Daily Archives: August 21, 2007

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A Strategic Armistice

A strategic political ceasefire among the Lebanese parties is not an act of appeasement. It is an option that March 14 should consider seriously.

Many of us who were inspired by the Ideals of that glorious March 14 day (Rule of Law, A strong state, sovereignty and Independence) are disheartened by the prospect of a Michel Suleiman presidency. “Colorless”, “boring”, “insipid” are just some of the words used to describe him, as even America, the godfather of the Cedar revolution, starts taking him seriously.

The unfortunate reality is that we are all -both sides- still in denial of what Lebanon truly is.

Lebanon is not some fancy ideal we try to project on it. It is not “The forefront of an honorable, victorious resistance against an evil occupier” the same way it is not the Paris of the Middle East with a “strong democratically elected government and the rule of law”

Lebanon is what it is: A loveless marriage of a couple with differing hopes and expectations, each trying in vain to impose his/her vision on the other. Both are self-righteous and both are unchangeable.

Michel Suleiman, with his pandering to all sides, is the presidential equivalent of the couple saying: “This constant bickering is hurting the kids and a divorce would cost a fortune. Let’s just sit on it and hope one day one of us will change”

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Washington Opening Up To Suleiman?

The US is cautiously reciprocating Suleiman’s expression of goodwill.


Suleiman The Hedger

A few days ago, the head of the Armed forces publicly thanked the Americans for their help with ammunitions at the start of the Albared assault and declared that he is fighting “Alqaeda”.
Today it seems, the US is returning the gesture.

Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, the director of the US state department’s office of Levant affairs told Alhayat that the US “doesn’t mind” changing the Lebanese constitution and that what matters are “the qualities” of the candidate. She even said that the candidate shouldn’t have “a strong link” with Hezbollah, a step down from “no links at all” which meets Suleiman halfway. Here are her statements in Arabic:

????? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ???????? ????????? ???? ????????? ????????? ?? ?????? ?? «??????» ??? ?? ??????? ????????? «?? ????? ????? ???????» ?????? ???? ??? ???????? ?????? «?? ???????? ?? ?? ??????? ??????» ? «???? ???? ??????? ?????????? ?? ?????? ???????? ??????? ???? ???????? ???????? ????????????».

????? ????????? ?? «?????? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ???? ??? ?? ???????? ?? ?????? ???????» ? «?? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ????????»? ????? ??? ?? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ???????? ?? «????? ?????? ???? ??? ??????????».

??? ????? ??? ?????????? ???? ???????? ????????? ?? ?????? «????? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ????? ???????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?? ????? ????????»? ?????? ???? ??????? ?? «????? ??? ????? ??????? ?????».

And before one thinks Ms. Abercrombie is a wide-eyed state department outsider, it would be good to review what she told Aljazeera back in July, when she essentially confirmed her credentials as a pro-Seniora hardliner.

Michel Aoun spoke of a policy reassessment in Washington, but what he probably missed is that the change could be more “Sfeir-esque”, not one that inches towards his side.

Update: The state department has countered Abercrombie’s statements and said the US is against changing the constitution.