USCFL - Interview with USCFL President Ziad K. Abdelnour

Testimony:	Interview with USCFL President Ziad K. Abdelnour
Date:	April 21, 2003
*Testimony presented before the Washington Correspondent of the NY Sun, Adam Daifallah.*

A: Because they had to resolve a bigger problem, Iraq. It’s a question of priorities. I knew Syria’s turn would come. All the rogue states’ time will come. Iraq was no. 1. I’m sure the guys in the administration have a clear-cut agenda about what to do, step by step. They are executing the plan one by one — the first was Iraq.They have a blueprint.

The Iraqis who have fled have nowhere to go.They can’t go to Iran or Jordan; the only place they can go is Syria. They can’t go to Turkey.We’re talking here about two regimes that are one in the same, Ba’athist.They would feel the most comfortable in Syria. I am sure a big number of them are in Syria; first because they have nowhere to go, second because it is natural, third, the Syrians can use them.They coordinated a lot together over the years, even though they didn’t like each other — especially the intelligence community.

The Syrian regime is Ba’athist, run by a minority, and so was Saddam’s. So they are pretty much one in the same.The Ba’athist regime in Iraq is a carbon copy.The Iraqis emulated the Syrians, but with more harshness. The difference is the brutality. Saddam Hussein was very brutal; the Assad regime was more cunning. But it is the same lethal weapons; one is cunningness and the other is brutal force. If you ask me, ‘Where does the Ba’ath regime come from?’ it’s really the model of the Nazis. They were competing as to who would really run the Arab world. Everyone is saying Syria is the heart of Arabism, but Iraq said they were, if you go back in history. They did not like each other over the years because they were competing, Saddam by building his awesome infrastructure; Syria behind the scenes, by backing terrorist organizations. So, Syrians by proxy and Iraq very much themselves. They’ve competed but been respectful.

Syria’s feeling the pressure. They want to keep Lebanon under their boot. They really want to challenge the United States by having a more pro-Syria government in Lebanon. Some of the names are a joke — if Syria tells them to jump out a window they would.

Syria is the only country on the State Department’s list of terrorsupporting states that that America continues to maintain normal diplomatic relations with. Why?

It’s all a question of timing. When we opposition groups pushed for the Syria Accountability Act, 172 members in the House, 42 in the Senate signed on, but George W. Bush said ‘keep it on the sidelines now,’ not because he didn’t want it, but he was busy with Iraq. Before that it wasn’t the time to rock the boat with Syria, but they didn’t expect this from Assad. Bashar surprised them and because of that, now relations will change. They know this guy is more inexperienced and problematic than we thought.

Very strong pressure from the United States. Not necessarily military, but if military has to happen it would happen in three days. The Syrian army is very outdated — they don’t have equipment. First the U.S has to tell them ‘I’m very unhappy. Get out of Lebanon.’ Say, ‘Get out Lebanon, stop harboring terrorists, close all these terrorist offices, surrender the Iraqis who came in.’ That would do a lot. If you don’t do these things, you’re in trouble. U.N. Resolution 520 calls for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon.

I’m fully behind it. We’ve worked very hard with Engel and these guys. Look, it is very timely right now, and I’m very confident it’s going to pass. This is another thing to use — between using Resolution 520, and pressure to get rid of Iraqi fugitives, these are powerful tools to get change in Syria.

It would be tremendous. It’s a fact that a change of regime in Syria will lead to a change in Lebanon. It would be like a domino effect. No. 1, you have a huge, wealthy Lebanese diaspora who will come back and invest.You have a huge entrepreneurial class in Syria and Lebanon. You have an unbelievable reservoir of talent in the region that has the potential of building major democracies, capitalistic nations over there. But these regimes right now are making these people leave. It’s a huge brain drain and financial drain. Regime changes in these countries would bring back a large number of these people back to invest.

Freedom is the ultimate issue at stake in Lebanon. Without freedom, Lebanon does not exist. The same applies for the country’s business, political, educational and other institutions. I devote so much time to the cause because I am a hardcore Lebanese-American capitalist and freedom-loving nationalist and patriot of both Lebanon and America. I believe in the fundamental values of Constitutional Democracy, which alone are able to bring genuine stability, prosperity, peace and security to Lebanon. I have no other agenda than freeing my homeland and turning Lebanon into a bastion of capitalism and democracy in the Arab Middle East; a beacon of opportunities for the best and brightest capitalists and democratizers in the region.

You spoke of the large, wealthy, Lebanese diaspora. Would you go back if Lebanon were free?

I would be the first one to go back once Lebanon is free; and so will millions of wealthy and powerful Lebanese who hold over $100 billion in assets outside of Lebanon. People, however, will never come back when their financial capital is hostage to the current political situation, no matter how much Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is trying to convince the Lebanese otherwise. People are not dumb.

ROB BENNETT ABDELNOUR ‘All the rogue states’ time will come.’

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