Talk:Progressive Socialist Party

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It should be noted that Walid Jumblatt has recently come into direct confrontation with Hizbollah over its right to bear arms and more. These links provide a brief chronology of the downward-spiraling relationship, which has in part led to a crisis in the Lebanese government due to the fact that its Shiite MP's have boycotted. Their grievances are many, including the implementation of UN Security Council 1559, which directly calls for Hizbollah's disarmament. I don't have time to do this myself since it's 2 o'clock in the morning and I just came across this now. If no one else picks up on this I will get to it when I have time. All comments are welcome...

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_ID=1&article_ID=20296&categ_id=2

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_ID=1&article_ID=21475&categ_id=2

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_ID=1&article_ID=21468&categ_id=2

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_ID=1&article_ID=21505&categ_id=2

This quote pretty much sums up what I am saying:

"Since UN Resolution 1559 was issued, Jumblatt has repeatedly insisted that he objects to the disarmament of Hizbullah, according to the international resolution, describing the party as a "resistance group" and not a militia. He even engaged in an electoral alliance with Hizbullah during last year's parliamentary election, with one of the titles of the alliance being "the protection of the resistance."

However, he has begun to change his position on the matter, calling on Hizbullah to be integrated into the Lebanese Army and hand in its weapons over to the government."

paragon 07:31, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

This is pretty much since they and Amal walked out of the government, isn't it? Go for it, I would like to do it myself but don't really have the time. Palmiro | Talk 10:20, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

that's good info & sources. edit it in. Arre 17:12, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

This is directly related to Amal and Hizbollah's boycott of the Lebanese parliament. In fact, the main point of controversy, I believe, is resolution 1559 and how to define Hizbollah, which in turn would decide whether or not resolution 1559 calls for their disarmament. It obviously does, as does the Taif accord, but Hizbollah claim that 1.) this is an internal Lebanese issue, which voids any calls by foriegn nations or bodies and 2.) that their arms are necessary to protect them from the "Israeli threat." One recent development is that Hizbollah finally called for a Lebanese debate on this very issue.

The reason why I'm writing so much here is to get a little practice on writing about these kinds of things (I know I should use the sandbox - but I get feedback here!)

Also, I want to make my edit as comprehensive as possible, so I'm going to have to do a lot more research before I write anything. I really want to understand Jumblatt's political motivations for his turn around (any ideas?). One thing I know about this guy is that he is very politically savvy, and only takes a position when he thinks it's a winner.

Anyway, thanks for your comments - they have definitely encouraged me to undertake this project. Does using the Daily Star as my source for everything NOT meet academic standards? It is a pretty reputable newspaper - I read it almost everyday. paragon 02:12, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

One last question... should I edit Jumblatt's page too? If I do, should I just copy and paste the same thing I write here? What other pages should I add this info to? paragon 02:16, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

Add it to Walid Jumblatt, and if you think it fits the text, also to the pages on Lebanese politics (maybe Lebanon, Politics of Lebanon, Cedar Revolution?) and Hizbullah. Btw, Hizbullah could well have a separate subheading called "Weapons debate and resolution 1559". You don't have to be too comprehensive or do a lot of research as long has you have a good source: just write that "it has been reported that" Jumblatt has said this-and-that, and source it with the Daily Star (which I agree is a great newspaper). Arre 04:28, 20 January 2006 (UTC)