Saudi Arabia announced Friday that it halted the $3 billion in aid to the Lebanese Army and another $1 billion worth of aid to other security agencies. The decision did not come as a surprise especially when some Lebanese political forces showed ingratitude.
Over the last months, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah did not miss any opportunity to attack Saudi Arabia and unfortunately the Lebanese government did nothing to check Hezbollah — a party that has adopted a foreign policy, which is independent of the state.
It is worth citing the Saudi justification for its new decision. For decades, Saudi Arabia generously supported Lebanon and worked for its stability. And yet, “the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia encounters positions against it at Arab, regional and international forums... Saudi Arabia considers these positions as regrettable and unjustified and are inconsistent with the fraternal relations between the two countries and they are not taking into account their interests and ignoring all the Kingdom’s historical and supportive stances toward Lebanon during its economic and political crises,” the statement said.
No one can deny that Saudi Arabia has done what it takes to prop up successive Lebanese governments. For decades, the Saudi political and economic assistance has been crucial of the viability of the Lebanese governments. Interestingly, key Lebanese leaders see the Saudi decision in its proper context. The Christian-Maronite member of the parliament and prominent politicians, Samir Geagea, expressed his full understanding of the Saudi decision laying the blame on the Lebanese government for allowing Hezbollah to hijack the state to serve Iran’s subversive actions in various Arab countries.
The Lebanese government failed to condemn Iran’s mob attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran. While Syria has turned into a battleground for regional players, Lebanon has announced that its official policy is one of non-alignment i.e. neutral.
And yet, Hezbollah has hijacked the state and coerce it to be tolerant with its pro-Iranian aggressive policies in Syria, Yemen, Bahrain and Iraq. Hezbollah’s militia moves freely across all of Lebanon with impunity. Worse, Hezbollah is taking part in the Iranian-backed campaign against the Saudi-backed moderate opposition in Syria thus posing a marked challenge to Lebanon’s official policy of neutrality.
It is not as if Hezbollah’s role has been suddenly discovered. We all know that Lebanon is deeply divided and Hezbollah made it perfectly clear that it stands against the Syrian people and the Saudi regional policy. The point is that while Hezbollah militias shuttled in and out of Syria in a free fashion to help Assad’s depleted army, the Lebanese army did everything possible to harass the Sunni militants who have been trying to join the battle against Assad.
Seen in this way, the Saudi officials must have reached the conclusion that the Saudi-backed Lebanese army is receiving Saudi aid while on the ground it is helping to ensure Assad’s survival. Hence, why on earth should Riyadh continue its generous aid?
In light of this new reality, the Saudis rethought their policy of propping up an army that is complicit with anti-Saudi forces. Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri accused Hezbollah of endangering Lebanese internal stability by targeting Saudi Arabia. In a statement in the wake of the Saudi decision, Hariri said that he fully understood the Saudi decision especially after the Lebanese foreign minister refused to endorse statements by the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemning Iranian attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran.
The Lebanese foreign minister’s justification of his anti-Saudi position in the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation could be hardly convincing. His insistence on that he opposed the statements because he was ensuring the neutrality of Lebanon. Really? So, why did the government fail to force Hezbollah to halt its aggressive alliance with Assad.
Although Hezbollah is defiant, it remains to be seen how the Saudi decision will play out in Lebanon’s domestic politics. Lebanese politicians will bicker for a while over who caused this colossal damage. I believe that the Saudi decision is most likely to deepen the already existing divisions in Lebanon.
