Poor Muslim Woman

The tragic consequence of war. A poor Muslim woman escapes the fighting around the Nahr al Bared camp in northern Lebanon.

Ain't it a great caption for the first picture? But not true at all. Because the old woman walked straight to a nearby field to work on potatoes or whatever crop she is into. So the second picture is much closer to the truth than the first.

I made both pictures, and I just want to show how easy it is to manipulate stuff.

This too explains why there is such an enormous amount of crap being written about Fatah al Islam, the group that is currently surrounded by the Lebanese army inside the Nahr al Bared camp.

Bloggers from all around the world seem to have a true passion for either blaming Syria, or the Lebanese government (and US president Bush of course) for creating Fatah al Islam / Al Qaeda in Lebanon.

My point is this: We have no clue, no evidence for either of theories.

And if you don't live in Lebanon nor visit northern Lebanon or don't have a deep knowledge of radical Islam in the Levant - please don't bore the rest of the world with your second hand theories.

Because like it or not - If I would have published only the first picture, you would have believed that a poor old Muslim woman was escaping the fighting.

Harald Doornbos

The Next War Adventure Of The Audi A8

The new offensive started indeed early Saturday morning. But let me start by saying this: The Auto channel reviewed the Audi A8, 4.2 liter, Quattro, as follows:

"If you’re one of those lucky folks in the market for a premium full-size sedan like the 7-Series BMW, Mercedes S-Class or the big Lexus you might want to take a close look at the A8. It’s a class act."

I couldn't agree more! But a review like this puts the A8 (or S8 - even better, or RS8 - yummy) very much in the corporate scene. You know, these people who got another bonus this year and are now trying to fit 60 golf clubs in the trunk of their Audi. It probably would fit anyway, because this thing is just huge. But that is not the point.

The point is this: While driving, early morning Saturday, past the Nahr al Bared camp, with plumes of smoke on my left and, on the right, artillery shells literally flying over my head into the camp, I kind of had a very - and I mean a very - un-corporate feeling. It became clear to me that the A8 belongs much more on the battlefield than around some silly golf course. Let's not forget, this is a German car.

But anyway. I parked the Audi next to a house, 800 meters away from the camp which was being bombed to pieces by the Lebanese army. I shook hands with the people who live in the house and went - for the third time - to their strategically located balcony. From it you can see the whole camp. And that morning - smoke and fire too. The second offensive was under way to get rid of Al Qaeda lunatics who are hiding in the camp. And we had prime seats. By the way: the group is called: Fatah al Islam, which means Islamic Liberation.

There were six hours of maddness. So much shooting, so much shelling. We drank tea, while watching the fighting. We all went on our knees, behind a wall, if an Al Qaeda sniper would shoot at us - one man even showed us a bullet that he picked up from the balcony floor. At one point I could see how an Al Qaeda militant quickly fired with a machinegun from a window at the Lebanese army. Then I thanked the people in the house, and went back to the car. As ever - the A8 had not moved at all. It wasn't scared - like its owner. It wasn't exited - like its owner. And it didn't dive for safety - like its owner. It just stood there; just happy we were in a war, and not on a golf course.

As you can see on the pics I made on Saturday: Nr 1: The Audi A8 with plumes of smoke nearby. Nr 2: Looking at the battle from the balcony, Nr 3: A mortar hits a building.

Harald Doornbos

Saturday will rock

Something tells me that Saturday morning will rock around the Nahr al Bared camp. And it's not Fatah al Islam doing a ZZ-Top imitation. At the other hand - you never know...

Harald Doornbos

Pictures of War (2)

An army goes to war.

Here some pictures I made during the offensive of the Lebanese Army against the Fatah al Islam terror network, in and around the Nahr al Bared camp. "We shoot at every beard we see," said one of the soldiers, a member of a sniper unit, while hiding behind a wall of sand on the southern front line. Rest of pics is the offensive on last Friday. Although the army still did not destroy all the Fatah al Islam hideouts inside the camp, the Lebanese army controls most of it now. Expect commando raids on Sunday.

