From: nickk@nospamsnet.net   
      
   This Terrible War   
   By Archbishop George Khodr   
   Orthodox Christian Metropolitan of Mount Lebanon   
      
        I beseeched God, since the beginning of this distress, to   
   overshadow Lebanon under His generous mercy. His mercy shall stop this   
   war waged by Israel spitefully. An absurd death, evil, and terrible is   
   falling upon us besides the annihilation, the tearing apart, and ripping   
   to pieces of the country. This enemy is delighted in our death—the death   
   of our innocent nation in its overall constituting sects and groups—no   
   matter what we may consider of the wisdom of this or that of these sects.   
      
        I am not surprised by Israel’s action; this is present in the   
   literature of its fathers who ordered the annihilation of the Canaanites   
   that is our people. This is ancient and is prior to the founding texts   
   of Zionism which endeavors the founding of a racially prejudiced Jewish   
   state. This excluding principle is opposed to the principle of founding   
   of modern nations. This does not shock me, but what shocks me is the   
   lineup of the Americans and Europeans in general, behind the Jewish   
   state, and the position of the United States in stating that Israel has   
   the right to defend itself! Who attacked it? If what Mr. Bush intended   
   is the kidnapping of the two soldiers, does that verify all the   
   massacres, destruction, terror, and starvation waged upon the Lebanese   
   people? Is it necessary to burn Lebanon in order to return these two   
   soldiers? There is no relation of causality between the abduction and   
   this open war. Then, who can believe that such a military operation of   
   this scale is a mere reaction; shouldn’t have taken months of   
   preparation in the scope of a huge action against Lebanon—as a part of   
   an international political plan—aiming at greatly shaking the whole   
   region? The great hypocrisy is that the Americans, after their great   
   failure in Iraq, do see Lebanon fit to become a model of a free   
   democratic state amongst the Arabs: whilst they bless, or do not stop,   
   the aggression against it. Is democracy feasible in an incapable   
   country?  Subsequent to the policy of “burned ground” which the Israelis   
   are eager to enforce; who can possibly attain a democratic and civilized   
   state capable of inspiring freedom to the Arab world? Those who think   
   that the abduction of the two Israeli soldiers was an act of foolishness   
   on the part of Hezbollah (I don’t say he’s acquitted) use it as the   
   direct reason to impede the ongoing national dialogue which was closing   
   to a form of an agreement between it and the other parties. Either   
   disclosed or silent disagreement with Hezbollah at the present time can   
   only serve and support Israel and the nations behind it. Whatever it   
   turns to be, I see that this war shall strengthen the Lebanese character   
   of Hezbollah once it discovers that its foreign allies or those who   
   supported it financially shall not consult Hezbollah when they shall try   
   to negotiate an agreement with the Americans. The victory of the   
   National Resistance in this war shall strengthen Lebanon and shall bring   
   this Resistance closer to other national groups and confirm its pure   
   Lebanese belonging.   
      
                ***   
      
        I wrote this article past Monday and maybe a cease-fire will be in   
   place before it is published. What the Lebanese shall recognize is that   
   they have to seek after power sources and reform for their government; a   
   great mobilization of our resources can free us of our fragility. In   
   times of truce or peace, we must identify, not only our enemy who is   
   killing us today, but also to identify those who are halfhearted or just   
   don’t care about us, and wow then to him who didn't realize that our   
   true national unity rests upon our complete and unconditional loyalty to   
   our nation alone. The nations, who affirmed their support to our   
   sovereignty after the withdrawal of the Syrian armies from Lebanon, have   
   demonstrated that their sole unconditional support is for Israel. Are we   
   able to prove to these nations that Lebanon is an absolute issue too,   
   and that no one has the right to watch over its fires like Nero who   
   observed the fire of Rome accusing the Christians of what he did? Under   
   the shadow of death we taste today, we have the right to feel wrath, and   
   to refuse to be exclusively dependent on others for our existence. We’re   
   not a resented nation but don’t we have the right to feel anger?   
      
                We shall descend in total death if we, after the end of the   
   present distress, surrender to silly sectarian tensions. We shall   
   congratulate who made victory possible because it is our victory all.   
   History shall thus pass, but wow to all Arabs if Israel defeats us   
   because it shall then enslave them all.   
      
                Western nations did not yet realize that the peace of the   
   region will not be the American peace but the Israeli. America did not   
   understand that it is Israel which is using it; and that Israel—in its   
   deep psychology—has no ally, despite its strategic alliance with the   
   United States. This is a juridical alliance not a psychological one. And   
   I wish if the world Christians could comprehend that the Jewish   
   supremacy brought in by the Israeli victory is, in its first degree,   
   endangering their own existence because the real clash is, on the   
   religious doctrinal level, between the Church and Judaism. The yielding   
   of the Christians of the West in front of Jews and Judaism, manifest in   
   the Judainization of Christian theology since the past ninety years, did   
   not yet influence eastern churches here, Orthodox and Unorthodox, and   
   may reach us here causing us to fall in the heresy of Zionist   
   Christianity. Beyond Israeli arrogance there shines a clear Jewish   
   arrogance; they hate Christ personally, and especially, hate the Apostle   
   Paul who prevailed over Judaism. All of this is prevailing in Jewish   
   literature, but who is reading?   
      
                Lebanese Christians may not have today great weight in the   
   politics of their country. But I boldly declare to them that Israel   
   doesn’t prefer their existence over Islamic existence, because Lebanese   
   Christians don’t have what to offer to win the hearts of Jews, meanwhile   
   Muslims have oil. We coexisted with Arab Muslims for a long period, and   
   mostly it was a peaceful coexistence. We found here in Lebanon a   
   coexistence principle which granted us the greatest possible freedom and   
   we won’t enjoy greater freedom under a Jewish peace.   
      
     ***   
      
                And after the pain, creativity must rein; forgiveness must   
   rein over the whole Lebanese mosaic. But this requires from us not to   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)