Robert Fisk: Now what in Lebanon?

There are no journalists better equipped than Robert Fisk to write about the Middle East, and Lebanon in particular. Fisk has lived in Beirut for upwards of 30 years. In his latest piece "Lebanon in limbo: a nation haunted by the murder of Rafiq Hariri" for The Independent he analyses the downfall of the Government in Lebanon and the consequences.

"There are many who believe that Lebanon will now descend into a civil war, similar to the fratricidal conflict which it endured from 1976 to 1980. I doubt it. A new generation of Lebanese, educated abroad – in Paris, in London, in America – have returned to their country and, I suspect, will not tolerate the bloodshed of their fathers and grandfathers.

In theory, Lebanon no longer has a government, and the elections which were fairly held and which gave Saad Hariri his cabinet are no more. President Michel Suleiman will begin formal talks on Monday to try to create a new government."

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