Against the backdrop of the Arab Consultative Ministerial Council, what message will Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib deliver Saturday, to his Kuwaiti counterpart, Dr. Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah?
What will be the response to the Arab-Gulf-international message which Dr. Al-Sabah delivered on January 23 to the head of state and members of parliament and government, which included proposed measures to rebuild trust between Lebanon and Gulf and Arab states and, by extension, states of the world?
I can claim, with certainty, that nothing of use will be brought by Bou Habib, nothing to respond to the Kuwaiti message that is based on the Taif Agreement –the actual constitution of Lebanon, or UN resolutions 1559, 1701 and 1680, nor Arab League resolutions, or Lebanon’s decision to “dissociate” and abstain from being a platform for any attack, in word or deed, against Arab and Gulf states. However, all Bou Habib will have are empty, tedious platitudes void of any true meaning or commitment, statements that the Lebanese state has been keen to reiterate over the past five years, i.e. after it had become enthralled with Hezbollah which ascended Michel Aoun into the Baabda Palace after he had boasted about his contribution to the issuance of Resolution 1559.
The speech of the Kuwaiti foreign minister was affable and noble, as he attempted to remind officials of how brotherly Arab states yearn for Lebanon, now hijacked, to reclaim its role and its image. Dr Al-Sabah said: “We are not intervening in internal Lebanese affairs, but rather demanding that Lebanon not be a platform for any aggression, by word or deed. We wish for Lebanon to be as it was more than 73 years ago, a stellar symbolic icon to the world and the Arab east, Lebanon as an oasis and a space for hope for all, a sanctuary of intellectuals and literary figures, and those in all human sciences. This is Lebanon as we know it, not as a platform for aggression.”
Someone should have listened and recognized, knowing that the ten-point letter conveyed by Dr. Al-Sabah is the last chance for Lebanon to reclaim itself and its agency, sovereignty and identity all of which are crumbling. This is after Lebanon became a de facto Iranian platform for attacks, verbal and material, as well as accusations and smuggling narcotics into brotherly Gulf states. This also comes after Hezbollah had broken all of its commitments to international and Arab League resolutions, and transgressed all boundaries that preserve Lebanon’s role, its image, and its relations as an Arab state with its brothers in the Arab Gulf as well as states around the world.
The foreign minister of Kuwait granted a period of five days to respond to his letter, which clearly indicated that this is the last opportunity for Lebanon to emerge from this “hell” as President Aoun once described it. However, what have been the outcomes since that visit on January 23 and until today?
The answer is nothing whatsoever. No meeting has been held between heads of state to seize this opportunity and make a firm stance that could salvage Lebanon and rearrange its relations with Gulf and Arab states, or the international community that now views Lebanon as a failed state. This was clear from the first moment that Aoun responded that Lebanon is adhering to the Taif Agreement and international resolutions, and after the clear reservation he showed to clauses of Resolution 1559, as he considered Hezbollah’s weapons to be more than a domestic matter of Lebanon, but rather a regional and international issue that must be understood by Arabs and the world!
This is precisely what Aoun wishes Arabs and the world to understand, that Lebanon is a mere platform for attacks, verbal and otherwise, within the conflict Iran wages against Gulf and Arab states, and against the United States and many countries around the world. He suggests that Arabs and Gulf states must simply understand Lebanon’s inability to emerge from the grips of a party that claims, outright, to be fighting on the side of Iran.
What will the Lebanese foreign minister bring to Kuwait?
Nothing of any use; merely a few empty promises and embarrassingly tedious platitudes. The ten-point paper to which Arab and Gulf states, and the US and France, all seem to agree, seems to be an extension of President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative. This is the last chance for Lebanon, which its politicians must seize in order to rescue their country from its great collapse. Thus, the response from Lebanon will most resemble a statement from a vassal state, or rather one taken hostage by Hezbollah and Iran. The statement will likely repeat and regurgitate the ideas from the ministerial statement of Najib Mikati’s government, a government formed and then obstructed by Hezbollah which sought to cease the investigation into the crime of the Beirut port blast.
However, he will also reiterate the farce that is Lebanon’s adherence to the Taif Agreement, the National Accord, and international agreements and resolutions. There will also be statements of absolute support for the armed forces and legitimate security forces protecting the borders and the interior of Lebanon, empowering state authority and safeguarding institutions, and maintaining Lebanon’s relations with Arab and Gulf states, and keenness to prevent and dismantle attempts to smuggle narcotics from Lebanon to those states.
“Hope it isn’t too much bother,” as the Lebanese saying goes. These are merely words repeated for years, while the Lebanese state remains a hostage of Iran which, on many occasions, stated that it is in control of Beirut without a single objection from senior Lebanese officials. For these reasons, it is fair to say that the response to the latest Arab/Gulf/International last chance for Lebanon, conveyed by Foreign Minister Al-Sabah, came immediately from Yemen via the missile and drone attacks targeting the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which, with footage, announced that Hezbollah is involved in supporting the coup forces in Yemen, the Houthis, with training and assists them to attack the Kingdom.
The Lebanese government was preoccupied with its budget proposals and taxes that will be imposed on the impoverished Lebanese people. Yet, no time was allocated to discussing the Arab proposal to save Lebanon which did not demand that Lebanon fights or disarms Hezbollah as per resolutions 1559 and 1701. Instead, the Arab plea clearly wishes the Lebanese government, steadfastly and patriotically, to impose a serious and responsible political understanding, starting from Aoun’s alliance with Hezbollah, to stop the latter from turning Lebanon into a platform from which to attack Arab and Gulf states.
Of course, Hezbollah neglected to comment on the substance of this letter, especially as relates to resolutions 1559 and 1701. Instead it responded on the ground, mobilizing its “locals” in the southern Lebanese town of Ramyah against UNIFIL forces in a third such attack after two more against UNIFIL patrols in Qana and Chaqra. Then, as usual, Aoun informed the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, that an investigation was launched into the incident. However, previous investigations have been done for similar incidents and none have materialized, this is if such investigations were launched at all.
When Aoun hosted consulates on New Year’s Eve, he told diplomats that Lebanon hopes that other states adopt its same attitude, such that its territory is not used to settle disputes or regional conflicts, nor to support some groups or parties at the expense of others. This rhetoric is truly bizarre, as Aoun is the first to know that Lebanon is no longer merely an Iranian platform against Arab Gulf states, but is instead a platform for the export of military and media support, and narcotics, into the Gulf region.
To repeat, what message could Abdallah Bou Habib deliver to Kuwait today, after he said he “does not want such Arab brotherhood” after Gulf states began withdrawing their diplomats? How will the Lebanese foreign minister respond to the Gulf/Arab/International letter stating Lebanon is at a crossroads today?
The answer is: Lebanon will either be Arab, according to its identity and history, and be an icon and symbol around the world and a space for hope for all, as Dr. Al-Sabah said, or it will be a hostage of Iran, a reiteration of the Houthi model, and a platform from which to attack its Arab brothers.
