The Shameless Pro-American
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?
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Hello, my name is Mustapha and I blog in The Beirut Spring about Lebanese society and politics. I started in February 2005 after the killing of P.M. Rafik Hariri.
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This is not smart PR or politics by Saad.
At a time when HE, Saad, is saying no-outside-interference and no-pressure.
Sounds like more of the same crap: country is sinking and our morons are talking to foreigners (Mussa, UN, Bush, Iranians….)
Civil society and the biz community should put pressure on all these local leaders to stop this abject practice and get to work IN Lebanon and NOW.
To oversimplify is a Lebanese trait. When the Hizb and followers threw a thank you party for Syria less than 30 days before Hariri’s death…Why shy away from the only leverage you have? The international community. Even the Arab countries with their Jelly backbones have unwavering support for March 14! For once in history the will of the International community has not broken for its support of Lebanon’s independence. Had the circumstances been different your analysis could be OK…After all the assasinations…no dice my friend. It is a struggle of life and death in Lebanon..or live like slaves and perish ultimately and cede to The Islamic country of Hizbistan!
Josey,
Stop the dumb nonsense! Hizb has all the right to meet “The street Sweeper of Tehran”, and Hassan to donate the limbs of Lebanese to Khameini but the rest should be ashamed of meeting civilized world leaders!!??? So intelligent of you!
Danny Boy
Who’s talking dumb nonsense? What is that meeting going to do other than give M8 further ammo to call M14 US lackeys?
Any biz can be conducted behind the scenes. And if Saad has decided to grow balls and be in your face, it’s a bit late for that.
Two wrongs don’t make a right: the answer to Hezb meeting Iran is Saad meeting Saudis or the US??
Bottom line, meeting is useless.
I agree with JW: this trip unfortunately will be used against March 14 in Lebanon, saying that we get our answers and directions from the US. That does not of course justify the other side’s “trips” to Iran for answers, but I just think that the timing of the trip is just utterly a wrong move…not when Hariri is telling all those folks who come for iftar in his palace that picking the next President is a Lebanese affair and not when Feltman keeps on assuring everyone that the US plays no interfering role in this regard.
But the bottom line is that the Iranian ambassador in Beirut is not all that detached from these negotiations. Just yesterday he paid a visit to Hariri.
This is when it all becomes confusing for the Lebanese. This is when analyzing all night motives and decisions in the Lebanese political sphere is a fruitless affair. A President will be picked and the decision will be just like how decisions hailed upon us during the era of the Syrian tutelage: in a can, ready for consumption(mu’allaba)!
I agree with your assessment that “the Lebanese Sunnis were part of the regional “America and Israel are the enemies” mass.” I was one of them but after the assassination of Hariri as Danny said: “It is a struggle of life and death in Lebanon..or live like slaves and perish ultimately and cede to The Islamic country of Hizbistan!”
Requesting the help of the US does not mean that the Sunni agree with the policies of the US. It just means that we need the support of the US to have an independent, sovereign, free Lebanon!
We don’t want Lebanon to be a battlefield anymore for Israel, Syria, the US, Iran and the Palestinians. They can take their wars to their own countries!!!
By the way, just a history lesson, the supporters of Hizballah (the majority of the Shiite in South Lebanon) welcomed Israel when Israel invaded Lebanon in 1981! The supporters of Iran in South Iraq begged for the support of the US to help them when they started their uprise in South Iraq after the Gulf War I.
To Hassan Fatah,
Aoun was about to loose in the Metn because of his anti-american stance. Aoun will loose everywhere in the next elections if lebanese living outside lebanon are allowed to vote (especailly the ones living in France, US and Canada). I guess the same rule will apply on the palestinians living outside palestine.
For all the Anti-american, sorry guys, you lost your foolish bet. The US rules today, stronger than any time ever. You might criticize the war on Irak as much as you like, greater objectives than kicking Saddams derriere have been accomplished. The US army has strong positions in the ME, Iran and Syria are biting their finger nails while waiting for the final strike that seems to be comming sooner than anyone thinks and surprisingly enough with the blessing of the arabs and the international community.
Saad must be honored to be welcomed by Bush. It is a great backing for March 14 to have Cesar on their side.
Allah biyo7shor el-insan ma3 li bi7ibon.
w mustapha bi7ib bush kteer.
Arab ‘Sunnis’ in the middle-east are not solid, monolithic one bloc, and it’s a mistake to perceive them as such. (A modern Salah Al Din is not yet born, to unit them, thanks god).
As we see in west Iraq, the Sunni tribes there realized the danger posed to them by the Sunni militant radicals, and are now more and more cooperating with Am-rica. So is Fatah and Abbas in falastin, and this trend will grow wider.
The Americans are mistaken; they try to endear themselves to Arabs. By doing that, they just giving rise to the Arab sentiment of “hard to get”.
Instead of phony “winning hearts and minds”, just do what is right. The rest will follow.
.
Doha and Josie,
Leaders do not hide! HA is not changing their position if Saad meets Bush or not…On the contrary if you want to cowar and pretend that HA is right, well…Pack your bags and register Lebanon under another name…
Danny is right on the money. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for behind-closed-doors diplomatic wranglings and massaging feelings. It is un-Lebanese to not be that. But what Hizbo is planning for Lebanon is beyond the pale. The gloves are off, and trying to tame a wild cat, or more like trying to civilize a sewer cat is not only stupid, it is ultimately dangerous. I say SCREW Hizbo! Lebanon first! In the words of a dead Lebanese president: “Je ferai des démons mes alliés pour sauver mon pays!”
SCREW Hizbo and anyone seeking to justify their gangsterism.
