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Originally Posted by joseph_lubnan  more broadly, Lebanon cannot negotiate with Israel directly, because Lebanon as a government doesn't exit. It is a bunch of tribes fighting with each other and in many cases beholden to foreign interests, how can they negotiate if they do not unite, and Israel knows that very well. It negotiates with some of the tribes when it serves her needs, like the recent negotiations with Hezbollah on the prisoners... You see for Lebanon to negotiate directly with Israel it needs to be a country first with real governance and a sovereign government. |
I agree with you on this one. Lebanese need a social contract. Accept to live together, accept the fact that we're lebanese citizens, holding rights but having duties, build a state regulating and preserving people's freedom etc.
Being united on a political level would strenghten our position.
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Originally Posted by joseph_lubnan Today it is nothing more than a fragmented farm and in my opinion the main reason for that is the Hezbollah weapons, although there are many other important reasons as well, the arms are the biggest obstacle in the way, and resolving that issue is the beginning of the road to a real nation. |
On this point I disagree with you. You know that I don't want HA weapons to stay forever. But those weapons are not a reason for anything. Those weapons are an aspect of our issues. I may even say that those weapons are a consequence of many issues :
- the first being our issues with Israel which gave birth to those weapons and gave to them a legal ground ;
- the other issue being our inability to negotiate and implement a social contract between us, leading to the lack of confidence between the different lebanese communities.
Let's say that HA disarms tomorrow but we don't manage to move on, to unite, to get rid of the feudal and sectarian aspects of our democracy. We may enjoy some another lebanese economic miracle during some years, let's say decades. But the day after tomorrow, another regional or international crisis may rise and our country will again be what it used to be between 1975 and 1990. Anyway, I'll stop here because it's quite off topic.