Haddad

To the Editors of The Crimson:

On behalf of the Harvard-Radcliffe Society for Lebanese Affairs (HRSLA), I would like to thank the reporters of The Crimson and its editorial staff for covering Dr. Wadi Haddad's lecture on April 23rd. It is nonetheless with great pain and frustration that I feel compelled to make some corrections to the sloppy reporting of the reporter who covered the lecture for The Crimson. The reporter's mistakes are unprofessional and the damage she caused is irreparable. She misrepresented the spirit and distorted the letter of Dr. Haddad's speech by misinterpreting and misquoting him.

Dr. Haddad was invited to speak at Harvard by the HRSLA precisely to show the aspect of Lebanon that most Americans of our generation have never known. First, the headline "Lebanese Diplomat Faults U.S. Middle East Policy" does not reflect in any way either the letter or the spirit of Haddad's address. Dr. Haddad on the contrary was very thankful for all the sacrifices that the U.S. and its people have suffered for the sake of our common ties of friendship that go back 150 years in history. Dr. Haddad also correctly pointed out that what really makes the U.S. a superpower, a "great power," is that its policy is guided by principles of freedom and democracy. He drew on personal experiences when he was an advisor to the Lebanese president Amin Gemayel (1982-84) to prove that the American officials whom he got to know personally worked tirelessly to help Lebanon regain its sovereignty and freedom from the occupying regional powers. For that, Dr. Haddad and most Lebanese are very grateful.

Second, Dr. Haddad did not say that "if neglected by America, Lebanon would almost certainly drift toward antagonism to U.S. interests" and neither did he say that Lebanon could undermine U.S. efforts for peace in the Middle East. What he did say was that the U.S. needed a "Lebanon policy" because the existing situation in Lebanon is and will further be exploited by enemies of the U.S. to sponsor anti-U.S. terrorism and to undermine any U.S.-led peace initiative in the Middle East.

Finally, I strongly disagree with the reporter's negativism. As if on purpose, she overlooks the 95 percent of Dr. Haddad's lecture that was positive and non-critical of U.S. policy. Her reporting shows, if anything, the need for an organization like the H-R Society of Lebanese Affairs to promote better understanding of Lebanon and to show the members of the Harvard community the strength of the Lebanese-American historical ties of friendship and commitment to the values of democracy and freedom around the world. Kamal S. Shehadi '86   President, H-R Society for Lebanese Affairs