Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, Steps Down in Face of Protests

Lebanon has been taken over by religious zealots for over 60 years. With Hezbollah rising to power, it is nothing more than a group of terrorist organizations brutalizing the citizens. It will likely take military intervention to quell the nightmare that is Lebanon, but sadly, each sect has it's own military and they'd rather destroy the entire country that let the 'other' win. Saudi is responsible for this and so much worse.

It would be good to get rid of confessionalism that has plagued the country for so long but there are very powerful vested interests with political parties, some armed to the teeth, that have played the confessional card for so long. Having a country where one gets elected to a political post because of real competences instead of a religious affiliation would be a dream come true. I think transforming the whole country into a single electoral district would be a good start. I still want to believe that is possible for Lebanon to carve itself a democratic future where each one has a say, with economic opportunities for all, as there is so much talent and so much potential in this country, it just needs to thrive instead of being stifled by corrupt politicians.

Maybe trump should do the same.

The Hariri family are a bunch of Saudi cronies who have been pillaging the country for ever. Father, son and entourage have lived like kings (better than most and not like the kings of Norway who rides his old bike up and down the street next to the palace). He pays starlets and models more money than a village can live on for a year on a whim. The fact that the people of Lebanon are waking up is great albeit a bit late. Harvard used to have a Chair named after Rafik Hariri (the dad who got assassinated) in the Kennedy School of Government funded by ill begotten gains. Maybe they will reconsider before it is too late (hint Epstein!).

So Prime Minister Hariri gives up control of the government. A real ceder of Lebanon. I hope it's not Iran-backed Hezbollah which ends up in charge of everything.

If Lebanon - which is basically ruled by Hezbollah - would put its Money into services for its people - instead of Missiles to fight Israel - it would change the situation drastically for the better.

Nasrallah's Hezbollah is spending a fortune in fighting Israel. The question I have is what are they fighting for since Israel doesn't occupy Lebanon (although there is a dispute over a few miles of land). Certainly Shiite Hezbollah can't really care about fighting for the Sunni Palestinians.

Ahh. And now to the sad part. The one we’ve seen over and over again after mass protests. The government is down. Now what will replace it? Something better? Or something worse. It’s usually the later.

". . . leaders of the country’s 18 officially recognized religious groups divide power and state funds for themselves and their followers at the expense of the country as a whole." This pretty much says it all. Religions, the death-knell for a multi-ethnic democracy.

Puzzling that the US supports Lebannon with nearly $2 billion in foreign aid while its de facto government maintains 100,000 Iranian supplied missiles on its southern border ready to unleash destruction on Israel. It’s an “open secret” that Isreal would respond to a Hezbollah missile launch by destroying all of Lebanon as a functioning State. Surely there are better uses of US foreign aid than supporting a State that threatens a long standing US ally with 100,000 missiles. Isreal remains the only free and democratic State in the entire mid-east with its nearly 1 billion inhabitants.

I'd just like to add that Paula Yacoubian who is quoted in this article was a news host on Hariri's political party's television channel. After she left her post and joined a small civil movement, she still maintained warm ties with Hariri and his party, even though she's seen as an independent. I pray for my country and hope the best outcome from these protests.