Lebanon, “the house of many mansions”, has endured an apparently endless series of wars and crises. The personality of the players, notably Saudi Arabia’s extraordinarily confident new crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, and his eager backer Donald Trump, adds an extra dimension of risk. He has given a blank cheque to the Saudi crown prince, even if some in the administration are still trying to use US influence to rein in Riyadh. If he has a game plan in Lebanon it is not clear: Mr Hariri’s resignation highlights Hezbollah’s power, but who will replace him? But if Israel and Saudi Arabia are coordinating, my enemy’s enemy is not always much of a friend.

Source: The Guardian November 10, 2017 18:58 UTC