LEBANON - FADLALLAH REVIEWS POLITICAL SITUATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP05-01507R000100060008-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 27, 2012
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: January 20, 1989
• Content Type: MISC

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/01/27: CIA-RDP05-01507R000100060008-1
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J PRS-N EA-89-024
28 March 1989
He also said that the authority is planning to exploit the
natural resources that have not yet been exploited so far,
10 used iinclude
the manufacture of glass and ceramics. which is
Juraysat estimated the quantities of feldspar available in
Jordan at 80 million tons.
With regard to exploitation of the Dead Sea minerals,
juraysat said that an industrial chemical complex was
recently established in the Dead Sea area in which salt
deposits are estimated at 43 billion tons. A national
company has been established which is headed by the
minister of industry and consists of a number of govern-
mcnt ministers and company directors from the Royal
Scientific Society, the Social Insurance Institute, the
Arab Potash Company, and the Jordanian Phosphate
Company. The company is now conducting an economic
feasibility study of the projects to be implemented.
With regard to the exploitation of shale oil in Jordan, the
deposits of which are estimated to be approximately 40
billion tons, the chairman of the Natural Resources
Authority said that studies are being carried out to
launch a pioneering distillation project (a trial station) in
the al-Lajjun area and a power generating station in the
al-Sultanah area.
The authority, he said, is continuing its efforts to exploit
this material through two methods, namely distillation
and the burning of shale rocks for electric power produc-
tion.
It has been noted that oil was discovered in Jordan in the
mid-eighties, but in small quantities, whereas the Ham-
:ah well now produces 500 to 700 barrels per day.
Fadlallah Reviews Political Situation
44040234 Beirut AL- AHD in Arabic 20 Jan 89 p 3
[Interview with is Eminence Ayatollah uhammad
Ilusayn Fadlallah? ate and place not specified]
(Text] His Eminence Ayatollah Muhammad Husayn
Fadlallah affirmed that the backward vilification cam-
paign against him was an expression of the mentality of
than who had launched it. He noted that the campaign
was part of an intelligence game that was being played
ajainst him.
Ayatollah Fadlallah thought that Arab rulers had started
the process of liquidating anti-Israeli, anti-American and
ants-colonial movements in their countries and that they
did so for the sake of their regimes.
He indicated that Muslims were the prime targets of this
ptocas whose purpose was to clear the scene from any
rmtvlsition to American policy in the region.
He said, "We are expecting major events. events. What is
happening now involves changing alliances and confus-
ing the issues. It is turning patriots into traitors and
traitors into patriots of the highest order."
Fadlallah affirmed that Arabs were no longer consider-
ing war with Israel. He said Arabs were dealing with the
Lebanese problem only with an eye to their own interests
and their bilateral and trilateral relations.
His Eminence al-Shaykh Fadlallah made those state-
ments in his weekly interview, a transcript of which
follows.
[AL-'AHD] It has been noticed that recently, you have
been targeted personally by many positions. What do
you have to say about that?
[Fadlallah] What I have to say on that subject, first of all,
is what God Almighty said, "Show forgiveness, speak for
justice, and avoid the ignorant" [al-A'raf: 199]. "...Those
who...say: 'Peace!' to the ignorant who accost them"
[al-Furqan: 63]. Second, ever since this campaign with
its backward methods and its policy of abuse and vilifi-
cation was started and pursued in a manner that exem-
plified the mentality of its perpetrators, I have been
watching for signs of an American-Israeli plan-Lebanese
intelligence, which has become associated with this plan,
has been working against me for some time. Lebanese
intelligence, which is still' working against me, has been
trying to harm my positions and my image because I did
not give in to what others wanted. Intelligence is working
against me because I would not go with the flow. But this
is the price which must be paid in decisive situations
when one takes a stand for Islam and for the oppressed.
I do understand, therefore, that this is part of the
intelligence game which is being played in more than one
location.
[AL-'AHD] Is it correct to say that the entire area is
moving closer to a peaceful settlement with Israel and
that those who oppose that trend have to go with the
flow?
[Fadlallah] A person who has been watching events
might feel that the approach which is committed to the
objective of reconciliation with Israel was vigorously
pursued before the policy of international detente got
underway and imposed its own method of either defus-
ing regional and international problems or trying to find
solutions for them. This is because all countries and
political parties in the Arab center have been associated
in one way or another with the American approach
which places the Israeli problem at the top of its interests
in all its political relations with the region and with those
parts of the world which have ties to the region.
