Thomas Friedman and Inconvenient Lebanese Facts: Age of Feel-Good Soundbites
The following excerpts are from Thomas Friedman’s today piece in the NY Times- each followed by a correction:
"Second, a solid majority of all Lebanese — Muslims, Christians and Druse — voted for the March 14 coalition led by Saad Hariri, the son of the slain Lebanese prime minister."
Fact: Hezbullah and its Amal and Christian allies got 54.7% of the popular votes cast. The March 14 (Hariri) won 45.3% of the popular vote. It was a parliamentary victory for March 14, no doubt, but a popular vote defeat. More Lebanese supported Hezbullah and/or her allies.
"The Christian majority voted instead for those who wanted to preserve Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence from any regional power."
Fact: There is no Christian majority in Lebanon. In fact the Christian vote split, as expected between the two sides. No one group has a majority in Lebanon. The Shi'as almost certainly are the largest single group in Lebanon.
This is not to downplay the parliamentary defeat of Hezbullah and her allies. It was a parliamentary defeat, and it clearly stung them. But 55% of the vote probably explains all the post-election conciliatory rhetoric that is suddenly gushing out from Lebanese politicians. Today, Hariri and Jumblatt seem to be outdoing Nasrallah when talking about Israel.
Cheers
mhg
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