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PART 5  (Translated freely: By Elias Bejjani) Colonel Sami Al-Chidiac served with General Aoun at Lebanon's South border in the late sixties. He quoted Aoun describing the Lebanese situation as follows: " The Lebanese people are dancing on the tenth floor, while the fire has reached the eighth floor, and the stairs are burning". Lieutenant Adel Sasyn, chief of the Military police, served with Captain Michel Aoun at Sidon City in the late 1974 when he was still a junior lieutenant. According to Sasyn, Aoun one day took him with a group of army officers to a location overlooking Tel-Az-zatar Palestinian camp in the suburbs of Beirut and told them to thoroughly study the entrances, roads and exits of this camp. Pointing to the camp, Aoun said to the officers, "If the Palestinian continue with their atrocities, and the Lebanese leadership keeps its negligent and indifferent stance by ignoring the imminent dangers, the first battle is going to take place here and very soon". In the mid eighties, Captain Antoine Sawan, told me this incident. In 1975, I was serving with Michel Aoun in Sidon City, and both of us had the same military rank. Following the raging of the civil war in that year numerous promotions and news appointments took place in the military institution, most of them were against the law. At the same the country went into a security crisis resulting in widespread killing, kidnapping, assassination and other infringements. Aoun was extremely annoyed at the way the regime officials were handling such a critical situation. He submitted to the Army leadership an extensive report addressing the deteriorating security status. Aoun presented in his report, a scientific vision for the unfolding events and cautioned of the security crisis' consequences. He proposed numerous practical solutions to contain the infringements and correct the defects. Captain Sawan added, "In my capacity as in-charge for the recruiting Department I went to see Brigadier Simon Saied, the South region chief, and get his signature for some purchasing and organizational forms. When I entered his office I found him busy arguing and debating with a group of army officers. I asked what is going on, and why every body is tense and angry? One of the officers answered, 'Look how much is your friend, Michel Aoun, is pessimistic'. He submitted an official distressing report scares even those who have never experienced fear in their life. Adding, according to him the war is going to last for fifteen years, 'who knows if we will survive at the end or not'. I said this is his opinion. He responded, 'his opinion is right, but he must be reasonable, there is no need for all this pessimism'. What is happening is a transient cloud, it will soon dissolve". Captain Sawan continued his anecdote by saying: "the same day after I went back to my office, I met Captain Michel Aoun at night. I asked him, Michel, what you have done? His response was, 'what do you mean? I answered: your report has created a state of confusion and an angry debate at the headquarters. Aoun smiled and said, 'my friend, it is their problem, why they have to be confused and angry, I gave them my opinion in what is happening and tried to propose means for preventing imminent hazards and dangers. My friend Antoine, Aoun added, the problem with most of our army officers is that they don't read, and when they do, they don't memorize. When they memorize, they don't comprehend, and when they do comprehend, they do not assimilate. When they do assimilate, they don't take any precautions; they forget and simplify events and issues. They avoid bearing any responsibility and don't possess any readiness to work. Accordingly disaster happens, the army suffers, people pay high prices, many lose their lives and chaos prevails before action is taken. When they do take action, it is always retarded, and through enthusiasm for holding meetings and formation of committees in a bid to put forth plans for defense and confrontation. Unfortunately, all their interest takes place after disasters already have hit the country and the people'". That evening, Captain Sawan added, "Aoun explained to me the contents of his comprehensive courageous report as well as his vision for the needed solutions and ended by saying, 'My dear Antoine, if things remain as they are, God help us, and help the country'. Captain Sawan ended his story by saying: ' I swear all Aoun's predications and anticipations have happened through the first ten years of the Lebanese war. Myself, and my colleagues used to remember Aoun with each and every incident, remember with admiration, what he said and he wrote in 1975'". To be continued… Long Live Free Lebanon. Australia. February 12, 1999 |