May 22, 2010 - Daily Star - Hariri's marathon diplomacy

Editorial

Prime Minister Saad Hariri seems determined to visit a different capital city every day, and we believe this is a good tactic that opens the door to benefit Lebanon.

Some wags might have it that Hariri is jetting about the world because his Cabinet back home remains utterly inert; and no, the premier is not trying to put Foreign Minister Ali Shami out of a job.

Hariri is merely following a wise plan to hear firsthand the various foreign agendas that largely shape the political landscape here.

Hariri began his tour Sunday in Saudi Arabia, holding talks with King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz. On Tuesday he visited Damascus and on Friday met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II. On Saturday Hariri will make stops in Cairo and Ankara before departing on Sunday for the United States, where he will meet on Monday with President Barack Obama.

Certainly, it also carries much import that Hariri will on Wednesday speak before the UN Security Council, which Lebanon is presiding over this month, and that he will meet with the head of International Monetary Fund.

But Hariri’s travels, aside from helping to carve out a niche and identity for himself, will translate into a much more meaningful discussion with Obama and the Security Council’s members. To be sure, Hariri will be asking what Obama and the Security Council can tell him about Israel’s military intentions, but the prime minister’s fresh awareness of the regional dynamic will allow him to judge much more soundly the two major issues which will determine Lebanon’s coming course – issues which he can affect.

The first is the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon; all of Hariri’s recent powwows should help him to figure out how he needs to react to the tribunal’s future trials as this country’s prime minister – and not as the son of the former prime minister whose assassination led to the tribunal’s formation.

The second is the US-Iran showdown. Much more diplomatic grappling awaits – in the US push for new sanctions in the UN Security Council, in whether Iran follows through on its promise to ship out some of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey – but after returning from the US, Hariri should know how he needs to proceed with Hizbullah, in order to prevent Lebanon from paying a steep price when the deadlock takes a wrong turn or ends in military action.

Hariri needs all the knowledge and regional backing he can muster to eke out a deal with Hizbullah that allows domestic factions to unify enough to keep Lebanon out of harm’s way should the regional scene deteriorate. Lebanon is deeply divided, we know; but if Lebanon is to avoid becoming the battlefield of larger powers yet again – indeed, if it to be stable at all – the deal that cinches cooperation is going to be between Hariri and Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.