"The idea that Lebanon is free from Syria & its government is pro-American is just not serious,"

Friday-Lunch-Club

The 'valiant' aggregation of settling usurpers is not afraid!

Xinhua/ here

"The headline from two days of talks between top Syrian and Lebanese officials, as far as Israel is concerned, is that Beirut seemingly wants to realign itself with Damascus in order to reduce the Israeli threat.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri was hosted by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the weekend, the first time Hariri visited Syria since his father was assassinated less than five years ago. Many Lebanese blamed Syria for involving in the murder, however Damascus denies it had anything to do with it.....

Israeli experts agree with the idea. "The idea that Lebanon is free from Syria and its government is pro-American is just not serious," said Eyal Zisser, the director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University. The very fact that Hariri, who was the head of the anti-Syrian camp, paid his visit to Damascus is the proof of this, Zisser added.

The opinion is shared by Guy Bechor, who heads the Middle East Studies Division at Israel's Interdisciplinary Center. "It shows Lebanese politics can't function without Syria," Bechor said.

It also points to an inherent fear of Syria on Lebanon's part, he added.

Both Bechor and Zisser dismissed as incorrect a suggestion by a reporter for Israel Radio that Syria needs Lebanon more than Lebanon needs Syria. The journalist suggested on Sunday morning that Syria needs to show the international community it is back on good terms with Lebanon, in order to continue its return to the fold of the international community, particularly with Western nations.

Bechor and Zisser agree that it will not harm Syria's standing, but that, despite many of its actions, Syria is already well on its way back into the club of nations, particularly in the Middle East.

Either way, there appears to be a newfound closeness between Hariri and al-Assad, something that Hariri believes will stand the Arab world in better stead in face of the Israeli threat.....

In Zisser's opinion, Hariri is not taken particularly seriously by Israel. The Israeli government is far more concerned by the comments and actions of Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran....."

Posted by G, Z, or B at 2:06 PM