73, Hafez Al-Assad knew that any action against Israel in Golan will be answered by a full blown attack on Damascus by the Israeli Airforce, an action that the Syrian army was ill equipped to respond to. Assad used Lebanon as a proxy battleground to keep his 'Arab resistance' credentials while his Syrian land was occupied.</li><li>Without Egypt, Syria cannot engage in a war against Israel, an Arab strategic formula that Assad realized early on in his ascent to power. </li><li>Journalist Ali Hamade asked Khaddam why Syria did not interfere when Lebanon's infrastructure was being destroyed by Israel especially that Syria and Lebanon are bound by a pact of special relations according to the 1989 Taif accord, including a mutual defense agreement? Khaddam answered that the Syrian regime has made the decision not to fight with Israel, even though Bashar's rhetoric never stopped.</li><li>To a question about the status of Syria in the Arab world as the face of the resistance especially in the Arab street, Khaddam said "how can you say Syria is the face of the resistance and the Syrian people are deprived of their basic freedoms, no constitution, no true representation in the government and ruled by one family for more than 40 years?" He added that the kurds historically had the same rights as Arabs in Syria, however now they are not even granted Syrian Identity cards. It is still illegal for a Syrian to belong to the Muslim Brotherhood group for which one can be prosecuted and put in prison.</li></ul><br />Again, Khaddam's hands are not clean of Syrian and Lebanese blood. No doubt he was a co-conspirator in all the plots executed against the Palestinians and the Lebanese people. However the treasure trove of information that he is providing about the inner workings of the Assad clan and their insidious role in Lebanon's history of instability, remains invaluable.Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-1156643770836676762006-08-26T17:58:00.000-07:002006-08-27T06:07:27.776-07:00The Faces of Lebanese who did not receive Twelve Thousand dollars from Iran and HezbollahThe irony of another war in Lebanon was overwhelming for those of us who lived it so many times before...Objective blogging was not an option anymore. I felt like screaming and blaming not reporting and giving an opinion...Enough lies! Sifting through opinions, analysis and so-called facts does not change the ugly reality on the ground.<br /><br />I stopped blogging and started working. I will write later about the kind of work we are doing for Lebanon and the region...<br /><br />But for now, I want to put a face to the innocent Lebanese who's lives were torn apart and no government, Hezbollah or international community to help... In his last appearance on TV, Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah promised $12,000 in assistance to each family that has lost its home. Many Arabs and Lebanese are raving about the efficiency of Hezbollah in its swift response to supporting the affected Shia....<br /><br />Well, not all affected were Shia or Hezbollah...The others were left behind with an incompetent government and a rotten bureaucracy that takes for ever to respond to their needs. Thankfully charitable and religious organizations as well as fellow Lebanese are helping with whatever resources they have.<br /><br />Their Faces...<br /><br />Renee a proud mother of six boys, had a small farm with chickens, cows and goats and owned the village's convenience store and a candle factory that she ran with her husband and children. Renee today was sobbing on TV telling the LBC reporter that her and her family have lost everything...Their house, their animals, their crop, their candle factory, their store and any money they left at home....The family is staying at a monastery in another town, the boys who are 14 and 15 and younger are working at stores in the neighborhood to save some money for food, clothing and hopefully for their return home...<br /><br />uncle Sameeh, a proud Lebanese in his 80s, was taking care of his stroke ridden wife when the bombs fell in front of their new house in Western Bekaa. He immediately called neighbors who moved him and his wife to the village's church. The church was bombed and his wife fell and broke both her arms. Sameeh has been tending and olive grove for most of his life. Through his hard work in this grove he was able to support his family, educate his children and build a new house for the children to come and visit. Well...the olive tree burned to a crisp, the house was bombed and Sameeh's life savings are no more...<br /><br />Many more stories of this human tragedy and pain ridden faces are unfolding...<br /><br />Much more can be said...but the eyes tell the stories of never ending pain....and the words are an invitation to action...Let the thread of compassion, peace and resilience weave together a new fabric of hope for left behind Lebanese and left behind citizens of the world.Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-1155594828906628882006-08-14T15:23:00.000-07:002006-08-14T15:33:48.926-07:00"Watch out, America. Let’s not be fooled this time!"Thank you Elza for posting Seymour Hersh’s article in The New Yorker. Mr. Hersh is one of America’s foremost investigative journalists, a specialized craft he has been practicing for 40 years. I am confident in Mr. Hersh’s information. He has been right over and over again – on the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, on the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and many others. <br /><br />Basically, Mr. Hersh says that the US gave Israel the green light on attacking Hezbollah two months before the actual bomb campaign started for a number of reasons all dealing with Iran. <br />o To once again prove that an air campaign can work (which, by the way, it didn’t as Israel had to put boots on the ground within three weeks)<br />o To disarm Hezbollah’s missiles, so that when the US attacks Iran Hezbollah can’t attack Haifa and Tel Aviv with missiles.<br />o And lastly, to show the skeptics in the military that an air campaign can work without ground troops.