Whatever the case may be, a better and united Lebanon will not be the thing that will emerge at the end of it all. Sectarian schisms and communal identities ion the New Lebanon will be stronger than they have ever been, and some form of accounting for what has taken place will be sought and mandated by all actors. Meanwhile the Assads of Syria with their misplaced preoccupation with Lebanon rather than the Golan will be on the look-out for a new inroad back into the lost dominion. Indeed, for now and forever, to the vultures belong the spoils.
But while everybody is preoccupied with spoils, the fabric of our countries is deteriorating. The New Middle East will most surely be a more violent and fractious one than the Old Middle East, and much more profane.