Saturday, February 10, 2007

Hariri family squabbles. The letter by Rafiq Hariri's widow, Nazik, is most significant for those who follow Lebanese politics. The language used (affectionate toward Hasan Nasrallah, and very bitter against Israeli aggression) is quite interesting, and reinforces the existence of a rift between Nazik and mini-Hariri and his team. As is well-known, Hariri loyalist, Bahij Tabbarah has not been attending meetings of the Hariri bloc in parliament, and has all but disappeared from public view. As is well-known, Bahij is very close to Nazik (his wife and Nazik are best friends). Hariri rag, which publishes sneezes of Hariri family members with great fanfare and praise, published Nazik's letter without any comment. The language used was carefully crafted to contrast with the language of mini-Hariri and Sanyurah. Stay tuned. As is well-known, Baha' Hariri (who was not permitted by Prince Salman--who runs the Hariri family on behalf of House of Saud--to succeed his father in political leadership) has refused to visit Lebanon.