Iran to provide military aid upon a March 8 victory

I'm currently working on a few different writing projects at the moment, so I'll be brief. And, I can't even believe that this Wednesday I am going to leave to "Surf the Casbah!" Gnarly...

In other news, remember when Vice President Joesph Biden paid a visited to Lebanon and promised to "review" military aid last month? Meaning that if March 14 won, the Lebanese Army would get more guns, drones and tanks? Well, today, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, said that if his March 8 coalition took the election, and the West withheld this aid, Iran would be willing to "arm" Lebanese forces. Nasrallah said on Friday:

"The Islamic Republic of Iran, and in particular Ayatollah Khamenei, will not hold back on anything that will help Lebanon be a strong and dignified state, and without conditions."

Thanks Hassan for making it clear...sarcasm. Any speculators out there want to guess what this might mean, besides of course trying to woo the Generals' in the Lebanese military establishment?

The Sacking of Central Asian Casbahs'

The Rooster and I often find ourselves questioning the "limits of The Casbah," as in how much territory this blog intends to cover. We’ve kept it lose as far as content, but I think it's safe to say that The Casbah mostly spans from Morocco to Afghanistan, or perhaps the "greater Middle East."

So today I finally got around to opening my two day old New York times when I saw something on the cover that I just couldn't pass on sharing: The Chinese government is going to “help” their Turkic Muslim fellow countrymen (aka al-Uighur).

Yup, that's right: Not only does China have a Muslim minority--that makes one hell of a BBQ that I got to use when I was studying in China by the way--but some genius in Beijing has decided to give these Uighurs the harsh blessing of modernity. They are going to sack the historic old city of Kashgar! (And I don't care if the term "Casbah" is a French/Arabic transliteration, I am officially declaring the Kashgar Casbah to be endangered.)

Regardless of what one might think, this actually happens a lot in Central Asia: culturally rich old cities getting sacked for renovation. Rory Stewart, founder of The Turquoise Mountain Foundation, is trying to convince the Afghan government in Kabul to preserve the old city, a deed that seems more than worthy. These Central Asian Casbahs’ are of cultural and historical significance and who the hell are the Chinese--or anglicanized Afghans "in charge" in Kabul--to try and destroy it?

Perhaps they would change their minds if they understood that these ancient reminisce of the Silk Road are not just history, but a potential tourist attraction and moneymaker as well. In the mean time, lets save those Casbahs'!

San Diego to Long Beach v.s. Tel Aviv to Beirut

I had an interesting day yesterday. First off, I packed everything I own into the back of my haggard red truck --including my new and tightly wrapped Bachelors Degree--and made my way out of San Diego, CA. But before leaving, I made sure to reset my trucks odometer, as to get a comparable idea for the distance between Tel Aviv and Beirut (221 km | 138 miles) in my home state of California. As I kept catching my foot abusing the accelerator with random force, I knew the excitement of my Middle Eastern surf safari was starting to take a hold of me...

Yet, the drive from San Diego to my native town of Santa Barbara is no cakewalk. Clearly it’s nothing like the hassle that I am about to go through trying to travel from Tel Aviv to Beirut by land with a surfboard, but it has its moments. (LA Traffic is something I would not wish upon my worst enemies.) Nevertheless, I had my eyes glued to the odometer; anxiously waiting to see what city rests a magic 138 miles from San Diego. Ready? Pause. It was the visually broke, industrial port of Long Beach. “How anti-climactic,” I thought.

But there it was: a fully paved, with no checkpoints, straight-shot up the coast of California. Everyone was going 70 MPH.

The drive took a little over an hour and a half. Yet the similarly shaped coastline on the Eastern Med has no such freeway. It has been hastily divided--and certainly closed for Surf crazed Casbah guerrillas like myself. I couldn't help but wonder what the Levant would look like if all of it's people could just hop in their truck and sail down the highway, getting on or off at any moment without hassle. Perhaps a version of this was possible (via donkey cart) in the days of Ottoman control. Anyone?

