"March 14" dazed, weakened and confused

One gets the impression that Siniora and Hariri are amateur politicians who have been outsmarted and outmaneuvered by their opponents every step of the way. Both Saad and the prime minister are seemingly playing centrist politics at the expense of the country. The latest fiascos in the Council of Ministers, Parliament and the Arab summit show their great shortsightedness and fantastic ineffectiveness.

In one year, Siniora shrunk from a respected statesman to a confused aspiring linguist who believes in word games as a solution to long standing problems. First it was "nobody has called the national resistance anything but by its name" that supposedly ended the boycott of the Shia ministers. And then he and his March 14 friends signed on to the "tarsim and tahdid" trap in regards to establishing the Lebanese identity of the Shebaa farms, which was followed by Berri affirming from Siniora's chair in parliament that the "resistance will stay, stay, stay". No wonder the Arab dictators and their representatives were bewildered when the confusing prime minister requested that the word "resistance" be dropped from the final statement. For doing so would have made no practical difference.

In a heated exchange with Syria's other Chargé d'affaire in Lebanon, Nabih Berri, Siniora was reminded that he and his camp agreed to the Lebanese identity of the Shebaa farms, giving a carte blanche to and legitimizing the resistance. Berri also reminded him that he cannot take part in an official delegation headed by the president and then oppose his president as if he was part of another.   

The national dialogue's organizer knows that he has the "March 14" in a corner. They were suckered into legitimizing the resistance without getting what they wanted: the president. Now, all they can do is storm out of cabinet sessions, yell and scream on television, and get ridiculed for being inconsistent and contradictory.

Siniora and Hariri have been emasculated by the consistency and boldness of their opponents and unless they act like men in charge, the country will continue its rapid descent into Bashar's inferno.

To make matters worse, Saad Hariri has inexplicably apologized for not agreeing to a Saudi initiative that would have handed Lebanese security back to Syria. He then jetted off to Egypt to seek Mubarak and Arab help in God knows what. This is more of the same ineffective politics that has brought ruin to the country. It is sad that everything we bloggers have warned about regarding Hizbullah's obstructive role, the futility of the national dialogue and the Shebaa farms trap proved to be true. It escapes me why March 14 continues down the same path of useless short-lived public protests and politics as usual. 

This comes at a time Nasrallah continues to, pardon my French, shit on the country, vowing to decapitate anyone who dares disarm his party. Nasrallah, and in front of delegates from Hamas and other Arab "resistance" champions, even complained about being expected to "speak about Lebanon the country, Lebanon the people, Lebanon the entity, Lebanon the nation,  Lebanon the history, Lebanon the geography, and if this continues, two or three years from now we will arrive at Lebanon the god…" This is a man who clearly does not believe in or deserves to be part of Lebanon.

As Mustapha rightly pointed out in a recent post:

What I’m seeing instead is Hariri shrinking in stature and Lahhoud and Hezbollah getting bolder and closer. The more Hariri appeases, apologizes, and explains, The More Nassrallah threatens of cutting off hands and heads… Never did the March 14 people appear so insecure, feeble and directionless.

Comments

[Raja]

Kais,

I believe you've said everything that there is to be said about the Hariri camp. It is looking less and less like a unified block and more and more like a collection of confused men as each day passes.

As for Nasrallah. I am VERY happy you included that comment of his on your blog. When I watched him say that in front of his eager audience yesterday, I was taken aback!

Here is a man who has been cloaking himself in the Lebanese flag for the past few months.

Here is a man, who all of a sudden feels comfortable enough to throw that Lebanese flag he waved so eagerly on March 8 2005 down the drain.

Here is the man that the FPM (which claims, above all else, to have the country's interest at heart) has allied with.

Finaly, this man now shows his true colors. For all of you who avidly defend Hizballah as a Lebanese organization - please... please explain that (not so) subtle comment of Nasrallahs!

Don't tell me that he's just saying it as it is... because the role of a Lebanese leader is to insist on the legitimacy of his country and state; NOT weaken it further or delegitimize it!

Bravo Nasrallah. You just said it like it is!

[Dalal]

Hariri and Saniora are self-respecting, honorable, and decent people. On the other hand we have the puppet gangster president and company who don't give a damn about the country and are willing and eager to do anything to please Bashar.

[Abdulkarim]

"No wonder the Arab dictators and their representatives were bewildered when the confusing prime minister requested that the word "resistance" be dropped from the final statement".

Kais,

I'm afraid you have misrepresented what Seniora had said. He never asked for the word resistance to be dropped. All he did was ask to rephrase the statement from " The right of the resistance to..." to "The right of the Lebanese people and the responsibility of the Lebanese government to resist". Now tell me Kais, what is wrong with that statement! The March 8 camp have been misrepresenting what Seniora has said and sadly you and other bloggers are buying it.

As for the indicision of Saad Hariri and his latest apology, my thoughts are the same as yours on that subject. But then Kais, given the situation that the President of the Republic,The Speaker of The Parliament, Syria,all the Arabs, and half the Lebanese including FPM'ers are against you, what are your options. Can anyone do better than what Seniora has done so far? If so, then what ? As far as I see it, its either the Seniora and Hariri way or its armed confrontation which means a civil war.

Regards