<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<div class="container content-width3" style="--font-size:20px;">
<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element"> <font
size="-2"><a class="domain reader-domain"
href="https://thegrayzone.com/2019/12/01/us-working-lebanon-corruption-protests-hezbollah/">https://thegrayzone.com/2019/12/01/us-working-lebanon-corruption-protests-hezbollah/</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">Technocracy now: The US is working to
turn Lebanon’s anti-corruption protests against Hezbollah</h1>
December 1, 2019</div>
<hr>
<div class="content">
<div class="moz-reader-content line-height4 reader-show-element">
<div id="readability-page-1" class="page">
<div>
<h3>While Lebanon’s protests remain focused on the economy
and widespread corruption, Washington is increasingly
determined to exploit the movement as a geopolitical
weapon in the region.</h3>
<h3>By Rania Khalek</h3>
<p><strong><em>This is part one of a two-part report.</em></strong></p>
<p><span>Lebanon erupted in massive protests this October.
The demonstrations transcended sect and class, and
quickly spread across the country. The movement was
spurred by the levying of regressive taxes and the
persistence of a corrupt neoliberal order that has
mismanaged the economy and hollowed out the public
sector while enriching a handful of elites amid a </span><a
href="https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/11/23/middleeast/lebanon-economy-protests-intl/index.html?__twitter_impression=true"><span>looming
economic collapse</span></a><span>. </span></p>
<p>Though the protests remain focused on class issues and
corruption, the US is increasingly determined to co-opt
the movement for its own goals. At the forefront of
Washington’s agenda is ousting Hezbollah from the
Lebanese governing coalition and marginalizing the Shia
political-military movement as a means of weakening
Iran. In its place, the US and its proxies inside
Lebanon are demanding a “technocratic” government with
no interest in resisting Israel.</p>
<p><span>Former US ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman
explicitly spelled out US interests during recent
congressional testimony, <a
href="https://www.brookings.edu/testimonies/whats-next-for-lebanon-examining-the-implications-of-current-protests/">proclaiming</a>
that</span><span> the protests “fortunately coincide
with U.S. interests” against Hezbollah. He urged
stepped-up American intervention, emphasizing “the
value of domestic initiative combined with external
[Western] support.” </span></p>
<p><span>Leftist groups responded angrily to Feltman’s
rhetoric, staging a protest outside the US embassy and
posting a massive billboard in downtown Beirut
depicting the former diplomat above a slogan calling
on Washington to leave Lebanon alone. </span></p>
<p>American meddling in the protests is not yet a
full-scale operation, however it has been seen through
the presence of US-backed political parties and
activists backed by the most familiar outfits of the US
regime-change machine: the <a
href="https://thegrayzone.com/2018/08/20/inside-americas-meddling-machine-the-us-funded-group-that-interferes-in-elections-around-the-globe/">National
Endowment for Democracy</a> (NED), the US Institute
for Peace (USIP), and <a
href="https://thegrayzone.com/tag/usaid/">USAID</a>.</p>
<p>Together, these elements are seeking to popularize the
call for a technocratic, Hezbollah-free government in
provocative actions across the country.</p>
<h3>A leaderless resistance pressures the government</h3>
<p><span>Based in downtown Beirut, the protests initially
included Hezbollah’s working-class base and civil
society activists, symbolizing a rejection of the
sectarian power-sharing system that was installed
under French colonial rule and re-enforced under the
post-civil war Taif agreement. </span></p>
<p><span>Within days, however, the protests began to morph
into a strange leaderless mix of middle and lower
middle class students, along with liberals, civil
society and NGO activists, US-backed political
parties, small leftist groups, hipster types, and
anti-Hezbollah activists. </span></p>
<p><span>While the vast majority of protesters simply
sought a functioning government that could provide for
their basic needs, the current make-up of their
movement and lack of ideology among most demonstrators
created a wide opening for meddling by outside actors.
