Help Support Democracy in the Middle East

Posted by Michael J. Totten
Spirit of America Founder Jim Hake and I landed in Beirut, Lebanon in the middle of the night and spent all day Tuesday talking with leaders of the democratic opposition.
What we’re doing here is raising money to help the opposition as they oust the Syrian military and intelligence personnel from the country, demand (and hopefully get) an international inquiry into the death of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, and hold truly free and fair elections in May without the interference of a foreign dictatorship.
We’re focusing our efforts on the residents of the semi-permanent tent-city that has been built on Martyr’s Square, a mere two blocks from Parliament, where the opposition leaders say they will continue to reside until their country is a sovereign liberal democracy. They need food. They need bottled water. They need blankets. And they need the eyes of the world.
You personally can help by donating as little as five dollars. Here is a chance for the American people, rather than the American government or military, to help those who live in a beautiful, diverse, and sophisticated country fight for the freedom and human rights they once had, and that have been taken away by a foreign oppressive power. We can do this ourselves, and we can do it without violence.
Here’s the donation page. If you have a blog of your own, please help spread the word. It’s for a good cause and it’s non-partisan.
On a related note, while I’m here in the country I’m going to be blogging about what’s going on. And there’s a lot going on. I’ve already learned – just in one single day – a great deal that I haven’t read anything about anywhere in the media. In another day or so the Lebanon blog will be up and running at the Spirit of America site. I’ll be sure to give you the link as soon as it’s live.
UPDATE: The Lebanon Blog is now live.