{"id":4827,"date":"2009-12-19T22:50:47","date_gmt":"2009-12-19T22:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?p=4827"},"modified":"2009-12-20T16:54:16","modified_gmt":"2009-12-20T16:54:16","slug":"hariri-goes-to-damascus-us-gives-more-and-better-arms-to-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/hariri-goes-to-damascus-us-gives-more-and-better-arms-to-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"Hariri Goes to Damascus; US Gives More and Better Arms to Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>See <a href=\"http:\/\/friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com\/2009\/12\/hariri-in-damascus.html\">Friday Lunch Club on Saad Hariri&#8217;s visit to Damascus<\/a>&#8230;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p>&#8220;&#8230; The visit by Hariri was &#8220;very difficult on the personal level&#8221; and involves &#8220;great sacrifice,&#8221; said Hariri loyalist and former lawmaker Mustafa Alloush. &#8220;But as prime minister of Lebanon, it is quite normal to have such a visit. &#8230; It is necessary and there is a need to settle all aspects of the relationship,&#8221; Alloush told <a href=\"http:\/\/www.google.com\/hostednews\/ap\/article\/ALeqM5gtDG0edEiJ7isMVg7nBmK2lv-uEwD9CMJ2AG0\">The Associated Press<\/a>. He said the visit did not mean Lebanon had dropped its belief that Syria was responsible for the killing of Rafik Hariri, who also served as prime minister. &#8220;But this matter is up to the international tribunal now; it is no longer a personal issue,&#8221; Alloush said.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.google.com\/hostednews\/ap\/media\/ALeqM5jtoG2soZIhCt6kDLKf-IK8XP3Edg?size=l\" alt=\"\" width=\"417\" height=\"512\" \/><\/p>\n<p>See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.yalibnan.com\/2009\/12\/19\/hariris-visit-to-damascus-in-pictures\/\">more photos of the visit at YaLubnan<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/all4syria.info\/content\/view\/18556\/96\/\">Abu Wael &#8211; Muhammad Nasiif <\/a>&#8211; oversees the Lebanon portfolio<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: right;\">?? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ????????? ???????? ??????????? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ??????? ???????? ???? ?????? ? ??? ???????? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ? ???? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??? ? ????? ???? ?????? ????????? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ????????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? (??? ????) ???? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ??????.<\/h4>\n<p>The Enduring Iran-Syria-Hezbollah Axis<br \/>\nMichael Rubin\u00a0 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t| <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aei.org\/outlooksBinder?page=1&amp;bid=100013\" target=\"_blank\">AEI Online<\/a> December 2009)<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.forward.com\/workspace\/assets\/images\/articles\/soldiers-121709.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"381\" \/><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div class=\"aAbstract\"><span class=\"abstractDetail\">The Obama administration would like to move Syria into the camp of more moderate Arab states, but there is scant evidence that Syria is willing to give up its support for terrorist organizations. Like Iran, it remains a destabilizing and dangerous force in the region.<\/p>\n<p>Key points in this Outlook:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Lebanese and Israeli border is calmer today than during the 2006 war, but the potential for regional conflict is great.<\/li>\n<li>Both the Syrian and Iranian governments have used Hezbollah to conduct proxy warfare against Israel.<\/li>\n<li>The Obama administration has tried to move Syria from a rejectionist state into the more moderate Arab camp, but there is no evidence that the engagement policy has worked.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p>Successful U.S. and Israeli interdiction efforts of Iranian arms at high sea, while embarrassing to Iran, have made Syria&#8217;s role as a route for weapons delivery more important. The last decade has witnessed several high-profile interceptions of weapons:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>On January 29, 2001, the Israeli Navy seized two containers of weapons, reportedly offloaded in watertight containers by the <em>Calypso<\/em>, a Lebanese arms-smuggling ship.<\/li>\n<li>On May 7, 2001, the Israeli Navy seized the <em>Santorini<\/em> while it was on its fourth arms-smuggling mission. This ship carried 107mm rockets, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, antiaircraft missiles, and antitank weaponry.