"One lesson of this year's war," he told me, "is that Lebanon cannot be totally at the mercy of outside powers, whether from the east or the west, or else we risk inviting civil war again. We must work for a new political understanding that acknowledges the dangers of external interference. Iraq sadly is a good example of what can happen when solutions are imposed from the outside."

What should the Lebanese do now, as rebuilding defines the land once again? He replies: "Our response should be a greater effort to manage our readjusted sectarian and confessional system in the short run, so that in the long run it moves towards a truly secular, liberal, and democratic political system. Such a system must safeguard the rights of all citizens equally, and not sacrifice the public interest for private interests."

Sensible thoughts, from a seasoned son of the land itself.


Rami G. Khouri is an internationally syndicated columnist, the director of the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut, and editor-at-large of the Beirut-based Daily Star.