"Democratic Hope in Lebanon"

Link

Kaylan says: "...But many of its most important features -- such as institutional transparency, the rule of law, and an independent judiciary -- were never implemented. Mr. Husseini's cluster of candidates will run on a platform to implement the updated constitution fully, along with a new electoral law that would reduce the power of sectarian party leaders in politics..."

Kaylan seems to ignore the fact that the largest high way robbery in history (SOLIDERE) and the promulgation of the laws that gave it life happened under his watch, .. and for a "PRICE"!

In the WSJ, here

"...The heart of the electoral struggle, the pivotal battles, center around a handful of leading candidates. Michel Aoun, the Christian leader who sides improbably enough with the Hezbollah-Syrian side and thins Christian loyalty to the Cedar camp, may be vulnerable. He used to be anti-Hezbollah. Now, he colludes with his former enemies to keep the government weak and the confessional (or sectarian) system strong. His supporters have grown weary of his unpredictable allegiances.

Walid Jumblatt, the Druze leader, had switched from a pro-Syrian to a pro-Cedar position. Of late, though, he jockeys back toward the Syrians. The Syrians and Hezbollah look strong, and he is instinctively against a genuinely pluralistic Lebanon in which the old confessional power blocs might give way to a looser system. Mr. Jumblatt is already coalition building with Saad Hariri, the late prime minister's son, who has inherited the mantle of Sunni, pro-Cedar sentiment. But his Saudi funding has largely switched to other Sunni leaders. To preserve his position, he too is horse-trading for ministers, perhaps at the cost of his democratic principles..."

Posted by G, Z, & or B at 11:09 AM