<\/li>\n<li>On January 3, 2002, the Israeli Navy intercepted the <em>Karine-A<\/em>, a Gaza-bound freighter, while it was on the Red Sea. Onboard, naval commandos found fifty tons of sophisticated Iranian weaponry.[33]<\/li>\n<li>On May 20, 2003, the Israeli Navy intercepted the <em>Abu Hassan<\/em>, a fishing vessel carrying weapons, explosives, and detonators.[34]<\/li>\n<li>On January 19-20, 2009, the U.S. Navy intercepted the <em>Monchegorsk<\/em>, an Iranian freighter carrying military supplies to Syria in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559.[35]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>|\u00a0 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"U.S.-Israeli Arms Cooperation Quietly Growing By Nathan Guttman Published December 16, 2009, issue of December 25, 2009. Washington \u2014 Leaders in Washington and Jerusalem have publicly locked horns over the issue of West Bank settlements. And Israeli public opinion has largely viewed America\u2019s new administration as unfriendly. But behind the scenes, strategic security relations between the two countries are flourishing. GETTY IMAGES Joint Exercise: Israeli soldiers train near the coastal city of Ashdod in October, part of the largest missile defense dry run ever held. Some 1,400 American soldiers were also involved.  Israeli officials have been singing the praises of President Obama for his willingness to address their defense concerns and for actions taken by his administration to bolster Israel\u2019s qualitative military edge \u2014 an edge eroded, according to Israel, during the final year of the George W. Bush presidency.  Among the new initiatives taken by the administration, the Forward has learned, are adjustments in a massive arms deal the Bush administration made with Arab Gulf states in response to Israeli concerns. There have also been upgrades in U.S.-Israeli military cooperation on missile defense. And a deal is expected next year that will see one of the United States\u2019 most advanced fighter jets go to Israel with some of America\u2019s most sensitive new technology.  Amid the cacophony of U.S.-Israel clashes on the diplomatic front, public attention given to this intensified strategic cooperation has been scant. But in a rare public comment in October, Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren praised the Obama administration\u2019s response to complaints about lost ground during the close of the Bush years as \u201cwarm and immediate.\u201d  \u201cWe came to the Obama administration and said, \u2018Listen, we have a problem here,\u2019\u201d Oren, told a gathering of the National Jewish Democratic Council. \u201cThe administration\u2019s reaction was immediate: we are going to address this issue, we are going to make sure that we maintain your QME [qualitative military edge].\u201d\">U.S.-Israeli Arms Cooperation Quietly Growing<\/a><br \/>\nBy Nathan Guttman<br \/>\nDecember 16, 2009, issue of December 25, 2009.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span class=\"dateline\">Washington \u2014 <\/span>Leaders in Washington and Jerusalem\u00a0 have publicly locked horns over the issue of West Bank settlements. And Israeli public opinion has largely viewed America\u2019s new administration as unfriendly. But behind the scenes, strategic security relations between the two countries are flourishing.<br \/>\nIsraeli soldiers train near the coastal city of Ashdod in October, part of the largest missile defense dry run ever held. Some 1,400 American soldiers were also involved.<br \/>\nIsraeli officials have been singing the praises of President Obama for his willingness to address their defense concerns and for actions taken by his administration to bolster Israel\u2019s qualitative military edge \u2014 an edge eroded, according to Israel, during the final year of the George W. Bush presidency.<\/p>\n<p>Among the new initiatives taken by the administration, the Forward has learned, are adjustments in a massive arms deal the Bush administration made with Arab Gulf states in response to Israeli concerns. There have also been upgrades in U.S.-Israeli military cooperation on missile defense. And a deal is expected next year that will see one of the United States\u2019 most advanced fighter jets go to Israel with some of America\u2019s most sensitive new technology.<\/p>\n<p>Amid the cacophony of U.S.-Israel clashes on the diplomatic front, public attention given to this intensified strategic cooperation has been scant. But in a rare public comment in October, Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren praised the Obama administration\u2019s response to complaints about lost ground during the close of the Bush years as \u201cwarm and immediate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe came to the Obama administration and said, \u2018Listen, we have a problem here,\u2019\u201d Oren, told a gathering of the National Jewish Democratic Council. \u201cThe administration\u2019s reaction was immediate: we are going to address this issue, we are going to make sure that we maintain your QME [qualitative military edge].