Lebanon and Iran: Obama's Push for Dialogue and Openness Kicks In (L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon)
"A more
realistic and objective perspective of the Persian situation … is reflected in
the policy of dialogue and openness established by President Barack Obama. … In
the past often considered of minimal importance, this time our country [Lebanon]
has its share of the Obama vision."
"Everything you know
about Iran is wrong" - that was the front page headline of a major
American weekly magazine [Newsweek],
offering its readers a more realistic and objective perspective of the Persian
situation. This edition, published on the eve of the Iranian presidential election,
informs that in fact, the Republic of ayatollahs has no predilection for suicide
squads, that it is well disposed to negotiation, and that it could well be
satisfied, when all is said and done, with a civilian nuclear program rather
than a military one. And although it certainly isn't a democracy, it is also
not a monolithic dictatorship, but rather an oligarchy making room for intense
debate among the elites in power.
It's unclear whether this new
perspective will be enough to turn the uncharismatic President Ahmadinejad into
the idol of the American people overnight. What is clear, however, is that this
view reflects the policy of dialogue and openness established by President
Barack Obama. It was with the same spirit, remember, that on the eve of the
invasion of Iraq, the U.S. mainstream media fell in behind George W. Bush to
accuse Saddam Hussein of all the evils in creation.
MOTORCYCLE THUGS ATTACK OPPOSITION IRAN PROTESTORS
In the past often considered of
minimal importance, this time our country has its share of the Obama vision. Some
of the highest-ranking American diplomats have come to Beirut recently to emphatically
assert that no normalization between Washington and the Syrian-Iranian axis will
result in the abandonment of Lebanon. And just yesterday, the White House's special
representative to the Middle East [George Mitchell], who is responsible for
reviving peace talks, came to assure Lebanese that no settlement of the
Arab-Israeli conflict would take place at Lebanon's expense. President Michael
Suleiman has quite rightly responded by stressing the vital necessity of having
Palestinian refugees settled on its territory to return home - a question that happens
to be one of the few to have unanimous support from Lebanese, and which is duly
noted in the preamble of the Constitution.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
The fact remains that while awaiting
the channels for regional talks to be put in place, the Lebanese have more
urgent things that need to be done. That is, create a state that isn't a sham
and submit to a political system that works - because it is countries stricken by
paralysis that are the most easily attacked. In order to do all this, perhaps
we should take a fresh look at the world that around us - first and foremost,
at the volcanic microcosm within which we live.
Lebanese now need to become
engaged, without triumphalism or smugness or blind obstinacy or hypocrisy from either
side, in an honest interpretation of the election results of June 7. The [pro-Syrian/Iranian]
opposition has a responsibility to restore a democratic tradition that, in line
with common sense, the parliamentary majority should govern and the opposition should
be a check on the activities of the Executive. As for the [pro-Western] majority,
it is called upon to address the apparent flaws in its activities and facilitate
this rehabilitation as far as possible, without, however, sacrificing its
ideals.
Be that as it may, one thing
that isn't up for discussion is that a clear majority of citizens have voted in
favor of a particular, and even fixed idea, of Lebanon. This idea is that of a country
devoted to independence and sovereignty - not foreign alliances - and a country
in search of stability and prosperity rather than revolutionary or warlike
adventurism. On the threshold of one of the most promising tourism seasons and
after several summers that have been systematically spoiled by crises, we would
be well advised not to forget this.
