[Gino]

No, ma the important thing is looking good in the evening news for Lebanese politicians... The whole 7iwar fiasco was pathetic! It was a cover up i believe for what was really intended to come out of it. We all knew the politicians would go nowhere with this, but what was really happening was trying to stop lebanon becoming an new iraq... For example, the 5-hour+ meetings between Sayyed Hassan and Saad Hariri. I dont think they are best friends and i think you will agree... It was to try and 'moisten' the situation, and deter the tensions between sunnis and shiites from colliding. So, the dialogue was no mistake, it was prudent. As for the reports to the US embassy, i dont really think any substantial classified info was disclose on that table... I mean, some of the participants are archenemies for goodness' sake! I think the only mistake was the Sayyed himself going. He might be the secretary general of the hizeb, but he is also a holy man and of the Prophet's descendants... He should not be seated on the same table that sanioura and geagea and botros aharb are seated at.

As for the elections, the hizeb allied themselves with the so-called Muslim four-way alliance which stood against the FPM and its allies' mostly Christian front in the elections. Now however,i believe the hizeb has realized that the Christians are integral in Lebanon and that they do have their weight after the landslide victories of the FPM in keserwan, jbeil, and maten as well as the not-too-bad results in the North where reasons for winning were linked to other 'incentives' ie BRIBES, which the FM did not pay which explains the banners in tripoli that read "Ayna el wa3ed ya sa3ed?"