In a period where the whole Arab world is going through uprisings and revolutions, and the world in general is taking a different direction away from the New World Order introduced by George Bush the father, adding to that the world economic power, the collapse of the Euro and the Chinese economic development I decided to write this article and introduce a NEW FOREIGN POLICY that has to applied in Lebanon.
Bear in mind that the foreign policy that I am going to talk about will not be applied right now, but rather when the new leadership takes place at the time where one leader only will be ruling Lebanon uniting the country under his rule and justice.
This policy will be using the philosophy of as close is the country as strong the relations are, the policy will make sure that all the neighboring countries will have strong unbreakable bonds which will provide the country with security and prosperity with the exception of Israel, which has a special case I will be talking about in the last article where I will explain some intentions and actions required to deal with this sensitive issue.
In the previous articles when I talked about Syria and the Arab league, the mission to sustain strong relations is relatively easy since Lebanese-Arab relations are quite strong now.
However, going out of the Arab world, it is always hard to sustain strong relationship with mutual respect between Lebanon and other countries. Lebanon, between the strong key players in the area is looked at as a chance or a place to dominate and use in the negotiations among them. Therefore, Lebanon will have to prove itself as a strong state, with strong security forces and obsessively smart fascinating armed forces which are the most important factors for a state to have its say in our current globe and throughout the ages.
After achieving this aim, Turkey and Iran would be two interesting countries to get along with no matter what kind of relations they have between each others. We will be using key factors and ideas to attract the two countries towards Lebanon and force them to support our state and defend it when necessary.
The key factors I am talking about will be mainly based on demography, where Shias and Sunnis are two big sections of the Lebanese community and will be used in a wise way to strengthen relationships between our beloved state and the two strong Moslem states.
In addition, the two populations mentioned above also have social and religious connections with those two countries and having strong relations with them will play a great role in the sustainability of out state and of the new regime.
When the Iranian president Mahmud Ahmedi Nejad visited Lebanon he was warmly welcomed by the Lebanese people in the southern district of Beirut and in the South of Lebanon.
Which means a big part of our community thinks that the Iranian president is a hero and they admire him. Moreover, Iran has been providing money and weapons in enormous amounts to the Shia in general and to Hezbollah on particular for years after the Islamic revolution took place in Iran in 1979. Therefore, our government, after securing that no single gun is outside its control will be seeking for good relations with Tehran offering protection for the Shia and promising a better life for them against any Israeli aggression or maybe an internal one from Sunnis or Christians, this will be the only way for Iran to take care of its fellow Shias in Lebanon and therefore strong relations will be established and support will be directed towards the Lebanese government itself not the Shias in particular.
Moreover, for Iran, Syria and Lebanon mean access to the Mediterranean Sea in terms of trade and strategic purposes no matter what kind of regime existed, which will provided to them generously by Lebanon and Syria of course with restricted conditions and terms.
Same strategy applies for Turkey, where Erdogan himself came to Lebanon and visited Beirut and the North of Lebanon along with the former prime minister Saad Al Hariri showing strong support for his fellow Sunnis.
However, Turkey’s worry would not be securing them but rather supporting them and satisfying Turkey’s aims to spread their influence in the Arab world through the Islamists, just like what happened in Tunisia, Egypt, and Morocco and maybe later on Syria and other Arabic countries. The Turkish influence is inevitable and the challenge in this case is how to divert means of influence in a way that benefits the state to the Sunnis themselves. For that, Lebanon has to move for the Islamic ideology which will be surrounding it everywhere, I know it is dangerous in a multi religious state but I will explain further.
Another small point to mention, in case the Lebanese-Syrian economy developed fast and proved to be strong enough, and in case Turkey does not join the European Union, the point of joining Turkey to our union will be considered, using the Lira as common currency which will be a great economic and social facility to Lebanon by having greater market and access to the European market in an easier way.
Iran and Turkey would be competing who will have more influence in Lebanon, and a strong state would know how to use this advantage for its benefit by having a strong hold of the economy and security where the only influence would be on the President himself and the state not the public.
You should not misinterpret and say that my agenda is for an Islamic state in Lebanon where the Khalifa or supreme leader takes the power. Lebanon is multi religious, and any religion trying to take over will end up in civil war in the country. However, when it comes to foreign policy, the whole area of the Arab spring and Turkey is now moving towards the Islamic part of the political spectrum and for that our spectrum should have close ties with them otherwise we will be out of all the advancements they will reach together. In addition, our internal policies and laws would very far from religion, rather abolishing anything related to religion in our constitution while still taking benefit from any successful Islamic law held in any other country especially when it comes to economics which probably can take us out of the European crisis.
The whole aim behind this strategy is to secure a tiny Lebanon between the Middle East and North Africa and not to isolate it, or make it the victim of the ideology conflicts. That is because the anti Islamists will happily choose Lebanon as a base to fight Islamism in the Middle East and Lebanon will end up being the victim if it did not engage itself with regional ideology and rather went to the west seeking for the protection of the Christians.
Bassem El Remesh
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