August 26, 2007

Ambassador Khoja, We Hardly Knew Ye

I don't have any privileged information about why the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon has fled to Riyadh, other than what the papers are saying. Apparently the good ambassador feared for his life, which puts him in pretty much the same position as every other high-ranking political official in Lebanon.

This story cannot be separated from the ongoing feud between the Saudis and the Syrians over Lebanon. Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa set off a firestorm by calling Saudi diplomacy "almost completely paralyzed," but the explicit topic was never what the two regional powers were really arguing about. Syria and Saudi have very real differences over Lebanon. Syria wants Lebanon's president accountable to Damascus; Saudi wants the President to refer to Riyadh. Syria wants to sabotage the international tribunal; Saudi wants to bring Hariri's killers to justice.

If Ambassador Khoja feared for his life, it's not hard to pick out the party that his country has been feuding with lately. I can't believe that Syria would ever be stupid enough to kill a Saudi ambassador, but this is Lebanon -- you never know.