Saudi Prince: Obama Let Palestinians Down At UN

While addressing an audience at the National Press Club (NPC) on Tuesday, Saudi Arabian Prince Turki Al Faisal called out President Obama for letting the Palestinians down at the UN General Assembly.

“When you have a president in the United States who calls for a two-state solution…and says, ‘within a year I hope to see a Palestinian state,’ [but] when the Palestinians during that year… go to the UN to get a state…[and] he stands up and says, ‘no I am going to veto that’,” Al Faisal remarked, “that is where not only disappointment, but… anger and frustration increased dramatically in people’s minds in the Arab world that they have been let down.”

Obama’s decision to veto the Palestinian Authority’s bid for statehood at the UN will have “devastating effects” on the U.S-Saudi Arabia relationship, according to al-Faisal

The Saudi Prince also expressed opposition towards Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and meddling in other Arab nations’ affairs.

“Saudi Arabia continues to insist that Iran’s leaders should give up their goal of acquiring nuclear weapons and create, by deed, the creation of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East,” Al-Faisal said. “This is clearly what is best for the people of Iran and the region.”

Al-Faisal said the he is fully supportive of the tightening of sanctions, assertive diplomacy and concerted action via the United Nations to encourage Iran to cease their nuclear weapons development. However, the Saudi Arabian prince said his country would not support a military attack on Iran.

“An attack on Iran, I think, would have catastrophic consequences not only in terms of human loss… but also because Iran can retaliate and the retaliation by Iran would be worldwide,” Al-Faisal expressed. “If anything, it will only make the Iranians more determined to produce an atomic bomb, it will rally support for the government among the population, and it will not end the program, it will merely delay it, if anything.”

Hezbollah 'Perhaps Better Organized & Better Armed Than Al Qaeda,' Says Expert

According to Danielle Pletka, vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, the Lebanese based terrorist organization Hezbollah could be as powerful, if not more so, than Al-Qaeda.

"[Hezbollah is] the most potent terrorist organization next to Al Qaeda - and perhaps better organized and better armed than Al Qaeda," told a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee Tuesday.

Pletka pointed to the 40,000 rockets and missiles that the Lebanese Islamist group claims to have as evidence of their strength.

A State Department official who also appeared before the subcommittee noted that although Hezbollah has not launched an attack against the U.S., they could still be considered a potential threat.

"While we recognize that Hezbollah is not directly targeting the United States today, we are aware that that could change, especially if tensions increase with Iran over that country's nuclear program," Daniel Benjamin, the Department's Coordinator for Counterterrorism said.

Despite these suspicions, however, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman declared that, "[U.S.] policy is for non-engagement with Hezbollah ... and I don't anticipate that policy changing."

U.S. To Assist Lebanese Following Airline Crash

The U.S. will assist the Lebanese in search and rescue efforts after an Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed into the Mediterranean Sea early Monday.

According to a Pentagon spokesperson, the U.S.S. Rammage, a guided missile destroyer, will be directed toward the effort along with a P-3 aircraft for air patrol.

The vehicles are expected to arrive in the region later this week.

34 deaths have already been reported, with more expected as the search continues. Lebanon's president, Michael Suleiman, has stated that there has been no indication of terrorism.

Lebanon At Crossroads Following Parliamentary Election

By Michael Combier-Talk Radio News Service

The results of the Lebanon Parliamentary election on June 7th represent a step forward for the country, but sectarian division still exists and may de-stabilize the nation in the future said Middle East experts who gathered at a forum today at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington D.C.

“The fact that the election went smoothly gives us hope...It could potentially put Lebanon on a positive trajectory toward greater reform and reconciliation,” said Mona Yacoubian, a special advisor to the Institute’s Muslim World Initiative.

The opposition, including the Maronite leader Michel Aoun and Hezbollah, did not pick up any seats in Parliament. Middle East Institute Scholar Graeme Bannerman attributed this to the fact that the country’s Sunni population voted mainly in support of Lebanon’s pro-Western bloc, known as the ‘“March 14th Coalition." Bannerman added that “General Aoun’s people lost support within the Christian community.”

Despite the results, Hezbollah still remains a strong influence in the country, and the next government will have to find a way to work with the anti-Western organization said most of the panel’s participants.

“The Hezbollah is positioning itself for a kind of a deal” that will involve a political status quo on the organization’s militarization said Randa Slim, a scholar at the USIP.

Because of the Hezbollah’s control in local districts of Lebanon, the government, led by the ‘March 14 Coalition,' “will be less likely to call in the immediate term for Hezbollah’s disarmament,” added Slim.

Lebanon’s Interior Minister will soon release the county-by-county election results.

Lebanon’s Elections An Extraordinary Step Forward

By Celia Canon-Talk Radio News Service

Lebanon has undergone a period of transition as it moves toward a more democratic political system.

As witnessed by the June 7th presidential elections that propelled the Pro-Western Party to power, the impulse to draw a line between the past and the present has brought over 50% of the population to vote.

Graeme Bannerman, MEI adjunct scholar, discussed the positive changes that took place in Lebanon this weekend.

Bannerman said that “The enthusiasm of the Lebanese cannot be underestimated,” later adding that “There was enthusiasm throughout the country for the elections even in areas where there was not stiffed race.”

In 2005, Lebanon underwent a domestic revolution which led to the expulsion of the Syrian military and intelligence, following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Ongoing investigations have pointed to Syria as the executioner. 

Syrian was in control of Lebanese politics for over 30 years.

This year’s elections were significant to Lebanon in that they reflected a more stable environment to vote for a new government, one that would have seen candidates lead actual campaigns instead of being appointment out of urgency.

On the many points of democratic impulse, Bannerman said “In areas where there was competition and that was mainly in the christian regions, there was very stiff competition and it was very spirited competition: there were long line, there were people who cared about it,  and people showed up and voted.”

In addition to more options, Bannerman spoke of a change in the role of the army, an institution often assumed to be authoritative, saying that “The security was provided by the army and the police, but it was not intimidating security, it was present, it was there it was efficient... The election as a whole went well.”

However Bannerman also mitigated his words, warning that “25% of the districts did not have government candidates” and there were “people with election shirts inside the polling space.”

“There were clearly things they need to improve but everybody gives credit for this being a good election to the minister of the interior,” said Bannerman.

In fact, says Bannerman, even “The opposition... said it was a good election.”

"Where in the Arab world do you actually have an election where people honestly believe that they can affect the outcome of their lives and their government and everything else?,” Bannerman said.