Go East, Young Man

Diplomats, we know, love to play games. The Syrian Assistant Foreign Minister just happened to arrive in Beirut, invitation to the Arab summit in hand, when Prime Minister Siniora was away at Dakar. He just happened to present the invitation to resigned Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh. And now it's the Lebanese government's turn to decide how they want to play this game.

I would go to Damascus. Maybe Siniora himself shouldn't go, but perhaps acting Foreign Minister Tareq Mitri -- see, we can play games too. There will not be a better chance in the near future to legitimize the Siniora government in the Arab world. The Syrians are obviously leery about being in the same room as the Lebanese government. The March 14 leaders should make their presence felt by stating their case -- very loudly.

Critics argue that boycotting the summit will send a message to Syria for their terrorism in Lebanon. But if the summit is attended by the government's Arab allies, most notably Egypt and Saudi Arabia, this threat loses its salience. Amr Moussa is on record saying that Saudi will attend the summit, and other reports said that the Arab states were conditioning their response on whether Lebanon received an invitation. If the major Arab states do send representatives, does anyone really want them alone in a room with Syrian officials while Lebanon's leaders twiddle their thumbs in Beirut?