Everyone Goes Wobbly

David Foley, Deputy Directory of the United States' Near Office, is wheeled out to tell the world that the "US position is clear" regarding the possibility of a Constitutional Amendment to elect Lebanon's next president. "No change in the Constitution is necessary and there should be no change to the Constitution," he said.

Of course, the very reason that he needed to insist that the US position is clear was because, of course, the US position is unclear. Just the other day, US diplomat Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley told Al-Hayat that the US "doesn't mind" changing Lebanon's constitution.

America isn't the only party whose ultimate intentions are unclear. The March 14 Christians, meeting in Maarab on Monday, issued a strong statement opposing a constitutional amendment. But the Arab press was full of stories of how Amine Gemayel dissented from the majority on this issue. Why show our cards now, he argued, when we don't know how strong Suleiman's candidacy will be in a month?

In essence, Gemayel's alleged position is America's as well. Right now, they seem skeptical of Suleiman. They don't know a lot about him, and they don't know how the Presidential elections are going to play out a month from now. But if he turns out to be a friend, and there are no other viable options, the US wants to keep its options open.