The General in His Labyrinth

The General in His Labyrinth (original Spanish title: El general en su laberinto) is a novel by the Colombian writer and Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It is a fictionalized account of the last days of Simon Bolivar , liberator and leader of Gran Colombia. Our actual story, has a different trail than Columbia’s and leads to present day Lebanon, where the country has a former General taking it, once more, into a narrow, dangerous path.

This story started with the obsessive ambition of a young Lebanese army officer whose longing for power at any cost (literally) tells a tale of expediency, moral turpitude and opportunistic moves that often (if not always), end up in disasters. After scaling up the national army’s middle ranks, he was spotted by the leader of the Christian militias during the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), the late Bashir Gemayel. The Christian militias fought the PLO and later Syrian troops, with the help of some regular army officers including, Aoun. After the election of Bashir Gemayel as Lebanon’s president, and his assassination in 1982 by Syrian agents, Aoun moved closer to Bashir’s brother, Amine, who was elected as his successor. Towards the end of Amine’s mandate, which ended in a cul-de-sac when Syria tightened the screws on his presidency, the outgoing president nominated Michel Aoun, as interim Prime Minister, for lack of a better choice. He was by then the commander of the national army. From that moment onward, it has been one Quixotic quest after another, with several descents into the abyss.

Once interim Prime Minister, the General waged war on the Syrian regime, purporting to expel its troops from all of Lebanon’s territory, whilst Aoun himself exerted authority on only 25% of the national soil. In such rightful but asymmetrical war, he forged a brief alliance with Iraq’s dictator, Saddam Hussein, who vowed mortal enmity to Assad’s Syria. When such war proved unwinnable, he turned against the Christian militias, at that time led by Samir Geagea. Aoun’s goal, as usual, was to remain the sole leader of the territorial redux under his dominion. That war also proved to be bloody, costly and futile pitting brother against brother and destroying the last enclave the Christians had under their control. The Christian areas were literally devastated, their infrastructure in ruins and a population in despair. In the meantime, the world was tired of Lebanon’s internecine wars and of Aoun’s follies. In 1989, under the auspices of the U.S. and Saudi, Lebanon’s parliamentarians met at the resort town of Taef to amend the national constitution. The postwar power-sharing arrangement allocated power more evenly among Christians and Muslims and saw the office of the presidency clipped of most of its executive powers. The General took issue with such compromise and viewed it as an affront to Lebanon’s sovereignty; he argued that the proposed agreement lacked a timetable for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. In doing so, he sided against the Maronite Church, the Christian militia, Lebanon’s majority Muslims, and the Arab world, but especially Saudi Arabia.

What ensued was a swift military intervention by Syria, with tacit U.S. consent, that physically ousted the General from his dark labyrinth at the presidential palace and sent him into exile in France for more than a decade. During his years in exile the General honed his diatribe against Syria’s regime and its dictator (Assad père), as well as, against Hezbollah, Iran’s army in Lebanon. He even testified before the U.S. Congress riling against Syria’s excesses and the armed militia of Hezbollah.

Fast forward to 2005, Syrian troops were ousted from Lebanon after the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Syria’s hasty and unglorified exit from Lebanon came under the pressure of popular riots and threats from President G. W. Bush, emboldened by Iraq’s invasion only few months before. One would have assumed for Aoun to return home ...

The General in His Labyrinth (original Spanish title: El general en su laberinto) is a novel by the Colombian writer and Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It is a fictionalized account of the last days of Simon Bolivar , liberator and leader of Gran Colombia. Our actual story, has a different trail than Columbia’s and leads to present day Lebanon, where the country has a former General taking it, once more, into a narrow, dangerous path.

This story started with the obsessive ambition of a young Lebanese army officer whose longing for power at any cost (literally) tells a tale of expediency, moral turpitude and opportunistic moves that often (if not always), end up in disasters. After scaling up the national army’s middle ranks, he was spotted by the leader of the Christian militias during the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), the late Bashir Gemayel. The Christian militias fought the PLO and later Syrian troops, with the help of some regular army officers including, Aoun. After the election of Bashir Gemayel as Lebanon’s president, and his assassination in 1982 by Syrian agents, Aoun moved closer to Bashir’s brother, Amine, who was elected as his successor. Towards the end of Amine’s mandate, which ended in a cul-de-sac when Syria tightened the screws on his presidency, the outgoing president nominated Michel Aoun, as interim Prime Minister, for lack of a better choice. He was by then the commander of the national army. From that moment onward, it has been one Quixotic quest after another, with several descents into the abyss.

