Trumps Amateur -Libanon -Plan enthüllt die Versäumnis der US -Diplomatie

When US envoy Thomas Barrack visited [Lebanon ](https://inews.co.uk/topic/lebanon?srsltid=AfmBOooakpMAMIwKdUGZo4Q1NHWFJ1QmmPCesxVCx2gSnnQr_5TO95Oa&ico=in-line_link)last month, his trip made headlines – but not for reasons the White House might have hoped.

Barrack calling Lebanese reporters “animalistic” sparked widespread outrage and dominated headlines for days. Yet it wasn’t the only eyebrow-raising episode of the trip.

In [Beirut](https://inews.co.uk/topic/beirut?srsltid=AfmBOopRy_9JpDkU57yqJa9stIgYia5pq8804622iVydM7HVKLz8P7xb&ico=in-line_link), Barrack floated a plan for an economic zone in southern Lebanon, which he claimed would bring money into local communities.

In true [Donald Trump](https://inews.co.uk/topic/donald-trump?srsltid=AfmBOorPbSIUEsDLbZIw6wzdKjTViPJl35sbalYBlzWWmucwm5KQskc2&ico=in-line_link)-era fashion, the proposal reflected a basic miscalculation: that deeply rooted political grievances can be dealt with through financial means.

First discussed with Israeli officials in Paris, the plan envisions an industrial buffer zone aimed at preventing [Hezbollah’s ](https://inews.co.uk/topic/hezbollah?srsltid=AfmBOooi3o3O-RlJ4o15FdOHJqLFdchp1zfBrKn2UuH_HszTZjGcKtSl&ico=in-line_link)return to Lebanon’s southern border. Israeli analysts have argued that it could address [Israel](https://inews.co.uk/topic/israel?srsltid=AfmBOorN-TxC7PduyczY9zxbbEFZ4VWmvpVAix_MRhU0Ga_hwp41tYY-&ico=in-line_link)’s security concerns, without the need to reoccupy Lebanese territory.

The plan would see state-run factories established in the area, physically separated from Israeli communities across the border. Some Lebanese media reports have said that recent Israeli military incursions along the frontier may be intended to lay the groundwork for this “industrial buffer zone”.

Barrack has suggested that the investment for this zone would come from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.