A Bush Visit to Lebanon?

George Bush may not have that many fans in the Middle East, but there's at least one group that's busy preparing the welcome wagon for his tour of the region: Hizballah, the Lebanese militants designated as terrorists by the United States.

Lebanon isn't a scheduled stop on the President's weeklong trip, but when rumors began circulating that Bush might make a surprise visit as a sign of support for the besieged American-backed government here, Hizbllah planners went into overdrive. "Hizballah leaves nothing to chance," one of the group's commanders told TIME. "Bush is a coward he will never dare to visit Lebanon, but if he did it, we are ready to put him under tight siege."

Hizballah and other opposition groups have already reserved buses to move hundreds of thousands of demonstrators on short notice to follow the president wherever he goes, the commander said. They have organized security teams to prevent the crowds from getting out of hand, or from being infiltrated by any Al Qaeda-type groups that might try to assassinate the president. "We will prevent any assault against Bush, because it will give an excuse for the Americans to invade Lebanon and it might give the spark of a civil war," said the commander.

Even without huge demonstrations, a presidential visit to Lebanon would be extremely complicated. The US accuses Hizballah of orchestrating the US Embassy and Marine Corps barracks bombings here in 1983, as well as kidnapping American officials and civilians, also during the 1980's. The American Embassy in Lebanon relocated to a fortified compound in the hills north of Beirut, which American officials rarely leave, even though relations between Hizballah and American civilians have mellowed considerably since US troops left the country. Indeed, the thousands of Americans who live in Lebanon enjoy a relatively easy-going Mediterranean lifestyle -- when the country isn't at war, that is. But it's doubtful that President Bush would be able to sample the local charms on a brief touchdown at Rafik Hariri International Airport, or a helicopter ride to the American embassy.

Such a fly-by visit might do America's Lebanese allies more harm then good. Since Hizballah ignited the 2005 war with Israel, the Lebanese government and Hizballah have been locked in a political struggle over Hizballah's existence as an armed entity. Hizballah accuses the Lebanese government of collaborating with the US and Israel to disarm the group, which liberated Lebanon from Israeli occupation in 2000, and has since kept its Syrian and Iranian-supplied weapons. With the opposition's protest campaign stalled for the last year, Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah last week threatened to send supporters back to the streets. A cameo appearance by President Bush would give them a perfect excuse.

--Andrew Lee Butters with reporting by Rami Aysha/Beirut