At first glance, it would appear that two important and positive developments took place in the Middle East in the span of 24 hours.  First, the violence that erupted in Lebanon on May 7 when Shi'a Hizballah gunmen and their allies overran most of West Beirut ended with an agreement reached in Doha, Qatar.  At least 67 people have been killed in the fighting.  As part of the negotiated outcome, the 18-month political deadlock that began when opposition lawmakers resigned from the government in November 2006 will come to an end as an agreement was reached to elect army chief General Michel Suleiman as president this week.  This will end the political deadlock that gripped Lebanon since late 2006 and more acutely, since pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud stepped down in November 2007.