This was especially true for the US, which has honed
methods to co-opt anti-government protest movements
and manipulate them into carrying out regime-change
goals.</span></p>
<p><span>In Lebanon, the US has been openly determined to
overturn Hezbollah’s win in the 2018 elections that
gave it a majority alongside its coalition allies the
Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), a Christian party, and
Amal, a Shia party. This governing coalition enabled
Hezbollah to protect its traditional interests, among
which deterring Israel is paramount, without serving
as the face of the government. </span></p>
<p><span>Hezbollah grew out of Israel’s occupation in
Lebanon, and managed to liberate the south from
Israeli occupation in 2000 and again when the Israelis
invaded in 2006. Hezbollah was also crucial to the
defeat of ISIS, al-Qaeda, and the collection of
US-backed extremist groups in both Syria and Lebanon
in the proxy war that began in 2011.</span></p>
<p><span>Today, the pro-Hezbollah March 8 coalition
represents one of the two major political blocs that
divide the Lebanese polity. The other is the American-
and Saudi-backed March 14 alliance. </span></p>
<p><span>The March 14 bloc includes the Future Party,
headed by Sunni leader and Prime Minister Saad Hariri,
who has been hobbled since the Saudis withdrew their
financial support and briefly kidnapped and tortured
him. Then there is Druze leader Walid Joumblatt’s
Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), which is neither
progressive nor socialist; and the Lebanese Forces led
by Samir Geagea, a Maronite Christian leader and
formerly imprisoned war lord. </span></p>
<p><span>According to cables published by Wikileaks, </span><a
href="https://search.wikileaks.org/?q=jeffrey+feltman+geagea"><span>Geagea
was the main US embassy contact</span></a><span>
during the 2008 clashes between the two blocs. In
meetings at the embassy, Geagea repeatedly </span><a
href="https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08BEIRUT662_a.html"><span>asked
Washington to supply</span></a><span> his militia
with weapons against Hezbollah. </span></p>
<p><span>On the other side is the March 8 bloc comprised
of the Shia parties: Hezbollah, led by Hassan
Nasrallah, the charismatic and well-known spiritual
leader, and Amal, which is headed by the speaker of
Lebanon’s parliament, Nabih Berri. The final component
of the coalition is the Christian FPM, led by Lebanese
President Michel Aoun. Since the civil war, these
parties have defined Lebanon’s political make-up and
substantially influenced regional dynamics. </span><span> </span></p>
<p><span>The protests that have swept Lebanon over the
past month have placed enormous pressure on the
governing coalition, while offering perceived
political openings for its most opportunistic
opponents – especially those with historic ties to the
US. </span></p>
<p><span>Due to the irresponsible decisions of the ruling
politicians seeking to pit their streets against each
other, the situation has escalated in recent days. To
understand how the potentially explosive situation has
developed, it is important to examine the genesis of
the protests.</span></p>
<p><b>Rising up against a failed oligarchy</b></p>
<p><span>On October 17, protests erupted spontaneously in
downtown Beirut in reaction to a raft of regressive
taxes. These included a tax on Whatsapp, one of the
only free methods of communication in an otherwise
expensive telecommunications market. </span></p>
<p><span>But the levies were themselves preceded by a
series of events that led to the inevitable explosion.
In early October, Lebanon’s forests were devastated by
wildfires due in large part to government negligence
and ineptitude. The state had for instance failed to
even pay for the most basic maintenance of the
helicopters needed to put out the fires. </span></p>
<p><span>At the same time, a shortage of US dollars, which
Lebanon’s economy depends on, led to panic about a
looming collapse — something economists have been
predicting for years. </span><span> </span></p>
<p><span>The public rage was compounded by the fact that
30 years after the civil war, the weak Lebanese state
was still not able to provide basic services like
24-hour electricity, potable water, or waste
management. This was a result of the neoliberal order
that was imposed on Lebanon after the civil war by
international financial institutions in coordination
with the country’s ruling elites.</span></p>
<p><span>Lebanon’s main political parties are run by civil
war-era warlords who have exploited a dysfunctional
system to make themselves billionaires. They and their
children flaunt their wealth in the streets and on
social media. </span></p>
<p><span>Prime Minister Saad Hariri presents perhaps the
most visible and cartoonish example: the ultra-wealthy
fail-son was revealed in October to have </span><a
href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191001-hariri-said-to-have-given-16-million-to-south-african-model/"><span>sent
$16 million</span></a><span> to his South African
mistress. </span></p>
<p><span>Another factor driving the protests was
frustration with the country’s sectarian system, which
generates corruption and gridlock. Under Lebanon’s
power-sharing agreement, the president must be a
Christian Maronite; the prime minister must be Sunni
Muslim; and the speaker of parliament is mandated as a
Shia Muslim. </span></p>
<p><span>This dynamic forces Lebanese citizens into a
state of dependence on their communal sect leaders for
services rather than the state, leading to a weak
central government. The different sect leaders are
extremely corrupt and have enriched themselves through
nepotism, theft, and a Ponzi scheme economy. </span></p>
<p><span>The powerful banking sector is also politicized;
it has been turned into an enemy of Hezbollah through
its partnership and cooperation with American
sanctions. Moreover, the head of the Central Bank,
Riad Salamah, has aspired to remove the FPM-affiliated
foreign minister, Gibran Bassil, and replace the
current president, Michel Aoun. He also wants to
weaken Hezbollah, which he and the banking sector view
as a magnet for US sanctions and, therefore, a
liability to their bottom line. </span></p>
<p><span>Recently imposed US sanctions have already led to
the </span><a
href="https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1900376/fears-over-exclusion-shiites-lebanese-banking-sector"><span>liquidation</span></a><span>
of a Shia-owned Lebanese bank, Jammal Trust, on the
highly dubious grounds that it was financing Hezbollah
activity. (Jammal Trust was, in fact, </span><a
href="https://thegrayzone.com/2019/09/03/pro-israel-sigal-mandelker-fbi-americans-iran/"><span>a
close ally of the US embassy</span></a><span> and
partnered with USAID to fund literacy programs in the
country). </span><b> </b></p>
<p><span>There was little doubt that an economic crisis
was on the way in Lebanon, but US sanctions have
accelerated the process. Sanctions against Hezbollah
and anything deemed remotely affiliated with the Shia
political movement are a part of the US’s maximum
pressure campaign against Iran. They aim to bleed
Hezbollah’s social welfare programs, which ultimately
</span><a
href="https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/05/article/iran-sanctions-to-hit-hezbollah-welfare-programs/"><span>hurts</span></a><span>
the poor in their constituency, and threatens the
businesses of wealthy Shias as well. </span></p>
<p><span>In such a precarious economy, a few US sanctions
were all that was needed to immiserate a large sector
of the Lebanese public.</span><b> </b></p>
<p><span>This was the backdrop to the display of mass
outrage that erupted in downtown Beirut this October.