\u201d&#8230;..<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/hasen\/spages\/1135787.html\">Israel: EU official&#8217;s &#8216;occupation&#8217; remark casts pall on ties<\/a><br \/>\nBy Akiva Eldar, Haaretz Correspondent, 18\/12\/2009<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Government officials in Jerusalem harshly criticized the new European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, for her scathing remarks about the &#8220;Israeli occupation&#8221; in her maiden speech.<\/p>\n<p>Ashton on Tuesday leveled scathing criticism at Israeli policy in her first speech as the European Union&#8217;s first high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.<\/p>\n<p>The government officials in Jerusalem said they were surprised, dissatisfied and concerned that such a senior figure had expressed criticism before visiting Israel and learning the facts.<\/p>\n<p>They said the remarks cast a pall over relations with the European Union, and that they were particularly angry that she had not welcomed the settlement construction freeze, as had her European colleagues.<\/p>\n<p>The British stateswoman, who has also served as the Commissioner for Trade in the European Commission, said that in the EU&#8217;s view, &#8220;East Jerusalem is occupied territory, together with the West Bank.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ashton demanded that Israel immediately lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip, and reiterated that the union opposes the existence of the West Bank separation fence, as it opposes evictions of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p>The stateswoman, whose full title is Baroness Ashton of Upholland, also only defined Israel&#8217;s partial freeze of West Bank settlement construction as a &#8220;first step,&#8221; as opposed to the warmer description of the move by EU foreign ministers, who last week took &#8220;positive note&#8221; of it.<\/p>\n<p>In her address to MEPs in Strasbourg, Ashton, who was only recently appointed to the new position, said she had spoken with Israelis, Palestinians and the U.S. Secretary of State about the role the Quartet of international mediators, and that of its special envoy to the region, Tony Blair.<\/p>\n<p>Ashton said she had told Blair personally that, &#8220;The Quartet [a special group set up by the U.S., EU, UN and Russia] must demonstrate that it is worth the money, that it is capable of being reinvigorated.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Following her comments, a number of MEPs from the Liberal side of the house called for punitive measures against Israel, including the suspension of the EU&#8217;s Association Agreement. Irish centre-left member Proinsias De Rossa, who visited the West Bank last week, called Israel&#8217;s treatment of Palestinians a form of &#8220;apartheid.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This time it was neither the &#8220;infamous&#8221; Swedish president who pulled the EU toward an anti-Israel resolution, nor a &#8220;daydreaming judge&#8221; in Britain who issued an arrest warrant against an Israeli foreign minister. Criticism of Israel has become the language of choice in European discourse.<\/p>\n<p>When the Israeli government offers new benefits to settlers, and peace talks with the Palestinians are deadlocked, even the superpower&#8217;s long arm is helpless. Even former U.S. ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, a devout Jew who serves as an external advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama, does not hide his chagrin with the settlements policy.<\/p>\n<p>Indyk has recently told Haaretz in an interview that statements by figures like Minister without Portfolio Benny Begin, according to which settlement construction will continue despite the moratorium, are damaging to Israel&#8217;s interests. He said these comments, as well as the decision to pump funds into isolated settlements, strengthen the impression that the declaration of the freeze is not worth the paper it is written on. He warned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will pay a political price for the move, without gaining the benefits which it was intended to grant Israel in the international arena.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.cdn.turner.com\/cnn\/2009\/WORLD\/meast\/12\/15\/middle.east.wine\/story.bargylus.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Domaine Bargylus is Syria&#39;s first private vineyard and is producing high-quality wine with European techniques.<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2009\/WORLD\/meast\/12\/15\/middle.east.wine\/\">&#8216;Very old world&#8217; wine makes a comeback in Lebanon and Syria<\/a><br \/>\nBy Olivia Sterns, for CNN, December 18, 2009<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Domaine Bargylus is Syria&#8217;s first private vineyard and is producing high-quality wine with European techniques.