The Lebanese Foreign Minister Must be Removed Elie Aoun/May 18/2021
إيلي عون: مفروض طرد وزير خارجية لبنان من منصبه
The insults made by Lebanese Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe against Saudi Arabia and the Arabs in the Gulf countries are a reflection of the level of mediocrity that rules Lebanon.
It is the same mediocrity that has transformed Lebanon from the “Switzerland of the Middle East” to the bankrupt and rotten status that exists today.
It is not sufficient for Lebanon’s Presidential Palace to state that the Foreign Minister’s comments reflect his “personal opinion” and not official policy. That is a dishonest statement and reflects that the President agrees with what was said. If he did not, he would have removed the Foreign Minister immediately.
Such a foreign minister must be removed from his post. If not, the Gulf countries must expel the Lebanese ambassadors from their capital cities. This is not a “punishment.” Rather, it is a necessary discipline that must be exercised against a Lebanese political class that has lost all measures of decency, ethics, and reason.
No country should expect from this class to reform itself. The proper response is to stop dealing with it, leave it alone, and support private trustworthy Lebanese.
The Gulf countries must stop sending any financial contributions to Lebanese governmental agencies. They could assist Lebanon by creating a “Lebanese Board” constituted of trustworthy Lebanese living in the Gulf and through whom the Gulf countries can channel all funds and humanitarian assistance intended to Lebanon.
