There was no such thing as an innocent Palestinian in Lebanon, Arafat saw to that when he unleashed the hordes on the Lebanese Christians. They harvested what they sowed and their enablers still whinge about the outcome
He refuses to understand that Hobeika was following both Syrian orders and taking his own vengeance for is family that were massacred by palestinians. Orders after the funeral were to round up palestinian fighters. It was a gun battle, palestinians were well armed with artillery and entrenched in the camps and in the Gaza hospital. Many of the dead were not killed by the Kataeb shabab that Hobeika picked but by traps set up by the palestinians.
Tens of thousands of palestinians in the camps and only 200 of Hobeika's men went in because no army was allowed to enter the camps.
Less than 500 palestinians dead by the official Lebanese account, later accounts by palestinians estimated 700 and was over the years inflated to several thousand, close to 1600 palestinian fighters were processed at the stadium and shipped out to join Arafat.
The only vengence/massacre was carried out near the hospital by Mashaalani and those under his command, he had gave his 25 men drugs before hand and those men had all lost family in massacres by palestinians.
Hobeika had also been part of the assassination of Bashir and was, till they killed him, under the protection of Syria. Even when everyone found out the part he play in facilitating the assassination and the later escape of Shartouni (SNSP). Hobeika and Mashaalani knew that after the heroine and cocaine that those men would be numb to any revulsion of killing and they would be sharper and last long in combat. The fact that at the time it as believed to be the palestinians that had assassinated Bashir also enraged the men. It was some time later that Hobeika's involvement came to light.
It was a bloody mess and not all the victims could be identified. Eventually time became of the essence and the bodies had to be buried because of rodents and bugs. The fear was of an epidemic and the smell was becoming overwhelming. In the heat the bodies were decaying. There was no refrigeration or morgues that could be used and it was traditional to have no autopsy and to bury the dead within a day. Photos, prints when other form of recognition could not be used, location, notes on our observation were done. Press was also let in as small groups.
Tunnels and cashes of arms and stock piles if supplies were also found the being dug up with heavy machines.
I knew Hobeika, did not particularly like him but was fond of his wife. They did not live far from us. I was friends with Bashir, his wife and his even mistress. I knew his daughter that was killed. A friend help raise his other two children after his death. So what? I knew Dany Chamoun and his family as well. Doesn't make me a party member of either party. Our social circles often crossed. My father often invited political, military, business and medical leaders and those at the top of the career. We have had every president since Chamoun to Sarkis in our home when I was there. We have also know every one since. I've know or met most of the in parliament, and some that are there now.
The idea that I was a member of any party is ridiculous, mostly because I never voted in Lebanon. Part of the reason, beside my ability to get through most road blocks and enter most place, that I was asked to be a liaison was that I had no affiliation and knew members in most groups.
One of the reason I was in the camps in the aftermath was my familiarity of the camps and many of the people there. I had "no skin in the game" so it was know my report would be unbias. Some of those killed had been my friends. Some of those that had been picked by Hobeika has also been my friend and some I had even gone to school with.
My father was Lebanese but my parents did not want me to be trapped in Lebanon so they never raised me to think of living my life there. That is why I always had a US passport. My brother was to be the one to carry on the family name so he had both. My mother never carried anything but a US passport. She had business in the UK and dealt with people around the world so she wanted to keep her own identity and freedom.
Sorry but pinbrain is ignorant and has a serious chip on his shoulder. He thinks I am an easy target to blame for events I had not part in and only involved after the fact to help both the palestinians and to write a report for Lebanon and the UN. My report was also forwarded to the Kahan commission. Copies were sent to a number of embassies by the Ministry.
How the makes me a fascist is only in pbel's imagination.
This has been explained to him before and he still does not want to understand.
My father would not take arms against his fellow Lebanese and I was raise to want the best for the country not artisan politics. I was not just going back and forth between militias and groups but between a number of embassies and organizations as well. Mostly I was trying to arrange ceasefires and set up meetings for talks. Hardly partisan except to the idea of peace.
Pb will no doubt always blame me and label me because of my friendship with Bashir. Bashir was not directly to blame for the 16th, he had been killed two days earlier. His death was part of he motivation but both incidents were the work of Hobeika and the syrians. Just over two years later the syrians and amal would massacre around 4000 palestinians in those same camps, and those figures would be inflated and blamed on '82 instead for propaganda purposes.
I've not been back since '83 but thanks to the internet I have stayed in touch with friends and somewhat active after Hariri's assassination and events that lead to syrian troops being removed. Does that make me a member of the Future Party? No, just concerned with the freedom and peace of Lebanon.
Forget Pbel. Not worth the aggravation. He does not care about the truth just his grudge and belief in the idea that the Kataeb, all Kataeb and christians, were intentionally involved in events of the 16th. He does not even understand what really happened there either, nor want to. I'm sure to him I will always be a fascist and a member of Kateab. That is his problem.