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In October 1998 in an academic journal called Middle East Policy, Associate Professor of Government Guilain Denoeux published a critique of then-Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafiq Hariri's national reconstruction plans. The effects of Denoeux's article, co-written with Robert Springborg, now working for the U.S. State Department, were far-reaching and stirred considerable controversy. Before the brouhaha was over, the Lebanese Embassy in Washington had accused the journal of spoiling Lebanon's bond rating, and widespread support for Hariri among the international aid donor community had largely evaporated. Prime Minister Hariri, one of the wealthiest men in the Middle East, had his finance minister, Fuad Siniora, write an article to rebut Denoeux and Springborg's arguments, but Middle East Policy declined to publish it. Instead the journal published a lengthy letter to the editor that tried to refute the original article, but, according to Denoeux, it contained "no evidence" to counter criticism of the political and economic costs and shortcomings of the Hariri model. Subsequently Hariri was forced to resign what had been considered a secure position, and, said Denoeux, Lebanese politics have been swept by a sea change, "which, to spare you the details, provides ample vindication for our arguments." And, he added, "Siniora is now in trouble with the Lebanese justice system." Finally, to add approbation to advocacy, Denoeux and Springborg learned in November that their article had won the Second Annual Lebanese Paper Award for "the most original, scholarly and fruitful" paper about Lebanon published last year. |
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