This post is a tad belated as the King and the Syrian President were here on Friday, but it was a very important visit to discuss the STL (the UN's Special Tribunal for Lebanon) which has been in the news recently because its investigation is focusing on senior members of Hezbollah. There wasn't too much coverage of the meeting here, oh, except for the live, daylong television coverage and the multitude of welcome signs (however not nearly as many as for Obama in Ghana last summer).
I'm not up on my Lebanese political blogs, but I do know one good one, Qifa Nabki. It had two quality entries about the summit. The first, a solid parsing of the positive changes in the dynamics between Saudi Arabia and Syria. The second appears to confirm that the Saudis and the Syrians do indeed have a common interest in Lebanon's stability and both know that the STL has the potential to make Hezbollah feel cornered. What does a 'cornered' Hezbollah result in? Think 2006. Bottom line, the Saudis are going to see what they can do about shutting down the tribunal. There's a lot of rumblings in Lebanon right now, but here's hoping that everyone here wants peace and will talk before they start shooting.
Or at least wait until I leave in late August. I kid, this is an incredible country with some serious problems, but more than anything it deserves leaders who are invested in successfully coexisting with their rivals, not maneuvering for power regardless of the cost.
(As a side note, I watched a little bit of the live coverage at a cafe across the street from my dorm and I tried to engage the owners there in conversation about why the King of Saudi Arabia and the President of Syria were in Beirut, and they weren't telling me anything. They definitely understood me, but were obviously convinced the blue-eyed girl standing in front of them would believe their categorical denials of any problems in Lebanon.)
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