Washington’s Financial Contribution: A Sense of Urgency
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Ali Rizk
The announcement by US ambassador to the United Nations that Washington will transfer an additional 10 million dollars to the Hariri tribunal leads us to two important points.
First of all Hizbullah is sure to use this as ammunition to further its argument that the tribunal is Americanized and has political aims which are now targeting Hizbullah after they had previously targeted Syria.
The resistance movement will surely point out how this financial backing gives the US great leverage over the tribunal. The United Nations is a clear example of this, as Washington's financial backing for the United Nations has led many to label the United Nations itself as a US tool. (Look at the secretary generals of the UN who have constantly adopted pro American stances while in office and the number of pro American resolutions which have been adopted at the Security Council).
In light of this it will be interesting to see how Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri will respond to the voices from Hizbullah and the rest of the Lebanese opposition who will make this argument. This may very well represent a dilemma for Hariri who is already believed to be in a very weak position.
This brings me to my second and perhaps more important point. This ten million dollar amount stems from a sense of urgency and realization that Saad Hariri is in fact in a very weak position. Notice that this new American financial backing for the tribunal follows Hizbullah's' Secretary General call on the Lebanese people and officials to boycott the investigators of the tribunal, after which the Lebanese prime minister gave no clear response other than stressing the importance of dialogue.(notice also how American officials including the spokesman for the state department directly responded to Sayyed Hassan Nassrallah's boycott call in another example of US fears regarding the latest developments related to the tribunal).
What gives even more credibility to this argument is the latest telephone call made by US secretary of state Hilary Clinton to Hariri in which she expressed support for Lebanon's' "sovereignty and independence" (just after her party lost the majority in the house of representatives!).This all comes at a time where the anti Syrian and anti Hizbullah camp which surrounds Hariri is at its weakest point ever especially amid the continued consultations between the Syrian and Saudi leaderships.
In light of this Washington even went as far as to offer incentives to Syria so that Damascus would change its ties with Iran and Hizbullah.( Note the latest remarks by US assistant secretary of state Jeffrey Feltman where he practically made this offer by saying that Damascus must pressure Iran and Hizbullah into curbing their activity in Lebanon if Damascus wanted to rebuild its relations with Washington).
The main conclusion we can draw from all this is that Washington is desperately holding on to the Hariri tribunal in any way it possibly can, and that this tribunal is indeed the only remaining tool for those who still dream of creating a new middle east in which "Israel" has the upper hand.
Ali Rizk
The announcement by US ambassador to the United Nations that Washington will transfer an additional 10 million dollars to the Hariri tribunal leads us to two important points.
First of all Hizbullah is sure to use this as ammunition to further its argument that the tribunal is Americanized and has political aims which are now targeting Hizbullah after they had previously targeted Syria.
The resistance movement will surely point out how this financial backing gives the US great leverage over the tribunal. The United Nations is a clear example of this, as Washington's financial backing for the United Nations has led many to label the United Nations itself as a US tool. (Look at the secretary generals of the UN who have constantly adopted pro American stances while in office and the number of pro American resolutions which have been adopted at the Security Council).
In light of this it will be interesting to see how Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri will respond to the voices from Hizbullah and the rest of the Lebanese opposition who will make this argument. This may very well represent a dilemma for Hariri who is already believed to be in a very weak position.
This brings me to my second and perhaps more important point. This ten million dollar amount stems from a sense of urgency and realization that Saad Hariri is in fact in a very weak position. Notice that this new American financial backing for the tribunal follows Hizbullah's' Secretary General call on the Lebanese people and officials to boycott the investigators of the tribunal, after which the Lebanese prime minister gave no clear response other than stressing the importance of dialogue.(notice also how American officials including the spokesman for the state department directly responded to Sayyed Hassan Nassrallah's boycott call in another example of US fears regarding the latest developments related to the tribunal).
What gives even more credibility to this argument is the latest telephone call made by US secretary of state Hilary Clinton to Hariri in which she expressed support for Lebanon's' "sovereignty and independence" (just after her party lost the majority in the house of representatives!).This all comes at a time where the anti Syrian and anti Hizbullah camp which surrounds Hariri is at its weakest point ever especially amid the continued consultations between the Syrian and Saudi leaderships.
In light of this Washington even went as far as to offer incentives to Syria so that Damascus would change its ties with Iran and Hizbullah.( Note the latest remarks by US assistant secretary of state Jeffrey Feltman where he practically made this offer by saying that Damascus must pressure Iran and Hizbullah into curbing their activity in Lebanon if Damascus wanted to rebuild its relations with Washington).
The main conclusion we can draw from all this is that Washington is desperately holding on to the Hariri tribunal in any way it possibly can, and that this tribunal is indeed the only remaining tool for those who still dream of creating a new middle east in which "Israel" has the upper hand.
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