Lebanon is not a Syrian-Iranian province !

by **Admin** Thu Apr 03, 2008 12:06 pm

During their recent meeting in London, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown advised the Syrian leadership to deduce the import behind the absence of prominent Arab leaders from the Damascus Summit. Sarkozy said that the absence of King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt was very significant. Sarkozy's advice is also very significant; France will head the European Union in three months' time, and a summit of Mediterranean countries will be held in Paris, to which Syrian President Bashar Assad will be invited. How can Syria participate in this Mediterranean summit, as it ignores all of the Arab and western messages issued in its direction?

Instead of realizing the importance of the French advice, Syria provided the same traditional response, as its Foreign Minister Walid Moallem criticized Sarkozy's statements. Moallem declared that Lebanon had lost a golden opportunity by staying away from the Arab Summit in Damascus. It was truly a golden opportunity that was lost when Lebanon was unable to attend the "Summit of Success" that was convened in the absence of half of the Arab leaders.

The summit was crowned "with success" by its hoping for a Palestinian national reconciliation, while blessing the Yemeni initiative. It hoped for stability and sovereignty in Iraq, with all problems solved there. It also signaled that Syria had no role in Lebanon. Congratulations on this success, and congratulations also on the bigger success, namely the laughter at the unprepared remarks by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi! Even if this laughter was an embarrassment to the Libyan and Arab peoples!

We did not know whether to laugh or cry when Gadhafi said that US Vice President Dick Cheney was the ally of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein against Iran, then was behind Hussein's toppling and murder. Gadhafi added that the turn of the participants at the Summit might come later! If we remember Gadhafi's history and what he did to turn a new page with the administration of George Bush and Dick Cheney, we can only cry for the victims of the UTA and Lockerbie crashes, and the Libyan people.

The Syrian deputy foreign minister, Faisal Moqdad, described the statement by Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to Arab leaders as American-Israeli. This means that Damascus sees Siniora's request to establish diplomatic relations, demarcate borders and reveal the truth about the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri as a stance inspired by the Israelis and Americans.

Siniora was frank and unambiguous when he expressed the feeling of any Lebanese who wants his country to enjoy sovereignty, freedom and stability. The foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, Saud al-Faisal, was also frank and clear when he explained the reasons behind the Saudi leadership's no-show at the summit. He explained his anger at the failure by some Arab states to adhere to resolutions unanimously adopted by the Arab League, while the Kingdom's policy, described as moderate, is working for stability everywhere and at all levels.

Faisal saw for himself the Syrian leadership's failure to respond to the Arab League initiative for Lebanon when he visited Damascus in a last-ditch effort prior to the summit. There, the rhetoric that Faisal heard from Syrian leaders resembled that of the Lebanese opposition. The Syrian leadership affirmed that it feared foreign intervention in Lebanon, and thus adhered to the demand for a blocking third in the Cabinet. For the Syrian leadership, foreign intervention means the international court. Syria is keen on seeing a national unity government with the blocking third, to block this court.

However, everything being said about Syrian-Saudi relations as being bad for reasons that have nothing to do with Lebanon also represents a type of delusion. Saudi Arabia has a fundamental problem with Syria, namely Lebanon. Saudi Arabia has engaged in dialogue with Iran. Even Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has visited Riyadh twice, at the invitation of King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz. The Saudi leadership is upset that Syria is not living up to all of its commitments to the Kingdom with regard to Lebanon. Thus, the Kingdom has lost confidence in Syria and informed its European partners of this, and not vice versa.

Contrary to what the Syrian side and its allies are saying repeatedly, the West has heard what King Abdullah is saying, and they consulted him before acting, and not vice versa. Before heading to Damascus, the secretary general of the French Presidency, Claude Gueant, visited Riyadh and informed it of Paris' move towards Damascus. The Saudi monarch offered the view that Gueant would run up against Syrian intransigence but wished him success. In the end, Gueant was unsuccessful in his mission. During his visit to Riyadh, Sarkozy said that the Custodian of the Two Holy Shrines was right when he warned him about failure with the Syrian leadership.

Today, and after the extraordinary "success" of this Arab Summit, we hope the presidency of the summit will listen to the Kingdom's advice. This is not just due to the weight of Saudi Arabia in the region and the world, but also because Riyadh's view is distinguished by its rationalism, moderation and keenness to avoid new wars and disasters. The Kingdom is merely trying to convince the Syrian leadership that it is in its interest to understand that Lebanon is a sovereign and independent country and not a Syrian-Iranian province, according to the Syrian concept.