There was much ado about very little last week, as British media covered the visit of Foreign Secretary David Miliband's visit to the Middle East. In particular, his trip to Syria was feted as an exploit of British diplomacy, with various journalists and analysts describing the event as a move to "bring Syria in from the cold" and to lead it back into the greener pastures of the Anglo-American sphere (also known as "the international community").

We should not expect too much from the G-20 financial summit in Washington this weekend, despite some grandiose talk from French President Nicolas Sarkozy about crafting a new global financial system. U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is not going to join the talks and has yet to name his choice for treasury secretary. And President George W. Bush and his team will only matter until midday on Jan. 20.

Political handlers, the "experts" who advise candidates running for elections in the United States should take a good long look at the last presidential campaign and draw some hard lessons from what worked and what did not. It does not require a rocket scientist to figure out which of the two tactics paid off in the end. Staying focused, addressing the real issues and speaking the truth worked. Spreading lies about your opponent obviously did not. That was the noticeable difference between the Obama and the McCain campaigns.

The raid by U.S. military helicopters on a Syrian village close to the Iraqi border that Damascus claimed killed several Syrians comes at a bad time for the U.S. administration of George W. Bush. Given the precariousness of the Middle East with the war in Iraq tying down U.S. forces, the conflict in Afghanistan gaining momentum, Israeli-Palestinian peace talks deadlocked, Iran defiantly pursuing its nuclear program, and Lebanon's political situation uncertain with tens of thousands of Syrian troops camping on its border, the last thing Washington needs right now is to ignite another front.

When Turkey was granted official-candidate status for European Union membership in 1999, neither the EU nor Turkey thought that the transition would be an easy or rapid one. And it has not been.

PARIS -- The establishment of diplomatic relations earlier this month between Syria and Lebanon is a symbolic act of considerable importance. It is the first time these neighbors have established such relations since they wrested their independence from France in the 1940s.

MOSCOW -- Syria and Lebanon established diplomatic relations on Oct. 15, some 60 years after gaining independence from France in the mid-1940s. Why have they waited so long?

AMMAN -- Syrian President Bashar Assad has made his declared intention to establish full diplomatic ties with Lebanon official. He issued a decree that would see embassies in Beirut and Damascus for the first time in their history.

This time no one behaved badly during the state visit. Sometimes even thoroughly right-wing politicians don't behave like swashbucklers, but move with the appropriate diplomatic finesse. That was certainly the case during Silvio Berlusconi's latest visit to Libya.

Both Israel and Hezbollah feel that another round of violence is inevitable, though for the moment neither side wants to initiate a fight, the consequences of which would be devastating for all sides.