USCFL - Syria's Intimidation Tactics and the Lebanese Fear Factor

Congratulations Syria! Your intimidation and propaganda tactics have almost succeeded in silencing the Lebanese people.

Congratulations Lebanon and its people! You have allowed Syria to almost succeed in its mission of swallowing Lebanon.

It is easy for me to write an article expressing my true feelings from American soil; as I am protected from the daily intimidations and propaganda that the Lebanese people have to deal with on a daily basis if they are as vocal as I am.

Unfortunately, even the majority of Lebanese living in America are afraid to openly voice their opinions about the Syrian aggression. In my own community in the U.S., it saddens me when I attempt to involve the Lebanese Americans, and all I receive is a cold shoulder. It is a shame that all of our resources in the United States are still not fully utilized. It is a shame that the majority of Lebanese immigrants have already given up on the cause.

Sadly enough, I am one of the few taking the “road less traveled” and going against all odds. Do the Lebanese Americans realize that if they truly have a purpose in life, it’s to make constructive use of their presence in America to change the status quo in Lebanon?

I know that our silence is not a sign of approval of the current situation, but rather our indifference is a sign of fear and surrender. Our indifference is interpreted as a sign of giving up on Lebanon. We are afraid that by speaking out, we endanger the lives of our loved ones left behind, and we risk losing the privileges of visiting Lebanon once a year. We are all connected to someone at home, but that never stopped me. I speak out because I want a better future for my people in Lebanon.

Let me be very candid with you: By behaving the way we are, we are doing our native country tremendous harm, and our country is losing its identity every passing day. And if we stay on this path of passiveness, we are guaranteed to self-destruct and see the Lebanon of tomorrow becoming similar to the present Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and all of the other Arab countries where the minorities have been silenced and multi-cultural communities are non-existent.

We are the masters of our own destiny. Lebanese Americans must detach their "sacred" cause from the Arab American cause. The "Arab American Institute" does not and has never represented the best interests of Lebanon. Let’s first and foremost work on our own cause. I am not suggesting that we desert our Lebanese Muslims and Druze brothers, because they are equally Lebanese and we must all unite for the sake of Lebanon and preserving our nation’s identity, just like we united for a brief time period under Bashir’s national agenda; but it is imperative we make sure they become as loud as us in our fight for a "Free Lebanon".

Our problems are no longer about religious divide; they never were in the first place, but that’s what they led us to believe. Folks, Lebanon’s wars were never a Lebanese war, it was the wars of others on Lebanese soil.

If we want to envision the Lebanon of tomorrow, we must ALL dream, we must unite, we must speak out, we must tell American politicians that their foreign policy of yesterday stinks and that the players they are dealing with today and have dealt with for the last 10 years are “evil doers”. We must tell the American politicians that they need to fully support new players who love freedom and who love democracy. We must remind the American politicians they are drifting away from their own principals.

Lebanese people in the Diaspora must unite, and present themselves as real “players”.

We are not afraid of your sick games. You are nothing more than a paper tiger. You can intimidate some Lebanese people sometime, but you cannot silence all Lebanese all the time.

For one, Syria always finds ways to deliver something to the US; (i.e. terrorists, intelligence sharing, etc...). We as Lebanese don't; the pervasive thoughts being: How could we while under Syrian tutelage? And then, does any smart guy out there really think Syria will ever tolerate having Lebanese compete with them for American acquiescence?.

Well, time has come for us to show America and the world what the Lebanese can deliver.

First off, let's put ALL of our weight behind HR 4483 and S 2215 (Syria Accountability Act of 2002) and make sure both Resolutions pass.

Second, let's go on major fundraising and grassroots lobbying campaigns throughout the Land and make sure our message gets across, loud and clear, to every single American home. Having said that, it would be good to see the 15 major Lebanese American organizations in the US joining forces under ONE front and heavily facing off the Syrian, Hizballah and Arabist fronts; the three biggest enemies of the United States.

Third, let's stop listening to all of the intimidators out there along with Bashar Assad's latest "conniving" overtures to the Christian community through his "power hungry crony" Karim Pakradouni. We all know this is nothing but a big farce. Vintage Syrian product.

Remember the Serenity Prayers… “God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things that we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. And God, give us the courage not to give up on what we think is right even though it is hopeless”.

Would you like to comment on this article?

If you would like to send us your thoughts on this article, please click the button below:

If you would like to read feedback submitted by other visitors, please click on the button below:

Article:	Syria's Intimidation Tactics and the Lebanese Fear Factor
Author:	Karim Akl
Date:	July 2002