Commentary on Hariri's "Errors" Bombshell

The AFP has some commentary on Hariri's "errors" comment in Monday's edition of the Saudi daily, Asharq Al Awsat:

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"All you have to do is read the history of Lebanon to understand that there are no solutions in Lebanon without Syria," said Karim Makdisi, a political science professor at the American University of Beirut.

"Officials in Lebanon cannot be against Syria," Makdisi told AFP. "That is just not an option, and Hariri has realised that."
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... on Monday, the prime minister was quoted as saying he had erred.

"At some point, we made a mistake," Hariri told the Saudi-owned daily Asharq Al-Awsat. "At one stage, we accused Syria ... That was a political accusation, and that political accusation is over."
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Hariri's retraction, which one Lebanese daily dubbed a "political bomb," comes amid high tension in Lebanon over pending indictments by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, a UN-backed probe into the assassination.
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Analysts say Hariri's statement to Asharq Al-Awsat is yet another attempt to contain the current tensions, which have sparked fears of renewed sectarian violence.
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"It's a precautionary move before the tribunal issues its charge sheet, which could implicate a Lebanese party, and is rooted in fear of the repercussions of that indictment," Khoury told AFP.
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"Hariri is definitely under Saudi pressure to improve ties with Syria ... and there seems to be an attempt in the region to break the Syria-Iran-Hezbollah alliance," Makdisi said.
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But Makdisi noted that Hariri stopped short of making any mention of Hezbollah.

"It is true that Hariri has never accused Hezbollah but in light of current tensions he could have gone on and openly said that he did not accuse Hezbollah, as well as Syria," Makdisi said.

Fadia Kiwan, head of the political science department at Saint Joseph University, argues that one party stands to gain from Hariri's political metamorphosis: Syria.

"After a difficult phase from 2005 to 2007, Syria's power is once again consecrated," Kiwan told AFP. "This will also put Syria's allies in Lebanon in a position of even more power.
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Al Jazeera's Beirut correspondent, Rula Amin, writes:

We have to remember this is not a very surprising turnaround. ... Hariri has been reaching out to Syria and the Syrian president in the past years since he took office and became Lebanon's prime minister. ... He went to Damascus about four times, he met with the Syrian president who drove him around Damascus in his own car, had dinner together, hosted him in his own palace.

We have to also remember the political picture here has changed in the region. When Hariri accused Syria, Syria was isolated, the US was trying to isolate it, trying even to change the regime there. ... Now Syria has emerged from its isolation as a very strong player in the region ... and so Hariri has to adjust.
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Regarding the STL, Hariri was quoted by the paper as saying, "the tribunal is not linked to the political accusations, which were hasty ... The tribunal will only look at evidence."

Meanwhile, Syria's unofficial spokesman in Lebanon, Wiam Wahab seemed to welcome the statement, even while calling for the labeling as an "Israeli agent" anyone that finances the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, and attacking the Prime Minister for "six childish years", Naharnet reports.

Wahab has also recently been vocal in his reminders of Syrian readiness and willingness to intervene if any "strife" were to arise, as well as continuous attacks against the STL, UNIFIL, and the pro-sovereignty March 14 movement.

Wahab has, in the past, accused Saudi Arabia of assassinating former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

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