"Fabulous Beirut"

And the quest for a Nabih Berry replacement continues ...In Forbes, here

"Perhaps the chic-est of the warlords was Walid Jumblatt, the Druze leader, a hyper-intellectual, elegantly louche stoner of the time with long locks and a fab L.P. collection, or so one heard. He graduated from the AUB, as so many leftists did, and was resolutely anti-American. He joined the Socialist International.....

....Jumblatt now declares himself to be anti-Syria, pro-U.S., pro the democracy movement. After all, the Syrians killed his father. But the shrug of his shoulders tells you something else, that you never know friend from foe here for very long, that it can all shift lethally in a trice......

The pro-democracy movement, the so-called Cedar Revolution, is not yet extinguished, despite the assassination of Hariri and his business shenanigans before that, despite the backstairs machinations among political factions since. There are poles of light still, not least the patriotic endeavors of former Speaker of Parliament Hussein al-Husseini, who helped the civil war factions compromise with the Taif Accords...."