There are dark and worrying signals coming from Damascus. This month we have seen trucks stranded at the Syrian border under the pretence of security measures. We have heard of Lebanese nationals being expelled from Syria and there is even talk of Damascus issuing the order for a mass pullout of its workforce in Lebanon. We have been bullied and shut out before, notably in the period just after independence, and in 1973 when the army tried to defend Lebanese sovereignty in the face of intolerable Palestinian guerilla activity. It is clear now that economic punishment is policy. We have come to expect our public servants to be less than dynamic, but the sloth demonstrated in responding to the current crisis gives cause for concern. We need a leader, a genuine statesman, who will say: “Enough! We are a free nation. We can depend on ourselves and nobody or no
