In a region where associating yourself with the Americans can be political suicide, Saad Hariri is proudly swimming against the tide. Is this wisdom or folly?

Nothing to be ashamed of..

Have you been wondering why the American Ambassador, Mr. Jeffrey Feltman, has been so keen on stressing the fact that America is not supporting any name for the Lebanese presidency?

Apparently, that policy came at the heels of the New York Times article by Hassan Fattah, in which he attributed Amine Gemayel’s loss in the Metn by-elections to American support:

There is one explanation [to Amine Gemayel’s loss], however, that has become common wisdom in the region: Mr. Gemayel’s doom seems to have been sealed by his support from the Bush administration and the implied agendas behind its backing.

Mr. Fattah then made this sweeping conclusion that appears to have found some ears in the State Department:

The paradox of American policy in the Middle East [..] is that almost everywhere there are free elections, the American-backed side tends to lose.

Lebanon’s voters in the Metn district, in other words, appeared to have joined the Palestinians, who voted for Hamas; the Iraqis, who voted for a government sympathetic to Iran; and the Egyptians, who have voted in growing numbers in recent elections for the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood

Of course, the article is utter rubbish (I mean come on, Bekfayya and Gaza?, has Mr. Fattah even been to Metn?) but that doesn’t mean that some general truth of it couldn’t exist in one particular Lebanese demographic: The Sunnis.

Before the Hariri assassination, the Lebanese Sunnis were part of the regional “America and Israel are the enemies” mass. It took the shock of the assassination of a very charismatic leader to provoke the collective jolt against those Arabist sound bites and join the independence and freedom movement supported by the West, which of course includes the United States.

Some people, the Syrians and Hezbollah included, are betting that such a shift in alignment was emotional and temporary and that the Sunnis will eventually join the Aljazeera crowd and restore their anti-American reflexes.

But watching Mr. Saad Hariri -the leader of the largest Sunni party in Lebanon-, one not only sees a politician who doesn’t mind being associated with the Americans, one sees someone who actively promotes and takes pride in his alliance with Uncle Sam. A recent Fox-news interview with Mr. Hariri in which he attacked the Syrian regime was the No 1 news item in his media (Fox News!). When Mr. Hariri goes to Washington to shake Bush’s hand next Thursday, you can be sure that the picture will be proudly displayed on his newspaper’s front page.

The young and inexperienced Mr. Hariri could be naive (being a neocon in a post-neocon era). But perhaps he is on to something.. Perhaps in this hearts and minds war, it’s better to have clarity on who your friends are to embolden your supporters into permanently joining the American-pride express. Perhaps a hesitant, wishy washy position could have slowly slided them back to their old ways.

It is a risky position for Mr. Hariri, but it is a refreshing change from the hypocrisy of the Middle Eastern ways, don’t you think?

Teen daughters of the SLA members who fled to Israel after the 2000 Liberation are now serving the Israeli government.

To some Lebanese, the South Lebanon Army were traitors. To others, they were victims. But to most Lebanese, it is morally confusing what to make of Jessica Hashem, the 18 year daughter of former SLA members who is now doing her national service in Israel:

Jessica Hashem, an 18-year-old resident of Ma’alot, and daughter of two former SLA members, has been volunteering in the pediatric unit of a Nahariya hospital for the past month. “It is very gratifying,” Hashem said of her service.

“At first I thought of enlisting in the IDF, but my parents refused. My father said it was bad enough that the country stabbed them in the back, and he didn’t want the same thing happening to me.

“I decided that with the motivation I had, I had to do something, so I decided to volunteer in something close to my heart; children and medicine. I was received very well at the unit.,” Hashem explained.

Click here to read the story and when you’re done, please share your thoughts.

REVOLUTION, war, assassination, terrorist attacks, foreign intrigue, sectarian strife, a government paralysed and polarised between savagely bickering factions: it is hard to think of any devilish twist that Lebanon’s recent saga, like a television drama desperate to improve its ratings, has not taken since the country began to break from the hold of its larger neighbour, Syria, three years ago. Yet the plot is still getting thicker…

Click here to read the entire article.

