When discussing Lebanon and its crises, it is necessary to differentiate between the political system and the Lebanese society and history. The Lebanese system blurs our image of Lebanon and demolishes its history. These days, Lebanon is known for the catastrophic damage left by barbaric political action, the damage left by administrative chaos, and economic instability, resulting first and foremost from an exceptional degree of corruption that sets it apart from the entire world, supernatural, systematic, generalized corruption.
At every major turn, the Gulf states, led by Saudi Arabia, have made positive contributions to preserve Lebanon, which has a vibrant diversity of sects and minorities and, on several occasions, had returned the favor with equally powerful or even stronger gestures.
The historic Saudi ambassador, Abdulaziz Khoja, recounts his meeting with Hassan Nasrallah, whom he met as part of a round of meetings under the direction of the Saudi leadership that brought the two together after the July 2006 War. Nasrallah, who is ignorant of history, thinks that Saudi Arabia is a victim of colonial hegemony, and so he asked Khoja to experiment with Iranian hegemony so that it could be added to the Saudis' experiences with other nations. Ambassador Khoja, of course, was stunned by this statement. The militia leader revealed his distant project, that of the "Iranian hegemony over the Gulf;" that's a no-go!
The finance minister of the Lebanese caretaker government, Ali Hassan Khalil, said in a televised interview a few days ago “Saudi Arabia did not fulfill its financial commitments!” He's distressed by this. In truth, most Lebanese leaders are infinitely preposterous.
Still, Khalil wants Saudi Arabia to keep supporting Lebanon financially regardless of the regime's positions! Could anyone who understands the ABC's of politics say such a thing?! Over the past few decades, Saudi Arabia has donated massive sums of money to Lebanese educational and financial institutions to support people and society. It stood with them under the worst of conditions and did not hesitate to supplement the Lebanese economy before its collapse or to collaborate with donors to fill gaps, move the economy, and maintain the exchange rate of the Lira.
The prime minister, Hezbollah’s candidate, Hassan Diab, and the other faction that will form the government will be part of a coalition that is openly hostile to the normal and moderate states of the region, a government that was formed behind militia-like barricade without any regard for the vision or demands of the people.
A few days ago Fares Khashan wrote the following: “In an article signed by several French figures, published by Le Monde, Paris was urged to help the Lebanese people establish a secular state, with claims that Lebanon had received 260 million dollars in transfers, the equivalent of 50% more than the amount received by Europe as part of the “Marshall Plan”.
The failure of the Lebanese system to adapt to its Arab surroundings reached a tipping point after dominant factions chose to implement “self-distancing” to isolate Lebanon from its Arab surroundings.
Nasrallah managed to isolate the government, for instance, it refrained from issuing a statement condemning the attack on holy sights in the Kingdom and the attack on Aramco, which demonstrates the degree of political naivety within the interior and the unjustified arrogance towards the countries of the region such as the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia.
The rising Saudi Arabia of today is different and exceptional. This is something the figures of the ruling elite are unaware of; they seek support without respecting mutual interests!
The Saudi government, as those who track its systems and strict modern laws are aware, is moving towards building alliances and advancing its interests. It will not support the symbols of corruption who take the money then declare their animosity. Today, the whole world faces a strong Saudi Arabia, which can build long-lasting friendships but also confront its enemies in broad daylight.
The figures of the Lebanese regime should benefit from this new Saudi Arabia, benefit from its modern anti-corruption measures, like that found in the 9th paragraph of December 12 royal decree number A-277: “If the wealth of a public sector employee does not correspond with his wages and resources, as determined by comparisons made by fiscal audits, demonstrating fiscal or administrative fraud, it will be his responsibility to prove that his wealth came through legitimate means, if he fails to prove so, the results of the audits are transferred to the investigative bureau so that they may question the employee further and take the necessary measure."
These symbols should go thoroughly over the Saudi laws dealing with fighting corruption, good governance, improving the sectors of development and the economy and monitoring the level of transparency in Saudi Arabia over the past few years ... Understand that Saudi Arabia has something more valuable than money ... It is "management" and peace.