At first, a small group of demonstrators occupied the
area. They included middle class activists from a 2015
protest against a lack of sanitation as well as poor
Shias. In the course of their demonstration, they ran
up against a convoy belonging to the minister of
education, Akram Chehayeb. His bodyguards reacted with
fear and then hyper-aggression, firing their rifles
into the air. </span></p>
<p><span>Videos of the violent spectacle spread on social
media, provoking more citizens to join the protest.
The next wave of demonstrators aimed their anger at
the downtown property that belongs to Solidere, the
real estate privatization and redevelopment company of
former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, which profited
tremendously after the civil war while transforming
the ruins of downtown into a bubble of inaccessible
luxury. </span><span> </span></p>
<p><span>The next two days saw groups of young masked men
on motorbikes efficiently coordinating roadblocks
across the city, lighting garbage bins and tires on
fire. Many of them were Hezbollah supporters. </span></p>
<p><em><span>Above: Young men on motorbikes set up
roadblocks with trash cans and burning tires.
October 18, 2019</span></em></p>
<p><em><span>Above: Young men set fires to block the road.
October 18, 2019</span></em></p>
<p><span>“We started destroying and blocking what we
believed is sucking the last cent out of our pockets:
Solidere,” one of them told me.</span></p>
<p><span>Meanwhile, the protests ballooned, filling the
streets downtown and spreading to other parts of the
country, bringing in people from all classes and
sects. But the momentum was short lived. </span></p>
<p><span>Hezbollah’s base played an important role in the
protests in the early stages, hoping the street
actions would provide opportunity to pressure Amal,
the rival Shia party headed by Nabih Berri, the
speaker of the parliament. Berri is viewed as one of
the most corrupt politicians in Lebanon. Hezbollah’s
attempted reforms to help the poor had been obstructed
by Amal, hence the attempt to put pressure on Berri.
Amal was up to its eyeballs in corruption, feasting on
the Shia share of the public budget, and constantly
provoking Hezbollah’s constituency. </span></p>
<p><span>Days into the protests, Hezbollah supporters from
the student unions made a strong showing in protests
outside the Central bank. But then, they were
sideswiped by the right-wing.</span></p>
<p><b>US-aligned parties join the protests</b></p>
<p><span>On day three, Samir Geagea, the leader of the
US-backed Lebanese Forces (LF), removed his four
ministers from government, supposedly in solidarity
with the protests. LF is a right-wing pro-American
party that had been one of the most brutal militias in
Lebanon’s civil war. And Geagea’s decision changed the
course of the movement. </span></p>
<p><span>Walid Jumblatt of the Progressive Socialist Party
(PSP) threatened to remove his own ministers, placing
his party in the opposition. Meanwhile, LF and PSP
supporters joined the protests by obstructing major
roads outside of Beirut: LF blocked the main highway
at Jal el Dib and other areas in the north while PSP
blocked the roads in the south.</span></p>
<p><span>Next, Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned,
placing his Saudi- and US-backed Future party on the
side of the protesters as well. Future was now in the
protest ranks, reinforcing the blockading of roads in
the south alongside members of PSP. </span></p>
<p><span>As these forces stepped up their involvement,
working-class Hezbollah supporters began to withdraw
from the movement, especially as certain elements
began chanting against Hezbollah and its weapons.
Suddenly, the protests had assumed a familiar and
ominous March 8 versus March 14 feel. </span></p>
<p><span>Throughout this period, Hezbollah Secretary
General Hassan Nasrallah delivered several speeches
criticizing the protests as vehicles for outside
funding and hostile political parties. His rhetoric
only inflamed the protesters and deepened the
well-entrenched resentment of Hezbollah. </span></p>
<p><span>The billionaire Prime Minister Hariri had been a
staunch ally of America and Saudi Arabia who even
holds Saudi citizenship. Before his resignation,
Hariri was part of Hezbollah’s governing coalition.
