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If Helou's government is to remain in power, it will probably have to back down and give even freer rein to the guerrillas. The President indicated as much with a message to Arafat, carefully promising that "Lebanon is ready to continue to support the Palestinian struggle within the limits of its ability." Such a move, however, would invite even more severe Israeli reprisals. Should the government fall, two main possibilities exist: 1) An army-backed takeover if Helou decided to resign or if the generals decided that he could no longer keep order, or 2) a leftwing, Nasserite regime that would abandon Lebanon's live-and-let-live approach to Israel and intensify fighting along the borders. Whether Israel would tolerate such a development without invading Lebanon is doubtful.
Whatever the outcome, it is plain that the faint hopes for peace in the Middle East were dimmer than ever.