I. Background & CNN Connection
A.D. (StopDestroyingLebanon.com) - Roula, for most of us you were an unknown on your first appearence on CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. Briefly tell us about your background.
Roula Talj(R.T.) - I studied “Communication Art” at the Saint Joseph University of Beirut. I established a production company for entertainment and cultural events from 1994 to 1996. Due to political interference in Lebanon, even in business markets, I decided to move to the U.S where I was offered an internship at an Arab American Business association. During the first few months at the association I volunteered my time to help the Democratic party in Cleveland Ohio.
Six months later I was hired as a full time political coordinator between that organization, the Arab Embassies in Washington D.C and the American administration. In other words, I became a lobbyist.
It took me a while to learn the system, and I had the privilege to meet and work with some brilliant Arab Ambassadors who were following the peace process closely. During those years, we organized congressional trips to Lebanon, Syria, & Palestine. I got to help in scheduling some meetings for the first official Syrian delegation to visit Washington in 30 years.
After September 11Th it became very frustrating to lobby for an Arab cause.
I came back to Lebanon in October 2001, and from 2002 to 2005 I worked as a freelance political and media adviser to various local politicians or aspirant politicians. Towards the end of 2004, during the last government of PM Hariri, I was appointed to establish an information office for Lebanon in Washington D.C.
While the preparations were progressing, prime minister Hariri was assassinated, and the country started its spiral towards the unknown.
We then decided to postpone the project and instead follow up from the Ministry of Information.
This assignment, like previous ones, allowed me to establish good relations with various media establishments mainly in the U.S.
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A.D - Your first appearence on ‘The Situation Room’ on CNN was on July 20th, 2006. Seven days after the war started. How did CNN get in contact with you, and did you have any previous experiences in reporting?
R.T. Wolf Blitzer is someone I’ve known for few years now. We always exchange views and analysis.
We were doing the same when the war broke out and he decided he wanted me on his shows.
I was also contacted for an interview at Larry king’s live on CNN, Fox news and Danish T.V.
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II. The war: Before and during
A.D. - We’re July 12th, 2006. Hezbulla has just declared they captured to Israeli soldiers in hopes of trading them for the remaining Lebanese prisonners in Israeli jails. According to what we’ve seen in years past, would you qualify Israel’s retaliation as surprising?
R.T. When UNSCR 1559 was born, the U.S had one priority in mind: The withdrawal of the Syrian troops from Lebanon, and an eventual regime change in Damascus.
Israel which is very concerned with its national security, wanted from UNSCR 1559 the disarmement of Hezbollah.
The UN special envoys wanted the disarmement to happen through internal dialogue but it seems the word got out after the last meeting in June that Hezbollah is not going to disarm in the near future. I personally sensed and expected Israel to attack, it did not come as a surprise to me, and I am pretty sure it did not come as a surprise to Hezbollah either, even though they may say otherwise.
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A.D. - During the war, different media portrayed different scenes. With all the lives lost, and the destruction in both Lebanon & Israel, can we really pick a clear winner? Can we pick a relative winner?
R.T. Once more Hezbollah definitly won this round. the lack of achievement on the Israeli side means a victory to Hezbollah.
Israel also lost its media war, and it is perhaps the first time that Israelis couldn’t justify the atrocities they committed in Lebanon. No matter what they do, the images of shattered lives & burned children will haunt the image of Yehud Olmert and his minister of defense.
But at the end of the day, innocent people on both sides are dying, whether they were Muslims, Jews, or Christians, their loss was a great loss for humanity.
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III. After the war: Lebanon, the UN, and the world
A.D. - How would you describe the current political setting in Lebanon? Do you think this war will lead to changes, or, to our surprise, reinforce the status quo of Lebanese politics?
R.T. The current political setting has to change and it will change. It might take a few months in order to come as a natural result of a a series of failures.
So far, the government and the political leaders have failed their own people, and they also managed to create a lot of tension among the various confessional groups. Either this government is replaced by neutral technocrats who are only concerned with the economic issues or the country might experience another severe civil war.
For the time being, and after the Failure in Iraq, I don’t believe the Bush administration is ready to see a civil war in Lebanon and add yet another failure to its records.
Most probably, we will see a technocratic government before the end of the year.
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A.D. - UN Security Resolution 1701: Some Lebanese hailed it as a victory, as did some Israelis. Obviously, it’s open to interpretation. Do you believe this resolution will be enough to ensure a continuous cessation of hostilities? How possible is a second round of war?
R.T. A second round is always possible, with or without Hezbollah’s arms.
The salafist movements have been very active, establishing bases in the Palestinian camps & using the frustration and anger of some refugees. There is some relevant information about dormant cells ready to strike against Israel when the time comes. This would lead Israel to take it as an excuse to try and achieve a much needed victory.
We don’t know for sure if this government is aware of the great danger of such movements over the stability of the country. They have been too busy stripping Hezbollah from their weapons that they forgot about the real threat.
On a more positive note, the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon deserve a much better life. The situation in the camps makes them a fertile ground for any extremist movements. That is why it should be a top priority to get them the right of return to Palestine. It’s in their interest of course, but it is also the interest of whoever is fighting extremism. The camps should no longer be the breeding nest of such extremist organizations.
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A.D. - How much of a role do external spheres of influence have on Lebanese politics? Do countries like France, Iran, KSA, Syria, & the USA have too much influence on the Lebanese political parties? Should they?
R.T. As long as we don’t have a real national unity and as long as the war lords in Lebanon are still the Political lords, Lebanon will always be the playground of various regional and international forces. After almost 16 years of the cessation of the civil war, we were still not able to build a nation. A nation where people can refer to the institutions of the governments and not to their confessional leaders. This situation makes the country the sensitive stomach of the region, whenever the greater forces are in conflict we would feel the direct repercussions over here.
I hope the new generation and the Lebanese diaspora decide to take action to save our beloved country. We need the fresh blood and the clean minds of people who lived away from the corrupted confessional system of the Lebanese politics. We need to come up with an emergency plan which would save the country from the greedy war lords and create a new generation of politicians that might be able to establish a real patriotic sentiment among the Lebanese, which is the only way to save the country from regional and international manipulation.
Please don’t give up on Lebanon. It is not Lebanon’s fault if there is corruption, it is not Lebanon’s fault if the basic human rights are violated, it is not Lebanon’s fault if we are the puppets in the hands of regional and international players.
The Lebanese people are great people. They went through so much hardship throughout the years, but their only crime is to go with the flow and accept to be used and abused by confessional kings whose only interest is their own.
Let us think of a way to build a real nation that we all deserve.
Questions / Comments ?
