Hariri in '06: US must destroy Iran's nuclear program

American diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks indicate what has already been known for quite some time, namely that Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is a fake, a phony and a spineless coward.

As I've noted previously, George W. Bush, during his Presidency, firmly backed international calls to end Syria's occupation of Lebanon.

In April of 2005, Mr. Bush told viewers of the LBC channel: "The United States can join with the rest of the world, like we've done, and say to Syria, get out, not only get out with your military forces, but get out with your intelligence services, too; get completely out of Lebanon, so Lebanon can be free and the people can be free."

Armed with the strong support of the US President, the Lebanese people took to the streets and waged massive protests against the Syrian regime. Under intense international pressure, Syria had no choice but to recall its troops from Lebanon.

With George W. Bush standing on the side of freedom and Democracy, voicing his strong support for a free and sovereign Lebanon - unfettered by outside interferences from tyrannical regimes the likes of Syria - Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'd Al-Hariri felt at ease to speak out fiercely against the Syrian regime and Hezbollah, who were responsible for the assassination of his father, the former Prime Minister of Lebanon.

But ever since Barack Obama set foot in the Oval Office and began to both reestablish U.S. diplomatic ties with Syria and ignore Syrian intransigence, the scene has taken a dramatic turn. The Syrians have begun to re-exert their influence in Lebanon, and Mr. Hariri has been forced to halt his criticism of Syria for fear that he might meet the same fate as his father. In September, the now-spineless Lebanese Prime Minister, who for years blamed Syria and Hezbollah for his father's death, asserted that it was a mistake to accuse them of killing his father.

And now the New York Times is reporting that diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks reveal that Mr. Hariri, 'like several other Arab leaders, told American officials in 2006 that the United States “must be willing to go all the way if need be,” to stop Iran’s nuclear program. According to one cable, Mr. Hariri called the war in Iraq “unnecessary,” and then asserted: “Iran is necessary.”

That was in 2006.

However, as the New York Times notes: Speaking at the end of a three-day visit to Iran on Monday, Mr. Hariri did not mention the leaked cables and told reporters that Lebanon “will never, ever consider itself as part of an international system which aims at pressurizing Iran” to end its nuclear program, "and has always condemned such moves." He added: “We believe that Iran reserves the right to enjoy peaceful nuclear technology".

During a meeting Monday with Iran's "Supreme Leader" Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Hariri stated that, “we regard the Islamic Republic of Iran as a brotherly and friendly country"

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei chimed in and expressed satisfaction with the solid relationship shared between Hariri and Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah along with other officials from Hezbollah.

“These relationships should become stronger than before,” Khamenei said.

At a joint news conference on Monday with Iran’s Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi, Hariri said that "the political results of his visit were “good and useful because they again highlighted the common principles on which the relations of both countries are founded and has proved beyond any doubt that Iran is a friendly state.”

During a meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad later in the day, Mr. Hariri stated that "excellent relations have been formed between the governments in Tehran and Beirut and their consolidation and expansion serve the two nations and the region."

On Sunday, the Lebanese Prime Minister told Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi that "the defense ministries of Iran and Lebanon should pave the way for the expansion of defense relations between the two countries."

Question: Who's to blame for the Lebanese Prime Minister's dramatic change of heart, specifically his willingness to bow before the murderers who facilitated his father's death?

President Obama, who conceived a dangerously inane and convoluted foreign policy toward Syria and its rogue allies? Or Saad Hariri, who possesses an extremely cowardly disposition and a inordinately craven personality?

Answer: Both of them are equally to blame.

What's more, they are both culpable for the inevitable disasters that are about to befall Lebanon. Sadly, rather than own up to their cowardly, ill-conceived and brainless policies that are slowly but surely facilitating Lebanon's inevitable demise, the two of them will no doubt take credit for the disastrous changes that will soon beset the beleaguered country.

That's their nature, it's in their DNA, it is who they are.

Unfortunately, Barack Obama will never change. Instead, he chooses to inflict "change" upon everyone else. "Change you can believe in."

Truth be told, it is no longer necessary to merely believe in Barack Obama's vision of "change" when we can see it clearly before our very own eyes.

Indeed, it ain't a pretty picture, it ain't pretty at all....











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