In the end, the state of Lebanon when he is on the scene certainly does not show any love or respect for the people or the country.

I meant to say: The state the Lebanon is in when he (Aoun) is on the scene bears witness to his lack of respect for the people or the country.

The reason that I do not agree with “opportunistic shithead” term is because he is clearly not very successful at using opportunities created even for his own purposes - for example to further his career. Hence, to me, he presents as a selfish, arrogant asshole.

I quite agree with your summary Arecibo, but I think his beginnings deserve a closer examination. Exile or not? He did ask for asylum. At the beginnings he was supposedly well respected both in the army and by civilians for good treatment of detainees. What is his agenda with Hezbollah - he was brought up in Christian household?

I know that I’ve read many interviews where, on a personal level, he doesn’t differentiate between people of different religions. Then again, I’ve read interviews where he blasts Syria, now fawns over them. Ideologically, I don’t really know why he’s allied with Hezbollah in the least. He supposedly stands for secular government. They supposedly stand for an Islamic state, though only if chosen by the people - even though they have de facto control of much of the country, have had no problem in killing along sectarian and political lines within their own government and population to force a change in government via coup. This clearly doesn’t mix.

I’m not sure I doubt his ultimate origins, i.e. pre-political aspirations. I think that everything he has done as Prime Minister and since has been self-serving, cowardly, deceitful.

http://web.archive.org/web/20070126071254/http://www.tayyar.org/files/gma2/aoun120902_CPN.htm

Quoting Arecibo:

“PAT ROBERTSON: (…)tell me about Hezbollah. We hear about the terrorist group Hezbollah. What relation do they have to Syria?

GENERAL AOUN: Hezbollah is not a separate entity from Syria. It is under the Syrian operational control.

ROBERTSON: The so-called terrorist group is under the operational control of Syria?

AOUN: Yes, 100 percent, no question about that.”

This flies in the face of everything he says now.

From an article titled “Aoun Defends Hezbollah Network and Arms”:

http://nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=41022

Quoting Arecibo:

In his weekly press conference following a Change and Reform bloc meeting, bloc head General Michel Aoun defended Hezbollah’s communications network as integral to the defense of Lebanon. “Hezbollah’s arms should be awarded a diploma of good conduct,” he added.

(…)Aoun drew the Lebanese Forces into a comparison with Hezbollah. “There are Lebanese Forces in Rmeish and Qlayat, and they move freely, so why should Hezbollah not move in Kesrouan and Jbeil?” he asked.

From his May 9th address:

Quoting Arecibo:

“On this day, I would like to address the Lebanese people in general and our people in Beirut in particular. Today is the day of victory; not the victory of some people over some others, because in Lebanon all the Lebanese people win together.

(…)Today, we go back to our normal life. Our streets will be safe and so will be our city.

Yes, Aoun, thank God that Hezbollah, an organization that is apparently “100% controlled by Syria”, a country whom you maintained was the main factor in keeping Lebanon from independence, a country whom you waged war against and similarly waged war against you, is keeping Lebanon on the path to independence and transparency.

In the end, the state of Lebanon when he is on the scene certainly does not show any love or respect for the people or the country.

What is interesting is that one of the articles I had read on him applied the phrase “David becomes Goliath” to him at the time when he was appointed prime minister.

In the end, I just wish for the people of Lebanon and of the Middle East (and the rest of the World ) to have the freedom from conflicts both military and domestic.

Now he’s turned his back on the very principles of the Cedar Revolution that “allowed” him to return in the first place. After handing over the country to Syria almost two decades ago, he comes back and allies himself with pro-Syria and pro-Iran groups? He supports unlawful action that threatens civilians’ lives and limits the power of democratically elected officials whom he opposes? He’s allowing an extremist religious terror group to be the de facto absolute power of the country, when he has forever protested that the the governmental identity should be a secular one, simply because Hezbollah (previously) enjoyed widespread support? He’s calling the government corrupt, even though he supports the only real corruption that’s been going on, which is Hezbollah’s targeted compromising of military and security personnel to conduct illegal and dangerously self-serving espionage and communications, all the while talking about overthrowing the government and reiterating how much “support” he has?

He wants to be President, and he doesn’t care who he has to side with, what they believe in, nor what they have to do to topple the current establishment and give him the opportunity to lead the country - a position he somewhat held before, which lead to him royally fucking the place up. He has ruined Lebanon in the past, he’s doing it now, and he will do it again in the future, all acceptable costs to him to get what he wants.

If that isn’t being an opportunistic shithead, what is?

