Bad Apples, Good Oranges

Don’t criticize Michel Aoun just for the sake of it.

When I was in Lebanon a few months ago, I wanted to finalize my Army Draft status. I was excited to learn that my situation (working abroad) entitles me to a permanent exemption from the mandatory draft. So I drove up to the ta3bi’a (barracks) to get more information. I was referred to an office marked: “Lebanese Abroad.”
A soldier was sitting on a desk. He was a bit younger than me. I walked in and told him about my situation. He smiled, and showed me a list of documents I should get to complete my exemption. He was very nice, very patient, and above all, very respectful.
The list contained a document that needs to be fetched from Sureté Generale. It was at the height of the Jamil el Sayyed era and I was frightened to my bones(It was at the time when the Beirut Spring was very critical of him). But I braved my way to their department in Addlieh. To my surprise, I got the same efficient service with a smile. A group of young men and women (yes women), wearing their trademark black berets, were being very nice, respectful, friendly, and yes, helpful. The whole endeavor took only 10 minutes.

Why am I bringing this up?

Yesterday, in his parliamentary speech, M.P. Michel Aoun said that the Lebanese security establishment is demoralized. Our young men and women have been at the wrong end of political bickering just because of some bad apples in high ranks. He has a point. The members of the Army, Surete General and other agencies (Ajhizes) are our brothers and sisters who are sacrificing their lives for their jobs, and from my personal experience, they are doing their best.

This is why I was very surprised to see the reactions of the Future movement and the PSP to his speech. Almustaqbal newspaper and future-TV singled out the “demoralized” comment and showcased it in a way that means “did you here what this crazy guy just said?, he was defending the agencies.” Worse, in today’s parliamentary speech, PSP’s Wael Abou Faour attacks Michel Aoun and his sympathy for the Ajhizé, calling him a project for another Lahhoud. For the record. The PSP’s anti-Aoun campaign is getting on my nerves.

Today, I was listening to an interview in VOA (Voice of America) with an In-Sync singer. The host asked her if she has anything to say to the hundreds of millions of people around the world who are listening to the show. Do you know what she said? She addressed her speech to the American troops all over the world, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan and told them that she loves them and that she and the whole American people stand behind them.
I got an email a few days ago from an American who said that he doesn’t want to read my blog anymore because I said that the American army in Iraq was incompetent.

Our men and women in arms were more than admirable when they helped facilitate the March 14 day of freedom, so please, quit demonizing them. Give them some respect and stop using them for your cheap political ends.