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October 15, 2007
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Washington believes Lebanon
valuable for its worth
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
WASHINGTON: Surveys held by American statistics
companies on public opinion in the Arab Middle East
have shown Morocco followed by Lebanon as the
nations with the highest ratings in favoring
America.
It
is for this reason that the US administration has
thrown its weight behind Lebanon’s March 14
coalition notwithstanding other American interests
in the region, including a possible patch up with
Syria over the security situation in Iraq.
It
is for this reason too that Washington has treated
its Lebanese visitors from this coalition with
special attention usually reserved to the world’s
heads of states. The visit of March 14 leader Saad
Hariri to Washington and New York was no exception.
Not
only Washington showed Hariri to exceptional
protocol, it also promised him unwavering support
for his coalition: The international tribunal for
the trial of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri
should be created, the Lebanese army should receive
logistic assistance to enforce Lebanon’s sovereignty
and international pressure on Syria should remain,
even if for the sake of Lebanon only.
For
his part, Hariri reciprocated the virtually
unlimited US support to Lebanon’s pro-independence
coalition by saying out loud, during a reception
held in his honor in Washington, that Lebanon was
fortunate to have the US as an ally, a friendly
statement that American officials rarely here from
Arab leaders, even friendly ones.
Strengthened by American backup, Hariri went further
in a show of force facing the Syrian regime and its
allies in Lebanon. When asked what would he and the
March 14 coalition do should Syria “go to the end”
with its negative role in Lebanon, Hariri responded:
“We too are going to the end.”
But
not for no reason, Hariri reasoned. Dialogue with
the opposition through Speaker Nabih Berri over
presidential elections and other pressing matters
was in process. Even though Hariri hoped that this
dialogue would yield some agreements, he sounded
rather pessimistic and embracing for the worst.
“We
will beat them,” Hariri told his Lebanese-American
audience at the reception. “But we will not get
armed or get involved in a civil war,” he argued.
Hariri gave away some behind-the-scenes
understandings with the opposition, and how the
pro-Syrian Lebanese groups reneged on them: “We
agreed that we do not talk about our right to
electing a president with a simple parliamentary
majority, in return for them dropping the two-third
condition. But they did not.”
Last but not least, and unlike what was predicted,
expected and speculated on, Hariri did not engage
his American hosts on the names of possible
candidates for Lebanon’s presidency.
To
American officials, who becomes president is a minor
issue that does not merit discussion during a state
visit, like that of Hariri. Instead, the
administration officials Hariri met including
President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney
and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice among
others, merely reiterated Washington’s craving to
see Lebanon’s democracy produce a freely elected
president, within constitutional timelines and
without Syrian or other foreign intervention.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a freelance journalist. He
can be reached at
hahussain@hotmail.com
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