There are going to be more protests in Lebanon

That’s not a particularly powerful prediction given this Voice of America story: Lebanon’s President Emile Lahoud has renamed pro-Syrian Omar Karami as prime minister, just two weeks after he resigned the post following massive opposition protests against Syrian influence in Lebanese politics. The decision Thursday, came after Mr. Lahoud held consultations with parliamentary deputies. The ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

That's not a particularly powerful prediction given this Voice of America story:

That’s not a particularly powerful prediction given this Voice of America story:

Lebanon’s President Emile Lahoud has renamed pro-Syrian Omar Karami as prime minister, just two weeks after he resigned the post following massive opposition protests against Syrian influence in Lebanese politics. The decision Thursday, came after Mr. Lahoud held consultations with parliamentary deputies. The parliament, where Syria’s allies have a majority, overwhelmingly advised in favor of reappointing Mr. Karami. Mr. Karami, a pro-Syrian Sunni Muslim politician, immediately called for a national unity government and urged the opposition to join, saying it is the only way out of Lebanon’s crisis. The opposition, which did not present a candidate, has been demanding a full Syrian withdrawal from the country.

Jenny Booth reports in the London Times that the opposition has already rejected joining a unity government. The Beirut Daily Star‘s Nada Bakri has the reaction from protestors. They’re pretty mixed. Here’s one example:

Boutros Fadel, 41, from the Lebanese National Liberal Party (LNLP) and who has been camping out at Martyrs’ Square for over a week, said: “We oppose Karami’s reappointment as he is part of the pro-Syrian regime. However, he won’t and can’t affect our will and determination to free Lebanon from the Syrians.” He added: “Karami resigned to calm protesters down, like giving them a morphine injection. It won’t work and the cure to the virus which entered Lebanon in 1976 is UN Resolution 1559.”

Developing….

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

Tag: Theory

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