The Possibility for Saudi Syrian Success in Lebanon
Exclusive to Moqawama.org
Ali Rizk
Amid the political tensions over the special tribunal for Lebanon the latest reference by Hizbullah secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to the Saudi Syrian efforts has renewed hopes regarding the reaching of a calm, acceptable solution. Hizbullah's leader described the efforts being pursued by Saudi King Abdullah and Syrian president Bashar Assad as serious and honest.
It was this part of his speech which received both focus and praise from some members of the March 14 camp including Prime Minister Saad Hariri. There are some upcoming developments which show that the Saudi Syrian efforts have indeed not died. We must mention here the long awaited visit by Prime Minister Saad Hariri to Tehran which is set to take place at the end of this month.
This visit follows meetings in Beirut between the ambassadors of Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia. In a recent interview the Iranian ambassador told me that such meetings would continue to be held on a periodic basis.
The visit of Hariri to Tehran will also follow a visit by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj pilgrimage. What can be concluded from all this is something which the Iranian ambassador also stressed to me when he said that the Iranian, Syrian and Saudi meetings in Beirut highlight the necessity of solving regional issues from within the region without players from outside the region intervening.
If we look at how Sayyed Hasan highly valued Saudi King Abdullah's efforts to solve the situation in Lebanon this leads us to conclude that the Saudi leadership (meaning King Abdullah) has also come to realize that its interests don't always lie with US regional policies (in this context take a look at Iraq for example where the situation has not turned out well for Saudi Arabia).
Hence what we conclude is that what is blocking the road to a solution is the fact that Washington continues to find certain groups and individuals who stand ready to support US policies even if their respective leaders don't have such a stance.
This goes for both Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. In Saudi Arabia you have certain figures like Bandar Bin-Sultan or the Saudi ambassador to Washington Adel Al-Jubeir who are considered Washington's darlings. In Lebanon of course you have a certain group from the March 14 alliance which includes specific and well known Christian parties in addition to close advisors of Saad Hariri himself.
This explains why Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah went to great lengths in his latest speech and even quoted a letter from former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger to convince these pro American Lebanese forces that their interests also do not lie in standing with the US stances. However as Sayyed Hassan probably knows himself such talk will fall on deaf ears. This brings me to the main point.
The key to the solution is for Prime Minister Hariri to take the stance of a true state leader. He must stop listening to the pro-American voices whether in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia or anywhere else.
His upcoming visit to Tehran is a good sign in this regard but he must not let Washington and its regional allies spoil this. Hariri will also be required to put whatever pro-American feelings or stances he himself has, aside in order to become a true state leader, manage the affairs of this country and look at the reality of the situation.
In this regard Hariri would do well to walk on the path of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt who realized before it was too late that the reality of the situation requires a different stance.
Ali Rizk
Amid the political tensions over the special tribunal for Lebanon the latest reference by Hizbullah secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to the Saudi Syrian efforts has renewed hopes regarding the reaching of a calm, acceptable solution. Hizbullah's leader described the efforts being pursued by Saudi King Abdullah and Syrian president Bashar Assad as serious and honest.
It was this part of his speech which received both focus and praise from some members of the March 14 camp including Prime Minister Saad Hariri. There are some upcoming developments which show that the Saudi Syrian efforts have indeed not died. We must mention here the long awaited visit by Prime Minister Saad Hariri to Tehran which is set to take place at the end of this month.
This visit follows meetings in Beirut between the ambassadors of Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia. In a recent interview the Iranian ambassador told me that such meetings would continue to be held on a periodic basis.
The visit of Hariri to Tehran will also follow a visit by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj pilgrimage. What can be concluded from all this is something which the Iranian ambassador also stressed to me when he said that the Iranian, Syrian and Saudi meetings in Beirut highlight the necessity of solving regional issues from within the region without players from outside the region intervening.
If we look at how Sayyed Hasan highly valued Saudi King Abdullah's efforts to solve the situation in Lebanon this leads us to conclude that the Saudi leadership (meaning King Abdullah) has also come to realize that its interests don't always lie with US regional policies (in this context take a look at Iraq for example where the situation has not turned out well for Saudi Arabia).
Hence what we conclude is that what is blocking the road to a solution is the fact that Washington continues to find certain groups and individuals who stand ready to support US policies even if their respective leaders don't have such a stance.
This goes for both Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. In Saudi Arabia you have certain figures like Bandar Bin-Sultan or the Saudi ambassador to Washington Adel Al-Jubeir who are considered Washington's darlings. In Lebanon of course you have a certain group from the March 14 alliance which includes specific and well known Christian parties in addition to close advisors of Saad Hariri himself.
This explains why Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah went to great lengths in his latest speech and even quoted a letter from former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger to convince these pro American Lebanese forces that their interests also do not lie in standing with the US stances. However as Sayyed Hassan probably knows himself such talk will fall on deaf ears. This brings me to the main point.
The key to the solution is for Prime Minister Hariri to take the stance of a true state leader. He must stop listening to the pro-American voices whether in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia or anywhere else.
His upcoming visit to Tehran is a good sign in this regard but he must not let Washington and its regional allies spoil this. Hariri will also be required to put whatever pro-American feelings or stances he himself has, aside in order to become a true state leader, manage the affairs of this country and look at the reality of the situation.
In this regard Hariri would do well to walk on the path of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt who realized before it was too late that the reality of the situation requires a different stance.
