Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)
Lebanon’s political future is up for grabs with the election of its next president delayed for a third time, leaving the status of this would-be, could-be democracy unclear. At a time when democracy is under siege from Pakistan to the former Soviet republic of Georgia, we need to work harder to extend freedom to such countries.
Lebanon is a small country, half a world away, but it is fighting for the very same values Americans treasure. Imagine our own opposition politicians holed up in a hotel for weeks, fearing assassination if they walked the streets of their capital. Imagine them being killed in action. It’s no made-for-TV movie script, but real life for more than 40 Lebanese parliamentarians, who spend most of their days inside the Phoenicia hotel while police guard the perimeter and check for snipers.
These politicians have reason to be nervous: Last month, a fellow MP, Antoine Ghanem, became the eighth politician killed in Beirut since the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.
It’s no accident that all those killed have spoken out against intimidation by Syria and Iran — two countries seeking to dominate Lebanon and broaden their influence in the region. Moderate Lebanese politicians who oppose extremism are marked for death, and ordinary citizens who voice support for democracy and reform are powerless against the extremists’ arms and cash.
We can no longer afford to be bystanders as Lebanese democracy is held up at gunpoint. Access the full article>>