American Official: US Would Severly Punish Those Involved With Forming A Second Government



News Analysis

What kind of deterrence does the US have in store to prevent a two-governments scenario?


Try me..

Sarkis Na’oum, a Lebanese veteran journalist is in Washington DC these days. He is busy meeting unnamed “high ranking administration officials involved with Lebanon”.

He is writing his observations in his daily Annahar column. Here’s an excerpt of what one official told him today on what America would do in response to a would-be second government:

ستتخذ الإدارة عندنا اجراءت جدية ومهمة لجعل تأليف حكومة ثانية صعبا وربما مستحيلا . وستكون مالية وقانونية وإدارية ومصرفية. أي لا تأشيرات دخول لكل ما يشترك فيها ولا زيارات ولا عمل ولا إستثمار . وستشمل هذه الاجراءت ، إضافة إلى اللبنانيين المشار اليهم أعلاه ، سوريين .

Translation: The administration would take serious and significant measures to make forming a second government a difficult and perhaps impossible task. The measures would be monetary, legal, administrative and financial. I.E no entry visas to all those involved, no business trips, no investment. The measures will affect Syrian citizens in addition to the Lebanese.

It seems to me that these measures are specifically designed to scare off the FPM who have supporters all over the USA. Will they flinch?

Related Beirut Spring posts:

• 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.

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Discussion

No comments for “American Official: US Would Severly Punish Those Involved With Forming A Second Government”

  1. when it comes right down to it, the overarching effect will summarily coalesce in a big heap of consolidated TOZ!

    Posted by 3asfour | November 16, 2007, 7:50 pm
  2. Most FPM supporters I know in the US are also US citizens. This will have no impact. I’m afraid its another toothless bite. But then again, I’m not convinced anything short of carpet bombing Damascus will work.

    Posted by Homo Libanus | November 16, 2007, 9:16 pm
  3. Lists of Middle Eastern investors targeted for financial ruin are likely those who invest their money in stable Western countries, and then use their profits to support terrorist groups who destabilize the governments and economies of their own Middle Eastern homelands.

    Outsourcing funds for continuous strife, what a concept!

    Posted by JAS | November 16, 2007, 9:20 pm
  4. Without UN, European or US support the 2nd government will fail. With probably only Iran, Syria and Qatar supporting it.

    However, it could be the first step towards the fabled Hizbalistan. And why not? If people are so adamant in their dislike of Lebanon and its power sharing formula then let them secede. They can join the nation later when their experiment fails. As has Hamas’s in Gaza.

    Posted by Ramzi | November 16, 2007, 9:42 pm
  5. Sarkis Naoum writes the only articles that gives you hope in annahar, but his problem is that he always starts his articles with “unnamed high ranking administration officials involved with Lebanon…”.
    Hiding eternally the sources makes the news more like a tale. Who are these people that this respectable journalist is getting information from, and how high these people are ranked in the administrations. Hiding your sources allows you as well to add “salt and pepper” or to write these information with your proper style and views. I hope that Sarkis Naoum informants are not the product of his imagination, because honnestly I sometimes feel that his articles starts more with : “Once upon a time in a far away world…”

    Posted by Ralf | November 16, 2007, 10:38 pm
  6. “Without UN, European or US support the 2nd government will fail.”

    lol

    UN is meaningless and arab supporters of the US and Europe have a hard enough time staying alive.

    Posted by red | November 17, 2007, 5:50 am
  7. Red,

    Wait and see. Wasnt UN, US and European support strong enough to help force Syria out of Lebanon??

    A 2nd government would lack any worldwide legitimacy. It would only be a tool to divide the country further.

    Posted by Ramzi | November 17, 2007, 7:35 am

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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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