[LCM Articles] Diplomats leave Lebanese civilians to pay for a decision they didn't make

[Loai Naamani]

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Diplomats leave Lebanese civilians to pay for a decision they didn't make

 

 


Editorial

Seven days into Israel's war on Lebanon, there is no hint of effective
international diplomacy on the horizon. The Lebanese are being forced to
accept that they are alone in the world, without a friend who can defend
them against an undeserved onslaught. The Syrians, who many have argued
share a healthy portion of blame for the current crisis in Lebanon, are too
busy saving their own skins, threatening fierce reprisals if their nation
comes under attack. The Iranians, also fingered in this latest wave of
hostilities, are cozily sitting back and enjoying the luxury of sacrificing
Lebanon and Hizbullah in their quest to sweeten a deal with the West over
their nuclear program. 
Saudi Arabia is abandoning its role as a regional peacemaker, placing all of
the blame squarely upon Hizbullah and Iran, and expressing no hint of
outrage over the collective punishment and destruction in Lebanon. They
apparently have adopted the belief that the more than 220 innocent civilians
killed are among the "elements" in Lebanon who are responsible for the
current crisis. 
Egypt, the home of an ineffective Arab League, which cannot even muster the
diplomatic will to hold a summit, is busy scolding Hizbullah for its
misdeeds. As Lebanon burns for a seventh straight day, we see no sense of
urgency on the part of Egyptian leaders to convene emergency talks among
regional heads of state. 
Even in Israel, there is no sign of diplomatic efforts on the part of
leading politicians. The rookie Israeli government - which has achieved
record destruction at a scale and pace rarely seen, even in this part of the
world - has stepped aside and let Israeli generals take the lead. They fail
to see the irony in the fact that their commanders have been pounding the
very army that they expect to impose order over Lebanese territory. 
And the Europeans and the Americans are blindly following as the Israelis
lead us all down a treacherous path. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
formerly an advocate for the Lebanese people, is still lingering in
Washington, apparently reluctant to even try to come and resolve this
conflict. 
In these darkest of hours, with the skies of Lebanon and the brains of
international leaders clouded by the haze of war, the Lebanese are
desperately searching for an outstretched hand of diplomacy. Prime Minister
Fouad Siniora has pleaded with the world to stop Israel's "barbaric" attacks
on the country. But the world has effectively abandoned the Lebanese people
to their misery and turned a blind eye as they suffer the consequences of a
decision that they themselves did not make. Instead of sending us their
diplomats, the world is sending us its boats and buses for the refugees who
hold foreign nationalities. 
The Lebanese who don't hold dual citizenship have no choice but to hunker
down in their basements and shelters and watch the return of an
international war that has been played out again and again on their
territory. This time, their beloved homeland has been chosen as a
battleground in which the Israelis will brutalize the Lebanese in order to
teach the Iranians a lesson on behalf of the West. The war-weary Lebanese
have no choice but to pay the ultimate price and once again bear the brunt
of the consequences of world diplomats' failure to resolve a crisis
peacefully.

 


Copyright (c) 2006 The Daily Star
 
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