<\/p>\n<p>London, England (CNN) &#8212; The fertile plains of Lebanon and Syria have been producing wine for thousands of years. Only recently, though, has the tradition come back in vogue.<\/p>\n<p>Today, a new crop of boutique vineyards is sprouting up and older vineyards are earning increasing critical acclaim. Meanwhile, both local and international demand for their wine is steadily growing.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;. in Syria, the first private vineyard has just been opened by the Saade brothers, who already operate a successful estate in Lebanon &#8212; Chateau Marsyas&#8230;..<\/p>\n<p>Enough of blaming the Goldstone Report!<br \/>\nBy Rami G. Khouri<br \/>\nDaily Star staff<br \/>\nWednesday, December 16, 2009<\/p>\n<p>A brief news item in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) a few days ago made depressing reading. It was entitled: \u201cState Department blames Goldstone for stalled peace talks.\u201d\u00a0\u201cWow!\u201d I thought to myself, has it really come down to this? The United States and Israel, who do not hesitate to toot their horn about their democratic credentials, now blame the stalled Arab-Israeli peace process on Judge Richard Goldstone, the main author of a report on potential war crimes during the Gaza war that was issued last September by the United Nations Human Rights Council inquiry commission?<br \/>\nIt is hard to think of a more distorted and backward brand of political morality than this American-Israeli view of the Goldstone report, which most of the world sees as a historic breakthrough in the elusive quest to apply international norms of accountability to avoid the savagery that has come to define Arab-Israeli warfare.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.upi.com\/Top_News\/Special\/2009\/12\/18\/Syrian-president-meets-Iraqi-SIIC-leader\/UPI-34841261162540\/\">Syrian president meets Iraqi SIIC leader<\/a><br \/>\nDec. 18, 2009<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>DAMASCUS, Syria, Dec. 18 (UPI) &#8212; Security and political progress in Iraq are included in the foreign policy interests of the government in Damascus, the Syrian president told Iraqi leaders.<\/p>\n<p>Syrian President Bashar Assad met with Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council in Damascus, the official Syrian Arab News Agency reports.<\/p>\n<p>Assad during his meetings with the Shiite leader relayed his support for political stability and national security in Iraq.<\/p>\n<p>Syrian relations with Iraq were strained following a deadly August attack in Baghdad. Iraqi leaders lashed out at Damascus<br \/>\n, saying supporters of the Iraqi Baath Party played a role in the attacks from their bases in Syria.<\/p>\n<p>Damascus denied the link, and the Iraqi branch of al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the August bombings and a string of similar attacks.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. military officials, however, said several members of the former Iraqi regime could be in Syria, including former Iraqi commander Izzat al-Douri, who took over as head of the Iraqi Baath Party following the 2006 execution of Saddam Hussein.<\/p>\n<p>The SANA report noted Hakim expressed his appreciation for Syria&#8217;s support for Iraq as it emerges from years of war.<\/p>\n<p>Ammar al-Hakim emerged as the SIIC chief following the death of his father and former leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim in August.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.onenewsnow.com\/Politics\/Default.aspx?id=814912\">Israeli referendum constricts gov&#8217;t, ends Oslo agreement<\/a><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<div>A pro-Jewish movement within Israel&#8217;s Likud Party says a referendum bill making its way through the Knesset would effectively end the Oslo accords and prevent the Israeli government from giving away important territory to the Arabs in any so-called &#8220;peace agreement.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>As previously reported, Israel&#8217;s Parliament recently gave preliminary approval by a 68 to 22 vote on a piece of legislation that would require a national referendum on any peace deal that cedes land in Jerusalem or the Golan Heights. If it passes two more readings, the law could constrain the ability of any future Israeli government to turn covenant land over as part of a peace deal as the Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, while Syria has demanded the return of the Golan Heights as part of any peace agreement with Israel.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.syria-news.com\/readnews.php?sy_seq=106210\">Hillary Clinton sends condolences message to Asad:<\/a><\/div>\n<div>.