After nearly half a year of wrangling over who will control various ministries in Beirut, Saad Hariri has finally managed to cobble together a government for Lebanon that will allow it to once again do business as a legitimate government. The largest stumbling block to the formation of the new government came in the guise of Michel Aoun of the Free Patriotic Movement, who continually made demands on Hariri whenever an agreement seemed near. Finally, with all sides, both domestically and regionally, fed up with the obstructionist antics of Aoun, an agreement based on compromise all around was put into place. Its ultimate implementation seems guaranteed now that Hezbollah has announced that an agreement has been reached. Aoun has been something of an unlikely ally of Hezbollah and those who read between the lines say that Aoun is not about to embarrass Hezbollah by reneging on the agreement that has formed the cabinet. Clearly, it is in no one's interest to see Lebanon once again mired in internecine political turmoil even if it is not likely to lead to a repeat of the violence that has so often afflicted Lebanon in modern times. Also, with a more harmonious atmosphere forming between regional rivals who can influence events in Lebanon, old animosities did not pollute the ultimate desire for peace in Lebanon. Obviously, Lebanon is far from solving its internal problems as just as an interim government and new elections came about by a regional conference in Doha, the current agreement to form a government took the influence of outside powers. Hopefully, this will ultimately mean that Lebanon will no longer be a battleground but simply a country that has always been at the crossroads of various civilizations seeking to work out its own domestic issues. __