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28 March 1989 26
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That is why the American approach was applying pressure
to steer the political situation in the region toward that
objective. The American approach was blocking the PLO
so it could steer it in that direction. This was done by
setting conditions for the PLO, which the organization
accepted recently when it 'recognized Israel. It was also
done by getting the Arab political reality to work with the
organization, suggesting to it that unless it gives in to the
United States and to Israel, it will be expelled from the
Arab political scene or to be kept politically frozen. That is
why the situation in the Arab world has been ready for any
peaceful settlement on this matter since the Arabs deci-
sively closed the chapter on fighting a war with Israel.
Now, those who call for war with Israel, even in the future,
are considered radicals, terrorists, and unrealistic, and
other such words are used to describe them.
It seems to me, therefore, that this matter took on the
major significance and the broader circle it acquired in
Arab politics in the wake of international detente. The
political activity which has been trying to terminate all
the pockets that are holding to their decisive position on
Israel is still going on. Efforts are being made to break
out of the siege of present [restrictions] and look ahead to
the future when Arab countries, with ties to America and
to others, will have nothing to fear from any reactions to
any concessions that are made to Israel. The undercur-
rents of the international political game, whether they
are American or European, are such that we know there
can be no settlement unless concessions are offered by
one of the parties involved, the Arab-Palestinian party.
This is because Americans as well as Europeans do not
wish to force Israel to make any concessions for the sake
of a settlement to the Palestinian problem because
everyone is concerned about a solution to the Israeli
problem, not the Palestinian one.
It seems to me, therefore, that the Arab political environ-
ment within each regime, whether national or within
political parties, is such that people are working very
quickly to achieve reconciliation. The problem, however,
is this: What does Israel want, and what does America
want? And that is why everyone who is trying to find a way
to a settlement can be brought to a standstill. While
waiting to find out what others want, everyone would
experience the pan-Arab and national lassitude and the
breathlessness of running around in circles. After all, the
Arabs have already decided on what they want. They want
Israel to accept them, and they want Israel to accept their
peace offer. Now, however, the issue is not what the Arabs
want in their reconciliation with Israel, but it is what Israel
wants from its reconciliation with the Arabs. Since Israel
can expand further and can maneuver more in the inter-
national game, it does not have to be predisposed to a
reconciliation with the Arabs. And that is why it is the
Israeli decision, not the Arab decision, that we wait for.
Liquidating Revolutionary Movements
[AL-'AHD] But it has been noticed that at this stage the
Israeli decision is inclined to accept some of the issues
which have been set forth. Does this mean that the
dangers of liquidating all anti-Israeli movements in the
region remain in effect for the Arabs?
[Fadlallah] What we have been noticing is that many
Arab rulers started liquidating anti-Israeli, anti-Amer-
ican, and especially anti-colonial movements to preserve
their regimes in their countries. They did that when they
started following the American approach and started
working with America to set up the power of the new
colonialism in their countries and in other countries as
well. Many of these Arab leaders are also trying to move
toward the liquidation of these revolutionary positions,
especially Islamic ones. They are even trying to liquidate
those positions which are not in their countries.
We know that many of the Arab countries which have a
lot of money finance most of the assassination opera-
tions and most of the operations which are conducted by
non-Arab regimes to besiege and oppress Muslims and
all revolutionaries who reject American, colonialist pol-
icy. Even when assistance is offered to some poor, Arab
or Islamic countries, there are strings attached. It is
implied that these countries have to liquidate Islamic
movements as well as the Islamic opposition in the
country, even if that opposition were not an opposition
movement in the accepted sense of the term. Thus, there
would be no opposition at all to the general approach
pursued by American policy in the region.
[AL-'AHD] It has been affirmed recently that Lebanon is
on the verge of holding its presidential elections in June,
and it is also being affirmed that these elections will be
held even without reforms. Do you think that the con-
flicts which are going on in Lebanon are the prelude
which could be extended to achieve that outcome?
[Fadlallah] It seems to me that the elections will be held
sooner or later. This is one of the things that all those
who are responsible for the civil strife in Lebanon want.
