The US and Syria aren't making up. But will Lebanon ever believe it?
Special to NOW Lebanon, December 2, 2007
Lee Smith
There is no deal.
"It doesn't matter what you say," says one Lebanese analyst here in Washington with close ties to March 14. "Whenever I try to tell Beirut there's no deal between the US and Syria, they don't believe me. They treat me like I'm naïve for not knowing there's a deal in the works."
Lebanon, believe it or not, there is no deal.
March 14's decision to accept the candidacy of Army Commander Michel Sleiman as president was based on a reading of US Middle East policy that assumed there was a major realignment to bring Damascus in from the cold and open up a new era of US-Syrian comity. However, as National Security Adviser Steven Hadley explained yesterday to a university audience, a US rapprochement with Syria depends on whether it gives up its support for terror and – this is key – if it will "leave Lebanon alone."
While it is true that actions speak louder than words, the fact remains that there was no backroom bargain cut at the expense of the US's Lebanese allies. What really happened turns out to be a much simpler story about human beings and their misunderstandings and flaws, like innocence, pride, ambition and, of course, vanity. And thus it is a tragic story.
Processing peace, but little else
It is widely believed in foreign ministries and newsrooms around the world that a battle is raging in the Bush administration between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Vice President Dick Cheney for control of US foreign policy. Insiders here in Washington know otherwise: one, there is no fight, for Rice has won it; and, two, because Rice has won it, there is no coherent US foreign policy.
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