Lebanon is not the only dispute between Syria and the pro-U.S. camp. Sunni-led Arab governments are deeply worried over Syria's close alliance with Shiite Muslim Iran, which they fear is increasing its influence in the Mideast. They also blame Syria in part for hurting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process through its support for the Hamas militant group.

The United States and Lebanon's anti-Syrian coalition have accused Syria of blocking the presidential election. Damascus has denied the charge, while its Lebanese allies have blamed Washington for scuttling attempts at reaching a solution.

yes you are correct one more (fault) line in the sand

Enmity between the former Pan-Arab nationalist Syria and the religious monarchy of Saudi Arabia is nothing new. What is new is the latest American approach to Syria, who supported the 1991 US-led coalition against Saddam Hussein.

Perhaps most convenient is blaming Syria for the ills of Lebanon, whether it's for backing the Shiite majority in 2008 or militarily supporting the Maronite population in 1982 (which would put Syria and Israel on the same side of a war, by the by).

Most of these fault lines are temporal. What is not, however, is the line drawn between Shiites and Sunnis.

As for Syria's ties with Iran, let's not forget that Shiite or not, the Alawite affiliation of Syrian leadership is considered heretical in Iran. If Washington's leadership would open a book (John McCain, I'm talking to you), perhaps ideological differences could better be exploited to its advantage. Too bad no one on Capitol Hill can tell differences among Shi'a groups--it's like lumping all Protestants together against all non-Protestants (Catholics and Orthodox) and leaving the differences in Christianity at that.

anonymus, your comments should be framed and sent to all the decision making people in the western coutries. it is a real pleasure to read intelligent analysis

Yes, Hassan Nasrallah is totally right. Saudi Arabia and the US politics towards Lebanon is a nightmare.

It is clear that the Iranian regime is playing a destructive rule in the region therefore the best way to solve the middle east problems is to omit the terrorists' support(Irainian regime), considering that although the regime is anti-american, but Persians really love western countries specially USA.