To these people, Lebanon remains something they need
in a negative or a positive sense. What is noticeable.
however, is that the title of president is starting to.carry
many other political implications to more than one local,
regional, or international party. In the absence of any
other means for applying pressure, such as security
infractions which are prohibited throughout Lebanon by
the two major feuding parties, the title is being used as a
pressure tool. That is why this issue is now being set forth
so that it can be used to get many plans through or bring
them to maturity and to liquidate or besiege many
pockets [of resistance]. This means that the matter will
have to wait for a long time since everyone was taken by
surprise or had planned on the possibility that Lebanon
could survive for a long time without a president and
without unified authorities. The hardships endured by
Lebanese citizens as a result of that are quite similar to
those which they endured when they had unified author-
ities and a president. However, they were affected by
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these hardships in different ways. It seems to me, there-
fore, that no one on the local, regional, or international
level is in a hurry. Evidence for this lies in the fact that
the meeting between Arab ministers of foreign affairs
and the Lebanese has been postponed to the end of this
month. Such delays may goon for a long time just as they
did with Arab committees of the past. This is because
when Arabs deal with the Lebanese problem, they do so
with an eye to their interests in Lebanon and their
bilateral or trilateral relations which link them to each
other. They deal with the Lebanese problem with an eye
to their relations with the international community
which is interested in Lebanon. That is why this problem
is not an Arab problem in the national sense of the word,
but it is an Arab problem in the sense of bilateral
relations or Arab-international relations. It seems to me,
therefore-and I do not wish to rush into any conclu-
sions-that this represents a waste of time. It is some-
thing to keep the Lebanese from becoming frustrated.
Should they lose the proper solution, they will not lose
hope in the future, which everyone is trying to hold on to
whenever it seems to be out of reach every now and then.
The Forces and Future Alliances
[AL-'AHD] It has been noticed that the opposing forces
in Lebanon are now being targeted by everybody else.
Can these forces effect a change in alliances in the
future?
[Fadlallah] Lebanon is a country of quicksand in which
everyone sinks no matter how hard he tries to get his feet
on solid ground. That is why we noticed that since before
the civil strife and even to this day, many issues have
been confused and many alliances have been shifted.
There are no constant positions in politics. In fact, these
positions shift according to the nature of objective
circumstances which are determined by events.
It seems -to us, therefore, that the nature of the new
variables on the international scene and the nature of
activities on the Arab scene, on the Middle Eastern scene,
or on the Lebanese scene will shuffle some papers [situa-
tions] and will reduce the size of some situations because
this matter has to do with decisive moments in some plans
and some relationships. And that is why we have to expect
many events. To us, such events will be on a par with those
whose pain and tragedies we are experiencing. To others,
they will be a local matter whose tragedy and pain they can
contemplate. In essence, however, what is happening in the
region is that alliances are being shifted, and issues are
being confused. And that is something which turns patriots
into traitors and traitors into patriots of the highest order.
SAUDI ARABIA
Text of Royal Degree on New Fiscal Budget
44040215 Kuwait AL- WA TAN in Arabic 8 Jan 89 p 10
[Text] The Saudi Council of Ministers last week
approved Saudi Arabia's fiscal budget for 1989-90. The
Saudi government authorized the Ministry of Finance
and National Economy to borrow an amount not to
exceed SR250 billion during the year by gradually issu-
ing treasury bonds of different terms in Saudi riyals.
It should be noted that the Saudi budget has in general
been subject to a decline in revenues due to the sharp
decline in oil prices on oil markets during the previous 2
years.
King Fahd, in a brief speech delivered at the meeting of
the Saudi Council of Ministers, emphasized that "in
order for citizens to live prosperously, the state finds
itself on many occasions compelled to defray the budget
deficit, regardless of its size, or whether it is from the
previous year or the current year. This deficit, as we
know, is due to problems related to oil sales, and the
decline in oil prices that has been on-going for almost 4
years."
Following is the text of the Royal Saudi decree approving
the budget:
I. a. State revenues for fiscal year 1409-14 10 A.H. are
estimated at SRI 16 billion.
b. Allocations for state expenditures in fiscal year
1409-1410 A.H. total SR141 billion.
11. For the purpose of increasing general state budget-
ary resources to cover the costs of development funded
in the budget, the Ministry of Finance and National
Economy is compelled to borrow an amount not to
exceed SR25 billion during fiscal year 1409-1410 A.H..
This is to be done gradually over the course of the year
through the issuance of treasury bonds of different
terms, in Saudi riyals.
III. Revenues will be received in full according to
financial regulations; all of them will be paid to the Arab
Saudi Monetary Institution and its branches, to the
account of the Ministry of Finance and National Econ-
omy.
IV. Expenditures are to be made according to the
budget and instructions pertaining to it.
V. a. The transfer of allocations in the chapters,
sections, and subsections of the budget is to occur by the
decision of the chairman of the Council of Ministers
based on a joint decision by the pertinent minister or the
chief of the administration with an independent budget
and the minister of finance and national economy.
b. Transfers between the paragraphs of subsections
I and 2 are to be effected by the decision of the pertinent
minister or the chief of the administration with an
independent budget, provided that the transfer to any
paragraph does not exceed half of the original allocation
earmarked in the budget for that paragraph, excluding
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