The Doha agreement diffuses the current crisis and everyone will immediately feel the benefits. But the real issues remain to be solved.

Dismantling the scar (photo credit: Reuters)

Nothing beats the sense of relief the Lebanese are feeling today except perhaps the realization that they will be able to celebrate in the heart of the now-liberated Beirut. Still, after the fireworks subside and the champagne corks are swept aside by the happily re-employed Solidere waiters, the Lebanese will return to earth and realize that the Doha agreement is just a temporary solution that only marginally addresses the major contentious issues.

The main issue at stake is the relationship between the Lebanese state and a powerful armed faction within that state. The Lebanese power sharing agreement should be looked at as a form of cease fire between Syria and Iran on one side and the rest of the world on the other. The civil war that was about to break looked like a major distraction that the power brokers decided to quench with a dose of feel-good compromise and a president on top.

Many minefields still lie ahead this small country’s future, not least the specter of a war between Israel and Iran that Hezbollah will feel compelled to join and drag the country with them. But for now, most Lebanese are in the mood for celebration; the make-up summer season ahead promises to be one heck of a party!