Coalition leaders feared that the Americans would
target the whole government and place the country
under crushing sanctions without a Western-aligned
figure like him. Determined to delegitimize the
coalition, Saudi Arabia forced Hariri to resign at
gunpoint in 2017, but he ultimately returned to the
government. </span><span> </span></p>
<p><span>This time around, Hariri leveraged the protests
to try to pressure Michel Aoun to drop his son-in-law
Gibran Bassil as foreign minister, whom
anti-government elements blamed for giving Hezbollah
legitimacy on the international stage. But Aoun
wouldn’t budge. So Hariri resigned. </span></p>
<p><span>Hariri’s resignation not only obstructed the
government from dealing with the economic crisis, it
exposed the role of Hezbollah in the government and
thereby risked a new round of sanctions. Hezbollah
leadership believed that the prime minister’s
departure was influenced by the US and the Saudis, and
with good reason given the history.</span></p>
<p><span>As the political divide widened, the protests
became increasingly dominated by members of the middle
class and the Western-backed civil society and NGO
sector. This element diverted the initial working
class demands for justice into an all-out attack on
Hezbollah, its weapons, and its leadership. </span></p>
<p><span>The popular chant “<em>killun yaani killun</em>,”
or “all of them means all of them,” which was
initially directed at Lebanon’s entire cast of
leaders, soon turned into an anti-Hezbollah slogan,
with protesters adding, “and Nasrallah is one of
them.” Clashes between supporters of Amal and
Hezbollah and the middle class demonstrators soon
followed.</span></p>
<p><span>The White House was initially cautious and quiet
about the protests, uncertain where they might lead.
But a day after Hariri’s October 29 resignation,
Pompeo </span><a
href="https://twitter.com/secpompeo/status/1189328721469153281?s=21"><span>issued
a statement</span></a><span> supporting the protests
and the formation of a new government. </span></p>
<p><span>Suddenly, a series of panelists and think pieces
materialized explaining how the US should exploit the
situation against Hezbollah — and, by extension, Iran.
Washington views everything in Lebanon through an
anti-Iran lens, and sees Hezbollah purely as a proxy
of the government in Tehran. </span></p>
<p><span>The <a
href="https://thegrayzone.com/tag/atlantic-council/">Atlantic
Council</a>, a Washington-based think tank funded by
weapons companies and Western governments as well as
Bahaa Hariri, the brother of Saad Hariri, </span><a
href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/revolution-in-lebanon/"><span>published
a plea</span></a><span> for Trump to exploit the
Lebanon protests as a pretext for forcibly disarming
Hezbollah. The author was Frederic Hof, the former US
special envoy to Syria and a senior fellow at the
Rafik Hariri Center, which is named after the father
of Saad Hariri. </span></p>
<p><span>Those who had worked to turn the so-called Arab
Spring in Washington’s direction were out in force
again.</span></p>
<p><b>Enter the NGO industrial complex</b></p>
<p><span>Unfortunately for Washington, the core of the
protest movement remained primarily focused on the
economic crisis. Though Hezbollah had bolted the
protest ranks, leftist groups like the Lebanese
Communist Party, Citizens in a State, the Shaab
(People) Movement, and other socialist-oriented
elements remained involved. </span></p>
<p><span>In the past weeks, these groups had been holding
discussion groups and working to influence as many
protest participants in a left-wing direction.
However, they represent a small slice of Lebanese
society and lack the resources of US-backed parties
and civil society groups.</span></p>
<p><span>By contrast, the Sabaa party is flush with
funding. It was founded by Jad Dagher, a notoriously
shady Lebanese businessman who used to belong to the
Phalange, another right-wing Christian party close to
the US which carried out infamous massacres during the
civil war. </span></p>
<p><span>Dagher and his company DK Group were </span><a
href="https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl2666.aspx"><span>added</span></a><span>
to the US sanctions list in 2014 for allegedly aiding
the Syrian government, but were </span><a
href="https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20160830.aspx"><span>removed</span></a><span>
from the list in 2016. On average, the removal of a
company from the US Treasury Department’s sanctions
list </span><a
href="https://www.albawaba.com/business/us-removes-lebanon%27s-dk-group-from-trade-blacklist-879308"><span>takes
around eight to 10 years</span></a><span>, leading
some to wonder what kind of deals Dagher cut to get
him off the list in just two. </span><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Sabaa, which claims to have a disdain for
political parties, is considered by the left to be a
right-wing party operating under the guise of
non-sectarianism and liberalism. The group has kept up
a significant presence in downtown Beirut’s Martyr’s
Square, setting up a PA system that blasted music so
loud it was difficult to have any sort of meaningful
discussion. Notably, the group kept its name and logo
absent from all protest materials. Some left-wing
activists I spoke to suspected that Sabaa was using
the blaring music to drown out their ability to
organize effectively. </span></p>
<p><span>The other large group present at the downtown
protests was Beirut Madinati, a liberal group founded
by civil society activists and professors from the
American University of Beirut. This group emerged from
the 2015 “You Stink!” protests, which mobilized
against the lack of trash pickup and other middle
class civic concerns. </span></p>
<p><span>One of Beirut Madinati’s most high-profile
founders is </span><a
href="https://staff.aub.edu.lb/~jc11/index.htm"><span>Jad
Chaaban</span></a><span>, an AUB economics professor
who has worked at the World Bank and founded the
Lebanese Economic Association, a business roundtable