Once interim Prime Minister, the General waged war on the Syrian regime, purporting to expel its troops from all of Lebanon’s territory, whilst Aoun himself exerted authority on only 25% of the national soil. In such rightful but asymmetrical war, he forged a brief alliance with Iraq’s dictator, Saddam Hussein, who vowed mortal enmity to Assad’s Syria. When such war proved unwinnable, he turned against the Christian militias, at that time led by Samir Geagea. Aoun’s goal, as usual, was to remain the sole leader of the territorial redux under his dominion. That war also proved to be bloody, costly and futile pitting brother against brother and destroying the last enclave the Christians had under their control. The Christian areas were literally devastated, their infrastructure in ruins and a population in despair. In the meantime, the world was tired of Lebanon’s internecine wars and of Aoun’s follies. In 1989, under the auspices of the U.S. and Saudi, Lebanon’s parliamentarians met at the resort town of Taef to amend the national constitution. The postwar power-sharing arrangement allocated power more evenly among Christians and Muslims and saw the office of the presidency clipped of most of its executive powers. The General took issue with such compromise and viewed it as an affront to Lebanon’s sovereignty; he argued that the proposed agreement lacked a timetable for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. In doing so, he sided against the Maronite Church, the Christian militia, Lebanon’s majority Muslims, and the Arab world, but especially Saudi Arabia.

What ensued was a swift military intervention by Syria, with tacit U.S. consent, that physically ousted the General from his dark labyrinth at the presidential palace and sent him into exile in France for more than a decade. During his years in exile the General honed his diatribe against Syria’s regime and its dictator (Assad père), as well as, against Hezbollah, Iran’s army in Lebanon. He even testified before the U.S. Congress riling against Syria’s excesses and the armed militia of Hezbollah.

Fast forward to 2005, Syrian troops were ousted from Lebanon after the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Syria’s hasty and unglorified exit from Lebanon came under the pressure of popular riots and threats from President G. W. Bush, emboldened by Iraq’s invasion only few months before. One would have assumed for Aoun to return home and join the political factions who fought long and hard to eradicate Syria’s presence from Lebanon. Well, not exactly. The General, struck a deal with the very same Hezbollah whom he lobbied against for a decade. His motivation was to counter the independence movement, which he judged too naïve, non-cohesive, and made up of politicians who did not sufficiently kowtow before him. The cause of independence was not enough for the General, only power would satisfy him, and more of it.

This unholy alliance might seem erratic or even amoral to some who have followed the General’s career. However, on closer inspection, his behavior was the epitome of normalcy. A common thread could be found in all of the General’s adventures: his unsatisfied appetite for governing Lebanon, at any cost, and for being recognized as the country’s liberator, above all others. Syria and Iran having sensed his genetically skewed behavior towards power offered him just that, and he gladly (not blindly) obliged.

In 2016, and after two years of vacancy in the presidential office imposed by Iran and its local proxies, Lebanon’s political class was coerced (which did not take too much convincing, one must admit) in electing Aoun (finally) as Lebanon’s president. That act of folly by the political class (a change from the act of follies that are usually the monopoly of the General) led to a country occupied in all but words by Iran. Iran’s proxy wars in the Arab world (from Yemen to Bahrain and from Syria to Iraq) have caused regional instability at an unprecedented level. Way before and ever since the election of Aoun, Iran has driven Lebanon’s historic relations with its Arab neighbors to the brinks. The General saw no evil in Iran’s doing, no harm to Lebanon’s and its economy, and no contention from the rest of the Arab world.

Finally, came November 4, 2017, when Saudi Arabia pressured the Prime Minister of Lebanon Saad Hariri, a dual Lebanese and Saudi national, to resign from office. Since the resignation was admittedly staged in haste, poor taste and from Riyadh –rather than in Beirut- the General considered it an affront to national sovereignty. He explicitly accused Saudi Arabia of holding Hariri, a lifelong Saudi ally, against his will, and declared such to be an act of abject violence against Lebanon.

The General is back in his dark labyrinth at the same presidential palace. He once again is bellicose towards the Arab world and especially Saudi Arabia. He also is at odds with the Maronite Church whose Patriarch just completed a historical visit to the land of Mecca. The U.S. and Europe are –again- tired of the General’s follies and more so, of Iran’s ballistic program and regional adventures.

“I go to seek a great perhaps” says the fictional character of Gabriel García Márquez. Back to our actual character. We all know how the story will end.