Throwing Tax Dollars at Foreign Archaeological Sites Doesn't Always Buy Friends

The U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon has learned the hard way that offers to throw US taxpayer dollars to fix up foreign archaeological sites does not necessarily buy the US friends abroad, particularly where the money is to be spent in Hezbollah territory in S. Lebanon.  Instead, the Ambassador has been subject to withering criticism because an Embassy vehicle damaged a wall during a tour of ancient Tyre.  In the Ambassador's defense, I suspect she did not leave her vehicle because of security concerns, not because she was "too tired or busy" as Arab media has suggested.