that </span><a
href="http://lea-econ.org/our-partners/"><span>receives
support</span></a><span> from USAID, Booz Allen, the
World Bank Group, and the Ford Foundation. It goes
without saying that he is considered an ally in
Washington.</span></p>
<p><span>Then there are the groups of artists who use
slogans from Syria’s protests, but updated for the
Lebanese context. For instance, the famous chant “<em>erhal
erhal ya Bashar</em>” (leave leave oh Bashar
[al-Assad]), which was heard in Syrian cities back in
2011, was remixed to “<em>erhal erhal ya Aoun,</em>”
referring to the Lebanese President Michel Aoun.</span></p>
<p><span>Many of the NGOs that are present express
solidarity with the economic demands at the core of
the protest movement. However, these groups are funded
by outside forces and inculcated in the discourse of
American and European liberalism. </span></p>
<p><span>A perfect example is Legal Agenda, a Lebanese NGO
</span><a
href="https://www.legal-agenda.com/moumawilin.php"><span>financed</span></a><span>
by the European Union, the Swiss embassy, the German
government-funded think tank Heinrich Böll Stiftung,
and the Open Society Foundation of anti-communist
billionaire George Soros. The organization offers
legal advice to marginalized groups, a noble cause to
be sure. Some members appeared to be assuming an
anti-Hezbollah line, however, commenting to me that
they were convinced the militia had plans to use its
weapons on protesters.</span></p>
<p><span>Another notable NGO is </span><a
href="https://megaphone.news/"><span>Megaphone News</span></a><span>,
a social media oriented outlet that </span><a
href="https://www.france24.com/en/20191116-megaphone-the-independent-media-giving-voice-to-lebanon-s-uprising"><span>bills
itself as independent</span></a><span>, but which is
funded by the European Endowment for Democracy, the
European government-backed sister organization of the
US regime-change outfit the National Endowment for
Democracy. Founded in 2017, Megaphone has played a
critical role in the production of memes, videos, and
music since the start of the uprising. </span></p>
<p><span>These various groups do not necessarily share a
unified agenda and do not always get along. Perhaps
the only thing that brings them together is their
resentment of Hezbollah. </span></p>
<p><span>The leftists are upset with Hezbollah for its
domestic policies. They argue that Hezbollah is
complicit in the neoliberal policies that have ruined
the economy – or at the very least, that Hezbollah has
not done enough to confront the notoriously corrupt
players in their coalition. </span></p>
<p><span>They are also angry that Hassan Nasrallah
criticized the protests as a vehicle for foreign
influence. After scuffles broke out between
Nasrallah’s supporters and protesters, he instructed
his constituents to leave the demonstrations to avoid
further clashes. This upset the leftists even more, as
they wanted Hezbollah to continue contributing
manpower and resources to the movement. </span><span> </span></p>
<p><span>However, Hezbollah supporters argue that their
party has not been in power long enough to change
anything. They insist on a strategic alignment with
parties like FPM and Amal in order to protect their
capacity to resist Israeli aggression. And they are
convinced it is necessary to be wary of foreign
influence over protests in a country like Lebanon that
outside powers are constantly meddling in. </span></p>
<p><span>Given the participation of their pro-American
political rivals and the anti-Hezbollah sentiment
among some segments of protesters, Hezbollah members
understandably view the protests with deep suspicion.</span><span> </span></p>
<p><span>At a demonstration of students from Lebanese
American University (LAU) and American University of
Beirut (AUB) on October 26, for example, there were
chants in favor of disarming Hezbollah. Others chanted
against Nasrallah. To Hezbollah ears, this rhetoric
amounts to a call for the wholesale destruction of
their movement. </span></p>
<p><span>At that same event, AUB president Fadlo Khuri
joined student protesters, encouraging them to
continue expressing themselves in the streets. Khuri’s
sudden support for free expression came as a surprise
to some who have worked under his administration. They
describe him as right-wing and in line with US foreign
policy. </span></p>
<p><span>Since Khuri took over AUB, pro-Palestine and
pro-Hezbollah faculty have complained about his
relentless hostility. It was Khuri, for example, who </span><a
href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/04/14/reports-circulate-american-beirut-has-blocked-permanent-appointment"><span>blocked</span></a><span>
Palestinian-American professor Steven Salaita from
securing a permanent position at the school. But now
he has suddenly become a champion of free speech.<br>
</span></p>
<h3>Hijacking the protests<span> </span></h3>
<p><span>The leaderless, ideologically diffuse nature of
Lebanon’s protest movement leaves it vulnerable to
hijacking by powerful outside actors. Almost anyone
can show up and inject their agenda into the movement,
but under another name. </span></p>
<p><span>Most participants in downtown Beirut say they
hate politics, had no interest in the country’s
affairs before the protests, and appear easily moved
by anyone with a slick message. They are the perfect
audience for groups like Beirut Madinati and other
civil society groups that spout empty platitudes and
always seem to skirt the issue of Israel. </span></p>
<p><span>A telling moment arrived a week into the protests
when an American </span><a
href="https://staff.aub.edu.lb/~webbultn/v8n7/article10.htm"><span>AUB
lecturer</span></a><span>, Robert Gallagher, grabbed
the microphone at a political discussion in downtown
Beirut to call for the creation of a parallel
government. Rather than shout Gallagher down, his
audience erupted in applause.</span></p>
<blockquote data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">US 'colour revolution' agent
tries to hijack Lebanese protests. Robert L.
