OPEN LETTER TO MR. FOUAD SINIORA, PRIME MINISTER OF LEBANON

Mr. Siniora,

You are the Prime Minister of Lebanon and I know this is a job with many responsibilities and challenges. I also believe that for one to hold such a high office certain characteristics and qualities must be present.

The first one that comes to mind is leadership. One can not lead an entire country if he has a shaky sense of leadership. Mr. Siniora, it is clear to the world that you care deeply about your country and your people, but it is not clear how much leadership you can muster. From where I stand, it seems non-existent.

In the face of the crisis now hovering over your Lebanon, you have concentrated your efforts on blaming Israel as opposed to singling out and blaming the Hezbollah terrorists, who, deny as you will, still are the ones who initiated the whole conflict (coincidentally, there is only one mention of Hezbollah in your Washington Post op-ed, and a feeble one at that). Quite frankly, it is very disappointing to see a grown man incapable of dealing with his own shortcomings, or his own leadership shortcomings. Had you engaged in more serious opposition to Hezbollah in the past, you might have been able to impede such a grotesque series of events. And I am not as naïve as to think you could have defeated Hezbollah on your own, but one needs to know when to be humble and cry for help.

You are indeed shameless when you write an opinion in a newspaper such as the Washington Post with the sole intent to destroy Israel’s reputation and diminish that country’s credibility. Perhaps you ought to reexamine your convictions, Mr. Siniora. If anything, the Israeli leadership is doing for its citizens the one thing you have not been able (or willing) to do for yours - engaging against a terrorist organization who is directly threatening the security of the population. If you are fine with Hezbollah changing the political structure of your country, that is your problem. But don’t expect sovereign nations to stand by while their cities are constantly shelled, their soldiers kidnapped and so forth.

Funny indeed that you mention international law. We should discuss that. After all, this terrorist organization in your country crossed international borders and kidnapped soldiers in a sovereign country. Why is it that you see nothing wrong with that in terms of international law? And should we also discuss the utter disregard Hezbollah has for the Lebanese population? Frankly, Hezbollah isn’t concerned at all about the fate of the Lebanese; why else would it base itself right out of purely residential areas, so now whenever Israel strikes it is sure to hit civilians more than anything else?

Hezbollah is destroying your country, Mr. Siniora. And what’s more, you are not doing anything to stop it.

You demand an inquiry into Israel’s actions - the nerve! Well, I demand an inquiry into yours and the actions of your government. I hold you personally responsible for every single civilian death in Israel and Lebanon, and every Israeli military death.

It is always puzzling to me when people twist reality to suit their own expectations of the world around them. You are a master at doing so (and so is Sheikh Nasrallah, but that is for another letter). With all due respect, Sir, not only to you but to the Lebanese civilians killed so far in the conflict, you are the only one to blame. You gave cover and even political legitimacy to these Hezbollah fanatics; you kept the door open to Iran and Syria, and once again your dear Lebanese find themselves at the mercy of foreigners with their own agendas. What were you thinking? And what are you still thinking now?

Or maybe you are not as innocent as you seem to be. Tears and sobs apart, I thought it was indeed pathetic when you announced to the world that Israel had killed over 40 people in a blast but later on it turned out only one poor soul had died. Prime example of the traditional manipulation of information in the Muslim world, where all the evils of the world are blamed on the “Zionist entity”.

In your opinion published by the Washington Post, you end with the following words: “Lebanon must be allowed to reclaim its position in this troubled region as a beacon of freedom and democracy where justice and the rule of law prevail, and as a refuge for the oppressed where moderation, tolerance and enlightenment triumph.”

Please, take one good look at that: for Lebanon to reclaim anything, it first needs to get rid of the vermin that is Hezbollah. You and your country had plenty of time and opportunity to do so since the Israeli pullout in 2000 and the Syrian troops withdrawal in 2005; however, the complete opposite happened. A refuge for the oppressed? A refuge for criminals is a more accurate description. Your “oppressed” constantly fire to kill Israeli civilians, even though in Israel, unlike in Lebanon, the military does not hide among the civilian population - quite the contrary.

Sir, your legacy (or lack of) is clear and I assure you that many others agree with me. I think you are ill-qualified for your current job. Still, you do sob well and convincingly in front of cameras; you might want to consider a career in acting.

Sincerely,
Gisela Schön