So it should come to no surprise that the modern Middle East is not a care-free travel zone. I will undertake great burden to surf this Biblical coastline. And just perhaps my story of "going around" (through the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and down into Lebanon) will bring a new perspective to the question of "why" these nations keep their hostile divisiveness. At the very least, it will be one hell of a story.

PS-- I picked up my surfboard for the trip yesterday. That post, along with a photo of the board to come in the next few days.

The Armenian Lebanese: Abu, food and politics

It's not my fault my grandmother raised me to be a proud Armenian--though I'm only 1/4. I think it's just the way that peoples from the ancient world are: Bound to their tradition, customs and culture, even if their grandson is a mere 1/4! But the Armenians--like many in greater Middle East--have suffered vast persecution, certainly understanding the need to preserve their kin.

That being said, we spend a lot of time talking about Middle Eastern minorities and non-state actors on this blog. The Rooster or I will commonly assert something like: "Hezbollah is not just an armed militia, but a provider of social services and protector of the Shia in Lebanon." And while we try to exhaust the truth of this statement, we seem neglect the fact that Shia Muslims are not the only minority in the Middle East.

With social services, a tight community and accused support from Syria and Iran, the Armenian Christians unquestionably own a slice of the Lebanese political pie. And, they may even play "kingmaker" in the upcoming June 7, Lebanese election.

Tashnaq, the largest Armenian political bloc, has announced that they will side with the March 14 coalition in the upcoming election. Some say the Tashnaq leadership, who are based in the famously distinct Beirut neighborhood of Bourj Hamoud, have been blackmailed from Iran, citing that the Armenian-Iranian population will "face the consequences" for non-compliance. Others say that that Tashnaq's decision is purely based on local issues, such as Hezbollah allowing Armenian seats to solely represent Armenian districts. (It is thought that there are 150,00 Armenians in Lebanon, that's about 4%.)

If you ask me, I'm mostly just excited that a people that I’m related to have become such a force in this Lebanese election! The only difference I see is that my grandmother went to the U.S. after the 1915 Turkish genocide, instead of the southern and exotic land of the Lebanese Levant. But my personal romance aside, it seems like a dubious alliance for the Lebanese Armenians to be siding with Hezbollah and co. I think Michel Aoun Free Patriotic Movement is going to face a similar strain as the Armenians if March 14 wins the election. Honestly, how much could these Christians' have in common with Hezbollah, Amal and the rest of the SSNP gang?

(Your favorite blogger standing at an Armenian church near Dilijan, Armenia in the fall of 2007.)

For good measure, I'll make sure to get a few Armenian interviews in the Bourj Hamoud neighborhood when I'm in Beirut next month. By the way, I'm toying with the idea of doing a food review on a few recommended restaurants in Bourj Hamoud. I hear it's Biblical divine..


(Oh, and did everyone know that Nigeria now has a professional surfer named Alfred Lomax? I sure didn't. Thanks Violet for the email.)

Memorial Day: Let's remember ALL whom have fallen

Today is Memorial Day, the last monday in May, usually dedicated to remembering and decorating the gravesites of fallen servicemen and women from the U.S. military past and present. We here at The Casbah would like to also pay our respect to the many men and women who have lost their lives as members of the Armed Services (Union included), we are humbly grateful for your sacrifices.

In addition to the rememberance of these losses, we also want to take this time to make sure we remember ALL those who have lost their lives as a result of the latest conflicts the U.S. has been involved in:

Currently:

At least 753,118 people have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq since the U.S. and coalition invasions, based on lowest credible estimates.

More than 108 times as many people have been killed in these wars and occupations than in all terrorist attacks in the world from 1993-2004. About 251 times as many people have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq than in the ghastly attacks of September 11, 2001.

To Learn more about the statistics and numbers involved in both wars, and to support bringing our brave soldiers home ASAP, click here.

To learn more about Memorial Day and its history, Click Here.

And please, do your part today to pay respect to ALL the human lives lost as a result of conflicts worldwide.