Mustapha…Excellent, it is posts like these which makes me read your blog. Comming from a Sunni yourself; I’m sure it must have been a challenge to be so sincere.
You said it very well “… Mr. Hariri could be naive being a neocon in a post-neocon era”.
▐► You know, I must confess myself, though I will not post it through my blog, due to other inner circle members’ criticism, But I was pro-American myself, and encouraged American policy in Lebanon; But the Summer War of 2007, or the Second Lebanon War - Changed Everything!
It Changed Everything!! America will ALWAYS ‘Blindly’ side with Israel over Lebanon. Israel is Americas little baby. Not Lebanon. It will always take side with Israel, to protect, defend, fund, and arm. This also includes economic support in a region where Lebanon and Israel may one day (very probable) be harsh economic competitors in the Area.
Think of that one.
As an American, I am PERFECTLY happy to see free and open elections bring anti-American politicians to power.
The current situation, where (cough) “pro-American” (cough) and patently undemocratic politicians have been propped up by us and other Western countries provides ample material for accusations of hypocricy.
The best reason for democracy in the Middle East (or anywhere, frankly) is to bring long-needed clarity for who his responsible for the circumstances in that part of the world.
The Palestinians have no one to blame but themselves for the disaster Hamas is in the process of visiting upon them.
I agree with you Mustapha, the more Saad leans toward Bush, the more we, Sunnis, are going to be hated by Shiaa. The US did nothing to stop Lebanon’s destruction in July-August 2006. Mr Sanioura told a relative of mine, one day after he met Bush in April 2006, that he requested US pressures on Israel regarding the Shebaa farms. The response was that he should talk to Syria! That said, the President Bush said that he supported Lebanese sovereignty & independence…and we know what happened afterwards. We Lebanese, should count on ourselves and see what is best for us rather than seeking outside support.
Check this article about Saad:
http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2007/09/to_live_and_die.php
What surprises me the most is that everyone talks about israel being americas cherished baby, but no one ever says why american loves israel so much. I heard some silly religious causes about the messiah second comming and bla bla bla but I doubt that those are the arguments discussed in the US senate. The US will always defend Israel for the simple reason that Israel has always been loyal to the US. We can’t say the same for Lebanon since two years ago, those who are so keen to visit bush today were shouting “al mawtou li amrika” louder than the shi3a. I do not wish to generalize, but there is a lebanese community that is showing a lot of hyppocrisy lately, hating the US and unproud of the new friendship with the US, but at the same time totaly depending on the US to defend them from the irani invasion of the ME. For those who proudly state that we do not need the american support, I say think twice, because your ennemies are seeking Irani support, and if you are expecting help from your arab brothers, good luck. The US as much as you like to portray them as stupid and chewing gummers and ketchup drinkers and, and … are much more clever than you think and at the same time they do remember your past stances against the USA. Now that they have the upper hand over the ME, it is going to be payback time, the american way: kiss my ass or kiss the mollahs ass. I advise you to kiss the US’s ass, as you should have done 50 years ago. But maybe you needed 50 years of illusionnary victories to realize the sewers you are living in and that its big time now to look toward the west where future lays. Pray that the white house is still open for REAL moderates people like the hariri family. Pray for these american soldiers that are defending your right to be free, from your own tyrants as well as from imported tyrans.
[...] Beirut Spring points out how every time the U.S. Bush’s administration shows its support for a candidate, in any free elections in the Middle East, that candidate loses. Then he moves on to question the wisdom of Saad Hariri’s forthcoming visit and meeting with President Bush in the United States. Hariri, the head of the largest parliamentary bloc, is expected to discuss the upcoming presidential elections with President Bush during their meeting. [...]
Another American “baby” is Taiwan.
Also, South Korea.
Is there a Taiwanese and South Korean cabal influencing American politics?
Taicoms? Sokocoms?
I meant, ‘TaicoNs?’ SokocoNs?’
I don’t understand this mentality that Lebanese have. Some prefer to side with Syria and Iran against the U.S. and the Western world? How does this make sense for a free-thinking and supposedly ‘democratic’ society? If you would rather live in Syria or Iran; why don’t you move there and find out how wonderful life is? I realize that it’s not perfect in the West, but Lebanese are more liberal and capitalist than the rest of the Arab world, or am I wrong?
Hey Beirutspring, this guy (GV online)made you sound like Hassan Fatah.
[...] بيروت سبرينغ (إنكليزي) يشير إلى النقطة التالية: في كل مرة تـُظهِر الإدارة الأميركية / إدارة بوش دعمها لمرشح، في أي انتخابات حرة في الشرق الأوسط، يخسر هذا المرشَّح. لذا، ينتقل لمساءلة الحكمة من وراء قرار سعد الحريري زيارة الرئيس بوش في الولايات المتحدة الأميركية قريباً. في اجتماعه مع الرئيس بوش، يُتَوَقَّع أن يناقش الحريري (زعيم الأغلبية النيابية) الانتخابات الرئاسية القادمة. بلاك سميث أوف ليبانون (إنكليزي) “مضرب عن التحليل السياسي”. لكنه يتناول مدى كفاءة بعض المرشَّحين للمنصب الرئاسي. يشرح، تبعاً للدستور اللبناني، عدم دستورية ترشيح البعض لهذا المنصب. تنتهي التدوينة بوصف الاجتماع الأخير للنواب كـَإتباع للعملية الانتخابية الموجِبة من دون تحقيق أي شيء يُذكَر. [...]
[...] • Last June, I wrote about the possible effects of an American presidential ban on the Aounists in the US • In September, I argued that Mr. Saad Hariri is becoming a shameless pro American • Afterwards in October, I made fun of how Assafir covered his Washington trip. [...]