An ambitious rock band from Lebanon wants to spread the message of what Lebanon is really about.

According to the email Doors To Aspiration sent me, they’re “doing everything [they] can to show the world something other than blood in Lebanon”. “We want them to know that a lot of Lebanese people are talented, sensitive, peace loving, caring and most importantly faithful. To those who don’t want us to live in peace, we’d like to say: “Do what you can and do what you will, but keep in mind that in the end only the righteousness of the Lebanese people prevail”.

Their music is playing in the US and has started winning some awards. I particularly like their song “Running Free In Lebanon” which has a nice little variation of our national anthem in it ( click here to listen to it, and if you like it, you can listen to more of their songs).

For more info, you can also check their website.

Two political opponents are thawing the ice. One is doing it better than the other.

Opposition leader Nabih Berri and Majority leader Saad Hariri are starting to negotiate to choose the next Lebanese President. Only yesterday, they met three times, including once for the traditional Ramadan dawn meal of Sou7our.

They appeared comfortable with each other and this shouldn’t surprise us: Any negotiation professional will tell you that it is crucial to convey a sense of goodwill from the start to establish a working business relationship.

But the keyword here is “business relationship”, which Mr. Hariri -judging from most pictures of his night-time meeting with his foe- seems to be confusing with chumminess. The two have to convey the message that they are foes who have to work together, not long-lost lovers who finally met, and this is where Mr. Berri is doing a better job.

The body language of the above picture is telling: When the experienced Berri posed for the photo, he made sure he kept his shoulders and his eyes facing the camera and his hands firmly on the chair, all while sporting an obviously diplomatic smile. Mr. Hariri’s posture on the other hand (toothy grin, shoulders and eyes facing opponent) conveyed too much trust and friendliness, something that his supporters will feel subtley betrayed and bothered by.

The opposition has the will, but does it have the power to repeal a would-be 50+1 Presidential vote?

Security was tight in the first voting session..

The MPs have gathered today in parliament to elect a President, but they failed to reach a two-third quorum. What happens after that will largely depend on the on-going negotiations between the “moderates” of both sides, Mr. Berri and Mr. Hariri. But meanwhile, the “hawks” have been establishing their leverages.

The “hardliners” of March 14 have laid down their terms in the form of simultaneous press conferences by Mr. Geagea and Mr. Jumblat. Both leaders effectively demanded a President who is acceptable to March 14. As Mr Geagea neatly puts it: “We want a President whose relationship with March 14 is similar to that between Mr. Berri and March 8, or we’ll have to chose a different speaker of Parliament”.

Both Mr. Geagea and Mr. Jumblat made it well known that in case no agreement was reached, March 14 will have to resort to its nuclear option: A 50%+1 voting session that will result in a March 14 President.

Meanwhile, the opposition’s “hardliners” have also been threatening a nuclear option of their own in case March 14 does go ahead and “unilaterally” picks a President. So far though, they are yet to spell out what they will do. Most of March 8’s threats sound scary, but warnings of “ultimate evil” and “coups” aside, one cannot see precisely what they are up to, and more importantly, whether or not they can muster anything more powerful than what they tried last year (and the Seniora Government withstood).

The people of March 8, like those of March 14, just want to live a normal life in a normal country. It can be argued that the only reason they took part in last year’s large-scale demos is that they were promised “swift results” and that they were told that nothing serious will happen to Lebanese unity and stability as a result. Moreover, large numbers of last year’s protesters were fresh out of the July war and needed a channel to release their frustration and anger, whereas this year they are tired from politics and just want to go home.

In other words, unless Hezbollah is planning to use its weapons internally (a threat their ally Michel Aoun has already made), there is nothing to prove that the opposition’s warnings are anything more than bluffs.

All the same, this blog wishes for the negotiations to succeed.