By Sami Moubayed

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri seemed to be having a relaxed conversation this week at the White House with his US host, President Barack Obama. The two men, only nine years apart in age, both came to power in 2009, in very different circumstances yet nevertheless happened to find plenty in common.

Sources from Hariri’s delegation said there was immediate chemistry between the two men, who had a candid one-on-one before going into expanded session with the full Lebanese delegation. One notable member of the Hariri team was Foreign Minister Ali al-Shami, an ally of the Hezbollah-led opposition that commands 11 out of 30 seats in the prime Minister’s cabinet, which is frowned upon by the US for its ties to Iran.

There were several topics raised at the Washington summit, mainly Israel’s accusation that Syria is transferring Scud missiles to Lebanon, which both Beirut and Damascus strongly deny, and Lebanon’s vote at the Security Council, where it holds a rotating seat, vis-a-vis upcoming sanctions on Iran. Clearly had there been any merit to the Scud issue, it would have been seriously raised by the US president, who would have asked Hariri to do something serious about it.

For his part, Hariri came with his own agenda, telling the US president loud and clear that his country did not want, and could not afford, any war with Israel, which many analysts are predicting will happen this summer, based on repeated threats by the Israeligovernment. Hariri repeated a claim made over the past month that no Scuds have been brought to south Lebanon from Syria, but stopped short of criticizing the US for raising these concerns, given that he had earlier drawn a parallel between alleged Scuds and the WMDs the US claimed were in the possession of Saddam Hussein.

The young Lebanese premier landed in Washington searching for an international umbrella to protect his country from a new war, after having made a similar visit to Syria in mid-May, and reportedly was met with understanding from President Obama. According to the London-based al-Hayat newspaper, Obama did not push Hariri into any uncomfortable waters, applying no pressure for a vote at the Security Council, although making it clear that the US was committed to a new, fourth set of sanctions on Tehran.

In addition to his meeting with Obama, Hariri spoke with Vice-President Joseph Biden and Jeffrey Feltman, the former US ambassador to Lebanon who now serves as assistant secretary ofstate for near east affairs. He visited the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and addressed the Lebanese community in Washington DC on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the liberation of South Lebanon – a celebrated even in Lebanon that has Hezbollah’s fingerprints all over it.

Before departing to the US, Hariri had signed off a public closure of all state institutions in Lebanon on the 10th anniversary of liberation, stressing that the March 2000 milestone, a nationalholiday since then, was a turning point in the history of the Middle East because it indicated that the resistance to Israel could overcome in the Arab-Israeli Conflict.

While Hariri was meeting with US officials, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman appeared on Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV, praising the Lebanese resistance and calling on all Lebanese to embrace and protect the arms of Hezbollah. Meanwhile, politicians in Lebanon of all stripes and colors paid homage to Hezbollah, while its secretary-general, Hasan Nasrallah, delivered a public address, threatening to strike deep into Israel if that country thought of waging a new war on Lebanon. He was effectively echoing words made last February, in which he promised to strike at Israel’sairports, cities and infrastructure if Lebanon was hit.

Everybody seemed to welcome Hariri’s breakthrough in Washington. Coinciding with his visit was an interview by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with the Italian daily La Republica, in which he said Obama had good intentions towards the Middle East, which nevertheless, were obstructed by a troublesomecongress and Zionist lobby in the US.

The images coming out of Lebanon seem to be contradictory to distant observers of the small Mediterranean country. Here was a pro-Western prime minister, with excellent ties to France, the US, and the entire Eurpean Union, being hosted as a guest of honor at the White House, despite his strong alliance with Hezbollah. Here was the president of Lebanon cuddling up to Hezbollah on its cherished “Liberation Day”.

The truth is that Lebanon is all of the above, both pro-West and pro-Hezbollah, all at once. Saad al-Hariri is fast evolving into another Rafiq al-Hariri, his assassinated father: Saad is smartly walking all the tightropes of the Middle East, eager not to cross either the Syrians or the Saudis, the French or the Americans.

Had Obama acted differently during the Lebanese prime minister’s Washington visit, then Hariri would have found himself in very difficult waters. He simply cannot vote for new sanctions against Iran, since this would drown his relationship with the Syrians, the Iranians, and the Turks, killing whatever understanding currently prevails with Hezbollah.

As for seeking an international umbrella to shelter Lebanon from a summer war, Hariri was also in search of a life jacket. He realizes that his country is not ready for war, having barely recovered from the one of 2006, and that war would bring down his cabinet and put him at odds with the international community. The Hariri cabinet, after all, has two Hezbollah members and was tailor-made to suit Nasrallah’s liking back in December 2009. Hezbollah got all of what it had sought: the Ministry of Telecommunications, veto power, and a cabinet policy statement that promised to “protect and embrace” the arms of Hezbollah. If war erupts on the border, regardless of whether it is started by Hezbollah or provoked by Israel, Hariri cannot but uphold Hezbollah at the expense of his relationship with the US and France.

Perhaps it was simply just the chemistry, as al-Hayat reported, or perhaps it stems from the US president’s desire to distance himself from micro-politics in the Middle East, especially in Lebanon. Or maybe Obama is very pleased at how Lebanon looks and sounds nowadays, thanks to an understanding between Damascus, Tehran, and Riyadh on Beirut politics, and prefers instead to concentrate on issues that are of more direct concern to the US national security, in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, andAfghanistan.

If the Syrians and Saudis are happy with Lebanon and willing to help him on “all of the above”, then Barack Obama has no reason to complain.

Sami Moubayed is editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine in Syria.