https://arab.news/9axta
This is America. The world’s most powerful economy. The master of sea and skies. The land of prestigious universities, inventors, innovators and pioneers of the technological and digital revolution. It is capable of striking any target in the global village. It can listen to what you are whispering in your own home or at a cafe. The world is asking it to adapt to it, but it responds by demanding that the world should adapt to the US.
When it elects a president, it is effectively electing a president of the world. This is especially true if that president is Donald Trump. The Chinese president must keep his eyes on the White House for any surprises that may arise. The master of the Kremlin must wait for his approval to end the Russian war on Ukraine. The leaders of elderly Europe must pray that the US president will show mercy in terms of his relations with NATO and the EU. What applies there also applies to the Middle East.
This is America. How difficult it is to be its enemy. Battles with it are costly. It killed the Soviet Union without firing a single shot. Muammar Qaddafi pestered it and it responded by terrorizing him in his own home. Saddam Hussein defied it, so it toppled his regime and tied a noose around his neck.
The US suffers losses and setbacks but it comes right back with the support of its economy and history’s most powerful military machine. How difficult it is to be its friend. It is a thorny and tumultuous, albeit necessary, relationship. It is difficult to wash your hands clean of it. Ignoring it will sideline you. It is like a bitter pill that you must take regardless of the side effects. How difficult it is to dance with the master of the White House.
The US has the ability to end wars, but that comes at a price, especially given the close ties between it and Israel
This is America. It was necessary to deal with it to end the massacre in Gaza and ensure the release of hostages and prisoners. Dealing with it was necessary to end the Israeli war on Lebanon and prevent it from turning into another Gaza. The Middle East has known the story for decades. The US is a side and a mediator. It has the ability to end wars, but that comes at a price, especially given the close ties between it and Israel, and between Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu.
In Beirut, the visitor does not need to be reminded of the earthquake that hit the region. The ceasefire that was engineered by former US envoy Amos Hochstein does not prevent the Israeli drones from hovering above the capital and punishing anyone it deems hostile. It does not prevent it from wiping out Lebanese villages bordering Israel.
The sound of the drones reminds us of the upending of the balance of power that existed before the war. Hezbollah is no longer capable of waging a new war with Israel. It lost thousands of fighters and its most prominent leader, Hassan Nasrallah. It is a loss that will not be easily replaced. It also lost its reach inside Syria, which was its lifeline for weapons and finances from Iran. The party also knows that most of the Lebanese people were opposed to its “support front” and they are now clearly demanding that the possession of weapons be limited to the state.
The consultations that preceded the formation of the new Lebanese government, headed by Nawaf Salam, reflected the extent of the changes that took place after the earthquake. Amid these circumstances, deputy US envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus emerged from a meeting with President Joseph Aoun to lob her own bombs. She demanded that the new Lebanese authorities form a government that reflects the new balance of power after the earthquake. She ignored the complex and difficult relations between parties and segments.
The dimensions of the various parties after the earthquake is an issue that will preoccupy the region in the near future
Luckily, Aoun and Salam succeeded in forming a government that enjoys regional and international support and that avoided stirring tensions in Lebanon. It is evident that Ortagus uses the same dictionary as Trump, which allowed him to suggest removing the people from Gaza ahead of transforming the enclave into a beautiful “riviera.”
There can be no denying the extent of the major earthquake that struck the region. Netanyahu has gloated that his wars changed the Middle East. It is not easy for the world to condition its help for Lebanon on the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. This means taking Hezbollah out of any military confrontation with Israel. This not only means taking Hezbollah down a few sizes, but also reducing Iran’s role in the region.
The dimensions of the various parties after the earthquake is an issue that will preoccupy the region in the near future. Iran was not dealt a complete defeat in Lebanon, but it was in Syria. Syrian Arab Republic President Ahmad Al-Sharaa is acting with a responsibility that has impressed his guests. He is taking into consideration the regional and international facts, realizing the importance of Syria’s return to its Arab family. He has used reassuring rhetoric, encouraging Western nations to be open to Damascus ahead of helping Syria in its reconstruction and toward becoming a beacon for stability.
Trump is addressing Iran while taking into consideration its losses in the earthquake. He is proposing that he will not strike it — meaning Israel will not attack its nuclear facilities if it agrees to a new deal that also includes its missile arsenal and regional proxies. It will not be easy for the Iranian supreme leader to accept the new size of his country at a time when Turkiye is assuming an expanded role in the region through Syria.
Amid these new dimensions lies a problem, which is the lack of a realistic American approach toward the Palestinian issue. The people of the region know that the Palestinians are not searching for a new land to reside on. The only solution to this destructive and long conflict lies in the two-state solution that Arab and Islamic countries, along with the Europeans, are committed to.
The Palestinians must obtain their rights and know the limits of Israel’s borders. Only the two-state solution can defuse the chronic fighting in the region and pave the way for the establishment of normal countries whose governments are focused on joining the age and strengthening their economies and stability, instead of becoming embroiled in the battle over dimensions.
- Ghassan Charbel is editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. X: @GhasanCharbel
This article first appeared in Asharq Al-Awsat.