General Michel Aoun is an opportunistic shithead who aligns himself according to the prevailing winds…
I would trust him or anything he has to say about as far as I can throw a cheescake underwater…

Don’t call him an “opportunistic shithead” just because some time long ago he was able to secure support from left, right and center. He is an old man who tried to get his power back and it just didn’t happen for him. There is a short overview of elections here http://www.beirutbeltway.com/beirutbeltway/2006/11/michel_aoun_the.html

You should go visit his web site - precious! There is a link to Aoun songs.

Helz, that historic overview is “slanted” to the point of becoming a propoganda material, I should know, I caught the dusk of communism :)

http://mwcnews.net/content/view/22416/26/

Roy, you said it. I don’t know if Helz realized that Aoun was living in France after Syria took over Lebanon in the 90’s and only came back after the Cedar revolution. That at the beginning he was anti Syrian but when he wasn’t considered as a candidate for presidency he turned on the government and joined forces with his earlier enemies (Syria). Aoun will do anything and align himself with whomever offers him presidency. He doesn’t care about the Lebanese, he only cares about his own egotistical self.

Aoun was in France because he was forced into exile.
It is your viewpoint that he cares about his own egotistical self, however others view the opposite in that he cares for the truth, justice, and stability of lebanon.

it’s all about viewpoint and where your sympathies and support lies.

http://www.voltairenet.org/article156981.html
and
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/fisk/robert-fisk-hizbollah-rules-west-beirut-in-irans-proxy-war-with-us-825430.html

I could hear AK47 rounds, Soviet .51 (outgoing it seems) Rpg’s, rockets (multiple) and maybe even a couple tank rounds. And she was alone!!!!!???? Wqw…..

Hizbullah and Aoun kept on claiming that March 14 forces had militias, this was proven to be wrong. Hizbullah faced almost no resistance. For those claiming that March 14 had arms and that signifies they did have militias, they have to realize that almost every home in Lebanon has arms. However, guns don’t kill people, people kill people. Hizbullah made the decision to use force. March 14 decided not to use force and instead has surrendered what weapons they have to the army. In the end I pray that peace prevails.

Quoting helz:

Lebanon’s governing coalition, the March 14 Forces, accused Hizbullah of staging a military coup against the state and said that Hizbullah’s arms have become illegitimate after they were used against their fellow Lebanese citizens. “Hizbullah’s claim that its arms were only targeted at Israel have proved false and invalid in the past two days, which witnessed the uses of such arms against the Lebanese people,” the statement said.

Lebanese Forces boss Samir Geagea, reading the March 14 Forces statement after a meeting at his residence in Maarab, rejected Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s claim that the group’s weapons were used against other Lebanese in a bid to protect Hizbullah’s possession of arms.

(quote from the article you linked to).

I could easily offer this explanation:

Quoting helz:

Earlier on Friday, Free Patriotic Movement leader General Michel Aoun said that the recent events have put the country back on the right track.

Aoun held the government responsible for the eruption of violence in Beirut and said that he had previously warned the United Nations Security Council that the situation in Lebanon could escalate at any time if the international community continued its support for the “illegitimate” Siniora government.

“I also warned them [the ruling coalition] not to arm themselves. I told them that they will not have the chance to use their arms,” Aoun said.

The retired general, a leading figure of the Hizbullah-led opposition movement, described the seizure of most parts of west Beirut by Hizbullah and Amal Movement militants as a victory for Lebanon.

“It is not the victory of one party over the other. It is a victory for Lebanon.”

(same article you linked to).

it’s all about a viewpoint. of course the March 14 Forces and Geagea are gonna say that; they have always been rivals of Nasrallah and Aoun. it’s all a complex and intricate cycle of politics, and when one event errupts, it gets a broad stroke view of one incident and ignores the long-winding complexities involved and up to that one incident.

Then, with a huge lump in your throat and an aching sickness in your belly, you try to calm yourself…
you drink, you smoke, you reach for any visceral distraction available… you speak of this not being your destiny… you rationalize… black humor enters the conversation…

You get nothing done… you life becomes sitting and waiting for the hammer to fall… waiting for news, but hounded by rumor… you are frozen in time… and most terrifying, after a while, eventually you get used to it… you grow numb… you accept the most horrifyingly abnormal things as mere happenstance…

And finally, your eyes take on a thousand mile stare…

So who’s more to blame? The group or the people who support it only to fall under its tyranny a few years later?

You know, I can identify a lot of the weapon systems being used there, and it’s unnerving to me. I can only imagine what it must feel like to someone who has no idea.

It’s a nightmare and you can see that she is just trying to keep her composure.

The fear of looters and riots is disturbing also. “Get the fuck out,” is right.