18 November 2009By Franklin Lamb
Students at the University of Beirut
If those in Lebanon who were watching the news on
11/12/09 blinked they might have missed an interesting
news item. It appeared at approximately 4:20 pm on
Narharnet.com, the pro-US/Saudi news website.
The news item read "4:16 pm, American Ambassador
Michele Sison (sp) departed Lebanon for her country."
Ten minutes later the item disappeared and, as it
turned out, the ten minutes was exactly how long it
took for the US Embassy security and press office to
inform Beirut media outlets that "the American
Ambassadors movements are to be reported at least one
hour after they occur, not one minute."
The hasty departure of Ambassador Michele Sisson,
according to the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee
office, may have been because the Obama administration
is preparing for a 'deep review' of its 9 months
effort in Lebanon and the region, debriefing key
officials arriving from the area to participate.
Ambassador Sisson will likely give the White House an
earful, including a report of what the Embassy Press
Office referred to as the spectacle this week of
former US friends and assets in the March 14 majority
coalition warmly and very publicly embracing at
various events marking the end of the five-month
effort to create a government here of those "Iranian
surrogates" in Hezbollah.
The Ambassador may also report to the White House that
Hezbollah in now the most popular and respected
political party in Lebanon and the main pillar of the
new government and that it is about to launch its
social welfare initiatives in Parliament.
The White House appears to know that Hezbollah is here
to stay. If a plebiscite was held, polls show, the
Lebanese public would agree that now more than ever
the growing National Lebanese Resistance led by
Hezbollah is needed as a deterrent to Israeli
aggression, given the recent discovery of a vast
Israeli spy network, daily violations of Lebanese
sovereignty, as well as the serial threats from all
manner of Israeli officials, extremist rabbis,
settlers and their supporters in the US Congress who
appear to be encouraging Israel to launch its seventh
war against Lebanon.
The new prime minister, Saad Hariri, is apparently
also pulling back a bit from Washington and seems to
be going out of his way this week to stress this,
telling a group of students at Beirut Arab University
that "Lebanon will no longer be the playground for
regional conflicts and that there must be no more
international heavy handedness from outside powers".
At a Hamra Internet Café a chic and sassy Saudi
student majoring in business explained, as she
examined several rings on her fingers: "Your
government has already served Iraq, Afghanistan,
Pakistan, Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and soon
Palestine and Egypt to Iran on a mezza platter. Soon,
maybe my country! Is your government stupid or just
what is the problem?"
A coup de grace of sorts has been administered to the
Lebanese branch of the "New Middle East" project by
former US 'partner' Walid Jumblatt. After telling a
visiting American delegation that "the neocons are
still in charge in Washington" he announced that
Syria, his former sworn enemy, does indeed have
legitimate geopolitical interests in Lebanon and that
he for one was ready to acknowledge and even support
them. Even Saudia Arabia seems willing to defer to
Syria as the Wahabite Kingdom calculates how best to
revive Arab nationalism as a bulwark against its
nemesis, Shia Iran. In the background the influence of
Egypt, under its long-time President Hosni Mubarak,
diminishes. All these fast moving maneuvers and events
leaves Washington with only Samir Geagea and few
others to do its bidding.
The White House is no doubt already aware that the
past three years of US-Israeli projects are in tatters
and that Lebanon may indeed have joined the regional
era of Resistance.
Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassim, who
will play a key role in enacting social programs in
Parliament that Hezbollah is committed to has made
clear as he stated yesterday, that "It's time to get
to work." Hezbollah has yielded to some of its
political opponents some of its expected Cabinet
seats, The reason is to get off to a good start in the
newly formed government.
One Hezbollah friend noted in a recent conversation
about the makeup of the new government which is one
the White House does not favor but can do little about
just now:
"Tayyeb! (OK!), this is our (Hezbollah's) opportunity
to show our countrymen and others who we are and what
we can do for our country. I will admit that sometimes
our Zionist enemies have had some success in creating
a false image of us. We will now work with all parties
and try to implement our legislative program. You will
see us compromise and try to convince all factions to
work with us to improve Lebanon. We do this not for
Iran or Syria but because we are Lebanese. Watch us,
criticize us, and condemn us if we fail. Let's see
what we can achieve with all the political factions.
