Daily Archives: February 2, 2012

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In Iran, Arab Spring Propaganda Backfires

Fascinating report from Robert Worth:

It was meant to be a crowning moment in which Iran put its own Islamic stamp on the Arab Spring [...] As delegates flooded into a vast auditorium next to a space needle in western Tehran, a screen showed images of the Iranian revolution in 1979, morphing seamlessly into footage of young Arab protesters in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya and Yemen.

But there was a catch. No one was invited from Syria [...] That inconvenient truth soon marred the whole script. As the conference began, a young man in the audience held up a sign with the word “SYRIA?” written in English. Applause burst out in the crowd, followed by boos.

I would Imagine the same would happen if Saudi Arabia attempted to organize such an event and didn’t invite anyone from Bahrain. But Unlike Iran, Saudi Arabia never pretended to be a supporter of the oppressed and a champion of democracy. That Iranian Hypocrisy is at the heart of why its influence is diminishing today..

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❊ The Predictable, Silly and Insanely Pointless Spectacle Between P.M. Mikati and the FPM

— Some distance is good –

They will eventually kiss, make up and put their daggers behind their backs again, but the flare-out last night between Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Minister Gebran Bassil revealed once more the depth of tension and enmity that exists between these two parties.

It all happened when Prime Minister Mikati nominated A Christian judge to head a disciplinary body that traditionally reports to the Prime Minister. Since it is a Christian position, PM Mikati decided to let President Michel Sleiman file a nominee, and so Judge Elie Bekh’azi was proposed.

Minister Gebran Bassil then asked to put that nomination on hold, until he can find out if M.P. Michel Aoun blesses it. Mr. Miqati’s reaction to that took everyone by surprise:

I feel that there is insistence on blocking everything to disrupt the government’s work and you bear the responsibility and no one else. This I cannot accept. It is now clear to everybody who is blocking the work of the government and this will no longer be tolerated

Then, in a logic that can only be described as surrealistic, he decided to suspend the government’s work in protest against the FPM’s suspension of the government’s work, claiming till the very end that this is the only constructive thing to do.

But then Minister Bassil decided to double down and play nasty sectarian politics:

A certain group of Lebanese has gotten used to treating another group badly, that won’t happen on our watch and we will change this habit and restore balance to the council of Ministers.

Translation: Christians will no longer accept Sunni dominance, and the FPM will make sure to restore Christians back to their rightful position in the government.

This standoff between a weak Prime Minister and a cocky and aggressive party is a silly spectacle, but it is also a pointless one. Because in the end Hezbollah, the real power behind this government, will make sure that everyone gets back in line. The party of God will first allow this conflict to play out a bit, since a public fight between these two is politically beneficial for both. But in the end things will go back to where they were before last night.