World

"Failure is not allowed," Muslim patriarch Saeb Salam instructed 63 surviving members of the Lebanese parliament elected in 1972 as they sat down to ponder a solution for their country's devastating 14-year civil war. In fact, failure in Lebanese peace efforts has become almost customary. But after two weeks of consultations in the Saudi Arabian resort of Taif, the parliamentarians -- 33 Christians and 30 Muslims -- were close to agreement on a plan to establish a "government of national reconciliation." It calls for Muslim-Christian power sharing and phased withdrawal of the 40,000 Syrian troops who have been in Lebanon under an Arab League mandate since 1976.

The plan's success is far from certain, of course. General Michel Aoun, commander of the Christian forces fighting Syria and its Lebanese Muslim allies, warned in East Beirut that "the war of liberation will continue" until the Syrians are driven out. Muslim warlords also dismissed the Taif meeting and called for Aoun's ouster.