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The Hariri Assassination and the Making of a Usable Past for Lebanon

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The Hariri Assassination and the Making of a Usable Past for Lebanon LOCKED IN TIME ?: THE HARIRI ASSASSINATION AND THE MAKING OF A USABLE PAST FOR LEBANON Jonathan Herny van Melle A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS May 2009 Committee: Dr. Sridevi Menon, Advisor Dr. Neil A. Englehart ii ABSTRACT Dr. Sridevi Menon, Advisor Why is it that on one hand Lebanon is represented as the “Switzerland of the Middle East,” a progressive and prosperous country, and its capital Beirut as the “Paris of the Middle East,” while on the other hand, Lebanon and Beirut are represented as sites of violence, danger, and state failure? Furthermore, why is it that the latter representation is currently the pervasive image of Lebanon? This thesis examines these competing images of Lebanon by focusing on Lebanon’s past and the ways in which various “pasts” have been used to explain the realities confronting Lebanon. To understand the contexts that frame the two different representations of Lebanon I analyze several key periods and events in Lebanon’s history that have contributed to these representations. I examine the ways in which the representation of Lebanon and Beirut as sites of violence have been shaped by the long period of civil war (1975-1990) whereas an alternate image of a cosmopolitan Lebanon emerges during the period of reconstruction and economic revival as well as relative peace between 1990 and 2005. In juxtaposing the civil war and the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri in Beirut on February 14, 2005, I point to the resilience of Lebanon’s civil war past in shaping both Lebanese and Western memories and understandings of the Lebanese state. I draw from and engage studies on the history of Lebanon by scholars and journalists from the United States and Lebanon, U.S. government documents on Lebanon, and American and Lebanese press coverage of Lebanon. The reactions of the American and Lebanese press and politicians, and the Lebanese people to the Hariri assassination, I argue, have resurrected and iii consolidated representations of Lebanon’s civil war past as a usable past (both inside and outside Lebanon) that serves to explain the realities confronting Lebanon today and define it as a failed state. iv To my parents who gave me the chance to have a different past than the one described in this thesis. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As a Lebanese born person who grew up in The Netherlands, studying Lebanon’s complicated history and finding out how its representation transformed from the Switzerland of the Middle East into one of a violent place and a failed state was not easy and at times saddening. In guiding me to keep my eye on the ball and to focus on the original purpose of this thesis my thesis committee members, Dr. Neil A. Englehart and Dr. Sridevi Menon have been of great help. I would like to thank Dr. Menon as the Advisor of this committee for the generous time she has offered during our brainstorming and feedback sessions throughout the project and for her help with editing each chapter. I also would like to thank Dr. Menon for providing me a better understanding of the implications of the Hariri assassination on Lebanon’s representation and how to apply this understanding to this project. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Menon for the enthusiasm, trust, and confidence she has given me to continue working on this project even when I felt to be stuck. I would like to thank Dr. Englehart in helping shape a topic for my thesis on Lebanon and for always being available for questions, ideas, and feedback on each of the chapters during this project. I also would like to thank Dr. Englehart for offering his insight on failed states, non-state actors, and U.S. foreign policy as it related to Lebanon’s civil war. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Englehart for giving me a sense of realism in my stand towards Lebanon’s complicated civil war past, which helped to finish this project. I would like to thank Dr. Donald H. McQuarie for giving me the opportunity to enroll as a graduate student at the American Culture Studies Department. Thanks to this opportunity I am able to follow a new career path, to follow my destiny. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 The Framework of the Project ................................................................................... 2 1. A Usable Past ............................................................................................ 2 2. A Failed State ............................................................................................ 3 Methodology .............................................................................................................. 5 Sources ....................................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER I. LEBANON: SWITZERLAND OF THE MIDDLE EAST ............................ 11 ...Beirut: Paris of the Middle East ................................................................................. 12 ............Ancient “Lebanese” History ...................................................................................... 16 ............Loyalties and Rivalries .............................................................................................. 17 ............Politics in Lebanon before Independence, 1861-1943 ............................................... 21 CHAPTER II. THE BIG EXPLOSION: LEBANON ON FIRE ......................................... 28 Beirut, Sunday October 23, 1983 ............................................................................... 28 The National Pact Revisited: Lebanon, 1943 ............................................................ 33 And Then There Was Nasser ..................................................................................... 34 Egypt, Gaza, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and the West Bank, 1967 ................................... 40 Making of the First “King” and the Failure of Lebanon as a State ............................ 41 The Civil War and Jumblatt’s Usable Past – Lebanon, 1975-76 ............................... 44 Death of Jumblatt ....................................................................................................... 47 CHAPTER III. MAKING OF A NEW “KING”: BASHIR GEMAYEL’S USABLE PAST, BEGIN’S INTERPRETATION, REAGAN’S TRANSLATION.......................................... 49 vii “Destroying Beirut” and U.S. Evacuation of PLO Militia ........................................ 52 Death of Bashir Gemayel ........................................................................................... 54 “Operation Blue Bat,” Beirut, 1958 ........................................................................... 59 U.S. Marines in Lebanon and a Shiite Usable Past, Beirut, 1982-83 ........................ 60 Shattered Image: Lebanon a Vietnam of the Middle East? ....................................... 66 1. U.S. Embassy Attacked...................................................................... 66 2. U.S. Marines under Fire ..................................................................... 69 3. Lebanon: a Violent Place and a Failed State ..................................... 71 CHAPTER IV. RISE FROM THE ASHES .......................................................................... 76 Beirut, Lebanon, 1999................................................................................................ 76 Rafic Al Hariri and his Usable Past for Lebanon, 1982-2002 ................................... 77 Don’t Mention the War .............................................................................................. 83 Syria’s Usable Past for Lebanon and the Taif Accord, 1989-1991 ........................... 88 Lahoud v. Hariri, Lebanon, 1992-2004 ..................................................................... 93 CHAPTER V. DEATH OF ANOTHER “KING”: A NEW USABLE PAST FOR LEBANON .......................................................................... 97 Beirut, February 14, 2005, 12:55 pm ......................................................................... 97 Lebanon Represented by a New Usable Past ............................................................. 98 1. The Lebanese People: the 1970s War Years ...................................... 99 2. The Lebanese Press and Politicians: the 1970s War Years ............... 100 3. The American Press and Politicians: the 1980s War Years ............... 102 4. Lebanese Expatriates in the Lebanese and American Press: The War Years ................................................................................... 105 viii Effect of Lebanon’s New Usable Past: Tourism and Business in Lebanon .............. 106 Lebanon’s Civil War as Usable Past: Representing Lebanon as a Failed State ........ 107 1. U.S. Policy and Perception: Lebanon as a Failed State ..................... 108 2. The American Press: Lebanon as a Failed State ................................ 110 3. The Lebanese Press, People, and Politicians: Lebanon as a Failed State .............................................................................. 111 Lebanon’s Civil War as Usable Past: an Enduring History and Representation ....... 114 1. The Lebanese Politicians, Press, and People: Outlook on Lebanon .. 114 2. The American Press and Politicians: Outlook on Lebanon ............... 116 Lebanon’s Usable Pasts ............................................................................................
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