Gallagher, formerly US embassy, telling young <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lebanese?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lebanese</a>
people "we have to take over the functions of
government". Gallagher is in <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lebanon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lebanon</a>
since 2007 and a professor at the <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/American?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#American</a>
University of Beirut <a
href="https://t.co/oilhXUt1wI">pic.twitter.com/oilhXUt1wI</a></p>
<p>— tim anderson (@timand2037) <a
href="https://twitter.com/timand2037/status/1189111487253532674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October
29, 2019</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span>Regardless of the intentions of the leftists
involved, Hezbollah views the calls for the downfall
of the government as an attempt by its adversaries to
reverse the party’s democratic victory in the 2018
elections. </span></p>
<p><span>The dividing line between protesters and those
critical of the demonstrations has become so extreme
that friendships have ended. Some Lebanese are no
longer invited to gatherings with friends for merely
criticizing the Western-backed elements of the
protests. And families supportive of Hezbollah have
blocked relatives online for attending the
demonstrations. </span><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Despite the in-fighting, the leftist parties are
still supportive of Hezbollah’s role as an armed
resistance organization. This differentiates them from
the liberals and right-wing elements in downtown
Beirut who are centering their resentment on Hezbollah
to an almost obsessive degree. </span></p>
<p><span>Rania Masri, an official with the leftist party
Citizens in a State, has insisted that pro-resistance
groups remain in the protest square rather than cede
the ground to reactionary conservative groups. </span></p>
<p><span>“Do we let others who are involved decide the
discourse? Or do we try to influence the discourse? We
consider ourselves to be responsible therefore we will
not be bystanders,” Masri remarked to me. “Foreign
intervention is a given. The question becomes how to
deal with them and protect the country. We have to be
wise. And not leave the political discourse to them.”</span></p>
<p><span>While leftists attempt to hold the line, pro-US
parties and activists affiliated with NGOs and civil
society groups have been most successful in crafting
the protest demands and occupying the media limelight.
These elements have been especially adept at
popularizing the call for a technocratic government
that would boot Hezbollah out of any future
administration. </span></p>
<h3>Demanding a technocratic government, looking to Hong
Kong for inspiration</h3>
<p><span>The protest demand which has garnered the most
media attention has been the call for the installment
of a “technocratic government.” </span></p>
<p><span>Activists from civil society groups have been
pumping out printed fliers and posters clamoring for a
technocratic government. Some of the major local media
outlets owned by oligarchs with competing political
agendas suddenly began reporting, with an unusually
unified message, that the main protest demand was for
technocracy. </span></p>
<p><span>This call quickly spread among non-ideological
protesters across the country who have proven
themselves to be susceptible to catchy slogans.</span></p>
<p><span>But what does a “technocratic government” mean in
practice in Lebanon? </span></p>
<p><span>It would not necessarily comprise a non-political
government, but one that would negate the key
political issues that are confronting the country,
especially Israel, Palestinian refugees, and the
plight of the country’s poor. </span></p>
<p><span>Most importantly, a technocracy would mean a
government without Hezbollah that cannot resist Israel
or the extremist Gulf proxies that threatened Lebanon
during the war on Syria. This is why Hezbollah and its
allies have been so staunchly opposed to replacing the
current government. </span></p>
<p><span>Unsurprisingly, this demand, which was initiated
by pro-American political parties and US
government-funded outfits, is music to the ears of
Washington.</span></p>
<p><span>In his November </span><a
href="https://www.brookings.edu/testimonies/whats-next-for-lebanon-examining-the-implications-of-current-protests/"><span>testimony</span></a><span>
to congress, former US ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey
Feltman highlighted the advantage in the demand:</span>
<span>“With the demonstrators calling for a technocratic
rather than political government, our public messaging
can emphasize our expectation that a new Lebanese
government, if it seeks international support, should
effectively and immediately address the reform
aspirations of the Lebanese people,” he said. </span></p>
<p><span>By clamoring for a technocracy, the veteran US
operative argued, protesters can “seize the next
electoral opportunity to strip Hezbollah of the
parliamentary partners it uses as force multipliers to
assert its will politically.”</span></p>
