By General Monzer El Ayoubi
Translation: Dr Pierre A. Sarkis
There is in reversing a certain decision some kind of objectivity or realism that is not an imposed coercion, but stubbornness or fixation are most of the time qualities of failure especially in political work. This is what makes the difference between one decision-maker and another mainly in dealing with or addressing public issues, as well as, political and strategic visions. Without a doubt, political reality either in advancing “positively”, or retreating “negatively”, reflects the volume of development and depth in political awareness in terms of tactical performance or strategic thinking. This reveals next, the magnitude of sanity in value judgement and humanity based on three irreversible facts namely, retreat, persistence or linger, and progress through capability.
In the general political logic, with or without methodology, initiatives may be the result of a political crisis or proceeding from a timely interest or a long-term national vision, but they range between the commitment to the spirit of rightful human solidarity, and ambitions and dependency, as well as, control and seizure of states and their resources and wealth, in addition to the consolidation of geopolitical and strategic influence. But mostly, it is the predominance of politics that is devoid of humanity, especially in light of disputes, conflicts and military confrontations, whether directly or through regional agents from states and armed militias in parallel with other instruments of subjugation, such as, imposing blockades or economic and financial sanctions.
In the same visionary context of the Lebanese political situation and the realities of living conditions, especially after the Beirut Port explosion of August 4, 2020, the first visit of French President Emanuel Macron was an act of faith, love and human solidarity, and his second visit, a decision to pull together the political remains of the crumbling country, and an attempt to force the formation of an independent reform-oriented rescue government, whether by coercion or inducement, for the sake of the creative entity which was given birth one hundred years ago by the French doctor, and the caring political mind within the preservation and safeguarding of strategic interests.
There are no imagination nor pipe dreams in politics. The political step by the master of the Elysee seemed to be calculated by the French contemporaries of the Lebanese situation and the longtime partners of its politicians. The opinion was settled on “the audacity and determination” by the concerned cell, at its center former French Ambassador to Lebanon and Director of French Foreign Intelligence, DSGE, Bernard Emmett, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. On the other hand, the parties of allied and adversary, sovereign and opposing Lebanese politicians were trying to explore the prospects of the French ability to impose, and soon came the US decision to levy sanctions against Minister Gebran Bassil after the sanctions on both Minister Ali Hassan Khalil and Minister Youssef Finianos, to confirm the fictitious American cover of the French initiative, even terminating it. Even with the existing conviction of the objectivity of the French leadership’s decision to interact with Hizbollah, it did not help, nor did it propel to move forward with the French initiative which allowed the chiefs of the tribes, political parties and sub-clans, Arabs and non-Arabs despite the contradiction of interests and the diversity of loyalties and with the forbidden marriage with some financial clique, by circumventing them and maneuvering them to maliciously drop its agenda over 11 months during which they succeeded in pushing the country back to square one… and as usual, they return “to their old habits”…
On the other hand, patience was the hallmark and the virtue of the Matignon with flexible realism to implement the steps of tactical objective retreat, and accept the modest achievement of the “government of determination and hope” after a successful approach to the American-Iranian indirect engagement on the padded nuclear program, with the fabric of regional security and at the intersection with the start of weaving a regional settlement with multiple margins.
On another level, and unlike many countries, French politics has always attempted to avoid separation in its performance from human values to a large extent, against the historical background of the French revolution’s principles of “freedom, justice and equality”, a policy based on the fundamentals of conscience and human relations in the logic of positive development and the commitment to high values, in parallel with positive objectivity in balancing strategic national interests with human values.
From the above, President Macron’s political mind seemed flexible in dealing with the Lebanese crisis, unconcerned, even surpassing the accumulated personal electoral asset by advancing France’s interests, as well as, Lebanon’s. If the date of French elections is confirmed, and it is around the corner as it is said, the timing of conducting its Lebanese counterpart could be rendered outside the temporal dimension, on the crater of a black hole in space of nothingness, amid celestial criminal bodies void of the elements of life.
From another perspective, the visit of Lebanese Prime Minster Najib Mikati to Paris to meet President Macron comes from positive legitimate necessities the first of which is the kindness, loyalty and thanks for his efforts in forming the government, as well as, inform him of the recovery plan with a request to speed up the financial rescue requirements and urge the international and European community specifically, to lend a helping hand, and ask for mediation in opening the doors of the Arab Gulf countries and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia specifically, in addition to adopting an international conduct supporting and confirming the course and date of the parliamentary elections.
In concluding, the demands hinge on many hopes some of which are not impossible in achieving the basic available exit from the hole through climbing safety ropes to avoid slides. The majority of the Lebanese people no longer have the resilience, and the foundations of the country do not have a solid preparedness to confront the intense, oppressive regional hurricanes. Next, the American tar will allow the French rescue liferaft to hold on to avoid its inevitable drowning, as it is by chance that one of its sides is dipped in Iranian Saffron, and the other has a soft, ripe Saudi wet taste, and hopefully the coast of salvation will loom if it remains alive.
Beirut, 24/09/2021
Scholar in Security and Strategic Affairs
