Daily Archives: November 19, 2007

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Kouchner Makes Startling Discovery: Lebanon Is A Treacherous Place

We thank France for trying, but did Kouchner really think Lebanon was a cake walk?


Welcome to the Lebanese jungle…

After paying Mr. Hariri a visit, the French minister taught us today what a diplomatic hair-pulling looks like:

“Everybody was agreed. Everybody said they had agreed. Now I’m amazed, France is amazed, that something is stuck, something is blocked, something is derailed, and I would like everyone to assume their responsibilities,”

Yes, Lebanon tends to do that to you monsieur Kouchner.. But wait, there’s more:

“I would like to know who is not in agreement. I would like to know who has an interest in chaos, who has an interest in the elections not taking place, who has an interest in making it even more complicated for the life of all the Lebanese,”

Mr. Kouchner is not to blame. He just made the grave mistake of assuming that Lebanese politicians care about the general good before their own. What if America was right all the way? What if there is no such thing as compromise in Lebanon?

Also read:

Lebanon Plays Mission Impossible

Related Beirut Spring posts:

• Last August, I argued against France’s promise of a “spectacular opening gesture” towards Syria • A few days later I realized that France and the US were beginning to differ in diagnosing the Lebanese situation • In March, I wrote a post endorsing Nicolas Sarkozy for the French presidency.

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The Face Of Lebanon, A Rotten Mercedes

Here are some Lebanon links to start off the day and quench your insatiable appetite for Lebanese talk. (Let’s face it, why else are you here? )

1- Borzou Daragahni found a metaphor to describe the Lebanese situation:

In Beirut, this scarred Mercedes — prone to overheating — struggles forward as a taxi. The exodus of Lebanon’s young and talented has intensified as a deadline approaches for the government’s two opposing camps to come up with a president. read more..

2- Benny Avni tries to make the NY Sun‘s readers care about Lebanon by starting his article with this sentence “As Lebanon goes [..] so goes the rest of the Middle East. Regrettably, Lebanon is about to go“. Drama aside, a good read for those who need a quick update.

3- Sheikh Fadlallah said recently that the Lebanese crisis is political, not sectarian. Is he right? Check out the findings of the most recent PEW poll on Lebanon, released on November 15 , which concludes that your sect is a good predictor of your attitude towards various regional players.