Lebanon has disappeared. It is no longer easy to talk about its politics, economy, or any of its current affairs. This country has shriveled and become lost between the lines, while its fate has become linked to the outcome of wars and conflicts happening outside of it. There are no reports about its new government or political developments, the security situation is still witnessing relative mayhem, economy is still in recession and the state institutions are proceeding with their slow collapse. As for the issues tackled on a daily basis, they are closer to a farce than to real political life. They include the obstacles facing the distribution of the discovered oil wealth among the leaders of the sects and the ongoing aggressions against public property - especially maritime property - under official protection, at a time when the armed tribes are mobilized to face any emergency. This situation is encouraging the emergence of all sorts of astrologers and charlatans and rendering despair a key component of the air being breathed by the Lebanese. But this is the first time in decades that the Arab region is swept by events, without seeing the flames of wars reaching Lebanese soil. At the same time, the paradox resides in the fact that this country's connection to what is happening around it, has grown way deeper than all the transformations it witnessed in the last seventy years since its independence. Indeed, the ongoing Arab changes have revealed Lebanon's drastic ties with its surrounding, more than all the speeches, volumes, conferences, and pacts related to brotherhood and cooperation. The Lebanese politicians' main preoccupation is the Syrian revolution and the changes it might provoke at the level of the Lebanese situation. Consequently, hordes of strategic analysts are reading the maps and articles featured in the foreign press to see the direction of the coming winds, while the statements of a third-degree employee in the foreign ministry of the farthest country imaginable is seizing the attention of the "followers" and "experts." As for the politically ambitious, they are using the crisis of the Syrian refugees – one which features great dimensions – to serve their electoral interests and fuel the fears and sensitivities. In the meantime, the problems of the refugees and the ones that resulted from their unorganized presence in Lebanon are escalated. The tight connection between the Lebanese situation and the situation around the region – in Syria in particular – makes it impossible to reach an internal settlement overcoming the fait accompli. In other words, the Lebanese people's contribution to the determination of their country's fate has gone from managing the national crisis to watching it unfold before their eyes. Today, no major deal similar to the Taif Accord is possible between the Lebanese and there will be no redistribution of powers between the sects in light of the terrifying tensions. It is even impossible to hold a dialogue session in form at the Baabda presidential palace, as long as everyone is anticipating the outside developments and succumbing to their orders and requirements. This "outside" is not limited to a specific state or side. It encompasses the entire system of intertwining interests that have cost the Lebanese their remaining independence and their right to determine their fate, which should exclusively focus on the building of national interests. In light of the current balance of powers, nothing can be done without threatening with a violent reaction by the injured party, whether this party is in the limelight or in hiding. Hence, the Lebanese are waiting and complaining, as this is the only consensus they have reached after the absence of political life and a serious media, and their distraction with minor issues, have become the main characteristics of this stage which marks the Arab spring countries' transition towards the unknown. Consequently, the caretaker government has turned into the most lively and active phenomenon in the countries of calm stalemate and decay. In the meantime, the surprises have multiplied around Lebanon to the point where it became paraplegic, just standing by and watching in the hope that the circumstances will allow it to play some sort of role.
