AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): While covert and overt foreign meddling in the Lebanese developments in the past few months already intensified the political and economic crisis in the country, Washington is struggling to exploit the popular protests in Lebanon as a launching pad to reserve the defeats it sustained from the Axis of Resistance in the regional developments.
The revelations disclosing the secret White House role in the Lebanese developments are an important factor displaying the contradiction between the words and actions of the US for the Lebanese public opinions.
For example, while the US always accuses Hezbollah of putting the skids under the formation of a new cabinet, when President Emmanuel Macron of France made its proposal for fast cabinet formation that was promising for the Lebanese in terms of filling the vacuum, it became clear that the American opposition to Macron’s plan was the obstacle ahead of the cabinet finalization.
The interventions continue. Lebanon’s media, citing Arab Towhid Party’s head and former interior minister Wiam Wahab, reported that the US and Israeli regime recently suggested to Syria that if it quits sovereignty of the occupied Golan Heights, they would restore Syrian influence in Lebanon, facilitate recapture of the terrorist-held Idlib, and help reconstruct the war-devastated country. President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has strongly rejected the proposal, reports added.
Although such suggestions are not new and in the past al-Assad was told by the West that they would withdraw the terrorists from Syria and guarantee his stay in power if he abandoned the Iran-led Axis of Resistance, the recent suggestion carries four important points. First, it apparently proves the colonialist vision of the US to the regional states where it has sway. Offering influence in Lebanon to Syria is as overwhelming to the Lebanese national sovereignty as its illegal and bullying military presence in Syria and Iraq.
Such an Israeli-style approach of the American leaders is even more noticeable in the Palestinian developments. In May 2018, US President Donald Trump recognized al-Quds (Jerusalem) as the capital of the Israeli regime and then moved the American embassy to the occupied city. In late March 2019, Trump recognized the sovereignty of Israeli regime over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. The American recognition extended to cover the illegal settlements in the West Bank. With the sequence of these recognitions, the US seems to have plans to repeat them on the Lebanese Sheba Farms, Al-Baquora, and Al-Qamar that are occupied by the Israeli regime.
The second point is that suggesting to facilitate the influence of another country in Lebanon means that Washington has already allowed the Israelis to intervene in Lebanese affairs as they are allies to Washington. The huge Beirut port blast in August 2020 that led to the collapse of the government of Prime Minister Hasan Diab and a several-month political vacuum and also the sanctions against Lebanese banks and pressures on the March 14 Alliance to avoid alliance with Hezbollah all come in a situation the US in the mayhemic conditions of Lebanon forced the Lebanese leaders to negotiate with the Israelis over the borderline for a showdown to the gas resources in the Mediterranean Sea all to enable Tel Aviv to catch the big fish in the muddy waters of Lebanese developments.
The third point is that the US proposal to Syria explains the reasons behind the heavy US pressures in association with its regional allies to disarm Hezbollah. Hezbollah’s military capability, as well as its deterrence in the face of the Israeli regime, are the main obstacles ahead of Washington’s colonialist plots for Lebanon. This is the main driving force behind the heavy media propaganda and economic-political pressures to realize their disarmament ambitions under the cover of peaceful slogans. Furthermore, Washington and Tel Aviv are never sure if the Golan Heights will remain stable despite their annexation and recognition. The suggestion to Syria reveals how they are afraid of Hezbollah and allies’ power in the future of Golan Heights.
The fourth point about the significance of the proposal is that it should be read as the US admission to its role in continuation of the Syrian crisis. Under humanitarian cover and more excuses, the Western countries block the way of the Syrian government’s operations to force foreign-backed terrorists from Idlib in northwestern Syria as the last stronghold of terrorists. Add to this their economic sanctions that hamper reconstruction of the war-ravaged regions and return of the Syrian refugees. The Americans and other Western governments commit all these crimes under the ruse of support to the Syrian people, while behind the scenes they impose themselves as governors of the people’s fate and use the Lebanese and Syrian fates as their bargaining chips.
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