Lebanon Has a New President, But Not Yet Peace

They're jubilant over it. As Saudi Arabia's Arab News put it, "It was a spectacular event verging on the surreal. The historic session by the Lebanese Parliament to elect the country’s 12th president on Sunday brought together rivals and enemies, friends and allies and not only on the floor of the legislature. Up in the balconies, representatives of countries that had jockeyed for power and influence in Lebanon sat close to each other in the crowded chamber and watched the inauguration of army chief, Gen. Michel Suleiman, as head of state."

Sunday's election ends 18 months of crises and wrangling between Lebanese factions that, true to form when it comes to choosing a president, couldn't agree on a choice, let alone a permanent peace.

Lebanon's Daily Star saw green, a favorite color in Lebanon since the days of Phoenician traders: " Lebanon is expected to get billions of dollars in foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments this year after the successful conclusion of the Doha talks between rival political groups and the election of Michael Suleiman as president."

The gushing may be premature. As the London-based Asharq Alwasat reported on Tuesday, Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah, leading the opposition in Lebanon, warned the new government never to take steps to disarm Hezbollah's militia--or face consequences. That's pretty much where Lebanon was last week before the supposedly historic agreement brokered in Doha to stop what looked like certain resumption of Lebanon's civil war and install Suleiman as president.

Nasrallah's speech is a reminder that Hezbollah in Lebanon wields two veto weapons: One political, agreed to by all parties in Doha (giving Hezbollah the right to reject any major decision by the majority government) and one military (giving Hezbollah the capability to back up its threats with force).

Lebanon may be celebrating too soon, although the Lebanese themselves know better: armed clashes were reportedly erupting on Tuesday between Hezbollah and Druze militias. And as Lebanese blogger Liliane at independence05.com wrote, "It is just amazing how Lebanese forget, get so excited, so happy over anything slightly positive, clinging to an atom of hope, thinking that everything in just 2 days can make the country better. It does give this vibes, it really does, but we're just repeating history if we keep doing the same mistakes, the same reactions and the same way of thinking. Silly us."