Lebanon: Death's Name and Address

Our fate and destiny,it seems, in this beautiful little country on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean is to grapple with endless violence and death, the latest manifestation of which was the assassination of Jibran Twayni, MP, and managing editor of the longest running and most prominent daily newspaper in Lebanon: Al-Nahar (pronounced: annahar which means 'the day').

Watching the live T.V. coverage of the aftermath cast a gripping surreal feeling over me as the cameras reflected the devastation caused by the explosion and the pointless death and injuries of the victims. My heart was saying enough already, but my brain was asking who's next?

The fingers of accusation immediately pointed at Syria. Twayni had been an outspoken critic of the Syrian regime and its policies in Lebanon. His last editorial was a well-articulated, bold dissection of Syria's foreign policy with regards to Lebanon and the region. In the past few months, he had toured Europe and had met with a number of Western officials rallying support for the UN Security Council's Resolutions 1559 and 1595 that targeted Syria for the most part. He had received numerous death threats eventually causing him to leave Lebanon last August. So yes, Syria is the obvious suspect in this latest assassination. But here in the Middle East, and especially in politics, nothing is as it seems and nothing should be taken at face value!

The question that any objective observer should ask is: who else has a stake in this? Who else would benefit?

Syria is already in international 'hot water' because it was implicated in the assassination of our late Prime Minister Rafik Hareeri, G. W. Bush has Syria in his sights for a possible sequel to Iraq, the UN is threatening sanctions, are the Syrians that stupid? Maybe, but not likely.

But if Syria was to be slapped with sanctions or invaded by the Americans, and if the political and security situation was to spiral downward in Lebanon, who stands to benefit the most on all fronts? The answer is not that hard. A quick overview of recent history in the Middle East will reveal that there has always been, by far, a single beneficiary of US foreign policy there. One who spares no effort in de-stabilizing the whole region for its own ends. One who has benefited the most, so far, from the tragic events of 9-11.

Need I say more?

.... And A Taste OF JUSTICE!!

I have always believed that "what goes around, comes around", and yesterday my dear friend Phillis Engelbert provided me with an attestation to that when she sent me the following article. Before I let you delve into the article I must give you a little background. Patrick Wynne, the subject of the article, was the single detention-deportation officer in southeast Michigan. There were only six such officers in the whole state (according to Mr. Wynne). He was the man handling my detention issues at Monroe County Jail. My rights, priviliges, treatment, food, medicine, phone calls, mail, visits, etc. hinged on his say-so. I heard many horror stories about him from other detainees but in all fairness, he was a gentleman with me. His boss, Roy Bailey, on the other hand was nothing less than a bigoted, two-faced red-neck who never spared a chance to humiliate me and make my life as difficult as he could. Contrary to common belief, today's law-enforcement agencies in the US are plagued with these types.

The second article was sent to me by my dear sister in Islam, Um Yusuf. It offers a little more information on the matter. As I told Phillis, stay tuned for many more such stories of those who were instruments of injustice of their own "free" will.

Feds: Immigration worker stole from 1,300 detainees at Monroe jail

DETROIT Federal officials say an ex-Homeland Security employee stole money, jewelryand at least 308-thousand dollars in cash from immigration detainees at the MonroeCounty jail.

Thirty-three-year-old Patrick Wynne pleaded guilty in July to embezzlement chargesand faces sentencing December 19th in Detroit federal court.

The thefts happened over four years while he worked for the Department of HomelandSecurity and its predecessor.The Homeland Security Department plans to spend 158-thousand dollars to shipproperty back to the more than 13-hundred immigrants from whom Wynne stole.

Stolen property included jewelry, clothing, suitcases, family photos and religious items.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press.

Here's the second article:

Savings stolen in rude U.S. welcome

Federal agent in Michigan steals everything from wedding bands to cash from 1,300 immigrants
David Shepardson / The Detroit News

In the Rosa Parks Federal Building sit thousands of items, waiting to be delivered around the world, that were stolen from immigrants by a federal law enforcement officer.

Wedding bands. Family Bibles. Shoes. Suitcases. Crucifixes and jewelry. Family photos. And at least $308,000 in cash stolen from 489 immigrants. For many, it was life savings brought to the United States to start a new life. There's enough to fill a large courtroom, says assistant U.S. attorney Bruce Judge.

Federal prosecutors and agents revealed Wednesday that former immigration officer Patrick Wynne had stolen from more than 1,300 immigrants between 2000 and February 2004 -- or 1,000 more than were previously known.

Now, the Department of Homeland Security plans to spend $158,000 to package and ship the items around the globe to immigrants from whom Wynne stole, Judge said.

Two FBI financial analysts spent months poring through records to piece together the brazen crime and learn how many victims there were. The immigrants had all been detained at the federal detention facility, housed in the Monroe County Jail, where Wynne worked as one of the property officers in charge of detainees' possessions.

On Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mona Mazjoub found that there was sufficient evidence to believe that Wynne had stolen the more than $308,000 from the immigrants -- rejecting claims by his attorney, Michael McCarthy, that the number of victims was much less. The hearing was held to determine the number of victims and losses as a result of Wynne's actions. The outcome will determine sentencing guidelines for Wynne, who pleaded guilty.

McCarthy said Wynne acknowledged committing wrongdoing and that "things had gotten out of hand." He suggested that Wynne had stolen from some immigrants so he could repay others. Some immigrants told investigators that Wynne had promised to send them their property.

But Judge called that argument a "red herring" and noted there was no evidence to support that theory -- no receipts to show that Wynne had sent any immigrant anything.

Wynne was a sworn law enforcement officer who carried a gun. He often told immigrants to hand over their original receipts for property, then took their belongings, said Department of Homeland Security Special Agent Tony Chesla. Other times, he would rifle through their coats or suitcases for items, Chesla said.

The immigrants often didn't learn of the thefts until they were boarding airplanes or leaving the country.

"People have a basic cultural expectation that government agents do not steal," said assistant U.S. attorney Judge. The immigrants were "the perfect victims and for many the losses were devastating."

FBI agents found little or no safeguards to ensure that immigrants' property was properly accounted for.

Wynne, 33, pleaded guilty on July 26 to stealing more than $70,000 from more than 50 immigrants. Under a plea agreement, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced Dec. 19 by U.S. District Judge Julian Abele Cook. Under sentencing guidelines, he likely faces no more than 57 months in prison.

Wynne began working for the Immigration and Naturalization Service in 1998 as a detention officer and then became an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer after Congress reorganized many federal agencies into Homeland Security.
He was fired in February 2004 when FBI and the DHS agents raided his Monroe home.

They found unopened bags of cash stolen from immigrants, among the thousands of items. During the period of the theft, Wynne even researched what potential prison sentence he might face if caught, Judge said.

Federal prosecutors are seeking restitution and also want Wynne to pay the costs of returning the items to the immigrants.

Yu Hua Chen was arrested at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Christmas Day 2001. She had $801 in cash, a woman's watch and 1,605 yuan, which is Chinese currency. When she was released on bond in April 2002, she never received her property or cash. She was interviewed from China by agents last year.

During the Feb. 4, 2004, search of Wynne's home, agents found the federal property bag with Chen's name on it and the receipt for her money. In a search of a storage locker of Wynne's, they found Chen's blue suitcase.