Majeed Matar wrote in “The Call of the Nation”:
Experts in Arab affairs point out that the Jeddah summit, before it, is not the same as after it, based on its importance in form and content. In the figure, Syria will participate in its activities after an absence of 12 years, in the person of its president, Bashar al-Assad, who will head his country’s delegation, despite the political controversy that erupted over his participation in the Arab summit, the importance of which is not disputed by two sane people, based on the suffering of the Syrian people in terms of tragedies and woes.
The step of excluding Syria from the League of Arab States has created an Arab regime different from what preceded the moment of its exclusion from the Arab consensus, and its return will also produce a new Arab regime that presents itself with attempts to Arabize Arab crises, foremost of which is the Syrian crisis and the real dangers it poses, not the “Captagon file.” its most serious challenge.
In terms of the Arabization of solutions, lies its dangerous political content, the elements of which the Saudi leadership has succeeded in building patiently and deliberately a few months ago, when it activated its diplomacy to draw a map that includes realistic solutions to the interconnected crises in the Arab region, for which the Arab peoples pay a heavy price, which gave signs of optimism that This summit will give hope to all Arabs, given the role and position enjoyed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has a strategic vision for Arab national security, which has been exposed to existential threats over the past two decades, from the moment of the occupation of Iraq to the present day, as a result of which the Arab influence has declined in favor of regional influence and hegemony projects: The Israeli, Turkish, and Iranian projects showed, beyond any doubt, extremism in their interference in the affairs of the Arab region. The most egregious of them was the Iranian project, which declared its control over Arab capitals without shame or fear.
Necessity and capabilities
In view of this reality, which indicates serious political and non-political transformations surrounding Lebanon, we find that this small country is unable for its decision makers to formulate a foreign policy that deals with or defines the types of risks, challenges, and opportunities in the external environment surrounding it, or the strengths and weaknesses in its internal environment. It is difficult to imagine a country, no matter how small or large it is, going without a foreign policy in the midst of important transformations in international relations.
-It is true that Lebanese geopolitics attracts all kinds of external interventions, because of its location and its political and social exposure, due to the societal structure with a sectarian and pluralistic structure, which opens the door to making Lebanon an arena for settling Arab scores and disputes, as well as non-Arab ones, which created a kind of political fatalism for research. From the outside to find solutions for the inside, according to Nassif Hitti. However, this reality requires Lebanon to confront it and not rely on it, especially with regard to foreign affairs and international relations, which are realistically based exclusively on the game of interests.
-From a practical point of view, the Saudi-Iranian understanding cannot be separated from the form and content of this summit, especially since its role in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon is more influential than all the Arabs meeting in the League of Arab States or the “House of Arabs” according to the sentimental name of this regional organization. This exploratory calm, which came under Chinese auspices, has created, in one way or another, a favorable atmosphere that relieved the country organizing this summit and facilitated this consensual environment as a serious opportunity to create Arab consensuses on their direct interests, especially those related to national security, whether in its comprehensive or private national sense. It is possible to elaborate more on the importance of Arab solidarity at all levels.
And at a time when many noted the good in this understanding, the Iranian clarification came to say that the issue of non-interference that came within the terms of the agreement relates only to the two parties to the agreement, that is, each of them does not interfere in the affairs of the other, which means that Iran is continuing its interference in the affairs of the country. open to it with the facilitation of its allies within this or that country.
It has become recognized that the Lebanese division in the face of regional and international crises is the result of the absence of a comprehensive national vision based on a foreign policy that reflects and defends Lebanese interests, away from any bias towards one party against another. The simplest definition of foreign policy says that it is a program of action aimed at achieving the best possible conditions for the state through peaceful and diplomatic means.
Therefore, Lebanon is required to draw up a foreign policy that reflects its capabilities, and deals with the file of the displaced Syrians, the file of oil and gas, and the demarcation of the borders in the south, east and north. And if the Arabs surrender, we will be safe, and their war is our war. Lebanon cannot accept comparing its relations with our Arab brothers in exchange for any other relations with any non-Arab country, no matter how high and important it is.
This is what is needed so that Lebanon does not remain the free and independent Arab master, one of the neglected details in the game of foreign interests.
