by Patrick Appel
Larison's view of Lebanon's new PM:
[W]e should observe that a lawful, basically peaceful change in government in Lebanon that benefits a political coalition Westerners dislike is not the end of the world, nor is it even necessarily that bad for Lebanon. No one has “lost” Lebanon, because Americans never possessed Lebanon. It is not ours to lose.
(Photo: Supporters the outgoing Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri gather at his father Rafiq Hariri's Mausoleum in downtown Beirut during a peaceful protest on January 26, 2011. Lebanon's new Hezbollah-backed premier-designate was readying for talks on forming a government as rivals called for daily sit-ins against the mounting power of the Shiite militant party. By Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)