One Lebanese analyst who recently left the country ventured that Syria was the main beneficiary of the gulf crisis so far.

Some Lebanese analysts said a problem at the talks is that the same politicians who drove Lebanon to ruin are incapable of fashioning a new Lebanon in which they would no longer play much of a role.

"Bashar brought this guy in," said Mr. Young, the Lebanese political analyst.

Michael Young, a Lebanese political analyst, said: "The Israelis are creating a humanitarian and social and economic crisis.

"He is not powerful in himself," said Elie Fawaz, a Lebanese political analyst.

"When they killed Hariri it added a new dimension, which is the Sunnis," said Michael Young, a Lebanese political analyst and editor.

"The Syrians are playing for time, and I don't think they will succeed," said Samir Kassir, a Lebanese political analyst.

Still, not a single Lebanese analyst interviewed in Taif during the conference or in Paris last week would go so far as to say the accord meant peace for Lebanon.

Its strategy now, Lebanese political analysts say, is to use the offensive in southern Lebanon to broaden its political support inside Lebanon, where it has established itself as a significant parliamentary force.

"More than anything, the Hariri funeral became a referendum on the Lebanese government and the way Lebanon was being run," said Michael Young, a Lebanese political analyst and an editor at The Daily Star in Beirut.