The divisions of Lebanon are showing again- this time in regard to the tribunal to try the assassins who murdered former President Rafik al-Hariri and 22 others on February 14, 2005. Curiously, the Saudis have stepped forward to broker a deal, and the new Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki-Moon, is only too happy to get any support that will put at least this tribunal in motion and thereby help Lebanon seal the divisions that have rocked it since the civil war began in 1975. But are the Saudis the right choice for the job?

Today's Lebanon can only look back to the 1920's and sigh in nostalgia at what might have been. As World War I was drawing to an unsuccessful close, the Ottoman Empire was being replaced by a number of protectorates whose integrity was guaranteed by the victorious forces of the war- the French and British. Despite noises in the press to the contrary, many of those territories that they created actually reflected the administrative divisions that already existed within the former Ottoman Empire. These were known as vilayets, or regions that were tied to major urban centers of commerce such as Damascus, Mosul, Beirut and Baghdad. It was hoped in Paris in 1919 that these new protectorates would eventually grow into sovereign countries, but what the French and British didn't realize was that there was no national identity to go with them. In most cases, pan-Arabism was the only uniting sentiment that replaced the Ottoman Empire, and the divisions of Iraq, Transjordan, Palestine Syria and Lebanon simply frustrated the Arabs' desire to regroup into one large nation- Greater Arab Syria.

But the outstanding exception to pan-Arabism in this geography was Lebanon; taking today's borders as reference, this country has a unique and developed nationalism that goes back more than a millennium, although we will start in 1861 for brevity's sake. The Ottomans were aware of the special position of the Lebanese shoreline and its major city, Beirut, so they gave it semi-autonomous status as a privileged sanjak (administrative region) in the 19th century. The French had taken a particular interest in this coastal swath of land and influenced its culture, cuisine and political identity. So naturally when the borders were being redrawn after WWI, the French took the Lebanese cause as their own and promoted the Lebanese Maronites- a Christian sect that makes up 25% of today's Lebanon- as the dominant political force there.

Nationalism flourished in the new Lebanon; the country claimed a heritage that went all the way back to ancient Phoenicia, and the new national anthem- written by the Maronite poet Rashid Nakhleh- sang the virtues of the mountains and plains and praised the national flag, which was originally the French tricolor with the cedar tree in the middle. The country was truly green and lush, comprising snow-capped mountains on one side and the rich Bekka Valley below them where some truly fine wines are produced. It is also a genuinely secular country, and its beaches are known for some of the prettiest girls in bikinis that the Middle East has ever witnessed- outside of Israel.

On the other side of the green valleys lies the parched desert that reaches from Damascus to Mosul. Here, nationalism had no historic roots in territory, but in the ethno-linguistic grouping of everything that was Arab. The Syrians resented the Lebanese to the West and its Maronite President, and they considered the territory to be an integral part of the future Arab nation of Greater Syria. Unlike the traditional/historical national anthem of Lebanon, the Syrians' theme- which was composed by a Damascene nationalist named Khalil Mardam- sang of the "lion's den of Arabism" as the throne and shrine of a kingdom yet to be built. In this way, the French may have been successful in building a state, but they neglected to consider the nationality that would go into it. The result was a state that couldn't hold itself together; in 1963, a Baathist coup brought in the current regime, and it has been involved in destabilizing Lebanon ever since.

Enter, Saudi Arabia. This country is perhaps the least likely to usher in a period of political healing. Its peacemaking skills and objectivity in regard to the Middle East are questionable, and its motives are suspect. The country doesn't recognize Israel and is one of the biggest financial backers of terrorism against Israelis, and its bias toward Islamic forces goes unquestioned. Lebanon's political deadlock, unfortunately, is both nationalistic and Islamic: there is the Syrian-backed Hezbollah on one side and the Lebanese nationalist forces on the other. If Saudi Arabia gets involved in the dispute, it is unlikely that Lebanon will be able to put the assassination of Hariri behind it, and its aspirations for independence from Syria may never be realized.

By Tracy Dove
http://uspolitics.einnews.com

Tracy Dove, editor of Russia Today, is a Professor of History and the Department Chair of International Relations at the University of New York in Prague.