When Syrian President Bashar Assad recently told The New Yorker magazine that “civil war in Lebanon could start in days … unless they change the whole system,” it should have been music to the ears of almost all Lebanese. It was comforting to finally hear that the Syrian potentate recognizes the truth about Lebanon.

Assad was right. Despite the fulminations of many political hacks over Assad’s comments, there is simply too much evidence of hatred and violence between the various factions in Lebanon to deny the truth about this country. Indeed, we should be pleased to learn that Assad knows what we here have been living, day in and day out, for decades.

Assad was also right about the need for change – and, it should be added, that a plurality of Lebanese wants to change the system. We are tired of this unrepresentative electoral system, we want to reform a judicial system that is little more than a rubber stamp for political whims and we do not want even the small details of our communities subject to opaque political deals.

At the same time, we recognize Syria’s share of the blame for this sorry situation.

The presence of Syrian troops in Lebanon and the central role of Assad’s father in Lebanese political life were enshrined in the 1989 Taif Agreement in order to midwife that memorandum of understanding into a new social contract.