Saniora: Hizbullah miscalculated 2006 war, we did not have a victory
Source: nowlebanon.com, 19-10-2008
Prime Minister Fouad Saniora described Sunni extremists in the North as "a scarecrow," and urged the Syrians to "better control" the flow of these fighters through its territories and borders from Iraq into Lebanon.
Saniora, in an interview with Britain's Financial Times, accused the Syrians of "creating this giant and magnifying it in order to create a perception that there is a need for a policeman. And at the same time, to intimidate."
"All the people caught or killed in Nahr al-Bared did not come via legal Lebanese points of entry, they came through these porous points," Saniora added.
In 2007, the Lebanese army fought a fierce war against Fatah al-Islam, an al-Qaeda linked terrorist group in Naher al-Bared which uprooted the group and demolished the Palestinian refugee camp.
On relations with Syria, Saniora said "I am fully in favor of excellent relations with Syria but on the basis of mutual respect and on an equal basis. Equal partners. Syria is our neighbor and we have a history of thousands of years together, and we will be together for thousands more. 'Israel' is an enemy, Syria is not an enemy. But we cannot and we should not continue to be a satellite state to Syria."
Saniora described Syria as a "sister country," and expressed readiness to "co-operate on any matter that is good for both countries with all sincerity and openness. But as two mature brothers."
Asked about his assessment of the recent Syrian military deployment on the northern borders with Lebanon, he said "I don't think it is possible any more for Syrian troops to enter Lebanon. This is unacceptable domestically, in the Arab world and internationally. I don't think this is in the mind of the Syrian leadership. This is not the way to co-operate with Lebanon."
Responding to a question on whether the reconciliations are real or simply talk, Saniora said "It is not in anyone's interests to resort to violence or the use of weapons because this will mean destruction. Since May, there has been a covenant among the Lebanese that weapons are not to be used domestically."
"What was concluded in the Doha agreement is not to translate a certain dominance through the
use of weapons into political achievements and a pledge not to resort to the use of violence. This is something that fits into our thinking and this is in the interests of the country. We have to organize our differences and rely on democratic means and on the voters. The voters will be the judge in the end and one has to respect that," Saniora added.
Saniora pledged that "whoever gets the majority has to rule", and if the opposition was that party then they "should really take the responsibility and take the lead, and definitely bear all the consequences. This is democracy."
On the relations with Hizbullah and its arms, Saniora said that "[Hassan] Nasrallah said go build your state and when you have finished come and talk to us. We have to build a state together. This is not the way. You can't have a state if you're not going to work for it. They want to get all the fruits of the state but not to comply with what the state is really for... we want to have fair play, a democracy, and to work towards having a proper election."
On the July 2006 war, Saniora said that he considered Hizbullah's act in kidnapping the two ‘Israel' soldiers "a miscalculation because this had consequences. The ‘Israelis' did not succeed in defeating Lebanon - I'm being fairly objective. They did not have a victory, we did not have a victory. We managed to stop them from defeating us, but in the final analysis they ended up occupying part of the country and we had to resort to political means to push them back out of the country."
Asked if he agrees with a member of the cabinet (who was not named) who said that there is nothing wrong with having a paramilitary force that is not part of the army, Saniora said "This is something you might be able to have for a short period of time but it is not something that can be worked out for a long period of time."
"Where you have areas that are beyond the control of the government and people who are allowed to do what they want without being subject to the rule of law, particularly in a society that is highly diverse and in which there is a certain group that monopolizes this aspect of fighting the ‘Israelis', this puts all the other groups outside and this makes the situation much more difficult," he added.
"Building a state is something that can't wait and it is unacceptable not to have a state" Saniora said.
Prime Minister Fouad Saniora described Sunni extremists in the North as "a scarecrow," and urged the Syrians to "better control" the flow of these fighters through its territories and borders from Iraq into Lebanon.
Saniora, in an interview with Britain's Financial Times, accused the Syrians of "creating this giant and magnifying it in order to create a perception that there is a need for a policeman. And at the same time, to intimidate."
"All the people caught or killed in Nahr al-Bared did not come via legal Lebanese points of entry, they came through these porous points," Saniora added.
In 2007, the Lebanese army fought a fierce war against Fatah al-Islam, an al-Qaeda linked terrorist group in Naher al-Bared which uprooted the group and demolished the Palestinian refugee camp.
On relations with Syria, Saniora said "I am fully in favor of excellent relations with Syria but on the basis of mutual respect and on an equal basis. Equal partners. Syria is our neighbor and we have a history of thousands of years together, and we will be together for thousands more. 'Israel' is an enemy, Syria is not an enemy. But we cannot and we should not continue to be a satellite state to Syria."
Saniora described Syria as a "sister country," and expressed readiness to "co-operate on any matter that is good for both countries with all sincerity and openness. But as two mature brothers."
Asked about his assessment of the recent Syrian military deployment on the northern borders with Lebanon, he said "I don't think it is possible any more for Syrian troops to enter Lebanon. This is unacceptable domestically, in the Arab world and internationally. I don't think this is in the mind of the Syrian leadership. This is not the way to co-operate with Lebanon."
Responding to a question on whether the reconciliations are real or simply talk, Saniora said "It is not in anyone's interests to resort to violence or the use of weapons because this will mean destruction. Since May, there has been a covenant among the Lebanese that weapons are not to be used domestically."
"What was concluded in the Doha agreement is not to translate a certain dominance through the
use of weapons into political achievements and a pledge not to resort to the use of violence. This is something that fits into our thinking and this is in the interests of the country. We have to organize our differences and rely on democratic means and on the voters. The voters will be the judge in the end and one has to respect that," Saniora added.
Saniora pledged that "whoever gets the majority has to rule", and if the opposition was that party then they "should really take the responsibility and take the lead, and definitely bear all the consequences. This is democracy."
On the relations with Hizbullah and its arms, Saniora said that "[Hassan] Nasrallah said go build your state and when you have finished come and talk to us. We have to build a state together. This is not the way. You can't have a state if you're not going to work for it. They want to get all the fruits of the state but not to comply with what the state is really for... we want to have fair play, a democracy, and to work towards having a proper election."
On the July 2006 war, Saniora said that he considered Hizbullah's act in kidnapping the two ‘Israel' soldiers "a miscalculation because this had consequences. The ‘Israelis' did not succeed in defeating Lebanon - I'm being fairly objective. They did not have a victory, we did not have a victory. We managed to stop them from defeating us, but in the final analysis they ended up occupying part of the country and we had to resort to political means to push them back out of the country."
Asked if he agrees with a member of the cabinet (who was not named) who said that there is nothing wrong with having a paramilitary force that is not part of the army, Saniora said "This is something you might be able to have for a short period of time but it is not something that can be worked out for a long period of time."
"Where you have areas that are beyond the control of the government and people who are allowed to do what they want without being subject to the rule of law, particularly in a society that is highly diverse and in which there is a certain group that monopolizes this aspect of fighting the ‘Israelis', this puts all the other groups outside and this makes the situation much more difficult," he added.
"Building a state is something that can't wait and it is unacceptable not to have a state" Saniora said.
