The Billiken's Bluff

The people of Lebanon have spoken. Lebanon has long been occupied by Syria (there are over 14,000 Syrian troops stationed in Lebanon). But on Monday Night the pro-Syrian, Lebanese government led by Prime Minister Omar Karami stepped down.

N. Dot suggested that there would be some MSM conspiracy to prevent us from hearing about this Lebanese success story. The NY Times decided to hide this story on the FRONT PAGE!!!

The surprise resignation came as the streets of Beirut were filled with tens of thousands of flag-waving protesters and hours after a grueling no-confidence debate in the Lebanese Parliament. Pressure on both the government and Syria has risen steadily since the car-bomb assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri two weeks ago, for which government opponents blame Syria.

The Lebanese opposition has demanded a full investigation of Mr. Hariri's assassination, the resignation of the government, and an immediate pullout of Syria's 14,000 troops from Lebanon. Opposition leaders say they have consciously imitated the popular uprising in Ukraine, where demonstrators forced the government to call a new election after accusations of corruption.

Mr. Karami became prime minister after Mr. Hariri resigned last October in protest over the lifting of term limits on Lebanon's presidency that allowed the pro-Syrian president, Mr. Lahoud, to remain in office for three more years.

Many in the US will search for connections to some greater Middle Eastern move towards democracy. They will cite the new Palestinian government, and the large turnout for last month’s Iraqi elections. I can’t say if these had any influence on Lebanon’s uprising. In some way the Lebanese people probably were encouraged by what they have witnessed in Iraq. But more than anything Lebanon's street demonstrations seem reminiscent of the protests that took place after the Ukraine’s corrupt elections (and the Agent Orange- laced serving of Beef Stroganoff). And the fact that this uprising in Lebanon has been non-violent up to this point (not counting the car bomb which took Hariri’s life) calls to mind the Czech Republic’s non-violent ousting of the communist government in November 1989.


Orange Revolution


Velvet Revolution


Crimson Revolution

What is very encouraging about this is that Omar Hariri was assassinated because of his belief that it was time for Syria to stop exerting influence in Lebanese politics. The terrorists (or whoever planned the car bombing) wanted to silence Hariri’s call for a new government. But rather than silence the dissidence, it served as the catalyst that led to the pro-Syrian government's resignation. That is some poetic political justice.

And this also shows that there is more than one way to enact a regime change. The people in a country can achieve democratization on their own, from within.