Diplomacy In Strange Times

U.S. Ambassador Vincent Battle, a Reason Interview

Tim Cavanaugh | November 13, 2003

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There are other arenas. You noted that there's a small industrial sector here, but there are competitive niches. Lebanon is competitive in the wine industry. The Lebanese are competitive in jewelry, which is one of the country's primary exports. They're recognizing that their future is in those things that take a certain creativity and a certain taste and sense of excellence. There's hope in that kind of thing. This embassy is working with the IT sector in Lebanon, believing IT is another hopeful sector; as you know, the CEO of Intel was here recently, opening a finance competency center at the AUB. That's a very strong sign that in the area of software and hardware engineering, Lebanon is the kind of place that can succeed. Other than wine, there are other areas in the agro industry that can be competitive.

The world economy is difficult. The growth statistics here are not as high as they could be. But I don't think anyone can discount the resiliency and the capabilities of the Lebanese private sector.

reason: Does that include the private media? I mean, you were saying before that there's no board of standards for journalists, but isn't that independence part of why the media thrive here?

Battle: The private media are very successful here. It's one of the private industries here that has a competitive edge. It's well known throughout the Arab world. That doesn't negate the fact that it's a challenge dealing with the press, but the press competes effectively internationally.

There are enough positive signs in the economy that you should try and keep in perspective the difficulties that you pointed out. The government has had difficulty moving forward on the privatization of some of its state-owned assets. There's a strong political dimension in that problem, which will have an impact on the psychology of the donors. But I think there is a commitment now to move forward in some way with privatization of the telecoms and with electricity.

reason: So I look at the ambassadors wall of fame here and note that they're all men. When is Lebanon going to get a woman U.S. ambassador?

Battle: Oh, I don't know. We've got plenty of women ambassadors in the Middle East. As you know, Margaret Scobey is likely to be the next ambassador to Syria.