Dramatic and sober

Osama Al Sharif of Arab News looks at the Lebanese prism from a different angle:

In the aftermath of Hezbollah’s military stunt in Beirut a couple of weeks ago, pro-Washington Lebanese factions discovered to their chagrin that the US cavalry was not coming to their aid.

It was this dramatic change in US policy that prepared the scene for a more sober dialogue among the warring factions.

But it also hinted that the Bush administration had played most of its cards, or, more importantly, was now ready to adopt new strategies.

Whether Washington and Tehran were getting close to striking a deal on Iraq and Iran’s nuclear program remains to be seen. But the unveiling of new Syria-Israel negotiations, through Turkey, was an important development that could not be ignored.