<br /><br />So, any truth to this? Well, while most of the newspapers headlined Bush’s speech today with a statement that “Hezbollah was to blame for the destruction and death in Lebanon,” at least one AP writer, Nedra Pickler, picked up on another statement. She writes, “President Bush said Monday the monthlong war between Israel and Hezbollah was part of a broader struggle between freedom and terror and ‘we can only imagine how much ore dangerous this conflict would be if Iran had the nuclear weapons it seeks.’ “<br /><br />Remember, how two days after 9/11, the rhetoric started on the alleged connection between Al Qaeda and Iraq? Watch out, America. Let’s not be fooled this time.<br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;"><span style="color:#666666;">Blog posted by Shirley Schwaller.</span> </span><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;">Shirley Schwaller is a former business journalist, whose areas of expertise included the oil industry. She wrote for various US and foreign newspapers, including AlSharq Al Awsat in Saudi Arabia.</span>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-1155550221246896412006-08-14T02:42:00.000-07:002006-08-14T03:10:21.353-07:00Lebanon: Hanoi or Hong Kong??This marks the first day of the cease-fire and the displaced Lebanese could not wait to go back to their destroyed towns and neighborhoods. At 8 Am sharp the cars where lined up towards Nabatieh, Tyre and further South. People are driving back from Syria to their homes in the Bekaa. Amazing spirit! Cars full of happy faces were heading back to the unknown...<br /><br />I watched the Lebanese TV stations filming families searching the rebels in and eerie Dahie-South Beirut, for remnants of family photos, papers, clothes, books and kitchenwear. A couple, husband and wife, climbed the torn in half building wanting to get whatever they can from their apartment on the 5th floor. Around two hundred buildings that housed thousands of families were destroyed.<br /><br />Since most of the US media networks pick and choose what to show us, insulting our intelligence at times, I have to rely on few Arabic channels that show the reality on the ground. Yes, I can do away with the rethorics on al-jazeerah and other Arabic channels. However the live shots from Lebanon speak volume. The destruction is devastating...<br /><br />Lebanon is at a cross-road now: Would Hezbollah stick to its Hanoi choice of armed struggle? Or would the other leaders be wise enough to bring Lebanon on the way back of its Hong Kong path?<br /><br />In the pictures of destruction I see show Hanoi, but the resolve of the Lebanese shows Hong Kong.Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31546227.post-1155545348372699972006-08-14T00:01:00.000-07:002006-08-14T01:49:08.503-07:00A Lose-Lose SituationThe third lose is for the Bush administration who "was closely involved in the planning of Israel's retaliatory attacks," according to the New Yorker'saugustt 14 article by Seymour Hersh. Hezbollah was considered a threat to Israel's northern borders safety and Israel was watching the militant group reinforce its military infrastructure in Southern Lebanon with great concern. There is no doubt that Isarel had military plans in place to hit Hezbollah. However this article shows that these plans were approved and encouraged by the US administrationn who thought that a full blown attack on Hezbollah inLebanonn can "serve as a prelude to a potential American premptive attack to destroy Iran's nuclear installations." Now the US has to think about a new strategy to deal with Iran's defiance and nuclear programs. The one they had in mind will not work now! Israel and the US miscalculated the military power of Hezbollah as well as the Lebanese unwillingness to turn against Hezbollah.<br /><br />Hezbollah proved to be stronger than Israel thought a militia would be, and gathered the support of some of the Lebanese people and the Arab street. Many Israeli soldiers were killed and the Arab media praised the 'success' of the first Arab military power to defeat Israel. Hezbollah and its supporters think they won...<br /><br />Israel also thinks it won?! They managed to weaken Hezbollah's stronghold in Southern Lebanon and Dahieh and parts of the Bekaa. Their initial stated goal to have a legitimate Lebanese military power at the border will come true if the resolution 1701 will be implemented.<br /><br />Hezbollah lost and Israel lostNotnot to mention the shameful Human tragedy.<br /><br />The Lebanese government who failed to disarm Hezbollah before is now armed by the UN resolution 1701 that was accepted by the Hezbollah ministers in the cabinet. However Prime Minister Saniora canceled today's meeting in which the cabinet was supposed to discuss the disarming of Hezbollah south of the Litani river. Hezbollah sent a message with Speaker Berri that the Shia militia refuses to disarm. Saniora refusing to compromise, cancels the meeting!<br /><br />Israel is having internal troubles of its own where the extreme right is gaining grounds and Olmert's cabinet is loosing popularity. Their plan to destroy Lebanon's infrastructure in order to turn the Lebanese against Hezbollah did not work. What Israel did not realize is that its destruction of a fragile infrastructure and the loss of innocent civilians aggravated even the most moderates of Lebanese. And, No...Lebanese cannot turn against Hezbollah at this point; the Shia militia is only armed militia in Lebanon, no one can fight it at this point. No Lebanese wants to start another civil war especially that the country has been bleeding for more than 30 years.<br /><br />Is there a lesson for the administration to learn here? of course. Do not Bomb an Ideology!!!<br /><br />The shock and awe strategy Israel and the US used in Beirut to send a message to Iran, was received by Iran who sent a message back through successfully testing with Hezbollah a number of Iranian-made advanced weapons systems.<br /><br />In a lose-lose-lose situation the world has to wise up!<br /><br /><br />(Here's a link to Seymour Hersh's New Yorker article :<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060821fa_fact">http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060821fa_fact</a> )Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0