<p><span>The US Institute for Peace, a State Department
cut-out that was founded under Reagan alongside the
NED, echoed Feltman’s call. </span></p>
<blockquote data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lebanon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lebanon</a>'s
protesters have several commons core demands: the
resignation of the current cabinet; a new,
technocratic, reformist government; and the reduction
of taxes on poor communities. <a
href="https://t.co/9ianOF9wbg">https://t.co/9ianOF9wbg</a></p>
<p>— U.S. Institute of Peace (@USIP) <a
href="https://twitter.com/USIP/status/1188805111797039104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October
28, 2019</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span>Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, Feltman’s
longtime informant, was the </span><a
href="http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/265795"><span>first</span></a><span>
to publicly call for a technocratic government, and
has </span><a
href="https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/d/lebanon-news/480400/geagea-calls-for-forming-technocratic-government-a/en"><span>continued</span></a>
<a
href="https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2019/Nov-08/495226-geagea-sees-politicians-on-another-planet-fears-unrest.ashx"><span>to
do so</span></a><span>. With his eyes on the
presidency, Geagea has blamed Hezbollah for
obstructing the formation of this technocratic
government while lashing out at his Christian rivals,
the FPM, for their alliance with the Shia party. </span><span> </span></p>
<p><span>The social media influencer <a
href="https://twitter.com/jaafarabdulkari/status/1189852025602924544?s=21">Gino
Raidy</a> also amplified the </span><span>call for
the appointment of a technocratic government</span><span>.
Raidy is a popular blogger who sits on the board of
March Lebanon, an NGO that </span><span>receives <a
href="https://marchlebanon.org/en/about/partners">funding
from NED</a></span><span> in addition to the British
and Canadian </span><a
href="https://www.marchlebanon.org/en/about/"><span>embassies</span></a><span>. </span></p>
<p><span>Through his Western-backed organization, Raidy
has </span><span>argued against the Lebanese
government imposing <a
href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/lebanon-bans-new-film-the-post-citing-spielbergs-ties-to-israel/2018/01/15/7cbefacc-fa0f-11e7-b832-8c26844b74fb_story.html">boycotts
on Israel</a></span><span>. He has also </span><a
href="https://ginosblog.com/chill-wonder-woman-isnt-banned-in-lebanon-16c07d481780"><span>expressed
disdain</span></a><span> for activists in the
Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions
(BDS) movement on his personal blog. </span></p>
<p><span>Raidy recently bragged on Instagram about </span><a
href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4vP21cHFR-/?igshid=60nvy9h6gzja"><span>meeting
with a Hong Kong protester in Lebanon</span></a><span>
on November 11 – the same day Nasrallah gave a speech
emphasizing need for Lebanon to defy the United States
and open up to China. </span></p>
<p><span>This was not the first time Raidy has expressed
interest in Hong Kong. Three days into the Lebanon
protests, he </span><a
href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B32lgc8HWZC/"><span>wrote
on Instagram</span></a><span>, “If we need to, we
will resist like our brothers and sisters in Hong
Kong.” </span></p>
<p><span>The Hong Kong protests have rapidly transformed
into a separatist movement that has overseen
terrifying acts of violence against supporters of
China, including the recent </span><a
href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/10/asia/hong-kong-protester-shot-intl-hnk/index.html"><span>lighting
of a man on fire</span></a><span> for disagreeing
with anti-Beijing activists.</span> <span>An elderly
man was <a
href="https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3037822/hong-kong-protests-elderly-man-hit-head-brick-during-clash">killed
with a brick</a></span><span> for the same reason. </span></p>
<p><span>Many Hong Kong opposition figures </span><a
href="https://thegrayzone.com/2019/08/17/hong-kong-protest-washington-nativism-violence/"><span>receive
funding from the same US sources</span></a><span> as
Raidy, and are openly coordinating with American
political leadership.</span></p>
<p><span>Raidy admitted on his widely read blog that his
initial excitement about getting involved in the
protests had everything to do with exploiting
anti-Hezbollah sentiment. “The moment that made me get
in my car and drive down to protest, was seeing men
and women in Dahieh and Nabatieh coming out and
showing clear dissent towards the Shia duo of
Hezbollah and Amal,” he </span><a
href="https://ginosblog.com/lebanons-protests-some-thoughts-after-the-2nd-day-e0d6838c4265"><span>wrote</span></a>.</p>
<p><span><a href="https://www.mei.edu/experts/antoun-issa">Antoun
Issa</a>, a </span><span>non-resident scholar at
the UAE-funded <a
href="https://thegrayzone.com/tag/middle-east-institute/">Middle
East Institute</a></span><span>, also called for a
technocratic government, </span><a
href="https://twitter.com/antissa/status/1189871137397891073?s=21"><span>tweeting</span></a><span>,
