The “new Middle East” being born out of the warfare in Lebanon may be one where Islamic extremists are even stronger and reformists are isolated amid widespread skepticism over U.S. promises of democracy, activists in the Arab world warn. The United States has painted Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah as a necessary offensive against militants blocking democratic change in the region. During a Mideast tour, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called the fighting the “birth pangs of a new Middle East.” Full Story