SPECIAL REPORT: The key to solving the sectarian clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Sunni Muslim gunmen loyal to the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in the Lebanese capital Beirut can only be found in the context of a larger Middle East solution involving Lebanon's two powerful neighbors; Israel and Syria.

The latest clashes involving heavy machine guns and rocket propelled grenades have left a trail of dead and wounded and renewed fears of an all-out civil war dragging the country into yet another abyss.

This latest round of violence between pro-Western government supporters and the pro-Syrian opposition comes amid warnings from the United States to the Iranian- and Syrian-backed militia to put an end to what Washington called "disruptive activities."

"Hezbollah needs to make a choice: Be a terrorist organization or be a political party, but quit trying to be both," said U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe. "They need to stop their disruptive activities now."

Warnings from Washington to the Shiite militia will in all likelihood fall on deaf ears. Washington may well issue warnings, but given the U.S. military involvement in Iraq, the George W. Bush administration is currently ill-postured to follow up on any threats it might issue.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese capital is bracing itself for more violence as both sides appear to be retrenching, refusing to budge from their respective positions, with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah accusing the government crackdown against his forces as tantamount to a "declaration of war."

The origin of the war being fought out on the streets of Beirut, whether declared or not, much like its solution, lies mostly in finding a resolution to the longstanding conflict opposing Syria and Israel.

Syria, be it to the liking of the Bush administration or not, plays a central role in ensuring the success or failure of peace in the region. So long as Damascus continues to be ignored and sidelined by the United States, the probability of any near-term settlement in the six-month Lebanese political crisis remains a distant hypothesis.

A senior European diplomat speaking to the Middle East Times earlier this week stressed the fact that Syria held the key to solving the presidential crisis which Lebanon has found itself in since President Emile Lahoud's mandate expired in November 2007.

"Syria is not being helpful in that respect," said the diplomat, who was speaking off the record. "They want to demonstrate that they are in control of Lebanon's destiny."

A number of Lebanese politicians made the same point during their recent visits to Washington.

Indeed, over the last several months Washington has played host to former Lebanese President Amine Gemayel, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, who was recently released from 11 years of solitary confinement , head of the National Liberal Party Danny Chamoun, Saad Hariri, son of the assassinated former prime minister, and just this week, Ahmad El Assaad, son of former House Speaker Kamel El Assaad.

El Assaad told the Middle East Times that Syria wanted to show that without it there could be no solution to the Lebanese crisis. El Assaad, a moderate Shiite opposed to Hezbollah, went a step further by accusing Iran as well as Syria.

The Syrians, many analysts believe, will continue to use Lebanon as a trump card in the Greater Middle East game of geo-political chicken, escalating the crisis into an open conflict if they feel this to be the only way to attract international attention, particularly that of the United States, to re-launch peace talks with Israel over the occupied Golan Heights.

With that in mind, appeals by the international community for calm in Lebanon are unlikely to produce any concrete results. Unless the appeals are directed at Damascus.