. . . . The sporadic car bombs in Lebanon these past two years that picked off one or maybe two people, these weren't warnings or even threats. A threat would look something like a large explosion in a Gemmayze bar, a Monot nightclub, or the ABC mall in Ashrafiyeh. Such an attack would kill and maim scores of Lebanese civilians. So far, Asad and his regime have merely been making enough violence to keep their place in the conversation Syria wants to have with Washington about the future of the Middle East. And first on the agenda is Lebanon.

So, will the wise men who counsel we sit down and talk with Damascus--the Brzezinskis, the Powells, the Obamas, the Bakers, and Djerejians--will they have the decency at last to recognize what their high-minded posturing can no longer obscure? This is how Syria negotiates, with its knife on the table and dripping with blood.

However, Tony Badran maintains that - appearances to the contrary - the Euros and the Americans are not about to sell out Lebanon (Again, read the whole thing).

The Democratic congressmen who went to Syria, like Bill Nelson, were very clear that the US will not abandon the Seniora government or Lebanon. That there will be no deal or concessions on "areas where we disagree with Syria." So, unfortunately for Landis and Moubayed, this is hardly Bush's ideological intransigence. This is a matter of consensus, one that includes the main Arab states and Europe.

I had quoted what a European diplomat told me, as well as what another European diplomat told al-Hayat:

It's true that Britain, Germany, and Italy consider that the goal of talking to Damascus is to stress the need for it to change its policy in Lebanon and to stop supporting its destabilization, and to encourage it to take constructive steps in this regard and to cooperate with international resolutions. However, the delegates of these states, when they undertake this mission, they end up reaching the same conclusion France reached, and some return with great disappointment with Damascus. . . .

. . . .1- no one is looking to cut deals over Lebanon (Democrats and Europeans), and 2- the Europeans end up reaching the same conclusion as that reached by the Bush administration, France, Saudi Arabia, and Democratic congressmen. Germany's Angela Merkel summed it up rather well yesterday: "[Syria] should have no doubt about the determination of the international community to protect Israel and Lebanon."

But hey, don't worry, as [Joshua] Landis and [Sami] Moubayed informed us, that won't stop Assad from murdering as many people as he needs in order to show how "serious" he is about "engagement."