Copyright: Harald Doornbos

Pictures of War (1)

Here are some pictures I made on the first day (May 20th 2007) of Fatah al Islam's planned attack on Tripoli, north Lebanon. Tomorrow some more pictures of the trouble around the Nahr al Bared camp:

Heavy street fighting between Fatah al Islam guys and the Lebanese Army. Here an army captain looking through my binoculars (Since he had none, I borrowed it to him a little earlier). Next picture he opens fire on the islamists (who were hiding in a building). 45 minutes later, the captain, sadly, was shot in the head.

Member of a special police unit tries to spot Fatah al Islam sniper:

Terrified residents of Tripoli leave their houses after being stuck inside for hours due to fighting between Fatah al Islam militants and Lebanese security forces:

Lebanese soldiers try to reach an appartment where Fatah al Islam militants are firing from. One officer was killed trying to get to the first floor:

Soldiers are collecting RPG's to attack the Fatah al Islam hideout, the appartment in the back with the green/blue windows:

Copyright all pictures: Harald Doornbos

Not an S8, but A8

Couple of things on the Audi (see post below):

- Bought it with my own money (15.000 usd - which is like 300 Euro's these days - long live the strong Euro!).

- Not stolen in Europe, but original Audi, newly imported through the Audi dealer here in Beirut. When I bought it, it was seven years old.

- Not an S8 (unfortunately), but an A8. Here in Lebanon it is all about appearances. So the former owner, some kind of girl, put these little stickers on the back to make it look like an S8 from the outside. Pathetic of course and an insult to the makers of the movie Ronin. At the other hand - kind of funny ( Just like the little Holy Moli Maria picture next to the dashboard). So it is actually a Catholic Arab Audi A8 Pretending To Be A S8.


You've got to love it.

And by the way: Not driving a fast car in Lebanon can get you into serious trouble. I made this picture last year during the summer war, right after an Israeli air strike on a car carrying a Lebanese family, just south of the city of Tyre.



Harald Doornbos

One for the War - The Audi A8

What car do you need in times of war?

There can only be one answer: The Audi A8, 4.2 litre, quattro!

I bought this car two and a half years ago here in Lebanon, and it got me smoothly from bombed out buildings to blown up politicians. During last year summer war between Hezbollah and Israel, it proved itself again. No problem manoeuvring around bomb craters and hitting holes in the road only led to 800 USD post war damage to the car. This Audi goes so fast, worried Israeli pilots looked in disbelief at this little dot on the ground speeding through a rather destroyed landscape.

During this new crisis the Audi - again - is such a pleasure to drive. From Beirut to the Nahr al Bared refugee camp in exactly 1 hour 10 mins. So it takes 70 minutes to get from home to a small war. Wow, this makes me the first war commuter.

Only one problem: the windows are made of double glass. Great of course on the highway, because it really gives you this smooth, almost serene feeling. But around Nahr al Barred you don't hear the bullets and the shells. These days, driving with the windows open in northern Lebanon is advised to all A8 owners.

Another minus: petrol usage is extreme. In the city: 20.2 liters to 100 kms. Aaaah! Almost did not dare to drive to the cinema to watch Al Gore's movie.... Still: On the highways it gets much better. I'm doing now 10.7 liters to 100 kms. Not bad for this fantastic machine!

Picture above shows the Audi A8 parked next to the road during last years summer war.

Harald Doornbos

One of the first pictures of Jund al-Sham militants

Here one of the first pictures (according to my knowledge) of members of the very shadowy Al Qaeda linked 'Jund al-Sham' group. I took these pictures on Monday during a visit to a very tense Ain el Helwe camp in Saida, south of Beirut. You can't get close to these guys, so I used my zoom-lens. Not the best quality, but hey, better than nothing. If you recognize one of these guys as your neighbour, you are in trouble. Saida, lock up your daughters!

Harald Doornbos