<\/div>\n<div><strong>At PLO meeting, leaders will extend Abbas&#8217;s presidency indefinitely<\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong>.<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/div>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.earthtimes.org\/articles\/show\/299821,amin-al-hafez-former-syrian-president-dies-at-88.html\">Amin Al-Hafez, Former Syrian President, Dies at 88<\/a><br \/>\n2009-12-17 13:26:08.421 GMT<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Damascus (dpa) &#8212; Former Syrian president Amin al-Hafez died Thursday at 88 in the Syrian city of Aleppo, his wife Zainab confirmed. Al-Hafez passed away in the military hospital in Aleppo, where he lived since he came back to Syria in 2003, after living in exile for almost 36 years. Al-Hafez became president when he led a 1963 military coup and installed a Baathist cabinet. He was overthrown three years later in another coup, and left for Lebanon, where he lived for two years before settling in Iraq. The funeral will be held in Aleppo, his hometown, on Friday.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<div id=\"_mcePaste\" style=\"overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 1246px; width: 1px; height: 1px;\">&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&#8221;http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/features\/image\/la-ig-diary13-2009dec13,0,2328239.story&#8221;&gt;&lt;img class=&#8221;alignleft&#8221; src=&#8221;http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/media\/thumbnails\/storylink\/2009-12\/51091297-15090310.jpg&#8221; alt=&#8221;&#8221; width=&#8221;187&#8243; height=&#8221;105&#8243; \/&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/div&gt;<br \/>\n&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&#8221;http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/features\/image\/la-ig-diary13-2009dec13,0,2328239.story&#8221;&gt;Queen Rania champions Palestinian designer Rami Kashouat&lt;\/a&gt;: &#8220;Rania&#8217;s style is elegantly conservative. She can wear something open, but she can&#8217;t wear something strapless. And she loves my draping &#8212; the thing they beat me up for on &#8216;Project Runway&#8217; takes me to the queen of Jordan!&#8221;&lt;\/div&gt;<br \/>\n&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style=&#8221;font-size: x-small;&#8221;&gt;&lt;span style=&#8221;font-size: 10pt;&#8221;&gt;Who started the recent rapprochement between the two countries? &#8230;. Who extended their hand of friendship first?<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/features\/image\/la-ig-diary13-2009dec13,0,2328239.story\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/media\/thumbnails\/storylink\/2009-12\/51091297-15090310.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"187\" height=\"105\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/features\/image\/la-ig-diary13-2009dec13,0,2328239.story\">Queen Rania champions Palestinian designer Rami Kashouat<\/a>: &#8220;Rania&#8217;s style is elegantly conservative. She can wear something open, but she can&#8217;t wear something strapless. And she loves my draping &#8212; the thing they beat me up for on &#8216;Project Runway&#8217; takes me to the queen of Jordan!&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>On the recent Israeli Legislation Requiring a Referendum before Occupied land can be returned to Palestinians or Syrians<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Rob Muchnick, U.S. spokesman for Manhigut Yehudit, the Jewish Leadership Movement, believes that this is a great piece of legislation &#8220;that will kill any chances of a deal with any Arabs who Barack Obama says are moderate [and] who the Israel government says [are] moderate, even though we know they&#8217;re just terrorist thugs wearing suits. So if it destroys that chance, then no matter how much Obama screams or how much the Israeli left wants to give it away, it pretty much would wipe out the Oslo agreement and get us back on the right course. And that&#8217;s what&#8217;s so great about it,&#8221; he contends.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>See Friday Lunch Club on Saad Hariri&#8217;s visit to Damascus&#8230; &#8220;&#8230; The visit by Hariri was &#8220;very difficult on the personal level&#8221; and involves &#8220;great sacrifice,&#8221; said Hariri loyalist and former lawmaker Mustafa Alloush. &#8220;But as prime minister of Lebanon, it is quite normal to have such a visit. &#8230; It is necessary and there [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16,15,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hariri","category-israel","category-lebanon"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Hariri Goes to Damascus; 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