Quote:
Originally Posted by Learned  True. Personally, I'm hoping that Hariri makes the fatal blunder of trying to naturalize the Palestinians. The project itself will not only be forcefully crushed, but his government will be toppled, and the political backlash against him will marginalize his party in the next election system. It would be a massive mistake on his part to push for naturalization - because no one except for the Sunnis and his American/Sauid patrons wants this, and it will push the Christians and even Druze in Lebanon to back Hezbollah against him - because the only real mechanism on the ground that is capable of circumventing such a project before it even begins is Hezbollah - and Hezbollah will use it to label him as an Israeli collaborator. |
you're assuming something significant here - that is, that lebanese have a decent memory. unfortunately, they dont - their memory is beyond pi$$-poor.
if hariri tried to naturalize the palestinians today, everyone would turn against him and side with the opposition (outside of FM supporters). a few months before the 2013 elections? no problem. ratchet up the propaganda, make the lebanese forget about everything that happened the past 4 years, flawlessly work the media, flex your petrodollar-laden muscles to bring in expats, boom! win again. reduce, reuse, recycle.
hariri wont try naturalizing the palestinians from today. this has been going on since the early 90s but is starting to pick up steam. i dont fault the man for being a genius. i fault the opposition for failing to exploit these sort of things and forcing themselves to play the passive, timid game of staying on the defensive and pledging that they dont really want Wilayet al Fakih in lebanon.
14th June 2009