Long after Hezbollah helps return our Palestinian
guests to their rightful homes we will continue
working to improve our country as part of our
government."
American policy towards Lebanon is in some ways back
to square one. There are a numbers of things that the
Obama Administration can do to begin to rebuild
Lebanese confidence in the Obama administration's good
intensions.
At a recent meeting in West Beirut, a group of
students, young and old, gathered at a seminar to
discuss the image of America in the Levant. A US
Embassy representative was invited but bowed out at
the last minute and advised the group to 'send us an
email and we will look it over." So far there has been
no reply from the Embassy but below are some of the
suggestions from Lebanese University students to the
White House, State Department and US Congress, updated
on 11/12/09.
Immediately issue a Press Release explaining whether
the rumors are true that President Obama gave Israeli
PM Netanyahu a 'green light' for its threatened 7th
War against Lebanon. AIPAC has been telling some
Congressional Hill staffers that the reports of a
'cold meeting' between the two leaders last weekend
was"for public consumption' but that in fact the
meeting went swimmingly for Israel and Netanyahu came
away with a caution but approval for its plans to
'finish business' in Lebanon which the Israeli leader
claimed will benefit both countries.
Support the current General Assembly Draft Resolution
sponsored by China and Sudan and expected to garner
close to 168 votes and pass, that requires full and
fair compensation from Israel to be paid to Lebanon
for the July 13 and July 15, 2006 bombings of the
Jiyyeh Oil Storage tanks south of Beirut that heavily
polluted 150 km of Lebanon's shoreline. According to
Greenpeace the effects of the release of the 15,000
gallons of heavy oil can take decades to recovery and
the final clean up costs may exceed one billion
dollars.
Give Israel not more than 30 days to withdraw from
Sheba Farms and 'Ghajar village as required by UN
Security Council Resolutions 1701 and 425, the latter
unanimously passed in the Security Council in 1978,
demanded complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese
territory and has still not been complied with and has
been gathering dust for 31 years.
Adequately fund and provide equipment for the cleanup
of South Lebanon and the removal of American cluster
bombs and land mines. After three years of effort, 7.9
million square meters remain uncleared and with winter
approaching again the bomblets become more difficult
to find as casualties continue to climb from the
current number of 263. On November 4, 2009 the US did
pledge additional funds to the Lebanese Army as part
of its "anti-terrorism" program but much more needs to
be done.
End the political favoritism in US AID projects to
Lebanon and other US foreign projects here and make
American foreign aid grants on the basis of need and
effectiveness in helping Lebanon as a whole rather
than according to party affiliation, sect, religion or
neighborhood.
End the bashing of Hezbollah, Syria and Iran by the
flow of US officials who float into Lebanon with
various threats or to announce for the umpteenth time
that the US 'respects the freedom, sovereignty, and
independence of Lebanon", while blatantly interfering
in Lebanon's internal affairs. This charade has become
the butt of Lebanese stand up comedians and undermines
US efforts to be taken seriously.
The US should join the growing "Dialogue paradigm" in
the region and work to erase the obvious
contradictions between American government "sweet
songs" as in June 2009 by President Obama in Cairo,
and their deeds. Talk with those most needed for
making peace in the region including Syria, Iran,
Hamas and Hezbollah. Trying to destroy or punish them
by unconvincing slurs makes the US appear rather
silly.
Clarify for the Lebanese public any US plans for
another airbase in our country and who would have
access to it.
End the evident US efforts at igniting Sunni-Shia
clashes not just in Lebanon but in Iraq, Saudia
Arabia, Iran, and Yemen.
Hopefully Ambassador Sisson, whose representative
unfortunately missed the meeting at the American
University of Beirut, will pass along some of these
Lebanese proposals to the President.
Franklin Lamb is Director of the Sabra Shatila
Foundation. He is reachable at fplamb@sabrashatila.org.
**Courtesy of My Lamb, this article of his
firstly appeared here on December 4th 2009
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