Aiding Lebanon

An “Iranian base on the Mediterranean”?

By Adem Ozoor

arlier this month, headlines
announced that the president
of the Islamic Republic of
Iran, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, will be
visiting Lebanon on the thirteenth
of October. One reason for this
visit is the discussion of political
commonalities between the two
nations. President Ahmadinejad also
wants to offer Lebanon political aid if
the country is in need of it.
Interestingly though, there
are some things that have raised
a couple of eyebrows. President
Ahmadinejad is going to meet with
his long-time political ally Hezbollah,
a controversial political group that
is known for its conflict with Israel.
Both are long-time enemies of Israel
and unfavoured politicians in the
western world. Also, Ahmadinejad’s
description of Lebanon as an “Iranian
base on the Mediterranean” is surely
a statement that has concerned some.
Besides a generous offer of
political aid, could this be a new
chapter of a Lebanese-Iranian
alliance? Could this finally be the
downfall of the state of Israel? Could
this be a chapter of economic wealth
for Lebanon? Could this be a chapter
of another Middle Eastern crisis? Or
could it be all of that?
President Ahmadinejad did
state that he would not stand idle if
Israel launches another missile into
Lebanon. The question is: did he state
that from his love for Lebanon or as
an excuse to terminate Israel, the long
time enemy of the Islamic world? In
fact, there are many pros and cons to
this situation.
Lebanon unfortunately is a
very small country that has suffered
majorly from enduring years of
several wars. Having Iran as a
political “spine” could certainly save
Lebanon economically. But one major
concern is culture. Iran is very well
known for its extremely dominant
Shiite population. Lebanon, on the
other hand, has approximately sixteen
different religious groups. That
being said, it is almost impossible to
imagine having a Christian or non-
Shiite Muslim leader of Lebanon with
Iran supporting its spine. Instead,
Lebanon will more likely be handed

over to the fury of Hezbollah. With
the almost kindred alliance between
Hezbollah and Ahmadinejad,
Lebanese culture could undergo an
extreme change, negatively affecting
non-Shiite Lebanese, especially the
Christians.

Besides cultural and political
alterations, more war and conflict will
be started with Israel. It’s absolutely
true that Israel is the main reason
the Middle East endured decades of
hardship. It would be a great relief
to the Islamic world to have Israel
removed from the Near Eastern map,
but it is absolutely unjust for more
bloodshed to be the price of this.
Unfortunately though, that just may
be the case if the Iranian-Lebanese
alliance were to exist. Massive wars
and bloodsheds will once again roar
in the Levant as the blood of Jews and
Arabs will flood the Mediterranean
coast. Is this really a true friendship

of Lebanese-Iranian alliance? Or is
this another one of Ahmadinejad’s
endeavours at terminating Israel? Is it
just to bribe and take advantage of a
small vulnerable nation only to create
more massacres with a neighbouring
nation?

On the other hand, this
might actually be a strong and
revolutionizing concept in Middle
Eastern history. With Lebanon being
backed up by Iran’s powerful nuclear
weapons, conflict with Israel may
terminate. Israel may never again
harass Lebanon since she’ll know
that the price of that will be having its
name and citizens violently removed
from that part of the globe. This way,
Lebanese citizens will ensure being a
warless zone for a long time to come.
However, the direct opposite could
also happen.

Unfortunately, because the state
of Israel often likes to try playing

 

Bivens

 

tactics, it might actually take the risk
of attacking Lebanon once more and
lead the Middle East into another
crisis. If that were to take place, the
western world wouldn’t stand and
observe Israel’s fall to ashes. Instead,
more American and western European
troops would-be sent to the Middle
East to “aid,” but instead more would
end up dying. Is this really what the
world wants, especially after all the
troops that have already been killed in
Afghanistan and Irag this decade?

That being said, the concept of
this Iranian-Lebanese alliance could
exist successfully and positively, but
international-wise, it would heavily
depend on Israel’s behaviour. If Israel
continues to be a nuisance and harass
its Arabic neighbours, this alliance
could mark the beginning of 2010’s
warfare era. The world can only hope
it doesn’t come to that.

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