“Protestors demands are clear – from north to south,
to Beirut and the Bekaa. An independent, technocratic
government.” Soon after, Issa </span><a
href="https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/470037-unrest-in-lebanon-and-iraq-is-a-chance-for-the-us-to-turn-the?amp"><span>agitated</span></a><span>
for Washington to use the protests in Lebanon and Iraq
against Iran. </span></p>
<p><span>After his recent resignation, the longtime US
ally Hariri </span><a
href="https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2019/Nov-12/495391-hezbollah-role-seen-blocking-salvation-govt.ashx"><span>conditioned</span></a><span>
his participation in a future government on it being
technocratic and politically neutral. Hezbollah,
meanwhile, was pushing for a mixed government with
space for both politicians and technocrats. </span></p>
<p><span>With Hariri refusing to budge on his </span><a
href="https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1998671/lebanon-hariri-insists-technocrat-government-not-rushing-preside-it"><span>insistence</span></a><span>
on a technocratic government, negotiations over the
formation of a new cabinet have collapsed, plunging
the government into a gridlock as economic catastrophe
looms. </span></p>
<h3>Bringing Ukraine to Beirut</h3>
<p><span>Hong Kong is not the only US-backed color
revolution upheaval being marketed to protesters in
Lebanon.</span></p>
<p><span>On November 8, a group called </span><a
href="https://www.ard.news/"><span>ARD.NEWS</span></a><span>
screened the </span><a
href="https://www.thenation.com/article/the-heartbreaking-irony-of-winter-on-fire/"><span>controversial</span></a><span>
Netflix documentary “Winter On Fire.” </span><span>The
film presents a one-sided view of the <a
href="https://thegrayzone.com/tag/euromaidan/">Euromaidan</a>
protests, completely erasing the neo-Nazi and
ultra-nationalist elements that formed the front lines
of the demonstrations to topple the government and
replace it with a hopelessly corrupt, EU-friendly
technocracy. </span></p>
<p><span>This conflict has turned Ukraine into Europe’s
poorest country, rendering its citizens dependent on a
remittance economy and desperate to leave. A civil war
has broken out in the country’s east, where the US has
supplied arms to the Ukrainian military and ancillary
groups like the neo-Nazi <a
href="https://thegrayzone.com/tag/azov-battalion/">Azov
Battalion</a> to fight Russian-backed separatists. </span></p>
<p><span>“Winter on Fire” has also been screened at
anti-government US-backed protests in Hong Kong and
Venezuela. The film is essentially a how-to guide for
effectively shutting down a city and toppling a
government through violent, sustained street protests.
(ARD.NEWS has also featured the NED-funded activist
Gino Raidy at their events.)</span><span> </span></p>
<p><span>ARD</span><span> founder Michel Saman is a
28-year-old French-Lebanese entrepreneur who left his
travel startup in France to participate in the
protests in Lebanon. He and his ARD colleagues live
mostly outside of Lebanon. They hope that by screening
films like the one about Ukraine, they can help
inspire the protesters in the country, though it is
unclear what they hope to achieve. </span></p>
<p><span>“And if it turns bloody, we live outside, we’ll
come back in five years and revolution, revolution,
revolution. But there is a chance right now,” Saman
told me. </span></p>
<p><span>He added that the uprising in Lebanon has
presented a market opportunity. </span></p>
<p><span>Asked how ARD was financing its project, Saman
stated, “So far we didn’t need any funding. Yes a lot
of organizations here are funded, but we’re not
serving food. We’re really educating the mind for
free. It costs us $50 for a speaker. Instead of having
a beer I just pay $50, you know it’s nothing.”</span></p>
<p><span>When ARD’s event host Maya Acra asked the
audience what similarities they saw between the
protests in Lebanon and Ukraine, she was met with
blank stares. No one raised their hand to speak during
a question-and-answer period. Weeks later, when the
documentary was screened in Tripoli, its impact
remained unclear. </span></p>
<p>It remains to be seen whether the protests can be
co-opted and redirected towards US-centric regime-change
goals. For now, they remain focused on the economy, but
the atmosphere is growing more tense by the day.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>In part two of this report, we will see how
US-backed political parties are employing provocative
tactics to turn up the heat on Hezbollah and its
allies, while hardliners in Washington refine their
plans to exploit the deepening economic desperation of
average Lebanese citizens.</em></p>
<div itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope=""
itemprop="author">
<p><br>
</p>
<div>
<p>Rania Khalek is an independent journalist living in
Beirut, Lebanon. She is the co-host of the <a
href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/unauthorized-disclosure/id824470090?mt=2">Unauthorized
Disclosure</a> podcast.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div> </div>
</div>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://freedomarchives.org/">https://freedomarchives.org/</a>
</div>
</body>
</html>