Riyadh’s irrational and hasty actions in the region, this time for Lebanon.
The Lebanese minister was eventually forced to resign after criticizing Riyadh, as if the Saudis had also decided to resume diplomatic relations. But have they achieved their goal?
The story of Lebanese Information Minister George Qardahi criticizing the Riyadh-led coalition’s military invasion of Yemen and the withdrawal of the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait from Beirut, and then Qardahi’s resignation contains points that provide a better understanding of Saudi foreign policy in the region. .
The former Lebanese minister of information protested the continuation of the Yemeni war on a television program when he was not yet a minister. Like any ordinary person who can comment on any issue and not worry about the diplomatic consequences of his words for his country, Qardahi had expressed his opinion as a media activist. But a video of his speech two months ago was released on a large scale, and the Saudis launched a diplomatic war against Lebanon. Such actions are rare in the world of international relations, to the point that Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bouhabib expressed surprise at the severity of the Riyadh government’s actions, saying that he never thought the Saudis would show such a reaction and that “Saudi Arabia’s oppression” was for him. That is, if the president, the prime minister or the foreign minister criticized Riyadh, we could have reserved the right for the Saudis to protest, but the words of an ordinary citizen have no diplomatic consequences anywhere in the world.
