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U.N. Says Syria Conflict Makes 'Impact' on Lebanon. Really.
[An Nahar] The United Nations...where theory meets practice and practice loses... on Tuesday highlighted the impact of the Syrian conflict on Leb as it called for support for the country's armed forces and other key institutions. U.N. leader  the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... and U.N.-Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... envoy Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi have stressed support for President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... and key state institutions as the 27-month-old Syria war increasingly spills over the border. A battle between the army and followers of Salafist holy man Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir in the southern city of Sidon was "a stern reminder to all of the risks of the conflict in Syria spreading across the border," Brahimi said Tuesday in Geneva. At least 17 troops were killed in the battle and the army has launched a manhunt for al-Assir. Brahimi said at least 50 people were killed in all in the worst festivities in the country since the start of the Syrian war in March 2011. Posted by: Fred 2013-06-26 |
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