August 31, 2009 - Daily Star - What a pity that Sayyed has sunk to such a state of helpless rage

Editorial

One couldn’t help but feel sorry for Jamil Sayyed on Sunday when he lashed out at Saad Hariri, accusing the premier-designate of covering for those who have misled the probe into the assassination of his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. What a pity it is to see a man of Sayyed’s experience and achievement reduced to such a state of helpless fury.
Like him or not, one must acknowledge that Sayyed built for himself a reputation of competence during the years that he headed the country’s General Security. Some would say that his term as a security chief earned him nothing but notoriety, but no one can argue that he was good at what he did and that he achieved his objectives with carefully calculated determination and efficiency.
The key to Sayyed’s success was that he always remained cool and collected, despite whatever physical or political dangers he faced. However, Sayyed was anything but a cool-headed man during his press conference on Sunday.
The former security chief claimed that his incendiary remarks were aimed at tending to the nation, but Sayyed seemed more like a man who was publicly nursing his own wounds. In launching his series of accusations against Hariri and others, he repeatedly cited the need for justice, but what he revealed was his own desire for revenge.
The irony of Sayyed’s words is that he himself never prioritized the need for justice when he was a security chief. Back then, he ruthlessly stomped all over the judiciary – and anyone else who stood in his way – in order to accomplish his objectives. Judges would be summoned into his office and subjected to various forms of intimidation. Where were the calls for justice back then?
But even though Sayyed showed little concern for the independence of the judiciary when he was at the helm of General Security, he managed to maintain an air of competence because of his calm and calculating demeanor. But those days have passed.
Now Sayyed has been reduced to a fraction of his former stature. We would have liked to have seen him exhibit the same brilliance and competence that he showed in the past, but instead all we saw was an angry and vengeful shell of his former self.
Sure, Sayyed got our attention when he complained about the criminal acts committed by Hariri and a cabal of March 14 politicians. But does he think that the Lebanese will forget that the March 14 movement came about after nearly a decade of criminal acts committed by himself and his cronies?
Until Sayyed comes clean and clarifies his own role and actions in the previous regime, his words will remain nothing but a harsh noise in the cacophony that is Lebanese politics.