سجعان قزي

@AzziSejean

كان يَنقُصُ غِبطةَ البطريرك بشارة الراعي أن يُحدِّدَ له بعضُ السياسيّين الوارثَي النعمة، والأحزابِ الحديثي العهد طبيعةَ علاقتِه بأبرشيّاتِه ودورِها. إذا بُلِيتُم بالجُبنِ فاسْتتِروا. الكمينُ الذي تَعرّضَ له المطران موسى الحاجّ ليس حادثًا بسيطًا وبريئًا. لم يُفتعَل لكي يُحَلَّ سريعًا. ولن يُحلَّ ذاتَ يومٍ من دون آثارٍ جانبيّةٍ وأضرار. والبطريركيةُ المارونيّةُ ليست قاضي تحقيقٍ لكي تُحدِّدَ المسؤوليّةَ الإسميّةَ عن نَصبِ الكمين. توجدُ مجموعةٌ حاكمةٌ بالتكافلِ والتضامنِ، أذْرعُها تَمتدُّ إلى جميعِ مفاصلِ الدولةِ ومؤسّساتِها وأجهزِتها وقُضاتِها وتَتوزَّعُ ارتكابَ الجُنحِ والجِنايات. وإذا لم تَكن هذه المجموعةُ وراءَ ما حَصلَ للمطران الحاجّ، فلتَتفضَّل وتَجِدْ حَلًّا فوريًّا للحادث وتَعتذر، وإلا تَدينُ نفسَها بنفسِها. لكن ما نَعرِفه هو أنَّ للحادثِ أبعادًا ترمي إلى التأثيرِ على مواقفِ البطريرك بشارة الراعي من عدّةِ قضايا، أبرزُها: انتخاباتُ رئاسةِ الجُمهوريّةِ، قيادةُ الجيش، حاكميّةُ مصرِف لبنان، تَسييسُ القضاء، سلاحُ حزبِ الله، مفاوضاتُ الطاقةِ مع إسرائيل، إلخ...

لا نَستَهْوِلنَّ هذه الروابط، فعلى وَقعِ هذا الكمينِ المدَبَّر، يريدُ البعضُ إسكاتَ صوت المعارَضة، وتحقيقَ أهدافٍ عدّةٍ في توقيتٍ محليٍّ وإقليميٍّ ودُوَليٍّ مليءٍ بالمفاجآت والتحوّلات. ولقد تَقصّدَ مُفتعِلو الحادثِ ربطَ مصدرِ المساعداتِ الماليّةِ والطِبيّةِ بواقعِ القطيعةِ مع إسرائيل لإحراجِ أطرافٍ سياسيّةٍ، فتُحجِمُ عن التضامنِ مع بكركي والمطران. هكذا، رأينا قياداتٍ مختلِفةً تلتزمُ الصمتَ، وأخرى تَتبرّأُ وتُزايِدُ، وأُخْرى تُسقِطُ حقَّها من المساعدات الآتيةِ إليها من أنسبائِها في إسرائيل.

By Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English -- As Lebanese soldiers communicated during a counterterrorism simulation, American troops stood on a hilltop in northern Lebanon to observe an operation that marked the culmination of a two-week training exercise. Around 60 US personnel from the Navy, Marines, Army and Coast Guard participated in Resolution Union 2022, an annual exercise between the two armies focused on maritime security operations, mine countermeasures and explosive ordnance disposal. The live-fire event saw various branches of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) integrate air, naval, and ground capabilities during the operation.

Three separate operations were carried out in the exercise: long-range fire on hostile and terrorist targets using various tanks; closing in on a building housing a senior terrorist leader using ground and air support; chasing down a boat that was believed to have been used for the terrorist leader to escape the raided building; visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) of a ship used for smuggling; a rescue operation of injured personnel on board the vessel during the VBSS; and helicopter missile fire at a target on land. “This is a pretty sophisticated performance,” one senior US military member told Al Arabiya English. “This takes a high level of professionalism and education.” The military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak, lauded the LAF as being “one of the more advanced armies in the region.” The US military is one of the top in the world in integrating different attack and defense methods. Now they are trying to help other countries do the same to counter drug trafficking and terrorism while working to integrate the air defense systems of more advanced militaries in the region.

Since 2006, the US has invested over $2.5 billion in the LAF, which has used this training and weaponry provided by Washington to defeat an extremist militant organization in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in 2007 and become one of the first armies in the region to push ISIS entirely out of it borders in 2017. But there have been mounting concerns over the LAF’s ability to decide between war and peace, which the Iran-backed Hezbollah arguably has complete control over. Nevertheless, US support has continued to bolster the LAF and this has been observed as recently as this month when American lawmakers agreed to reroute US taxpayer funds to include “livelihood support” for Lebanese soldiers.

by middleeasteye.net - A bodyguard of Gebran Bassil, the leader of Lebanon's Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and son-in-law of President Michel Aoun, has been charged by the FBI for gun smuggling. George Ajaltouni allegedly purchased weapons at gun shows and dealerships in Ohio and shipped them to Lebanon by hiding them in secret compartments in modified cars, according to an indictment reviewed by Middle East Eye. Between May 2011 and September 2014, Ajaltouni worked with another Lebanese man, Jean Youssef Issa, to send hundreds of firearms, mainly handguns, to Lebanon. Issa was recently arrested after a red notice was issued by Interpol. Ajaltouni, 47, is currently believed to be residing in Batroun, Lebanon, which is also the hometown of Bassil, who served as foreign minister from 2014 to 2020. The FBI has also released an indictment for Nakhle “Mike” Nader, a former Cleveland, Ohio, resident and acquaintance of Ajaltouni. Nader has been charged with four counts of income tax evasion related to various businesses he owned and operated in Ohio.

Mr Ajaltouni is also charged with naturalisation fraud after obtaining naturalisation and US citizenship in 2009 that he was not entitled to nor eligible to receive, according to the indictment. The indictments were filed between 2016 and 2019 but were unsealed on Tuesday. Shortly after their release, pictures appeared online of Bassil and Ajaltouni together at a table having drinks. A second image shows Ajaltouni shaking hands with Lebanese President Michel Aoun.