Mirages of failure: Lebanon cannot wait
Walid Phares
Sunday, 21 December 2014
Some politicians in the mother country, out of solutions, out of ideas and out of strategies, attempt to convince their constituencies that “Lebanon’s peace and security will only come after solutions are found to Syria and Iraq’s problems and Palestine is a state. “No kidding”
Why not wait for Kashmir, Sudan and Libya and maybe also Yemen? Freedom in Lebanon can and should be …gained piece after piece, and the free areas 25 years ago should have been defended not sold out. And even when freedom was lost in one day, or even for years, it should have been brought back to wherever is possible, at any time possible, at the right conditions. But the cake was wide and the appetite was endless. Instead, Lebanese were made to wait for the “South” to be seized by Hezbollah, for the Shebaa farms to be “liberated,” for “national unity” Governments to be formed and formed again. Then for the International tribunal to meet, for a President to be elected, and later for Hezbollah’s withdrawal from Syria, for US-Iranian agreement to work or not to work, for Geneva 2, 3, and 4 to happen, for another President to be elected, for a cabinet to be selected. And when no more tricks are working, how about going back to wait for a “solution” to the unending Arab Israeli conflict and “allah aleem.”
Someone has to remind the politicians that freedom was paid for heavily already for 15 years, in city after city, neighborhood after neighborhood and village after village. Lebanon should have regained freedom or part of it at least after 140,000 people were killed. Management of the war and of ending it was bad, very bad. The war was finished with a defeat, a crushing defeat and everything since, is another defeat. But no politicians dare to admit, as long as shining seats are open to bargain. “Walaw!” Some historians have to do their job and tell it as it was, it has been and it is. Sadly they are dead, killed or changed profession…Meanwhile enjoy the Holidays, for Lebanon’s problems are not that high on the top list. It used to be when there were leaders like Charles Malek and Bashir Gemayel and it was on its way to come back on the international agenda with a Gebran Tueni and a Mohammed Shatah. Not anymore, for now…
