Former Lebanese Minister and Syria-Ally Wiam Wahhab: Opposition Forces in Lebanon Debate Whether to Take Over the Rule in July or Wait until September. Victory Is in the Opposition's Pocket.

Following are excerpts from an interview with former Lebanese minister Wiam Wahhab, which aired on Syrian TV on July 2, 2007.

Wiam Wahhab: There are no two Lebanons, and there will never be two Lebanons. If things are moving towards a division [of Lebanon], I think the opposition will conclude the battle - even if by force - in order to prevent this division. This is unequivocal. A division of Lebanon is where we draw the line. Whoever plays this game of division will pay the price. This is final, as far as the opposition is concerned. If any group attempts to divide Lebanon, it will pay the price...

Interviewer: So there will be only one Lebanon?

Wiam Wahhab: Definitely. This is final.

Interviewer: At the expense of those groups?

Wiam Wahhab: Definitely. One agenda will prevail, and the other will be defeated. The Americans still have a few months in which they are capable of exerting pressure, and caable of using this person they are using - Fuad Siniora... This man... I would like to understand... Does someone who turns to [the Americans] care about Lebanon more than Michel Aoun, Hassan Nasrallah, and the opposition leaders? Wasn't he talking to the opposition leaders six or seven months ago? In my opinion, if we talk about Siniora becoming prime minister again, we are betraying ourselves. Fuad Siniora was interviewed by an Israeli newspaper, and he should be held accountable for this and stand trial. I don't understand how some people still talk about Fuad Siniora as prime minister.

[...]

The game is greater than Lebanon. It is not a Lebanese game. Lebanon is part of a greater game. It is this greater game that determines the timing.

Interviewer: I would like a precise answer. Will the zero hour be determined by the Lebanese...

Wiam Wahhab: The opposition. The opposition will determine the zero hour. Victory is in the opposition's pocket. The only thing that opposition leaders are debating is whether victory will be accomplished within weeks or within months. This is what the debate is about.

Interviewer: What will determine the timing?

Wiam Wahhab: The debate is still ongoing. Some say we should defeat this gang within the month of July, while others say we should leave things until September.

Interviewer: Sa'd Al-Hariri wants to smuggle out his choir of wailers and supporters of internationalization to the UAE, Egypt, or Paris...

Wiam Wahhab: Sa'd Al-Hariri is not worth being asked about. He is not worth wasting five minutes...

Interviewer: But he is a significant "jewel" in this agenda...

Wiam Wahhab: Sa'd Hariri is just a tool. He's the one who pays the money. He gets a message from the Americans, or from their ally in the region (Saudi Arabia)... There is another party in the region, besides the American, that plays dirty. There is an Arab party that also plays dirty. This party is the American partner, which finances Sa'd Al-Hariri. This party tells him: Pay here, do this, go there. Sa'd Al-Hariri is worthless in this game. He does not exist in this game. The main collaborator is Siniora. Siniora is the one working hard. The one who for 15 months has been busy destroying the country, getting us deep into debt, and mortgaging Lebanon to the World Bank and the Americans, is Fuad Siniora. He was the card hidden up the American sleeve, and they played this card after they killed Rafiq Al-Hariri. the film is clear now. The Americans killed Rafiq Al-Hariri. It is clear.