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Posted on 07/25/2006 10:33:41 AM PDT by Tassadar
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has promised to give $500m to Lebanon to pay for reconstruction.
He also approved $1bn for the Central Bank of Lebanon to support the economy.
The Saudi monarch warned that Israel's military offensives in Lebanon and Gaza could ignite a war in the region.
He is holding talks with Egypt's President, Hosni Mubarak, in the Saudi capital Riyadh ahead of a conference on Lebanon in Rome on Wednesday.
Pressure on the Lebanese pound has risen over the past fortnight during the military action by Israel in response to Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border attack.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
I guess the damage to buildings/infrastructure is significantly more
"military offensives in Lebanon and Gaza could ignite a war in the region."
Get a clue Abdulla, there IS a war in the region...several in fact.
I bet it's a bribe to pressure Hezabaloo to release the soldiers and pull back.
Things are changing in the middle east and, for the most part, its a good thing. Thanks to President Bush and the US troops and taxpayers.
Too much hooka.
what does tobacco have to do with it? =P
(by the way, a "hookah" in Lebanon is called a "narghile," (NAR-GEE-LAY). My roommate brought one back from Lebanon for me last year.
A little rhetoric against Israel, and a very significant offer of fincial support to Lebanon and Palestine.
The rhetoric was relatively weak, and notably less harsh that that used by leaders in most of Europe.
The generous offer of aid appears to be to Labanon (not Hezbollah) and Palestine (not Hamas), however I suspect that the details are left vague on purpose.
Not exactly what I'd like to see Abdulla doing, but he appears to be acting more like an ally than most of Europe, and the money is one of the important pieces needed to stabilize a Lebonese government after Hezbollah is crushed.
Considering the politics and history of the region, this seems like a positive sign to me. I must not be feeling well today. I'm usually much more skeptical about such things.
The House of Saud is sending VERY mixed messages!!! First they complain that Hezbollah has jeopardized all Arab countries in the region, NOW they offer Lebanon $1.5 Bn to clean up the mess caused by Hezbollah!! Think how much both Saudi Arabia AND Lebanon could have saved if they had only bothered to shut down Hezbollah in the first place!!!
Guys, Open your eyes, Lebanon and Israel are paying the price of the Sunni-Shi'a struggle that should have been confined to their respective 'super-powers': KSA and Iran!
It is not the first time KSA uses subterfuge to move the bitter chalice away from their lips. Saddam fought Iran for them for 10 years.
This struggle should have not reached the shores of the Mediterranean Sea in the first place.
The $1BN will be accounted for in the Central Bank. Remains one question, who is going to put the $500 Million in his pocket? and is it going to be used as political money for a sunni resurgence after the Shi'a weakening resulting from current military operations? Would it be possibly used (or part of it) in strengthening the already present sunni network of Madrassas as in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and subsequently give a hatching ground for a new wave of pseudo-Qaeda in a few years?
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