Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Litmus test quiz...

Photo credit: tayyar.org

Last Thursday a Lebanese army helicopter flying over south Lebanon was hit by gunfire, which caused the helicopter to land in extremis. One fatality resulted from the incident, army First Lieutenant Samer Hanna...

Reactions to the incident poured in from all quarters in Lebanon, most of them rather predictable. Below are twenty-eight reactions, read the associated headline and see if you can figure out if the person commenting belongs to a faction that is aligned with M8, M14, or President Sleiman:


Sayyed Nasrallah: helicopter incident will not sow dissention between the Resistance and the army
Gemayel says last week's shooting of helicopter was an attack against the entire army
Jarrah says expected Army-Hezbollah commission will torpedo the national dialogue
Kanaan says that officer's death should not be exploited for political purposes
Karam: Does army need memorandum of understanding to protect its officers?
MP Houri calls on security forces to fully carry out their duties
Geagea says that Hezbollah's handing over of helicopter suspects is only a partial gesture
Sarkis says army must be free to defend the state, not itself
Mitri says helicopter shooting raises questions regarding Hezbollah-army collaboration
MP Khreiss says Hezbollah and the army are inseparable
Baroud says he wants explanation for helicopter shooting, not justifications
Maronite Union calls for expanding investigation into Thursday's helicopter incident
Edde says ministerial statement is responsible for Thursday's downing of a military helicopter
Fatfat says Israeli agents must have been behind attack on military helicopter
Justice Minister urges Lebanese not to rush to conclusions on helicopter shooting
Majdalani says Judicial Council should be charged with helicopter shooting case
Siniora calls for investigation into helicopter shooting
Hariri condemns helicopter attack and pays condolences to slain captain's family
Jumblatt condemns helicopter attack, calls for discussion of defense strategy
Former PM Hoss requests Hezbollah 'explain and not justify' killing of officer
Alain Aoun denies helicopter attack "Hezbollah's style"?
Harb: I received disturbing information about the objectives of the helicopter attack
Soueid: Is there a border between Hezbollah areas and the rest of Lebanon?


The Free Patriotic Movement calls on the army to investigate the military helicopter shooting to hold accountable those responsible and warns that the incident should not be exploited politically at this critical stage.

MP Samir Franjiyeh told Future TV: A crime was committed yesterday and an important event took place . No doubt the judiciary will determine who is behind it.

Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan condemned the attack on a military helicopter on Thursday. Qabalan said he feared the attack, which killed a Lebanese army officer, was committed by “infiltrators” working on behalf of Israel. He said that the army needed to investigate the incident and bring those responsible to justice, as soon as possible.

Cheikh Mohammed Haj Hassan a dénoncé « les lignes rouges » existant selon lui entre le Hezbollah et l’état libanais. (Ed trans: Sheik Haj Hassan denounced the existence of "red lines" between Hezbollah and the Lebanese state).

Jebran Bassil on Saturday expressed regret over what he termed "political manipulation" of the martyrdom of Lebanese Air Force 1st. Lt. Samer Hanna in a military helicopter attacked by Hizbullah fighters in south Lebanon.

Answers: ( hopefully this blogger hasn't made an error, it's hard keeping track of who's who in Lebanon...)

Hassan Nasrallah - M8 (Hezbollah)
Amin Gemayel - M14 (Kataeb)
Jamal Jarrah - M14 (Future Movement)
Ibrahaim Kanaan - M8 (Change and Reform)
Antoine Karam - M14 (Lebanese Forces)
Ammar Houri - M14 (Future Movement)
Samir Geagea - M14 (Lebanese Forces)
Joe Sarkis - M14 (Lebanese Forces)
Tarek Mitri - M14 aligned (Independent)
Ali Khreiss - M8 (Development and Liberation)
Ziad Baroud - Sleiman
Maronite Union - M14
Carlos Edde - M14 (National Bloc)
Ahmed Fatfat - M14 (Future Movement)
Justice minister (Ibrahaim Najjar) - M14 (Lebanese Forces)
Atef Majdalani - M14 (Future Movement)
Fouad Siniora - M14
Saad Hariri - M14 (Future Movement)
Walid Jumblatt - M14 (PSP)
Salim al-Hoss - M8 aligned
Alain Aoun - M8 (Free Patriotic Movement)
Boutros Harb - M14 (Qornet Shehwan Gathering)
Fares Souid - M14
Free Patriotic Movement - M8
Samir Franjiyeh - M14
Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan - Deputy President of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council
Sheikh Mohammed Haj Hassan - M14 (Free Shiite Movement)
Jebran Bassil - M8 (Free Patriotic Movement)