There is always that "W"orry that democracy doesn't achieve the same STABILITY in the Middle East as it might elsewhere. Let's home the New Mikati government proves that "W"orry "W"rong.
Lebanese MP and former Prime Minister Najib Mikati smiles as he delivers a news conference after meeting Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman at the presidential palace in Baabda, near Beirut,
...But caretaker Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri (click title to entry - thank you) said he and his Future Movement would not take part in a government where the Shi'ite militant group has the upper hand.
Lebanon was plunged into political crisis after Hezbollah and its allies walked out of Hariri's unity government on January 12 in a dispute over still-confidential indictments by a U.N.-backed tribunal which is investigating the 2005 killing of statesman Rafik al-Hariri, the premier's father.
Hariri has stayed on in the interim and hoped to form a new coalition. But support from Jumblatt and six members of his parliamentary bloc -- added to the 57 members of Hezbollah and their allies, plus Mikati himself -- will give Mikati 65 votes in the 128-member parliament....
Country’s history of managing difficulties may be an advantage despite analysts’ fears
Monday, January 24, 2011
Bassem Mroue
Associated Press
BEIRUT: The political crisis in Lebanon is threatening to derail economic progress after a year that saw 7 percent economic growth, a record number of tourists and bank deposits among the highest in the Middle East.
Lebanon’s Western-backed government collapsed on Jan. 12 after Hezbollah and its allies resigned from the Cabinet in a row over a U.N.-backed court investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The court, which is widely expected to accuse the Shiite militant group, filed a sealed draft indictment last Monday, touching off a process many fear could ignite new bloodshed nearly six years after the massive truck bombing along Beirut’s waterfront that killed the former prime minister.
“This is a very deep and troubling crisis in Lebanon,” said Lebanese economic analyst Kamel Wazni. “The continuation of this crisis with the absence of any political resolution any time soon will have its implications in terms of growth and in terms of development.” Still, Lebanon is accustomed to managing in crises. Street protests and violence have been the scourge of this tiny Arab country of 4 million people for years, including a devastating 1975-990 Civil War and sectarian battles between Sunnis and Shiites in 2008....
Looks like it is time to pull the plug on aid to Lebanon. Does Hariri need a new place to stay?
Sunday, January 23, 2011
ISTANBUL - Daily News with online dispatches
The United States will stop aiding Lebanon if the Shiite militant group Hezbollah leads the new government in the country, Israeli media reported, citing a pan-Arab newspaper’s report.
Lebanon's national unity government recently collapsed after Hezbollah and its allies withdrew from the cabinet to protest against caretaker Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri's reluctance to cut ties with the U.N. tribunal that is probing the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
In the first reported U.S. comment on the possibility that a Hezbollah-controlled government could rise from the ashes of the current Lebanese crisis, a U.S. official told London-based Asharq al-Awsat on Sunday that such a power shift could mark the end of American aid to Israel's neighbor to the north. According to the top U.S. official quoted in the report, Congress would refuse to provide additional aid to anyone "taking orders from Hezbollah."
Israeli newspaper Haaretz said that late last year two top U.S. lawmakers attempted to hold up $100 million that was approved for Lebanon's army but not yet spent, saying they wanted to make sure neither funds nor arms meant for the Lebanese army would reach Hezbollah....
