The Lebanese Ambassador In Cote D’ivoire Has No Regrets

As we say in Arabic, an excuse that is worse than the crime:

“There was no mistake” in Lebanon’s ambassador to Abidjan attending the disputed swearing-in of Côte d’Ivoire strongman Laurent Gbagbo, Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Shami said on Friday evening. Lebanese Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire Ali al-Ajami’s participation was “within protocol,” Shami told Al-Manar

What does that even mean? It’s like saying “I stole your wallet because I want money”. Let me re-iterate this very important point one more time: When Laurent Gbagbo swore himself in, it was very well known that the entire world considered him to be illegitimate. It was very well known that attending that ceremony is a premeditated act of defiance, not a regular act of “protocol”.