On Michel Suleiman

A reader made a comment on a previous post about the Lebanese Army’s head that I think deserves a bit more exposure. Here’s a personal story from Ralf, a reader:

Michel Sleiman came to a restaurant one Sunday in his civilian cloth with a couple of people, I was having lunch there with my family and directly recognized him, but not the waiter who has been seating people.

The small group asked for a small table to have lunch, and the waiter replied rudely: “ Can’t you see it’s full!” and turned his back to go back to work. I thought that the waiter is going to find himself liking Sleiman boots in less than five seconds, to my surprise, Sleiman (head of the Leb Army) smiled to his friends and told them “Let’s just go somewhere else”.

Which one of your leaders wheither from M8 or M14 wouldn’t have made a scene and made himself acknowledged and got the best table. A governmental planton would have pulled rank the lebanese way “mannak 3arif ma3 min 3am te7ke!!!” (don’t you know who you’re talking with?)

Even a a beggar would have tried to insist and get a table. but no, Sleiman wearing his civilian cloth left without any publicity whatsoever which for me and my family witnessing the scene was very good publicity.

If Sleiman was a syrian puppet he would have totally messed up your fake cedar revolution. His orders were clear since day 1 of the protests and that date is not March 14 but feb 15–16–17… Do your job as soldiers, protect the civilian right to protest. The army was exemplary those days and for the first time in my life, I felt that this army is really lebanese (the syrians were still there I remind you).
Sleiman comes from a family from Amchit (Jbeil)and the town of Amchit respect that man even if some don’t like him. His positions during the crisis prooved that he is a patriot and that he follows his conscious and the patriarch advices who as well prooved that he is on the same distance from all.

Does being humble and civil matter in our choice of president?