Last week, Israel’s Defence Minister, Benny Gantz, accused Iran of trying to “buy” Lebanon by supplying it with fuel for its power stations. “Iran, through Hezbollah, is trying to buy Lebanon by supplying fuel, repairing the electricity system and building power plants,” Mr Gantz stated, warning against Tehran’s considerable influence over the country.
Mr Gantz was not wrong, but nor was he accurate. He failed to mention how Israel itself had played a major role in reinforcing Hezbollah’s and Iran’s sway in Lebanon. And Israel was hardly alone. During Lebanon’s post-war period, several Arab and western countries were instrumental in protecting a political order that favoured Iran, principally by defending the hegemony of Tehran’s chief ally Syria over the Lebanese political scene.
From the outset, Syrian intentions were very clear. When the civil war ended in 1990, Damascus was the uncontested power broker in Lebanon and was tasked with implementing the conditions of the Taif Accord of 1989. The agreement was, effectively, a Syrian-Saudi understanding over Lebanon that had the blessing of the US. One of its major components was the disbanding and disarming of Lebanese wartime militias.
However, Syria imposed an exception to this condition. It decided that Hezbollah and several other groups close to Damascus would not be disarmed since they were part of the resistance against Israel, which then still occupied parts of southern Lebanon. For the Syrian leader at the time, Hafez Al Assad, the decision allowed him to retain a means of military pressure against Israel while Syria and Israel were negotiating peace in the context of the Madrid process and its aftermath.
What this meant is that Iran and Syria continued to arm, train and protect Hezbollah’s autonomy at a time when the Lebanese government was seeking to reassert its monopoly on violence in the country. This ambition proved illusory, however, as from the outset there were red lines for how the authorities could deal with Hezbollah.
Israel itself played a major role in reinforcing Hezbollah’s and Iran’s sway in Lebanon, and it was hardly alone
In 1996, Hezbollah reinforced its power significantly when Israel launched a military operation against Lebanon after Hezbollah had fired rockets on northern Israel. The party did so in retaliation for an Israeli attack that had killed two Lebanese. The short conflict, which Israel dubbed the Grapes of Wrath operation, led to a crucial outcome.
The agreement that ended the fighting was negotiated in Damascus by the US secretary of state at the time, Warren Christopher. Seeing that the real decision-maker in Lebanese affairs was Hafez Al Assad, Mr Christopher did not talk with Lebanese officials in Beirut. Instead, the Lebanese had to travel to Syria to meet with him. Mr Christopher’s conduct represented nothing less than explicit recognition of Syrian rule over Lebanon.
The major consequence of the conflict, however, was the fact that it ended through an informal agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, known as the April Understanding. This accord established “rules of the game” between the two parties in their continuing war in southern Lebanon. This implicitly elevated Hezbollah to the level of a political actor on par with Israel – one separate from the Lebanese state, the big loser in the war.
Mr Gantz would do well to remember that period, since it was among the first tangible signs that Hezbollah was taking on a national security role more important than that of the army and government in Beirut. By agreeing to the April Understanding, Israel accepted this reality and showed it had no problems reaching a modus vivendi with Iran’s local ally.
Little changed afterward, particularly in the run-up to the Syrian military withdrawal from Lebanon in 2005, following the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Al Hariri. It was not until 2004 that Washington, with France, supported a UN resolution calling for a Syrian pull-out. Before then, the country was largely an adjunct to American and French dealings with Damascus.
For example, in April 1996, France’s then president Jacques Chirac, in a speech before the Lebanese parliament, tied a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon with peace deals that Lebanon and Syria would conclude with Israel. This was a diplomatic way of saying that until such agreements were reached, France would accept a Syrian presence in Lebanon.
During the years when Syria's army was no longer deployed in Lebanon, the Lebanese would contribute greatly to fortifying Iranian influence over their country. The current president, Michel Aoun, after opposing Hezbollah during his exile, allied himself with the party in 2006, believing, rightly, that this would win him the presidency. Opportunism by unprincipled politicians has been the bane of those seeking a truly sovereign Lebanon.
Yet it was as early as 1990 that Iran and Hezbollah, supported by Syria, put in place the military infrastructure that allowed Hezbollah to dominate Lebanon after the Syrians left. This was a time when a host of regional and international powers looked the other way as Syria and Iran bolstered Hezbollah at the expense of the Lebanese state. Those targeting Lebanon today for being an Iranian outpost should remember this.
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
Aayan%E2%80%99s%20records
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
